It had been three days since Coruscares last visit and he was done waiting.
The first day after he visited Caeli it was easy to avoid the infirmary. Following the embarrassment of letting his emotions get the best of him, and the possibility that Caeli understood his feelings for her, it was simple to tell himself he should allow some time to pass before returning to her.
But by day three he could not wait any longer. He couldn't be sure what Caeli would say, but he decided that finding out was better than not knowing. No matter how humiliating it would be.
He left the study bidding Syll a good night, she waved dismissively as he closed the archives doors behind himself.
He made it half way down the hall, glancing behind him to ensure that Syll wouldn't follow for any reason.
In minutes he was back in the infirmary and had assumed his usual position.
With Caeli cradled in one arm and resting on his torso, he lifted the Catcher and left his time.
He appeared in the flower field he had come to love and found Caeli, once again on a blanket, waiting for him. She smiled and waved when she noticed that he was before her.
His heart skipped a beat.
He was almost surprised to realize how happy it made him to see her waiting for him to come, smiling in the sunshine amongst a copious amount of wild flowers.
Almost.
In the last three days he had decided that he would be respectful of Caeli and he would not push her. He would help her and hope that in time his feelings would be reciprocated. But he also decided he would no longer lie to himself.
He cared for her, more than he's cared about any other woman in his life. Her strength and her kindness despite her circumstance was still difficult to understand.
But he wanted to understand. He wanted to know more about her. His affections even greater considering Greedy's fascination with the small woman.
He made his way to the blanket and stopped at its edge.
She patted the spot beside her invitingly.
He obliged.
"Good day, Caeli.", he said happily, all thoughts of embarrassment and humiliation gone, evaporated like rain drops in the sunshine after a storm.
*I'm getting whiplash.*, Greedy whispered, annoyed.
*Silence.*, Coruscare hissed internally.
"Good day my lord.", she said giving him a broad smile. Coruscare wondered if most humans possessed such nice teeth. He had known an old human general he befriended and he recalled the man hardly had any teeth, so he figured probably not.
"I would like it if you called me Coruscare. I consider you a friend, I hope the feeling is mutual?", he said hesitantly.
Caeli's eyes began to sparkle.
"Of course Coruscare. I consider you a very good friend.", she said excitedly.
Caeli didn't have many friends besides a few Folk from the surrounding area and she considered Coruscare kind and caring. He had listened without interruption when she spoke and had seemed genuinely interested in who she was. She loved her parents but there wasn't many people around to make friends with.
What's more is her parents knew him well and as he was a dragon he was also Folk.
Her mother had warned against the humans and their selfishness, she warned that they would not be kind and good-intentioned like the majority of the Folk Caeli had met. Of course there were magic creatures with lethal intent but they were absolutely the minority. Not like humans. Many were selfish, manipulative and wasteful. Especially since the majority of them had left behind the Old Ways.
But her mother was always sure to add that that didn't mean they did not deserve her help if Caeli ever found herself in a position to assist.
"Everyone deserves a chance, at least once.", her mother had always said.
Her natural inclination was to trust him.
"I hope your travels are going well and that good fortune has followed you along the way.", she said as she poured two glasses of cold tea into mismatched mugs.
He nodded and lifted a hand in refusal to the mug she offered.
He expected her to ask why he had refused but she did not. Instead she set his offered cup down and took a large swig from her own.
Her apron was covered in grass and dirt stains, her dresses sleeves rolled up past her elbow. He also noticed that a thin layer of sweat covered her face, neck and chest. Loose tendrils having escaped her braid curled and stuck to her skin.
He watched as her throat moved with each swallow of the sweat iced tea she was drinking. Watching her tulip shaped lips slightly purse as her tongue darted out to cleanse the sugary remnants from her skin.
Coruscare would give his right arm to be that cup.
*I mean to have a cup. Not to be the cup.*, he corrected himself, feeling oddly flustered.
"My travels have been just fine. Much choring to be done today?", he asked her turning to face her new that he had regained his cool.
She nodded, smiling.
"Today's when we do some of the cleaning that really only needs to be done once a week or so. Weeding of the garden, opening of the cottage, washing of its floors. And the like.", she said giving a one armed shrug.
