"Come on Onua, just a little further…" She said softly as she half lead, half carried him towards the overhang of rock that was now only several meters away. "We're almost there." The Toa of Earth mustered a faint smile, his weak and pain stricken body barely even strong enough to support him. Sweat drenched his frame and his milky, emerald green eyes reflected the suffering he had gone through. And yet, despite it all, he could still manage a smile, something she could not understand.
Stumbling on the way into the small, cave-like formation, she barely managed to catch Onua as he collapsed. Tears formed in her eyes as she carefully laid him down on the ground, kneeling beside the Toa of Earth and wringing her hands a little as she looked into his blinded eyes, mustering up the courage to ask him the question that'd' been bothering her for so long.
"Why did you do it, Onua? You should've let me take the punishment. You didn't have to say what you did, take the blows that you did… we're supposed to be enemies, aren't we?" He didn't respond with words. His shivering hand reached up, trying to find hers as he smiled a little more. She couldn't understand it. Why would he, a Toa Nuva, risk losing so much for her, a Shadow Toa? She had caused nothing but trouble for him in the past, and he still did what he had. Sighing quietly, she said, her voice weak and confused.
"You should've just let Dark Ori have her fun with me and saved yourself the pain…" Gently she took hold of his hand, tears lightly rolling down her cheeks as she felt his thumb softly rub the back of her hand. His skin was warm and inviting, despite the sweat and mild trembling. It was the sort of feeling that made her simply want to melt in his arms, though her darker nature told her to ignore the desire for that sort of closeness with him.
"Kestrel…" He asked quietly, his breathing deep and relaxed, as though his own pain didn't even exist. "What does the sky look like right now? I…I want to know what it's like." She blinked a few times, puzzled by the question and ignoring that he didn't call her by her full name. Glancing outside, she took note of the dark clouds that were beginning to gather. What sort of answer was that after what he'd done for her? Quirking a faint smile, she closed her eyes and replied.
"It's beautiful, Onua… not a single cloud in sight. There are so many stars out…" The Toa of Earth smiled a bit more.
"That sounds really pretty…wish I could see it…" She nodded weakly, her tears dripping off her chin and splashing quietly on the ground beside her.
"I…I wish you could too, Onua… You'd really like it." She shook her head a little as she opened her eyes and looked at him. His face still bore that same, peaceful and almost heavenly smile that it had before. It was the sort of smile that she couldn't help but smile back at. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on through his mind. How could he seem so happy and calm, even when he couldn't see, and was so heavily in pain and sedated that he could barely walk? His flesh bruised, clothes torn, and foreign chemicals pumping through his veins, she couldn't understand it. He had so willingly taken the blows for her, and asked nothing in return. Was this what the Toa were really about? If it was, why do this for an enemy? She shivered faintly, shifting and lying down beside him. Lightly resting her head on his chest, she closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat. It surprised her to find that it was strong and steady, strong enough, it seemed, to allow him to walk miles and miles without growing weary. Slow and rhythmic, she found herself wishing she could just listen to it for the rest of the night.
"What's your secret?" She asked him softly. "How can you go through what you did, and still be so…" She sighed when she couldn't find the right words. "So much like you?" He chuckled quietly, gently running his fingers through her hair.
"So much like me, hm?" He replied quietly. "Well, I'm not fully sure, actually. But what I know tells me to listen to my heart in some situations, and listen to logic at other times." She smiled a little more, enjoying the warmth and calmness of his voice, as well as the physical closeness.
"But how do you know which one to listen to?" Onua laughed quietly.
"I don't. I go with the one that feels like the right thing to do, and just take it one step at a time. Why try to control everything, when the only thing a person can do is live? We can't change the past, or be definite on what tomorrow will bring. Since that is the case, all we can do is live day-to-day, and take things as they come. Knowing what I can and can't control, I am content to live as best I can, doing what I can. It's a simple life, but a decent one. Something I can handle at any rate." He paused, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly before asking. "Does that help?" She nodded, subconsciously cuddling up a little closer to the blind Toa of Earth.
"Yeah, I think it does… thank you." Onua's smile grew a little.
"You're welcome… and thank you." Dark Kestrel blinked.
"Why are you thanking me?" She asked. "What did I do?" The Toa Nuva chuckled quietly, lightly ruffling her hair as he did so.
"You became my eyes when I went blind. You helped me escape when I could not save myself. And you gave me someone to talk to when nobody else was there to listen. I have a lot to thank you for, even if it doesn't seem like very much." She blushed faintly at his words.
"I…it was just…you're welcome." The Toa of earth smiled again, closing his eyes and letting out a contented sigh before drifting off, an arm loosely wrapped around his companion. Blushing a little more, the Shadow Toa snuggled up a bit closer, closing her eyes and wishing she could stay like this forever, or at least for a long while.
"Well…" She whispered to herself. "I don't know what we just got ourselves into…but I don't think I want it to end…" Yawning quietly, she smiled a bit more. "…not at all…" And with that, she drifted off, only half realizing how much she'd gotten into…
…And how in love she was starting to become.