A/N a.k.a Bonnie's foreword: I apologize for my slow update. Things have been hectic my side of the world.


CHAPTER FIVE

Time became a non-issue while the two fulfilled quests, repeated dailies and killed all sorts of unmentionable foe. They'd even set up a camp where they could rest for a few hours in Winterfell—a zone specially crafted for an once-a-month event—finding that in spite of their desire to continue exploring they needed to recharge their batteries.

"Wakie wakie, sleeping beauty."

Bonnie blinked, doing her best to clear her blurred vision, wearily staring up at the figure hovering over her. Kai looked chipper—bearing none of the dark circles she knew shaded her eyes—and like they'd been sleeping in a five star hotel.

She loathed him for it. At least in theory…

"I brought you breakfast."

In spite of the spells tendencies there were still some things that hadn't changed. They were still hungry, needed to use the rest room and take a shower. The latter being the hard part.

"Not more watermelon," Bonnie grumbled.

As tasteless as the food was she grew tired of its puerile coloring and texture. She reached up to pull the fur over her eyes with one hand, using the other to push him away.

Of the two Bonnie seemed to be the one struggling to adapt to Neverwinter while Kai made it appear easy and took to everything as though born to it. She'd never admit it but she was jealous of his tenacity. Most her magic career had been that way too. While others flourished and crushed them like bug – she always struggled, always stayed one step behind and rarely did anything without consequence.

Perhaps it was a skill he acquired from his stay in the prison world? She never asked him about the extent of what he did there. But she wondered. Why Mystic Falls and where did he set up permanent residence? Did he linger in and around Portland? She couldn't imagine it, not with the blood red stains that crusted the inside of the walls like newly splattered paint or the untouched food that stocked their fridges.

"You didn't sleep well?"

"No. This mattress kills me and something hard dug in my back all night," Bonnie snapped.

"Sorry," Kai replied with a hint of playful sheepishness, smirking as he removed the fur from her eyes. She looked undaunted. "I can't control what my body does when your ass is virtually hugging my crotch."

"You're an ass."

He set the plate he was holding down to break the piece of bread in half and offered it to her.

"It was your idea to snuggle up to amass warmth."

One of her superior ideas.

"It worked, didn't it?"

Considering the fact that this place was a frost cap and that they could feel the blistering cold – yes. But that wasn't the only positive.

She sat up as she took his gift, rolling her head to work the kinks from her shoulders.

He popped a piece of bread in his mouth, dropping the rest onto their plate and moved to sit down next to her, working the tension from her muscles.

Bonnie didn't even flinch at his touch, soft moans of gratitude slipping from her lips as she twisted and leaned back into him. Variation he'd noticed after the first three days of being cooped up together, a revelation he negated to comment on—as he typically would—as he didn't want to draw her attention to her movements. Bonnie was stubborn and any kind of exposure would end in denial. He loved this part of her, liked when she stopped thinking and gave into her natural desire. It didn't happen often—she was continually protecting herself—but when it did he knew not to take it for granted.

He released her shoulders after a thorough but fleeting massage and stood again.

"I am going to go do a run, toe the line and make something bleed. When you're ready, meet me outside."

TWENTY MINUTES LATER…

Bonnie emerged from the inn located near the town pub adorned in fur boots that tied around her legs with leather straps, fur pants and a top. Clothes she'd managed to buy from the auctioneer. Kai wore the same.

"What's this?" she asked as she approached him.

"A horse," he added.

"I'm not blind. I can see that."

They'd been running around the last few days on a rental, one that would soon be expired and make their lives even harder than it was since neither of them could afford a decent ride yet.

"It's purple."

"And that's not all."

Kai eased the horse into a trot, riding around her, a twinkling rainbow extending from the horse's fluffy looking tail as if he were part of the MY LITTLE PONY television show she used to love as a kid.

Where and what had he done to get that?

"How do I get one?"

"You can't."

Silence ensued for a good minute before Bonnie spoke up again, clearly agitated.

