Gemini had drifted off to sleep for the first time in over twenty-four hours, finally letting herself relax now that she knew Shail would be alright. She was shaken out of her slumber by the sound of rustling and shallow breaths. The sounds of someone having a nightmare. Sitting up, she looked over at her bed- only to find Shail gone. She jumped up, panicked- he couldn't have run away again, not this soon- only to relax when she found him sitting at the cave entrance. She realized she hadn't been breathing, and took a few slow, deep breaths. She watched him quietly, not wanting to disturb him. It looked like he needed some space. Leaning against the smooth, cool wall of the cave, she kept her eyes glued to his form, not daring to look away from him for even a second. What had he dreamed of, she wondered, that sent him running for air?

Shail continued staring at the sky in silence as the last vestiges of his dream faded away. How many times did he fight his own body in his dreams? He knew it all too well and yet...the image of the horse, it's silent message. What was that? For minutes, he just sat there and tried to bury the implications because he couldn't deal with any kind of deep emotions right now. He'd gotten his breathing under control and finally turned to go back into the cave.

Amber eyes stared right at him. Shail started, not realizing that Gemini watched him. Crossing his arms, he turned his gaze away. "Did I make you worry?" he asked, his voice tight with how hard he tried not to sound emotional. Just like that, his calm wanted to break.

Gemini stayed silent as she watched him calm down. She wasn't sure how long it took, but eventually it looked like he had his breathing under control, and the smell of anxiety was almost gone. Somehow, though she'd been spying, she hadn't thought to actually hide herself, so she was clearly visible when he turned around. She blinked, slightly startled. Why hadn't she thought of what to do when he turned around? She cleared her throat.

Not meeting his gaze directly, she tried to sound confident in her answer. "I woke up and you were gone." She said, adopting a tone that suggested it was perfectly normal for her to have suspected the worst. "Naturally, I was concerned-" panicked "-So I went to look for you. I apologize if I startled you." She said, ignoring the thoughts that wanted to tell him how frightened she'd actually been. "Your breathing was uneven. Are you well?"

Gemini sounded as falsely unaffected as he did. Glancing over at her, Shail didn't have to ask why. He really did startle her, make her worry. He didn't want that, but he needed to run out here anyway. Didn't she know it was a little too soon for him to try to escape again. The voice in the back of his head nagged at him. Of course not, since I said I'd run again, even if I won't. "I'm fine. I just wanted some air for a second...that's all," he sighed. "Sorry. I'm done now. Let's go back in." With that, he led the way back into the cave like nothing significant happened at all, but he really wanted to apologize again. He never meant to make Gemini worry so much like this.

Gemini swallowed. They were humoring each other, and they both knew it. When he apologized, she nodded in acceptance. He sounded like he actually meant it, which was enough for her. "You don't need to apologize. As long as you are safe, it is fine." She said, turning to follow him back into the inner cave. "Are you hungry? I can make food." She offered. How often did humans need to eat again? She was sure he must be hungry by now, after more than a day without food. What kind of food did he even like? He had seemed to enjoy the stew she had made before, she mused, but he wouldn't want to eat the same thing all the time. Would he? Ugh, humans were so confusing.

Shail hummed, but otherwise didn't respond. When she mentioned food though, his stomach let out a fearsome growl for all of them to hear. "Yeah. I'm really hungry. Feels like it's been forever since I ate," he sighed, looking over his shoulder at Gemini. Once in the center of the inner cave, he stood there a bit awkwardly, not sure what to do. Where was the correct place to sit now? Or eat? Since things changed between them, he needed to understand how things worked here just a little bit better. "Do you...eat?" He realized he never saw the djinn eat food, but he also didn't pay attention.

