"...doesn't mean she's...still here," said the first female voice.
"I want to leave it anyway," the second girl insisted. "It's the least we can do. I wish I'd known what my uncle meant when he said they were going to have a final sacrifice."
A sob caught the girl's tone, and Grimmjow listened curiously for her to continue. He'd rarely heard anyone cry except in fright or pain, and Orihime's sobbing from the day she'd almost fell in the caves was still with his thoughts. He vaguely recalled doing it himself a few times, when he was very young and had first left home, but not since. He stepped carefully among the thick trees to see Sacrifice Rock where the three voices were coming from. He'd followed the voices, two girls and a boy, for a while now and waited as patiently as his instinct allowed him to.
"I thought he meant they were going to lay a trap for the cat-man, not give it one of our friends," the second girl said through her sobs. "I didn't know!"
"Keep your voice down," the boy said. "It might be around. We shouldn't even be here."
Grimmjow had a good view of them now, through the tree leaves, just above them, farther away than they could see clearly, even if they knew where to look for him. They were teenage, with calf-length dresses and the standard pants and tunic for the male youth. The girls were crouched at the rock, lovingly placing something at the base while the boy stood watch.
He was armed with a bow, something Grimmjow was familiar with and had gotten a few arrowhead glances in the past, and had an arrow nocked, alert to any disturbances in the trees and boulders around them. They were all Orihime's age, their postures making it obvious they were sneaking to the rock.
"We should have done something," the second girl said as she stood up. She wiped her face. "We just turned our backs and let it happen."
"What could we do?" the boy asked, giving the girls a quick look before returning to his watch. "Our voices have no sway in the governing of the village. Even her mother didn't care." His tone took a chill. "You know Sora would never have allowed it."
The first girl was looking around, for a few seconds in the direction where Grimmjow stood. He knew she couldn't see him, with her moderate vision and dulled senses. She shook her head. "No, he'll be angry. And that mother of theirs," she added in a sharp tone, "look at her now. She lives in that big house, given to her, plus whatever she got for giving – selling – Orihime. The nice house on the edge of town and the first shares of the crops this harvest."
"It doesn't make sense," the boy said. "To give a cat-beast a girl. Why? It's disgusting!"
"Shh," said the first girl, looking around at their surroundings. Her hand rested on the rock, fingers recoiling as they found s deep scratch from a previous sacrifice. "It might be close."
"Anything smart enough to want a girl rather than a sheep knows when the on full moon is. Which," he added, looking to the second girl, "is why your uncle offered Orihime on an off full moon. And to what purpose? Is Orihime supposed to negotiate for us? Or is she simply food for –"
"Oh, stop!" the second girl cried, covering her ears with her hands. "Don't say it."
The boy shook his head. "You know the elders talk about it; do we try to suffice the beast with a girl because he's a man? Or feed it something large to keep it away longer?" The second girl began to speak, but the boy didn't let her. "Or have we built ourselves a god?"
At this, both girls looked to the ground where they'd placed their items.
"You've heard the rumors and whispers," the boy said as Grimmjow closed the distance between them and him.
He wondered how close the boy was to guessing.
"That old net mender, his family makes offerings of their own, secretly, to keep the beast away from their ducks," the boy said, his tone more hushed. "And I've heard others say things like that; some actually pray to it."
"Foolish gossip," the first girl said.
"I've heard things," the second girl added.
"It's silly," the first girl maintained, but this time in an uncertain tone.
"It makes more sense than this foolishness," the boy said. "Why not bribe a beast to stay away? You may call it praying, but it's bribing, negotiating. And, if this cat-man can understand it, maybe it works."
The second girl was close to tears again, and from where Grimmjow stood, he could see her cheeks shining wet.
"Then why Orihime?" she asked.
The boy sighed. "Because her mother is very persuasive. You've seen her, the way she acts and flirts. She wanted the big house and a handsome payment for her daughter, and she got it. She met up with the right people in town, and convinced them this would work."
The second girl began to sob, and the first put an arm around her shoulder.
"We should go," the first said.
"I want to know if she's...alive. I don't want to think of her torn up..." The second girl nearly collapsed in the other girl's arms.
Grimmjow saw the boy put a hand on the first girl and prod her back to the stony path leading from Sacrifice Rock.
"Let's go. If it's gone, it doesn't mean she's alive; it doesn't really mean anything at all." He gave a final glance behind them to the rock at the items they'd left as he followed the girls down the path.
Grimmjow watched them go, saw their misery of losing Orihime. He could understand part of it, but on a different level than they felt it.
