Ikko sighed. "It's scary for you because you let your fear see what it wants to see. Try looking with your eyes and not your head." Cienar stayed still and Ikko smiled again. "Better let me help you. I think I may be losing my grip."
Cienar popped up immediately. "You bastard! Fine! I'll try!" He hesitated a moment, then shakily moved his head to look behind him at the horizon. "This-This is actually not too bad. It's quite beautiful now that I look at it." Ikko smirked. "See?" He then unconsciously relaxed his grip around Cienar and Cienar quickly stuck to him again squeezing his face back into his chest. "Ahh!!" Ikko sighed. "Baby steps."
By nightfall they made it to the swamp of swallow. The air started to grow thick and green and the smells were enveloping the entire swamp. Arine plugged his nose. "Ugh. Man you weren't kidding. I need to land before my wings give out." Ikko nodded. "Same." They found a clear place to land beside the swamp and as soon as they did, Cienar pushed away Ikko and fell to the ground shaking. "I-I am n-never doing that again!!" Arine crossed his arms. "Well your going to have to. There aren't any black markets within ten miles of here."
Cienar groaned and stood up. "Kill me now. So. What was your plan to get rid of our scents by taking us here?" Arine smiled and pointed at the bubbling dark green bog. "You two are going to go in there until you're nice and gross." A horrified look crossed Cienar and Ikko's faces. "What?!" Arine laughed. "You heard me!" Cienar got uneasy again. "Well, the smell isn't permanent, but..."
Ikko covered his face. "Do we have to?" Arine nodded. "Yep. Unless you would prefer to take your chances of getting discovered." Ikko moved his hand away from his face and smiled. He took a step towards Arine. "Wait a minute, if we're looking to go to the underworld, there's no chance that a demon would tell anyone who isn't a demon where the entrance is. So we're going to have to disguise ourselves as demons instead of buyers in order for them to speak up."
Arine raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?" Ikko tilted his head. "Well you see, the last time I checked, demons don't smell like fairies either." He suddenly flicked Arine's chest, making him stumble backwards and fall into the bog. "Ahh-!!" He sent up a splash and Cienar bursted out laughing. Ikko then crossed his arms as Arine jumped out gasping for air. "Gross! You are despicable!"
Ikko laughed turning away. "Ha, you smell bad enough for all of us! I think we best be leaving now." Just as he said that, a slimeball hit him in the back of the head, making him fall forward. "What the-?!" Now it was Arine that was laughing. "I'm not done with you yet!"
Ikko turned around angry and headed towards him raising his fist. "Why you little-!" But before he could hit him, Arine quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled Ikko into the swamp. "Ah-!" Another splash went up and Cienar fell to the ground laughing. Ikko came up covered in slime like Arine and tried his best to wipe off his face. "Ugh!"
Arine laughed again and grabbed another slimeball. "Two down, one to go." Ikko smiled and grabbed one of his own. Cienar continued to laugh until two slimeballs hit him in the face and he fell backward hitting the ground. Then Arine and Ikko were the ones laughing their heads off. Arine wiped some slime from his chin. "Ha, now all we need are some costumes."
*
I awoke from my dreamless sleep to light entering the room. I don't remember when I fell asleep but I slept very well. I sat up from the cozy and warm bed and yawned. Suddenly, I realized that I was still in Sythyon's room. I looked to my side and saw that Sythyon was sleeping next to me with his arms around my waist. We were both wearing the same clothes we did last night.
'Now I remember, last night after I told him that Lothor was the one who kidnapped me, Sythyon apologized and told me that he hated himself for everything he let happen to me. He then passed out taking me with him. He must be so exhausted. He hasn't slept since I was taken.' I moved my hand to his head and ran my fingers through his snowy hair. 'He looks so peaceful when he sleeps.' I watched him for a bit until he slowly opened his eyes and looked back at me. I quickly moved my hand away blushing. "Oh! Um, good morning!"
I could tell in his expression that he was still very tired. He shifted his position closer to me and tightened his grip around my waist closing his eyes. "Don't stop. Just because I'm awake doesn't mean that you have to stop petting me." I could feel my face get redder. 'He's like a kitten. So feisty at times, but others, he's a cuddly little sweetie- Ah! What am I saying?! I couldn't be having feelings for him so soon after we reunited... Could I?' I placed my hand back on his head and slowly moved my fingers through his hair again.
His breathing fell low in a gentle purr and he snuggled closer to me. His warmth spread through my body with his touch. I realized it probably wasn't that odd for him to act like an animal. 'He is a demon. They're kinda like cats. With the long tails, the cat eyes and constantly acting like jerks. But they're still so adorable and sweet when they want to be.' That got me thinking about angels and I held in my laugh. 'Ikko's a puppy for sure! So flirty and stubborn, yet so loveable and loyal.'
I smiled and leaned back into the pillows against the headboard and closed my eyes. 'Looks like I'm going to be stuck here for awhile. I might as well get some rest too.' I started to think about my other friends and what they were like. 'Let's see... Cienar's probably a dolphin, I'd say Arine is a bird, Harper's a fox, Felix is a tiger, and Johnathan Gold is definitely a snake. And finally me, the little unicorn.' It was hard holding in my laugh at how accurate it all was, but I eventually drifted off again into my dreams.
I awoke again to the sound of a knock at the door. "You're highness, breakfast is ready." The voice vanished from the hallway and the sound of footsteps became quieter. Sythyon was awake now too but he didn't get up. I realized that he had slept the whole night in armor, but he didn't seem to care. "Five more minutes..."
I tried to move away but he only pulled me closer. "Sythyon... You need to eat. You haven't eaten for too long, we can sleep when you're done." He didn't move. "It's fine. It's not like I'm going to die or anything." He was right but I was still worried about him. "That doesn't matter, you're still hungry. Think of it like this, once you come back you can change out of your armor and sleep in something more comfortable." He finally moved and sat up so our faces were only inches apart. "Are you worried about me?"