Author Note: All right, this is just a short update, but be prepared for fluffe. You have been warned. Also, I have reserected the Sands of Time, and it is looking much better the second time through.
Chapter 21
A Plane Flight
A few days passed before the Cooper Gang was able to get out of Russia. Most of that time was spent waiting for Blain to change back to his normal self. Still, even when Blain was back to being a normal sized, civilized panther, he was much quieter then he had been before. He spent most of his time staring into the distance, his eyes reflecting an internal conflict.
Rachel rebound Carmelita's Diamond of Emotion to the other three pieces of the inspector's soul, and opened up a new power of the book. With the power of the diamond, the book could now support two souls for days on end, and up to five other souls for a period of twenty four hours.
The day before the Cooper Gang was going to leave for the airport, they said a final good bye to Cye. The wolf wanted to help them, and repay the dept he had incurred with Sly, Blain, and Rachel. Still, he had been away from his family for far too long. Surprisingly Cye had a loving wife, an artic wolf, who had saw through his beastly form and saved his life on multiple occasion. Sly just smiled, wishing Cye good bye as the team van drove off.
Murray and Sly sat in front of the van, while Bentley shared his usual seat with Sadie. Rachel and Blain sat on some blankets in the back of the van. While the others talked and laughed in front, Rachel and Blain remained silent. Bentley was leaning up against the side of the van, staring at the back doors while Rachel sat there, staring at him. Rachel tried to get up the nerve to say something several times, but every time she felt her words die in her throat. She always thought to herself, "Blain just needs some more time."
When the gang got to the airport they had their first problem. There was a flight to Paris, but there were only two open seats. Bentley bought the tickets before someone else could, but that left the gang with a problem. Sly then smiled, reaching into his bag as he pulled out Carmelita's book, "Why do we need four other seats, we have all the room we need right in here."
Bentley nodded his head, "Not a bad idea Sly, but you might want to clear this with Carmelita first."
Sly waved Bentley off, "Oh, she won't mind. The only question is who will stay on the plane. After all, we can't all go into the book. It can hold five more, and there are six of us."
Blain looked up, and for the first time in days said, "I'll take the plane seat, and carry the book."
Sly looked a bit surprised, but nodded his head as he said, "All right Blain." Bentley handed Blain the plane tickets, and then had him wait in front of the security check point while thy got into the book. Sly led the gang to a secluded part of the front lobby, and picked the lock on a large storage closet. Sly opened the door, and let the others in while holding the book in one hand. Just before Rachel was going to walk into the closet, Sly grabbed his shoulder and said, "Wait a second Rachel."
Rachel paused, turning her head to look at Sly as the master thief said, "Would you mind doing me a favor?'
Rachel raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
Sly eyes shifted away from Rachel, and the lioness turned to see Blain standing in the middle of the lobby. As Rachel watched the panther stand there Sly said, "I think Blain could use some company. It is a long flight, after all.
Rachel quickly understood, and nodded her head. Sly returned the nod, disappearing inside the closet with the rest of the gang. Rachel waited a few minutes, and then opened the closet door to see Carmelita's book of knowledge lying in the middle of the floor. She bent down, gently scooping the book up in one arm before she began to walk back towards Blain.
Within the hour, the plane took of from the airport. Bentley had booked the flights so they would fly straight to the Florida Everglades. That was the last place Mz. Ruby had been seen, and there best lead on finding the Cajun crocodile. In side the book, Carmelita was enduring having Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Sadie in the house. Bentley had already gone onto the computer, and was surfing the internet while Murray had taken over the TV, and was watching wrestling. The only ones who seemed to have remembered she lived there were Sadie and Sly, who were content to sit with the foxy inspector and talk.
On the plane, Sadie and Blain sat in the first class. Blain had the window seat, and was staring out at the clouds below. Rachel sat next to him, enjoying the aisle seat. The first class had TV's built into the back of each seat, allowing each passenger to watch what he or she wanted to. That is, for every passenger except Blain. His TV had a large crack down the middle, and didn't work.
