Despite being the warm season, the air turns bitter-cold once the warm sun leaves the sky. Rustling though the leaves of the trees and plants, a small and chilling breeze passes the area.
Though residing under a blanket and leaning her back against the soft coat of the cat-deer, Raava is still uncomfortable due to the current temperature. Every breathe shes takes results in a wince. A nasty purple bruise formed from her injury she received earlier from when Wan was practicing his bending. Even though it was an accident, Raava was still a little upset with him. As at attempt to ease the physical pain, she takes small short breathes.
She glances at Wan, who appears to be sleeping right beside her. The breeze slowly moves his dark brown hair. Her eyes then glance up to the sycamore trees. The wind plays with the leaves and branches of the trees the same way it played with the curls of Wan's hair. A blue object above catches Raava's attention.
The blue object appears to be the feathers of several four bird-like animals in a small brown nest made up sticks, snuggled up together. Although the weather of the night is not welcoming, the birds all seem snug because of their body heat.
Putting her cold hand on her chest, Raava can feel the heat of her body transferring from her inner body to her fingers. She looks at Wan once again. He appears to be in a deep sleep but to be honest to herself, she's not really sure.
Sitting up from leaning on Mula, she gazes back up to the four fragile animals that reside in the nest up in the tree. She winces a little from the soreness of the pain from her injury. Her hand, still on her chest, feels much warmer than before due to being pressed against her warm body. She takes a deep breathe, ignoring the stinging pain from her rib cage.
She scotches her body closer to Wan, leans in towards him and then quietly rests her head on his shoulder as an attempt to get more comfortable.
Suddenly Wan opens his eyes and jerks his body away from Raava.
"Raava," He says, "Is there something wrong?" He was surprised by her action. Feeling the touch of something other than Mula was certainly something he was not expecting in the middle of the night.
Raava sighs, "I'm sorry if I frightened you. I thought you were sleeping," Wan stares back at her with wide eyes.
"It's fine. I wasn't sleeping anyway," He looks at the ground while moving only his right knee closer to his chest. Nothing follows except an awkward silence.
"I'm exhausted but I can't seem to fall asleep," He says as an attempt to ease the tension of the air. Looking at her again he asks "How's your side?"
"It hurts still." She gently places her hand on the right side of her torso slightly under her breast. "Breathing regularly seems to have become a more painful task," she adds, "So in the meantime I have to take smaller breathes which is a little unpleasant,".
Wan sighs, "Raava, I feel so terrible for hurting you. Are you sure you're going to be okay? We can postpone our travels for a day so you can rest,"
Raava laughs, "Postponing our travels? For a small bruise? Don't be foolish, Wan. We need to keep on traveling so we can reach the southern portal in time for Harmonic Convergence,"
Wan looks at her with eyes both worry and concern. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do for you to help ease the pain? Do you want more ice?"
Raava gives Wan a sour look, "I'd say yes, but I'm already uncomfortable enough as it is from the bitter cold air of the night,"
"Couldn't you just change back into a spirit? Would that make you feel better?"
"It wouldn't make a difference in terms of pain and discomfort," Raava pouts, looking away.
"Are you having trouble falling asleep? I'd imagine I'd have a rough night too if I had a nasty bruise on my side,"
Raava closes her eyes frowns,"No, I'm fine,"
Before she could say anything else, Wan moves his body back closer to her so that he's practically sitting up right beside her. The combination of warmth from both Wan's and Mula's body feels incredibly relieving. The heat from his body looses the tension in Raava's body. Closing her eyes, she rests her head on Wan's shoulder again. His soft hair rests on the side of her face. Wan smiles and rests his cheek on the side of her head.
"Hey Raava, can I ask you a question?" Wan asks.
"What is it?"
"How do you feel about Harmonic Convergence?"
Raava laughs to herself, "How do I feel about it, you say?"
"I'm a little nervous about it, considering what's at stake," Wan admits, "and well…I was just curious to what your thoughts are,"
Raava frowns, "I'm worried about are the others. Signifcant life will cease to exist if Vaatu wins, they will no longer exist."
Her throat tightens, "It brings me pain to think that life of Earth may disappear"
If Harmonic Convergence doesn't end smoothly, she will be fine, considering that she cannot be destroyed. She'll emerge from Vaatu again in another 10,000 years where she will get another chance to battle for the fate of the earth. However that's not the case for Wan since he is human. If they fail to defeat Vaatu, darkness will surround the earth. Wan, along with the human race, will not survive.
Over their journey to find the three other lion turtles, Raava and Wan certainly grew very close. They've spent endless nights, staring at the stars together. They've spent endless hours asking eachother questions as a means to pass time during their travels.
Even though some days have been difficult due to poor weather, being on a journey has been both a fascinating and different experience—especially in the form of a human. Raava never really had a chance to appreciate the tiny aspects of life that many other humans regularly experienced. Such as the smell of the air before it starts to rain, or the welcoming warmth of the sun after a traveling though a dark, cold canyon.
She looked forward to the dawn of every new day, knowing that there would be new experiences and feelings that she could experience with her new companion.
