It's been nearly two months since her eleventh life began, and all of it was working, sleeping in the game room and sneaking innocent kisses with Ian.
The rains had been terrible this year, from the widening of cracks in the ceiling to major collapses. By the time the room dried and everything was moved back to their rooms she wanted to crawl out of her skin.
Ian and her had been the last to get to their room, helping anyone from Lucinda and her kids to Lilly. Everyone seemed to need help on lifting to the point that they were the back into their rooms in the early hours of the morning.
Even the prickling feeling she had under her skin was overruled by exhaustion, they shared one kiss before curling up as they had for the last two months. The exhaustion goes on for days as they take stack and record requests. It seems that this time around that they'll be gone for weeks probably a month to venture far up north.
But it also means no privacy, all of them sharing a room together and it didn't matter either way since each day they'd either be cooped up in a truck or walking for hours. They wouldn't have caught a break with Jared and Mel anyways.
Well that was until she suggested that Kyle should bring Sunny along to the trip. They could get two rooms now, and if they switched off on sharing rooms on on their month long trip. For awhile everyone protested. They didn't know if Sunny could handle it, the pressure of being out in the soul world again.
It wasn't until Wanda stepped up and reminded them that she wouldn't be alone. There was still some residue of doubt that lingered in everyone's minds. But that didn't bother her now, not with the prospect of being out in the world again with a body that wasn't frightened so easily. She wouldn't be terrified when people approached this host anymore.
She laid there and collected her thoughts in her and Ian's shared room. Feeling the soft sheets that tangled with her legs and the breathing the air that smelled fresh.
By the time her eyes open, the bed was no long warmed by Ian's presence but by the sunlight pouring through the cracks along the ceiling. She gets up slowly, feeling her muscles and joints warm up to movement as she starts getting dressed for the day.
She had no strict assignments for the day besides packing her and Ian's things for the raid. She pulls out the large bag from the dresser in their room and begins to fill it with necessities, anything from clothing to shampoo.
This part of the raid she enjoyed, the planing and the jitters from the impending trip. Mel was always skeptical, Pet was frightened but this body was excited. She finally felt liberated from the shackles of having a host. Her body finally worked in harmony with what her soul wanted, pun intended. They were heading out tonight, while the night was freshly darkened and the star had yet to twinkle.
As she finished up packing she planned out her day, perhaps a stop to Mel or Sunny's room, a quick lunch date with Ian, maybe help Jeb out with a few chores. Though she doubted the last one would happen.
She steps out into the dark hall, fingers trailing along the rough wall as her eyes struggle to focus in the dark. She begins down the hall, feeling the surface change from bumpy stone to smooth wood when she encounters each door.
She finds the door she's looking for and knocks, and by the last rap of her fist the door is moving. Mel stands there and there's a ring of light cast around her, halo like. Her hair is skewed from sleep and clothes sleep wrinkled. She sees the empty bag sitting on the floor of her and Jared's room and smiles.
Mel moves back and offers her room to step in and she sits down on the bed and feels the warmth of the sun on her skin once more. She keeps Mel company as she packs, and they talk about what outrageous things that are happening in the caves.
She feels a sense of relief that she gets a break from the confined areas of the cave, but feels the guilt settle in quickly afterwards with the thought of others not having an escape. She senses it from Mel too as they talk, the guilty relief of seeing city lights and having the luxuries of a hotel room. As Mel finishes up with her packing, they join hands and move down the corridor to get lunch.
She spots Ian and let's go of Melanie's hand, whose scoff only make her feel slightly ashamed.
She moves swiftly and before she knows it, she's seated on Ian's knees as he presses a kiss to her lips. She heard Jamie making disgusted sounds as she pulls away as she feels as though she should be blushing but her cheeks feel as cool as they were before.
Apparently embarrassment doesn't come easily with this body either. She feels his lips against her cheek, pulled up in a smile. He's holding her tight against his body, her arms looped around neck while his are around her waist. It feels so incredibly intimate the way he feeds her bread soaked with soup. Her still perched in his lap while everyone else still clatters on.
She stares into his blue sapphire eyes and feels at home.