The flight back to Paris was spent in silence for both Rachel and Blain. Blain, he just wasn't in much a mood for talking. Rachel, she just didn't know what to say to her colleague in the mystic arts. After making there connection in Paris, it was off to New York. There, they would make a third and final connection to Florida.
On the flight between Paris and New York, Rachel had endured enough of Blain's silence. She got some headphones from the flight attendant and plugged them into the headphone jack on her armrest. She flipped through the channels for a few seconds, and then relaxed as she bopped her head along with the music.
After a few minutes, Blain began to notice Rachel's head motion, and was getting rather curious. What ever she was listening to, she was enjoying it. He raised an eyebrow, looking around a bit as he lowered his head down to his own arm rest. Blain leaned forward, digging in the pouch on the seat in front of him until he found an unused pair of headphones. Blain was glad Rachel had her eyes closed as he gently slipped one headphone over his ear, and plugged it in.
Blain changed the radio on his armrest to 1, and listened to the music as he looked at Rachel's. Channel one was hard rock, but the beat didn't match the movement of Rachel's head. Channel 2, jazz, didn't match. Channel 3, classical, it wasn't that either. Channel 4, the in-flight movie feed, of course not.
Blain flipped through the channels slowly, each time noting the beat of the music and comparing it to the beat of Rachel's head. Blain was tempted to look at Rachel's key pad, and see what channel the display read until he reached channel 17. As he listened to the music, he smiled. The gentle beat matched the motion of Rachel's head perfectly. It was the top twenty channel, counting down the top songs in each genre. Currently, they were doing a Country Classics.
Blain leaned back, smiling at his small accomplishment as he listened to the music. Rachel smiled, just barely opening her eyes as she looked at Blain. She expected a bit more stealth from the panther mystic, but it was still nice to see him doing something other then stare at the passing clouds. Rachel then got struck with an idea to good to pass up.
Time and again, Blain had proven he was more then just some faceless Shadow Blitz. Rachel had seen him at his best, when he saved her life even though they were rivals at the time. She had also seen him at his worst, when he gave Johannes exactly what he deserved. Rachel felt it was high time to take a risk with the panther. Sure, her family would no approve, but then again she had always been a bit of a black sheep.
Rachel smiled as her resolve hardened. Her finger tips began to jolt with tiny surges of electricity as she touched the channel key for her radio. The bolts shot through the plane's wiring, and allowed Rachel to get access to the computer that ran the in flight radio. She gave the computer a quick command, and since it was magic against technology the computer quickly responded. Rachel smiled, looking over at Blain as she watched the channel display on his armrest change by itself.
Blain had leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as he let the music clear away the worries of his mind. He then heard a buzz happen, and the song he was listening to die out. Then, a strange computerized voice came over his headphones and said, "Special Request for seat 4D from seat 4C. Playing song now, thank you for the request."
When I was fourteen I was falling fast
For a blue eyed girl in my home room class
Trying to find the courage to ask her out
Was like trying to get oil from a water spout
What she would have said I can't say
I never did ask before she moved away
I learned something from that blue eyes girl
Sink or swim you have to give it a whirl
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
The longer I live the more I believe
You do have to give if you want to receive
There is a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the long shot win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for more
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Blain took his headphones off as the song neared its end. He looked over at Rachel, who was staring off into the distance trying to act innocent. Blain smiled, thinking about the song, seeing the meaning hidden in the words. Things happen, and sometimes you can't do anything about them. As Blain thought about the incident with Johannes, he realized something. If he hadn't done what he did, Rachel might not be sitting beside him. She might have been turned into another skeleton in that necromancer's front yard.
Blain felt a weight lift off his heart as that thought bounced around in his mind, driving away the guilt that had been haunting him. Blain chuckled, his fingers starting to web with lighting as he thought, "So, life's a dance. Well, I think I have the perfect song to dance to." With that Blain sent his own request to the airplane's computer.
