Hello all!
This story is a birthday gift to the lovely Berry, an offering of fluff to celebrate your birthday.
I hope you enjoy!
Of Memories and Rain
The sound of rain pattering against the windows of the Sedona manor served as white noise to the residents that were sleeping inside. A brief interlude to the constant chaos that their quest was defined by.
At least, that is what it would have been if the lilac-haired woman laying in her bed was able to sleep in the first place.
"Whyyyyy…" Rhen complained into the otherwise empty room.
But the room did not answer back, and thus Rhen was left to the unusually active nighttime thoughts that had kept her awake this past hour. She had not moved from that bed in a vain hope that if she just stayed still enough, her brain would catch up to her very tired body and let her rest.
However, after another fifteen minutes Rhen finally gave up, feeling more awake than ever. This sort of restlessness had been popping up since she was a child, when her Ma would find her sitting at the table with one of the picture books her Pa would bring her on his trips to the city for supplies.
A soft yelp escaped her as bare feet touched down on the cold floor, and Rhen quickly shoved her feet into slippers before shuffling her way out of her room and through the halls of their second floor. As she descended the stairs she found herself pausing at the warm light that spilled into the otherwise dark halls from a sitting room.
As she peeked her head in she was greeted by the sight of Dameon, staring out the window with a tea mug held between two hands.
"Can't sleep?" She asked as she stepped into the room.
Dameon jumped at the sound of her voice, turning sharply only to relax slightly a moment later as they made eye contact.
"Rhen, you should be resting after the battles today." He said quietly, shifting over on the couch to make room for her.
"So should you." She countered as she accepted the offered seat next to him. "You never stay up late like this, you have a sunshine-linked internal clock. Is everything okay?"
There was a small flash of pain at her question, and a hint of… something more shadowed she couldn't quite identify.
"I-... I simply have a lot on my mind as we get closer to this final confrontation." Dameon finally answered, his words lacking in sincerity.
To the others his answer might have been believable, but Rhen was not easily fooled. She knew him too well for that now, to miss the tense line of his shoulders that had been present since the last daeva battle, and the way he curled into himself during these moments alone with his thoughts.
Carefully her hand came up to rest against his back, and she watched as with a shaking sigh the tension eased and he slumped. There was a lost look in his gaze, one that hurt her heart to see.
"There's something else going on, isn't there?" She prodded gently.
There was a brief glimmer of panic in Dameon's eyes at her question, his mouth opening in reply only to result in silence. It was as if the words were frozen, and Rhen could almost see the walls beginning to come down in his eyes once more.
For a moment the room was held in the throws of tense silence, until with a glance out the window Rhen made a split-second decision. He needed something more than a simple conversation right now, and she had just the thing.
"Here, come with me." Rhen said, abruptly standing.
The sudden change in conversation seemed to throw Dameon for a loop, and he stared up at her in confusion.
"What? Go where?"
Quickly she reached down to catch hold of his hand and give him a tug, the sun priest rising at her insistence.
"My Pa always said that there was a guaranteed cure to washing away the sadness when you just couldn't distract yourself from those unhappy thoughts during wet season." Rhen explained as she tugged Dameon through the halls to the back door of the manor.
Then she pushed open the door to reveal the yard beyond.
"Playing in the rain!"
"You're intending for us to run around in the rain?" Dameon echoed, bewildered. "But you hate the rain!"
Rhen nodded in fervent agreement to the last statement.
"I definitely hate rain, but my Pa is always right when it comes to these things." She said solemnly.
For a moment Dameon only stared at her in surprise. But there was a brighter gleam in his eyes already, and when she began to gently pull on his hand once more, he willingly followed.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"I am, but are you sure you want to do this?" He questioned.
"Nope!" She declared.
Then before she could change her mind, she tightened her grip on Dameon's hand and dashed across their dry patio into the rain.
The rain was cold on her skin, soaking into her nightclothes and making the world a much more soggy and uncomfortable place. But as she looked back to Dameon, she watched him shed his outer robe and lift his face up to face the star-speckled strips between the clouds as the rain fell down upon him.