Gemini was shaken from her thoughts by a sound she was sure she'd heard an animal make once. It took her a moment to realize it was his stomach. Suppressing a smile, she moved to the part of the wall where she kept the food and opened it magically. "Please, sit anywhere you like." She invited. The whole cave was designed for comfort- probably more than she needed all by herself. His question made her pause. "Yes, I eat every so often." She answered. "I don't need to eat much, though sometimes I will anyway, simply because I like it." She'd never thought about it, but eating when she didn't need to was something she did without realizing it. Almost like eating was an old habit that she caught herself doing sometimes. "Now, what would you like? I have a few kinds of meat and fish, and some bread."

Shail found a couple pillows to sit against, not quite comfortable to just relax anyway. It was, a very inviting cave though, especially considering it was a cave. No doubt he'd relax eventually even if he tried not to. Looking at Gemini, his eyes widened slightly at the magical hideaway for the food. For a second, he couldn't quite respond. "Anything is fine," he manged after a few seconds. "Or....the fish maybe..." He glanced away though he'd been unable to keep from being honest. Such food was a delicacy to him and yet so freely offered. How could he not give in?

Now that he'd settled, he thought about the information Gemini told him. It was strange. He couldn't imagine a djinn needing to eat, but confirmation still startled him. Just proof they were different. And yet, maybe not as much because it seemed tasty food was tasty food. "Must be nice though. Humans have to eat all the time."

Gemini glanced back at him. She hadn't meant to tempt him, but it seemed like that's what she had done anyway with her offer. She smiled just a little at his request for fish. The fish hadn't been easy to get- she'd had to travel to the very limit of her territory, where a river flowed, and catch them herself. She usually saved it for special occasions...but what was more special than a human asking for it? She took two medium-sized fish and brought them out, closing the storage space behind her. She conjured a fire and plates and utensils, and put the fish on a spit above the fire. "We'll let them cook a while. You can choose which one you'd like." They were about the same size, but Gemini thought it was polite to offer him first pick. "I suppose it's nice not to need food all the time, though sometimes I miss it. Do humans really need to eat that often?"

Shail nodded, finding it oddly easy to fall into the rhythm of talking and planning dinner with Gemini. The shakiness from earlier faded completely to the back of his mind now. With each second, he relaxed more and forgot this should be at least a little awkward. "Thank you and yes, my family normally ate two meals every day with a light snack in between. I hear princes eat all day because they can. They'd never know the taste of hunger," he explained. "One meal would be fine, but after a couple days, a person is already starving. You can see the poor like that, dying slowly...."

He trailed off, feeling sobered by the thought. He'd been lucky never to fear true hunger even if he couldn't comprehend a prince's life either. He in some way, could relate to the starving people more. As a bedridden child, he stared outside with a dead sort of longing, knowing what it was like to feel wasted away.

Gemini frowned slightly as she turned the fish on their spits. So, the rich humans took all the food they wanted and left the poor ones to starve? Disgusting. She couldn't fathom doing such a thing. Glancing up, she noticed a peculiar look on Shail's face. It almost looked like...recognition? Understanding? She couldn't tell what it was exactly. He was harder to read than most humans. Still, she got the distinct impression that he had more sympathy for those starving humans than most. But...he didn't look underfed. She puzzled over this for a moment, but ultimately deemed it unimportant.

"And here I have stored more food than I truly need...perhaps I will give a portion of my stash to the poor in your village." His earlier comment about her being perceived as a beast was nagging at her. Maybe she could help this way. He'd said it wasn't too late, right? "I feel that I should. Having felt that hunger myself, I wouldn't want others to feel it as well." She said absently. A second later, her words caught up to her. She had felt starvation before? When? She couldn't recall. She was a djinn. Her kind didn't starve. Hunger was a mere discomfort. So why would she have said something like that? To hide her unease, she took the fish- now fully cooked- off the fire. "Here, you choose first."

Shail shrugged one shoulder. "Society just works in this way. I think this will never change. In another's place, I would be the same selfish prince. To calculate the needs of one against those of the many, it's so easy. You can only sympathize if you've experienced it." Maybe it was a cruel logic, but he accepted the world as it was. It was one thing he had to come to terms with early or else he'd never understood why it had to be him born with a weak body.

