A wave of warmth washed over Lenny, the warmth pulled her from the cold nothingness she was already prepared to die in. Lenny slowly pulled her eyes open, it felt like the most exhausting task she had ever asked her body to complete. She looked around. It was still dark but she could feel the warmth of a fire on her back and could see a pale figure leaning against a tree. She squinted trying to make out who it was, the figure's pale skin looked like it stuck directly to the figure's bones. The figure noticed Lenny was awake and bent down next to her, it took her a few seconds to recognize the boney-faced teenage boy and his hair which looked far messier than normal as Iago.
Iago scooped her up from the ground and hugged her, Lenny let herself relax a bit in the arms of her old friend, who she had always viewed as her brother.
Lenny Slowly reached up and flicked Iago's nose.
¨What was that for?" Iago protested, laughing.
Lenny pulled herself out of Iago's arms and lent against a nearby tree.
¨I feel fine, you'd think I was dead with how you were looking at me.¨
After a night of bickering and joking, they agreed to sleep in shifts. Near Dawn was Lenny's shift, she had been sitting there for quite some time with nothing happening just like with all the other shifts. The only thing Lenny had noticed was that it felt warmer but she left that to her still defrosting from whatever had happened to her the first night she was out in the woods. More out of boredom than anything she lit her lamp and decided to go for a small walk.
Drifting into thought as she walked she remembered a time when she and Iago were a few years younger.
Flashback: Three Years Ago
Lenny was only ten or so and Iago almost thirteen. Then Iago had olive skin, thick dark hair, and a much sturdier-looking build. The doctors weren't sure what was happening with his eyes and eventually what happened to the rest of him, but then it was only his eyes. Iago's eyes were a brilliant bright blue when he was little, as of now they had gotten paler and his pupils had shrunken greatly. Iago losing his sight had angered him greatly, every passing month his vision got worse.
¨Lenny...could you help me read this?¨ Iago offered his favorite book, it was a book full of children's stories that were based on events in other realms according to my father.
¨I've got to help Mother with the chores so I only have time for one today, which one would you like?¨ Lenny remembered being annoyed about how embarrassed Iago seemed.
¨The one about the girl and her sandal...¨
Lenny and Iago sat by the fire in Lenny's house and read the stories until they both fell asleep in front of the fire.
End of Flashback