Cuxie: I just got the idea in my head to do an +Anima story!X3
Husky:...So?
Cuxie: Kya!(tackles Husky)Cool!
Husky:O.o
Cooro: So what do we do now?
Cuxie: Star in my story of course! LET'S GO!
Why me? Nana thought, looking around helplessly and seeing nothing but darkness. The woods were dark and everything around her looked ominous and menacing. Every little noice sounded threatening. And every painful memory that flashed before her eyes sent her into a state of terror and panic.
The group of four had split up several hours ago to search for food, and/or shelter. Whichever came first. The idea had seemed smart at first. Individually, they could cover a larger area. But sending Nana into the woods alone had proven to be one of the worst ideas yet. Why on Earth did they listen to Cooro?
Nana trembled all over, her eyes wide with fear. Everywhere she turned mysterious things seemed to lurk in the shadows. I hate this! I hate it so much! I want to get out of here!
Tears filled her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. She dropped to her knees and covered her bat ears with both hands. She sobbed until her chest hurt.
Suddenly, her ears pricked; picking up the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping.
Oh no! Something's coming!
Nana panicked, causing her to cry harder. Her shoulders shook violently and she couldn't find the strength to get up and move. She pulled her knees up to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. "D-Don't...come over here...p-please...!" she tried to keep quiet, but the effort tore at her chest and ragged sobs escaped her mouth. An image of her father with a knife flashed across her mind and she screamed.
"NOOO!"
The noise was louder this time. It was the sound of footsteps running...towards her.
Don't come! Don't kill me! Please! Cooro! Senri...Husky! Someone! Save me! All these thoughts were released in one scream.
Something grabbed her by the shoulder.
"AAAHHHHHHH!"
"NANA?"
She jumped at the sound of her name; a familiar voice shouting in her ear. "H-Husky?" She peeked one eye open and a head of silver hair came into view.
"Are you okay?" he asked frantically. "I heard you scream! You're not hurt are you?" His ocean-blue eyes were wide and panicky instead of cool and calm like they usually were. If Nana hadn't known any better she would've thought he was...worried about her.
"I-I'm not hurt." He sighed in relief and for a moment, Nana was touched. Maybe he really was worried about me.
"Then why the heck were you screaming?" he asked suddenly.
"Oh. Um, I-I thought I heard something and I got scared, so..."
"Typical. Girls are so stupid. Always screaming and crying for nothing," he said annoyed.
Nana pouted and crossed her arms. "I can't believe how rude you are sometimes! And I'm not stupid!"
"Whatever." He got up and brushed him self off. Nana started to panic.
"Wait! W-Where are you going?" She asked.
"To try and find the others." Nana watched him with sad, scared eyes. He groaned. "Get up. We can't stay here." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Her legs were shaking. She clutched his hand tightly and he let her. They walked in silence, apart from Nana squealing whenever the wind made a wrong noise. Husky sighed.
"Can you at least try to calm down?"
"I-I can't help it. I hate the woods at night!" she cried. A branch scraped against her arm and she screamed, latching herself onto Husky's arm.
"H-Hey!" His face flushed red. "It's just the wind..."
"I hate this," she mumbled. "It's so dark...don't you have a lamp or something?"
"I did have the oil lamp. But I dropped it when I heard you scream," he admitted sheepishly. "It's probably broken anyway."
Nana whimpered. There was no way they'd get out and find Cooro and Senri in the dark. They didn't even know what direction they were going in! She looked up at the sky. The moon wasn't even visible through the trees. Walking was completely useless.
Husky must've realized this too because he stopped suddenly. "This is pointless. It's completely dark and I have no idea where we're going. I think we should just stop here and keep going in the morning." He looked over at her expectantly.
The bat-girl's heart sped up. Did he mean they were just going to sleep in the middle of the woods alone? She knew walking was pointless and they didn't have many other alternatives...but this was definitely not what she had in mind. "B-But..sleep here?"
"What else are we going to do? Unless you have any better ideas, we're stopping." He sat down and she did the same. "I think Cooro has the blankets."
"I have one in my bag," Nana said. She pulled it out and spread it out between them.
"Good. You'll be fine then," he said, leaning back and preparing to go to sleep. Nana blinked, surprised that he didn't want to use the blanket.
