Note: This is not the full chapter! I decided to post something up since it's been more than two months and I know that if I were reading someone's fanfic that I liked and they didn't update for a really long time that I'd be anxious and wondering if they were still writing. And sorry for not e-mailing everyone, my computer was causing me grief!
Oh, and please read "You Got Nailed" which is a parody of some of these chapters. It's only 3 chapters long at the moment.
Chapter 15
Folken felt a pressure on his stomach from small arms that tried to encompass him, although they only reached part way. The warm blob that seemed intent on overtaking him then spoke.
"Aniue?" it asked timidly, hopefully.
The pale, lanky youth stirred in his bed, restricted in his movements from rolling because of the weight on his abdomen. He slowly raised a slender hand to his eyes and pushed some of his lengthy hair out of his face. He half opened his lids and revealed sleepy, dark red eyes.
"Van…"
Joyful at the awakening of his older brother, Van sat up on Folken's stomach and leaned on his small hands against the teenager's chest. A large smile lit up his bright sienna eyes and the rest of his slightly tanned complexion.
Van jumped off of Folken's bed then grasped a pale arm and pulled.
"Let's go! You promised we go to the forest today!" the raven-haired boy said.
Warm red eyes finally focused on the boy who had just barely come out of toddlerhood. With a huge yawn Folken finally got out of bed and let the tugging on his arm lead his out of his room to…
"John?"
"Hm?" John mumbled as he scrunched his eyelids against the incoming sunlight. He opened his sensitive eyes and tried to bring in a large quantity of air. He was thwarted, however, in his attempt at a leonine yawn by a weight on top of him. He blinked rapidly, clearing his eyes of the night's haze and looked down as he heard Sarah chuckle.
"She's not going to give up her new mattress easily now that she's had a whole night to sleep on it," Sarah said, a white smile dressing her words.
The young woman then saw him do something she had never seen him do before. He gave Lindsey a brief, goofy grin that suited awkward adolescents. But even before she could blink it was gone and replaced by a smaller, adult grin that was appropriate for men of his age. Sarah wasn't sure what she had seen, but it felt of a younger day, one she wasn't privy to, at least not now.
Just as John sat up, holding Lindsey to keep her from falling, Brittany came running into the quiet room.
"Lindsey!" she yelled after stopping suddenly at the sight of her roommate. She didn't stay immobile for long.
The five-year-old in John's arms woke up and rubbed her eyes with slightly chubby fists and saw Brittany a split second before the curly-haired brunette launched herself onto them.
Man and child were bowled over off the bed. The girls landed safely on the unfortunate young man. John softly groaned since the floor had found last night's bruises to bump up against and added some new discomfort to the back of his head.
Sarah rushed over and bent over the fallen trio.
"Are you guys all right?" she asked, very concerned.
She was somewhat relieved to see both girls smiling up at her and sitting up, but John's wincing face didn't eradicate all of her worries.
"Come off of John girls. Why don't you two get ready for breakfast?"
"Alright!" answered the agreeable Brittany, Lindsey nodding with her. They ran off to their room.
Sarah turned away from the girls and looked down at John with concern, both his legs still hooked over the bed. She knelt down next to John and rested a hand gently on his chest.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, just a little bump on the head," he replied, but did not make any moves to get up.
"Let's get you back onto the bed," Sarah suggested.
John made an agreeing noise and slowly brought his legs down and pushed himself off the floor with Sarah's aid. She sat him down on the edge of his bed where he was out of the shadow. Sarah took a cursory glance at him and was drawn to a purple-blue bruise at the corner of his lower jaw and neck of his right side.
"Where did you get this?" she asked as she tilted his head up to get a closer look. He grimaced and held his breath as she lightly traced it.
"I took a fall," he answered succinctly.
"When? It wasn't there last night, was it?" she slightly colored and added quietly, "Oh yes… thank you."
His head released from Sarah's gentle grasp he turned to her and said, just as quietly, "You're welcome."
"But anyway, what happened?" Sarah asked, quickly recovering.
John sighed and came up with a, hopefully, believable excuse.
"After I put you in your room I fell down the stairs," he said, hoping the lie would take.
Sarah looked at him a little suspiciously but decided not to press him further and motioned for him to remove his shirt. John complied, if a little unwillingly, and winced as he brought his arms up to pull off the shirt since it stretched his bruised side.
Sarah almost gasped at the sight of the angry, swollen bruises along his ribs under the mechanical arm. She lightly skimmed the soft skin that covered hard muscles and pressed the unbruised parts before bringing her hands closer to the site of injury and repeating the process. At the bruised parts John braced himself, winced, and sharply drew in some breath.
"I guess you didn't break anything because it you did, you'd be in much more pain even without the area being pressed against. But you'll need something cold to bring down the swelling. You must have fallen on your arm hard, which would explain the bruise on your jaw."
"The shoulder dome," John supplied, almost distractedly.
"Exactly. And now, I suspect that the back of your head is hurting from your recent topple," Sarah concluded, sliding a hand from above his ear towards the back of his head. John reached up with his left hand and stopped her from progressing any further by grasping her hand, his thumb softly pressing into her palm.
The young woman held her breath in… fear? Anticipation? Anxiety? Perhaps all of these and several others. He gently pressed her hand against his cheek and her fingers were slightly tickled by the morning stubble on his sleep-flushed face. He closed his eyes briefly before opening them once more, red meeting blue as he released her hand and slid his own up her arm and pulled her down to sit next to him. He let go of her arm and rested his hand on his lap. Sarah glanced up at him, studying the stoic visage he presented while looking straight ahead. His face softened into a small smile and warm eyes when he turned to look down on her.
