FANG (part 3)

Namaari gasped at the sudden rush of air in her lungs, her head jerking upright. Her chest heaved with the effort of trying to regulate her breathing and it took several more gulps of air for her to realize in disbelief that she was indeed alive and no longer stone.

It worked. Raya was right.

Raya.

Her eyes flew open and instead of being met with the Princess of Heart's frozen form, now rich brown eyes looked back at her, shining with the same relief that was flooding Namaari now.

She was barely aware that Raya's hands still rested in her own, the rain dripping between their fingers beginning to clear away the remnants of stone from where they touched. Namaari watched in wonder as the beautiful woman in front of her released an emotional breath, her eyes becoming glassy with unshed tears.

She was even more in awe when Raya's hands turned over to slide into Namaari's as the rain washed away the remaining dust from their bodies. Namaari was graced with a wide smile and a small laugh of relief from the princess. In response, Namaari could feel her own lips curling upwards. Of the two of them Raya was somehow able to find her voice first,

"So, are you going to kiss me now or what?"

That was it. That was all Namaari needed to hear.

Reaching up, she lifted both of her hands to either side of Raya's face, the pad of her thumb grazing her jaw while her fingers tangled into the fine hairs at the base of her neck. She paused only for the briefest of moments to memorize every last detail before closing what little distance was left between them and brushing her lips gently against Raya's.

For a moment, the Heart princess seemed to be frozen in place and Namaari thought maybe she had made a mistake. Maybe Raya had been joking about kissing her? But when Namaari made to pull away it seemed to awake something in Raya and spurred the Heart princess into action. Hands reached forward and grasped her hips, the movement stopping Namaari from retreating. Raya pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against one another's while her lips slowly responded, tentatively moving against Namaari's.

It was impossible to put words to the feeling of kissing Raya. She had pictured this moment so many times in her mind, but never could she have imagined this. Her senses were consumed by the woman.

The rain continued to fall around them, dripping down their faces and Namaari could taste the water on Raya's lips. Their hair became drenched, causing it to cling to their skin. The air around them smelled crisp and cool. It was as if she had been sleeping her whole life and with one kiss, Raya had awakened something in her she didn't even know existed.

It was Raya who pulled back just far enough to meet Namaari's eyes, searching for something, still gripping the fabric of the sash at Namaari's waist. She didn't remove her hands from Raya's cheeks either, instead using her thumb to caress the smooth, wet skin there.

Then Raya's lips parted as though she were going to say something but the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat stopped her.

It was then Namaari became aware that the others were still there, having been turned back from stone as well. Namaari reluctantly let her hands slide away from Raya so she could turn more fully to look at them. They all had varying degrees of reactions to the two princesses kissing, their faces unabashedly showing their true feelings. Boun and Noi made gross faces consistent with children seeing grown-ups kissing while the only adult of the group, Tong, looked amused and smug, a knowing look in his uncovered eye.

Raya let out a snort of laughter and they all turned to look at her. She lifted a hand to her mouth to try and stifle the sound but to no avail. The snort turned into a giggle which turned into a full-blown laugh, the princess' shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Namaari couldn't stop the grin that split her face as well at Raya's unadulterated joy. She wasn't sure who cracked next, but they all quickly dissolved into laughter, euphoric from accomplishing the seemingly impossible and giddy from the high of narrowly avoiding being stone forever.

Namaari turned her attention back to the woman in front of her and saw that Raya now had happy tears mixing with the rain as they streaked down her face while she laughed. Her breath hitched when the princess leaned forward and rested her forehead on Namaari's uninjured shoulder as she continued to giggle. In response, Namaari almost automatically slipped her arms around the woman's shoulders, pulling her close again.

She was in a complete daze as she watched Raya's comrades celebrate, unable to truly focus on anything other than the woman in her arms.

Eventually, their laughter slowed, and they began to seek a way up and out of the sinkhole they had plunged into, locating a pile of debris they could climb up. They made short work of it with Tong climbing up first with Noi and then Raya scrambling after them. Namaari gave Boun a boost up to the other woman and then finally Raya reached down and helped pull her up, electric shockwaves traveling up her arms at their touch.

