Limits.

It was dark already so I said to her "We need to camp here . I have a few animal skins with me so we can use that as our beds . Let me make the fire first" . She nodded slightly while I went to collect some wood for the fire . A while later, I returned with enough wood and lit the fire .

I took out some animal skins and fur to use as our beds . I wanted to hand some of them to her but she looked at me and said "I"m fine, I don"t need to sleep" . I was a bit stunned and asked "What? You don"t need to sleep at all?" to which she laughed and said "No, I do sleep but I"m not tired . I don"t have to sleep as often as you humans do" . I responded "Alright, as you like" and started to make my makeshift bed .

It didn"t take long for me to finish . I laid down in my bed and closed my eyes . "I"m tired, that past few days were too eventful . I better get some proper rest" I thought . Before I could fall asleep, I could feel something moving next to me . I opened my eyes and looked behind me .

"What are you doing?" I asked . She replied as if it was natural "I just want to sit next to you, why do you ask?" . " . . . Just do whatever you want then" and closed my eyes again . I wanted to fall asleep but she had different plans . She asked "Hey, what is your name? I told you mine, shouldn"t you also tell me yours?" . My first thought was "Will I even get some rest with her around? Can"t I just fall asleep peacefully?" and then replied "I"m Nex" .

She said "Nex… that is a weird name" . "Just . . . What the f.u.c.k? Why am I the one with the weird name all the time?" I thought but I decided to not comment on that . She then asked "How old are you?" . I opened my eyes and turned around . "I"m 24, do you have any other questions?" to which she said "Yea, I have a lot" .

I gave up at that point . She would probably pester me for the whole night . I decided to ask some of my questions instead . I asked "What is that aura or power that you spoke of? I clearly never felt anything like it . Are you sure I have something like this?" to which she nodded her head and said "Of course . Otherwise I wouldn"t be this strong . The aura seeps out of you when you sleep and I absorb it" .

"Hmmm . . . Now that I think about it, the only thing that could be connected to that aura or power is the Dark Traveller from my dreams . If so, what is the purpose of that aura or power?" I thought and decided to ask . "What is it exactly? Is it an aura like this?" I said and released an Aura of Dominance . She seemed stunned a bit but shook her head and said "No, it"s nothing like this . It"s like a dark cloud or smoke coming out from you, I collect and absorb it . I don"t know how you can produce it either but it is beneficial to me" .

"So that"s how it is! When I dream, the aura must be enveloping my body . This may be the reason why I use so much energy in my dreams . The aura consumes my energy and therefore, I feel hungry when I wake up . Besides that, due to energy used, I get stronger and my body is able to improve . This makes sense now!" I thought .

I knew that I was getting stronger thanks to my dreams but I didn"t know how exactly . Doing some exercises in my dream would not impact the reality . "This is where that aura comes in . The more I use it, the more energy I spend and the more my body improves . There also seems to be rules on what is improved, it probably depends on which dream I have . It doesn"t improve my body alone, it can also do so with my sense and my mind . Now I finally know how my dreams work!" I thought .

"This is good and all but wouldn"t that mean, she took a bit of my aura? Wouldn"t I suffer due to that? I mean, I don"t know how much she is taking . I should ask!" I thought and asked her "How much of that aura do you absorb?" . She thought about it and answered "Very little actually . I can"t absorb much of it because it is very strong and takes me a long time to refine it . I don"t think you should be worried about anything" .

"If what she says is true then there is no need to be worried, I guess . It"s not like I won"t get something out of it either . I will get to learn those stealth skills . I think that is a fair trade" I thought and said "So you are called Laly, right?", she responded "Yes, you remember" . I asked her "Then how old are you Laly?" . She thought about it for a while and said "Do you want to know human years or Eterian years?" . I was confused "What? What does that even mean? A year is a year" . I asked confused "Isn"t that the same thing? A year means a year, four seasons pa.s.s meaning a year" . She laughed a bit and said "No, I didn"t mean it like that . We Eterians live longer, a lot longer than you humans . My Eterian age is longer but human equivalent is smaller . I will give you an example" . I was still confused but I waited for her further explanation .

"For example, when Eterian is 100 years old, it means that it reached adulthood . It would be equivalent to human"s adulthood . When you are about 16 years of age, you reach adulthood . That is what I meant . "

I was shocked to be honest . "100 years to reach adulthood? Then how long can those Eterians live? 1000 years?" I thought and asked "So you have like over 100 years?" . She said "Yes, I"m 113 years old . Which would be about 17 years old human equivalent" . I had only one thought in my mind "d.a.m.n!" .

Who wouldn"t want to live that long . I decided to ask "So you want to tell me, you can live like 1000 years?" She smiled and replied "No, of course not . The oldest Eterians live up to 500 years but that is rare . Our lifespan ends at around 420th year" . I said "Still, that is couple of human generations . No wonder you have such constraints placed upon your race" . I then recalled the Cliff Walker . Those moving plants also had huge constraints placed on their kind . They didn"t have predators but reproducing was very difficult for them . "Eterians seem to be in the same boat" I thought .

I said "Wow, you are 4 times as old as me . I should call you grandma Laly" . I said it as a joke of course but she didn"t seem to like that . Her response was quite angry "I"m not old! I"m still very young, younger than you!" . I thought I will tease her more and said "How can you be younger than me? I lived for 24 years and you for over a 100 . Everyone would say that you are older" . She again argued back that she wasn"t old . I decided to drop it and said "I don"t really care how old you are . I was just messing with you . Do you have any other questions? I would like to get some rest" .