For an hour he watched the rock, waiting for any sign of trap or hunters. There were none. During that time he thought back on the boy's guesses, grinning at how accurate a few of them were. Assured that there was no chance of trap or hunters nearby, he went to the rock and collected what they'd left.
The moderately sunny day had clouded over by the time Grimmjow got to the cave chamber he now shared with Orihime. For nearly ten days she'd slept in his bed, sometimes closer than others, but always within reach.
Orihime wasn't sure of the passage of days. The sun made its usual trip overhead outside the mountain, marking the day by the strips of sunlight that moved along the stone interior walls, but sometimes the days were cloudy and she lost track of time. She looked up from coaxing the meager fire at the fire pit as Grimmjow entered from the dark entryway.
"I've got the fire a little stronger now," she said, standing as he met her.
In one arm he carried several crocks, each plugged with a large cork and covered with a cloth and tied with string. "Good. We'll eat outside. It's starting to rain, but the ledge faces away from the breeze."
"Oh, rain? Good." She smiled with anticipation at the thought of rain. "I haven't seen rain since I got here." Her eyes had rested on the jars, but now they flicked to Grimmjow's face, fearing she'd said something insulting.
He was grinning, handing her the first jar. "It hasn't rained since you've been here, Orihime. You like rain?"
She nodded, smiling wider as she took the jar. He knelt and set the other two jars beside the pit. "Do you?"
He shrugged. "Never thought much about it."
She glanced to the catch basin in the room. "All the water is from runoff?"
"There are a few small streams that feed some of the crevices, too, when the varmints dam up the water."
"Oh." She glanced to the adjoining chamber where the water collected in the larger basin. It was easier to see in the chamber now. Grimmjow had attached a few torches in different spot so Orihime could see better, but they usually burned low so as not to fill the rooms with smoke. It was enough for Orihime to make her way more easily around the chambers.
He'd also strung more rope along the tunnels, and Orihime could traverse several passageways now to other cave rooms. Slowly a home was forming.
She shook the jar, frowning. Something small shifted inside.
"Your friends left these for you at the rock." He watched her face turn from wonder to something softer, something wounded. "They miss you."
"Oh..." She bit her lip a little, watching his expression. "You saw them? Who...? What did they look like?"
"Two girls and a boy. About your age." He saw her fingers tug at the tie on the jar she held.
"Oh?" She looked to the string as her fingers untied it. It was tied in a large, loopy bow, with double braided sting in six colors of thread. She stopped untying it, her fingers carefully brushing the tasseled edges. "What did they look like?"
"Not as pretty as you." He nearly growled that he'd said it aloud; it was supposed to remain a thought.
She glanced quickly to him, smiling and blushing faintly. "Thank you." She felt the heat from the small fire glow on her cheeks, liking the small giddiness that the comment sent through her veins.
"One of the girls had lighter hair than yours. The other's was dark." He enjoyed the flush she couldn't keep from her face, liking the way her fingers toyed with the thread she slowly untied from the jar. "And a boy. Your age. Dark hair. He had a bow."
"Oh, yes. He's Mara's brother. The girl with the brown hair is Mara. The other girl was Aina. We wove together a few times." She smiled at the thread. "This was her favorite pattern. Like a rainbow of threads, she'd say."
He saw the hurt drift through her face, the longing and loneliness that she tried to shut down. He moved the other two jars near her. "What are these?"
She looked up, smiling again, this time a different smile. She whisked off the thread braid and laid it near her side, careful not to damage the pattern. She opened the cork stopper and squealed at the contents. "Rice! Oh, yes, rice, Grimmjow!"
She held it up so he could see the whitish grains inside. He nodded, amused at her outburst.
"That's a grain, right?" He was suddenly aware of their lack of proper cooking necessities.
"Yes. Do you like rice?" She shook the jar happily.
"Can't remember the last time I had it." Her smile was contagious, willing him to try whatever was in the jar. "Do you like it?"
"I love it." She nearly hugged the large jar to herself, eyeing the other jars. "What is in those?"
"Find out. Make some rice for supper and we'll take it up to the ledge to eat," he said, finding an odd pleasure in her delight.
"Oh, yes... Let's see," she said, glancing around at their few utensils and cookery. "I'll need water, and that pot, and a flat rock..."
By the time their meal was ready, Orihime and Grimmjow found that the day had surrndered to rain and fog. The ledge was awash in rain water, making the view out the cave opening a surreal misty green. Orihime didn't care. She quickly set down the bowls of dinner she carried and nearly sprinted into the wide rock edge.
