Chapter 25 – Thunder only happens when it's raining

(Verse from the song "Dreams")

The day began early in the morning; the dawn hadn't still cracked when Cara shook Kahlan in her bedroll.

After two months spent sleeping in her soft bed and profiting of the comfort owed to a Queen, the Mother Confessor wasn't any longer used with the traveling life and felt aching everywhere, for the hard ground wasn't exactly a healthy mattress. Plus, despite the fur cloak she held gripped around her body, the humidity of the mountain night had entered inside of her up to her bones and she shivered feeling the chill coursing all over her.

But the worse thing was the hunger. Kahlan was always awfully hungry! In her Palace she received the breakfast directly in her chambers and she used to sluggishly eat taking easy at this cuddling habit she was very attached to. A big tray brimming with warm bread and cakes just pulled out of the oven, fresh milk just brought from the stables, fragrant honey, crunchy nuts, fresh season fruits, scrambled eggs…

Kahlan sighed with water in her mouth. The best provender she could aspire to in this awkward place, were some sour berries, dry meat and maybe a boiling herbs infusion. But the brunette wasn't a spoiled silly princess; she could perfectly withstand a little hunger and a bit of delusion for her palate. Only, all that daily walking, working hard to keep up with the hastened and unstoppable Cara's pace, made her starving, especially in the morning.

Indeed as she began rising from the bedroll, her belly sent a roar so loud that even Cara couldn't avoid the smallest curl to wrinkle upward the corner of her lips. This sound was really improper from the Mother Confessor, and though there were only the two of them witnessing this inappropriate lack of etiquette, and tough Cara wasn't certainly the kind of a woman caring about it, Kahlan blushed and murmured an embarrassed apology.

Cara didn't answer, but immediately busied herself with gathering the poor foods they had and handling them to Kahlan. The Confessor sat and sipped the warm insipid broth she was offered, letting its heat slowly flowing into her shivering body while munching the dry meat in silence; her brain still half folded in the slumber. After a minute she realized that Cara was any longer in sight and turned her head around with a slight hint of concern. But few seconds after the Mord-Sith returned in her visual perimeter and extended her a little apple, while crunching another one.

"Oh, thank you Cara!" Kahlan's voice was whole-hearted; she really didn't expect such gluttony for breakfast. Much less a kind gesture from her coarse comrade.

"I thought you could bite me if I didn't provide you something else to put under your teeth." The blonde replied with an almost invisible smirk on her face.

Kahlan laughed and Cara couldn't help but lowly snicker. But after a moment the blonde evidently thought that she was loosening herself too much, so she added mischievously:

"Even though I cannot deny that your bites could be pleasant for me, Confessor."

Kahlan stopped immediately her laughter and looked confused at Cara, as red spread on her cheeks. Why did the blonde had to tell such thing? Deliberately embarrassing the Confessor and dismissing her kindness. And why was this kind of comment so abashing for Kahlan now? She was used to this kind of double meaning teasing from the blonde, but now it seemed so misplaced. A part of Kahlan's head - the mischievous one - told her this wasn't depending on Cara, who acted just as she always did, but on herself, on the way she saw Cara now. But that was the part of her head Kahlan always ignored, so she did also this time.

The brunette returned to her apple, which seemed tasting less sweet now.

During the early evening the sun was obscured by clouds which turned progressively heavier and darker; a whipping wind began to mercilessly blow, driving freezing tendrils to coil on the two marching women's bodies.

Kahlan worked really hard trying to convince Cara that they needed to find a shelter now,otherwise they would be exposed at the moment the rain would start falling, and that could be at any moment. Cara complained that the rain was still far from coming, since the clouds were moving fast in the sky, and very likely the storm was about to pass by on them without rain. Then the unflappable Mord-Sith abruptly turned on her back and kept on stubbornly walking her way, without even bothering to check whether the brunette was following her.

Kahlan remained petrified and utterly annoyed, watching that proud leather wrapped back resolutely striding into the woods. The Confessor was tired, freezing from her tip of the hair to the tip of her toes and honestly didn't trust at all in Cara's meteorology skills, but Kahlan didn't want to give the blonde the satisfaction of saying that she was slowing them down. So she unwillingly yielded the Mord-Sith's momentum, but prudently began to pick some logs and stock them in her backpack.

After a candle mark of hard walking, the sky had turned even darker and the light of the day had completely faded, succumbed under a thick cover of black smoky spirals. Summoning all her patience, the Confessor made her best to quietly explain Cara how soaked clothes were doubtlessly bothering, especially without the chance of lighting a fire, owing to wet woods and the water dropping from above. She remarked how a cold wouldn't be pleasant and would just slow them down more than a prudent break, waiting for the bad weather to improve.

