Where Apollo grabbed her began to throb. He had pulled on her bad arm and had drawn a whimper from her lips. He didn't react, though, simply staring down at her, his smile now faded. Their faces were now only inches apart and she could smell a sweet honey like scent coming from him. Not knowing what to do Celia turned her face away and looked at the ground.
"I am sorry, Lord, however someone dear to me needs that water." She tried her hardest to control the cracking in her voice. She knew that the gods could have quite the temper, but she never dreamed she would be on the receiving end of it. "Please allow me to fetch it for him."
"You say he is dear to you?" A laugh that seemed like it should only belong to a mad man escaped his lips. "Didn't he steal you from your father? Force you to travel far from your home? Even made you clean his wounds and touched you? He is nothing more than a selfish boy."
Her eyes widened as she looked to him. Cornflower eyes stared back at her with a malice she could feel piercing her. Why was the god she had loved so much so cruel? Something in her gut caused her to pull her arm free of his grip, despite the pain that ripped through her by it. Her eyes narrowed and her back straightened. "He may have taken me from my home and he may not seem like a warm man, however he is most certainly not selfish."
The man rose a brow at her, a look of amusement lingering on his face.
"He had put his life in danger twice to save me. And he even tried to raise my spirits when I was swallowed by despair." The words spilled from her mouth before she could think them over. They were all true though. He had tried to make her feel better. And he never "touched" her in a way that would be inappropriate. The worse he did was tease her about the sex trade and kidnap her. The latter being pretty bad, but she couldn't find a reason to be mad at this point. He literally was willing to die to protect her only a few hours ago. Now she felt that she must protect his honor, even if that meant standing against the god she had loved the most.
After a moment longer of staring him straight in the eyes, Celia turned on her heel and rushed away. She refused to stop even when she heard a melodic laugh, that seemed to transit from male to female before fading away. Her legs pumped at full speed, pushing her past boulders and over rock piles. She had never moved as fast as in those moments. She had never been able to pull herself up as swiftly as now. They didn't slow until she saw the gleam of water ahead of her.
The stream cut through mountain and trickled down into a small pond before returning into a stream and weaving into the distance. Celia fell to her knees at the water's edge, breathing heavily and clutching the waterskins to her chest. She heard right hadn't she? The final laugh was female? As her head swirled with thought and question she sat back on her haunches and looked skyward. At first she didn't realize what she was looking at, but slowly she realized. The great mountain! It just had to be!
Not more than half a day's walk was a mountain that towered over all the rest; it's peak hidden in white clouds.
Back at the cave Deo was finding his breath coming easier and the pain in his body slowly fading. He could now sit on his own and felt less listless. He looked over his body, tracing his fingers over the bandages that were tightly wound around him. He shouldn't be breathing let alone sitting up. Even he realized that something was different about himself, but what. No matter how hard he tried he could not remember more than the thought of having to meet with his father. As he tried to force his memory back his eyes scanned down his arm. The binding there was stained crimson, however the stain hadn't grown any larger like the bindings across his chest had.
Slowly he unwound the fabric. Underneath was scarred skin. It should have still been an open gash from where fangs had torn it apart, however it was healed lean muscle and flesh. It had looked like a wound that had had months to heal with professional care.
His attention was pulled from his strangely healed arm when the sound of a sigh reached his ears. He looked about, but saw no sign of Celia nor any other human life. That didn't stop the voice from hitting his ears once more, however. "How could you have gotten into such a bind, dearest brother."
"Who's there?" He called out, his voice rasping as he gripped his throat from the strain of the effort. No reply came however and Deo couldn't ignore the feeling of being utterly alone once more. It would be much longer before he would hear any noise from another human again.
When Celia's foot falls reached him, Deo was starting to unwind the fabric from his right leg, feeling it too had healed. He looked up to see her panting and in a cold sweat. Worry creased his brow, though it was quickly replaced with surprise as she caught his gaze and she rushed towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Oh thanks the gods! You are awake!" Relief dripped from her voice as she tried to catch her breath in between her words. Unsure of how to react, Deo didn't move until she pulled back, red tinging her ears and cheeks. "I..I was just worried something might have happened to you…"
"Why?"
After looking down for a long moment Celia looked him in the eyes again and told her story. She feared he wouldn't believe her, but she didn't wish to keep it from him. If she were honest with herself she would have to say that she feared the man she had run into, god or demon, would come after Deo after disappearing. Something in her feared that whoever it was wished to take his life and no matter how she tried she just couldn't believe it was Apollo any longer. Not after the laugh that had faded from the air, but not her mind.
He listened patiently, doing little more than patting her head at the end. She was worried for him. She had rushed back for him. Something deep in his chest squoze at the thought. Had no one worried for him before? No surely one person did… Just one person. A drawn out period of silence echoed between them before Celia spoke again.
"Your arm is healed?" Her eyes were studying the arm he had unwrapped earlier before traveling down to the leg he had been in the process of unveiling when she returned. It was clear to see the question in her eyes. It was the same question he had wondered. How? "How about your chest?"
Taken aback by the question she had found most important to ask, Deo stared at her before looking down at the binding he had feared removing. The memory of the beast tearing into the flesh there was vivid. He remembered seeing skin and muscle pull away and flop to the side as the creature bit down. A shiver ran down his body at the thought. Noticing Celia placed her hand timidly on the bandages and smiled weakly. "I'm just glad you are healing."
Something in him prompted him to pull her close like he had that dawn. To hold her as tightly as he possibly could. And for a moment he fought it. Questioning why he would feel the need to do such a thing in the first place. However he gave into the want shortly and pulled her into a tight embrace. His head rested against hers, his fingers twined in her hair and his other hand on the small of her back. He had actually feared dying and leaving her behind before doing right by her and taking her home. He had actually feared being loathed by her. But hy? What stirred such fear inside him? Why were the wounds deepest where she couldn't heal them with a simple bandage? He didn't understand any of it. And now he didn't understand why she allowed herself to be embraced by him. And not only allowed it, but leaned into it as if she had needed it as much as he had.