Rachel saw the lighting dancing from Blain's fingers, but could not guess what the panther was doing. She then heard the music in her own headphones cut out, and the computerized voice say, "Song request from seat 4D to be played for seat 4C. The song will begin shortly, thank you for your request."
Last night I had a crazy dream
I wish was granted just for me
It could be for anything
I didn't ask for money
Or a mansion in Malibu
I simply wished for one more day with you
One more day, one more time
One more sunset baby, I be satisfied
But then again, I know it would do
It leave me wishing still for
more day with you
Firs thing I do is pray for time to crawl
I unplug the telephone, and keep the TV off
I hold you every second
Say a million "I love you"'s
That what I would do with
One more day with you
One more day, one more time
One more sunset baby, I be satisfied
But then again, I know it would do
It leave me wishing still for
one more day with you
One more day, one more time
One more sunset baby, I be satisfied
But then again, I know it would do
It leave me wishing still for
one more day………
It leave me wishing still for
one more day………
It leave me wishing still for
one more day with you
Rachel blinked a few times, surprise written across her face. She turned to Blain, who was just smiling as he leaned back in his seat, looking at the ceiling. Rachel had not been expecting such a response from Blain when she played her song. She had just wanted to make him feel better, to make him feel better about what he had to do to Johannes. She hadn't even imagined he would respond with a song, let alone one with such meaning.
Rachel remembered the night she and Blain had walked together through the snow covered forest. There, he had said she was beautiful, comparing her to a rare flower. No one had ever said that to her before. She had been just called beautiful, cute, and some many other things by so many other boyfriends. None of them, however, had carried such meaning in her mind.
In truth, Rachel still clung to the ancient family rivalry. All her training as a mystic, many of her childhood lessons, all of them revolved around the fact she was supposed to hate the Shadow Walkers. She was supposed to despise them, loath them, and kill them on sight. Unlike Blain, Rachel still had family that could scorn her, and exile her should she even mention Blain was anything but an enemy.
Still, Rachel didn't really see Blain as a Shadow Walker anymore. She just saw him, who he was. Blain was an intelligent panther mystic with a good heart, powerful magic, and a will to protect anyone he cared about, no matter the cost. Blain himself was a rare gem, a diamond of magic in the rough world of technology and science.
Blain looked over at Rachel, slowly sitting up in his seat as he asked, "Can I ask what you're staring at?"
Rachel blushed, looking away from Blain. She stared at the floor for a few minutes, but she could feel Blain's questioning eyes. Finally, she asked, "Blain, why did you pick that song?"
Blain smiled, "Well, I can't really say. As I thought about you, it just popped into my head. Though, I must admit, as I think about the song It makes wonder."
Rachel's blush deepened as she looked back at Blain, leaning a little closer to panther mystic, "Makes you wonder about what?"
Blain turned, his hand falling gently on top of Rachel's, "It makes me wonder just how much of it is true, just how much you mean to me." Blain smiled sweetly as he leaned back, resting his head on his seat's headrest. Rachel's blush began to disappear as she stared at Blain, and began to wonder to herself.
Before Blain could notice, Rachel leaned over to him. With a touch as soft as silk, she planted a kiss against Blain's cheek. Rachel's lips lingered a second on Blain's face before she pulled them away, watching as Blain's eyes widened. She leaned back, brushing away the beaded strand of hair that was supposed to hide her crescent shaped scar as she watched Blain touch his cheek. Rachel smiled, sitting back in her seat, "I have wondered that question for a while now, but now I think I know the answer."
Blain lowered his hand from his cheek, a shiver running down his spine as he looked over at Rachel. A smile crept onto Blain's surprised face as he set his arm back down on the armrest, taking Rachel's hand into his own, "You know what, I think you just passed the answer to me, and I appreciate it."