Don't Fall, part 22
FIC START!
It took a few days total, but Sakinah and Kain had cleared Mount Hobbs and finally reached flat grasslands. She took a moment to let herself absorb the energy from the fresh grass. The Earth seemed glad to feel her, as much as she was to feel it. The group had a moment to rest before continuing on, and she took off her boots to let her bare feet enjoy the feeling of the grass. That, at least, was familiar even this far from home. She loved the shiwsh-sway sound the grass made as she moved her feet over it. It even tickled a little.
"Sakinah," Kain said, waving for her to come closer. "We should head on. Fabul is due east, down this exact way. Let's head out." He waited for her to lace up her boots, while Cuore had her eye on the coast nearby. "Mmm? Are you not headed to Fabul?"
"No. I told you I was meeting a friend," Cuore said quietly. "This is where I arranged to meet him."
With a puff of magic dust, there was a pig standing there right in front of her. "Hi, Cuore!"
"Hello," she said, bowing her head just a little. "Sorry if I was late. We had to fight a Mom Bomb atop the mountain. And it was storming, too."
"That'd do it," the pig said, putting a hoof up to his snout as if he was contemplating things. "But that's all right. It's just a quick teleport from here to Agart."
"That's good," Cuore said. She turned to give Kain a light embrace, and completely smothered Sakinah in a tight hug. "You two be good. I'll see you around sometime, I'm sure. Get stronger, Sakinah. You're going to need to protect your dragoon."
"We'll be fine, Cuore," Sakinah said, giggling. "Really."
"Don't I know it…" Cuore said as she put her hand against the pig's hoof. "…I'm ready."
"Teleport!"
And just like that, Cuore and the pig were gone in another puff of magic dust. Sakinah was curious about the magical procedure of teleportation, as it was something she'd never seen or heard of before now, but that was all well and good, she figured. Magic wasn't really what she was good at, not in the traditional sense. She also wondered by Cuore was friends with a talking pig, but she figured that since she had such a closed life until now that she was going to see things she wasn't quite used to. She was going to see weird and different things on her journey, and perhaps this is what she needed?
Kain then took a few steps to the east. "Don't just stand there. We have plenty of ground to cover."
"You're right," Sakinah agreed, following him as he led the way.
Sakinah's first few real battles happened while up on that mountain, and she was glad for it. She recalled back to the vision she had looking into the Earth Crystal back in Troia. Standing atop a mountain with Kain. She knew what Kain standing there meant now, of course. After fighting alongside him, and now even sleeping alongside him, she had grown very fond of him. Sakinah didn't want to be without him in any situation if it was possible. She had grown to love him, and she was under the impression that he returned that affection. Here they were headed off together to complete one of his royal tasks, and she loved being along for the ride. They conquered monsters along the way, headed along in the direction where the sun was setting.
"What kind of place is Fabul?" Sakinah wondered aloud.
"Fabul is a patriarchal society, run by a king who is also a warrior monk," Kain explained. "They have traditions that date as far back as thousands of years ago. Their way is the way of the warrior. They consider keeping others around them safe of the utmost importance. They do not fight for selfish reasons, but to protect." He smiled as he explained it. "I've met a few monks, but none of them are more honorable than King Yang himself. He believes in taking care of his country and his family more than even taking care of himself."
"He sounds like an amazing man," Sakinah said, trying to picture a man who lived up to everything Kain said.
"I have fought alongside Yang, back before he became a king or a father, and honestly… I quite admire him for his bravery and spirit," Kain continued. "He might be quite excitable sometimes, but there's no one I trust more to have my back in battle. Except perhaps Cecil. It makes sense that men with honor become kings in our world."
"Kain, you have honor," Sakinah said very quietly. "Do not sell yourself short."
"Sakinah, my dearest, you do not know of all the things I have been through. The things I have done," he said gently, not wanting to look her in the eye. "My honor did not come to me until much after theirs, and they were rewarded for always sticking with the light, while I…"
"Kain, did you not say that you were forgiven? That this is why you have attained the rank of Holy Dragoon?" Sakinah asked, putting her hands around his arm to stop him from walking any further. "I thought you had forgiven yourself."
He just frowned for a moment. "It is hard not to get wrapped up in guilt every time I think of it."
"I didn't mean to bring it up."
"No, no, you didn't," Kain said, suddenly pulling her close to him. "It's just that when I think of the men I have met through the two wars I fought in, I always compare them to myself… and then I bring up all the old memories related to everything…"
Sakinah looked up at him from within their embrace, her brown eyes staring up into his lovely blue ones. She blinked a few times, only wanting to reassure him that whatever he had gone through, there was no reason to concentrate on that now. "I can't make you forget it, but I do want to let you know, the way you keep telling me… that we are more than our pasts. We've made mistakes, but we're doing all we can to keep going forward."
"Sakinah…" Kain whispered, bending down just a little to plant his lips onto hers, locking them into a delicate kiss.
