Hurricane
He watched her flee. His heart clenched as he saw the panic in her eyes. He could still hear the stinging cry of her name echoing in the air around those that remained, haunting the ears of her family. Her little yellow contraption disappeared around a corner as his desperate need to help her morphed into a bitter fury. He cast a cold look over his shoulder at her mother, whose face was the picture of regret, but felt no pity for her.
He understood why she had panicked and shouted at her daughter out of fear for her husband, but her daughter had warned them. She had said that they should stay back, and they had insisted on forcing themselves on her. It was hardly fair to yell at her when she had expressly warned them against it. And now she had fled from him and everybody who could help her.
He heard her parents trying to corral the ice witch and him into a search party, but he was still too furious with them.
"Are you coming with us?"
"You'll have to forgive me your majesties, but I think that at present it would be best if we parted company. If I find your daughter, I don't think she'll want to see so many of us at one time. It might overwhelm her." He didn't add that he had an inkling of where she might be headed, and a good feeling that her parents would be the last people she wanted to see at the moment.
He watched a flurry of emotions cross over both of her parents faces, from hurt to sadness and finally resignation.
"I guess you are right," her father conceded, and the two of them turned away, leading the ice witch back down the street to prepare for the search.
Once he was alone, he considered his options. He could go in search of her and more likely than not find her. But he wasn't certain that his company was what she needed right now. He remembered how he had felt after his brother had died. How he had felt that he had brought that fate down on his captain. How after he had laid his brother's body to rest and stirred the crew into a mutinous firestorm, he had withdrawn from the world, afraid that he might drag another to their fate.
He recalled the silent hours where he had stared at his own hands, trying to see the spots of blood on them that he thought should be there. He knew in the long run, she would need someone there for her, but for the evening he'd let her run and settle her mind.
Having decided to ensure she had a few moments alone, he decided to return to her parents' loft. If he involved himself in the search effort, he could make sure that he misguided the others for a little while. Nodding to himself, he turned on his heel, throwing one last loving glance over his shoulder in the direction his love had disappeared.
He made it to the loft in short order, and took a steadying breath outside the door before he turned the knob, stepping over the threshold, and allowing the door to swing shut behind him. The resounding concussion brought silence to the frantic noise of the loft as four pairs of eyes turned to stare at him.
"What are you doing back here? I thought you said it would be better if we split up!"
"Aye, and I still stand by that, your ladyship. But I had a thought that might help us find her more quickly….." He paused as the eyes of her parents, son, and those of the ice witch all brightened with hope.
He waited until the prince urged him to continue, "Well out with it!"
"Easy mate," he sharply. "We all want to find her. There's no need to bite at me for something I have no control over just because you are scared."
He could tell his words had hit their intended mark, as both the royals dropped their eyes and their faces colored in shame as they remembered their behavior. He allowed his words to sink in and the awkward silence to remain for a few beats before he spoke again.
"Alright then, this is what I propose. We split the town into a grid of four quadrants, divided up into smaller squares. We each take a quadrant and search each area within a square, before moving on to the next. We should all start with the squares at the edge of town, and move inward, so if she knows we are coming and tries to keep ahead of us, she'll end up running into one of the others. We'll keep our talking phones on, and if someone finds her, we'll notify the others. Aye?"
The others seemed to process his words for a few moments before the prince gave a grudging nod of approval. "It's a good plan. I'm impressed."
"Aye well searching for hidden treasure is kind of in the job description mate. Would make a bloody poor pirate if I didn't know how to do it well."
The prince rolled his eyes, but her ladyship seemed keen to move on. "Ok so who is search where?"
"Hold on just one moment your highness, let me fetch a map." He walked over to the book case shelf that had slowly become his over the course of the last few weeks. He would bring knick knacks for her boy or a book or shell for her and she had begun to place all his little bits and pieces on the second shelf, and before he had realized what had happened, the shelf was his, where he stored his things when he didn't want to bring them back to the inn or wanted her to have them handy. Among the bit and pieces was a map he had insisted she take. This was what he removed from the shelf, shaking it out as he walked back to the center of the room.
