by C. Litka
08
We were deep in the shadows of the pines and climbing the steep hills in a thick mist. The canvas canopy was closely drawn down around us, so it was nearly night-dark inside. Everyone was either sleeping, or trying to. Naylea, sitting next to me, seemed to be asleep, since she idly rocked back and forth with every slow leap of the carriage. Each lurch sent her shoulder against mine, and then away again. I glanced around to see that everyone at least had their eyes closed - not that it would really matter, but it was the game we were playing. Seeing that they did, I took the opportunity, when she was leaning away, to quickly get my arm free, and when she tipped back against my shoulder, I put it around her, and drew her close, resting my cheek on her fine-feathered head.
She didn't awaken, so I held her close.
The game we were playing was actually working out well. We were able to spend a great deal of time together, to learn, or relearn, each others' little ways, without having to resolve anything. Of course we had spent a great deal of time together (almost) alone, when we first arrived in the Pela. But that was different. Not only because she was determined to kill me back then, but because we had this strange attraction for each other that became love.
This was different. Both of us had more or less gotten over that love, so at first, there was only an echo of the passion we'd known. And perhaps an embarrassment that it had faded. The fact that our present circumstances kept us at arm's length - as friends and companions in adversity, allowed us time, without pressure, to stir those ashy embers to see if there remained a glowing ember of that love within its depths. I had found mine, though I tried not to let it flare too soon. Holding her close in the stuffy gloom of the carriage was dangerous to my intent, but company should keep the fire dampened, for now. Still it felt right. Only when CarVori called out from the far side of the canvas that we were approaching the inns of Kanderee Narrows did I slip my hand from her shoulder, before my traveling companions stirred to life.
In the gloom, she opened her eyes and gave me a little smile, that gave me hope she may not have been, after all, sleeping.
Chapter 42 The Shadow-Landers