Faith eased up out of her defensive stance, giving herself a mental kick. That shouldn't have happened. She should have heard him coming, felt him coming, and yet he'd managed to slip under her radar. That hadn't happened in years and she wondered whether it was something off in her or something about this living ship.

Yes, Faith knew that it was alive. She didn't know *how* it was that she knew. Something primal and raw in her recognized the entity as living, as knowing, and the predator was not threatened by it, only calmed. (A little too calmed, and I'm not thinkin' that's a good thing.)

"Not really the sleeps at night sorta girl," Faith explained, slowly breathing out and letting the tension flow from her muscles. "I'm really the more nocturnal kind, ya know? I kinda wake up and get in touch with myself when the sun goes down. Had a ... roommate who told me that it was all part of my biorhythms, that I go online when it's nighttime when most people are gettin' all cozied into bed.

"She was sorta right, I guess. I'm all awake and keyed up, you know, I could run a mile or somethin' right now, and everybody else is catching zzz's and chasin' sheep." Faith noticed the coffee dripping slow and walked over to the pot. "Everybody 'cept me and you, I guess. Um, you wanna cup?"