He made his way to the bar top and then picked up a pen that was lying nearby on the counter. Absentmindedly, he noted that pens and pencils were one of his favorite inventions of this realm. The ability to continuously write or draw without fear of smudging or running out of ink was truly a wonder. His brother would have truly appreciated it, being the artist that he was. He remembered the lessons his brother would give in the dark of the night, clutching scraps of burnt sticks and pressing rags against the hull to stead the flimsy fabric. He had listened as his brother instructed him on the method of making curves into gentle smiles and lines into softened eyes, creating faces of soothing memories and long forgotten dreams.
Shaking away the memory, he quickly marked up the map into the four sections, then before anyone could interject, he rushed on to assign the areas to their searchers.
"You," he said, quickly glancing up at the prince, "will search the north-western part here," He pointed to that portion of the map. "Your lovely wife will take the south-western here." He glanced at her and she nodded. "And you," ha glanced at the ice witch, "will take the south-eastern, here." She also nodded her understanding. "And I'll take the remaining section. We will search throughout the night, and after dawn, at say seven, if no news has been found, we will return here to regroup and rest."
He spoke with finality and was relieved when the only response he received was a series of serious nods. He studied the faces of the two royals and noticed that her ladyship appeared to be gearing up to give some sort of soliloquy, so he quickly cut her off.
"Come, let's pack some supplies and be headed out."
In short order, the whole pack had been herded out the door, backpacks in hand, with a stern order to the her boy to stay put and call if she came home, before each searcher departed to their assigned region.
He set out quickly, heading directly for the high cliffside he knew sat above the forest and overlooked the town. He wasn't sure why, but he's certain that she'd be there. Trying to step back, to get some perspective. To put distance between herself and the world, physically and mentally.
As quickly as he could, he hiked up into the hills, feeling the air chill as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. As his feet thudded against the soft undergrowth of the forest floor, he allowed his mind to wander, tracing the lines within the forest back to his memories of another mountain he had climbed, so long ago. It had been a perpetual twilight, the thick, heavy air so different from the cool crisp ocean breeze that now filled his lungs as he drove forward up the slope.
He remembered his brother's teasing about his ponytail and his last shore leave When a woman had approached him in the red light district while he was drunk and offered him a taste of her blooming flower and he had responded that he was allergic to most pollen. His brother, who had been with him and equally intoxicated, had let out a booming laugh, doubling over in tears as he fell into a fit of hysterics. He had turned bright red as he understood his mistake and had quickly turned and staggered on his heel to return to the ship. He could hear his brother thanking the woman and the clink of a coin being tossed before his brother's voice called out to him to wait and together they made it back to the ship. As they had trekked up the hill through the thick jungle on the island a week later, his brother had asked him if he could continue or his allergies had gotten too bad.
A small smile crept across his face as he swept some branches aside, allowing himself a rare moment to dwell on the memory of his brother without trying to taint the glow of the recollection with his bitterness and sour anger. Such remembrances had become more and more common as of late, he had noticed. Since he had met her, the long dead memories of his past were slowly returning to life, full of vibrant color and vivid emotion.
A strange sensation pulled him to the present. It felt like snow was being carried on the evening wind, gentle caressing his exposed skin, but the air was clear and far too warm for such weather. Then the smell of her hair mingled with the briny smell of the sea.
He immediately stopped walking, closing his eyes and allowing his other senses to expand. He allowed her scent and the sensations on the wind to wash over him, and before too long, he noticed that when the wind blew from the west, the smell and sensation seemed to strengthen. With a another small smile he turned in that direction.
After another fifteen minutes of pushing through the underbrush of the forests above the town, his eyes detected shadows in the form of her little vessel and a person seated on its hood, hunched in on themselves. And he knew without a doubt that it was her.
He could feel the snow-like sensation more thickly across his skin, noticing that occasionally it would get stronger, and he was sure it was tied to her and what she was thinking. As he walked, he made sure to step heavily, cracking twigs and flapping the tails of his coat so that she could hear his approach. And he could tell she had, straightening from her curled up position on her little vessel, and slowly dropping her legs to the dirt.