"What do you mean I can't?"

"I bought it last year from the Zen market after a fifty percent off special. It's a once-off."

"And you got it now?"

"I forgot to reclaim it before. You buy something big and it's there for every account. Minus the attire."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Sure it does."

Bonnie signed softly.

"Fine."

Once he stopped jumping around Bonnie determinedly walked toward him, brushing a hand over the horse's glittery coat, her hand findings its way onto his thigh before gripping at the fabric. He grimaced.

"Now, now, claws sheathed, Bon-bon."

Bonnie overlooked his complaint, trying to pull herself up, trying to join him on the majestic creature. It didn't work. She huffed and kicked at the ground as she pushed herself away, loathing how selective the game could be about what worked and what didn't. She couldn't attack him, couldn't ride with him, but apparently—and if she wanted too—she could kiss him, could take full advantage of his body and have the elicit time of her life. How the hell did that work? Far as she could tell this game was PG-13.

"Sorry, Bonster. Seems it's a one man show. And probably for the best."

Bonnie stared at him from between narrowed eyes, irritated he'd managed to read her resolve.

"Can you imagine the strain you'd take with your legs wrapped around me all day?"

Bonnie snorted. Kai laughed and continued to trot around her, grinning as she conjured her own horse. It appeared beneath her from out of nowhere, rocketing her from the ground in a way that used to make her stomach turn and her hands go clammy. She'd never ridden a horse.

Not until she'd been forced to.

"Let's go," she said, tapping her heels against her horse's flanks, sending him into a gradual gallop.

Kai gave her a superficial second's head start and then obeyed her request, sailing toward the gate at a rate that added to her infuriation and had her arrive after him.

She refused to talk to him.

At least for a minute.

MANY HOURS LATER…

"Admit it. You're loving it."

"What?" Bonnie said puzzled, the air of humor momentarily slipping from her face. Kai considerately walked around her, picking up the sparkling loot that had been dropped.

"The adventure, the mayhem."

Kai gestured around them, displaying the demons lying at their feet while their grotesque bodies faded away. Bonnie shrugged, having no reason to be guilty about her actions or the enjoyment thereof.

They were still looking for a way to get out but somewhere along the way the urgency to get it done was waning. What was she missing out on? Death? College? The need for a career?

"I don't dislike it."

"Even though you're stuck here day in and day out? With me?"

Bonnie stared at him as if she were thinking about how to answer, undoubtedly planning her usual denial while she distanced herself from the respawn point. "It's bearable."

"Wow," Kai echoed in ersatz awe, rushing up behind her once he caught up, wrapping his arms around her waist to draw her close. She chuckled. "A compliment. However shall I thank you?"

Bonnie dashed forward and cut short his tease, attacking the nearby enemy before it could agro her. The two lashing at the creatures in earnest harmony. Who knew a stupid game could be so damned liberating?

"By keeping me alive and being your overpowered self," she answered once the smoke had settled.

"I'm not overpowered. I still have a lot I need."

"You're overpowered."

"I still don't have—"

Bonnie rolled her eyes and wiped the sweat from her brow. She craved a shower and to put her feet up.

"These things two hit me and floor me while you all but sneeze them to death."

"You're over exaggerating."

"You're under exaggerating," Bonnie stated and turned her back on him, scanning the hellish dimension for more to slay. She still had a few more requirements to meet and none of them were quick.

Of all the zones – this was the one she disliked most. So far.

She hadn't gotten very far when a vicious rumble echoed throughout the hilly ridges they were weaving in and out of tediously, her heart picking up speed in alarm, afraid of stumbling upon the beast that lurked close by. Executioner that left her zero room to manoeuvre.

"We need to get out of here," she hissed, already running—trying to find her way out—disorientated by the replicated hills and unsure of how close she was to his feeding zone. Familiarity of the doorbell like response that echoed in her wake made her draw to a stop. She whirled around, astonished to see the oversized scorpion already upon them and Kai dead at its feet, swathed in a bright green light.

