Chapter 52: Selfless Love

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David and Dakota sat at the kitchen table. At some point during the evening Dakota had gotten ravenously hungry. So David made him dinner. Out side the rain had started again, it would never stop. Inside, the only sound other than David and Dakota's voices happened to be the soft lull of Riley and Bip's laughter.


"They're not together are they?" Dakota asked.


David smiled. "No, Riley wants a more dominate man, not a little brother."


"Has she ever been in love, or is it my business?" Dakota asked.


"Yeah, but he is now apart of the Council." David began. "He felt that there were some serious things that needed to be changed, and he thought he could do it."


"Things like Ariel?" Dakota asked.


David laughed. "Yeah, he and Ariel definitely don't see eye to eye, plus, he doesn't agree with the laws that you're in trouble for, so he's up there fighting for you."


Dakota smiled. It felt good to know that someone fought for him up there with the counsel. "So what happened between them?" He asked.


"I still don't know where they are. They love each other, I know that. Love like there's, love that is selfless and sacrificial, doesn't die. Riley would have gone with him I think, to fight with him against the counsel, but the head council member, Paul...doesn't approve of her." David explained.


"Why?" Dakota asked.


"Because he knows he can't have her," a voice said. They turned to see a tall, young-looking man sitting on the windowsill.


"Kristopher, you always did have a way of entering a room without being noticed," David stood up and smiled.


"Kristopher? Riley and Kristopher?" Dakota asked.


"I know, I know, why didn't we tell you, right?" Kristopher said, he put and ankle on his knee. "It was never brought up. So I never mentioned it."


"Oh brother," Dakota laughed. "That's exactly the kind of nonchalant answer I'd expect from you."


"So what brings you here?" David asked.


"Well," Kristopher pushed his fingers through his wet bark brown hair. "Two reasons. One, I want to see Riley, and two, Council's getting absolutely unbearable."


"You want me to talk to them don't you?" David asked.


Kristopher shrugged. "Hey, I'm not one to lie, you are smarter than me. You're at least, what, five hundred years older than I am?"


"Oh come on, I'm not that old."


"So you gonna help me or what?" He asked.


"You always were straight to the point weren't you?" David said. "Let me sleep on it, meanwhile, you go catch up with Riley and you can share a room with Dakota if you want to stay."


"Thanks pops," Kristopher said, and hopped off the window seal.


"Hey," Kristopher stopped and looked back at David. "Be respectable with that girl of mine."


"I will do no less." He walked out.


David sat back down at the table. "Kids these days."


Dakota laughed. "You're not that old."


"Pretty old."


"No older than, who was it, Methuselah, right? Dakota said.


"Okay, maybe not that old."


"How old are you?"


"Only four hundred, four hundred and one tomorrow," David said. "Man...I feel old."


"Don't feel bad, you don't look it." Dakota said. "How old're Riley and Kristopher?"


"Riley's one hundred and Kristopher is one hundred and ten."


"Scary, I hope I don't get that old." Dakota shuddered.


"Well, let's keep you alive as long as we can." David said.


We can try, Dakota thought. We can try.


Meanwhile, Kristopher squatted down and crept into the living room. Riley sat alone on the couch with her Bible, Bip had gone home. Kristopher leaned around the couch and kissed Riley's neck. She turned around startled and he swept her up.


"Hello, how's my Baby Doll?" He asked and sat down on the couch with her still in his arms.


She smiled and kissed him. "I missed you, but I'm better now," Riley said. "Get sick of Council?"


Kristopher rolled his eyes and rubbed her arm. "Make them go away, those old fogies are gonna drive me crazy." He leaned close to her face, their noses touched.


"Your eyes have changed colors again," Riley said.


"I know, every time I develop a new power," Kristopher answered shaking his head.

"First I had brown eyes, then I had that nasty boating accident and I could change my shape so my eyes were blue, then I had that car crash and I could move things with my mind and my eyes turn purple, and the newest improvement is when I almost got killed by Ariel before a meeting, which was by far the most frightening, and I can now run through walls, so my eyes turn gray," he shrugged. "I don't know."


"I like your eyes," Riley moved off his lap onto the couch and leaned against his chest.

'Why can't I stay here forever?'