"Huh? What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
She hesitated before speaking again. "W-We could, um...share it." He blinked and looked at the blanket. It wasn't very big at all; clearly made for one person. If they both slept with it...He blushed.
"Uh..."
"Well, it'd be stupid for us both to freeze so I just thought..." she trailed off. I'm so dumb. Of course he doesn't want to-
"Ok...I guess."
What was I thinking? Husky laid stiffly on his side with his back to Nana. Nana had her back to him too. He stared blankly into the darkness, trying not to move. The blanket was indeed small. It was almost impossible for them both to use it without touching each other. But he was trying, recalling the last time he accidently 'touched' Nana while they were sleeping.
After a while, he started to hear muffled cries from Nana. He could feel her trembling beside him. He sighed and turned over so he was facing her. "Nana..."
"...L-Leave me a-a-alone," she stuttered.
"I would if I could sleep through your crying."
"Well, I-I can't help it! You know I hate the woods at night! I-I can't stand it! I...I know you think I'm stupid and useless and everything...but I just can't take it. Y-You don't care at all do you?" she was speaking in short gasps and he could tell saying all this was just making her feel worse. She was sobbing harder now but kept going. "I don't...care what you think of me. You d-don't understand! No one does!"
He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and turned her around to look at her. "Would you shut-up for a minute?" Her eyes, which were red from crying, were wide with shock. Her cheeks were wet and tearstained.
His eyes softened and he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "God, girls really do talk too much."
"H-Husky..." she hiccuped.
"Shhh. Go to sleep," he whispered soothingly. "I won't let anything hurt you."
"...P-Promise?"
"I promise."
Nana clutched his shirt and burried her face in his chest. Even though he wasn't as strong as Senri, or as good at making quick escapes as Cooro, she couldn't help but feel safe when he held her. She believed him, and pretty soon the threatening sounds of the forest seemed to fade away and the darkness was lost while she slept.
Husky was the first to wake up. The sky was the pinkish-orange of dawn and the sunlight through the trees cast strange patterns of shadows over their faces.
When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was Nana's face surprisingly close to his. His face began to heat. More so when he noticed they're position.
He had barely moved at all through the night, finding that he was comfortable despite their closeness. His arm was still draped over her waist. But Nana had somehow shifted so that her head laid on his chest while she clutched his shirt with one hand. Their legs were intertwined and her body was practically on top of his.
"Mmm..." Nana snuggled closer to him and he stiffened.
"N-Nana..." he shook her shoulder gently. "Nana, wake up."
Her eyes blinked open and she look at him, dazed. "Mmn...what time is it?" she mumbled.
"Um, I'm not sure. But I think we should get going. You know, try to find Cooro and Senri."
"Just a few more minutes..." she replied sleepily. Her eyes closed again and Husky groaned.
"C-C'mon! Get up you lazy girl," he said, hoping the sexism would get to her.
It did. "Ughh...you jerk. I was having a nice dream too," she moaned, sitting up.
"Really? About what?"
"Uh," she blushed a bright pink. "...nothing. Nevermind."
Husky cast her a suspicious look. "Well, we should get going anyway. First we need to find our way out of this forest. Then we'll look for Cooro and Senri."
Nana stood and folded her blanket up. "But how do we get out of here? Which way do we go? There's not even a path! Where do we-"
He clamped a hand over her mouth. "Just shut-up for a minute! I can't think with all your yapping."
"Mmph!" she pulled at his hand. "Mmt muu!"
"I'm thinking. Give me a second," he said. She made an indecipherable noise and did as he said. He let go of her mouth. "Thank you."
"So do you have an idea?"
"Not really. But I think we should go this way," he said pointing to his left.
"Whatev-Um, how about this way instead?" she said pointing in the opposite direction.
He frowned. "No offense, but your just a helpless girl. I can't trust your sense of direction."
"What? Oh, that's so like you! You don't know any better than I do!" she huffed, stamping her foot. "And I happen to know that this is the right direction."
"How so?"
She pointed towards the sky where a narrow column of smoke could be seen in the far west. A fire. "That," she said, satisfied with the embarrassed look on his face, "is how I know."
