Getting Out of the Cave

The quiet atmosphere that was only broken by the sounds of insects, birds, dripping water, Elmo's breathing, and other ambient sounds was rather peaceful for Jonas. He felt like he wouldn't mind spending a day like this, but he had to acknowledge doing that would come with its own price. Such as what they would need to do for food.

Even though Elmo was sleeping next to him, Jonas didn't let that put him at ease that their only problem was getting out of this cave. That wasn't the way the world worked. Even though he wasn't native to this world, he was confident that rule was still the same in this one. That what you wanted didn't just come to you simply because you wanted it. You had to work for it as well.

Suddenly Elmo slid so he was leaning against Jonas, Jonas couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle. Looking at Elmo's sleeping face, Jonas couldn't say why, but he recalled the time Elmo kissed him. While Jonas had put that out of his mind for so long that he was surprised he even still remembered it, he couldn't help but feel drawn to Elmo's lips again.

He'd never felt like this with anyone, so he couldn't help but feel rather uncomfortable. Yet at the same time, since he'd worked with Elmo so much, he didn't feel the need to try and make him leave. He had a feeling Elmo was already half way to that point, but for other reasons.

The primary reason why he'd do that was because he'd never been able to sort out his own feelings before. He wasn't sure why, but he always felt an immense fear that seemed to have been bottled up and each time he tried pushing himself to even express interest in someone else. Nor did he know where that fear came from.

However at this moment, maybe it was because Elmo looked like he was asleep or it was because they'd already had many shared experiences together, but now he felt like he could at least enjoy being around someone that he did like. Even if only for a short while.

Suddenly Jonas realized his eyesight was back to normal. He wasn't sure if it would go away if he tried using his shadow sight right then, but he was more interested in memorizing the details on Elmo's face. Such as the worry lines that showed how stressed he was, even while asleep. A moment later he realized that Elmo had an eyebrow hair that wasn't going with the rest of the hairs, but was going upward, like it didn't care to be part of the group.

Jonas wanted to push it back with the others, bus he not only didn't want to wake Elmo up if he didn't have to, but then there was also the point that if he did that, he could very well be changing something about Elmo. Something that he thought would be best left alone. After all, Elmo was unique in his own way, and this just made him a little more unique. Though, if Elmo wanted that hair to start behaving, that was his prerogative, but Jonas didn't see that he would have the right to push that issue himself.

Sighing, Jonas closed his eyes and leaned against the stone wall of the cave. He hoped that things would work out well enough that they could find a quick exit, however, even if that happened, that didn't really guarantee they'd be able to get something to eat.

While Kim was certainly looking for them, and by extension Elin, there wasn't any way for either group to know where there others were. Or if they cross paths at some point during two different times. Which meant they couldn't rely on that happening shortly after they got out of these caves.

Jonas felt like he was just sitting there and hadn't fallen asleep when suddenly he heard a loud boom. Startled, he looked up and saw that the sky through the opening in the cave was completely darkened over. Rain was pouring down, with an occasional flash of light that Jonas was confident was lighting.

Despite having been at the edge of the chamber, he and Elmo were nearly drenched. Elmo looked like he was waking up at the same time as Jonas, so he knew Elmo didn't know more than he did about what was exactly going on.

"What's that?" Elmo cried as he woke up, making Jonas wonder if he had been having a dream that got mixed with what was happening around them for a moment.

"Just thunder," Jonas answered, not sure if he shouldn't have just stayed silent. At the very least, he could see as clearly as he had before he'd apparently 'overextended' his shadow sight, but he had a feeling he'd need to avoid using it right now. Just in case it threw him back into whatever condition he'd been in when Elmo had first brought him to this chamber.

However, regardless of what he felt he should or shouldn't do, they were still getting hit by the rain, so they needed to move or they'd likely freeze if nothing else. Which also meant that it was time to move. That he didn't have the luxury of remaining where he was out of fear that there might be something else that would manifest itself if he moved.

