Book 3: Breaking the Ice
Me: Hi! Before we start this chapter, I just want to apologize about how short it is. I basically just rushed it and now I feel like crap for doing so. Anyway, there is very mild swearing in this one. Only one cuss word near the end and that's it. Enjoy!
Chapter 21: A Night of Romance
After walking for two hours, the twins stated that they needed to stop where they were and camp. While Rosalina and Jason went out to find some firewood, the others were socializing and getting comfortable. Roxanne walked over to Chloe, who happily smiled at her. The female messed up the ferret's hair playfully. "It's good to have you back, girl."
Chloe laughed as she batted Roxanne's paw away. "It's good to be back, Roxanne. So, I suppose this is our last night down here, huh?" The ferret asked sadly. She had grown to like this place despite how dangerous it was. She didn't want to leave, but at the same time, she wanted to go home and go back to having a normal life with Maryanne's family.
Patting the redheaded ferret's head, Roxanne sighed, "Probably." Her hazel eyes gazed at Lars. He was laying on the ground with his head tilted back, his mouth slightly ajar as he snored softly. His chest rose and fell with every breath he took. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. It was almost…..an angelic sight. Realizing she was staring, Roxanne quickly glanced back at Chloe with rosy cheeks.
The redhead smirked at her once she turned to look at her. "He may be a pain in the neck. Deep down, however, you do like him. Don't you?" Chloe waited for an answer, but received nothing. Roxanne just stared at her with a shocked expression. Why was she asking her this? Why was her liking Lars any of Chloe's business?
Sucking in a breath to keep her from snapping at the female, Roxanne exhaled and replied, "Hey, why don't you take a load off get some rest? You've had a long day, and so have we."
"Fine, deny it all you want. Mark my words, if you really do have feelings for Lars, it will be too late to tell him come tomorrow when you take us back to where we entered this dinosaur-infested place." With that, Chloe walked past Roxanne, her arm lightly brushing against the weasel's shoulder as she went to find a spot to get comfortable on.
Chloe's words repeated in Roxanne's head. She knew the ferret was right, but convinced herself that she was just teasing her. Roxanne, you know she's right. Why will you not accept it? You're in love with Lars. You like that he teases you and gets you riled up. You love it! Why are in denial? Don't you see this is the fated quest for you and Rosalina to find a lover? You act all tough around him just to hide your feelings. Why will you not accept the fact you like him?
Roxanne's conscience's words and questions almost made the hazel-eyed female pass out. She felt dizzy. She balanced herself to keep from fainting right then and there. The teen distracted herself by giving Leah her signal to talk to Rico privately while she made sure no one would interrupt them.
Rosalina looked over at Jason as they made their way back to their camping area with firewood and something to start the fire with. They haven't spoken a word until she piped up, "J-Jason, I was wondering…y-y-you don't have to answer this if you don't want to…I-I…sorry." She couldn't stop stuttering for some reason. Was she starting to act shy around him?
Jason patiently waited for her to say what she needed to say, which made Rosalina calm down a bit. She tried again. "Jason, why did you're parents choose Maryanne to be your mate? I-I-I don't know if I've already asked you this, but I just thought I'd ask, just in case I didn't."
"Well, my parents were good friends with Maryanne's mom and dad back then, and they still are. When my mom found out that they had a baby girl, she told Maryanne's mom that she, too, had kits. They agreed that when we were young adults, we would meet each other and that once we were mates, they would have a new addition to both families.
"Rico's still searching for that special someone while I could care less if Maryanne likes me or not, which I know she really despises me. Anyway, that's how we were chosen to be mates, even though we don't like each other. I just wish they would let me choose my own mate. You're lucky you have amazing foster parents. They let you go out on a quest to find a mate while I get forced to marry someone that doesn't like me back." Jason's gaze dropped to the firewood in his arms.
Rosalina let her ears press against her skull. She felt bad for Jason. He was right about her having the best foster parents she and Roxanne could ever ask for. They always made sure to take care of them and cheer them up whenever they were down. Suddenly, she had an urge to do something risky. With enough courage, Rosalina dropped her load of firewood to caress Jason's cheek. She felt herself and Jason blushing insanely at how close they were.
Their hearts were pounding. Passion was in their eyes and their body heat rose as their lips got closer to each others. Realizing what she was doing, Rosalina quickly pulled back with guilty tears flowing down her face like a waterfall. "Jason, we can't do this! Maryanne wouldn't like this. I'd be a home wrecker if I did this! I can't….I can't! I'm sorry."
