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An hour had passed since Lauren had given Bo her injection and it seemed to have done the trick. They were sitting in the living room now, going over the ritual and gathering what belongings they planned to take with them.
Lauren sat on her knees, leaning over the coffee table piling groups of papers together with each other. "When we arrive in Folksvangr we should land in a field—"
"Lauren…" Bo said leaning forward from her seat on the couch.
"which is where Freyja rules over—"
"Lauren." Bo said the doctor's name louder this time, finally breaking Lauren's train of thought.
Lauren looked up at Bo. She didn't realize she had been so focused on preparation to hear what Bo was saying.
"I'm sorry." Lauren got up from her spot on the floor and walked over to the couch to sit next to Bo.
"I'm not leaving until I get her out." Bo said in a small voice. She looked up at Lauren who was already smiling at her which wasn't the response she was expecting.
"I know. I never assumed otherwise." Lauren said putting a comforting hand on Bo's arm. She could already see that Bo was worried not about what it meant for herself, but for her. Even though she shouldn't be.
"Bo, I know you see this as a sacrifice for me but it isn't. It's the choice I want to make of my own free will. I don't care how long we have to stay there so long as you're next to me." Lauren said in a serious tone. She wanted Bo to understand but there was only so many ways she could say it. She looked at Bo's big brown eyes, not knowing what else she could do to ease her worries.
Bo couldn't explain how she was feeling. She was simultaneously terrified that would happen in the next day, whether she would fail Kenzi or not, but at the same time, as she looked at Lauren, she felt full of love for her. She leaned closer to Lauren, looking at her lips, the curves of her jaw, and she was helpless. She pressed her lips slowly against Lauren's, and felt the doctor's hands reach for her face, pulling her closer, deepening their kiss. She felt Lauren nibbling gently on her lower lip as they kissed, something that only she did. Bo found herself smiling at the familiarity as kissed the blond doctor.
Lauren felt Bo's lips break from her own and drag across her jaw and trail down her neck slowly. She felt some what guilty knowing that Bo was experiencing grief although it was hard to form a clear thought with her mouth on her skin. Lauren sat back slowly, moving to meet Bo's eyes with her own. Bo tenderly ran a hand through Lauren's hair and smiled. "Sorry. I really needed to kiss you." Bo said biting her lip, reveling the taste of Lauren's lips.
Lauren let out a small laugh and then nodded. One of the things she loved about Bo was how she was always trying to say physically what she didn't know how to say verbally. Lauren leaned close to Bo again. "I understand." Lauren said softly before capturing her lips in hard kiss. A moment passed before she felt Bo's hands in her hair.
A knock on the door stopped the pair mid kiss but they did not separate from each other. Bo slowly finished the kiss against the doctor's lips before backing away with her eyes still closed. She cleared her throat and then stood up from the couch to walk toward the door.
Bo opened the door to reveal Trick with his arms full of various things: candles, books, weapons, and a few other objects Bo didn't recognize. She grabbed a few of them from her grandfather and moved over allowing him to enter.
"I didn't realize the ritual was so... involved…" Bo said examining a strange object that looked part compass and part dagger. She put it down with the candles she was holding on the kitchen counter.
Lauren walked over to the pair and took some of the supplies from Trick as well. "Did you find everything needed?" Lauren asked. Trick nodded. "Along with a few extras to take with you to Folkvangr that should help to find Kenzi." Trick added.
"Thank you. Sorry about before—" Trick shook his head at Bo. "Don't worry about it. I just hope it doesn't happen while you're down there. Are you two just about ready to do this?"
Lauren and Bo looked at each other for moment. "As ready as we'll ever be." Lauren said with a small smile.
—
Lauren and Bo were standing face to face in Bo's bedroom as Trick placed one of Lauren's forearms forward, palm facing up, and then placed one of Bo's forearms on top of hers. Lauren held her hand onto Bo's elbow and she felt Bo's hand squeeze her bicep in response. Trick retrieved a dark red silk ribbon, about an inch thick and began tying it around their joined arms.
"I honestly have no idea what this ritual will do since it's never been performed between a human and fae. That being said, I think it's best if I go once I finishing reciting the ritual." Trick said as he continued wrapping the ribbon.
"Trick—" But Trick interrupted Bo.
"Bo, I have every faith in you that you'll make it there safely, the both of you. I will come back at 7am to see that you've gone and everything went according to plan. I've left a tool called an itersirca that should help you find Kenzi if you can't for some reason. If one of you prick's your finger on the blade on the end, it will point you in the direction of what you are intent on finding.
"Is that what that weird compass thing is?" Bo asked with confusion.
Trick laughed. "Yes. I'm leaving it next to your hel shoe and texts, which is only a few feet away"
Trick pointed to a spot near the door to Bo's room, where Lauren's medical bag was along with everything else they needed.
"In case the ritual leaves you feeling weak, which hopefully it won't, you should still be able to get to what you need."
Trick finished tying the ribbon tightly around Lauren and Bo's arms. "Do you have the object of intention you need to use?" Trick asked.
Bo reached her free arm into her pocket and pulled out the ring with a ruby stone in it. Bo wrapped her hand around tightly. "Yes." Bo said with a weak smile. Her heart started beating faster at the thought that she might find Kenzi soon. That she could fix this.
"Okay, then the only other thing I need the both of you to do is to close your eyes." Trick said picking up a bottle of red sand. He removed a cork top from the bottle and began pouring it on the floor while walking around Bo and Lauren in a circle. Once he completed the circle around them, he picked up two dried baby's breath flowers from a leather case. He placed one on either side of the pair inside the circle and stepped back.
Trick picked up the ritual book that Lauren had found earlier and opened it to the page titled 'Ritus Unire'. Trick cleared his throat before reciting the first line "To sjeler skille bli hel…"
Lauren could feel something changing just after Trick had read just one line of the ritual. It was like the air in the room was escaping but she was still able to breathe.
"Som enhet skjemaer med grensene for tråd..."
Bo held Lauren's arm tighter as she started to feel like she was falling into a trance.
"Og livet vil eksistere, men en nå..."
The pair of flowers beside the Bo and Lauren's feet began changing, it's white buds blooming with new life. The stems turning bright green with energy.
"Kan paret forene inntil dødsdagen..."
All of the sudden Bo could see Lauren's face in front of her, smiling. She squeezed her eyes shut and realized she had never opened them, but somehow she was still seeing her. She couldn't focus on anything except the blonde in front her. It was like they were off in some other plain of existence.
At the same time Lauren began seeing Bo in her mind as well. It was as though everything else was falling away and her life felt dependent on looking at the woman before her.
"Og reise blant stjernene etter!"
Trick uttered the final words of the ritual and looked to see both Bo and Lauren very still with their eyes still closed. He closed the book and gently put it down on the floor. "Good luck." Trick said before quietly exiting the bedroom.
A few moments later, the red ribbon tied around their arms evaporated slowly into nothingness but the two kept their arms fixed to each other.
At once, Bo and Lauren's eyes shot open and blue chi began flowing from Lauren's mouth to Bo's.
Bo grabbed Lauren's face pulling it closer to hers and kissed her lips before drawing more chi from her. As their mouths pulled apart however, it was Lauren who began draining chi from Bo. Bo relaxed as the chi flowed from her mouth into Lauren's, giving in completely.