Standing on legs that felt uncertain until he started to put his weight on them, he then helped Elmo to stand. Listening to their surroundings as he closed his eyes, he could hear rain through one of the passages, not just from the chamber they were in. Jonas wished he could explain how he could differentiate the two, but he was confident that he could. As it meant they'd be able to make their way to an exit to the caves.

Only, they'd still have to wait for the rain to subside, which was anyone's guess as to when that might occur. Since not only couldn't they know when the rain had started, they also couldn't know how long the rain typically lasted in this part of the world. As while it didn't seem like a tropical area, that didn't mean it didn't have long periods of rain at various times of the year.

"Can you see in the dark again?" Elmo asked as Jonas carefully led the way to the rightmost passage.

"Not exactly," Jonas answered, not sure how to explain this in a way that Elmo would be able to understand. Though, he suspected the simpler and fewer details he used, the better. "I just can head some rain in the distance. That's all."

"'In the distance?' Are you kidding me?" Elmo cried, sounding more incredulous than Jonas had expected. "There's rain right here!"

Jonas sighed. Maybe he should have used a little more detail in his explanation. "I know there's rain right here," he said. "But if I can hear it through one of the caves by us, then that means…?" Jonas trailed off, hoping Elmo would take the hint. Though, he wouldn't be surprised if Elmo was still too much asleep to pick up on that. Especially with how he himself still felt rather tired.

Their soaked clothing also didn't help matters, with how cold they were getting from the wet cloth. It was them coming out of the river all over again, just now the water was coming down on them rather than them coming down on the water.

Jonas couldn't help but chuckle to himself over the thought. Elmo was either unable to hear his chuckling, had the downpour drown it out, or both, which suited Jonas just fine. He didn't care to try and explain that thought to him. Besides, Jonas was confident that Elmo was full aware of their need to get out of their wet clothing, as Elmo would be able to feel just as cold as Jonas did right then.

When they reached the passageway, while the rain stopped coming down on them, it felt like they were thrown into a wind tunnel with how much the wind picked up on them. The wind was blowing in the direction they had come from, so it hindered their efforts at going forward. If he hadn't heard the rain on the other side of the cave before, Jonas would have been confident that this was the right passage to take to get out of the caves.

Only, they'd have to wait until the rain to stop before they could exit the tunnel. Not that it was a bad trade off, in Jonas' mind. He just hoped that Elmo would be fine with it.

When they had gone at least twenty feet into the passage, Jonas stopped and started stripping. If Elmo didn't pick up on what he was doing, he was he could at least explain this. After all, Elmo had realized just how dangerous it was for them to have wet clothing on before they were in a wind tunnel. As such, he had no doubts that Elmo would argue about it.

Besides, he had plans for the night otherwise. Even if they slept, he felt he could at least open up just a little without his fear driving him back. What else might occur he wasn't concerned about. All he knew was that tonight would be a chance to explore a possibility that he wasn't sure would be available to him again.

When he finished removing his wet clothing, he laid them against the lift side of the cave, as best he could, since he could exactly hang them up, to dry. He was aware of Elmo doing the same.

When they were finished, Jonas put his arm around Elmo and said, "Looks like we'll need to spend the night like this."

"I won't try anything," Elmo blurted, sounding like he had something in mind to 'try.'

"Why would I think you were going to 'try' anything?" Jonas had an idea of why was going through Elmo's mind, but he felt like teasing him a little.

"Well… uh… the kiss…?" Elmo answered sounding like he wished he could have been anywhere else at that moment.

"Kiss?" Jonas asked, pretending not to know what Elmo was talking about, and feeling like he was having to force himself to become someone else at the same time. "You might have to either remind me or give me a demonstration. I'm not sure I remember."

Jonas couldn't help but wonder where this might lead. Although, he also wondered if this would be only tonight that he'd be able to let himself relax this much. While the fear wasn't bothering him right then, he at least could feel it still bottled up inside.