The meeting ended there, with Captain Erbair's promise to take care of the matter related to the knife. Khan had even been vague on purpose so that the soldier could decide the quality of the weapon on her own.
The battle against the monster had shown to Khan once again how the Lightning-demon style had evident flaws. Stronger opponents could endure his quick blows, and the issue had started to annoy him.
Captain Erbair would take a bit to get the knife, and Khan planned to approach the competent proficiency level with the Lightning-demon style in that time. He didn't commit any mistake during the last battle, so his plan didn't sound too unreasonable when he thought about it.
Hesitation filled Khan's mind when he stepped on the camp's streets. The faint sound of cheers and laughs reached his ears when he approached the building with the various rooms. Clearly, the recruits were celebrating the important achievement, but he didn't feel in the mood to lie and pretend for a whole night.
Even lying about his condition to isolate himself into his room didn't sound like a good option. Khan's hand and waist still needed care, but the other recruits had seen him riding the Aduns for half a day without flinching. They would understand that he was only coming up with excuses to remain alone.
Khan felt the intense desire to stop pretending, but Nitis only gave him two options where he could be himself. One of them saw him being on his own, and the other involved Liiza. Luckily for him, the mountains offered him the chance to get both of them.
The metal doors of the building began to slide open, but Khan quickly sprinted toward the exit of the camp before the laughing recruits could lay their eyes on him. No one could notice him while he kept running until the base was nothing more than a tiny dot in the distance. He could directly sit on the ground and wait for his companion to arrive at that point.
The azure light radiated from the city in the distance shone on his face from time to time, but Khan barely noticed it. He meditated among the uneven plain until a foreign sensation spread inside his mind and made him gaze at the descending white figure.
Khan let Snow enjoy itself as a reward for the long and tedious flights of the last days. The Aduns didn't go too hard on him since bandages still covered his left hand and waist, but it still accelerated and spun whenever it felt right. The eagle only held back from performing sudden dives.
The familiar mountain with the flat spot near its half eventually unfolded in Khan's eyes. Still, his gaze immediately went on a dark figure sleeping in the corner of the rocky wall. Liiza was wearing a large black tracksuit, and she was using its big hood as a pillow while she rested on the uncomfortable rocks.
Snow didn't hesitate to drop Khan on the flat area and set off while making sure to remain silent. Liiza sensed their arrival and awakened anyway, but the eagle didn't want to disturb the couple more than necessary since it could feel part of Khan's foul mood.
"I knew you wouldn't have rested at all," Liiza exclaimed in a sleepy voice while opening the upper part of her tracksuit and showing the white tank top under it. "I'll make sure that you rest tonight."
Liiza patted her lap and took off the large upper part of the tracksuit. It turned out to be a hoodie that she wanted to use as a blanket to cover Khan.
Khan smiled and crouched to kiss Liiza, but she promptly covered his mouth and stopped his actions.
"No kissing until you rest," Liiza explained. "Licking won't get you anywhere today."
Liiza sensed Khan's smile from under her palm. She could feel his compliance in his tired gaze, so she slowly retracted her hand and stretched her legs to create a pillow for him.
Khan lay on the ground and placed his head on Liiza's lap. She shook her head when she saw that he made his face point toward her waist. She could sense his nose and mouth touching the skin covered by the thin tank top, and her lower lip inevitably ended between her teeth.
Still, Liiza managed to restrain herself when she saw the bandages on Khan's hand. She placed the hoodie over him before reaching his hair to caress it.
The thin tank top couldn't stop Khan's breath. Khan made her waist warm in no time, and she couldn't help but pull his hair softly whenever he kissed her in that spot.
"Stop!" Liiza exclaimed as cute giggles came out of her mouth. "I'll lift every restriction in a few hours if you behave!"
Khan stopped teasing Liiza after those words. He continued to breathe warm air on her waist, but he didn't try anything funny again.
The two remained in that position for a while. Khan bathed in the cold sensations released by Liiza's body, and she caressed his hair while enjoying the warmth he carried.
The smile on Liiza's face slowly disappeared when she noticed the few strands of azure hair on Khan's head. That was her first time seeing them, and she inevitably connected them to the large scar on his chest.
"I couldn't sneak out any medicine," Liiza couldn't help but say when the images seen through the binoculars crossed her eyes. "I-I was afraid that they could find out about us."
Khan instinctively tilted his head to gaze at Liiza when he heard the hesitation in her voice. Her face had grown aloof, and she even diverted her eyes. There seemed to be shame and sadness in her expression.
