“Will you tell me if there are any sounds that I make that you don’t like?”
“I like all your sounds.” Axon didn’t shy away. He held my gaze as if he were making sure that his words penetrated into my soul.
“Oh,” I looked away first. My cheeks were hot, and I knew I must have been blushing.
“Last night you didn’t sound like how you usually do when you sleep,” he continued. “You tossed and turned a lot. Was your bed uncomfortable?”
“Axon, I was lying on fifteen blankets. Of course my bed was comfortable,” I laughed. “And you listen to the sounds I make when I sleep? How can you tell me apart from all the other women in the cavern?”
“I memorized the way you sound that first night when we met. Your nose whistles a little when you breathe. It makes it easy for me to pick you out of a crowd,” he admitted.
“Wow, I had no idea. Do you listen to me every night?”
Axon chose not to answer that question and just shrugged his shoulders.
“What was disturbing your sleep?” he pressed on.
“I... I just had a lot on my mind. It took me a while to fall asleep.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He ventured.
“Not really,” I sighed. I was still sorting out my feelings myself. I wasn’t sure adding another person’s opinion to the mix would be a good idea.
After a long moment of silence, Axon tried again. “It can be difficult to talk about things sometimes. If it helps, you can ask me anything you want.”
He glanced up from his food with a hopeful expression on his face. Maybe it would help to talk to someone about what was going on with me. I felt settled and at peace about my ace identity, but the question of what I was going to do when I luminesed was another matter entirely.
“Thank you for the offer. I’ll think about it.” I didn’t feel brave enough to discuss it right now, but maybe after a few days of being stuck in this cave together, I’d feel more inclined to have that conversation.
After I finished eating, I checked on my clothes and found they were dry. I changed in the private cave off to the side of the main cavern and breathed a sigh of relief to be fully clothed again.
I walked back to the fire to find Axon had justfinished cleaning up from our meal.
“Do you want to check out the crystal cave?” he asked.
“I’d love to! Is it far?”
“No, it’s not too far,” he assured me.
There were three tunnels that split off from the main cavern. We took the one furthest to the right. As we walked, the tunnel got darker and darker. Every once in a while, I could feel a draft when we passed a connecting tunnel. It was incredible that Axon could navigate this place.
I tripped over a rock and Axon caught me, careful to only touch my clothes and not my skin.
“Here, hold on to my belt as we walk.” Axon pointed to his woven leather belt. I gently curled my fingers around the fabric, careful not to touch his skin, either.
It was different now between us. There was less tension now that I knew he liked my touch, but he just couldn’t handle it. I was less afraid of how he’d react if I brushed against his skin, and his lighthearted side had returned. It was nice.
After a few more twists and turns in the tunnel system, we entered a large cavern with walls that sparkled in the darkness.
“Here.” Axon bent down and put something on the ground. Then I heard the familiar sound of flint as he struck his fire starter stones together over a torch. The sparks made by the flit momentarily lit up the room over and over until the torch finally caught fire.
“There we go.”
He stood up to his full height looking very proud of himself as he held the torch up high, spreading the light all across the room.
The sight of the crystalline walls and the massive stalactites descending from the ceiling took my breath away. The crystals cast a pink and purple glow as soon as the firelight hit their sparkly surface.
I wish I was an artist so I could paint what I was seeing and capture this moment forever. I even longed for paper and a pen so I could at least describe in words what I could hardly believe I was seeing with my own eyes.