She realized something and said "Right, you must be tired . I don"t have any other questions . You can sleep now" . I said "OK, grandma Laly" and closed my eyes . I could still hear some grumbling behind me but she soon stopped . I was able to get some sleep finally .It was dark already so I said to her We need to camp here . I have a few animal skins with me so we can use that as our beds . Let me make the fire first . She nodded slightly while I went to collect some wood for the fire . A while later, I returned with enough wood and lit the fire . I took out some animal skins and fur to use as our beds . I wanted to hand some of them to her but she looked at me and said Im fine, I dont need to sleep . I was a bit stunned and asked What? You dont need to sleep at all? to which she laughed and said No, I do sleep but Im not tired . I dont have to sleep as often as you humans do . I responded Alright, as you like and started to make my makeshift bed . It didnt take long for me to finish . I laid down in my bed and closed my eyes . Im tired, that past few days were too eventful . I better get some proper rest I thought . Before I could fall asleep, I could feel something moving next to me . I opened my eyes and looked behind me . What are you doing? I asked . She replied as if it was natural I just want to sit next to you, why do you ask? . . Just do whatever you want then and closed my eyes again . I wanted to fall asleep but she had different plans . She asked Hey, what is your name? I told you mine, shouldnt you also tell me yours? . My first thought was Will I even get some rest with her around? Cant I just fall asleep peacefully? and then replied Im Nex . She said Nex… that is a weird name . Just . What the f.u.c.k? Why am I the one with the weird name all the time? I thought but I decided to not comment on that . She then asked How old are you? . I opened my eyes and turned around . Im 24, do you have any other questions? to which she said Yea, I have a lot . I gave up at that point . She would probably pester me for the whole night . I decided to ask some of my questions instead . I asked What is that aura or power that you spoke of? I clearly never felt anything like it . Are you sure I have something like this? to which she nodded her head and said Of course . Otherwise I wouldnt be this strong . The aura seeps out of you when you sleep and I absorb it . Hmmm . Now that I think about it, the only thing that could be connected to that aura or power is the Dark Traveller from my dreams . If so, what is the purpose of that aura or power? I thought and decided to ask . What is it exactly? Is it an aura like this? I said and released an Aura of Dominance . She seemed stunned a bit but shook her head and said No, its nothing like this . Its like a dark cloud or smoke coming out from you, I collect and absorb it . I dont know how you can produce it either but it is beneficial to me . So thats how it is! When I dream, the aura must be enveloping my body . This may be the reason why I use so much energy in my dreams . The aura consumes my energy and therefore, I feel hungry when I wake up . Besides that, due to energy used, I get stronger and my body is able to improve . This makes sense now! I thought I knew that I was getting stronger thanks to my dreams but I didnt know how exactly . Doing some exercises in my dream would not impact the reality . This is where that aura comes in . The more I use it, the more energy I spend and the more my body improves . There also seems to be rules on what is improved, it probably depends on which dream I have . It doesnt improve my body alone, it can also do so with my sense and my mind . Now I finally know how my dreams work! I thought . This is good and all but wouldnt that mean, she took a bit of my aura? Wouldnt I suffer due to that? I mean, I dont know how much she is taking . I should ask! I thought and asked her How much of that aura do you absorb? . She thought about it and answered Very little actually . I cant absorb much of it because it is very strong and takes me a long time to refine it . I dont think you should be worried about anything . If what she says is true then there is no need to be worried, I guess . Its not like I wont get something out of it either . I will get to learn those stealth skills . I think that is a fair trade I thought and said So you are called Laly, right?, she responded Yes, you remember . I asked her Then how old are you Laly? . She thought about it for a while and said Do you want to know human years or Eterian years? . I was confused What? What does that even mean? A year is a year . I asked confused Isnt that the same thing? A year means a year, four seasons pa.s.s meaning a year . She laughed a bit and said No, I didnt mean it like that . We Eterians live longer, a lot longer than you humans . My Eterian age is longer but human equivalent is smaller . I will give you an example . I was still confused but I waited for her further explanation . For example, when Eterian is 100 years old, it means that it reached adulthood . It would be equivalent to humans adulthood . When you are about 16 years of age, you reach adulthood . That is what I meant . I was shocked to be honest . 100 years to reach adulthood? Then how long can those Eterians live? 1000 years? I thought and asked So you have like over 100 years? . She said Yes, Im 113 years old . Which would be about 17 years old human equivalent . I had only one thought in my mind d.a.m.n! . Who wouldnt want to live that long . I decided to ask So you want to tell me, you can live like 1000 years? She smiled and replied No, of course not . The oldest Eterians live up to 500 years but that is rare . Our lifespan ends at around 420th year . I said Still, that is couple of human generations . No wonder you have such constraints placed upon your race . I then recalled the Cliff Walker . Those moving plants also had huge constraints placed on their kind . They didnt have predators but reproducing was very difficult for them . Eterians seem to be in the same boat I thought . I said Wow, you are 4 times as old as me . I should call you grandma Laly . I said it as a joke of course but she didnt seem to like that . Her response was quite angry Im not old! Im still very young, younger than you! . I thought I will tease her more and said How can you be younger than me? I lived for 24 years and you for over a 100 . Everyone would say that you are older . She again argued back that she wasnt old . I decided to drop it and said I dont really care how old you are . I was just messing with you . Do you have any other questions? I would like to get some rest . She realized something and said Right, you must be tired . I dont have any other questions . You can sleep now . I said OK, grandma Laly and closed my eyes . I could still hear some grumbling behind me but she soon stopped . I was able to get some sleep finally .