Shaking the thoughts away, he turned his attention back to the fish. The cooked meat filled the cave with delicious scents. He couldn't have cared less which he ate. "That one then," he hummed, pointing out the one that may have been a little smaller. Not that he thought it out with that sort of intention. Pausing, he managed to continue being honest. "...Looks good."

Gemini frowned slightly, looking thoughtful about that bit of logic. She handed him the fish he picked out, taking the other for herself. "The world is a cruel place, if this kind of unfairness is accepted as they way it works. Humans are so horrible to each other, I often wonder how you've managed to stay around this long." She mused. Any other species would have been extinct by then, after acting that way. But humanity seemed strangely strong. "It's odd. You're all so fragile, but at the same time so sturdy. Like a spider's web."

Shail shrugged one shoulder. Focused on the fish already, he stopped paying an over amount of attention to the conversation. More than looking or smelling good, the taste elicited a blissful hum. He couldn't stop himself. Good understated this taste far too much. Licking one finger, he paused to respond. "I've never really thought about humans like that. A spider web?" But he supposed it was only natural not to look at humans as a whole, being one of them himself. He had no reason to contemplate the nature of his species. "But I don't think it's so bad to be selfish."

Gemini was going a good amount slower with her fish, enjoying the taste. She smiled a little, glad that he was very clearly happy with his meal. "Yes, like a spider web." She confirmed. "A spider's silk is actually quite strong and durable, which is why it does not break when the fly struggles. But at the same time, it is fragile and fleeting. That is the way humanity is." She said. She contemplated his next words as she chewed another bite. Swallowing, she nodded. "I suppose you're right. It isn't bad to be a little selfish, as long as you balance it out." Where was all this coming from? She had never been philosophical. What was it about this human that was bringing out her thoughtful side?

"I...guess..." Shail hummed, still not quite sure how to take this metaphor. "Spider silk is probably too nice a thing for humans though." For some reason, Gemini's words made him flush, like it might be a very wondrous thing to be a spider web. She didn't speak it like a compliment, but rather an observation or a thing to contemplate. And he himself couldn't tell why he liked the idea so much. In order to hide the emotion, he went back to eating and finished the meal with far greater speed than Gemini. Sitting there feeling awkward, he wondered what to do then. With some level of embarrassment and over-awareness in general toward the djinn, he didn't want to linger long. "Isn't there something to do to pass the time here?"

Gemini shrugged. That was his opinion, and not for her to question. She continued to eat her meal slowly, even after Shail had finished his. When he questioned her about what there was to do, she put her fish down, looking thoughtful. "I have games and cards- though I don't know many card games besides solitaire. I could play some music, if you wanted." That was all she could think of. It was slightly depressing, suddenly realizing just how boring her life was. After so many hundreds of years, had she really grown so used to doing...nothing? It seemed so lonely. Was she lonely? The emotion was hard to pin down, and she found that she wasn't really sure. How pathetic. She thought to herself.

Shail pondered her answer. At home, there was not always time to waste the days away such activities. Through out the day, they did work and chores. He would play in the streets with the other boys when well enough. But in the evenings, that was time for family. They played music and told stories which he often felt too practical for, but now wished he paid more mind to. When working, they would play word games to keep the tasks from getting monotonous or the boys would fight and pretend. None of that seemed to exist here so when Gemini mentioned music, he looked at her with interest. "So djinn also play music?" It was the one point in common. He didn't even know how to play cards though he saw them before.

Gemini opened her mouth to respond that yes, djinn did play music, when she realized that she didn't actually know that. She couldn't recall having ever met another djinn who had any taste in music- not that she'd asked, but still. However, she was a djinn and she played music, so she figured the answer must be yes. Now she wasn't so sure. She shrugged. "Well, I do, anyway. I can't speak for all djinn, of course. But I've always enjoyed music." And she'd had all the time in the world to learn how to make music, so she had.

