His hands were full as he entered the cave. He put his hunting tools in the corner and started roasting the meat over Ksinya's fire and drying the deerskin. Once the meat was roasted he set it aside on a leaf with the apples. And once the deerskin was dry and warm he placed it over Ksinya's body. Under the warmth of the blanket her body finally relaxed. Liquifying like butter, she took up two times the space she did before. While her body unwound, her mind started to pick up speed. Oblivious to the change in her subconscious, Nikolas started to weave a basket with some dry reeds from his river.
In her dream, Ksinya was a child again and living in her mothers house. There was no heat or electricity, and her stomach was empty. She huddled in her room trying to stay warm. It was Ksinya's birthday and her mother came in. "I know your grandmother sent you some money. Let me borrow it." Ksinya shook her head, she wanted to save her money, not waste it on her mother's addiction. "Don't be a bitch. Just give it to me." Ksinya shook her head once again, she couldn't find her voice. "Your dad died so he can't give me shit, your grandmother won't give me shit, nobody with a dick and two balls would step up so now I have to be a single mother. I smoke crack but I ain't crazy! And that's why! That is why I smoke crack! I deserve to get my nut! So give me the twenty so my drug dealer don't kill me over this shit, bitch!" Ksinya's breathing escalated. She was only a kid, why did she have to deal with this? Ksinya didn't know it but she was beginning to have a panic attack. A pain burned in her chest, was Nikolas and the Happi Tree Forest and the Persona river all just a dream? It did seem too good to be true, but it felt so real. Where she was now seemed only like a memory. She urged herself awake.
Ksinya sat up in her nest close to hyperventilation. "Ni-Nikolas!" She stammered out.
Nikolas turned quickly to face the Sorcerer. Her face was red and her eyes were watering. Ksinya could only see shadows in the cave as her vision was bad and now blurred by tears. Nikolas saw her eyes searching for him, he set down his progress with the basket and started towards her. "I am here." He told her.
Immediately she shuffled off of her nest and crawled quickly to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into his chest. "Thank you ! Thank you so much for not being a dream!" She cried. "Please, please don't ever leave me." She pleaded.
Passion burned in his chest. Ksinya was so small and fragile in his arms. Who broke her so badly? He had the urge to kill whatever did this to her. Whoever took her smiles away should pay. He held her tenderly in his arms like a broken bird. "I will not leave you." He promised. "Would you like to talk about it?"
Ksinya shook her head. "No, I'd like to just forget it for now. I promise I'll tell you later but I don't want to feel bad right now. I feel so shitty."
"I understand." He held her tighter. "Let me know if you need anything."
Ksinya didn't speak much more. Her sobs died down as she listened to his heartbeat and breathing. She tried to match his long steady breaths. With each breath she tried to memorize his scent. He smelled like fresh rainy weather. Soon enough she was soothed. She relaxed and her body let out a yawn. She didn't realize how exhausted she felt until then.
"Let's lay down." Nikolas suggested.
Ksinya nodded. "Together." She added and tried to crawl out of his arms to her nest. She was surprised when Nikolas lifted her with ease. He set her down first before lying next to her and covering them both with the deerskin. "This blanket is nice and warm," she looked at her fire and focused on dimming it, it obeyed without delay. How nice she didn't even have to get out of bed to turn the lights off! She snuggled close to Nikolas and her heart ached for her fiance. She did miss him dearly. She wished he could join her in this world of no obligations. If anyone deserved it he did. She felt she didn't belong here and she should be ripped away from this world without notice. She held onto Nikolas tighter.
Nikolas could sense that she was still tense, so he decided to stroke her hair to try and calm her. He witnessed her melt again.
Ksinya sighed. "Nikolas, this is the happiest I've ever been. I'm scared."
Caught off guard by his name, Nikolas cleared his throat before speaking. "Why are you scared?"
"I'm scared it will all be ripped away from me."
"This is your forever." Nikolas assured her.
Ksinya felt her cheeks and ears burn with blush. He was so confident, she chose to believe him. Afterall, if she was a blood cell, blood stains. She has had time to dry and set in this world. In her apartment where she took her life, the carpet had to be replaced because the blood would not depart from it. She was a stain on this world now. This thought calmed her and she actually started drifting to sleep.