The closer he got, the stronger the odd sensation on the air became, until he felt like there should have been a blizzard around him, though the air was still and mild. As he came to a stop by her side, he heard her release a quiet sigh.
"Go away." The way she bit (spit?) it out sounded tired and worn. He winced at her words, expected though they were.
"Aye love, I'll leave you be shortly, but first I need to make sure that you are going to be alright for the remainder of the evening." That seemed to surprise her, and she slid down to stand turning to face him with her brows pulled low, watching him warily. Like he was lying.
"So you aren't here to try and drag me back to town? Where I could hurt them? Where I could hurt Henry? Where I could hurt y-" Her voice was gravelly, a sure sign that she was tense and trying to get her emotions under control. As she spoke, her voice got higher in pitch, until she cut herself off with a jerk. Turning herself away from him, she crossed her arms to study the twinkling light of the city below.
He considered her words for a moment before he spoke, keeping his voice low and even, trying to reach out to her even if she wouldn't accept his touch. "No, love, I am not here to bring you back. I just wanted to make sure that you are alright and that you wouldn't hurt yourself. I brought some of those absurd little rectangles with the odd white coating on top that you and Henry like, along with some other little bits and pieces for you." As he spoke he shrugged the black backpack from his shoulders and offering it out to her. "There are also a couple of those clear water flasks in there as well for you."
"Water bottles, they're called water bottles," she corrected him. He couldn't help the small smile of victory because she hated when he described items instead of naming them, like water bottles or her Pop-Tarts.
"Sorry, aye, I brought you some water bottles."
She sighed again, then slowly turned back to him, her body language indicating that she was still tense and nervous. A flicker from her crossed hands caught his eye, but he managed to keep his focus on her face and away from the small bursts of magic that were lighting up her palms. That was the last thing she needed him calling attention to right now.
She considered the bag for a moment before carefully reaching out, her brows pulled down in focus before she yanked the backpack from him in one quick motion and taking several steps back to put distance between them. He forced back a sigh of his own, but kept his face passive.
"Ok now you've delivered your supplies, you can go," she muttered, starting to turn away from him again.
"Actually, love, do you mind if I steal back on of those water contraptions? I'm parched."
She narrowed her eyes at him before seeming to decide that his request was harmless enough to oblige. She yanked open the zipper and dug her hand in, withdrawing with a bottle in her grip. He reached out to take it at the same moment that she tossed it to him. So it when right past his outstretched hand and on an instinct he thought long gone, brought his left hand up to catch it. The bottle slid easily over the curve of his hook and dropped to the dirt at his feet, and for the first time that he could recall, he was uncomfortable in front of her.
But she immediately gasped, "Oh my god, I am so sorry, I wasn't even thinking." And she hurried forward to crouch at his feet, scooping up the bottle and opening it before offering it back to him. Clearly she was as embarrassed by the situation as he was. But she didn't notice that her hands had ceased flickering. She was now only inches away from him.
So he pushed his embarrassment aside and simply nodded his thanks, gently taking the bottle from her, being sure he brushed her hand as he did so. Before she could react to the contact he brought the bottle to his lips and took a long, slow swallow, maintaining eye contact as he did., She watched as she focused on his face, swallowing with him and then licking her lips after.
As he slowly lowered the bottle, she seemed to come back to herself, blinking and stepping back from him, her hands resuming their flickering as she did. But he wasn't going to allow her to run away from him. Not yet.
"What is troubling you love?" he asked quietly, carefully approaching her. She tensed and he stopped moving. She looked at him, and he waited. As he always would.
Finally, she took a breathe, "I can feel it. Its under my skin. And everything is so loud, like all of my senses have been amplified, it makes it hard to think and I- " she stuttered off as the light coming from her hands grew more steady and intense. Her eyes seemed to grow unfocused and her breathing started to speed up. A moment later he noticed she was starting to tremble.
He instantly recognized what was happening, the sensory overload that was overwhelming her. So he carefully stepped forward, whispering as he did, "It's alright love, just focus on me, focus on my voice. I'm right here you are alright. It's going to be ok."