The blonde looked totally hassled by the Confessor's insistence and wasn't still convinced to stop the walk, but before she could speak her retort a blinding flash froze the two women in place, followed by the rumbling of a mighty thunder dropped few distant from them, which echoed all over the skies.

Cara immediately changed her mind and uttered: "Thunder only happens when it's raining."

Kahlan didn't understand this quote, but didn't bother to mind about it. The twosome headed toward the rocky flank of the mountain, hoping to find some cave providing them shelter. As the first cool drops hit Cara's face, she cursed the fucking rain, while Kahlan inwardly cursed a certain mule head.

The rain began to fall heavily; puffed drops slashing their faces and wetting their clothes just like Kahlan had predicted. They stopped under a rock overhanging the side of the mountain wall, while the booms of the storm increased and the clatter of the rain pealed all around them.

Cara eyed in the distance a rift in the side of the mountain and shouted loud - to overcome the voice of the squall – that she was going to check whether that spot could be suitable for them to take shelter. Kahlan nodded, happy that the blonde was willing to burden herself with this uncomfortable task. After all it was her fault if now they were freezing and immersed in this troubled situation and Kahlan had absolutely no itch to shower more than necessary under this cascade of rain.

The blonde returned after a while and didn't waste time and breath in screaming, but directly took Kahlan's hand in hers and led her running to the rift, which was the entrance of a small cavern. Kahlan's heart increased the pulse when she saw Cara approaching to her and when her hand was captured into the Mord-Sith's. After stepping into the cavern, Cara immediately tossed away the other woman's extremity and busied herself at removing the water weighed cloak, grumbling some more invectives against the damn cold.

Instead Kahlan's mind couldn't help but return to the memory of another cave where she had spent some time alone with Cara. Surprisingly part of the chill disappeared from her body.

The cave wasn't very wide, also because partially invaded by infesting dry bushes. Kahlan thanked the Spirits for this, because they had something to start a fire with. She slip off her soppy cape and took one of her daggers, beginning to cut some branches.

Cara came near her and slid her other dagger from her boot, before mimicking her motions with the cutting of branches. It made Kahlan shiver at the sensation of cold red gloved fingers slightly touching her thigh. The Confessor could no longer ignore how every time the blonde touched her she felt her body reacting. This was definitely a topic she had to ponder about, but not now. They had to hurry with building a fire and removing their damped clothes as soon as possible, before turning completely frozen.

.

After a little while the fire was lighted; it emanated sweet relieving warmth and provided enough light to figure the exact edges of the cave. It was definitely small, but could anyway host the both of them without the risk of ending up into the fire during the sleep.

Cara untied her dripping braid and began to remove her garments, pulling off the collar, the buckled belt and the abdomen band. Then she started working with the complicate routes of her strings. Removing a Mord-Sith uniform needed time, certainly more than removing a simple traveling dress, and the blonde was looking forward to get rid of the uncomfortable dampened leathers. Instead of hastening to set herself free from the wet clothes as well, Kahlan remained still with wide eyes laid on Cara and listening to the thundering coming from inside of her, which seemed louder than the one rumbling outside the cave. The Mord-Sith spun her head to the Confessor with an annoyed look and barked:

"Is there anything wrong Confessor?" She wasn't exactly in her best mood.

"No, no… I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare at you…"

The Mord-Sith stopped her fumbling for a moment and regarded Kahlan with more attention, obviously reading the discomfort in the other woman. And since Cara was Cara, she did her best to increase it, as there weren't others diversions in that small place and taking a little fun with the blushed Confessor wouldn't probably improve her mood, but could amuse her a bit anyway.

"All right, if you want you can enjoy the show, no problems. Just take care of all that wetness dribbling down or you'll get a cold!" The Mord-Sith eloquently fixed her gaze to the point between the Confessor's legs and slightly tipped her head with a malicious smirk.

As predicted Kahlan became even redder and lowered her look completely ashamed, but not sure if she was ashamed of having been caught or that Cara had deduced that she was lusting after her. Kahlan would never do that. She wasn't kind of woman doing that. So what it was exactly that she was doing?

Kahlan shrugged the unanswered question off and turned around with her back to Cara, then began to untying her own laces. She made her work quickly, doing her best not to ogle toward Cara. Not that she wanted to ogle, but that cave was so small it was nearly impossible avoiding her curios glances to slip toward the other woman. Satisfy her mere curiosity, that's what she was doing. But curiosity for what?

On the other side Cara was having some difficulties with her soaked rear strings, which tended to knot and became tighter and tighter, in a position where the Mord-Sith had no way to properly maneuver to loosen them.