As she straightened up, not yet releasing Raya's hand, Namaari could see the chaos and wreckage all around, but also the beauty. People were helping one another, reuniting with loved ones, confusion turning into hope as they realized what was happening around them. From her place below in the courtyard, Namaari could see the waterfalls having returned outside of the city, the late evening sunlight glinting off their waters. All of it just solidified that the Druun was really gone.

Her smile only grew as Raya's trusted TukTuk appeared from around a corner, catching sight of them and bounding over. Raya squeezed her hand briefly before releasing it to hop down the rubble and run over to her trusted friend. Kneeling down, the Heart princess hugged his huge fury head.

A familiar purr drew Namaari's attention to a spot just behind TukTuk and there was Chaiya, also rushing over to Raya to lean into the princess. Namaari hurried over to them, a teasing glint to her eye as she folded her arms.

"Really? And here I thought you missed me."

The serlot just growled happily in response as Namaari came over to them, hugging Chaiya and then turning to TukTuk who also greeted her in his own way.

"I told you I would find her," Namaari said to him matter-of-factly, givig an affectionate smile to the huge furbug. She glanced sideways at Raya who was beaming at her, her eyes dancing with happiness. Namaari was certain she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

Eventually, some of Namaari's memory returned to her and her eyes snapped up to the open throne room, her mother, alive and well- and very much not stone- stood at the edge with several Fang children. Her mother was smiling down at her and to her right was Atitaya, guilt coloring her face.

Namaari was just about to run up to her mother when Raya straightening up abruptly next to her caught her attention. She looked at her and followed her line of sight and she could barely contain her shock.

There, over the waterfalls, running towards them on the strange magic rain platforms were hundreds of dragons. She watched in complete awe, the rain soaking her through and through, as several of those colorful creatures made a mesmerizing pattern around a spot it in the water. It took a moment for Namaari to realize…

A million thoughts and emotions were swirling through her. Watching, unblinkingly, Namaari could see a column of water rise up in the middle of the dragon-made circle, swirling until it formed a familiar blue dragon.

Namaari's breath caught in her throat. How could it be?

As her brain struggled to process everything that was happening, she continued to watch in amazement as the water dragon seemed to almost dance around with her brothers and sisters.

She had been rooted in place when Sisu ran lower to the ground towards them and Raya ran after her, calling her name as the dragon ran alongside her. Even as the others ran to catch up to them and greet Sisu, Namaari struggled to move her feet, but she eventually did, hanging back from the group. She felt even after assembling the gem she still had a hard time feeling like she belonged with these people.

Slowly, she approached, looking at the dragon in disbelief, overcome with emotion. She felt her throat begin to close up, not that she would be able to find the right words even if she could speak.

All she could manage was a bow, averting her eyes as she made traditional circle with her hands in respect, trying to maintain her composure. Her gesture was interrupted by the sensation of the dragon's tail sliding around her and pulling her into a kind of group hug with the others, Namaari's arms down, unsure what to do, all she could manage was an awkward smile at the others. She met Raya's eyes across from her and her heart had never felt lighter.

Sisu pulled away first, standing on her hind legs she looked down at them but then abruptly her eyes went wide as if she just realized something.

"Oh, Toi! Did I miss it?! Did you guys kiss already?!"

Namaari's cheeks began to burn almost immediately but a pleased grin split her face anyway. She chanced a glance over to Raya to see that she wasn't faring much better, hissing, "Sisu!"

It didn't take long for the others to dissolve into another fit of laughter at their expense, but the two princesses didn't care because it saved them from having to respond.

After that the group started talking animatedly about all of the things each of them was going to do with the Druun gone. At some point, Sisu lifted her head and smiled broadly at something behind them all, before she greeted, "Hey, Namaari's mom! I-I mean Chief Namaari's mom!"

Namaari's eyes snapped behind her to where Sisu was looking and there was her mother, her white dress immaculate, as if she hadn't just been turned to stone and her homeland in complete wreckage. The only sign that anything was amiss, for once, was the mix of emotions on her normally stoic face. A few paces behind her stood Ty, her head bowed in shame, unable to meet any of their eyes.

