Author's note: Some sexual reference here, so if you're too young, please don't read. If you aren't, enjoy!

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The early morning air was thick with fog, new to this land. The geosystems had completely changed and no one knew quite what to expect. At least there weren't any floods or droughts going on, as far as they knew. Raine's room was beginning to seep with moisture, light beads forming on the covers of the unopened books left on the table.

Raine awoke with a start. She'd had a terrible dream about... something. She couldn't remember what. But it frightened her. And she knew Kratos was there, Kratos was in her dream and he was...

"He's leaving." She said it again. This time it began to sink in.

Raine sat up in her bed. She'd only been asleep maybe an hour and a half, and that was restless at best. She was drenched in sweat and the new moisture in her room wasn't helping. The heat from the land, also somewhat new, made the room muggy and hard to breath. Oh, why did she leave that window open?

Raine stood and walked aimlessly around the room. Just another nameless inn, another new room, another new bed. Tomorrow it would be in another town, then another, then another. Her life was nothing but new things now. Nothing old, nothing safe. She lay her hands delicately on a book, smearing the light layer of water on the cover. She didn't open it. She really wasn't in the mood for reading.

Raine couldn't actually pinpoint what she was in the mood for. It wasn't analyzing or studying, it wasn't talking or contemplating, and it definitely wasn't sleeping. For the first time in a long while she wasn't in the mood to live within her head. She wanted to live within her body.

Her body. Heh. Raine hadn't thought about that in a long time. It was usually hidden under long, loose garments thrown together to be comfortable yet stylish, in an educated sense. But here she stood in only a sweat drenched light nightgown, slightly offwhite in color and slightly seethrough as well. She hadn't noticed until she caught her image in the mirror close to the fireplace. The nightgown had twisted around her and showed off her figure. Her hips, curvy yet thin, where highlighted by the tight material. As the nightgown had ridden up, her thighs were completely exposed, and she realized that they were longer and leaner than she remembered. She'd done a lot of walking lately had hadn't factored that in to be the reason that her normal clothes didn't feel like they fit as well.

The nightgown showed off a tight stomach, and even higher, two ample sized breasts, with fully erect nipples pointing through the thin material. Raine began to feel her own temperature rise. Yes, she was definitely living her her body right now. She could feel it, her feel the way the material felt on her bosom as her chest rose and fell, sliding just slightly up and down. She could feel the breeze on her long legs and the sweat on her forehead. She could feel her lips longing to connect with other lips, her hands aching to run through a mat of shaggy hair, her body all over just yearning to be touched. For the first time in perhaps years, she felt her body was truly alive.

But what was she to do with this newfound sense of vitality? Her heart was racing and she needed... something. Someone. She didn't want just anyone, and she knew that. Then her heart sank as the realization finally hit her head on.

"He's leaving..." She felt her heart stop a beat. Her body began to retreat into it's dull state of existence.

"He's leaving..." She said it again, finally feeling the effects take her over.

She walked to the window and looked at the horizon, starting to glow with the light of a new day.

"In the morning..."

She sighed. Why had she let herself hope? Why, Raine, why would you let yourself be so stupid as to think that...

There he was. Standing below her window. Raine, tears on her cheeks, stopped completely and looked down at him. There he was, his hair dishevelled and his eyes longing, staring up at her. They held the gaze for what seemed like forever, silent words being passed between them. Then, with the dawn breaking and his departure nearing, he broke off the gaze.

Raine sat down. She knew it would end. Why the hell hadn't it been able to start, though? Why? Why did Sheena and Collette, both too dumb to notice the men they would love, get the chance to have a happy ending? Why wasn't Raine even allowed a beginning? Why, why, why...

There was a knock on her door. Raine, startled, took a moment to collect herself. She threw on her robe and walked across the room, hazilly calling out "who is it?" as she opened the door.

On the other side was Kratos, breathing heavily and looking near bewildered.

"Kratos? What's going--" Raine was cut short. She couldn't speak when Kratos mouth was covering hers.