My blood rushes to my cheeks as I slip into the hammock beside the most beautiful girl in the world. We sit opposite ends of each other, like we always do.
Her toes wiggles into my armpit and I pretend to be ticklish. I've never been ticklish. I just like her toes in my pits so I let her believe I am prone to her playful attacks.
We sway in the branches in silence for awhile. Letting the wind rock us back and forth. The sky is inexplicably beautiful. Aziel told us of a time before when the oasis was, when the naked sky would blind those who looked directly into the sun.
Now, with the depth of the oceans shrouding the galactic light, the refractions undulate with the frantic waves caused by the proximity of the moon.
The real view comes when the sun sets and the numerous stars light up the oasis like an aurora.
A million lights flashing everywhere, splendid shades of green, blue, purple, and white; dancing to the rhythm of the pull of the moon on the surface.
We enjoy this euphoric view one last time, knowing that within the walls of the garrison we will never experience heaven like this.
The city walls will crowd the sky, and the polluted smog will suppress its beauty.
While the sky is alight and the air crisp, I feel Dior's lanky figure fidget besides my legs. She sits up and her golden eyes peers into my soul.
I can feel the pressure of her third eye, she wants me to open up. I let her in.
"We need to talk about our covenants." she relays with the soothing voice of her conscious thoughts.
"Nope. Anything but that please. Out of all the things we need to talk about, that's your first agenda?"
"Titus... Tyde~ My little Tits. I really need you to do me a huge favor, and tell me your secrets. Spill it. There is no better person to tell than me. Your favorite person in the world!", She enthusiastically jumps in for a hug.
Oh shit. This is getting really dangerous. I can feel her warmth, her breath, her... curves. I panic and shove her off.
"Alright alright... but listen close Dior, I swear on all the gods, if you ever use this against me, I will kill you. No other soul knows what I'm about to tell you, and it can never be repeated."
She rolls her eyes but nods and leans in close to listen attentively. Not too close where it would be a problem, but close enough to make me blush.
My heart follows the pace of her silver lashes as they flutter. I am about to be the most vulnerable I've ever been. Nakedness would pale in comparison to the unveiling of my covenant.
It takes immense trust to make this leap. Dior did mention "our" covenant, meaning she has her own secrets. I was never aware that she was a vessel as well.
"It's Lust. The Demoness of Lust chose me."
I wait for her snicker, but her teases never come. It's just her large curious eyes, waiting patiently for me to finish.
"She approached me after they left. Some traumatic shit happened, it was bad enough that the demoness granted me ignorance; meaning she erased that part of my memory. I apparently asked for it, begged even. Whatever happened to my parents is a mystery, but my younger self deemed forgetting about it to be less painful than to know the truth."
"Your curse?"
"Right... M-my curse... I can't bust."
"What?"
"Yeah... I'm not allowed to nut."
"No way."
"I'm not lying. It's tied to my blessing, most curses are, but mine directly relates to how powerful I become. The longer I abstain, the more my power stacks. All of my stats, from endurance, strength, durability, any and all bodily capabilities get enhanced. The moment I bust my powers revert and I have to endure immense pain equivalent to how long I abstained."
"So... how long have you been fasting for?"
"Fasting? I've never done it."
"Wait what? Like ever?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Not even a wet dream?"
I pause and my face glows bright red.
"So... I made the covenant when I was eight. When I was twelve I had my first and last wet dream. That experience was horrifying enough to teach me how to avoid it."
"Want to tell me about it?"
I punch her lightly on the shoulder.
"Ow! Okay okay... So what if you want to have kids?"
"Kids? I don't plan on doing any of that anytime soon."
"Not even... with me?"
I punch her again, a bit harder this time. She laughs and rubs her shoulder.
"Okay... now your turn."
"Love. That's the god that I'm tied to."
"Whoa... that's one of the most powerful ones. Are you sure you didn't mistake it for something else? I mean, you're great and all but I highly doubt that..."
She lifts her shirt. I aver my gaze immediately.
"What the hell are you doing? Didn't I just tell you that-"
"Relax Tits, my tits are not out, I'm showing you my marking, it's on the bottom of my rib cage."
I take a quick glance to be safe. She hasn't let the helm of her shirt raise above her chest. A sigh of relief escapes as I turn to study her marking.
Sure enough, on either side of her, along the ripples of her ribs are two lovebird parrots. It is the insignia of the god of Love.
I lift my shirt to reveal my two black and white dragons along my waistline. Her hands travel quick and brushes over them.
At first I recoil, but I let her curiosity wander. I can handle this much. She lets out a giggle before retracting her hands.
"That demoness sure has a sense of humor."
"What do you mean?"
"The markings. Tyde, their on your love handles!"
"Handles? Excuse me, I have abs, I do not have that bit of fat that rolls over my hips that people call: love handles. I am a fit surfer, don't insult me."
She rolls her eyes and they land beneath the trees on the playground cabin. A set of swings and a tall slide with monkey bars are in the outer courtyard.
"Remember when I push you so hard on the swings that you wrapped around it upside down?"
"Yeah and you had to go get Aziel to cut me down. He has us remake the rope for punishment. You left to go play and made me do it all by the way."
She lets out a melodious laugh, it makes my heart flutter and a smile to spread across my face.
"I'm going to miss this place. So many memories. So much that I'm not ready to leave behind." I say with a broken voice.
"But it is the reason why we go. Why we need to take this fight."
"No, we don't. I'm only doing this for you. If anything goes wrong, if I die, if I lose you; just know that it was your choice."
"You'll understand someday... it's okay if it isn't today, it's okay if it isn't tomorrow, I'll wait a thousand days, a hundred years, but I know you Tyde; and I know that someday you'll forgive me for making you make this choice."
I turn to look at the bubbles of cottages below, watching the lively kids frolic, Aki and Panpun playing fetch, Tia and Tito doing tricks on their boards, Aziel reading in the library; all this, all of home, I am leaving for a girl that I love.
Wait a minute, speaking of love, she never told me her blessing or curse. I turn to ask her but see that she is fast asleep, drooling on my leg. That's gross.
I pull a blanket over her and wipe her mouth. We need the rest. I can always ask later. I watch the beautiful sky, and eventually, through the swaying of the breeze, I drift to sleep.
***
I awake abruptly to the sound of thunder. It jolts me upright. We are high in the trees. Lightening is deadly, well not for me but for Dior... She is still unconscious. That girl can sleep through anything.
My nose stings, and I notice a murky texture in the air. Fire, it is the residue of fire in the air. Smoke ascends from the bubble cabins below. I shake Dior awake.
"Get the fuck up! The shields are down, power must of gone out from lightening, we need to protect the kids before the ghouls arrive."