((Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Thought I'd update you with a very appropriate chapter for this day of love before I left to take my wife to the ballet and shower her with gifts. She wrote me poems, which are WAY better than Sorey's, LOL! Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I LOVE that Zaveid now knows about our two love birds.))

Chapter 8

The Wind Knows

It only took a few hundred yards into the sands to realize it was already getting hot, despite the fact that it was still morning. That was the thing about deserts, Sorey supposed. The sands reflected the temperatures incredibly easily. During the night, some deserts could get freezing cold, even if during the day they were blistering hot. He'd be alright, though. He'd had a full night's sleep. Now, his main concern was making sure Mikleo made it safely to the ruins. Fortunately, their destination wasn't too far off.

And Mikleo had learned his lesson well the day before. Despite his usual 'buttoned-up' attitude, as he was accused of having, he knew he couldn't have another spell. He didn't want to burden or worry Sorey. And so, personal comfort set aside, he knew he needed to adapt to his environment or risk making the same mistake again. And so, perhaps to everyone in the party's surprise, as soon as he started to feel hot, he reached up and completely unzipped his cloak, revealing his black undershirt beneath. He left the cloak on however, wanting to protect his white skin from the damaging sun. But with the front wide open, he was already far cooler.

"Whoa!" Zaveid cried. "Mikleo's letting his hair down for once! Loosening the noose Mikky boy?"

"Shut up," he said nonchalantly. "I'm just doing what I have to in this environment. You should do the same. With no shirt on, you're going to get sun burned, even if you do have dark skin."

Sorey was extremely happy that Mikleo had unzipped his shirt. This way, he was less likely to overheat.

...That and he liked looking at his collarbone for some reason. But besides that, it also meant that Mikleo was purposefully doing something to ensure that what happened the day before didn't happen again. Was it...vain that Sorey hoped part of the reason for the seraph's actions were also to ensure he didn't worry Sorey?

"I actually think Edna has the right idea," Sorey said. "Her umbrella is both a weapon, and a useful tool to keep the sun off of her fair skin," Sorey piped, still getting accustomed to the way his feet sometimes sank in the sand as they trudged forward underneath the ever-rising sun. "It's a wise choice," the shepherd praised.

Edna walked with just a tad more spring in her step after the compliments, and she held her chin just a little higher.

"Yes, it is a wise choice," she repeated. "Maybe we should get lady Meebo an umbrella for his fair skin too. Maybe a blue one with lace."

"Ugh…" Mikleo grumbled. "This is gunna be one of those trips where everyone has to take a shot at me, isn't it?"

"Nonsense. We're all just worried about your delicate complexion," Edna teased.

"Yup. One of those trips," Mikleo grumbled again.

But despite his worries, Edna didn't say anything more and everyone fell into a peaceful quiet. And luckily, as the map had shown, the ruins weren't all that far away. It had only taken them a couple of hours to arrive. And luckily for everyone, they'd only run into a few, smaller hellions that had been easy to purify. And so, shadows falling over the party, they all walked up to one of the huge, red, rock walls. In the side of the cliff face, was a cave opening, and it was clear by the remnants of what used to be pillars, that it was indeed a ruin.

Immediately, both Sorey and Mikleo's faces lit up as excitement overtook them. Mikleo was the first to run toward one of the more visible pillars that jutted out of the rock wall.

"Look at this Sorey!" he cried, his violet eyes aglow. "The carvings and intricate patterns at the top of this one makes it obvious this is a corinthian column! If that's true, than these ruins are even older than we were led to believe by that passage in the Celestial Record!"

Sorey's eyes glistened with excitement, and despite the heat, he found himself dashing over towards the pillars that Mikleo was examining.

Putting a hand up to his chin, Sorey looked upwards towards the frieze of the column, noting its intricate details and inscriptions.

"You know I think you're right! I can't make out all of it, but the script looks ancient. You can tell the way the glyphs aren't as stylized like they are in the Celestial Records. It's definitely older than what we expected..." he said, wishing he had the ability to climb all the way to the tops of the columns so he could inspect them more. He whistled appreciatively, loving the way the sound echoed off of some of the cave walls nearby.

