Ava didn't have to ask around long to know that the commander had finished what business he had and found shelter in the yurt-like structure he had indicated to before they parted ways. She made her way there, quietly opening the door. The light from outside poured in through the opening, illuminating the space enough to see the commander's form tucked between the covers. Not wanting to disturb him, she shut the door silently and unlaced her boots on the mat at the entrance. Much of the ground outside was still damp with morning dew, and not only did she not want to track in mud but she didn't want to create additional noise. In her socks, she padded over to the bed carefully, mindful of the weight she distributed on her feet. At the bed side, she unbuttoned and unzipped her pants, letting them fall to her ankles while she simultaneously crawled into bed. Easing her head down to the pillow, she could feel the warmth of Nick's body across from hers, soothing since her skin was still cool to the touch from an ice cold shower and her hair was still slightly damp. She closed her eyes, momentarily enjoying the feeling of the soft mattress against her back. Though it was not<i>as</i>comfortable as the sleeping arrangements she was used to at the compound, it was certainly better than the alternative; in a tree, balancing on a limb with limited mobility. Ava could only appreciate it for so long before she was drifting to sleep, the fatigue of long days and longer nights in the field finally catching up to her.<br/><br/>While her body was tired, her mind was still at work, conjuring up images of pale, lifeless bodies lying in the dirt. In the heights of the trees they perched in, she had come to terms with the fact that there was no cure for the condition of the infected. The parasites had irrevocably altered their biology and psychology, making it so that they were nothing more than suits to carry out their agenda to convert and populate. It was the emotional part of her that latched onto the victims the way she did. With their bodies having to be broken down with acid and scorched with fire to ensure the elimination of the parasites, she couldn't help but feel for them-- at least the ones that were unfortunate casualties of cult activity. Her subconscious wouldn't seem to let her forget that there would be no closure for their loved ones, no trace of their physical being to preserve their memory. After a few hours of the most restful sleep she had gotten in days, her eyes snapped open. Her vibrant green eyes adjusted to the darkness of the space while her slightly elevated heart rate began to come down. A couple of deep breaths and she was relaxed again, though it took some effort to get back to sleep again.<br/><br/>For a while she simply stared up at the pitched ceiling, trying not to be so reflective on the last few days by occupying her mind with other things. Thinking of how she was ever going to fill the commander’s shoes when she could hardly get past taking a life that was already gone, surely wasn’t helping. She turned onto her side, facing him while he slept. A soft smile tugged at her lips, amused knowing it was as peaceful as he would ever look. So often he awakened before her that she never really had the chance to see him this way, or what she could see of him in the dark. She would have curled up close to him had he not smelled man musk and the great outdoors, which wasn’t so great. Ava closed her eyes finally, and though she didn’t fall asleep right away, she returned to sleep eventually without quite realizing it. Unlike before, she wasn’t as bothered as she was before, likely getting it all out of her system with all the worrying she had done in the last hour.