He could tell that it was having some effect because her glazed eyes focused and locked on his own, so he continued as he stopped inches from her, "That's right love, just focus on me. I'm right here."
"I can- I can hear your heart beating. Why can I hear your heart beating?" she murmured, a slight tremor to her voice, before she began to gasp for breath again.
"Easy love," he whispered, then an idea came to him. He carefully reached out and caught her hand. She started at the physical contact, and tried to pull away, but with a gentle, but firm grip, he kept her hand in his own. "S'alright love, it's alright." He guided her hand to his chest, placing her hand above his heart and holding it there.
"There's a good girl," he murmured, "Just listen, focus on me. Focus on my heart beat."
She stared hard at the point where her skin met his own. He could tell she listened to him again when her fingers dug into his chest as if she were trying to dig her nails in to keep him there. He could feel warmth under his skin from where she was touching him, could actually feel the pulses of magic radiate out from her palm. It felt like the sun on a calm day at sea, soothing and warm. Against his will, his eyes slipped shut as he savored her touch, allowing himself to focus on her hand against his skin and the warmth that pulsed within him.
Suddenly she gasped, and his eyes snapped open. Her eyes glistened in the darkness as she stared at him with something like awe.
"Love?" he whispered quietly.
"I can- I can feel it too," she whispered, her eyes flicking down her hand on his chest. It took him a moment to understand, then his eyes widened with the realization that somehow her magic was linking them together. And he also noted that as soon as she had noticed that, the pulsing had turned into a single steady flow and that her shaking had calmed somewhat, though he could still feel her hand trembling slightly.
"Then let me help you. Just focus on me. Just be with me," he whispered back, aware of the doubled meaning to his words, but unable to pull them back. She didn't seem to notice however, as her focus is back on her hand. So he breathes deeply, pulling the cool forest air into his lungs, cataloguing the sensation as the wind passes through his nose. The smells of the forest and the sea. The feeling of his clothing shifting on his skin as his shoulder move and his chest expands. The touch of the night air on his exposed flesh. The sounds of the forest around them, and their quiet breaths.
It was a sensory exercise he had started after his brother had died. When his grief and rage had begun to overwhelm him, he would find himself on deck savoring the spray of the sea and the wind in his hair, focusing his mind on each of his senses. He allowed each to individually wash over him until he had discovered all he could, then moved on to the next sense. It helped focus his mind and kept his awareness sharp. In later years, during his stint back on the seas around that cursed island, he would use it to help keep his mind clear of the fog that the island's magic created.
"I can feel you," came her quiet admission, soft as the sea wind around them.
His heart clenched as he opened his eyes to consider her fearful expression, and the longing he tried to push down welled to the surface. Words he couldn't stop slipped past his lips.
"Please, love, let me feel you too."
She gave a tentative nod and a wave of intense emotion swept over him, overwhelming his own with how much he cared for the woman before him. How much her fear hurt him. He wondered if she could feel how his heart beat for her.
He carefully reached down and took hold of her other hand, turning it and resting it lightly on the edge of his arm, before taking his hand and slowly beginning to trace the lines of her fingers and palm, giving every dip and crevice his undivided attention. His roughened hands danced over her skin.
And then, as a strong pulse of warmth flooded through him, suddenly he could feel it too. The sensation of fingers being traced over skin that no longer existed. His breath stuttered and his hand faltered and the sensation faded.
Then he felt her hand move slightly, fingertips brushing over his collarbone and the the base of his throat. Against his will his eyes rolled back slightly at the feel of her caress. They popped back open however, when he heard the smallest of laughs from her.
He raised an eyebrow in question and she looked at him for a moment, a blush coloring her cheeks in the darkness. Before she dropped them back to her hand, watching herself as she traced the shadows of his throat.
"Is that really what you feel when I touch you?" she asked quietly.
He eyed her for a moment, considering, before he took a breath and took a leap.
"Let me show you what I feel when you touch me, love."