It was Jason's turn to let his ears droop in disappointment. He was really hoping she would cover her lips over his, but the harsh reality of him marrying Maryanne returned to them. That stuck up prima donna doesn't show any interest in me. Why is Rosalina afraid she wouldn't like it if we kissed? She won't care anyway. I'll make the move. I don't care anymore!
Jason dropped his load of firewood to wrap his arms around Rosalina's waist. Before she could react, his lips met with hers. Rosalina stared in shock and horror, but then closed her eyes in bliss. Their hearts, once again, beat rapidly in sync and their cheeks were crimson with pleasure. They pulled away to stare into each other's eyes affectionately.
"I don't care, Rosalina. Maryanne doesn't show any interest in me whatsoever. So, why should we care? Come on, let's hurry back to the camp. They must be worried about us now." Jason tore his gaze away from Rosalina's gleaming cerulean eyes to pick up the wood he dropped and walked ahead of the female.
Rosalina was in a state of shock and happiness. Her paw reached up to her lips in disbelief. She couldn't believe what just happened. Maryanne's going to kill me if she finds out. With that thought, Rosalina let out a low chuckle. Who cares? If Jason doesn't, then I shouldn't either. Doing the same as Jason did, she picked up her load of firewood and carefully hurried after the green-eyed weasel, smiling excitedly as she ran.
Leah exhaled calmly, trying to appear as if she wasn't nervous at all. Unfortunately, she wasn't doing so well. Her violet eyes were a very light purple, her body was quivering with uncertainty, and her legs were crossed shyly. She looked at Roxanne again, who continued to give her the signal to talk to Rico. Leah drew in another breath before getting Rico's attention by walking up to him.
"Hey. You startled me. Did you need something, Leah?" Rico quickly turned around when he felt her finger tapping on his shoulder. Leah went wide-eyed for three seconds then let her body relax itself. She took one last glance at Roxanne before nodding. This is it…The ferret thought anxiously.
Roxanne smiled contently once she heard them talking. Rosalina and Jason returned with the wood in their arms and were greeted with a quiet shush from Roxanne. The blue-eyed female stared at her twin, confused, until she pointed at Leah and Rico. "Oh, okay." She whispered before she and Jason carefully put the firewood down as to not disturb the couple.
Jason stared at the female for a few seconds then looked at Maryanne, who was still out of it. Who could blame her, though? She had scratch marks all over her body and long gashes across her arms, causing her to lose some of her blood. He felt almost sorry for her. He looked back at Rosalina to keep himself from feeling more sympathy for the unconscious blonde.
"We are going to keep that kiss we had back there a secret, right?" Jason whispered.
"Yeah, I'd rather be alive than be killed by Maryanne. Oh, I meant to tell you that's what that nightmare was in the Canyon of Your Worst Nightmare." Rosalina found herself blushing again. It was such a stupid nightmare. There was no way that blonde could kill her. Rosalina was more coordinated than her, but it could still happen. Who knows? She could kill her while she was sleeping, vulnerable, or alone. This thought sent icy chills down Rosalina's spine.
Luckily, Jason didn't notice, for he was searching for something to start the fire. Roxanne crept over to her twin without her knowing. "You two are having a secret relationship? Absolutely scandalous, darling! Don't worry. I won't tell Maryanne. Your secret is safe with me." Terrified, light blue eyes met calm hazel ones as the twins stared at each other.
Rosalina glared at Roxanne. She didn't think her sister was listening, but Roxanne had the ability to hear from far distances. "You eavesdropped on us? Well, I guess you deserve to know what happened, now that you found out. While we were out getting the wood for the fire, we just talked for a few minutes. The next thing I knew, I made a move to touch his cheek. We were about to kiss, but I cowered because I knew it was wrong. However, Jason didn't care and he kissed me."
Roxanne blinked. I knew Jason had a thing for my sister, but he does know he's cheating on Maryanne, even though they despise each other and are not official yet. At least, I hope he knows that's what he's doing. Wait a minute! They aren't official yet! The female shook her head to get rid of the thought and smiled at her sister. "That's pretty cool, sis. Like I said, I won't tell Maryanne."
"Thanks so much, sis. Now, do your thing while I get the fire started." Rosalina gave her sister a hug before receiving two stones from Jason who was now standing behind her.
Roxanne smirked, "All right. You lovebirds have fun." When the hazel-eyed female turned around, she saw Leah and Rico kissing rather passionately under the moonlight. Leah's left paw was on Rico's cheek while her other arm was wrapped around his neck. Rico had his arm around Leah's waist and his left paw was running up and down her back. It was quite a sight to Roxanne.