Raava's eyes widened.
But what about harmonic convergence? If Vaatu succeeds, darkness will cover the world and Wan, along with many others, will not survive.
He will be gone forever. She will no longer get to see his smile or hear his voice or brush her fingers through his hair.
Her heart sank.
This feeling, she thought, this feeling isn't normal. It's not a normal friendship or truce.
She glances back at Wan, his eyes still shut, and studies the crook of his jaw.
Were these romantic feelings? Fearing about losing someone that you look forward to seeing everyday? Fearing about losing the assurance of being cared about?
"I know I can't be destroyed…but what if you are…"
The feeling about losing him made her heart cringe. Despite being an ancient spirit, she has never really had anyone care about her on a personal level. Sure she knew that the people of who settled on flying lion turtles appreciated her as the light spirit…but what the feelings that Wan showed her completely different. After he separated her from Vaatu, he's done practically everything in his power to help her – even if it meant putting his life on the line. His actions certainly portrayed that he cared deeply about her. She was also surprised how concerned he was earlier when he accidentally hurt her while he was practicing his bending.
A tear runs down her pale check. Alarmed at the the physical outburst of emotion, Raava quickly shuts her eyelids together but unfortunately it results in more tears running down her smooth face. Grinding her teeth, she attempts to dry her tears with her bare fore arm. Wipping away the tears does not soothe her emotions however. More tears run down her face to the bottom off her jaw. One manages to escape her body, landing on the side of Wan's arm.
Wan slowly opens his eyes. He hears a faint sniffling sound and he slowly glances towards Raava. Although Raava's dark brown hair is shielding his view of her face, he recognizes that she's upset.
A look of genuine concern appears on his face "Raava, don't cry," he wishpers to a gently trembling Raava, "Are you still in pain?"
Raava, removing her head from Wan's sholder, nods. Her long wavvy dark hair is covering most of her face. Using his firebending, Wan re-ignites the camp fire a few feet in front of him as an attempt to make her less uncomfortable. The light of the fire dances amongst the ground.
Still looking deeply worried, Wan turns to his side and hesitates for a moment, as if he was pondering about something in his head. Shortly after he tightly embraces Raava — her ear now against his chest. Listening to him softly inhale and exhale soothes her soul. Taking another deep breath while enduring the stinging pain on her side, she wraps one arm around his back and rests her other hand on his chest. With her head still rested on his chest she can hear his heart beat slowly increase.
A few minutes pass by in silence and Raava is slowly able to calm herself down.
"Wan…" she softly grips his red scarf wrapped around his neck
She sits up, removing her ear from his chest and stares into his eyes. Wan, who happens to be half asleep, takes a moment to realize that she's staring right at him and awkwardly smiles back at her.
Removing her hand from his scarf, she brushes the side of his jaw with her fingers. She feels the tiny pricks from his facial hair as she moves her fingers across his jaw and cheek —his face is warm. Wan raises up his other hand and gently grabs her hand and closes his eyes and frowns,
"Raava, you usually don't act this…" She moves her hand back down to his chest, "I'm—sorry..we don't have much time together,"
Wan opens his eyes and stares at her as if he is confused, "What are you talking about?"
"Harmonic Convergence. I didn't anticipate for Vaatu to gain so much strength. Despite being separated from him I can still sense his overwhelming power,"
She frowns and squeezes her eye lids together,
"Wan, he'll wipe you out,"
She hears Wan laugh and feels him press his forehead against her. Her heart begins to race when she feels his dark cold hair from brush against her forehead.
"Raava, let's not give up before the battle has even started," He reaches out to grab her hand again. "We still have plenty of time to train before then. It will be hard but I'm sure we can defeat Vaatu,"
Wan looks into Raava's eyes.
"I'm…just afraid I'll lose you. I can't imagine not seeing you anymore,"
Raava does everything she can to not burst out in tears. She shuts her eyes once more as an attempt to hold the tears.
But before she can open them again, she feels a warm pair of lips against hers. Astonished, she opens her eyes, gives out a small cry and quickly jerks herself away from him.
"Wan! What are you doing?,"
Flustered, Wan rubs the back of head. His face is burning from embarrassment, "I'm sorry…I kind of got ahead of my –
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt Raava gently grab his cheek with one hand and kiss him back on his own lips. Her quick action had a hint of desperation.
She took her other hand and ran it through the roots of his hair while Wan put both of his hands on her hips.
Kissing was completely foreign to her. Over the years she has only seen three or four humans actually kiss. It had seem to be a practice amongst the humans that have developed over the last ten thousand of years.
She had a difficulty keeping her breathes short and even, for taking deep breaths stung due to her injury on her upper side. It would probably be better for her health not to breathe so heavily…but part of her did not want to stop. The intimate moment with Wan took her mind off the emotional pain of the risk of losing him forever at Harmonic Convergence.
Just as a few embers leave the camp fire in their presence, Raava leaves his lips. She embraces his body with her arms while adjusting herself into a more comfortable position by straddling herself on top of him.
Surprised by her action, Wan's eyes widened and his face turned a shade of pink soon after. She could feel his hands gently tremble at her waist.