Chief Virana bowed to very few people. In fact, Namaari wasn't sure she had seen her bow to anyone in her life but there, in front of Sisu, she brought her hands together above her forehead, her long fingers forming a perfect circle as she closed her eyes and tilted her head in respect to the dragon.

Her curtain of gray hair, a mirror image to Namaari's, fell back into place as she straightened up. She glanced around at the group of them, a rare smile on her face until her eyes landed on Namaari.

"Namaari," her mother's voice was soft as she outstretched her hands in welcome to her daughter. The people of Fang were not known for their physical affection and Chief Virana was no exception. So, when her mother strode forward and pulled her into a tight hug Namaari froze at first, unable to fully process this new behavior.

Namaari hesitated only a moment, not accustomed to such a gesture from her mother, but then in the next moment she wrapped her arms around her mother, squeezing her tightly.

Her mother's long arms held her firmly as she spoke again, her words shaky, "I am so proud of you, my love."

Those were words she had ached to hear from her mother for so long, so to hear them, especially after everything that had happened, brought unexpected tears springing to her eyes. She held her mother tight, the reality of it all slowly starting to sink in.

Eventually, they released each other and without a word, Namaari could feel Raya step up beside her and slip her hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. She shot a smile to the Heart princess, her heart full looking into those dark eyes staring back at her with affection that she still wasn't sure she deserved.

"Now. May I have a word with the princess?" Chief Virana's voice brought her attention back to her mother, who was looking at Raya with a small smile of her own. Namaari wiped the tears from her cheeks surprised by the request, wondering as to her mother's intentions.

Namaari gave Raya a searching look, trying to determine how she felt about speaking to her mother privately, but the other woman just nodded. She gave Namaari's hand a reassuring squeeze and followed the Chief away and out of earshot.

Watching them with narrowed eyes, Namaari almost forgot about Ty standing there awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, unsure of what to say. She noticed for the first time that they were alone now. The others having gone to help where they could. Ty was eventually the one to speak first.

"Namaari, I am so-," she began but Namaari cut her off quickly.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Ty," she began, shaking her head before looking at her steadily, "You were doing what you thought was best for our people. There is no shame in that."

"I wish that were true. I had so many chances to make things right," she said bitterly, glancing over at Namaari with an unreadable expression. "You knew what was best for our people and I didn't trust you."

She and Ty had been through a lot and she knew that for her to be willing to fight her own best friend revealed her true bravery and loyalty to their people. Even after everything, Namaari hoped they could go back to being friends. Someone just had to take the first step.

Without another word she brought her friend into a hug. Ty seemed surprised at first, as she had been with her mother's embrace, but hugged her back briefly before they both released each other.

They fell back into silence, but this time it was companionable, the tension broken between them. Namaari looked back over at her mother and Raya. The former, much taller woman, now having placed a gentle hand on the latter's shoulder. Their conversation seemed to be a somber one and Namaari couldn't help her curiosity.

"So, she's the one," Ty broke the silence with a tone of realization. Namaari tore her eyes from Raya long enough to look at her friend's expression which had transformed to a knowing smile. She was getting a lot of those lately.

Namaari simply quirked an eyebrow in question, waiting to hear her discovery. Ty glanced back towards Raya, nodding her head in her direction.

"She's the one who's had your heart all this time."

Namaari was a little taken aback but the embarrassment was long gone. She looked back over at the Heart princess to see her mother and Raya heading back towards them, speaking unabashedly, "She is."

There would be more time to talk about everything but for now that was enough. As her mother and Raya reached them, Namaari tried to catch the dark-haired woman's eye to gauge her response to their mysterious conversation, but she revealed nothing. It was her mother who spoke to them instead, "Will you be staying with us until the others can meet us in Heart?"

"If Fang will have me." Raya replied simply.

"Fang would be honored," the Chief assured her with a bow of her head.