She suddenly felt jealousy hit her. I see their talk went very well. Now, that makes two couples. I guess I'll never get a mate. Maybe this isn't my fate to be with someone. Hold up! That's so not true! Lars likes me a lot, but I keep pushing him away, don't I? I think I should give him a chance. No! He's a pain in the butt! Ugh, what should I do? Sighing sadly, Roxanne sat by the fire after her sister started it and began to think about others things that didn't relate to her situation.
Jenna stood outside Momma's cave, waiting for Buck to show up. Celine wanted to wait with her, but the pregnant female told her to get some rest as to not wake up in a cranky mood the next day. A small grunt came from behind her. Knowing it was only Momma, Jenna replied, "I'm fine, Momma. Go back to sleep."
Once the dinosaur did so, she looked outside again to see two familiar figures in the air. Knowing who they were, she called out to them softly, "Roger! Buck!" The pterodactyl flew in her direction with a smile. Buck got off his flying friend to be greeted by Jenna's embrace.
"Hey, lass. Sorry I took so long. I thought I'd get here quicker by calling fo' Roger. By the way, he wanted ta' thank us fo' finding his son." Buck said to her after they pulled away from their long hug.
"Wait, Remy is Roger's son? Roger has a family? Why didn't you tell me?" Buck chuckled softly at Jenna's shocked tone of voice at the new discovery. To be honest, he, too, didn't know he had a family. He remembered the day he asked Roger if he ever thought about having kids. His response was a funny look before he flew away. I guess he thought about it after all. Buck thought.
Jenna slowly turned her head in the pterodactyl's direction in disbelief. Roger just nodded his head. The she-weasel put on a small smile. "Well, Roger, it was no problem. However, it isn't us you should thank. You should thank Celine for being the first one to find him and bringing him to us so that we could nurse him back to health. I'll tell her you said thank you tomorrow." Jenna gave him a small pat on the snout then watched as he flew out of Momma's cave.
She watched him fly away until he was out of sight. Buck's paw lightly rested on her stomach, startling the female from her daze. "Well, Chloe and I found Rosy and Roxanne. They introduced me to their friends, and then the girls and I just took a while to chat. After a nearly several minutes, I sadly had ta' tell them I had to leave. Rosy didn't want me ta', but I told her she and Roxanne would see us again. I kept out the fact that you were preggers and told them you had a surprise awaiting them when they came back as a cover." Buck explained.
"Aw, sweet Rosalina and Roxanne. I miss the girls so much." Buck and Jenna walked over to where Celine was and just stood there. The girl's forest green eyes were closed as she slept peacefully. Her head was resting on Eggbert's side, using him as a pillow. Buck helped Jenna kneel down due to her growing stomach so that she could kiss Celine goodnight.
"I know you do, Jen. In the meantime, though, we have Celine and our babies to worry about. Besides, the twins know this place at the back of their paws. They'll be all right. Come on, Jennifer, you need some rest." Jenna knew everything he just said was true. She did have other things to worry about other than Rosalina and Roxanne. Sighing, she followed behind Buck until he stopped beside Momma's sleeping form.
Again, he helped her lay down before joining her. They cuddled for a while until Jenna finally fell asleep, her head resting on Buck's chest. As for the male, he stayed up a bit longer. He lightly stroked the back of Jenna's head and kept his left paw on her stomach to feel their kits kicking where his paw was. He smiled.
He was looking forward to the day when their kits would arrive, but he knew he would be the one holding Jenna's paw as she was giving birth. I guess that's what she means when she said she was going to hurt me when the kits were due. Buck chuckled a bit then rested his head against Momma's side to sleep a few minutes later.
Roxanne groaned. She looked around to see everyone was sleeping and the fire was still blazing. Her hazel eyes gazed at Leah and Rico, who were sleeping flush against each other. Chloe and Rosalina were sleeping on both sides of Roxanne with Chloe on her left and Rosalina was on her right. Last, but not least, her gaze regretfully drifted over to where Lars slept.
He was in the same position he was in when she was talking to Chloe. That's when the ferret's words returned to her. If you really do have feelings for Lars, it will be too late to tell him come tomorrow… This sentence tempted her to get up and talk to the male, but she decided against it.
Maybe if I sing something, that'll get my mind off things. So, Roxanne got up, careful not to wake the ferret and her twin sister as she walked over to a tree. She hummed her little tune and sang some of the lyrics softly to herself. It was a lullaby that their –Rosalina and Roxanne's- mother sang to them after Tim was done abusing them almost every night.
