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For a long moment her eyes wander over gently swaying grass, over the shallow waves of the river and the silvery shimmer of the fish that linger under the dense surface of the water, catching small animals on the surface.
It is quiet.
Only the chirping of birds in the distance can be heard. And the soft humming of Rakan. Her ears twitch briefly, following the sound of the melody coming from his lips.
Xayah is sure that she has heard this song before.
A long time ago.
Maybe it was one of the songs her father sang before going to bed?
She can't remember.
All those memories are lost somewhere deep in the past, buried under a thick layer of oblivion. Suppressed by the numerous years since her tribe's disappearance.
She stopped asking herself why she can't remember so many things a long time ago. It is almost as if her mind is trying to prevent her from remembering the traditions and rules of her tribe.
The soft rustling of leaves is heard and with a quick movement Xayah turns around, looking directly into the smiling face of Rakan. A thin strand of his thick red lock falls loosely into his face, and his sky-blue eyes shine. They shine brighter than the stars at night.
He looks so handsome, quite a lot.
But that is something Xayah would never tell him. He would never let go of that and swagger around even more than he already does.
"Hey Xayah. I didn't mean to disturb you. But I thought you might be hungry."
Slowly, she shakes her head, her eyes back on the gentle waves of the river. "Don't worry about that. I'm not hungry." Her eyes follow one of the fireflies, which comes to a stop on one of the tall straws, glowing faintly.
A slight smile spreads across Xayah's lips as she leans forward, reaching out to the little creature and watching with bright eyes as it crawls across her fingers.
Surprised, she looks up as she notices another movement and Rakan sits down next to her a moment later, a gentle smile on his lips, not taking his eyes off her. "What are you looking at?" Tilting her head slightly to the side, she looks at him, golden irises glowing in the slowly setting sun while the sky turns orange pink, streaked with fluffy clouds throughout.
"You're wonderful, that's why."
Cheeks flushing, Xayah glances to the side, averting her gaze from Rakan as more fireflies fly through the tall grass, bathing the darkening surroundings in soft light. "You say that to everyone."
A light laugh comes from Rakan, gently reaching a hand out to her before making Xayah look at him, an affectionate smile on his lips. He gently brushes the hood off her head before his hand comes to rest tenderly on the back of her neck.
Her eyes widen as Rakan approaches her, his face only a few centimeters from hers. For a brief moment, she considers pushing him from her, screaming. To jump up, turn around and run away as far and as fast as she can. To never turn back and leave everything that was behind.
But the memories of the celebration while they visited his tribe... the close dance, the kiss... the memories are still so deeply embedded in her, making her heart dance to a melody no one but her can hear.
"You're right about that. But this time it' s the first time I mean it."
Without knowing why, Xayah places her hand on his neck as their lips meet again a little later.
Heart pounding, she closes her eyes, allowing the rising feelings of happiness to carry her away.
~ * ~
Thick rain falls through the branches of the trees, blue leaves dancing in the wind. "We should take a break," Rakan calls through the roaring wind, holding his arm protectively in front of his face as he follows Xayah through the wet undergrowth as best he can. For a fraction of a moment, his companion stops, slowly turning to face him.
Her eyes are deep in their hollows, dark circles under them. Her already pale skin even paler than usual. "I can't. Everyone is depending on me..." Slowly Xayah turns around, staggering and keeping herself on her feet with all her strength left. "We have to keep moving north. We have to-"
Surprised, she looks up as she feels Rakan's fingers around her wrist, his face more serious than she is used to from him. Concerned.
"Everyone can wait."
For a moment she shakes her head, sighing softly in exhaustion. As quickly as Rakan can, he walks over to her, dragging wet feathers across the forest ground and enclosing her in a tight hug. "Don't argue with me. Just think of yourself for once... You need to rest, regain your strength.... Before you get sick. The area here is so magicstarved..."
For a moment she opens her mouth again to disagree, but pauses again a moment later, lips pressed into a thin line. She nods in defeat, knowing Rakan is right.
The last thing she can afford is to get sick. It would delay her onward journey, something shes not going to allow herself. After all, winter is coming.
~ * ~
Frustrated, Xayah looks at the fish lingering under the thin layer of ice, most of the river far from frozen, even if the snow is high by now and the nearly still water on the banks with its tall growing plants is frozen. With a quick, purposeful movement, she throws one of her featherdaggers toward a large, silvery-blue fish near the bank, close enough to pull it out of the water as soon as she hits it.
A groan escapes her as the featherdagger misses its target and is carried downstream. "Slippery bitch," she mutters, summoning another featherdagger, which she throws a moment later at another, seemingly more careless fish. A wide grin settles on her lips as she watches the tip drill into its target, knowing they have enough fish to last them at least two days.