Kahlan was still on her back and completely naked behind Cara, dealing with her stranded questions. The blonde was instead still fully dressed and abruptly spun around to unwillingly ask help with the laces. She remained dazed, staring at the bare marvel slowly turning to her and standing few inches away from her.

A fascinating show appeared to the Mord-Sith's unprepared eyes: raven scattered tresses caressing Kahlan's full breasts and scarcely concealing her stiffened nipples. The greedy Mord-Sith's gaze traveled down to the dip between the brunette's ribcage and her hips; a place that seemed deliberately formed to host gripping and hungry red gloved hands. Following the declivity of such a perfect curve, the sea-green eyes rolled to the expansion of Kahlan's hips which encircled a backside Cara deemed perfectly shaped as far as her contemplative eyes could glimpse from her almost head-on position. As the brunette slowly completed to turn around and faced the blonde, the plain of a smooth flat belly entered in Cara's range of vision and she instantly figured hundreds of trails that could be placed with a kissing mouth upon that inviting expanse, both upward, but especially and gladly downward. After having imagined this enticing purpose, shameless sea-green orbs flied to the Confessor's lower abdomen to glimpse the most private area of that creamy artwork, which sight was unexpectedly gifted to her. But the drenched dress still in Kahlan's hands was hiding her womanhood from the blonde's utterly attentive gaze. Unfulfilled eyes consoled themselves with surveying exceptionally long and alluring legs.

After having minutely appraised the whole Confessor's body, Cara's gaze was drawn back to the perfect freckled face and there she remained, trapped by a couple of shimmering blue sapphires. She'd expect the Confessor to jump back outraged and screaming complaints about Cara's brazenness. She'd expect wounded modesty, pointless shame and maybe even a reminder of her still standing loyalty to the Lord Rahl.

She didn't expect those eyes brimming with want.

Cara had seen tens - if not hundreds - of naked nice women in her life and was pretty used with this kind of spectacle, but with the Mother Confessor it had always felt different. Though not as much often as Cara had wished, she had already seen Kahlan undressed during the days of the Seeker's quest, but they had never been so close or in such a palpable uneasiness. Anyway that sight had always left her breathless, just like - she hardly admitted to herself - she was now.

The brunette noticed the enraptured way Cara's eyes were greedily drinking the sight of her. She couldn't tell what it was that made her stay perfectly still and let that eager gaze caress the entirety of her body. Another unanswered question she packed with the others. Anyway, whatever it was, it just forced her own look into Cara's and unexpectedly pinned the blonde on the spot, without any of the two women being capable of uttering a word for some moments.

But the odd atmosphere draping them faded and Kahlan felt an embarrassed heat rising again on her cheeks. Also a certain flattery made its way into Kahlan, who observed inwardly how the blonde – despite all her effrontery - was clearly at a loss for words and mesmerized in front of her bareness. Finally Kahlan's modesty regained control and she lowered to her pack to pull off a towel, which she put around her body both to dry and cover herself.

Cara quickly fluttered her eyes and her consciousness returned back in place. She reminded herself that she was a Sister of the Agiel, perfectly capable of remaining impassive, and who currently had a problem with the loosening job. She made her best to conceal her annoyance for the need of help, and the other thing riding on her mind, but her voice came out husky and sounding definitely more pleading than she wished.

"Can you give me a hand with these fucking laces?"

Kahlan smiled amused and immediately reached Cara's tangle of knots.

"It seems the Spirits are against you tonight Cara. You should behave, or something bad could happen to you." She spoke in a soft voice, while carrying out her task on the other woman's back.

Cara grunted her disappointment, mumbling she didn't believe in fate.

Kahlan worked tearing and stretching the strings, probably putting a bit more strength than necessary in yanking the Mord-Sith, but absolutely enjoying having the other woman at her mercy. After a while the rebel lace was tamed and Cara at last slipped out from her wet uncomfortable leathers.

Kahlan played fair, turning her head and busying her eyes in searching into the blonde's backpack, pulling Cara's towel off of it. Something inside of her was telling her that it was more prudent not to try her luck in exchanging flirtatious glances with Cara. When she handed it to the naked Mord-Sith, she however lost the control on her gaze, which avidly roamed all over the toned and perfect body standing before her, until it reached the beguiling face. Once again both women lost themselves into each other's eyes, locked from some sort of spell. This time there was no mockery or annoyance on their faces, only tense. But again, it lasted only few moments; Cara blankly grabbed the towel and padded herself with it.