Despite such a vague answer, Shail found himself smiling. He supposed he asked something difficult anyway. If he thought about it, Gemini was the only djinn he knew and therefore, the only one that mattered. Who really cared if other djinn played music? Though he wondered if djinn had families and knew each other like humans did. He got the feeling they did not and he hesitated to ask in case he stepped on any toes. After all, the legends of his village only spoke of this one djinn. Surely no other one resided nearby. A second later, he wiped the smile off his face, not wanting to appear too interested. "Ah, I see. If you want to play, then I suppose I wouldn't mind hearing it."

Gemini almost missed the smile. Almost. She was busy thinking about whether she actually knew any djinn who liked music, and happened to glance up just in time to see Shail smiling a real smile. It was gone in an instant, but it had been there, and that fact filled her with a strange, light feeling she couldn't quite place. Judging by his tone, she guessed he was curious about her music, or maybe about her, but he didn't want to show it. She didn't comment on it. "I haven't played in a while." She said. "I think it is time to make music again." With that, she stood gracefully and went to her bed, where she rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a flute. She brought it back to the fire, sat down, and started to play.

((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eijdNQMYikY))

Shail did his best to look disinterested, but the second she started to play, he couldn't lie. A peaceful look came over his face. It wasn't quite like the music his mother and aunts played, but it reminded him of those fire-lit nights. Sometimes they would dance, or sing, or just close their eyes and listen to the stars. He found his eyes slipping closed now as he listened. Could he hear or feel the stars from here? Maybe he just kidded himself, but through all this cave and the daylight still outside, he thought he could. Or maybe it was because a cave lay over him that such a lie could be lived. When Gemini finished her song, he breathed out. "You play well..."

As Gemini played, she slipped into a familiar place where the world around her ceased to exist. The music resonated from a place inside of her that existed solely for this purpose, and echoed outward until it became sound. She was the music, and the air around her, and the instrument. Some may have called this state of mind a trance, or enlightenment. She never thought much about it- it had been a part of her for as long as she could remember. She could only reach it through her music. When the song was finished, she became aware of taking a breath, and the world around her slowly faded back into existence. She tuned in just in time to hear Shail speak. She smiled, a tiny but genuine smile. "Thank you." She said. She felt lighter, somehow, happier than she had been in a long while. That always happened when she played- it was a cleansing experience for her. "It is one of the few things in this world I truly enjoy." She didn't realize it was true until she had said it.

Shail ducked his eyes, but in a way understood. It sounded like she truly enjoyed playing. He himself, never found a single experience that made him feel like that. No hobbies, no places that were entirely his own. Only a few recent years as a healthy boy did that to a person. "You must have had a long time to perfect it though. Don't djinn live a very long time?" he asked, sticking to the facts rather than emotions right now. Or maybe djinn lived forever. Legends were not a good source of facts and it seemed they twisted what they did say far past the truth. If he was to stay here for a while, he needed to know more.

Gemini nodded, thinking back. She actually couldn't remember when she had started playing, which was odd since she generally remembered...well, everything. There was just a certain point in her existence that seemed blurred and dark, and she couldn't remember anything past that point. She figured that must have been the point when she came into being, which meant that she had been playing music for as long as she'd existed. "Yes, I've had quite a long time, though I feel that I was always talented at it." She said. "Djinn do live quite a long time, though no one is sure just how long. There are rumors even among our kind of djinn who have lived since the universe began, but of course no one has met such a being. I myself am on the younger side, having lived only a few centuries. There are ways to kill djinn...I believe, I don't know what they are, though...but unless we are killed, I think my kind live indefinitely." She had no way of knowing whether that was true, but it sounded right. "I could teach you to play, if you'd like. Perhaps not the flute, though." With his breathing problems, the flute wasn't the best idea. "There are other instruments that require only one's hands. You may be good at those."