I can see it a little clearer now. Golden brown hair, peach coloured skin, so soft and desirable, just slightly plump lips that make you crave a kiss. Strong jaw and nose, almond shaped eyes, long eyelashes and beautiful amber coloured eyes. "Don't leave me! Just look at me and stay awake!" I shuddered from delight, his tears look like falling stars... just too beautiful.
I feel so cold, I want to say something to him. I want him to know I feel something for him... what do I feel... numbness, pain, relief and ... something like desire? Is there another word for it? I don't care, I have never seen him so close, so clear, I could watch him for all of my life. I want to brush back his medium length fringe and catch his tears as they shed from his eyes but I can feel myself losing strength.
"I'm sorry! This is all my fault! If I just listened to my heart and not to ****** none of this would have happened..." I just look at him and I can see flames starting to burn brighter in the background. He chokes of his words and smoke. His mouth twists as more tears spill out "****** I.... I.... I lo...." No! Don't bring me back yet! I need to hear these words! I need to know his name, I need to be with him! He-he is my....
....
Ariana shot open her eyes. She was now in a brightly lit room. She blinked a few more times and realized that the ceiling looked familiar. She struggled to sit up but found that something heavy was pinning her down. She turned her head to her left and saw that Rin had placed her arm across her body, keeping Ariana in place.
She saw the tops of Cayden and Roy heads as they slept on the floor, using each other as a pillow and Lady Zula was sleeping in a chair, closest to the door. She quickly realized she was in her room. "You should feel really lucky that you are cherished." A sweet bell like voice said.
Ariana tried to move Rin's arm off of her but found her too strong even in her sleep. So she squirmed herself into a sitting position and looked at the doorway. "Oh it's you!" Ariana exclaimed as she looked over the young girl with the slightly pointed ears.
"The name is Caralee. I spent the last 32 hours providing you mana and healed your body, how will you compensate me?" She said in a dignified voices as she tossed back a lock of her hair with a snap of her wrist.
"Really Caralee, was it just you that transferred mana to the little girl? If I recall correctly Deagan and I also contributed... but then again what do I know? I'm just an airhead." A women dressed in a white, green and gold trimmed crop top, slacks and overcoat said as she entered the room.
She had the same eye colour as Caralee but her hair was long, wavy and light green. She had puppy dog like eyes, small peach coloured lips and a very curvy body. "Nafeza honestly! No one is calling you an airhead, so-so you shouldn't call yourself that!" Caralee said as she crossed her arms over her chest and puffed out her cheeks.
Nafeza brought up her index finger and placed it on her plump, bottom lip. Her eyes became round, wide and watery as she stared at Caralee. "But you always say I'm such an airhead though." Nafeza said with a small and distressful voice.
Caralee dropped her hands and opened her mouth when suddenly a loud growling sound filled the room. Everyone looked around and Nafeza moved her hands to her abdomen. "I'm hungry." She said with a sad puppy dog face. Ariana was stunned until she heard someone clapping their hands.
"Well time for everyone to quit pretending to sleep. The awkwardness is over and I don't think it's just Nafeza's stomach that is empty." She said as she looked at the males sitting on the floor. Cayden opened his eyes and started to scratch his cheek as his face blushed profusely. While Roy rolled over and snuggled his face into Rin's thigh. Rin's eyes shot open as she tried to get away, toppling the chair she was sitting in, causing Roy to fall and face plant onto the floor.
"What do you think you were doing?!" She shrieked as her face turned beet red. Roy tried to peel himself on the floor but Ariana was a little quicker. She jumped out of bed and landed on his back, making him expel air with a "Umph!"
"My beloved Rin, what would you like for breakfast?" Ariana asked innocently as she started to knead Roy's back with her feet. "I'm sorry?" Rin asked as she started to regain her composure. Ariana raised her hand to her mouth and made a surprised face. "Ms. Caralee and Ms. Nafeza, I should really be asking you what you would like for breakfast as you are my survivors!" She said happily as she bowed to the ladies. Nafeza took a peek at Caralee and saw a small blush creep across her cheeks as her ears wiggled slightly. "Anything is fine!" Caralee said as she averted her gaze.