That's all it took for him to get even more excited.

"Alright!" the shepherd exclaimed. "Let's go exploring!" And he didn't even bother to wait for his faithful troupe. He knew they'd follow along, if only to make sure their shepherd didn't get himself lost or killed.

"Yes!" And Mikleo was right at Sorey's side, his eyes equally aglow. The two stepped in through the cave entrance together, both of them hurrying and moving quickly, but all the same, no one else in the party had trouble keeping up, for their hurried feet only took them a short ways before they stopped to inspect something.

"Sorey, look at the stalactites; there's carvings on them! And they have to be ancient because they've continued to form over the writings! It takes water hundreds of years to make this kind of growth in the limestone."

Mikleo strained to see the writings that were hanging way up above them on the cave ceiling, but it was too far away.

"Fascinating. I wonder how they got up there to write. Oh! We should look for some stalagmites instead! Maybe they wrote on those too!"

They moved deeper into the cave. The darkness started to overtake them and the blinding desert sun at their backs began to fade. But darkness had never been a problem for the exploring pair, for one of the first spells Mikleo had ever learned was how to produce light, and it'd been for exactly situations such as this.

Waving a hand, he produced a small, blue, glowing orb in his palm. It was just a basic concentration of his seraphic magic, and any seraph could have done it. Lailah, following suit, produced a small flame in her open palm, casting firelight off the cave walls alongside Mikleo's blue.

At the moment, the cavern was fairly small and there weren't many ruins or artifacts to explore. But it hardly mattered; Sorey and Mikleo were so excited the air was almost buzzing around them.

"There's one!" And Mikleo, in his excitement, and feeling like they were back in the privacy of Elysia due to their ruin exploring, reached out a hand and quickly wrapped it around Sorey's upper arm. Pulling him in close, he gripped him, then started to run over to the stalagmite he'd spotted. But once they reached it, disappointment took over.

"Aww…no carvings."

But almost as soon as his disappointment started to show, a sudden 'whoosh' was heard, startling both boys.

"Whoa!" And then following the sudden noise was a rush of cool, crisp air from behind the stalagmite. Blinking, Mikleo released Sorey's arm, then looked down and started to move around to the back of it. There he found a small hole in the rock ground.

"This seems to be acting as a sort of vent," he observed. He walked over to it, positioning himself above it and just to its side. He patiently waited. Then, as he'd hoped, another gust of cool air was blasted out and upward. The wind lasted several seconds, and it was cool and refreshing, especially after being in the desert. Mikleo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the wind rush through his open cloak and white locks of hair.

"God that feels good," he commented. And it was clear he was much more at home in a cool crisp cave than out in the hot desert sun. Much more in his own element, he seemed to be perking up very quickly. It wasn't just the ruins, but the environment they were in. The wind still rushing over and through him, ruffling the blue tendrils on his cloak, he glanced over his shoulder, smiling Sorey's way.

"You've got to come try this Sorey," he said, seemingly completely unaware of how luminescent he looked in that moment.

But Sorey could barely move. The sight of Mikleo, with the wind blowing through his hair and softly smiling at him, was simply too much. It didn't help that the seraph's light magic was casting beautifully ethereal glows on his locks and on his ever-smooth skin. And so, for a moment, all Sorey could do was stare.

After a couple of seconds, however, Sorey realized that the other youth was waiting for his response. "Uh, oh, yeah!" he stuttered, trying to get a hold of himself. The shepherd took a couple of seconds to mentally shake himself awake. In that short time span, he'd plodded his way over towards Mikleo. Standing across from him he waited for another rush of air, so he too could experience the magic of the place.

It only took a few seconds before there was another gust of wind and he felt his own chocolate brown locks blown up by the sudden rush, his cloak billowing out behind him as the air moved about his form. Sorey let himself close his eyes and decided to mimic the way Mikleo had inhaled the scent of the air, liking the fresh, earthy smell that emanated from somewhere below.