Grimmjow dropped the bucket of water he carried, sloshing the contents against the cavern wall as he lunged after her.
She had stopped on the ledge, a few feet away from the edge, but in the mist it looked like she'd walked out onto a foggy cloud. She raised her arms up, smiling as the drizzle of rain splattered her face.
Instinctively Grimmjow's arm laced around her waist, not roughly, but enough to make her lower her arms and turn to look at him.
"I'm not falling," she said, leaning slightly against him as one arm rested across his at her waist. She again looked up into the gray sky that let rain spatter them. "Oh, I miss the rain."
He didn't see the magnificence in it, but watched her face as the water found tracks down her cheeks. "You're not afraid of falling?"
"The edge is way over there," she said, pointing into the fog. "I remember how many steps it is to the very edge – I counted them the other day – and we're safe here."
She let her arm lower, resting it across his at her waist, sighing as the sound of the raindrops falling made the ferny green landscape seem more isolated than it already was. The fog hovered at the ledge, but dropped lower over the side, allowing the treetops to poke through the cloud of mist.
"It's like standing on a mountain in the clouds, isn't it?" The fur beneath her fingers reminded her than she wasn't acting coyly childish with one of her male friends. "I mean, I know it isn't a mountain in the sky, Grimmjow," she said, her fingers smoothing his short pelt hairs in the right direction as she looked up at him. "But it's almost like this is the only place left. No world. Just...here."
He wanted to say it was a foolish notion, but he didn't. He eased her back from the foggiest part of the ledge. "Let's eat before it gets too cold."
She darted from him, ducking under his arm as she raised it. "Oh, yes! I'll set it up."
He frowned, wishing he'd let her linger for a moment longer. He gave the treetops among the gray fog a brief glimpse and joined her.
She set out their dishes and ladled out drinking water from the bucket into two cups. Along with the rice, they had several pieces of roasted rabbit and a small jar of honey that had been in one of the other containers from Sacrifice Rock.
"Do you like honey?" she asked, setting out the small cork-stopped jar. She could already smell the sweetness from it, making her yearn for other tastes from her former home life.
"Yeah. We've got some in the lower caves, but it's frozen."
Her attention snapped to him as he sat down at one wall, watching her. "You do?"
"We do."
She smiled more. "We have honey?"
He nodded. "Lots of other stuff there, too. We'll go down there soon, once I get some lights planted."
She settled next to him, her mind wondering about the lower caves. "They've brought honey before?"
"No. I can get it from the forest, certain times of the year." He watched her scoop up a mound of rice with a slightly bent spoon. She popped it into her mouth and munched contentedly.
"Hmmmm," she breathed, eyes closing. "'Sgood."
He sampled the rice, nearly forgetting to pay attention to the taste as he watched her eyes smile, even as the drizzle dampened her pastel dress. She didn't seem to mind, chewing until she swallowed, and then grabbing up another bite.
"You found a brush."
Her eyes opened and she nodded, chewing the next bite. "In the chest you brought up. Thank you."
He grinned. "I didn't wreck the ship."
A pout hampered her chewing. "I feel a little guilty for using things that –"
"Don't," he said. "It sank. Better for you to get use of it than to be buried under the sea."
It did little to make Orihime feel better about the chest of personal items he'd brought up from the lower caves, but she was grateful to have a brush and a few other needs met. From the small chest, she found a few undergarments and a small polished mirror that was patina-covered. She spent part of her evenings trying to bring back some of its reflective qualities.
"They want to know if you're alive," he said, not quite wanting to broach the subject. It was only fair that he did, but he didn't want to be fair or to share her. "They're worried about you."
She slowed chewing, looking into the fog where the edge lay in the fog. "I wish I could tell them...that I'm okay, and alive, and okay here."
For a moment neither added to the conversation, each eating, lost in similar trains of thought. He watched the flower in her hair droop with the humidity, contrasting against her now fully-brushed hair. She looked sleeker, more like the first time he'd seen her at the rock now that she'd found the brush and a few other items from the chest.
The rain turned into a downpour by the time they finished eating, soaking the ledge and making the stone slick. Orihime didn't venture into the fog again, even when some of the mist cleared as the rain drove it away.
Darkness fell early and they made their way back down the roped trail in the dark. As they neared their cave chamber, the faint light from its interior met them; like a beacon, Orihime had come to think of it.