Ariana jumped up in happiness causing Roy more pain. "That's fantastic! I will start the fest right away!" She said and quickly stepped off Roy. She was only able to take a few steps forward when she felt a sudden wave of dizziness hit her. She had no strength left in her to brace herself as she started to fall forward. Cayden scrambled to try and get up to catch her but a long black shadow peeled itself off the ground and caught her in time.
"Really, do none of you have any idea how to properly take care of someone? Especially after an awakening?" A silky voice said as he approached the doorway. Ariana was able to focus on the speaker after a few blinks. A young man, probably in his early 20's was standing tall and proud within the doorframe.
He had deep blue hair with a magenta streaks framing his face. His hair was medium length with a short fringe, he had fair skin and gentle features but what caught her attention was his amber coloured eyes. They almost looked like the amber coloured eyes she had seen in her dreams and she instantly blushed.
"Deagen is right. Everyone out we need to let Ariana rest we can have our celebratory feast tomorrow evening." Lady Zula said as she collected everyone and pushed them out of the room. Cayden however was reluctant to go. He stood his ground as he eyed the shadow cradling Ariana and Deagan now standing of to the side. "Cayden, come on." Lady Zula said as she grabbed his hand but he didn't budge. Deagan sighed as he took a step into the room.
He waved his hand through the shadows head and caught Ariana in his own arms. "There now she is safe." He said in a bored tone but Cayden narrowed his gaze as he face became darker. "Really now the young lady needs rest and do you really want her to start hating you because you are constantly on guard?" He said as he bent over and scooped up Ariana in to a princess hold. "Of course I will be on guard. Especially with a shadow weaver."
"Oh no, do you by chance have a sore spot for the shadows." Deagan asked jokingly but Cayden didn't budge, he just silently watched as Deagan placed Ariana back into her bed. Deagan smirked as he watched Cayden from the corner of his eye. He brushed back Ariana's bangs and placed a kiss on her forehead. Ariana instantly turned a bright red causing Deagan to laugh. He then took a peek at Cayden and tried his best to hold in his laughter. His face was blacker then a bottom of a pot.
Deagan straighten himself out and picked up the chair that Rin had toppled over earlier. He dusted of the seat and walked up to Cayden and Lady Zula. "Come now Lady Zula I think leaving Ariana in Cayden's care is for the best. He is just around for emotional comfort anyways." Deagan said with a smirk causing Cayden to regained some colour.
He shot up a dirty look towards him as he clenched his jaw. "What is that supposed to mean?" Deagan shrugged. "Exactly as it sounds. You are childhood friends right? What better way to recuperate then to feel comfortable and safe with a friend with no regard to gender."
With that Deagan grabbed Lady Zula's arm and walked her out if the room and down the stairs. Cayden wobbled towards the chair and sat himself down. While Ariana was still frozen in place from Deagan's kiss, oblivious to what had happened. The two sat in silence until Rin brought up their breakfast. She placed a bowl of oatmeal, toast and a cup of fruit salad on a lap tray for Ariana while Caden's tray was being placed on the floor beside him. "Big sister...." Ariana whispered causing Rin to become flustered and semi drop the tray.
"Sorry Ariana did you just say something?" Rin asked awkwardly as she broke out into a cold sweat. Ariana stirred her oatmeal around with her spoon silently. Rin let out a small breath of relief and straighten up her back. "Well there is lots to do but if you need anything just let me know." Rin said cheerfully as she took a few steps towards the door. "Cayden is my Cayden from before and your my big sister Rin who couldn't save me when the water came."
Rin froze, she could feel her heart pounding against her chest, too afraid to turn around to face Ariana. "It's okay though. I'm glad your safe." She said in a monotone voice but Rin could feel a knife stab her in the heart. She turned to face Ariana, her arms were stiffly stuck to her side as she clenched her fists. "I'm sorry I have no idea what you are talking about." She said as she showed her most flattering smile.
Ariana looked at her silently as the light disappeared from her eyes. "If you want us to be like that fine.... but at least compose yourself before you try lying to me." Rin cocked her head as she kept her smile in place.
"Whatever do you mean?" Ariana grabbed her tray and moved it to the floor. "Your tears are giving you away." She said as she rolled back into bed. "Your funny what tears are you -?!" Rin started to say as she brought her hand up and felt something wet on her cheeks. Cayden looked at her pitifully causing her to bite down on her lower lip. She couldn't stay any longer and rushed out of the room.