"This does feel amazing... I wonder where the wind's coming from," he asked nonchalantly, just relishing the moment, completely oblivious to how ridiculous he might truly look. He might not have been a water seraph, but he was human, and so the cool air and the shelter from the sun was a relief to him too, nearly just as much for him as for Mikleo. He liked the feeling of the cool air against his sweaty skin; it felt nearly as good as the scents carried by the wind to his sensitive nose.

For just a second, Mikleo stared at Sorey much in the same way Sorey had just been staring at him. Sorey may not have been a seraph, but that had never mattered. He was just as, if not more handsome, because he was human, because he was who he was, because he was Sorey. And his brunette hair getting all caught up in the wind, and seeing his orange feather earrings flying about his ears and his cloak billowing around him was just as thrilling as feeling the wind himself. And when he closed his eyes, truly feeling it inside of himself, it was the first time Mikleo ever thought that he might have the courage to lean in and kiss him.

But just as he thought it, the wind stopped, and the pair's hair and clothes fell back to their stationary positions around them, and it was almost like a spell had been broken. Suddenly, Mikleo was aware of the other three people in their party, standing just at their side, staring at them as if they were in some sort of performance piece.

Mikleo fought a blush. Careful to hold his light away from his face, he hoped no one saw as he quickly spoke to answer Sorey's question and hopefully distract the other's from what he'd just been thinking.

"I can't say where it's coming from exactly," he said. "But the scent of water in it is strong. I can feel it moving throughout the ruins. There's water everywhere, even though we're in the desert. Perhaps we've stumbled across an underground aquifer. It's probably how the residents who once lived here were able to build a life in these caves."

But no one was listening to Mikleo's explanation. At least no one but Sorey. For the other three were too busy, staring. A worried look started to cross over Mikleo's face, but that was only until Zaveid took an ever so slight step forward. And when he did, Mikleo looked to his face, and for once found him appearing rather stoic.

"I finally understand now," the wind seraph said calmly. "The wind just told me."

And Mikleo couldn't help it, for some reason, he became suddenly afraid. His face changing to incorporate that fear, he took an ever so slight step backward to mirror the way Zaveid had moved.

Sorey cocked his head, not sure what the wind seraph meant.

"The wind told you? Told you what?" And it was obvious to all other four party members that Sorey had absolutely no idea what had just transpired, and he was none the wiser as to what Zaveid was talking about.

"And can you really talk to the wind?" Now the shepherd had on his 'thinking face', with his hand up to his chin, studying the wind seraph with some scrutiny.

As clueless as he may be towards the subtleties of the conversation, Sorey was still vaguely aware that Mikleo had taken a step back. He wondered why, but most of his curiosity was now reserved towards Zaveid.

Zaveid broke out into a huge, sweeping grin of amusement as Edna literally facepalmed.

"Oh my God…" she groaned.

"Well well well!" Zaveid crooned. "I see you've got your work cut out for you Mikky! And I finally understand why you've been extra mopey lately. I'm guessing this is the reason for all those dreams and nightmares you've been having too, hm? And why you've been all distracted?"

And Mikleo's fear quickly escalated into full blown panic. His violet eyes became as huge as saucers as they darted fearfully from Sorey, back to Zaveid. Then he immediately lifted his hands and started waving them in dismissal as if trying to put out a fire.

"Will you shut up!" he hissed. "What the hell's the matter with you?!"

"Ah! Freaking out? No need for that! Zaveid is here to help! Now that I'm on the same page as everyone else, I can assist! I'm on your side Mikleo! Here, watch!" Zaveid turned to Sorey, and with a firm, proud smirk in place he said, "Yes, Sorey, I can talk to the wind, in a sense. And you might be surprised to know that the wind carries a lot more than just scents and seeds. It also carries people's true feelings, you know, the secrets they keep in their hearts. And I just got a pretty good look at you and Mikky just now! And let me tell you, I like what I sa-!"

A blast of water seemed to appear from out of nowhere, and it came so fast and there was so much of it that Zaveid was drenched with one good, hard, splash. It had almost been a little too violent considering it was being used as a tool to shut him up, and it had knocked Zaveid's hat clear off his head. The wind seraph came out sputtering, his white hair hanging like a mop over his face.