"And when you cry, I'll be there baby telling you…you were never nothing less than beautiful. So don't you worry. I'm your angel standing…by." Roxanne sighed contently once she finished her mother's soothing song until she heard shuffling coming from behind her. Startled, she instinctively turned around.
"That was pretty. I didn't know you sing." Lars complimented as he yawned and wiped the sleep out of his eyes.
Roxanne felt herself flush. She never heard that coming from another male besides Buck. Laughing nervously, Roxanne replied bashfully, "Oh, thank you. It was a song our mom used to sing to me and Rosalina before she died. It's no big deal, really. Still, thanks for the comment." She averted her gaze slightly. How could he make her act so shy around him easily? Was he trying to make her a softie? Her inner thoughts were soon interrupted by Lars.
"I bet your mom was an amazing woman." He was standing up now and was making his way to Roxanne.
What is he going to do? He better not make a wrong move, or he'll end up with a sore crotch and scratches! She gasped when she felt his arms around her and placed his head on her shoulder like he did after they got to the other side of the canyon. Forcing air into her lungs, Roxanne sighed, "She was. Everyone loved her. When they found out about her death, her friends grieved for days, which soon turned to weeks. Rosalina and I were the ones grieving the most. After her death, Rosalina was abused, cussed at, and accused for her death by Tim. As for me, he raped me every time he felt lonely. If I didn't come up with that plan to run away with Rosalina, we'd still be living a hellish nightmare."
Lars felt his ears go back in sympathy. His grip around her waist tightened a bit when he heard Roxanne's breath catch as she began to cry. He shushed her and held her closer. That's why she didn't like me so much. She was afraid I was going to take advantage of her, wasn't she? I may be good a flirty with the ladies, but I would never have the disgusting urge to rape them.
Roxanne realized she had opened up to Lars, the one who got on her nerves and teased her for his amusement. Now, he knew. Suddenly, she felt something soft touch her shoulder. Roxanne looked to see Lars affectionately kissing her shoulder.
"I would never do anything so vile to you, Roxanne. I'm not that kind of guy you think I am. I may be a lady's man back at home, but you are a different female. You're not like those flirtatious, desperate females up there. You're unique and I care about you, Roxanne." Lars murmured against the hazel-eyed female's shoulder before kissing upwards.
Roxanne gasped. "What the hell are you doing?" She shuddered as his lips went to the curve of her neck. Her body shivered at the touch. Roxanne felt herself slipping into bliss each time Lars's warm lips made contact with her neck. She tried to keep herself from moaning, but she was failing. She knew if she let out a loud moan, she would wake some of the sleeping mammals around her.
With a shaky breath, she whispered, "We shouldn't be doing this. The others are trying to sleep, and if we wake them up, I'm holding you responsible." Roxanne was satisfied that Lars stopped his actions once he heard her speak. She heard his sigh of disappointment and felt the same. To make it up to him, she did something she never thought she would do. She pulled Lars into a brief kiss in which he returned happily.
"We are going to keep this conversation a secret, aren't we?" Lars asked after they pulled away.
"Yeah, we are. Let's get some sleep now." Roxanne returned to her spot between Chloe and Rosalina with a smile plastered on her face. She could sleep peacefully, knowing that she could trust Lars completely now. I knew you could do it, Roxanne. Her conscience spoke to her only to make Roxanne's grin widen more as she slept.
Rosalina felt herself grinning from ear to ear. She had heard and seen everything that went on between her sister and Lars. A smirk came to her lips. That's what you get for eavesdropping on me and Jason, sis. Now, I know your secret. This should be fun. Rosalina chuckled quietly at this.
Her cerulean blue eyes landed on Jason, who was snoring softly. Roxanne's lucky she doesn't have to go behind a mate-to-be's back to be with Lars. Why am I even worrying about this? Maryanne could give rat's backside about Jason. If that's so, then it should be safe for me to have a romantic relationship with Jason. Right?
Me: I probably should have warned you about the sexy scene between Roxanne and Lars. I feel as if it was rushed. CRAP!
Rosalina: Calm down, Halo! Calm down.
Me: I can't! I feel like crap. I rush romance too much! Crap, crap, crap, cr...
*please stand by beep*
Rosalina: Okay, we calmed her down.
Me: *eating Oreos like a mouse*
Roxanne: *chuckles and shakes her head* Yeah, she loves her Oreos.
Jenna: Well, we hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, Halo will try to update when she can! Bye!
Sweethalo90 :D