"Well then I'm sure it's been quite the busy morning for you. That makes me all the more appreciative of the picnic you've brought here today. Thank you for this.", he said sweeping a long arm to indicate the food that had been brought out of the basket for their dining pleasure.
"It is really no problem. You always seem to show up just around lunch time when I break anyways. I am grateful for your company though. I've recently run out of books and it will likely be days before my father returns with more.", she said.
"Speaking of which, how do you know that I will be here? I mean when I will show up?", he said cautiously.
"Well the ground shakes some just a few moments before you come. And so far as the timing, I believe you always arrive around the same time as well. And in this field if I'm not mistaken.", she said thoughtfully chewing a pan muffin covered in butter and jam. "So anticipating your arrival is fairly easy. Although I pack the lunches first thing in the morning, so then I can have it ready."
"You pack a lunch each day and eat it here?", he asked.
"Well sure, just in case you stop by that day.", she said absentmindedly as she rifled through the basket in search of a particular item.
Coruscares' heart felt as though it had swelled causing a strange, but not displeasing, sensation.
"That is very kind of you.", he said softly staring at the space between his large clawed feet, his elbows on his knees and his fingers thread together. He couldn't remember the last time someone in his life had been privy to his routine, let alone to accommodate it. "I suppose I'll have to repay you some day for all of these extensive meals and delightful company.", he said attempting to give her a dashing grin.
She shook her head in disagreement, still pulling things out of the basket, too busy to see his attempts.
"I didn't believe that is how friendship works my lord. Coruscare, I mean.", she said, chuckling. "Friends should be supportive of each other but not for any type of gain. Otherwise, I don't think that would be considered true friendship.", she said plainly.
"Hmm you have a point there I suppose.", he laughed back.
She pulled her hair free from its braid to wrap the long tresses in a quick bun at the base of her neck. She secured it with the leather thong that had been holding her braid.
She stood and grabbed the now empty basket and began foraging through the surrounding flowers. She collected various species as she repetitively bent and straightened.
"I think that is why true friendship is talked about in fictional stories. It is a difficult thing to find. Even in many of the books I've read, characters who first seem friendly are actually villainous in the end. If not that then the thought-to-be-friend will do something to betray the main character, becoming no-longer-friend, instead.", she said placing a bundle of baby's breath into her basket.
"I am shocked Caeli, you seem like a very optimistic person to me although that sentiment has a vaguely negative point of view.", he said raising a quizzical brow.
He discreetly reached for the mug of tea she had offered him when he'd first arrived.
His hand passed through it.
She shrugged, crouching in the flowers one hand resting on her knee, the other pulling away long grass to reveal a patch of clover.
"I am optimistic but realistic as well. I get that from my mother, I am sure of it.", she said smiling and laughing to herself.
Coruscare had to agree. For every problem presented to Ventus she had always tried to come up with a solution that would work for all parties involved. With that said, she would always be honest about the seriousness of a situation. If the options were limited or dire, she would voice it without hesitation.
"So do you have many friends? I'd imagine so if this is the treatment that friends receive from you.", he smiled, his teasing good in nature.
She smiled sadly.
"Not quite my lord. There are few others here. I have a few Folk I consider friends. Rivera for instance although I know in part her presence is due to the connection her and my mother developed. She is more of a familiar to my mother than anything else. But you're different as well. Special I suppose.", she said her smile brightening. She turned to meet his gaze.
She found him staring at her raptly. His expression serious. It made her stomach float and her mouth dry. She wasn't quite sure why.
Quickly, she turned back to the flowers.
Coruscare stood and came to her side. Crouching, he pushed aside the long grass to allow Caeli to choose the flowers she'd like that had been buried beneath the lengths of the scutch.
Her glance slid his way for just a moment. She smiled and nodded a thanks as she continued to work. His closeness was strange. She could not feel heat from his body but the knowledge of his proximity was enough to make her hearts pace pick up speed.
"You think I'm special Eli?", he said softly, a smile in his voice.
Her heart flipped at the sound of her nickname coming from deep within his chest. His voice gruff and rumbling despite his hushed tone.
She nodded slowly, her eyes wide and her skin hot. Lifting an arm, she swiped her brow. The teas refreshing effects were wearing off quickly in the hot sun.
As she did so a flash came across her vision. So fast she could hardly make out what she saw. All she could tell is that her vision had gone mostly dark for just a moment.