"God that's cold!" he cried. But Mikleo didn't look apologetic at all. In fact, he was trembling with rage, the whites of his eyes showing as he held his staff from his most recent attack.

"This is why I didn't want you to know! You can't leave well enough alone! You're a gossip and a socialite! And I won't let you…won't let you turn this into that! It's too important! This is something I have to do! Don't you dare take this away from me!"

But Sorey honestly had absolutely no idea what was happening. He'd figured out it had something to do with Mikleo, but that was about it.

He jumped back in surprise when Zaveid was suddenly doused with water, letting out a startled cry, as he looked back and forth between the enraged Mikleo and the now completely drenched wind seraph.

"H-Hey!" Sorey tried, holding up his hands in a placating matter. "I'm...not really sure what's going on, but we should probably all calm down," he said in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

And truthfully, he wasn't exactly sure what all the fuss was about. What secrets in their hearts was Zaveid talking about? Sorey didn't feel like he had any secrets. Did...Mikleo?

Suddenly he wasn't so sure. Zaveid had mentioned that he knew the reason behind Mikleo's nightmares and dreams. Did that mean he knew what was bothering Mikleo? And Mikleo didn't want Zaveid to tell him...

Sorey swallowed hard, his brown eyebrows scrunching up as he kept his distance from the air vent, clearly confused and also concerned.

"Okay, well...whatever's going on, let's...try to move on?" he offered, really not wanting to see a fight between Mikleo and Zaveid.

And Mikleo, knowing Sorey better than he even knew himself, immediately faced his childhood friend, hurt written all over his face because he knew very well that Sorey now thought he was keeping secrets from him. Sorey didn't yet understand what they were talking about because he was so cute and innocent and naïve, but he understood enough from what Zaveid had said that Mikleo was keeping something from him. And that, Mikleo knew, would hurt him. And the idea of Sorey ever being hurt by anything he could or would do was nearly devastating.

"I'll tell you!" Mikleo cried, urgently, firmly and with a resolve he himself hadn't expected. "I've been trying too, all this time! But things keep getting in the way! Please…I haven't meant to keep anything from you! I haven't! We've always told each other everything. There're no secrets between us! I want to say…I want to say something. But it's important, so I've been waiting for the right time. It's too important to just blurt out. So please…wait a little longer? I promise Sorey. Please…try to understand?"

There was a second of silence as everyone took in Mikleo's heartfelt words. But then, promptly, it was Edna who lifted her umbrella and cracked it down on top of Zaveid's head. Hard.

"OW!" he howled, as he lifted both hands to his soaking wet hair.

"See what you did to poor Meebo? I hope you at least feel a little shame."

Lailah, who seemed to be the only reasonable one at the moment, quickly turned around and headed toward the cave wall on the other side, a good few yards away.

"Oh look! There's one of those cave formations Mikleo was talking about earlier! Let's go look at it for a second!"

Then, reaching out her hands, she grabbed onto both Zaveid and Edna's wrists and began to force them to come with her. It was a nice gesture and would give Sorey and Mikleo at least a minute or two to whisper back and forth, but it certainly wasn't going to be good enough for a confession. But at the very least, she could allow them time to settle what had just come up.

Relief that the shepherd hadn't known he'd needed to feel, flooded through Sorey the instant Mikleo told him he wasn't keeping any secrets. And that he wanted to tell him, very badly, what was going on with him. He just hadn't had a good chance to. Everything in the seraph's explanation was sincere, and Sorey would never, ever doubt Mikleo's honesty, not even for a second. And so, that was enough for him.

He waited until Lailah had escorted Zaveid and Edna away to go look at the cave formations on the other side of the cavern. Then, the young shepherd was able to reply in earnest, without fear of someone watching their every gesture and hanging onto their every word.