"Lunch," she grins broadly, eyes shining with satisfaction. With a quick movement, she turns around and just a moment later the smug grin fades from her face as she loses her balance in the soft powdery snow and lands in the icy water with his quiet, sharply pointy scream.
Rakan looks up in surprise as he hears a faint scream, ears twitching as he bites his upper lip uncertainly, struggling with himself to go in the direction from which he heard the scream, knowing that Xayah has told him to make sure the tent is set up and the fire is lit by the time she returns.
He reluctantly agreed even though he would have preferred to go to the nearby village to spend the winter, knowing that he would lose an argument against Xayah. Not because his arguments were bad. Rather, it is because Xayah does not allow discussion. A knowledge he has accumulated in the months since they started traveling together. He sighs, deciding to follow his instinct and check on it.
After just a few steps, he catches sight of Xayah, drenched and shivering, holding several fish in her arms. For a moment he stops, his mouth open and his brows drawn together. "What happened to you?" He can't suppress a soft laugh, though concern is clear in his eyes.
"I thought a refreshing bath would be good. It keeps you fit and cleanses your mind...now shut up and give me one of our Bath Cloths."
With a wide grin, Rakan hands her one of the cloth sheets from the tent before placing another over her back, stoking the fire a little more. With quick movements he gathers some of the powdery snow and fills the small kettle they have with them, hanging it over the fire before throwing some pieces of lemon into the water, followed by some herbs and pine needles.
"I'll make you some tea. Hope you don't get sick." He gives her a gentle smile, receiving a shake of the head from Xayah in response. "I am a Vastaya, we can''t get sick from human boo-boos..."
Silently Rakan smiles, stirring the tea with a wooden spoon, again starting to hum a melody which Xayah can' t remember. For a long moment she stares at him before giving in with a soft sigh, shaking her head at herself and her thoughts.
~ * ~
When Rakan opens his eyes the next morning and looks at his traveling companion, his breath is caught in his throat for a moment. With a twitching face, Xayah writhes in her sleep, her face covered in sweat, while her body is shaken by spasming coughs.
Concerned, he places his hand on her forehead, noting that it is glowing. Not just a little, no, if he wouldn't know better, he'd think she was on fire.
"Xayah?" Concerned, he looks at her, gently placing his hand on her cheek without receiving a response. "Hey, Xayah, you awake?" For a moment he holds his breath but the only response from her is another coughing fit.
"So much about we Vastaya can't get sick..."
Worried, he wraps her in a blanket and puts the trembling girl in front of the fire before he starts to take down the tent. It doesn't take long and everything is tucked back into their backpacks, Xayah wrapped in a blanket and in Rakan's arms as he hurries as fast as he can towards the village.
Just a few steps later, he loses his balance and Xayah slips out of his arms, her body protected from the thick snow by the blanket. With a soft curse, he unwraps the blanket, feeling how damp it is, and puts it back in his backpack while hugging Xayah tightly to his chest, hurrying away as fast as he can in the direction of the village.
"It's going to be okay, you hear me? I'll take you somewhere warm and safe."
Briefly he stops, supporting her limp body with his knee as he moves her legs into a better position to carry her. With one finger he strokes her cheek before shifting his hand again and pressing her tightly against him.
A soft curse escapes him as thick snowflakes fall from the sky again, settling on them and drenching their clothes and hair. When the village appears in his field of vision a little later, Rakan laughs in relief, breathing a kiss on Xayah's cheek.
"We're as good as there."
~ * ~
The tavern room is bathed in warm light, a cozy and warming fire crackling in the fireplace and candles illuminating the room. In a corner not too far from the fireplace stands a cozy bed, several pillows and blankets lying on it and in its middle Xayah, wrapped up and with a thick woolen scarf around her neck, which Rakan bought from one of the merchants.
A soft cough comes from the pile of blankets, followed by a groan and Xayah's breathy voice. " Ra-Rakan?"
He immediately jumps up from his seat on the sofa, rushing over to her and getting down on his knees in front of the bed. "Xayah, how are you?" he whispers, gently stroking her cheek with one hand, bringing the damp hair out of her face. "Water," she gasps, receiving a nod from Rakan in response before he fills a cup with water. Gently, he helps her sit up a little, bringing the cup to her lips.
"Thank you," she murmurs, closing her eyes again as she feels for his with one hand. Just as he gets up to go back to the sofa, she opens her eyes again, looking at him pleadingly.
"Would you... join me?"
Surprised, he looks at her, tilting his head to the side as he lovingly strokes her cheek with one hand. "Are you sure?"
Her only answer is a nod and with a gentle smile he settles down next to her, snuggling up close to her as he makes sure she's comfortable tucked into the warming blankets. Gently he rubs with his nose against hers before he breaths a small, soft kiss on her lips, knowing he's probably going to be sick like her in the next days.
But it's worth it.