As the two arrive back in camp they find a roaring fire awaiting them. The night was cooling and wet hair was not the best way to stay warm.
"Where the hell have you two been?" The older of the two sisters asked. She was sitting over a pot near the fire stirring something that smelled like heaven. "And why are you wet?"
"Doing some research." Kid stated smiling at Maka. "Inspite of the amount of visits we have had from the human world due to water it turns out they are a bit amphibious."
"He means we went swimming. What's for dinner?" Maka smiled at the young woman as she sat on a makeshift stool. Much to her surprise Liz was very domestic. She did most of the cooking so far and handled everything from setting up the tents to cleaning the dishes. It made her wonder what was left for her and Patty to do.
"WHAT!?" The aforementioned girl screamed as she strode into the clearing with a massive and deadly looking animal slung over her small shoulders. She slammed it on the ground near her sister who didn't even flinch at the razor sharp claws that landed by her leg. "You went swimming?! With out me?!"
"Thanks sis." Liz stated while she began to bucher and add the meat to the stew. Well that had answered one question. Patty took a seat by her older sister and smiled deviously.
"So Maka... did you get to see Kid nak-" A ghostly object that looked suspiciously like a skull slammed into Patti and sent her flying off her stool . Liz being the smarter of the two just sat quietly cooking the meal. Kid however, was leaning nonchalantly against a tree checking his nails for dirt.
"Fine don't tell me." The poor demon crawled her way back onto her stool and poutingly grabbed her own slice of meat. Maka felt a bit sorry for her but had no interest in taking her own tumble from her log. Looking back she still noticed the reaper sitting against the tree.
"Aren't you hungry Kid? Come sit." She motioned to the log nearest her. He seemed to debate for a moment before calmly walking over to join them.
The rest of the night was spent bickering and eat as it was most nights. Patty complained for awhile but eventually was distracted by Liz asking about her hunt. If the gaping holes in the beast side were anything to go by she wasn't exaggerating in the least.
"A-And then… I chased it to the river… and it was… fasssttttttzzzzz…." And just like that the younger of the demon sisters had fallen asleep; sitting upright and mid sentence. Liz simply smiled and excused the two of them as she carried her sister away. Leaving just Maka and Kid.
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"I suppose we should head inside. Your body is rather weak to cold is it not?" The prince questioned as he laid out the rest of the meat to freeze overnight. The girl next to him was attempting to help but was obviously starting to shiver.
"Well, i-if you want to. I'm fine though." He chuckled a bit at her stubbornness and dropped the remaining scraps. Guiding the shivering girl to the tent he noticed little bumps on her skin had popped up and wondered where they came from.
When they were safely inside he moved to the other side on the small housing and pulled out a few papers to work on. Maka had crawled into a nest of blankets and had yet to emerge.
"So you weren't cold, hm?" He joked as he signed off on the last paper. An ashe blonde head poked out of the cover pile and bright emerald eyes challenged him.
"Nope not at all." He chuckled as the girl emerged and began digging through the bags. He had just finished all the work when the rummaging sounds stopped. In mild interest he looked up at his current roommate. In her hand she was holding a small harp, only the size of a large dinner platter. The leather case was laying on the ground and the small silver strings pings where she lightly touched them. He watched her for a bit, entranced by the way she was so carefully inspecting it.
"Will you play it for me?" Kid was pulled out of his thoughts by Maka's question. She was looking at him pleadingly with her hands carefully grasping the instrument. Her eyes were wide and watery as if he didn't she would cry. Kid hated it when she cried. It was so beautiful but unfairly sad because she was upset.
"If that is what you wish." In all honesty no one ever really asked him to play. Many of the people who were in his father's service for years before Kid had been born tell him how much better he is at it than his father. They say that his music has much for life and meaning to it than the Death God's. But, in spite of his apparent talent, no one had ever openly asked him.
Maka settled back into her nest leaving her top half poking out and her bottom half covered in a mountain of blankets. She rested her head on her hands a looked expectantly at the young Prince. He plucked a few strings experimentally waiting for the music to direct him before he realized that it was just a normal harp. He didn't play it much and honestly had no idea how it even got packed with the rest of the things. He would have to talk to Liz about that later.
He began to play a soft tune and the two relaxed with the melody. Halfway through his 3rd or fourth song Maka cleared her throat. He quieted the tune and make a questioning face.
"I was just thinking..."