The raindrops caught the light that came from their manor, glowing as it fell around them. Water ran down her face in rivulettes and she felt her loose hair sway as she took a step back. She had trained for hours to turn during battle without dizzying herself, but tonight she forwent that training and closed her eyes as she flung her arms out and began to spin. She felt almost weightless, a laugh escaping her as she spun like a child as the rain fell on her upturned face.
Then her heel caught on something and she felt herself tipping backwards, only to be caught by warm arms. She opened her eyes to see Dameon's upside-down face, the worried lines that had been present in the house having smoothed out with laughter.
A flush rose to her cheeks unbidden as his grip tightened and he turned her before steadying her on her feet once more, the two of them now standing face to face.
Almost shy, Rhen reached up a hand to lightly touch his cheek.
"Did it help?" She asked.
His gaze was soft as he nodded, almost subconsciously leaning into her touch.
"It did."
She felt the hands that rested on her arms warm slightly, the slightest glow of magic illuminating them.
"You said your Pa called this a cure?" He almost hesitantly asked.
Melancholy washed over Rhen as memories rose unbidden of childhood.
"Yes. Pa loves the rain, he always told me that it's a life-giving gift from the goddess when I would complain about it. I remember once during the spring him scooping me up off the couch and carrying me out on his back to the hills during the rain, so I could see a double rainbow ." Rhen recalled fondly.
"That sounds like a wonderful memory." Dameon said.
She nodded, watching the myriad of emotions that were flashing across his face as he seemed to struggle with something.
"Sometimes when I think of the fond times I shared with my father, I can't remember his face. I remember the smell of spring and sandalwood that he always seemed to have, and his voice. Or his eyes. But there are times when no matter how hard I try, I can't remember his face." He said after a moment.
His head drooped as he said that, and Rhen felt a lump swell in her throat at the sadness in his expression.
"Dameon…"
She reached out, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug as she felt arms encircle around her back.
"Tonight I dreamed about his death again, I always remember the pain on his face when he was struck down. These battles with the daeva remind me, their desperation when they fight." He admitted, almost too quietly for Rhen to hear.
Tears sprang up in her eyes at the admission, her heart aching at the thought of that tormenting memory playing in his mind.
"Do you remember what you told me that day in the cemetery? You didn't want me to be alone. But you shouldn't be alone either. I'm here, when the memories hurt and you can't sleep. Let me be here for you." Rhen said.
Dameon looked down at her, brown eyes warm with gratitude.
"Even when there's no rain to run off the sadness in?" He teased gently.
"Especially then." Rhen declared.
He laughed then, before looking up at the sky.
"Do you want to go in now?" He asked.
"Oh thank the goddess, yes please!" Rhen exclaimed, stepping back as Dameon released her.
Together they ran to the shelter of the porch, stepping beneath the covering as Rhen began to shiver. Instantly Dameon turned to her in concern, hands lighting up with magic once more as he used that wonderful sunshine power to dry off their clothing and warm Rhen up.
"You really didn't have to get soaked in the rain like that with me." He said, glancing down at her face as he finished drying them off.
"I know, but I wanted to. You love the rain, and I l-..!" Rhen barely managed to cut herself off, eyes going wide in spite of herself.
She saw the red rise in his cheeks then, a colour that could only be rivaled by the strawberry she knew she currently resembled.
"..I like seeing you happy, so it was an honest decision." Rhen rushed out in a recovery attempt.
His cheeks were still pink and Rhen stood then, mumbling that she was going to go get them something warm to drink if he wanted to grab blankets from their porch storage chest.
She rushed inside then, clearly the only thing that would keep her sleep-addled brain from saying something she would die from embarrassment because of. With flustered movements she made them both some tea, using the time it took to gather herself and wring out her hair over the sink.
Then with two warm mugs in hand, a composed Rhen made her way back out to the porch where Dameon sat on the stairs with a large blanket partially draped around his shoulders.
"I was only able to find one blanket." He explained as she sat down next to him and handed him his cup.
With his free hand, he took the other half of the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, the added warmth around her comforting as they looked out into the rain. They sat together in companionable silence, each lost in memories and pondering. With a little yawn Rhen shuffled closer to Dameon and rested her head on his shoulder.
It was there the two of them stayed, their moment of serenity in the comfort of each other's presence.
Maybe rain wasn't so bad after all.