After wiping themselves by the fire, hanging their clothes to dry and a brief meal with the leftovers found their packs, they prepared for sleeping. Kahlan spread her bedroll and took her nightshift, which she pulled over her head and down her body in a swift movement after removing the towel. Cara prepared to do the same, but when she took the shift from her pack a new curse bloomed on her lips.

"What's wrong Cara?"

"That damn bitch of a witch! I'm gonna pay back to her!"

Kahlan leaned closer to check what was the problem then saw the robe in Cara's hands. The Confessor did her best not to laugh, but a smothered chortle came out of her mouth without her being able to refrain it. Shota had given Cara the same skimpy silken camisole she was wearing in Agaden, when the witch brought her back to life.

"For which fucking reason did the slut give me a fur cloak to wear in the cold of the day and this pitiful tissue for the even colder nights?!" The Mord-Sith growled, shaking the useless garment.

The Confessor began to loudly laugh, completely incapable of controlling the cackles, which filled the small cavern. This joyful voice seemed somehow foreign to Kahlan's ears, until she realized that she just hadn't heard it for such a long time that she didn't even remember how it sounded. She had missed it. She had missed being truly happy. Despite all the uneasiness, the uncomfortable conditions the tiredness and all the odds against them, Cara's mere presence was able to turn her happy. To make her spontaneously and whole heartedly laugh , in a way Richard or Dennee hadn't been able to do in the past months.

When her breathing returned in control and her giggling faded to a bearable level, Kahlan wiped her laughing tears and looked at Cara, who was staring back at her, perfectly still and with a deadly glare on her face.

"If you are done with the fun, could you look in your pack and check if you have one more shift to lend me?" Cara hissed sharpening her eyes to a slit.

The brunette nodded, still hiccuping by the titter, not at all concerned by the menacing look the lethal warrior by her side was sending her. Kahlan checked her pack as requested, but obviously there weren't other clothes in it, so she shook her head with a large sneering smile on her face. Cara snorted and over-rolled her eyes; she slipped off of the towel and wore the sensual but misplaced chemise with a jerk. The blonde laid down on her bedroll with her back to Kahlan and covered herself with the small blanket, which was far from giving to her cooled body the warmth she needed. Kahlan was still kneeling next to her and looked at her for a moment, feeling some sort of sweet tenderness growing inside of her. Her smile shifting from amusement to warmth. The brunette took her own bedroll and placed it beside Cara's.

"What the hell are you doing?" The Mord-Sith exclaimed defensively, lifting her head and darting the Confessor with suspicious flashes from her eyes.

"Sparing you a cold?" The brunette promptly replied with a sincere smirk and sprawled herself near Cara, covering both them with her blanket.

"Your touch is deadly for me! I don't want to sleep attached to you!" She faintly tried to wriggle, but didn't honestly apply herself very much in the effort. Those warm gentle arms were just too inviting and the gorgeous body which those limbs were connected to, as well.

Kahlan on her side was too tired and just too merry to argue, so she simply grabbed Cara and snuggled leaning the front of her chest against the other woman's back, putting her legs in touch with the blonde's and draping her arm on her side, a hand resting on her stomach.

"I promise I won't confess you. Do you trust me?" The amused brunette softly murmured into Cara's hair, while closing her eyes. The certainty in her movements wasn't giving room to Cara for possible disagreement and the blonde was struggling to remember the reasons of her disagreement, but it was oddly difficult to find them out.

"I wouldn't let you follow me if I didn't trust you, but-"

"Shhh Cara, I'm tired. Let's get some sleep." The Confessor's hot breath caressed Cara's chilling neck and this alone was enough to make the blonde surrender to the warmth of the soft body embracing hers, but her limbs remained tense.

"Try to relax." Kahlan's voice was just a whisper blew directly into Cara's ear, which made the blonde shiver, but not because of the cold.

"It's not easy at all. I'm risking my life." The Mord-Sith's voice escaped definitely breathier than she wished.

"I told you that the Spirits are against you tonight. But don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Rather, I think you'll be my ruin!"

Kahlan was already half slid in her sleep with a sweet smile firmly planted on her lips; she murmured muffling in blonde hair: "…promise… buy you… new shift …next village."

Cara grumbled something unintelligible, but unmistakably impolite in response.

"… flannel, necked shift…" Kahlan added; the ghost of a chuckle echoed behind her words.

"Screw you!"

"…night to you too, Cara."

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A/N
sorry for the delay guys, but at last here we are
i am only winking about the meaning of the title of my fic here; that will be explained in future chapters. i myself am still discovering the full range of it.
funny thing is that i didn't particularly appreciate the song Dreams before starting writing this... but now i love it and most of that lyric has turned into titles.
like one of my readers wrote me, this is my early christmas present for you guys. so if you liked it, let me know it with a review :D