Evolved

32. Unfurl.

The day seemed to drag on and on.

The snow was persistent, and the fire was the only thing keeping the chill out of their bones. Hera stepped out a few times to watch the snowflakes settle around her, but the cold was painful, and she couldn't bear it for long. 

She realised by afternoon that if Joel failed to get help, they would likely die in that cabin or deep in the woods buried in snow. She had trust in him, but she feared the unknown. Azrail or his 'people' could be tracing all their locations right now. The thought caused her heart to drop. 

Hera fearfully sent out her energy through her body to find any foreign objects within her but was relieved only to see the Mod Jane placed. She trusted Jane was honest about it because of how much she loved her son. His mother would never hurt him, even if it meant losing her own life. 

Azrail had no such qualms. Hera's energy searched for Theo and found him flicking through the same vampire novel she had tried to read earlier, to no avail. Next, she searched his body and found nothing—no tracker or mod. 

"Thank god." She sighed. 

She did not know about Joel, but she assumed he would be fine as no one knew he was stashed on the ship the whole time. He's such a little weasel, she thought, with a slight smile playing on her lips. "What are you smiling about?" She jumped at Theo's voice as he joined her on the front porch. She was about to reply, 'nothing' when he spoke again.

"And why were you poking around in my head?" She blushed immediately and tried to explain as innocently as possible. 

"I just had a thought that we could have tracking devices or something. From the ship." He nodded with pursed lips. My god, they were so lush, and when he bit them she wanted her lips to be in their place. He smirked and licked his lips, and she realised with horror he probably heard that thought. 

She quickly brushed past him to gather more firewood as the sun began to set again. He followed her lead and helped heat some food for dinner. They sat in silence again, but this time Theo shuffled closer to Hera, and their shoulders touched. The contact brought small sparks, and her body tingled. 

"I wondered if that would still happen..." He murmured between mouthfuls. His self-assured voice and overt flirting made Hera's stomach flip. She was so responsive to his every word, especially considering how frugal he had been with them all day.

"Do you want to play a game?" She asked then, spontaneously. Theos brow raised in surprise, and his lips quirked up. "What kind of game?"

She shrugged, "I saw some playing cards by the book pile earlier, maybe last card, or... poker?"

"We don't have anything to bet with, though," she said, looking around. Her periphery caught a very attractive expression from the man opposite her. He had leaned back slightly and looked down suggestively. A laugh burst from Hera's lips as she realised his intention. 

"You want to strip?" 

He returned her humour with a chuckle of his own mixed with fake surprise at her boldness. "You said it, not me."

"Okay, but wait a minute." She got up and ran to the musty linen closet and draped four holey sheets over her shoulders before running back with the cards and sitting opposite him. 

"That is cheating!" He said, laughing even harder. The sound was music to Hera's ears. He was even more handsome when he smiled. 

"It is not cheating! These are to keep me warm... and give me more layers." She mock-whispered the last part as she dealt the cards. They couldn't stop grinning as they played the first few rounds. Both players were pretty well matched and took turns taking off layers. Theo opted to end the game when he was left shirtless and almost pant-less while Hera only had to take off her fleece jumper and shoes after all the sheets.