She glanced to the water chamber as they entered, hearing the trickle of rainwater as it filled the basins. "Ooh, maybe there's enough water for a real bath this time." She'd waded into the shin-deep water of the largest tub basin, but was relishing the idea of a truly submerging bath.
Even in the small town, the public bath was free to every resident, despite the drop in every other luxury. It was usually run by volunteer help, and Orihime's turn at keeping the towel supplied fell to every other week
"Might be a bit cold," Grimmjow said as they deposited their dinnerware beside the basin where they usually washed them. Already the basin was full, the excess leaking out through a crack in the wall. "I'll set a torch near the door."
"Thank you." For a moment Orihime watched him light one of the torches he'd recently made – another addition to the caves on her behalf – and attach it to the stone wall near the opening of the water chamber. It shone into the next room enough to utilize the tub inside, but not quite as brilliant as their main chamber.
It didn't matter anyway, she thought. He could see her just as easily with or without the light. She'd been trying to come to terms with that concept.
"I'm going to check the passages," he told her, watching her move to the stack of clothes near the shadowed side of the room. "I'll be back soon."
"Thank you."
He left out into the dark of the tunnels.
It was the usual procedure, his check of the passageways. At first it had made Orihime unsettled, thinking that there could be a trespasser in the dark depths outside their chamber, but over the last few days, she realized it was only Grimmjow's way of giving her a little privacy to use the water chamber. For that, she was thankful.
The day grew late, the evening sun gone and the filtered moonlight only gray on the stone floor as the misty air held rain. She took her gauze gown and went into the next room. The basin sunk into the floor there was nearly brimming with water. Orihime knelt beside it, feeling the wet, giggling a bit. It was cool.
She didn't look behind her this time as she slipped out of her lavender dress and into the deep water. She shuddered a little as the wet lapped up to her ankles and then knees. The basin was overrunning at the far end of the pool. She figured it was long enough to lie down in, but she'd never done that. She slowly sat on her knees, and then turned them to her side and leaned her back to the edge. It took a few moments in the cool depths for her body temperature to adjust and appreciate the coolness. She sighed, sinking deep against the side, noting how the room seemed to be all gray.
Slate walls mixed with limestone and darker gray, flint and marble-looking floor – all grays. She submerged and let her hair weight with water, feeling the cold close over her head like a final night veil. It was too cool to stay under for long, and she sat up and let the water level bob around chest.
The top of her breasts wanted to float up, but just enough to make round, flesh-colored moons in the water's surface. She blushed, knowing there was little she could do to keep them modestly under water.
She took a few moments to wash with the cloth she'd parted out from one of the heavy pieces of material from the trunk. It was supposed to be a shawl, but had become hopelessly discolored from the seawater. She had no soap, but sufficed with scrubbing all the more vigorously. She closed her eyes and splashed her face, wiping back her hair as it stuck to her eyes.
It was good to feel the rain again on her skin. And, it was good to smell and taste the rice her friends had left. She refused to be too sad; they'd thought of her.
They'd thought enough of her, in fact, that they'd risked the town elders' wrath if caught at Sacrifice Rock.
She knew it was an especially risky chance for Aina, whose uncle was one of the Sacrificers. As thrilled as she was to know they hadn't forgotten her and cared about her wellbeing, she didn't want them to chance such a visit again.
"A way to leave a message," she murmured aloud, looking to the stone ceiling vaulting over the room. The sound of water trickling was stronger now, running off the excess in the darker side of the pool. "Somehow..."
The flickering light from the torch in the next chamber muted and Orihime's attention went to the entry.
Grimmjow stood between the rooms, watching her in the water. "Not too cold?"
"No." She submerged another few inches, which only made her chest lift more, topping the water in pale rounds. She sat up a little more, still decently covered, now with a blush. "It's deep."
He nodded, for a moment watching the rings of water swell out from her form as she shifted against the pool side. He took a few more steps and crouched, running a hand in the water. "A lot cooler than before."
"...Yes. And deeper." Orihime fought the urge to submerge. After all, she'd have to come up some time.
He climbed into the water, sending larger rings of water across the pool to her. He watched the slight recoil of emotions on her face, but then sat against the pool, spreading his arms to either side of the slate floor. "The rain is set for all night. The sky is thick with clouds. This will overflow, but runoff. It won't flood the floor." He watched her nod, sending slow swells around her through the water. "Some of the tunnels will be slippery, so don't use any of the rope trails for a while."
"Okay."
For a moment a silence hung between them in the semi-light of the torch, the only sound the insistent trek of water filling the pool.
