Days passed by in moderate silence. The only noise came from the sounds of eating amongst the guardian candidates. Aside from the eating and checking on one another, they slept the time away.

Ember was just beginning to recover, after falling asleep for two days straight after just barely being able to bring Tremor back from the brink of dying. The kills Flame brought back to her, were immediately scorched and devoured before she fell asleep again. Stella hunted for herself and Candice who remained at Tremor's side every minute of the day. When the ice guardian got up to go help with the hunting Stella assured her that she had it all under control.

"You stay here." Stella waved a dismissive paw. "When Tremor wakes up again he'll be glad to see you there at his side."

However, Tremor rarely woke up. His wounds were healing slower than desired and after the first week, Candice began to worry. The times when Tremor was conscious he had barely eaten at all. Normally he had a very healthy appetite. The earth dragon made every attempt to eat but to no avail. His insides were still badly damaged and food only seemed to aggravate them even more. Each time he tried to eat, he would wake up in a fit of coughing and gagging on the remnants of his meal along with a good deal of blood.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered weakly after his fourth failed attempt. "I tried to."

"It's alright." Candice whispered softly, stroking his cheek with her talons. "Just rest up so your body can heal. I want you to get better soon. As soon as you're feeling better, we can talk. Okay?"

Tremor nodded slightly before letting his exhaustion take over again.

Candice woke to a droplet falling from the branches above. The wool liquid splashed onto her nose, causing the dragoness to cringe from the sudden chill.

Stella had been up for some time herself and noticed her friend jerk away from the chilly surprise.

"Good morning." She whispered softly.

"Morning." Candice smiled back. She wasn't as energetic as she could be, but enough to be in cheerful mood.

"How's he doing?" She asked, jerking her head towards Tremor. The earth dragon lay asleep after another day and a half of sleeping, he had managed to stay awake enough the previous afternoon for more than five minutes. Candice had given him some water to help heal him from the inside out and was thankful he was able to keep liquids down.

"That drink yesterday seems to be doing him some good." Candice nodded approvingly. "I just wish we could get him to eat so he can get better faster."

"Maybe if we were home we could get the cooks to make him some soup. If liquids are the only thing he can eat then they would at least get nourishment into him."

"Yeah. But I'm not sure we should move him just yet." Candice nodded in agreement. "But if he were willing to make the trip back he'd probably be better off."

"Well, when he wakes, you two should talk about it." Stella suggested as she headed for the clearing in the trees. "I'm gunna go grab some food. "You want anything? Possibly something small for Tremor?"

"I'll give him some of my rations." Candice shook her head. "Don't trouble yourself. "

"If you're sure..." Stella turned.

"I am." Candice nodded. "I'll see you when you return."

"Alright. Take care of him." The lightning dragoness spread her wings and took off into the distance.

Tremor woke again another day later. He yawned loudly and looked around. The morning camp fire was beginning to die down, but their cover beneath the willow was still warm. He looked down at the ice dragoness beside him who was still asleep and couldn't help but smile. Tremor leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. The sudden touch caused Candice to stir in her sleep. After a couple of tired grunts she opened her eyes.

"Morning bright eyes." Tremor smiled.

"You're awake!" Candice gasped and sat straight up nearly clocking Tremor's jaw with her forehead.

"Well, if you want I can just fall back asleep if you really want." Tremor smirked.

"No!" Candice shook her head, still surprised to see him up. "No, it's alright. Really. I'm glad to see you awake."

Tremor just chuckled. He jerked his head towards Flame and Ember's resting spot. "Where is everyone?"

"Out hunting." Candice replied.

"I see even Ember went too."

"Yeah." Candice nodded. "She's feeling a lot better now. It took her several days though to be able to just walk again."

"She didn't have to." Tremor sighed.

"What?"

"She didn't have to heal me. She was already weak to begin with. The reason I didn't get you guys for help was because I was afraid she would get hurt in the fight."

"Don't say that!" Candice shouted causing Tremor to jerk slightly. "You nearly died Tremor!" The earth dragon remained silent. "I was scared to death." Candice began to cry. "You have no idea how scared I was that I'd lose you."

"You? Lose me?" Tremor raised a skeptical brow.

"Yes." Candice nodded, staring him directly in the eye.

"You don't realize it Tremor, but I do care about you a lot more than you give me credit for."

