“There always is when hunting game.” Lephas agreed. “Unfortunately, it's highly likely we won't succeed; at least not the first time. We've just got to hope the harsh winter and that snow storm we had yesterday has left a lot of rabbits hungry and willing to take risks.”
Lephas glanced at Lori, the look on her face was clearly evident.
“Don't you dare say 'poor bunny' again.” He grinned.
Lori laughed. “Sorry, sorry! I can't help it.”
Lephas reached for his pack and unfurled the rolled mattress. He laid it out flat in the snow.
“Here, lie on this. We might be waiting a while.” He gestured to the mat.
Lori got down onto her stomach, resting her weight on her elbows. “What about you? You're hurting already and lying in the snow isn't going to help. We can share.” She shifted across.
“Alright, but remember we have to be quiet.” Lephas lay down beside her. He hissed with pain as he got comfortable, clearly favouring his right side, and shunted his sword out of the way.
“You're suffering today, aren't you?” Lori whispered.
“Yeah, it's hurting a lot.” He admitted, his voice soft and low. He kept his eyes trained determinedly through the undergrowth, focussed on rabbit look-out.
Lori was far more absorbed in watching him. She tried to feign the same level of interest in capturing a rabbit, but she couldn't stop herself from glancing across at the commander's handsome face.
He was sat up slightly, also resting his weight on his elbows. They lay beside one another, so close that their shoulders were touching. If he was aware of her looking at him, he did a good job of ignoring her. His dark eyes were fixed solely on the bait.
They both lay still, only breaking the heavy silence when one of them shifted to get more comfortable and the snow creaked beneath their weight.
Lori's heart hammered in her chest. She so badly wanted to touch and kiss him again, but he was so fixated on this rabbit. Would he be angry with her if she distracted him?
Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, Lephas sighed heavily.
“Still nothing. Usually you'd set up these snares and go home for the day and check back on them in the morning, but we need this to work for us tonight,” he murmured.
“It's a pretty boring first date, I'll admit that much.” Lori teased, keeping her voice low.
“Since when were we on a date?” Lephas asked with an incredulous look on his face.
“We're not, but, y'know, if we'd met in a normal capacity and had kissed like we did yesterday, then I would have considered today to be our first date.” Lori joked.
“Well shit, thisisa bad date even by my standards then.” Lephas laughed quietly.
They fell into a comfortable silence once more. Lori shifted under the pretence of adjusting her position and deliberately pressed herself a little closer to the demon. He didn't move away from her.
A bird sang nearby, its warble echoing through the forest. Lori fought to keep her eyes trained on the still empty clearing. They had been waiting for at least an hour already, with nothing to show for it.
“You said rabbits like to come out at dusk, didn't you?” Lori whispered, breaking the silence once more.
“Yes, but that's not a hard and fast rule. We needed to start early to stand a chance of getting something to eat this evening. I wanted to get our scents clear from the area,” Lephas replied.
“I'm bored,” she retorted, resulting in a low chuckle from the demon.
“Yeah, me too, but we have to stay here and keep trying. Unless you’d rather go hungry?” He shot her a grin.
Lori huffed, pausing thoughtfully. “I've got an idea for how we could pass the time.” Her heart sped up, stomach flipping nervously as she took the plunge.
“Yeah?” Lephas eyed her curiously. The look on his face suggested he knew what she was implying, but she wasn't ever really sure with the demon.
“Yeah,” Lori replied simply. As quietly as she could manage, she rolled onto her back and turned her head to face him.
So far,shehad grabbed him before they hurtled off the cliff andshehad started the kiss in the log... This time Lori was determined not to make the first move.