Grimmjow moved to the side of the tub where she sat, washing her to her neck in the sudden movement of water, but he knew it wasn't why she caught her breath sharply.
Orihime wrapped both arms around her drawn knees, eyes wide on him as he settled next to her and stretched an arm behind her, feeling her back stiffen slightly against his arm. She didn't move away, and slowly she let her gaze go back to the water.
Her first glance was to herself, confident that most of her breasts were obediently submerged, also knowing it wouldn't matter in the muted light. She let her gaze go to where his blue hair trailed into the water from behind his back. It was only a few strands, drifting at where his bent knee topped the water's surface.
She made her arms unlock some of the fierce grip around her legs, looking up as his hand crossed to her knee.
"What color is your hair?" he asked, picking a tress that swirled beside her knee.
She watched him finger the tendril that was heavy in his hand, but splayed into fan-like freedom when he lowered it back to the pool. "Uh, well, auburn, I think. Orange-brown."
He nodded. "That's a medium color?"
"Yes." She watched his hand go back to her knee, her kneecap disappearing beneath his palm. "I think so."
She remained still as he leaned closer, gaze on his eyes, the blue she could see even in the poor light. She held her breath, feeling warmth from him in contrast to the water, as his head bent and his lips met her neck. She was immobile, staring over his shoulder at his back in the dim light, conscious of his lips against her neck, a contact just short of a kiss, the pressing of his caress to just below her jaw. She wasn't sure when she closed her eyes, nerves following his lips as they trailed slow, gentle touches from her ear down her neck, moving to her throat as his hand stayed on her knee.
Orihime felt the cave seem to fall away, her concentration on his mouth at her neck, her throat, licking the water from the arch of her shoulder and then over the roundness of it. She rattled a slow breath, not wanting to break his movements, but needing the oxygen. His lips moved under her chin, up her throat, nudging until she let her head fall back against his arm. Her mind swirled with the touch of warm, firm pressure, bringing a craving from deep inside her she'd never before visited.
She wished he'd kiss her, kiss her mouth, cover her lips so she could react back to him, but he didn't. She could barely stifle the sighing moan in her lungs, instead letting one of her arms around her knees free to hinge her hand over his wrist near her knee.
He leaned back from her, his face lingering over hers as she opened her eyes. She waited, hoping, every muscle in her body tensing, this time in anticipation. Her eyes fell to his lips, which offered no movement to kiss her.
Nor had his hand moved her knee nor attempted any sort of opportunity. For a long, weighty moment his gaze went over her face, memorizing her features, unspeaking as her fingers gripped his wrist.
She let one knee drop, feeling vulnerable and perhaps too froward at the same time.
Grimmjow let his hand glide over her knee still bent and topping the water. He moved away and climbed out of the pool, turning his back to her. "Don't stay in too long, Orihime. You'll get wrinkly."
And then he left the water chamber, leaving wet footprints thought the entryway into the next room.
Orihime sat dumbfounded, nerves still excited, body still expectant. She watched the shadows move in the next chamber, and then saw him go into the black of the tunnels.
"...I won't..." She swallowed down the anticipation building within her.
The water suddenly seemed too warm, the coolness gone, her face blushing scarlet.
She slid deeper into the water, sorting through the new menagerie of feelings lurching through her mind and body.
Within half an hour, Orihime finally got out of the water and dressed, and then into bed. Outside she could hear the rain gather in force and the wind pick up, sending some of the rain that trickled in splattering into the basin.
She waited for Grimmjow to return, long into the night, but he didn't. The torch had given out, leaving her in the dark until she fell asleep.
She wasn't sure when Grimmjow returned, but when he did it was late. He was dry as his leg slid beside hers beneath the doeskin hide, but he smelled of the rain. She didn't say anything, content he was back.
Grimmjow wasn't sure if she was awake or not when he returned. Usually he knew, but this time, he didn't. Maybe it was the enrapturing contact with her in the pool that had clouded his sense, but he couldn't determine if she was awake or not.
He let her sleep, if she was sleeping, and waited for sleep to come to him. When it did, so did the nightmare.
It was the same nightmare, the haunting dream of the girl in his arms, a girl who fought his embrace, who bit into his flesh, who pleaded for him to release her.
But this time the girl turned and he saw her face, and this time, it was Orihime's face that begged him to let her go.
Her cries were like daggers beneath his skin, sharp and cutting, every whimper and plea against him feeling as if it sliced away a layer of flesh, leaving him torn and bleeding.
It was that pain that woke him to a very real torment.
Note: Rating may change in future chapters...