"I wonder why." Tremor sighed. He groaned loudly as he struggled to his feet.

"I deserve that." Candice looked away, ashamed at her herself. Her attention was grabbed again when she heard Tremor groan loudly. Her head snapped around to see him struggling to get to his feet. "What do you think you're doing? You're strength hasn't come back yet."

"What are you, my mom?" Tremor snickered. "I'm just trying to stretch out. The ground isn't as comfortable as it looks."

"Fine." Candice snorted a small cloud of frost and leaned close to help support him. "But you had better take it easy."

"I will, you don't need to tell me." Tremor rolled his eyes.

"I mean it Tremor!"

"Alright I get it your majesty."

"That's a good start." Candice smirked. "We'll work on improving it from there."

"Oh brother. Now I think you've been stuck around me for too long."

"Hm..." Candice pondered to herself. With a great deal of effort, Tremor was finally on his feet. He staggered as he took his first several steps but Candice remained by his side to catch him should he falter. After several minutes of stepping slowly around the campfire, Tremor called it quits. The two guardians sat down together and watched as the fire continue to die out. A slight breeze swept through the camp ground, sending a chill through both dragons. Candice shuddered and without thinking scooted closer to Tremor. The earth dragon noticed and was a bit surprised by the action.

"So..." He started shyly. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Huh?" Candice leaned off of his shoulder and looked at him inquisitively.

"The other day. You said when I was feeling better, you wanted to talk with me. Well here I am." He gave his usual cocky smile that normally Candice would have been happy to wipe off his face. But today she was just glad to be able to see it again.

"Oh...Th-that..." Candice turned away, hoping Tremor didn't notice the way her cheeks flushed. Fortunately for her, he didn't. A long silence passed between them before either of them spoke again. "Well...I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"That goes without saying." Tremor rolled his eyes, thinking back to how she had been avoiding him and freezing the ocean back at the beach.

"Shut up." Candice snapped, her cheeks turning redder by the minute. "You know...I...I've never liked you before...That is...until recently...."

"Recently?" Tremor raised his brow again.

"I always thought you were such an annoying pest and a pain in my ass." Candice continued. "I never wanted anything to do with you."

"It takes you back to the good old days huh?"

"Tremor..." Candice looked back at him with nothing but seriousness in her eyes. Tremor shut his mouth, taking the cue. "It wasn't until that night when we reached the eastern city and we were watching over the city together that I realized what kind of dragon you really were." Candice looked back to the fire as she recalled the event. "You're strong willed. And serious about protecting the world around you. And I admired that. So much that I wanted to see it more. It was like I forgot that you were always getting on my nerves about every little thing. I just wanted to see that side of you more often."

"Well all you had to do was ask." Tremor smiled slyly.

"Don't pat yourself on the back too hard there, pebble-brain. You're still just as much of a screw-up and a jerk and an ass-hole! You don't think things through! You're impulsive and annoying! You always have something to say about everything! You never know when to shut the hell up and listen and...and...and..." The ice dragoness was getting so worked up she let her mouth speed ahead of her thoughts.

"And?" Tremor asked, unfazed by her sudden outburst.

Candice just shook her head. There was a strange look in her eyes as she gazed at Tremor. "I just can't get enough of it." She breathed heavily. Tremor's eyes grew as wide as saucers as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Candice pushed against him so hard, she ended up pushing him over and falling down on top of him. Tremor didn't even notice the pain that swept through his body. He just stared in surprise as Candice pulled away.

"I'm sorry." Candice choked as tears began to rolled down her cheeks and splash onto Tremor's neck and chest. "I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier."

"You mean after I admitted that I was really fond of you?" A smile tugged at Tremor's lips.

Candice nodded. "I should never have treated you like that. As much as an asshole as you can be you didn't deserve it. Even you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks....I think..." Tremor squinted at her and Candice laughed through her tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not that great at expressing my thoughts and feelings."

"It's been noted." Tremor's smile grew wider. "But you don't have to explain yourself."

"But I did enjoy kissing you before hand." Candice shook her head. "I enjoyed hearing that there was someone in this world who thought of me in such a way and wasn't afraid to show it. I just...didn't...I don't know...I guess my mind wouldn't let me feel comfortable since it was you. I mean...we always fight...We always get on each others nerves...We've said some terrible things to one another...and I just couldn't understand how after all that...you could find it in you to like me."