Her eyes flicked back up to his and for a long moment, they simply gazed at each other, each trying to find the answers they sought in the other's eyes. She seemed to find what she wanted, and after a long moment surrounded by the silence of the woods, she nodded.
His hand resumed its caress of her palm before creeping up to dance across the inside of her wrist. Once again the feeling returned to his own arm and he couldn't focus on both his thorough exploration of what bare skin she had, and the echoing sensations on his own flesh, so he disregarded the latter, putting his full focus on how soft and warm her skin was under his fingers.
Once he had pushed her sleeve up as far as it would go and run out of skin to map on her arm, her slowly began to crowd her, and as he anticipated, she stepped back a tiny step. He repeated his movement until she was pressed up against the front of her little vessel.
When he had her pinned, he leaned forward slowly, telegraphing his desire when his eyes dropped to her lips. She didn't resist him, and carefully pressed his lips to hers, savoring the sensation of her warm kiss.
She remained rigid beneath him, though she returned the gentleness of his kiss. They were pressed together and her hand was still settled against his chest. Her other was trapped with his own, so he could feel the comforting warmth that rolled off of her and the reassuring solidity of her form as she pushed against his body.
Her magic pulsed again, and suddenly he was boiling in his thick leather jacket, despite the night that surrounded them. With little thought, he quickly shrugged out of it and tossed it beside her, all while maintaining their kiss.
Her hand started to slide up from where it was pressed against his chest to his shoulder and she pulled her other free to bring it to the back of his touch of her fingers against the base of his skull sent warmth up into his head and down across his shoulders as he continued to leisurely kiss her.
Then in a sudden move, she pushed on his shoulder, broke their kiss, and spun around, pushing him up against her vessel. She stepped back to shrug off her own jacket, tossing it on top of his before pushing back up against him, a sudden earnestness in her movements. She seemed to be trying to trying forget herself in their contact.
Understanding what she was trying to do, he slowed down her passionate kiss. He brought his hand up to caress her cheek, savoring the smooth curve of her warm skin, before pulling back to admire her eyes. They were wide and frantic and she started to surge forward again.
He pulled back ever so slightly as he whispered, "Easy, love, easy. I'm right here. I'll always be here, until you ask me to leave." She froze a breath away from his lips, her brows beginning to pull down as she registered the confession in his words. He waited, panting slightly, her hair fluttering with each light breath, trying to see what she was thinking.
He saw the moment she decided.
"Not yet."
It was whispered, almost lost in the night air, but just audible enough for his heart to clench in his chest as she dropped her eyes to his shirt. She brought her hands up to fidget with his lapels for a moment before she looking up at him through her lashes. "Let me feel you." His belly clenched and he felt a tremor run down his back at her trembling plea.
"Aye, love," he murmured. Carefully he brought his hand to where she was clutching at his lapels. He gently grabbed her hand, shivering slightly as the softness of her hands, and brought it down to the top button of his vest. "Take what you need."
He heard her gasp but he kept his eyes focused on her hands. She began to fidget with the button for a moment, seeming to be trying to memorize its surface with her fingertips, before she carefully began to unbutton it.
He noticed, as she methodically worked her way down his vest, that her hands were shaking and tiny sparks of light were starting to flicker from her skin. He could feel the tiny specks of light soak through his shirt and skitter into his flesh, giving the oddest sensation as the prickling warmth trailed down his body, following the path of her hands.
Against his will the muscles of his belly trembled as her fingers reached the last of his vest buttons. He sucked in a breathe through his teeth and he closed his eyes against the anticipation he couldn't control. So he was taken by surprise when he felt her yank hard on his shirt, popping off each of the fasteners in quick succession as she hurriedly laid him bare.
The cool air that suddenly blew across his skin sent a quick shiver across his skin that turned into a full on shiver as her hand slid across his collarbone and down his chest, carding slowly through the the hair there. Her palm felt like fire on his skin and his eyes rolled up into his head at her caress, his whole body taut as he fought to remain still and pliant under her hands as the comforting warmth of before returned.
But his efforts were all for naught when her fingertips slowly dances upward to lightly trace his nipples, and a soft moan worked its way out of his throat.
