“Hey, from what I heard you did pretty well for yourself. Looks like you even had your first kill out there.” Sorin tries to soothe me, but the reminder I killed someone does not bring me as much comfort as it probably should. I have seen a lot of deathin my life, but never have I been so closely associated with it. “As much as I want to say there will never be another instance such as that again, I realize there are no reassurances here. If we are caught off guard again... I do not want you captured. I can't stand the thought...” I run a thumb along the top of his hand. “We will start training once we are far enough away from their camp. I am hopeful after a couple days’ journey we might be far enough away that we can buy ourselves time. Maybe find resources and shelter too.” He runs his thumb over my hand in response. “On one condition though, Firefly.”
“What is the condition?”
“If there is a chance you can run, you take it. Do not let any training convince you fighting is better than running. No matter what, getting away from the enemy is the best option.”
“But what if--”
“The. Best. Option. Lace.” He says firmly. “No matter what.”
I bite my lip and nod. Then decide to pivot the subject. “What about Sam? How are we going to find him?”
“We can search during the day. For now, let’s try to only worry about finding shelter and food. It is going to get dark soon.” My face falls and he squeezes my hand, continuing in a gentle tone. “He is a priority to me, but I suspect it might take a couple of days to track him. This place is filled with death, and I don’t want to join the decor.” He attempts to move a blackened branch from our path, causing it to splinter and fall from its tree. Letting go of my hand, he gracefully climbs over the fallen branch and then reaches to hoist me over it as well.
“I could have done that myself.” I mumble.
“I am sure you could, but the branch screams splinters and it is too big for you to climb without having to touch all over it.”
I roll my eyes, my body warming at the spots he had just held me. "Touche." He continues to walk ahead of me, not reaching for my hand again and something inside of me cries at the loss.I watch him as I try to delicately weave through shrubbery. That kiss yesterdaywasmind-altering. It is no wonder that it triggered my powers.And his vines?My mind keeps racing back to the moment over and over again and I cannot help but want to see how far we can go, powers be damned.He is one of your best friends.I remind myself.Yes, but that is only because there was no opportunity for something more. Not with my father's eyes constantly on us, or the kingdom's judgment. Although the setting is not ideal, this could be that opportunity— the only opportunity I get to explore whatever this thing is between us. Be honest with yourself, Alaceandra, can you truly be okay with never knowing?I slant my eyes towards Sorin and watch as he maneuvers around a large rock.No, I do not think I can.Taking another chance, I reach for his hand and grab it.
He looks back at me, his eyes glittering with mischief.
"Shush." I say pre-emptively. "We should find somewhere to sleep."
He smiles gently, his large hand wrapping around mine. "You got it, Firefly."
Chapter twenty-three
Water is for Bathing... Right?
Alaceandra
We walk for what seems like forever, Sorin helping me over any big pieces of debris in our paths, until night starts to fall. Sorin starts scouting the woods looking for shelter. The land, luckily, is dotted with caves. Over the next few days, we find shelter in them and survive from the fruits of Sorin’s magick, some small animals we come across and little streams of water. Although most of the land seems to be dead or decaying,the water sources have not caused us any sickness. Sorin runs it through a makeshift filter before we drink it, and I assume that has been helping. There also seems to be a notable lack of population here. It looks like where we landed upon arrival was just an unfortunate stint of bad luck. We have not seen anyone roaming the lands with us. Sorin has been on high alert, constantly scanning our surroundings and pausing at any noises we encounter, but I can tell it is starting to take a toll on him.
As light makes its bed on the horizon marking a week of being in these desolate lands with no signs of Sam, we come upon a huge river. “Here.” Sorin scoops water into a makeshift cup, running it through some kind of filter he made from the fabric of my dress, before adding a drop of something from one of the potion bottles and offering it to me. I take a sip, noting a delicate floral flavor.
“Drink slowly,” he warns for the umpteenth time, “You don’t want to get sick.”
I nod, taking in slower gulps of the liquid before passing it back to him. He drinks and then gathers more, before setting the bottle down on the bank. I sit down and notice just how filthy I am. “Do you think it might be alright if I bathed here?” I ask Sorin.
He quirks a brow. “Dirt getting to you?”
“A little.”
He nods. “Sure, I’ll keep watch.”
I blush. “You should probably also rinse off.” His dimple appears. Making a show of sniffing himself, he contorts his face dramatically. I laugh.
“Someone needs to keep watch.”
“We can watch each other's backs; besides we have not seen anyone this whole journey.”
“Are you just trying to get me naked, Firefly? Who knew little Lace could be so--”
I splash water at him, and he splutters. My face is on fire. “Stop teasing who knows when we will see water again, we should make the best of it.”
Sorin
I laugh at Lace’s antics, but pull my shirt off, and smile as a little squeak escapes my Firefly. I am glad we are getting an opportunity to find some kind of relaxation and fun. These last couple of days searching for Sam have been hard. We have not been able to get much rest, and we have had to fight against the sharp and abundant woods just to make it to our next destination. I decided it might be best to walk towards the mountains as they are something unmoving in the distance and have a clear direction. We have searched along the way for Sam, making sure to keep close to each other so we do not lose each other in the monotony of the dead lands. Once night starts to fall, I scout for an area we can sleep in and cover it in vines so that I can be alerted if anyone gets near our encampment. Then I leave Lace in the cave while I hunt for some kind of food in the woods, which although bereft of people, is full of tiny creatures. Although they are unfamiliar to me and a little gamey, they taste better than no meat at all, so I am grateful for their abundance. I come back and start a fire and skin and cook our meat beforeletting Lace know that it is safe to come out. We both eat and I create a fruit vine to satisfy our desires for sweetness. Lace’s favorite so far has been the raspberries. She was so cute when she tasted them, her face brightening with delight as she downed as many as she could. I have grown those vines the most over the last couple of days just so that I could see her smile when they appeared. After we have consumed our fruits, we retire for the night and continue again the next day.Lace has been amazing through it all.She has not complained. Taking each day on with an admirable newfound determination. Not many people would be able to be thrown into the dark lands and still have a smile on their face the next day, but Lace is not many people. Her dirt covered radiance has been my inspiration to keep going and not allow the impossibility of getting out of this situation get to me. I want to say the situation has brought us closer than we ever had been, but I am afraid that may be all in my head. We have not kissed again, but she has been holding my hand through our travels and lingering in my arms every morning.Probably because you are warm, dingus.I hold back a snort.
