The subject wasn't really mentioned at lunch. Celine and Chris were still clueless, Claude and Rena had nothing to say, and Ashton dared not bring it up, as well as Chisato. It was an awkward meal, because the only thing on four of their minds was something none of them wanted to bring up. Celine, however, was blissfully ignorant, and spoke of constant random things. Rena wondered if Celine noticed she was talking to herself.
Shortly after the meal, however, the skies opened up and a massive storm came down on the mountain. A little surprised, they frantically ran back to their various tents.
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Rena opened the tent flap window and looked out into the distance. Because the tent was under a ledge, the rain didn't hit the tent flaps. She was slightly disappointed, as the sound of rain hitting the tent was nice. She sighed as she pulled the charm out of her hair. Now we're all separated again, she thought.
She looked over at Claude, who was taking a nap. She watched him silently…then formed an idea. She took off her good clothes and put on a rain coat. The odd thing was that the coat she'd packed was small, even for her. I doubt a child could fit into this, she thought to herself.
Regardless, she pulled a blanket over Claude and silently slid out the tent flap, thoughts still a mile a minute.
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Chris watched in half amusement, half worry as Celine repeated the rhythmic dance she'd started. She was in her traditional clothes, and was chanting an ancient tune. She was also in the rain, shivering.
"You know," he yelled out, "You'll catch a cold out there."
"I recently read about this," Celine replied, not breaking step. "There is a dance that honors the desire for dry weather, yet is still respectful to the deity that caused the rain."
"I can't even hear you over your teeth-chattering. Get in here."
She kept dancing for a few more seconds, then stopped and walked back to the tent.
"God, 'line, you're soaked! You have a deathwish?"
"Cold…"
He took off her wet clothes and wrapped a blanket around her.
"Better?"
"T-thank you…"
He frowned, then took her into a deep kiss.
"Now, better?"
"…yes…", she said, kissing him again. "Still cold though."
"That can be remedied," Chris replied.
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Ashton woke up when he felt Chisatos weight shift next to him.
"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting upright. The dragons, uninterested, looked out the window at the rain.
"I can't sleep, Ashton. I can't stop thinking-"
"Don't think," Ashton replied.
"That's easy for you to say. And why is it easy? You should be ten times as shy as I am."
To her surprise, he didn't blush. "Maybe so. But there isn't anything we can do, is there?"
She moved close to him. "Are you sick?" she asked, putting a hand to his forehead. This provoked Gyoro to nip her hand playfully, which provoked Urunun to attack him. They fought for a couple seconds until Ashton spoke up.
"Guys, knock it off." They hissed at him, and then became silent.
Chisato looked into his eyes, then suddenly fell into his shoulder, crying. Ashton blinked in surprise. He wasn't exactly ready for this.
"Ashton," she said, through tears, "I told you…don't hide what you feel…don't hide it…not from me…too many hide from me…or am I the cause? Do you think that since I hide, you have to as well? That's what made you special, Ashton, and I don't want you to lose it, especially not thanks to me…"
Ashton couldn't hold up the farce any longer, as his own eyes began to water. "I…I don't want to be weak…"
"You're wrong, Ashton. What you thought was weak was really your strength."
"Howso?"
"It's the you I f…," her words trailed off, but they both understood. Her tears had stopped, as she was now against him for closeness and not for comfort. He held her tight for a few minutes…then leaned back forcibly against the tent wall. Their combined weight broke through easily and they slid down the rain covered hill, occasionally rolling.
The reached the bottom, gasping. Chisato looked at him with a mixture of surprise and…well, more surprise.
"Why Ashton, was that just something random?"
He shrugged and held her in the rain, then lifted her in the air and carried her back to the tent.
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It was cold and it was wet, and she was small, so it all affected her ever moreso. Rena didn't know why she'd even packed this poncho. It was far too small, and figuring that she'd taken off her good clothes so they wouldn't get wet, the thin layer of plastic was all that was protecting her bare body from cold, unforgiving rain.
She was sitting next to the tree by their tent, simply because there was slightly less rain falling on her. It was a hardly noticeable difference though; it felt like her full body was soaked. She decided to throw this poncho away when she got back home.
Home, she thought. Why did I think about home? I don't want to go back to Arlia….I want to do something, I want to save the world again somehow, or at least make a difference. I never will again in that small world I grew-OH! Ashton…or is that Chisato?...just sat up. What're they saying I can't hear. Ashton…what's she telling you?
She leaned back against the tree and sighed. Well, that's a waste of good body heat. I'll probably get a cold from this, and give it to Claude, and we'll both die, all because I was too busy spying on two people whose business isn't my own.
She was about to walk back to her tent when she heard the tent break with the weight of the two. She looked over and saw them fall out, rolling down the hill. She leaned carefully over the side and saw the two at the bottom, talking. She decided she could wait a little longer.
Ashton carried her back up and they fixed the side of the tent, and it was silent for about a second. Then she heard something about heat…and then…she began to hear sounds. Rena, still a prude at heart, couldn't take much more. One moan later, Rena ran back to her tent, red-faced for more then just the cold. The realization hit her then however…she hadn't wasted anything. She'd gotten what she'd come for.
~