The Chief looked down at her with a bemused smile and a respectful nod of her head, "Fang is in debited to you, Princess of Heart. I hope you accept our hospitality, so we can have time to discuss how to unite our lands. For now, I must see to my people."

With that the older woman strode across the destroyed courtyard, Namaari watching as she put her arm around a young boy who appeared to be upset, searching for his family. Ty gave a bow and smile to the pair of them before following behind the Chief.

"So," Namaari began slowly, giving the princess next to her a sly smile. The sound of Namaari's voice next to her drew Raya's attention back to the other woman. And then she delivered the line, "Who's hungry?"

Raya snorted at Namaari repeating her words from the day they first met. Giving Namaari a light punch on her uninjured arm, Raya rolled her eyes, laughing dryly,

"Ha Ha. Very funny, Princess Undercut. Actually, I'm starving."

Everyone was unsure where to go from here. What do you do after you save the world? Though Raya and Chief Virana's conversation had led to one idea. The first thing on everyone's mind was their families. So, after some discussion over a meal they all went their separate ways with a plan to meet up in Heart in two days' time.

Raya told Namaari that as anxious as she was to be reunited with her Ba, she wanted to wait for all of her new friends to be able to go back to their families and unite in Heart as one. She could think of no better way to see her Ba's face again than it lit up with the knowledge that his dream of Kumandra had been realized.

Boun, the Tail-native with his Shimporium boat had offered to drop Tong off in Spine and Noi in Talon along his way. Then each of them was going to bring as many of their people as possible back with them to Heart. They were going to accomplish this so quickly with the help of their water dragon friend who was a, "really strong swimmer."

From her place up in the courtyard of the Fang palace, Namaari watched Boun shove off from one of the docks. She waved to her friends, smiling fondly at the little version of Kumandra they had unintentionally created on their journey to collect the dragon gem pieces and save Raya's father.

The blue dragon caught her eye from her place in the water, smiling goofily up at her before diving under the waves. She then gripped onto Boun's boat and they sped off and quickly out of sight.

The Druun had destroyed quite a bit of the formerly pristine city, but the people of Fang were already hard at work restoring what they could and rebuilding what they could not. Namaari expected nothing less from her people; their commitment to one another, watching families help one another so that no one went without.

Namaari's heart ached to see the wreckage of her homeland. She could only take comfort in knowing that, in the end, this seemingly needless destruction had brought them all together.

When she was certain that all of her people had been taken care of Namaari sought out Fang's healer, an elderly woman, who looked exhausted but greeted her and Raya with a warm smile and a bow. She asked that the gash above Raya's eye be tended to first, despite the Heart princess's arguing that her wound was much more serious. Fortunately for Namaari, the healer was of Fang and bound to the wishes of her princess, so Namaari won this round.

Once the healer was done cleaning Raya's wound, she moved on to restitching Namaari's injury. The source of her injury, Wahn, had not been seen since she had broken his nose and taken his spear. She was certain without asking Raya that he was the one who had taken Sisu from this world, even if only briefly, so it was in his best interests if Namaari never saw him again.

As skilled as the healer was, Namaari couldn't help but miss Raya's gentle hands tending to her wounds. The healer made quick work of it and bandaged her back up with a scolding jab, telling her not to do anything strenuous to pull the stitches again and looking at them both reproachingly.

Raya's face was as red as Namaari was certain hers was as well but they said nothing. But as soon as the healer was gone they both burst into laughter at the insinuation. Though, Namaari would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about doing "strenuous" things with Raya.

In fact, later that evening, after they had shared a meal and were trying to determine sleeping arrangements, those thoughts rose right up to the surface.

"That is your bed?!" Raya had exclaimed when Namaari had led her to her room.

Namaari had lifted a self-conscious hand to rub the back of her neck. She knew it was kind of ridiculous how large her bed was, and she wondered what Raya was thinking.

Meanwhile, Namaari's rebellious mind had already taken over. With Raya standing in her room images of all the ways they could use her enormous bed floated before her eyes. All the ways she could show Raya exactly how much she loved her, Raya's body arched under her touch, head thrown back in pleasure.

It had become unbearably warm all of a sudden and the ache in her lower abdomen was making it difficult to focus on anything else.