Sarah looked down, embarrassed by his gaze and stuttered out, "Ah… Well… You'd better get dressed, A-Aunt Rena will need you t-to tell her how to operate the stove w-with the modifications you made."
She felt his body heat radiate off of him naturally, warming her side and making her blush because she enjoyed it. Sarah chanced a look at his face and found that he was still looking at her with those same eyes and smile. She quickly looked down again to avoid prolonged exposure, jumped up off the bed and hurriedly left the room, closing the door behind her. She walked a few paces down the hall, noticing that Lindsey and Brittany's room was vacant, sleepwear strewn all over their made beds. The doctor in training smiled.
'When they make their beds the room is messy, but when they clean the room their beds are unmade,' she thought to herself in a loving manner.
She knew she was acting very skittish around John whenever there was a warming moment like the recent one, but she couldn't seem to help her reaction. Sarah associated with men all the time, part of living in a smallish community and having a job like hers. She grew up like a tomboy, but after a certain age all her close friends her age became females.
'Oh well… Perhaps I'll grow out of it,' she thought hopefully. She continued on walking down the hall.
John dressed quickly into his strong, but broken in work clothes, wondering if perhaps he had come on too strong.
'What am I doing? Is it right of me to look for something within her, to try to possess this something, this thing I am looking for, when I am planning to leave the coming spring?'
He felt uneasy with himself, now knowing he was searching for two things. The first and maybe the most obvious was his past, his memories… himself. But the other… he wanted something from Sarah, for he felt she could provide it. She could possibly give him something he felt he had been searching for before all this. Perhaps more.
John vacated his room, closing the door behind him and walking at a brisk pace to catch up.
Author's Notes: Well, that's it for now until I've got more written up and typed out. I want to get more romance in, but it's sooo embarrassing! I'm 18 and graduated, never had a boyfriend (Yes, I've had friends who were guys, especially when I was little since I was a tomboy and there weren't many girls in my old neighborhood but I've never had a boyfriend.) although I have to figure out my relationship with one guy I've known since my freshman year, but I know that we are at the very least friends, which I am happy to know. But that's been figured out since a year or two ago. And I had my first kiss, and so far only, last month the night of Prom. I don't have much experience, but I have read a lot of stories. I think I've said this before, but this is my first attempt at romance.
I got a couple questions that I hope someone can answer: What does "WAFF" stand for and what does it mean? Is it similar to "fluff"? And what exactly is "fluff"? I have already figured out what "lemon/sprite" and "lime" mean, don't ask! I sorta figured out what "Mary-Sueism" is, but can someone clarify? Some of these terms have been used in comments, others I already heard of and have either figured out or still wondering. It would be very helpful if someone told me. Thanks!
Kartos~ I guess this is another "character development" chapter then!
Teal Huskie~ Thank you, I had hoped for to be liked. I certainly can see Van and Folken doing that when they were younger. I just had a thought, when Folken and Van were babies and if their wings would have popped out, would the wings have been as fuzzy as little chicks or ducklings? That would be sooo cute!
Otaku Pitcher~ Thank you! You're always giving me compliments, you're spoiling me! ^_^ Well, it's been so long and I have graduated, thanks. I love reading a lot and unfortunately read more than I write. I see names of authors and they become as familiar to me as any books I see in the store whether they're good or great writers. I wish I could see my fic in the same way as an outsider and figure out for myself if it is something I would rate "good" or not. But since I am the author, I can only try and trust the words of others in that part. Thanks again!
ShadowShapeShifter~ Well, if they live in Juneau then they just have to worry about a lot of rain. I never got to swim up to a glacier, but I see them and have picked up chunks of them at the Portage Glacier Visitor's Center an hour's drive from here. I can't believe you swam in Alaskan waters! Not even us Alaskans do that, unless you're part of the Polar Bear Club. The only oceans I've swam in were down in Mexico and Hawaii.
Poco-poco~ I'm glad you liked it. I think it will be several chapters before I have "John" fly again. I don't think Folken likes being crashed into the ground much! LOL!
Leiliiani~ Thank you very much! I'm out of school now and just having a lazy summer. The last days of school went by rather quickly and very much dream-like for me. It was very odd. I'll miss some of my teachers and am sad that one of them is retiring, but I was lucky that I got to be in his class before he left. The last months of school did drag on and I wondered "Can I graduate yet?" but it was the last days that went the fastest.
Rai Dorian~ Sorry, this chapter wasn't full of action. *hides behind chair* *peeks around* Are you disappointed? And no, I didn't get a scholarship for UW because I didn't apply there. I got a WUE for Eastern Washington and Central Washington Universities. I'll be going to EWU this fall. I'm not much for comfort food. I'm more of a "snack-on-chips-a-little" but other than that I just either watch TV, read on the computer, or sleep in late. I haven't ever really gone on a formal diet either, but that's probably because these days I don't go and snack much. Anyways, thanks for the suggestion! I do love chocolate flavored ice cream though. *Drool* Rocky roooaaaad….Mmmmm…
Kae Noel~ Did you revise the next chapter of "Weeping Willow" yet? I'll probably check anyways without you telling me anyways. I think I noticed some of the differences, but it's been so long since I've read the original form it could be the I'm just not remembering it well. In any case, go ahead and advertise, I love your fic!
Well, that looks like all of the reviews from last chapter. Please leave comments on how I'm doing.
Big thanks to ArtemisMoon who is my editor and the lovely author of "Easy as 1, 2, 3" an Inuyasha fanfic and several Rurouni Kenshin fanfics like "The Morning After" that's just hilarious! She has written a parody for me on this fanfic that got me laughing almost to the point of falling out of my chair because of the suddenness of it.
Anyways, thanks again to all my readers who left a review!