"Oh," he said quietly. "W-Well I guess we could go see what it is." Nana smirked and started to lead the way. Husky followed behind sullenly.
After walking for a good hour, Husky regained the lead and Nana started to lag behind. She begged him to stop so they could rest for a bit, but he refused. "Whoever's burning that fire isn't going to burn it forever. We're lucky it's even burning now. What are we going to do if it goes out before we get there?"
"Nmm...just for a minute? My feet hurt," she whined.
"No! Are all girls as annoying as you? And if your feet hurt so much, why don't you just fly? You could be there in a matter of minutes."
She had thought of this. "But...what about you?"
He shrugged. "I'll meet you there."
"But..." I don't wanna leave you. She couldn't say that. "Y-You know I'm only staying with you for your own sake. You'd be lost without me. You didn't even see the fire."
"What? I could make it there by myself!" he shot back. "And you only saw the fire first. That doesn't mean anything. We don't even know if it's Cooro or Senri." They glared at each other for a moment. "And I don't need you anyway."
"Fine!" she huffed, spreading her wings and preparing to take flight. "I will go on ahead then if that's the way you feel!" She turned to the sky, but Husky grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. "What are you doing? Let go!"
"No. I changed my mind. I'm not letting you go alone," he said evenly.
"Why not? I thought you didn't need me."
"True. But you clearly need me." He waited for her response. Her wings disappeared. "And suppose there's danger up ahead? If I let you get hurt I'd break my promise," he added blushing slightly. "Let's go." He pulled her along gently by the hand.
"Ok."
They trekked for another good hour before stopping to rest by a fallen tree. The sun was high in the sky, past noon by fair judgement. Nana sat on the log to rest and Husky rested beside her. She complained about the walk and how hot it was and how hungry and thirsty she was. The sun was beating down on them, making them both annoyed and irritable.
Husky eyed a large rock on the ground by his left foot. He briefly wondered if throwing it at her would shut her up. That option was quickly dismissed when he realized that if she got knocked out by it he'd have to drag her through the woods himself.
"You're not listening to me are you?" she accused him angrily.
"Can you be quiet for one minute? No, I'm not listening to you! And no, I don't want to listen to you because you're not saying anything that's going to help us get out of here! I know it's hot and your hungry and tired. I've been walking just as much as you have. But do you really think whining about it is going to do anything? I can't do anything about any of our problems right now so shut-up and stop telling me about them!"
His head snapped towards her, fully prepared to defend himself against any insults she shot back.
"..."
Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. The young girl stood up and ran from him.
"Nana?" Husky got up and ran after her. He was close behind when her hand flew up to her throat for a minute and she threw something back at him. It hit his chest before falling to the ground and he stopped to pick it up.
It was the flower necklace with the water jewel he had given her.
He stared at it for a long time. Suddenly his chest felt tight. He closed his fist around the wooden charm and looked up. Nana was gone. He could run, but there was no way he'd catch up to her. The boy sighed and ran a hand through his short silver hair and stuffed the necklace in his pocket.
After weighing his options (very few) he resolved to keep heading towards the fire. The smoke was thining out, which wasn't good. So it was best to hurry up if he hoped to find whoever was there. And he was sure once Nana came to her senses she'd be going in the same direction.
If she hadn't flown there already.
He trudged on alone, feeling extremely stupid and guilty. Maybe I went too far. She probably won't even talk to me for the rest of my life. He wondered for a second why he cared. It's not like he wanted her to talk to him. She's just a dumb girl...so why do I feel like this? He kicked random things in his path, feeling frustrated with himself for not doing anything more productive, frustrated at Nana for running away, and then frustrated at himself again for making her cry.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" A voice screeched from nearby. Husky ran towards it without a second thought.
He found Nana backed against a tree trunk. A dangerous looking wildcat stalked towards her, a deep rumbling noise building from within it's chest. Nana was shaking violently, her eyes squeezed shut. She whimpered.
Husky pulled out his staff, which had been strapped to his back, and stepped protectively in front of Nana.
"Husky!"
He kept his eyes on the cat. "Stay behind me, Nana. No...better yet, get out of here."
"But you could get hurt!"
"Don't worry about me." The cat crept forward, leaning back on it's haunches. It prepared to punce. "Get out of here now!"
