The first step

[Eva Saroari]

Eva shook her head and looked around the dirty building. It was vacant, she'd made sure of it before her selection. The stairs were completely gone so it was unlikely anyone would occupy the tiny one room apartment.
She looked out the window as the darkness settled in around them. She slept lightly, no one would harm them in the night with her sensed on alert.

"Get some sleep Owen. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow," she gave him a subtle smile that she rarely used. She'd not had much cause to smile in many years. Eva selected a place near the door and settled down, her back leaned up against the wall, her cloak concealing her in the darkness.

The sliver of moon in the sky shed little light and she was tired. She fell into a state of awake and asleep. Her mind aware but her body at rest. No one would tell by looking at her if she was fully asleep or not which gave her the advantage if anyone came in the night. But she doubted anyone would.

[Owen]

Owen paced again and again. His muddy boots would occasionally bump into the discarded remains of the items that once composed a household. With enough imagination he could picture the apartment as it once was, clean, organized and lively. But the grim reality was that the place was nothing more than a collection of dust, rubble and garbage.

Eventually he ceased his compulsion and stopped in front of the window. He wiped away the dust and peered into the night. The moon shone strongly, bathing the buildings with his magical glow. That was probably the most beautiful thing he had seen in this part of the world. His heart ached at the thought of home, but with a heavy sigh he dropped himself in front of the window and shifted his position towards Eva.

He watched her sleep, until it too claimed his consciousness. That night no dreams, memories nor thoughts disturbed him. Instead there was only a silent darkness as he rested and waited for the adventures to come. The dangers of tomorrow were left for then, and the misery of the past was momentarily put aside.

[Eva Saroari]

Eva rose at dawn as was usual for her no matter how tired she'd been the night before. She gently touched her blackened eye. The swelling had gone down but it hurt like hell yet. She could see out of it, the image blurred a bit but it could have been much worse so she accepted the pain.

Her gaze slid to Owen. He was still asleep. She couldn't help but stare at him, he looked all the more innocent when he was at rest. She studied him as one might study a fine painting. His hair, though dirty, was yellow like golden sunlight. He was pale beneath the dirt on his face and clothes. He would tan with enough exposure to the unforgiving sunlight.
He looked so young when he was sleeping. A kind of sweet, cute youth that his sense of the world beyond a lab, clearly stated. She envied him his childhood, his privileged upbringing, as much as she pitied him for it. Brains would serve him well, but the knowledge he had, belonged in a lab, in an office, anywhere but the wastelands to which she belonged to.

Eva sat back and sighed softly. She would never set foot in his world, as Owen should have never set foot in hers. Poor guy. He'd guilted her into helping him, and she knew it. But she'd not leave him to die in the wastelands. She had that much honor in her. But she feared for him, being with her could kill him in the end.

She shook her head and pushed to her feet walking over to the fair-haired boy. She knelt in front of Owen, studying his face quietly. On rare and usually ignored impulse, she brushed some of his hair from his face. He had such a soft looking face. She cocked her head to the side, the movement causing the hood of her cloak to fall back. She just stared at him, calmly, quietly, wondering the best way to wake him without giving him a heart attack.