Oh noes…I'm back in school. I'm gonna be real busy nowadays, and updates on weekdays'll be pretty rare. I'll update as much as I can on weekends, so bear with me.
~Chapter 7~
Absolute silence.
Shade half-expected his group to hold an icy quiet upon his accepting Lunara and Honey into his party. Although his trust for them was feeble, he acknowledged the strengths they could lend to them while they trekked. They seemed to have a good side, but then again…
Shade shook his head, feeling it throb in response to his twisted thinking. He still felt shaky from his fight, but refused to show any weakness. Nearly fainting was quiet embarrassing to him, and regaining his senses to see Lunara had fed him water to revive him had pushed him over the top. No more weakling acts in front of everyone else. Shade was strong. He wanted everyone to know that.
Lunara was scanning the area, as if long-lost Stara would be wandering about nearby or just behind that shrub…Honey kept his gaze on the mountains.
Shade sighed, feeling the silence grow eerily awkward, "We should hit the mountains by nightfall." He said. They'd been walking for perhaps a few hours, every silence spell broken by a whine from Memphis, complaining about some tiredness or hunger or other. Shade, bearing no sensitivity toward a child's needs, only found the kid annoying, and was evilly tempted to drop the little brat into a shrub and run. He knew miss maternal Blossom would never allow that, unfortunately for him.
"I'm tired." Memphis announced, wings drooping. Shade's eye twitched,
"How the hell can you be tired? Blossom and Berry have been carrying you since we started? You've barely touched the ground, kid."
"Shade, he's just a baby." Blossom chided, "Be gentle."
Shade snorted, "Blossom, need I remind you of something? Here we are, the only survivors of a space virus, driven out of our home, racing against time to keep ourselves alive, and here we took along a whiny, pissy baby who won't shut up, and you want me to be gentle? Maybe mommy and baby shoulda stayed home!" he growled, frustration fueling his tone.
Blossom turned and glared at him, "Hush!" she retorted lamely, and quickened her pace so she was farther ahead and away from Shade.
"One of these days…" Shade muttered, "That kid's gonna get us into some serious trouble…"
…
The moon hung heavily overhead, shedding silver over the partly obscured shelter of Shade and co. The Dark Chao stared blankly at the campfire Lunara had started, lost in his thoughts. Blossom was coaxing Memphis to eat a nut she had found growing on a local tree, and had also fire-roasted it somehow. Berry was busy bundling up the food remains and storing them away. Lunara sat by the fire as well, and Honey was busy looking at the stars.
Lunara sighed, staring at Shade, "You don't trust me." She commented. Shade rolled his eyes,
"Is it obvious?" he snorted, biting into the last wedge of his apple before tossing the core aside. Lunara paused before she answered, stretching her arms above her head,
"Yes. Glaringly obvious." She said bluntly. She cracked her knuckles, and Shade wondered if that was supposed to be a threat, "Why don't you trust me?" she asked dully, as if now she didn't care how Shade would answer.
"Well," he said in an almost casual tone, "You surprise-attacked us, and then you suddenly want to tag along. Shifty, to say the least. Not to mention you're more or less rather bitchy."
Lunara rolled her orange eyes, "If I had a nickel for everytime someone called me that…" she muttered, "But didn't I say you could trust me?"
"No, actually." Shade snapped, "And quite frankly, even if you did I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you."
"Oh please." Lunara huffed, "Gaining your trust isn't an easy task, it seems. The girls and that child seem to be fine with me."
"'Seem.'" Shade said pointedly. Lunara glared at him, and opened her mouth to shoot a sharp reply, but Shade interrupted, "And don't insult me. You can't make me give you my trust. Remember you're the one who asked to join, 'cause of your sister, right?"
Lunara barred her teeth, looking genuinely stung and angered. Shade felt regret for what he said, but before he could make amends, Lunara stood up and left him alone, "We should get going." She announced, as if she were leader, "We can make it into the mountains in less than an hour from now."
Blossom looked at Lunara, cradling Memphis, whose eyes were half-open, "Memphis needs to sleep." She said calmly, "And…I listen to Shade only…sorry…" Lunara let out a faint growl and moved to Honey's side,
"Time for sleep, star-gazer." She muttered, tapping his shoulder and making her way to a solitary space away from everyone else's temporary beds.
Shade sighed, rolling his eyes, and began to smother the fire.
…
The night was an inky darkness, silent, devoid of any sounds of wilderness or nature. Everything held a solemn silence that felt agonizing. Shade lay in his bed of moss and down, he found his gaze traveling over his team. Blossom, the one who had completely taken over looking after Memphis, was curled up asleep, the child balled up in the curve of her body. She had an arm draped over him protectively. As whiny as that kid had become, Shade admitted he couldn't stay angry. Not at a child, at least. Berry was stretched out next to Blossom, looking content, calm. Honey and Lunara were nestled in sleep a distance away, their forms barely visible in the night. Shade yawned, feeling the tug of sleep pull on his consciousness. He let them drift shut.
…
"Shade…Shade…Shade…"
Shade groaned, draping an arm over his face. A sudden light had seeped through his closed eyes, dragging him from his much needed sleep, "Go 'way…" he grumbled sleepily, rolling over.
"Shade…Shade…"
"Shuddup…" Shade growled, shielding his face from the light. His body tempature was hovering at a comfortable warmth, ready to lull him back to sleep, but this voice and this light kept his senses up.
"Shade…do not trust easily Shade…" the voice said. Shade glared with his eyes still shut,
"Know that…Lunara…not gonna trust…" he muttered, still half-asleep. A strange glow seemed to touch his skin,
"Shade…do not be fooled by appearances…"
"Hhm…" Shade murmured, relaxing as the light began to recede, letting him fall into sleep.
But before long, that sleep was wracked with nightmares.