"It's okay. I understand. Well..." And he did one of his classic moves, scratching his head while looking a little embarrassed, as he expounded on his explanation. "I don't understand what exactly just happened, but I get it. You want to tell me, but it has to be right. And it has to be on your time. I get that, Mikleo. And I trust you. If you're waiting for a good time, then I'll wait until you're ready. So...no worries, okay?" And he playfully jostled the seraph on the upper arm, nudging it with his own, in a gesture of affection.

Mikleo immediately and instantly calmed. Sorey was so easy and simple. And although it was this exact quality that had nearly driven him crazy the other day in the tent, it was also this quality that often times put him at peace, as it was now. Sorey loved him and trusted him. They both knew that. And so, an explanation like this one, despite its vagueness, was enough for the shepherd. As long as he still knew their relationship was solid; that was all he needed.

Mikleo let off a scoff, a small smile coming over his lips as his entire demeanor loosened back up.

"You're so blasé," he said, reaching out to shove Sorey back in an easy-going fashion. "I swear, sometimes I'm afraid your simplemindedness is going to rub off on me."

"Hey!" Sorey objected, but Mikleo responded by shoving him playfully a second time. But before Sorey could retaliate with more shoves of his own, Mikleo held up a hand to stop their play and to quiet him for just a moment more.

"It sure is nice though…" he said, a little more quietly than his previous words, just to ensure the others didn't hear. "I can build up worries upon worries, and then you just dash them all with a single word." Lifting his amethyst eyes, he locked them onto Sorey's emerald green. "You put me at ease, Sorey."

Sorey was warmed from head to foot from the seraph's gentle words. Mikleo could be so sweet when he wanted to be. The shepherd felt a sudden rush of affection flood up from within his chest, overcoming him as swiftly as the air current that had swept past him mere moments before, and Sorey found himself blushing from the compliment. He tried his best to adjust to the pressure he felt in his chest as he stood there with the seraph.

"I'm glad I do," he said softly, matching Mikleo's volume. "You do the same for me, you know." And his green eyes were full of warmth for his most cherished person. "And even when I don't understand or catch something...you always do. You get it," he complimented. "We complement each other," he stated, already knowing that Mikleo knew that, too, but incapable of not reiterating that simple truth.

Mikleo saw the softness in Sorey's face and he saw the color in his cheeks. His leaf green eyes had a quality about them that he just loved. And if the others hadn't been so nearby, Mikleo knew he would have confessed right then and there. But as it was, he knew it was once again not the right time. He wanted to be alone with Sorey when that happened. But that was proving to be vastly more difficult than he ever imagined.

"Sorey," he said quietly, taking a single step forward. They were both already so close. "You already know what I'm going to say to you. And I already know how you'll answer. But all the same, I can't wait to tell you." And he couldn't help himself then, a bright smile shimmered over his face and his cheeks grew ever so slightly rosy to match Sorey's.

Sorey felt his heart give off a funny lurch when Mikleo smiled. At that moment, the seraph was stunningly beautiful, and the shepherd found himself reacting to it. A hot blush covered his face, all the way up to the tips of his ears, and he had to look away again.

He cleared his throat for a second, trying to regain his sense of composure so he could answer properly.

"Then...I look forward to it," he said with his own smile, still not one hundred percent sure what Mikleo was talking about...although a part of him wondered, if.

Whatever it was, it was a good thing. And Mikleo was looking forward to it. And that's all that really mattered. That and his smile right at that moment.

Mikleo chuckled, unable to help himself for Sorey was so adorable. And finding it was just impossible to stay away from him in this exact moment in time, he couldn't help it as he reached out both hands and grabbed at his sides in order to tickle him. Sorey let out a shriek, and it was so unmanly and so shrill, as it was every time they had a tickle fight, that Mikleo couldn't help the laugh that burst from his mouth.

"Why you-!"

"Get your revenge if you can!"

And then of course, Sorey retaliated, throwing his hands forward in order to try and tickle Mikleo in return. Mikleo laughed out loud, not so much because Sorey was any good at tickling, but more for the fact that it was just so much fun. He'd always loved these types of games perhaps more than anything else they did together. Dare he think it…even more than exploring ruins.

