Whispers in the dark

After several minutes and much more fidgeting that she normally did, Leafy was still wide awake. She usually fell asleep fairly quickly but tonight she was having trouble. She was currently laying with her back facing me, nearly up against me in this small tent. I heard her let out a small sigh. I assumed she was nervous about what we would be facing tomorrow.

"Laurel, do you like me?" Leafy said out of nowhere. This question was definitely not what I was expecting.

"Of course I like you. You are one of my best friends," I replied softly. I shifted a bit closer to her, laying my head on one of my arms and wrapping her in a hug with my free hand. She stiffened for the barest of seconds, then relaxed under my arm. "I would do anything for you."

"That is not what I meant." She was obviously flustered, but after a second she apparently changed the subject. "What do you know about romance?"

It was my turn to blush a little. "To be honest… Nothing. I know how children are made, physically speaking. But... I really do not know what love is or at least what it really feels like."

"You have never felt attracted to anyone?" Her words sounded a bit sad but it was hard to tell since we were trying to be quiet.

"No men I have met have ever been attractive to me. The only two men I have spent any time with have been Gray and Istan. Both of them already have life partners. And Istan is just a no."

Leafia let out a little snort as I continued. "There was the prince I met that was obviously infatuated with me. But I felt nothing in return. I suppose you could consider Rine a male I have spent time with. He is a fairy so I would not have to worry about him dying in a few years, but there are size limitations that would make any physical intimacy challenging..."

The rise and fall of Leafy's breath stopped for a moment. Then she spoke. "Do you think you could ever fall in love with a wo…" She suddenly stopped speaking, coughed once rather loudly, then continued. "...a mortal?" She coughed again several times.

"Are you feeling alright?" I leaned up on my elbow to get a clearer look at her. Leafy seemed to be flushed the color of sunset and she was letting off surprising amounts of heat. The last thing we needed was for her to have a fever on the night before our rescue mission. "Do you need me to make you some of my medicine? It will take care of that cough almost right away."

"I'm fine. I- I just got something caught in my throat for a moment."

"You're sure?"

She blurted in a rush, "Yes, I'm feeling fine! I was just wondering if a basically immortal spirit like you would ever fall in love with someone you know would die before long." With her back pressed against me, I could feel Leafia's heart pounding hard as she asked this question. And her words caught me off guard. As I thought about her question, I let myself settle back down on my arm pillow.

"I really do not know. I have no reason not to, I guess. I might be sad when they die." I tried to think about what it might feel like to lose someone you love to death, but images of Faun and Mist kept surfacing in my thoughts. "Faun being missing has been consuming my mind. And Mist, too. I honestly haven't been able to think of anything else. Romance has never entered my mind before. I don't think even if the right person was placed in front of me I would be able to notice them until this is over."

Leafia turned just a little, leaning back against me as she looked at me as best she could. "So you are putting your life on hold. No time for love until you rescue Faun and Mist?" There was a sad look in her eyes.

I thought for a moment, feeling Leafy's back rise and fall against me. "If I took any time to love now it would only be laced with guilt. Maybe once this is over I can find love."

There was silence for a few minutes. The steady rise and fall of Leafia's breathing was soothing in the darkness. I was starting to think that maybe Leafia had fallen asleep in the middle of our conversation. I was a little disappointed. But she needed to rest and I did not want to disturb her. I snuggled a little closer, finding the most comfortable position, when suddenly, she spoke again. "I guess we need to finish this up then," Leafia said with some mysterious emotion in her voice. Though she must have been happy, because she had a small smile. Yet in the dim light I thought I saw a shimmer on her cheeks. She had such a beautiful heart to be worried for my friends like this. I squeezed a little with the arm hugging her to show I appreciated her kindness. I was a little surprised that she also shifted closer, laying her head on my arm pillow next to me. But I didn't mind, as this put the calming fragrance of her that much nearer.

"Yes we should," I smiled into her back. "Which means you need to get to sleep."

Leafia fell silent again and did not protest as I stroked her hair with my unencumbered hand until she fell asleep. I was glad to be with her. With my powers cut off, I did not notice any cries from Faun or Mist. We were close enough that I should have been easily able to sense their presence. Thinking of all the things we might find tomorrow and why I was not able to feel them from here, there was a gnawing pit of fear in my stomach. But Leafy's presence, feeling the rise and fall of her back against my chest, kept the nightmares away.

It was winter and the nights were long. But time seemed to move much faster here in this tent. Already a faint light was starting to creep over the sky when I felt a faint shift of spiritual energy. I was barely any more perceptive than an elf right now with my powers cut off. But as the only two elves nearby were asleep I had no idea if they could feel it. The shifting spiritual energy continued to come closer to us.

Not wanting to be unprepared I slipped out of the tent, a task made easier by the fact that Lefia had rolled away from me and started snoring about an hour ago. It was not long until I was sure that the energy was coming toward us. Was Maximus trying to get us in the middle of the night? But how did he find us? Leafia had stopped me from using my power last night. He should not have been able to feel me. I was about to wake the others when I recognized the energy. Or energies. Tide and some other water spirit were coming up the river. What on earth… No, this is Tide, not Terra. What in the waters was Tide doing here? She was supposed to be back at the pond because she could not walk here with us.

Knowing my companions still needed more rest, I strode through the copse of trees to meet Tide at the river. I knew there was no way Tide would be this close and not say hello. As the river came into sight I noticed the cold night air causing mist to rise off the flowing water. I could not help thinking of my friend at the sight. Mist loved mornings like these, when the water vapor would rise thickly off the surface of her pond. It was also when her power peaked. She truly had made a wise choice for her name. It meshed nicely with her affinities. I felt a lurch of nervous energy. Just a few more hours and we would be on our way back home. She would be so happy to see her pond.

It did not take long for two figures to stir in the mist, their forms rising out of the water.

"It looks like Terra got word to you," Tide said, standing in the shallows of the river.

"What was Terra supposed to tell me?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"I asked her to have you wait here for me." Tide clearly felt like she was explaining the obvious.

Feeling a little defensive I replied, "She just said I should wait to cross the river till morning because the town is just on the other side. She thought we should be at our full strength… I see." I guess Terra was not talking about sleeping.

"Oh," Tide said. She looked a little sheepish at realizing that I did not know what was going on. "It probably was the best way to get you to listen," Tide muttered with eyes downcast. Not wanting to process what Tide was trying to say, I looked over at the other water spirit who looked extremely uncomfortable watching this exchange. My best guess of what she was thinking, from that look on her face, was astonishment and disbelief that I would treat mother sea so casually.

"So why are you here?" I asked Tide before the silence could grow more uncomfortable.

"I came to help," she smiled at me.