Mirrah couldn't stand it. When Lorena left that night, Mirrah was just about ready to protest to Phsara about the entire ordeal. Why was she allowed to leave when Mirrah was forced to say? Didn't the hermit say something about a rotting corpse being some kind of curse for the mountain or whatever hoodoo that old disconnected recluses complained about? While Mirrah had to deal with the hermit's chidings, which seemed to border on threats in Mirrah's perspective, Lorena, who had just climbed the entire mountain and then some, only received a mere shrug.

A shrug!

And on top of all that, Mirrah was now stuck in the hermitage with the exact pirate that had kidnapped her (well she wasn't sure who exactly it was, but all those pirates were the same to her anyway). The dinner they had was as quiet as a mortuary. They had exchanged one line of dialogue and it wasn't Mirrah that spoke, but Wilhelm.

"I don't believe we got your name. Care to introduce yourself?"

"...It's Dusk."

"Ah. Dusk. A pleasure to meet you."

"..."

And that was all that anyone had to say about life, about themselves, and about the food. Phsara sat with her eyes virtually closed, eating quietly and properly. Wilhelm scurried out of there as fast as he could so he could start working on the horns he had just received, much like a child with a new toy. The pirate, on the other hand, ate with a furrowed brow and a distant look. His eyes were locked on the front door for a good while before he gave up doing whatever it was he was doing and became content with staring at his bowl of stew.

It would've been okay to continue shouting at the pirate if he had at least shouted back or scowled at her or something. Every time she looked at Dusk's face, his expression would grow more distant until it seemed like he wasn't even in the same room anymore. Like he were living in a past event that was even more troubling than having to carry an unconscious woman all the way to shore from way out in the sea.

Mirrah couldn't help but sigh with that thought now. Without having and excuse to be angry at the pirate anymore, she couldn't do anything now but feel a bit sorry. And maybe a bit guilty. And those feelings kept her up all throughout the night well into the morning. Wilhelm hadn't once left the study to keep her company or even check on her condition, and quite frankly it wasn't surprising to see him passed out in front of the desk inside the study, still dressed in his coat and his hat. Dusk was still fast asleep in his cot.

Mirrah took a breath and sat herself down besides Dusk's bed. She had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but it had to be done. In a way, she had been running away from responsibility since the pirate incident. It had been at least a day or two since then, plenty of time to think it over. Even if the man was the reason all of that had happened, even if he had mistaken her for someone else entirely, even if he did aggressively try to subdue her and put her up for ransom, he did launch himself into the ocean for Mirrah. He did swim Mirrah leagues of rolling ocean to get to safety. He did save her life.

Dusk stirred in bed, rolling onto his side for a moment before flinching at the sight of Mirrah. "Hael--" He let out a sharp breath, letting his head fall back onto the pillow. "You scared the shit out of me..."

Mirrah pursed her lips, eye twitching. No, she would have to resist the urge to argue. This time at least.

He pushed himself up on his cot, apparently already fully dressed. Not that Mirrah blamed him. Waking up half naked in the presence of so many strangers almost made Mirrah want to sleep with her gauntlet still strapped to her arm for decency's sake. Dusk blinked the sleep out of his eyes, taking a glance out the window to take note of the morning before returning a rather suspicious look at Mirrah. "Any reason why you're watchin' me sleep?"

"Just shut up for a second and listen to me, okay?"

Dusk ran a hand through his hair, frowning. "Okay..."

Mirrah sucked in a deep breath and then flung her head down in a deep bow, her eyes shut tightly. "I'm sorry for how I treated you yesterday! I said some things that were out of line and rude, even if I was right, especially since you rescued me after I fell overboard." She let out a small sigh, remembering the long fall over the side of the ship and the sudden loss of her sense of balance, the sudden loss of any sort of ground underneath her, and then the paralyzing fear of being lost and without air. "I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you. I owe you my life."