"Is this what you want?" Cayden asked as he tucked Ariana back into bed. "It's not what I want, it's what big sister wants." She said as she started to fall back to sleep.
By the time Ariana woke up it was already 3 in the afternoon. She was feeling loads better and was ready to jump out of bed but Cayden refused to let her run around. He extended his hand and helped her out of bed. He supported her as she tried walking around the room a couple of times only stumbling twice. After his approval he left the room so she could get dressed.
She opened the door and saw that Cayden had been guarding it. "You know you don't have to be with me 24/7..." She said with a pout. Cayden placed his hand under her chin and made her look into his eyes. He let go and brushed back her bangs.
He placed a small kiss on her forehead and turned away quickly. "I do what I want... and what I want is to make sure you are protected at all times. I can't lose you again." He said before he rushed down the stairs. Before he ran down Ariana caught sight of his ears turning bright red and it caused her to skip a beat.
Once she made it down stairs she saw that Cayden hide himself in a corner. She sighed and wondered what she was going to do next when suddenly she was toppled over. She started to laugh hard as the Lumas cuddled every part of her. "Well hello! I was wondering where you all went too." She said with a huge smile. "Well I guess we never properly met." Ariana giggled as she scratched the chin of a green chibi snake with bat wings. "Do you have names?" Ariana asked as she started to get off the floor.
Someone coughed and Ariana looked towards the person. "I don't think they know how to communicate..." Sammie said awkwardly as he looked at the group. Ariana tilted her head to the side, confused by the doctor's remarks. "You can't hear them?" She asked causing Sammie to jump out if his seat. "You can?!" He shouted a little to loudly. He flushed as he straightened out his coat.
"Oh yes! This one," Ariana began to say as she raised her hands and the red Luma with tiny legs, cat earth, thin tail, button nose and whiskers bounced onto the palms of her hands. "This one says that you told everyone that I needed proper rest so they followed you downstairs but this one," She said as the yellow Luma with pointed ears, tiny legs, a big, bushy tail and small snout sat on her head. "Was jealous that some didn't listen and stayed in my room. He is very thankful to the shadow weaver for getting them out so I could sleep but is angery at Cayden for staying."
"Fascinating! Please can you act as my liaison so I can further my studies on them?" Sammie asked as his eyes became wide and hopefully. The blue Luma fluttered in front of Sammie's face, completely irritation with his questions and tried to push Sammie back. "She is saying to back off. She doesn't trust you, or know what your intentions are. Until all is cleared, she orders all Lumas to treat you as a rival for my... attention? I'm not sure what attention you can get from me doctor but I can assure you I don't have 'those' kinds of interests with you." Ariana said nonchalantly.
Sammie could feel the temperature in the room drop a few degrees as all eyes were suspiciously looking at him. "My interests are purely scientific! I swear!" The purple Luma swam up next to the blue Luma and stared at Sammie. He gulped and felt sweat break out all down his back. "This one is saying something is it?" Sammie asked as he pointed a shakey finger forward. "Oh yes she is but I don't really understand what she means." Lady Zula walked up to Ariana and stood by her side as she stared down Sammie. "Let me help you understand sweetie, what did she say?"
Ariana nodded her head and took a deep breath. "Pedophile, Lumaphile, Loli-con." Sammie completely paled and felt his knees give out as he fell to the floor. "N-n-no L-lady Z-zula i-its n-n-not like that! I swear!" Sammie said as tears started to roll down his face. Lady Zula took a few steps in front of Ariana so she couldn't see her face. "Sammie could you please come to my office." She said sweetly but everyone who could see her face averted their eyes and started to tremble. Sammie however couldn't look away. "Now Sammie." She said with a little more force. Sammie shot straight up from the floor and started to stiffly march towards the back.
Lady Zula turned to face Ariana, as if nothing happened and gave her the brightest smile. "Sweetie you don't need to know the meaning of those words. Why don't you go find Rin she went shopping a little while ago and hasn't come back. Take Cayden and someone else with you so your safe okay." Ariana could feel a chill run down her spine and she quickly nodded. "Good girl! I will see you later." She said and turned to walk back to her officer.