Khan felt the urge to hug her, but Liiza promptly pushed his head back on her lap as soon as he tried to straighten his position.
"I know what you are about to say," Liiza snorted. "It's not my fault. I did the right thing. Humans have good meds too. That's all true, but it's annoying anyway. I had to stay put while the monster hurt you, and I can't even help you with your injuries. I can't do anything for you."
Khan suddenly realized that Liiza had probably seen the battle. Paul was the only one in the group who could have been close enough to record the hunt, and she had been with him.
He couldn't even start to imagine how she must have felt during the hunt. Liiza didn't only force herself to ignore him after noticing his injured state. She had to remain still while he endured lightning bolts.
Khan had felt angry when the other Niqols ignored her. He didn't know how he would have reacted during the hunt if he were in her place.
"It's not about what you can do for me," Khan eventually said while caressing her side with the back of his sane hand. "It's about showing my true face. I don't need to lie and pretend when I'm with you, and that's everything for me right now."
Liiza's expression froze at those words. Her eyes slowly returned on Khan, and the two inevitably stared at each other for a while. Khan even started to straighten his position again, but Liiza eventually remembered to put him down.
"A few nice words won't be enough today," Liiza snorted as her voice grew sweeter and a smile reappeared on her face. "I know that you have barely slept since we got together, but you went through a lot just two days ago. Please, rest for a bit. Do it for me."
Liiza was basically begging Khan, and the latter read her worry on her face. She desperately wanted to do something for him, even if it meant forcing him to sleep.
Khan moved his gaze on the white tank top, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He had already slept for the entire day, and he had even gone through the nightmare multiple times since the pain coming out of his hand had often awakened him.
He didn't feel sleepy, and he had no desire to review the Second Impact. Khan only wanted to be himself after spending more than two days pretending to be a perfect soldier, and he wished for Liiza to be part of that time.
"I hate sleeping," Khan eventually revealed.
"That was obvious," Liiza gave voice to a faint laugh, "But your body needs it now. Get back on your feet so you can jump on me again."
Liiza never stopped caressing Khan, but he wasn't really paying attention. He felt her careful touch and heard her teases, but his focus was on different thoughts.
"I can't stop dreaming about it," Khan whispered, and Liiza frowned since she didn't understand the meaning behind his words.
"What do yo-?" Liiza started to ask, but Khan interrupted her before she could finish her line.
"I always relive the day when I got this," Khan revealed while patting his chest. "The fire, the corpses, the smoke, everything returns as soon as I fall asleep."
Liiza felt dumbfounded, and even her hands stopped caressing Khan. She slowly absorbed his words, but it felt hard to apply them to the real world.
"Do you have nightmares about the Nak?" Liiza eventually asked. "Isn't that normal after a trauma? I bet many Niqols will dream about the monster for the next months."
"You don't understand," Khan sighed as he turned to stare at the dark sky. "It's not a nightmare that appears every once in a while. I dream about the incident every time I fall asleep. I relive it from the fire to the arrival of the Nak. It has gone on for almost twelve years by now."
Liiza's eyes widened at that point. Her hand carefully went under Khan's uniform to touch his azure scar, but she didn't feel anything off there. Her fingers then reached his forehead, but nothing happened there either.
"Twelve years, you say?" Liiza asked in a worried tone. "Did they ever miss a day?"
"No," Khan revealed. "I have the nightmare if I'm asleep. No exceptions."
Liiza fell deep into her thoughts. One of her hands even left Khan's head to scratch her cheek while she reviewed the issue.
Khan's condition didn't seem to come from his psyche, but Liiza couldn't confirm that mana was the issue either. Yet, Niqols had a great understanding of that energy, and she could think of many figures that could help him.
"I might know someone," Liiza announced after a while.
"I have already sought help," Khan sighed. "It didn't work. I actually joined the army to find the Nak and see if I can put an end to this problem."
Liiza opened her mouth at that important revelation, but she held back from talking about it now. She had something more important to say to her boyfriend now.
"You don't understand," Liiza explained. "The Niqols can help you search for eventual stains in your mana."
"But I had these nightmares before obtaining mana," Khan complained.
"The Nak's mana changed you!" Liiza shouted in a helpless tone. "You smell like a Nak, your eyes and hair carry their shades, and you clearly have a great talent for mana. I'm saying that the cause of the nightmares can be in your mutations, and I know someone who can help without exposing us."