It had always been a safe way to flirt growing up. Playing games like this had always been acceptable by the adults around them. After all…they were kids and they were boys. And so a game of chase, or tag, or wrestling, or a tickle fight, were all parts of growing up. And when they were young, it was all they knew how to do. It was only recently that Mikleo even became aware that they could do more. And he hadn't wanted more until the realization had come upon him. But for now at least, it felt so good to just be themselves and be carefree the way they always had been. They could figure the rest out later and together, the way they did everything together.

Across the cave, three other seraphs, one still soaking wet, watched the exchange. They'd been trying not to eaves drop and had been trying to give the two space, but it was hard to ignore, even from such a distance, when boyish shrieks of laughter filled the hollow chamber, echoing all around them as their voices bounced off the walls. And of course, when the two lovebirds started playing so physically, it was just impossible not to look over.

Zaveid gaped, "How the fuck didn't I know about this before?" he questioned.

Lailah giggled, "I think they were holding back a little. At least I know Mikleo has been. You and Edna weren't with us before, but they were like this at the start of our journey together. When I first joined the group and it was just the three of us, this is the way they were."

Edna scoffed, "Gross…"

But Zaveid had a much different opinion, "Why would they hold back? Because of me? Why wouldn't they trust me?"

"No…I don't think it was because of you Zaveid. They started pulling back when Edna joined." And no one said it out loud, but it was fairly obvious to as why this might have happened. Edna's one word comment about them just a second ago had made it clear enough. Both Lailah and Zaveid turned and glanced at her. Casually and slowly, she twirled her umbrella.

"What?" she grumbled. "It's nothing against them personally, I just think all romance is gross."

And that, Lailah actually believed. Edna simply wasn't the type to like anything mushy or affectionate, and she had a generally overall negative nature about her.

"Even so," Lailah said, "Their relationship's at a crucial turning point and it needs to be treated delicately. I think the mere awareness of a negative attitude in our party was enough to make Mikleo, a water seraph, even more cautious than before."

"Ugh…those water seraphim…" Zaveid groaned as a water droplet dripped from the tip of his nose. "They take everything so slowly and they're overcautious about everything! How long has this been going on! It's almost painful to watch. They should just get it over with quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid."

"Zaveid, you can't rush things like this. I know as a wind seraph you like to just blow on through things, but that's not the way Mikleo wants it. He made that very clear a moment ago."

Edna let out another 'phht' as she choked on a laugh.

"I'll say," she sneered. "He knocked you off of your high horse faster than you could climb up onto it!"

"Edna! That was a wonderful simile! I'm so proud of you!" Edna rolled her eyes. "Anyway," Lailah started again. "I promised Mikleo we would help them out by finding a way to give them some alone time together so he can tell Sorey how he truly feels. If the opportunity ever arises, we should take it."

Zaveid nodded in agreement.

"I'm all for helping out love, no matter what form it takes. After all, I am an expert on love! You can call me a love master!"

Both Lailah and Edna rolled their eyes at that one.

"Ok 'love master,'" Edna dripped. "Let's head on back over there and break up this tickle fest or we'll be stuck in this cave forever. As a love master, you'd know how to do that, right?"

Zaveid nodded, a confident grin overtaking his face.

"Of course I do. Watch and learn little Edna." Still dripping wet, he first took the time to call up some wind. He blasted himself dry again in a few seconds flat. Then, raising a hand over his head, he called out to the two as he started to jog back over to them.

"Hey you guys, let's keep exploring! You wanted to see more of the ruins, right?"

Sorey had just managed a good poke on Mikleo's belted sides when Zaveid interrupted their tickle fight. And the shepherd's reaction was nothing but pure and simple joy.

"The ruins!" he exclaimed, turning towards his love interest, green eyes wide and sparkling.

"That's right! We have to keep going," he said with a grin. So much weight had just been taken off of him with just the few short moments he'd had with Mikleo to play. And now...he got to do something else he loved: explore a new place with his most special person. The day was shaping up to be great.

"Let's go Mikleo!" With that, Sorey was excitedly off, looking at anything and everything around the cave. He knew Mikleo and the others were right there with him.