"What about?"
"How does it feel to have lived so long?"
"Ah," Kid smiled and looked fondly at the girl as he played. "You mean to be so old."
"No! You aren't old! Well I guess you kind of are but you don't look it and that's what matters... wait that came out wrong."
"You wish to know how it feels to watch the universe spin on, moving so much faster than me." Maka nodded and rolled onto her back with her head tilted to face him. Her eyes swam with curiosity and playfulness. "I can only ever tell when I am watching the human world. Their lives move so fast and they feel so intensely. Love, yet also violence, seem to be the predominant forces behind everything they do. It all seems so strange how they choose to live their lives since they all end up here in the end."
"So you watch us." He nodded and stummed lazily along the harp with his eyes closed just enjoying the moment. "Well... what do you think? You know… of how we live?"
He thought for a moment before opening his eyes and staring at the canvas about them. "It is a bit like watching what you call a movie. There are many people on a screen and you watch what they do, what they say, but you can't interact. You see their victories and losses but can do nothing to prevent or help them with it.
Humans are beautiful creatures full of life and emotion. They spend so much time worrying about their jobs and others things and miss their own life. In a way it is a bit ironic to me. They have so much but won't even miss it until they are here... Does that answer your question?"
He looked down but it was too late. The ashen-haired girl had fallen asleep while he played. Quietly he put the harp away and studied her small figure. Her hair fell in strands that all bunched near the tie that help them before exploding outwards into a sprawling pile of silk. Her eyelashes flickered with each breath and brushed her cheeks softly.
But really entranced him the most was the way her lips rested to calmly. Her heart beats so strongly and her chest would rise and fall with each breath but her lips never moved. They were steady and possessed the same alluring quality as that of a fresh peach, begging to be devoured. She truly was such a natural beauty.
Careful not to wake her, he gathered the supplies they had strewn around the tent into a small pile in the corner. The young prince covered her with a blanket before taking his place next to her. She huddled close to his chest seeming to find comfort in the warmth. On instinct he placed his arm around her and felt his heart melt a bit as she smiled in her sleep.
"Oh Maka," He whispered quietly. When she slept she looked like an angel, something he would never hope to have. "You are certain a strange creature. We were created for you and yet it feels like you had been created for us. You don't know of the good you had spread from just being here. The people are happier, the kingdoms are the most at peace they have been for a while. Liz and Patty have never been happier… and then there is me."
He softly extended his hand to brush her lips lightly. "You have changed me from what i once was. If you had asked I would stop the world for you. If you wanted to fly I would give you wings… and yet… I cannot give you the one thing you truly desire. You can ask, demand, or beg and I am forever unable to let you go. I am willing if it is what will make you happy but I do not have the means to do so. I am useless to you and yet you do so much for me."
She shuffled under the covers and for a moment Kid thought she had heard him and woken up before she settled back into a restful state. He rested his head next to hers and stared at her sleeping face. "I am unable to love but if I could I would spend years showing it to you to make up for what I cannot give you. I would be forever grateful that you chose to spend your life here with me. I would remind you constantly of how unworthy I am to receive even the smallest of your smiles. I would love you long past the ends of day and well into the blackness. And yet, I am unable to do or say any of these things to you because it is not true. Because I cannot love you or give you what you want I truly incompetent. Forgive me for this, and all the things I have done."
And with that small statement, everything in Kid's world began to change without his knowledge. Compelled by some force he couldn't understand he leaned in softly to brush his lips against hers. It was the barest of touches, with nothing but truth behind it, but to him it felt like the the very stars were starring on with envy. As he pulled away he wonder with disinterest if he should have done that but chose instead that it was more important she knew what he had said was true. Even if she hadn't heard him. He fell asleep with his world in his arms and for the time everything was perfect.
That night Maka's dreams were sweet and she felt all the safety in the world.
Again, sorry. I had no laptop and just finished building my new desktop. PC MASTER RACE! Anyway I am back and rereading a beautiful work by waywardgal called Love's hiding place. She hadn't updated in awhile and I found myself asking her to update more often then realizing that made me a hypocrite. So here you are. Reviews are alway nagging me to write more so make sure you leave them and let me know what you think.
Oh Yeah, that thing at the end of Kid's speech. If you know what it's from awesome. Comment and the first person gets to add a character in the next chapter if they want. It's slightly modified so you can't find it on google xp