"Let me feel you."
She whispered the words softly into his ear and he could resist her siren call no longer. Pulling her tightly to his body, he spun them around again with a vicious kiss, before reaching for the hem of her top. With little care, he yanked it over her head, exposing her to the night air as well.
She gave a brief shove to his chest and he immediately stepped back, confusion giving way to earnestness when he saw her reaching behind her back to unclasp her little half corset. Following her lead, he shrugged his shirt from his shoulders, exposing his back and the full expanse of his leather brace to the night.
She paused for a moment, a stillness settling over them amidst the fire between them, as she gingerly traced the straps that held his brace in place with her fingertips.
"Does it hurt?"
It was whispered on the wind and he could see her brow furrowing in concern as her fingertips traced the raised and calloused skin at the edges of the worn leather.
He gave the honest answer, "Aye, it does still sometimes. More when I first got it, when it was a danger to both me and those around me. But I learned to manage it, and it has become as much a part of me as my remaining hand."
He could tell she understood the lesson behind his words, watching a storm brew on her brow as she considered what he said. He noticed that her hands had started to tremble and pulse the more lost in thought she became, so he did the only thing he could to distract her.
He allowed his hand to move across her pale skin, carefully tracing every line and dip as he studied her bare torso in the moonlight. Her nipples pulled tight in the cool air as he dropped his hand to slowly cup her breast.
He had to suppress a groan as her magic seemed to flare and the tie between them was rekindle and the echo sensation across his skin made him shiver again. ANd then suddenly he could feel her. Not just an echo, not just her flesh, but the turmoil and the panic, the all-encompassing fear that clutched at her heart. The desperation behind her craving, her drive to solitude, and the abandon with which she threw herself into the sensation of his hand.
Her own hand ended up resting against his chest, seeming forgotten as she closed her eyes and tipped her head back on a tense sigh. As her neck stretched, he couldn't help but lean forward to press wet kisses to the lines of her throat, feeling her fluttering pulse beneath his lips at the same instant he felt the phantom rasp of his beard and the warmth of his touch on his own body.
He continued his perusal of her upper body with his eyes closed, savoring the way he could feel her within himself, her focus on the shivers his touch aroused in her,even as he savored the smooth softness of her skin under his palm.
As his hand wandered down her side, drawing a trembling breath from her, she seemed to remember her hands which slowly dropped to his pants, carefully working the button loose.
"Please," she sighed, and he opened his eyes to see her own screwed shut, tears leaking from beneath her lids. "Please, just let me feel."
His heart ached. "Alright love, it's alright."
Removing his hand from her, he reached over to where he had tossed his coat, quickly arranging it behind her before dropping his hand to her pants and quickly undoing them, pushing them down her legs and leaving her completely exposed to the night air.
But her magic seemed to be swelling again, pulsing brightly and heating the air around them as he urged her to lay back on his coat, leaving her laid bare before him. Then he began to trace his way up each le, feeling the connection pressing against his mind, and for one moment, he allowed all his walls to fall, laying himself as bare before her as she was before him, his mind open so she could see exactly who she was to him.
She whimpered and began to shake her head back and forth, eyes tightly shut, trying to deny the love of his thoughts, the openness of his heart, and the care of his caress. Her body began to shake as the light from her began to grow brighter and more steady.
His hand finally ceased its wandering caress as it reached her hot core and after a gentle touch that had her hips jumping, he slid a finger inside her as his thumb rubbed careful circles on her clit.
He had to close his eyes again against the echo sensation that burned across his body, sweat beading on his skin as he felt his own arousal build with hers. Her hips soon began to rut against his hand and when he slipped another finger into her, they both let out groans.
He could feel all her thoughts stilling as the heat within her built, the growing need for just a little something more. With gritted teeth, he slid a third finger into her while speeding up the the movement of his thumb. She cried aloud and his hand faltered as a wave of intense pleasure washed over his soul as well.
It took her body's instinctive and insistent movement to pull him back and resume his ministrations. But he could feel, just as she could, that their souls needed more, to connect.
