"I have a few bruises, but they will heal. I'm just glad it wasn't you who was frozen in my place," Luke said. Raven smiled at him and moved closer so that she could wrap her arms around his chest and place her head against his shoulder. Luke hugged her back and held her close, gently stroking her hair with his fingers.
"Thank you, Luke," Raven said simply, looking up into his face. He smiled at her and she smiled back and laughed pleasantly before leaning up and placing her lips against his. The kiss was brief but pashionate, sending chills down Raven's spine and they both clung to each other with such a ferocity, as if each were afraid to lose the other.
A moment later, they moved apart. Not slow with reluctance or quick with impatience but with an ease and familiarity that suited both. Luke took Raven's hand in his and together they passed under the trees, following the flicker of voices that grew and faded as their companions spoke deeper in the forest.
"I'm glad you're with me," Luke said as they neared the others.
**Wait, what do you mean finish the storybook? Aren't we supposed to go after the other orbs?**
Karana giggled when Ilum kissed the back of her hand again, a playful gleam in his eyes. She shoved him easily, laughing when he returned the gesture.
Moments later, Luke and Raven emerged, holding hands. Karana immediately dropped her tone to little more than a whisper.
"Can we tell them? Please? They're our best friends!" she whined.
Ilum grinned, and nodded. "Of course."
She beamed, embraced her fiance, and stood. She bounded over to Raven and hugged the woman ethusiastically. "Oh, Raven! You're not gonna believe this! Ilum proposed to me!"
***All I've got...***
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." Timothy 4:14 KJV
"That's great, I'm so happy for you, both of you!" Raven exclaimed, hugging Karana tightly and grinning. "Get over here, Ilum. I want to hug you too!" A rather embarrassed Ilum shrugged and made his way over. Raven pulled him into the embrace and then Izuki bounded out of the trees.
"What are we hugging for?" she asked, joining the huddle before waiting for an answer.
"Ilum proposed to Karana," Luke explained. He waited until Raven had released the others and then shook Ilum's hand and drew him into a manly hug, patting him on the back. "Congratulations," he said before hugging Karana too.
"Oooh, so they're going to get married?" Izuki grinned happily. "And Raven and I will be bridesmaids naturally, and Luke the best men and..."
"This is a joyous occasion," Luke said. "My only regret is that it happened at a time when we can't properly celebrate it."
"It's okay, Luke," Ilum said. "It's not your fault."
"Yeah," Karana said, "we may not be able to celebrate it, but we're all still happy."
Luke nodded and said, "Of course." He looked up at the night sky. "It's getting late. We should probably get to sleep."
"I'll keep watch tonight," Raven said. She took Luke's hand and looked into his eyes. "I promised I would."
(That's strange, I can usually come up with something better than this. I must be a little off today. I only got five hours of uninterupted sleep last night. I stayed up most of the night playing Sid Meier's Civilization 4. Ha, their arrows and swords are no match for my tanks and battleships!)
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
As the group settled down, Raven looked out into the distance, Luke's hand held gently in her own. His breathing had slowed some time ago and just a trickle of magic was enough to tell her that his mind was at rest.
The air was thick with an icy fog that limited vision and caused Raven and her companions to shiver and draw closer to the fire and each other, wrapped tight in their blankets and layers of clothes. Luke did not stir, so deep was he in sleep, and Raven smiled down at him before tucking the corners of a blanket tight around his body.
The night moved slowly, the sky darker than usual as it lacked the moon and the stars were but faint, dying torches beyond the fog. Raven thought she saw a flicker of movement through the trees but decided she must be mistaken when here eyes could not find it again. She took to studying the darkness so carefully that she began to discern shapes further away - more trees and a huddle of rocks.
Raven grew a little tired, but the icy breath in her face kept her alert and she wondered how she would know when the morning came - would the sun rise today? Or was the world to stay wrapped in a darkness pierced only by the unnatural light of torches and fires.
I was restless. In my dreams, all there was was darkness and death. Dying forests surrounded me, my friends dying next to me, Ilum's icy hand held in my own. And then the whole world exploded in black flames, the black sun still burning. And so on...
I sat up yet again, gasping. Ilum stirred next to me, drowsily reaching out to me and taking me into his arms once more.
"Karana, just try and relax. It's okay," he whispered softly, kissing me on the cheek.
I cuddled into him, savoring his body heat and strength. "I know. I'm trying."
He slowly hushed me back to sleep as he drifted off on his own.
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." Timothy 4:14 KJV
Luke was the first to wake. He awoke with his head on Raven's lap, just as he had when he went to sleep. He looked up to see Raven looking down at him. He could tell from the bags under her eyes that she had been awake all night.
"Good morning, Luke," she said.
Luke smiled. "Good morning, my love."
Raven bent down to kiss Luke. It was soft and tender, almost the kind of kiss a mother would give to a sleeping child. Luke returned the favour and kissed back, his just as soft as hers.
When they pulled away from the kiss Luke said, "Thank you, Raven."
"For what?"
"For everything."
She stroked his cheek with her hand. "Your welcome."
After a few minutes of staring into each other's eyes they decided it was time to start waking everyone else. The sky seemed to be getting darker with each passing day. They all knew that time was running out.
Chicken <-- Egg <-- Rocket Powered Fist Take that, science!