The sensation caused her to lose her balance and her skin to go hot. Her head was dizzy.
She felt herself teeter on the balls of her feet.
A moment later she felt Coruscares large hand on her back, steadying her.
"Caeli are you alright?", he asked urgently, his tone concerned.
She blinked rapidly trying to adjust to the sunshine in the field, so different from the dark vision she had seen seconds ago.
Her warm skin had become clammy, the natural glow beneath its surface had filled some, her eyelids looked heavy.
Coruscare used his other hand to turn her towards him. He laid the back of his hand against her forehead to find she felt feverish.
"Goddess Caeli, we need to get you home. Have you not been feeling well?", he asked as he quickly packed her things in the basket.
She shook her head bewildered.
"I've been fine up until just now. I'm sorry Coruscare, I really don't feel well. Is it alright if I go home?", she said almost dreamily.
It was as if she only had heard part of what he said.
He had been able to feel the warmth of her forehead and had been able to reach out and stabilize her. He was running out of time and he needed to make sure she made it back to the cottage safely.
He couldn't be sure how long it would take. The last few visits, Caeli had unknowingly transported them from the field to the cottage each time they had went to it.
He turned to the now pale woman-child, his brow furrowed with worry.
"Is it alright if I carry you Eli?", he asked hastily but sweetly as if talking to a child. He needed her to cooperate but he couldn't bring himself to man-handle her when she was conscious and able to make decisions for herself. It was quite different than when he was dealing with her comatose body in their time.
"Oh no, no, no. I can walk my lord. Truthfully.", she said woozily.
*My ass.*, he thought to himself.
"If you allow me to take you we can fly, it will be much quicker, but you'll need to hold onto me. Do you understand?", he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder gently, so large that it enveloped its entirety and caused his fingers to rest on her back where he gripped.
She turned suddenly and vomited into the high grass behind them.
Once she was done she fell to her knees.
*We don't have time for this!*, Greedy shouted inside Coruscares mind. His eagerness to hold the woman adding to his urgency.
Coruscare couldn't help but agree.
He took a few steps back from Caeli and in a flash of fire that consumed the grass and flowers beneath his feet, Coruscare had transformed into the original form she had seen him in the day he attacked her village.
He approached her while she sat crumpled on the ground, her head hanging as she tried to fight nausea. Her hair hiding her face like a silk curtain.
Just as he came beside her she lifted her head and saw the great dragon, wings unfurled and ready for flight.
More flashes across her mind came, this time like a series of lightening bolts in a stormy sky. Enough to see what the image was.
At first she saw a dragon, as big as the one in front of her, dipping low from the sky and streaming copious amounts of fire down on a village.
Then she heard villagers screaming, animals fleeing. And for just a moment she thought, "I can get there in time.", and as the thought crossed her mind she saw a tree line, maybe a mile or so away from her, clear against the horizons for the flat fields that lie between her and its edge.
The next second she saw herself riding on a horse, her back turned to the village, facing the woods ahead.
The images came in succeeding glints, too real to be dreams, but foreign to her.
Between the changing images and the authenticity of them, she thought she would surely vomit again.
She pushed the heels of her hands hard into her eyes and when she allowed herself to look up again, the images had disappeared.
She realized that Coruscare, enormous and now walking on all fours, had come to lie beside her to make it easier for her to climb on his back.
She slowly shook her head in dismay. Terrified of the idea of having to stand and coordinate with the way she felt, but still conscious of the effect shaking her head vigorously would have on her pounding head and twisted stomach.
Coruscare used the tip his tail to cradle her derrière, all ideas of propriety gone at the site of her ashen skin and her wild eyes. He lifted her, allowing her to hold on to either side of his appendage like the chains of a swing.
He set her gently behind his head.
"Hold on to the horns Eli, or I'll lose you.", he said nervously.
She drunkenly complied and held onto two of the smaller horns that protruded from his cranium.
Once Coruscare felt she was secure he slowly began flapping his wings, his body lifting form the ground easily.
They had risen just a few feet when he bounded forward.
He prayed to the Goddess that he was heading in the right direction.
He prayed that the groveling would not wake him mid-flight and cause Caeli to be lost, and without anyone to tend her, fallen from his back and alone.
He prayed that Ventus would know what was happening, what to do.