My Fiction. My Blog. My Life:After braving the vast world of the internet with fanfictions, I've decided to expand my portfolio with short stories, blog posts, and snippets of my novel.
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Chapter 3They had spent the next few nights in exactly the same manner. Gar always showed up just as she was heading to bed. And each night she laid on his side and he shifted his fur into something different. Raven rolled onto her other side, facing away from him. He was actually still asleep. Probably getting so use to having her sleep through the night that he no longer woke with each tiny movement she made. His cheerful demeanor that he lacked the first night was back. And she couldn’t help but soak it up. It was actually a wonderful way to wake up. She scanned the panthers hide and thought back to the night before. Their night had ended a bit differently. The night before, when he shifted his fur she guessed right away. Instead of quietly pondering it till she fell asleep. He was shocked she knew the rabbit fur so quickly. But Azarath actually had a population of wild rabbits that allowed you to pet them. So more like free range pets. She could feel the happiness emitting off him as she told her story of petting the rabbits when she was supposed to be meditating. It had become sort of her own form of meditation. Till someone found out and got worried she was feeling too many emotions and forbid it. Raven had smiled when she felt his happiness shift to sorrow. He truly did feel sorry she had been raised in such a manner, they had spoken of it before. But it was needed. He was actually the one who helped her start to express herself more. Though she hadn’t told him.
He had kept the rabbit fur for a while, letting her explore his side and her memories. Then she had asked him for a new one. And for another hour he went through several more animals and she would guess. It was also the first night he spoke. He gave her hints to make it more interesting. Though the hints didn’t always help, since she didn’t actually know platypuses had barbs under their feet. But it spun off and lead to more interesting animal facts. She liked learning new things, and hadn’t realized how vast his knowledge of the animal kingdom had become. The panther stretched out his paws and let out a big yawn, causing her to roll back over. His nails dug into the bed, his shoulders rose, and his ears pinned back as he started stretching out. He quickly retracted them and looked wide eyed at her. “Sorry.” He quickly said. She smiled. “Trust me. I’ve put this bed through far worse.” He let out a laugh and she felt her whole body light up. “I mean, when I was younger. Well… with my powers, when I wasn’t that good. I…” She huffed out exasperated. She had actually done some pretty rough stuff in her bed with a variety of people, but didn’t want him to know that. And thinking about it only made her blush worse. “Heh, I gotcha Rae.” She looked away hoping to change the subject, but he beat her to it. “Happy Birthday.” Her eyes flicked back to him. “Thanks.” He jumped off the bed before shifting to his human state as he always did. Grinning, he looked down at her. “What do you want to do today?” He raised his arms in the air. “We can do anything! I already made sure we had the day off. The day is yours!” She smiled but shook her head. “You know I don’t celebrate my birthday. I mean, celebrate what? The day I almost ended the world?” He sat down on the bed and reached out to grab her hand. “And you know I think of it as the day you saved the world.” He said sweetly. “Yeah, well, maybe I’m just not the sentimental type.” She retorted. Smirking, he lifted his hand off hers and raised it. An anxious knot, she normally didn’t feel around him, swelled as he brought it to her face. Then skimming by, he reached for the wall behind her. He had to lean pretty far forward to reach it and his face was only a few inches away. His eyes shifted to the item in his fingers. Following his gaze, she looked and instantly felt her blush return. Years ago she had punched a hole in the penny he had given her the night of her father’s arrival. It was now attached to the dream catcher above her bed, to continue to serve as good luck. “I think you’re pretty sentimental after all.” He murmured, casting his eyes back to look into hers. He sat back as she tried to stammer out an explanation. The fact that she had gone back to find it was embarrassing enough. “I’m touched Rae.” He cut her off. “But it also means we should do something for your birthday. Replace the bad stuff with the good, like pennies. Except… it’s about time you got more than just a penny.” Normally she just slept all day on her birthday and they had a casual cake after dinner. But she didn’t need to fall into a coma to recover this year. “What do you have in mind?” She asked, hoping he had something up his sleeve. She hadn’t even thought of what she would do before. “Well…” He paused then let loose with a series of events. “We could have a picnic for brunch out on the small island you like. Sun bathe on the beach. Go to the art museum, that new exhibit just opened yesterday. Go out for dinner. Get