"You can sleep here. I can take one of the spare rooms," Namaari had offered weakly, finding her voice only after getting a hold of herself. She told herself that now was not the time for such thoughts. They had only just had their first kiss a mere few hours ago.

She braved a glance at the woman of her affection only to see a look of uncertainty on her beautiful face and that sobered Namaari up quickly.

"Hey, I can find you someplace you'd be more comfortable…" Namaari began, approaching Raya, trying to fix whatever was the cause of her sudden seriousness. When she was within arm's reach, she took both of Raya's hands in her own.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping… I mean… could you- could we," Raya stumbled over her words, her eyes looking everywhere but at Namaari. She waited patiently for Raya to collect her thoughts, her eyes trying to validate without words whatever it was that Raya was feeling and trying to express.

The Heart princess heaved a sigh, finally looking up at her, "This is just the first time I'll have slept in a real bed in a really long time. Without TukTuk. Without the fear of Druun. I just… I don't really want to be alone."

Namaari felt as if her heart was being torn from her chest, a stabbing pain in her heart at Raya's admission. She knew after everything she had been through that it couldn't have been easy to admit weakness or show any kind of vulnerability.

"Of course I'll stay, dep la," Namaari assured her softly, stepping forward any pulling the woman into her arms. Raya had relaxed into the embrace, her face nuzzling into the crook of Namaari's neck.

She still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of being able to hold the woman she loved whenever the feeling took her.

After that they had bathed and changed-separately- into loose fitting tunics and pants in the traditional white of Fang so palace attendants could have their clothing washed for them, something Raya was hesitant to allow but ultimately relented. Namaari knew there were a lot of things that Raya hadn't been able to experience in the last six years, one of those being that she had not been treated like the princess she was, having to survive on her own and rely on nothing and no one.

Namaari vowed to change that. She would bend over backwards to provide for this woman and treat her with the love and care she deserved. Even though she knew Raya was more than capable. Especially because Raya was more than capable. Namaari wanted to show her that she didn't need to be.

So, they had gone to bed. At first, Namaari settling on her back on the far side away from Raya, giving her as much space as she needed. But it hadn't been long before Raya scooted over to her, her warm eyes searching hers in the dark for permission before snuggling into her left side. Raya rested her head on her uninjured shoulder, Namaari's arm coming to curl around her and Raya's arm snaking across her stomach. As Raya hooked her leg over hers, Namaari held her close, her heart fluttering in her chest as they settled into each other.

Feeling braver than she had in the light of day, Namaari finally said the words that she had been holding onto for so long.

"I love you, Raya."

At first Namaari had thought that maybe Raya had fallen asleep but then a moment later Raya lifted herself up onto her elbow, hovering over Namaari with her long hair falling in a curtain around their faces.

Namaari was taken by surprise when Raya's lithe fingers slid to curl around the back of Namaari's head, tangling in her hair, a warmth spreading through her body.

Raya paused only a moment to meet Namaari's eyes before she pressed her lips to the Fang princess's. Namaari responded instinctively, sliding her hands onto Raya's narrow waist, and moving her lips against Raya's soft ones.

Their lips moved in unison, parting and coming together as the heat started to build. Namaari ached to deepen the kiss and a million other things but instead she forced herself to slow things down before she got carried away. They had time, she told herself.

With one last caress, Namaari moved her lips just far enough that they were no longer touching Raya's but they were close enough that she could still feel the other woman's warm breaths on her cheek. She hadn't opened her eyes and instead slipped her hands from Raya's waist, around to her back, pulling her back down on top of her.

Raya didn't miss a beat, she tucked her head under Namaari's chin, her nose grazing the sensitive skin of Namaari's throat. The fingers that had been laced in Namaari's hair slid down her neck and rested lightly on her collar bone where the leather necklace holding her gold ring had slid up.

And they laid like that for a long time, just enjoying the feeling of being so close after all this time. While Raya hadn't returned her words, Namaari had gotten her response. She held the woman tight against her, feeling whole for the first time in her life as exhaustion finally claimed both of them.