Ahead of time

My plans were all running really well, except one fatal flaw in them. What did I even spent the day after showing my strength for? Preparations were bound to be ready any time now, so why wouldn't we attack today?

Thinking about it, I spend a bit more time in bed, staring at the "ceiling". I had no idea, actually. Did I need time to recover? No, I am perfectly fine. Did the troupes need more time to prepare? No, they looked ready for about a week now.

So what are we waiting for? Our spot doesn't change, but human villages are probably getting ravaged - thousands of men getting torn apart by demons, their wives raped, their children defiled and enslaved. The more I think about it, the more reason I get to instantly engage. After a picture of Marina flashes in my mind, I jump out of the bed, leaving a hole in the ground with my "battle leg".

After I washed and changed into slightly more appropriate clothing, I ran across the provisional territory. I pass by hundreds of lightened tents, glowing in the dark. It was still dark, and the air was a bit chilly. Winter was about to hit, but our army was prepared for that too, so I was not worried. My journey ended in a quick stop.

I had to gather the generals, it was probably okay to count Cecilia as one at this point too. Why was I running to the medical tents then? My mind didn't oppose in any way, a well known force was pulling me there. Instinct. Slight scraps of conversation reach me: "We really shouldn't", "Our fight is tomorrow, what if we don't get to after it?!" - looking at it from this point, it might have been a bad choice to barge in there, and taking the risk that those phrases beared. But Cecilias voice from the inside of those tents kind of... dragged me in.

No matter what I expected, it was something different. Instead of two people, there are eight. Instead of... Well, they were preparing a cake and magical illusions - what for? And the gathering I was about to do? Completely unneccessary. They were all here.

Ce:" Umm, who is that stuff for? Did someone get married overnight?"

Cia:" What did I tell you guys? He forgot!"

Christian:" Little brother... You are a moron. Why do you keep forgetting your own birthday?!"

Rh:" Even if we don't understand the concept of festivals of that sort, it does seem rather important"

L:" Elves don't have birthdays? God, I knew leprechauns and humans were closer than you guys, but wow! We gather thousands of our kind for every birthday, it is the only time we get to see all of us on one day!"

Ly:" Why would you celebrate getting closer to death? It doesn't sound very appealing"

L:" Hohoho! It is not getting closer to death that we celebrate, but rather that another year passed without dropping into the tombs of Alkazar!"

Ce:" I never really understood either, but I never really met family on my birthday either. It was always just us three brothers"

Chri:" Which is exactly why we have to now! Don't you think it will be fun with all these people? Your girlfriend, closest friends, the remainder of family and all those people out there that depend on you?"

Cia:" AHEM"

Chr:" Right, sorry"

The room got awkwardly silent after that. In a way, I was trapped in a loop in my mind. It went: Wait, so she was interested in dating me? - Doesn't that mean all those at the bears paw did, too? - Was I really this blind? - Doesn't matter, Cecilia is INTERESTED?! and repeat.

Laurin, like all other occasions was the only one able to break through. Servves jokes didn't pull of this time either.

L:" We'll see about that, but neither of you seems to be too opposed. Just let it slide for now, enjoy the fest later... Speaking of it, we don't have much time to waste anymore! Cecil! Leave! We need to prepare!"

With that, I got shoved out of the tent. Hm. Now I had no idea what to do, so I went to the field where I first met her, the treestump our sketch was lying back then was still there. I sit down, cross my legs and close my eyes. I release my senses from working, just sit there, totally focussed on my own - way too fast - heartbeat. This way, it took me ten second after smelling something, to actually realize. The smell of lavender surrounded me, a feint of strawberry and grass are in the background.

The smell took a few seconds to reach me, but the conclusion sure didn't. I knew who this was. The smell is getting stronger, it wavers. The person had to be moving, had to be coming closer. Right as I opened my eyes, she took the final centimeters seperating us in a lunge. It wasn't a very skillful, nor a careful one - so we ended up falling of the stump.

Amazingly, we managed to fall completely in unison, we even managed to keep kissing for the entire fall. It might have only taken ten seconds, it might have been a minute, but it felt soo much longer. And we weren't about to stop, if she didn't suddenly jump back grabbing for a towel. Apparently, the place we landed on was also inhabited by a so called thing named: rock. I didn't really feel anything, but judging from the blood, it was probably a crack in my skull.

Damn, guess we might just visit the medic again. Thinking about it, we spent most of our days in the medic tent together. Is this what my aunt called a destructive relationship?