tea at your café, it’s open mic night. And…or walk through downtown afterwards.” He stopped with a big breath in. She stared at him, a little at a loss for words. That actually sounded great. A bit fuller than she would have planned, but why not? It was after all only 8 am. They had plenty of time. “Um, sure. That does sound nice.” She studied him for a minute. “You know when open mic night is?” “Yeah, I mean you’ve mentioned it before.” He shrugged like it was no big deal that he had remembered something so small. “Hmm, well let me get ready. Are we coming back here after the beach?” “Yeah, I’ll go pack up the food.” He quickly left to let her get dressed. Or to speed things up before she changed her mind. She wondered if they should invite the others. Even if they had their own plans, it was the thought that counted. But she didn’t want to risk them canceling plans and coming along. She was actually happy to have it just the two of them. They might have spent the past several nights together. But they hadn’t actually hung out during the day a lot. And in the end she was happy she hadn’t invited them. The small island off the tower’s own island wasn’t much bigger than a house. And not even that far from their own home. But the few trees that had grown there with the sweet flowers made it delightful during this time of year. Sadly, she never came out here as much as she should. Gar had made a wonderful brunch and they easily talked about themselves. She had been more willing to ask him personal questions as she realized how open he was to answer them. And bit by bit she started explaining similarities in her own powers as she found them. They ended up in a comfortable silence as they watched the tide come and go. The sun was warm and a nice breeze washed them in the scent of the sea. Gar grinned at something and pointed to the ground several feet away. “There’s a sea turtle nest over there. It might be about another week till they hatch. It’ll be at night, but we can come out and watch it if you want?” Raven smiled. It amazed her how in tuned he was with everything around them. “Yeah, I would like that. I don’t think I’ve seen anything hatch before.” “It’s pretty cool. I’ve come across a few bird nests hatching before.” There was something about his tenderness that always made her smile. “You’ll be able to tell when it’s going to happen? And come get me?” “Yeah, it’s a date.” He said casually. She felt the wave of anxiety flush over him at the accidental word choice. It actually comforted her when he felt as flustered or silly as she did sometimes. He was so self-assured, being the handsome, tall, broad shouldered, six-pack carrying, smooth talking, jokester that he was. And knowing that deep down he got just as nervous as any normal self-conscious person, made her feel just a bit better. “Yeah,” she replied just as casually, and felt the anxiety wash away. The rest of the night was just as relaxing and enjoyable. He didn’t bring up her birthday much, or talk about that fated day. But he did surprise her with the cheesy birthday cake after dinner. Along with the poor restaurant staff having to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. He was a bit nervous when they approached the table, afraid she would hate the attention. “Sorry, you’re going to have to go through your birthday like every other human on earth.” He winked as they came up. And she actually found herself laughing. If anyone knew how to be a normal human, it certainly wasn’t the two of them. Even the poetry was enjoyable. His emotions changed with the mood of the speaker and she appreciated that he was a bit empathetic in his own right. A poem about going through foster care hit him particularly hard and she suggested they start their walk early. They spent the rest of the night talking about the art museum, the vegan restaurant she offered to try, and even why the last poem had affected him so hard. Of course, she had waited for him to volunteer the information, but was glad he felt so open with her. Being the perfect gentleman that night, he walked her to her room. “Well, good night Rae. Are you sure you’ll be ok?” He asked “Yes, I think it’s done with for this year. I never have bad dreams the night of my birthday. But thank you for the offer.” She smiled, but suddenly felt kind of awkward lingering in her doorway. It seemed a bit cliché for something else. He hesitated. “Alright, if you say so. But I’m not that far away. You come get me if anything, I mean anything seems off. Don’t be bashful if you think I’m asleep, I’ll wake up.” “Of course.” He nodded, then with nothing else to say turned to leave. “Gar,” she called. He turned back. “Thank you…for,” she shrugged, “everything really.” “Anytime Rae. I’m just happy I could help. And I um...” He leaned against the wall. “I had a really nice night. We should make a point to hang out more.” A swarm of butterflies lit up her stomach. “Yeah, yeah I would like that.” “Night, Rae.” “Good night, Gar.” She stepped into the room as he turned away.
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AuthorI am split between a world of fantasies and science. {Blog}
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