So with a whimper from both their lips, he withdrew his hand to quickly shove his pants down enough to pull out his throbbing member. With little ceremony, he positioned himself and pushed into her, removing the last barriers between them, uniting them body, mind, and soul.
And it was perfect. He felt as if he was one with he. Each breath she drew was his own and her heart pumped the blood that was rushing through his veins. He could not tell where her flesh ended and his began, where his thoughts ceased and hers started.
It was profound. Overwhelming. They cried out into the night, not able to tell whose voice begged and pleaded, whose whispered soothing comforts across their bare and naked skin. They arched together, clinging and grasping at each other,as his fear of losing her entwined with her fear of being lost. So they pulled each other closer, pushing and pulling with the same rhythm as the tides and the breaking of the dawn, following the creation of mountains and the rising of the stars. They climbed higher and higher, each feeling the other's pleasure as their own driving the other onward, until like glass under too much pressure, they shattered, wrapped in and around each other.
They clung to the other's form, trying to stay anchored as they tumbled beyond words and thoughts, until, slowly, the tides receded and the sun set and each became themselves once more.
Once he was area of his own gasping breath, he opened his yes to the night, taking in her still shaking form in his arms. She was wrapped around him, heaving sobs into his shoulder as his arms held her steady. For a long moment, they clung to each other, before he began to feel a burning heat press into his skin. It came from where her palms were clutching at his back. He did his best to not acknowledge the pain, but when she shifted and the heat spiked, he couldn't help but let out a gasp.
She immediately yanked away from him, tears tracks glistening in the night, and he suddenly felt cold and empty in the forest air.
"You need to leave." He voice was harsh and brittle, ready to break at any moment.
He tried to reach out to comfort her, "Love it's alright, it doesn't hurt. Its fin-"
BUt she yanked even further away from him, "No it isn't. I hurt you!"
"It's nothi-"
"NO IT ISN'T!" she shouted as she gestured wildly, and a vicious blast of light threw him backward onto his bare back and legs, tangling his pants around his ankles.
He struggled to right himself as he heard her cry of panic, trying to get upright as he saw her frantically beginning to redress.
"Love!" he called, managing to get upright and trying to button his pants while moving towards her. She sent a terrified glance his way before quickly pulling her shirt over her head. His pants started to slip and in his haste he stumbled. Not having his hand free to catch himself, he landed face first on the forest floor.
He heard rushed footsteps and raised frantic eyes to see her dumping his jacket into the dirt, grabbing her own off the front of her vessel, and then diving inside of the contraption.
"Love, please wait!" he pleaded, trying to lever himself off the ground. But with a roar, her vessel blazed to life, blinding him as the lights flared.
Quickly ducking his head and closing his eyes, he yelled her name but the lights and noise faded. When he opened his eyes, he was alone on the cold ground, his clothes in a pile and the fading red of the rear lights of her vessel were the only sign she had been there.
His eyes stung as rejection, fear, desperation, and worry bloomed in his chest and for a moment, he couldn't do more than press his face into the dirt and will away his sorrow.
But after a few steadying breaths, he slowly reassembled what had fallen apart during the intense experience he had just shared with her, shoring up his heart, putting it aside so he could stand up and help her.
He eased himself up, carefully brushing the forest debris from his form before carefully but deliberately reclothing himself, each piece sliding into place like armor. He used the vest to keep his now buttonless shirt closed before gingerly picking up and shaking off his leather coat.
As he slid his arms into the sleeves of the well worn fabric, he felt his resolve hardened and he cast his eyes to the heavens, tracing old patterns into the news stars of the foreign sky as his brother's voice again echoed in his memories.
"A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets."
A warmth he had not felt since he had been wrapped in his brothers comforting embrace welled up from within, bringing a calm to him mind and a balm to his soul for the first time in centuries ad he once again felt the strength of his brother's guidance.
Dropping his eyes back to the forest, he nodded to himself before setting off to follow the path she had taken, willing as ever to follow her, wherever she led. He would not let her run from those who would help her, not this time. He would chase her until they were side by side again. And he promised her, on the memory of his brother, that he would not let her go without a fight.