Tremor chuckled. Candice felt his belly scales bump against hers as he laughed. "I'm not sure myself. I guess I blame Gaia for that though."

"Really?" Candice cocked her head curiously.

"You remember when I came up with that perfect nickname for you?"

"How could I forget." Candice narrowed her eyes at him but the smile was obvious that she wasn't annoyed.

"Well, Gaia said I should give you a chance. She was going on about how sweet you really were, but I didn't really take it seriously at the time. I didn't realize that I sort of liked you until that night we stood watch over my home. When you said you would stay with me and help me protect my home, I realized that you weren't as bad as I'd thought." His smiled softened and he gazed up at her. "It was also the same night I realized how beautiful those eyes of yours are."

"Oh Tremor, you're such an idiot." Candice nuzzled him lovingly letting her salty tears catch along the edges of his mouth.

"I promised Gaia, that I wouldn't be as much of a jerk to you." Tremor stroked her neck with the back of his claws. "But I only ended up falling for you."

"I feel the same way, well kind of, okay well..." Candice bowed her head and blushed slightly. She was still feeling a bit nervous about expressing her true feelings to him. "It wasn't until we lost Gaia that I began to notice I was growing feelings for you. I didn't think much of it at the time since I felt that I was just being a good friend by being there to support you during such a hard time." Tremor only continued to stare at her blankly as she tried to explain herself. "I talked with Stella about everything before you were attacked."

Tremor's brows jumped. "Really. What did she have to say?"

"Just 'Wow'." Candice chuckled. "She looked like she had been slapped in the face when I told her we kissed."

"That's just about what I thought." Tremor laughed.

"But she did convince me that I do care for you a lot." Candice rubbed his cheek with the back of her paw being gentle enough not to aggravate the cuts that lined his face. "Anyone who throws himself in front of a lightning bolt for me, or is willing to get himself thrashed to defend my honor...Is more deserving than any other dragon in this world or the next." Candice brushed her muzzle against Tremor's and let her tongue graze his cheeks. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything for you Candy." Tremor smirked.

Candice giggled and rolled her eyes. "Do you still have feelings for me?"

Tremor's eyes widened in surprise at the question. He twisted his lips as he thought of an answer. "I think the question you should be asking is: Do you really have feelings for me?"

"What do you mean?" Candice jerked back slightly not expecting the answer he gave.

"I'm always going to like you. Whether you like me or not. But what does your heart tell you?"

Candice narrowed her eyes at him. "I hate you sometimes."

"I know." Tremor gave her his goofy smile. He knew he had gotten to her.

"But I love you even more." Candice leaned back down and pressed her lips to his again. This time Tremor kissed her back. He let out a satisfied groan and felt his mind leave his body for a moment. Despite his current condition he felt even better than he had in over a month.

It was then that Stella returned. The lightning guardian ducked under the long vines of the willow tree and was about to speak when she froze. She saw the two dragons in the middle of their kiss and her jaw fell open. The sheep carcass she carried nearly hit the ground but she snatched it up at the last second and ducked out of the campground. She turned away from the willow and moved back towards the clearing at the edge of the trees. There she met Flame and Ember as they came down from the sky, both carrying their own breakfast.

"What's going on?" Flame asked when he noticed the way Stella's cheeks flushed a deep crimson.

"N-nothing." Stella stammered. Her heart was racing inside her chest. "I think we should eat out here. Give those two some time alone."

"Oh, is Tremor awake?" Ember tilted her head towards the campsite.

"Uh huh." Stella nodded.

"Well, why don't we go and see if he wants to eat." Flame suggested and started for the campsite.

"Um, I think we should let them have some alone time." Stella jumped in front of the fire guardian. "I think Candice finally had the courage to tell him."

"Wait, when you mean alone time, you mean..." Ember's voice trailed off as Stella nodded. "Oh..." Ember's brows jumped as she glanced over at Flame who glance over at Stella.

"I think we should eat our breakfast out here." Stella finished.

"Agreed." Flame nodded, his cheeks starting to flush slightly too.

As they settled down to devour their meals, Stella looked over her shoulder at the camp ground. "Congratulations you two." She whispered in her mind.