Chapter Five

Following Advice

Rowen yelled out loud as he sat up with a start. He bit his lip and felt around himself as he realized he was no longer in the resting chamber with Kayura, but back in the bedroom that he shared with Sage at Mia's cozy manor. He could still taste the last kiss that they shared; a mix of vanilla and jasmine. He was breathing rapidly from his fall through space, the cool night air entering into his lungs. He heard someone fumbling with the light switch on the lamp beside him, and shut his eyes to ward off the blinding effect of the light.

"Are you alright, Ro?"

Rowen opened one eye, and saw a very sleepy Sage stretched out on the bed alongside his own. As Rowen opened his mouth to answer, relief flooded over him as he saw that the demon like eyes from before were replaced with Sage's soft violet ones.

A sigh of relief passed his lips, and he grinned beside himself as he lay back against the soft pillows. Sage rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at the clock on the night table. It flashed 3:30 am. 'Leave it to Rowen to wake up at this absurd hour', Sage thought as he pulled the covers back on his bed and slipped out from under the warmth. He pulled a green fleece blanket off of his bed and wrapped himself in it. He climbed over to Rowen's slumbering figure, shivering against the cold.

"Are you okay?" Sage asked again.

Rowen opened his eyes, and looked over at his friend, concern in his eyes. Rowen nodded slowly, "I'm alright now."

Sage smiled, and Rowen could see his body relax against the strain that he had been under. As he was opening his mouth to continue their conversation, they heard a stampede running up the steps and down the hallway leading to their bedrooms. The door burst open, everyone running in. They stopped in a dead halt when they saw Rowen resting against the headboard.

Rowen chuckled at the group, and folded his hands behind his head, "Where's the fire, guys?"

Glares were his only response, "I'm gonna kill him." Kento mumbled.

"Nope, I'm first." Mia uttered with her hands on her hips.

Sage looked back at Rowen and rolled his eyes, pulling the covers tighter around his shoulders. Everyone piled into the room, Mia sitting at Rowen's feet; Cye, Kento, and Ryo gathering on Sage's bed.

After a moment of silence, Ryo asked sternly, "Well?"

Rowen rolled his head to look over at their leader, "Well, what?"

"Don't be coy, dude. What's goin' on? I thought that you had gone nuts." Kento said as he lay back on his elbows.

"So did I, to be honest. I really don't fully understand what she wants with me-"

"She?" Sage asked quickly, " 'She' who?"

It took a moment for Rowen to answer. He looked down at his lap as he tried to figure out a way to tell them that Kayura had been up to something. He knew that they would all react defensively, but seeing as how he had acted a bit crazy lately, he at least owed them the truth.

A sudden pat on his knee caught his attention as Mia's brown eyes met his, "You can tell us, Rowen."

"It was Kayura." Rowen stated as he pictured her at their latest encounter in his head.

Every person got quiet as Rowen slipped into a reverie. Sage exchanged a nervous glance with Ryo and bit his lip. The way that Rowen even said her name was a little unnerving. Why it bothered him was a different question. He honestly didn't know.

"Tell us what happened today, Rowen." Cye asked quietly.

Rowen looked over at the redhead and nodded. He owed them an explanation to his erratic behavior. He sat up and took a deep breath, ready to begin. He started at the beginning, with his mother, and her sudden change of heart. He explained about the first encounter he had with Kayura, the warning that she had issued, the strange visions that he had, and the incident in the alleyway.

As he began to tell about his last encounter with Kayura, he could feel his face become hot with embarrassment. He explained about what she had said about her tests, and that there was more planned. He felt stupid talking about their intimacy, but she had told him that he needed to be truthful with everyone and not hold back. When he had finished telling them about her latest advice, everyone sat back, soaking in his information.

"Well, before we go on, I think that you need to answer an important question." Cye stated.

"What's that?" Rowen asked as he pushed himself off the headboard and sat Indian-style on the covers.

"Do you love her?"

"Who?" Rowen asked innocently.

Everyone groaned, but he only smiled to himself.

"Were you born yesterday?! He's talking about Kayura!" Ryo yelled.

Rowen shrugged and stared Ryo down, "I'm attracted to her, sure. But honestly, all that is is pheromones and chemicals in your body-"

"Geez, Rowen. He didn't ask about chemistry, he asked about your feelings!" Kento argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can't answer that question. I don't really know."

"I don't trust her." Rowen heard from the figure sitting beside of him.

Rowen looked up at Sage with questioning eyes. Sage looked down on him for a moment, and then turned away.

"Why not?" Rowen asked quietly.

"Why would you?!" Sage fired back hotly.

"He does have a point there, Rowen. This is the same girl that about killed all of us when we were going through the Dynasty. Don't you remember getting blown away every time we ran into her?" Ryo asked carefully.

"And I understand your reasoning's, guys. I had my doubts, too. Truth is, I don't know what she wants, or what to expect."

Sage studied Rowen for a moment, trying to decide if he should tell him about seeing Dais.

'What?' Rowen thought to Sage.

Sage looked at him with troubled eyes for a moment. He was actually happy with the way things were going. Sage hadn't seen a smile cross Rowen's face in such a long time that he felt a little guilty in trying to bring him down to reality.

But if he were being tricked, it would hurt worse. Love was a powerful thing, as they had all seen with his mother. No matter what she did to him, he always went back. Even when he had graduated from high school and he could move out on his own, he didn't. He wanted to be there to look after her.

'Tell me.' Rowen sent again.

'I saw Dais in the alley.' Sage though to him, and guilt instantly stabbed at him when he saw the smile immediately drop from his face.

"That would explain the horrible visions. It would also explain the little fantasy land that Kayura had around us." Rowen said aloud.

"What does?" Cye asked.

Ryo growled, "I hate it when you two do that?"

"Do what?" Cye asked again.

"Link up. Ryo's nosy and wants us to always talk out loud so that he can put in his two cents." Sage muttered under his breath.

Ryo scoffed and folded his arms across his chest, "I am not nosy."

Rowen chuckled and shrugged at their argument, "Sage was telling me about seeing Dais."

Once again, the room filled with silence at the mention of Dais's name. They were all deep in their own thoughts, but wondering what the answer was to the same question: Why would the warlords be involved in Kayura's little plot?

Suddenly, Mia yawned loudly at Rowen's feet. Cye laughed aloud and patted her on the knee, "I agree, Mia. I know how you feel."

"Yeah, it has been a long day." Kento added as he stretched, almost knocking Ryo in the head.

"Well then, why don't we go back to bed and we'll discuss this further over a big breakfast in the morning."

"Sounds good." Rowen said settling back into his pillows, and pulling the covers up over his feet.

They all wandered out, sleepily rubbing their eyes and yawning. Rowen suppressed a laugh as he watched them all shuffle out. He loved the early morning, which always explained why he slept in so late. As he settled back into his warm covers, he looked over to see Sage pulling on his jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt.

"No sleep for you?" Rowen asked as he pulled the covers up over his shoulders.

Sage walked over to the night table and shook his head, "Nope.. I'm off to meditate for a bit over your little matter."

Rowen acknowledged with a soft grunt as he nuzzled into his pillow, "Don't worry so much, Sage. You won't loose me."

Sage froze and looked down at his friend, sleep beginning to over take him yet again. It was funny that out of all of the guys, Rowen was the one that could read him like a book.

Sage smiled and ruffled the top of Rowen's head, "I wouldn't dream of loosing this blue freak head."

Rowen moaned and pulled the covers over his head. Sage flipped the light off on the table, and sauntered out of the room, leaving his friend to rest comfortably under the warmth of the moon's light.