"Oh, shit!" Bonnie cursed as she charged toward it, unintentionally aggroing immediate NPC's she hadn't seen, dodging the oversized scorpion's first attack with a cry akin to that of a controlled scream. Leaping from the blood red light that sprinkled the ground, point after point that made it impossible to get a good handle on Kai. How she managed it, she didn't know but before long he was joining her – and running.

There was no way to escape the hordes, seemingly luring more and more of the budding enemies at every turn and making it impossible to move.

"We can totally do this!" Bonnie encouraged, dodging both the beast and its helpers, a few dying around them in accordance. No sooner the words were out of her mouth did she meet Kai's former fate.

"Help me! Quick!" she commanded, watching the timer fade in and give its illustrious count down. If it ran out, she'd be dead for good and thrown off somewhere else across the map. All would be lost. He hurried over to her fallen position, speedily helping her from the ground, leaving her to try and heal while they fell into easy synchronization.

"Fuck this," Kai spat suddenly, taking off in the other direction, leaving her exposed.

"We can take them!" Bonnie insisted still fuelled by her adrenaline, chasing after him nonetheless, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she suddenly collapsed. She waited. He helped.

"Why do you always have to do this to me?" Kai yelled, swinging his weapon around excitedly, trying to rid himself of the scorpions on his heels. He wasn't happy. He wasn't big on confrontations like this. Which was hilarious considering he'd butchered his family.

"Me? I didn't start this," Bonnie yelled back, doing her best—and failing—to disperse of her own cluster of enemies. Why did she have to do such little damage? And why was he always blaming her for the shit?

"Had you just listened to me and done this when I needed it—UGH!"

He dropped dead – once again embalmed in light. Bonnie charged toward him, repeating what she'd done for him earlier. And he'd done for her twice already. Course they'd taken five more times. Tremulous minutes spent in a crazed flurry of screaming, cursing, dodging, healing and throwing. Repetition that became central to her being until she was sure that's all she'd know for the rest of her life.

Before they made it back to their sanctuary on the other side of the map five more creatures attacked, along with an unforeseen horde of twenty that floored her four more times and had the both of them sitting in the remedial flame in town to remove their lingering death afterwards.

"I died three times," he mused after a lengthy silence, staring in the fire for a bit, then turned to her with a snarky little smile. "You know what was funny, though? You said, We can take them!"

Bonnie peered at him across the flame, a tickling smile forming over her mouth. She couldn't help it. She had an urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of that statement he quoted, and yet she'd enjoyed every bit of the inconceivable chaos that took flight.

The bigger the challenge – the better.

"But the even more hilarious part is: for a moment there, I believed you. I'll hate you forever for this."

She couldn't help it and giggled softly.

"How powerful and daring are you feeling now, Witchling?"

She waved him off and stared at her hands, uncomplainingly waiting for the hovering face of death to depart, reminding her in short of the time she'd spent on the other side. Only this time she wasn't standing on the sidelines watching some narcissistic prick murder her father without being able to do anything about it or being abandoned in some isolated hellhole.

"You okay?" Kai asked once he appeared at her side again. He was always moving, sweeping from the seller, to a nearby mailbox and back again. He'd worked something out that she'd yet to even grasp.

She didn't care enough to figure out what it was.

"I miss—" she began, convinced as she met his eyes that she saw a medium of world-weariness reflect in them and his lips turn down a notch. "—a shower, a decent hairbrush and pizza."

He laughed softly, a sound that made her belly roll and dive, sending an ostentatious buzz through her system. When had that started? Days? Months? A year ago?

"I can help with that," he said as if reading her thoughts, pushing up off the ground, extending a hand to help her up.

She took it, unperturbed as his released her and slid his palm up her arm, unnecessarily guiding her away from the fire for the gate.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he summoned his horse, smiling down at her dazzlingly, waiting for her to do the same.

"To get you cleaned up."

Bonnie closed her eyes, summoned her own mount and caught up to him, complying with the unexplored destination he spat before he disappeared through the portal.