As an attempt to make him feel less uncomfortable, she kisses his neck, instantly making him melt in her arms. He lets out a moan in her cold dark hair. Her kisses slowly travels over his jaw and back to his face where their lips meet again, but this time Wan takes a deep sigh shortly before deepening the kiss. He slowly moves his right hand up the uninjured side of Raava's body. The silk from her clothing feels cool against his sweaty palms. He then softly intertwines his fingers in her dark, wavvy hair.
As he kisses Raava with more passion, the camp fire next to their feet grows, for it is directly proportional with his will power. Her lips are warm against his; eager for more, she gently bites his lower lip as she continues to kiss him. A few moments of intimacy pass when Raava feels an insistent press against her upper thigh. Shortly after, Wan makes a strangled noise before breaking the kiss.
Panting, he says under his breathe, "Oh..I'm sorry Raava..but…"
His face, mortified and burning, tries to gently push her off of his body but she refuses to submit and continues to stay in the same position.
Raava pouts, "Did I perform something incorrectly"
He shyly looks in another direction while his cheeks turn bright scarlet. "Uhh…well no. You didn't,"
He sighs, "You were doing things a little too well…"
Raava gives him a stern look, "Then…what is it?"
"Nothing," he cradled her jaw in one of his hands and looked into her cold blue eyes, "I just..think..we should stop. We need to sleep. Especially you," he looks at her side where her injury is located, "You need to rest so your body can heal, Raava,"
"I'm not tired though," she skims the palm of her hand his arm then to his chest. She could feel his warm, toned, muscles under his clothes. She leans into him once more, her breasts softly press at his chest, and softly kisses his neck – a small moan escapes his lips again.
Wan sighs, giving in to Raava, "I guess a few more minutes wouldn't hurt," he says as he brushes the back of her hair with his fingers.
She lets out a small chuckle before returning her lips to his face once more. As she gives him a long, slow kiss she could feel him smile while he wraps his arms around her hips.
Wan breaks the kiss once more and begins kissing the crook of her neck. He slowly trails his mouth to the lower part of Raava's neck where he gently bites her skin. Inhaling her scent, he then kisses her above her clavicle.
"Don't stop," Raava says under her breath
"What?" Wan said as he lifts his head up from her neck, looking back at her, surprised.
"I said, don't stop. I want more,"
The more intimate they become with each other, the more Raava loses herself within him, making her forget the stresses of Harmonic Convergence.
Wan quickly glances down at her chest and then back up to her face again. He moves his hands up her arms. A few of his fingers slip under the short sleeves of her silk clothing.
Sweat slowly rolls down the curve of Raava's back. She quickly wipes a few drops of water of her forehead. Her fingers feel cool against her burning forehead as she wonders if it's a result from the new intensity of the camp fire. As the fabric of her clothing sticks to her skin, a solution occurs to her.
She removes her hand from his chest and slips her shoulder out of her left sleeve. She then slips out her other shoulder making the rest of her tunic fall to her waist exposing the light gray wrapping supporting her. The cold air felt both bitter and refreshing against the cold sweat on her bare back.
Blushing, Wan raises his eyebrow, "Um…Raava..what are you doing?"
"I was getting uncomfortable in my tunic,"
A dark mark catches his eye on her body. Frowning he says, "Raava, your bruise," he gently brushes the back of his fingers next to the blue bruise which immediately makes her wince in pain.
"Raava….,"
"Wan, it's alright. It will heal," Raava says as she tries to reassure him.
"Yeah, I know that. But are you positive you don't want to stop and I can give you ice for it?"
"Wan, I'm fine. Don't underestimate my tolerance of pain,"
"Well..alright," he says before he begins to lean his body towards her again to continue what he was doing earlier.
"Wait, I'm not finished yet,"
"Wait, what–," but before he can finish his sentence Raava begins to unwrap the fabric that is secured to her chest and leans in to embrace him. Wan lets out an uncomfortable laugh before hugging her back. She begins to nibble his cheek until he places his hands on her arms. She adjusts her self to taste his lips once more. Shortly after he breaks the kiss and buries his face into the side of her dark brown hair.
"Raava, c-can I touch you?" He nervously whispers in her ear, his hands still slightly shaking.
"Of course," she says, just before lowering herself to his neck once more, giving in into the thirst of his warm skin.
Carefully Wan brushes the back of his fingers on her arms, feeling the smoothness of her skin. He then slowly moves his fingers off her arms to the tips of her breasts, feeling the smoothness of her light skin.
Raava squirms in his arms, letting out an small cry into his collarbone; his fingers, motionless, on her chest. Unfortunately for Raava, continuing to kiss her companion doesn't fufill her ache for more. She lowers her hands onto his own, which are still on her breasts, and firmly presses her hands against her body.
Wan lets out a small moan before lowering his head, firmly kissing her breast. He slowly raises his neck.
"Raava," he breathes into her ear.
Raava doesn't answer though. She lowers herself back onto his chest, placing her ear on his chest, listening to his heart once more. His even breathes lure her back into a deep sleep.