"NO!"
In the blink of an eye, the large feline lept towards them. Nana screamed again. Husky managed to block it's front claws with his staff, but the cat was big. It towered over him on it's hind legs. Not to mention it was heavy. It's teeth dangerously close to his face...
"Husky!" Nana screamed her sonic screech, paralyzing the cat for a moment. Husky managed to shake off the attack and took the opportunity to escape. He grabbed Nana's arm and they ran.
Nana struggled to keep up as they fled, tripping slightly as he dragged her farther away from the danger. Husky dragged her as far away as possible, pushing through branches and trees until he came to a clearing. There they found a dwindling fire sending up a weak stream of smoke. A tent was set up, but the place seemed deserted.
The pair collasped on the ground, panting.
"I...I think we're safe," Husky sighed. Before he could respond, Nana threw herself into his arms and started sobbing into his chest. "N-Nana?"
"I-I was so s-scared!" she cried. "I'm so sorry Husky! I didn't mean to run away, I just didn't know what to do anymore and I was so mad! But I put you and danger and you still saved my life-"
"Nana-"
"I shouldn't have been so whiney either! I've done nothing but bother you-"
"Wait, Nana-"
"And that cat could've m-mauled you or even worse-!"
"NANA!"
She blinked her tear-filled eyes at him. "W-What?"
He hugged her tight. "Just shut-up for a minute." She's safe. Thank God, I thought she might be... He smoothed his hands through her hair until she calmed down enough to breathe normally. "Okay...we're going to have to lay down some ground rules now. To make sure nothing like this ever happens again." She listened attentively, still folded up in his arms. "First of all, we will never separate like that in the woods, or anywhere, again!" He placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up so she could see him. "Don't you ever run away from me like that." He meant it to be severe, but the obvious worry in his voice sounded softer. She nodded and his eyes softened. "Good. Second, if we ever come across anything like that beast again, let me handle it, okay?"
"But Husky-"
"Nana. Please," he said earnestly. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
Her eyes glittered with tears again. He cares. He really cares. "H-Husky..."
"And third-"
"HUSKY! NANA!"
"Huh?" They both looked up. Cooro came, wings spread wide, flying over the hill with several round objects in his arms.
He descened, taking off at a run as soon as his feet hit the ground. "Look what I got!" Closing the distance between them, he held out his arms proudly. "Lucky, huh?" He cocked his head at them in a confused manner. "Why are you two hugging?"
"Ah...Wah!" Husky and Nana all but shoved each other away, faces flaming, and scrambled to create a distance between them. "Uh, um, w-we were...there was..." Nana scrambled for a legitimate excuse, avoiding eye contact with either of the boys.
Husky, opting for a more tactful approach, grabbed one of Cooro's round things. "Peaches?" If anything could distract the crow-boy, it was food.
Cooro brightened. "Yeah! They're not apples, but they sure are tasty! I found a whole tree full of them!"
"Where's Senri?"
"He was taking a nap the last time I checked." Cooro turned towards the tent. "Senri! SENRI!" A few seconds later, one tent flap opened, and Senri poked his head out looking tired and disoriented. Cooro turned back to Husky. "See? Great we found this place, huh? We were looking for you guys when it started to get dark, so we made camp here. Right Senri?"
"..."
"Well, c'mon!" He snatched the peach back from Husky and ran towards the tent. "Lunch time~!"
Husky and Nana stood awkwardly, alone again. They stole glances at each other, avoiding eye contact, until Husky motioned for her to go ahead of him. She ducked her head and walked slowly. Her cheeks still felt warm and her heart was beating too fast. Why did she feel so weird?
"...And third..."
Her breath caught and she started to turn around when she felt his hands at the back of her neck. "Husky?" She felt something lightly hit against her throat and looked down.
"Promise me you won't take this off," he whispered.
She wrapped her hand around it, tracing the lines of the petals and the jewel with her fingers. "I promise."
Cuxie: Awww!
Cooro: Take what off?
Cuxie: You weren't paying attention, were you?
Cooro: Eheh. ~^_^~
Cuxie: It's okay since you're really cute! (squeezes Cooro) I want a Cooro plushie!^-^
Cooro: ?
Cuxie: Review plz!