All Shades of Magic

All Shades of Magic - Chapter 8

We packed up hurriedly and continued following the moonstone arrow, which mhy magical sense was aligning with nicely. Kari stayed mostly on my shoulder squeaking and sometimes climbing onto my other shoulder or into my hair. It made the travel more enjoyable to be able to play with such a friendly little creature. Sometimes I passed the little thing to Kimi so she could play with Kari too, which she enjoyed indefinitely. Seeing her happy was really nice, but I was always happy when she passed Kari back. I liked my rat friend.

We ate a small breakfast of strawberries, apples, and chokeberries. We even gave Kari a little nibble of the fruits which the rat ate graciously. Kimi was still gigglish, I couldn't find out why. At last, I had to ask.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked suspiciously. Kimi just giggled a little and pointed towards my ear. I reached up to feel a glop of something sticky and pulled my hand back. Maple sap. I groaned. "Seriously?!"

"On the bright side, now your ear is shiny," Kimi giggled. I didn't see why she found this funny. It wasn't funny. "Besides, I think we need to clean up a bit anyway. And find some more water,"

And with that she got up and started walking to the forest on a search for water.

"Wait! You're going the wrong way!" I screamed. Kimi just laughed. "Wait for me!"

"Hurry up!" Kimi yelled back. I grabbed Kari, adjusted my pack and ran for it. I caught up to her quickly but she was FAST. she always was, i could tell from her speed to get to my balcony. But this fast? It was ridiculous. She was still way ahead of me-ugg.

We ran FOREVER. Getting further and further away from the goal in front of us, or I guess rather behind us, looking for water. I knew there were smarter ways to do this, I could swear it. But Kimi was so far ahead and we were already so far away that there really was no point at all. I still kept my eyes out for signs of water.

The few animals that lived in this forest weren't in sight, which wasn't a good sign. And not a spot of mud. I feared we might be running and searching for water all day. Just as I was about to yell to Kimi we should stop, she stopped. Instead of her fiery red hair, her face came into view, grinning a little. Black eyes shining bright. Dynamite exploded in my stomach. It just keeps getting worse.

"WATER!" She screamed at me. I quickly ran over.

Sure enough, a rocky stream ran through the forest right in front of her feet. The water looked brisk and clean. I was about to get in when I paused. There was something off about it... something strange. Kimi was waiting for my movement but I wasn't moving. What was it? I reached inside my mind to try to figure it out but it was almost like my thoughts were being blocked off. The only one escaping rang in my ears. Come in the water, it's very nice. Jump in already! That maple sap is starting to dry you know... but I ignored it. There was something wrong. Kimi's rare impatience caught up to her and she just said.

"If you're not going in, I am!"

And before I could stop her, she jumped in.

Her body plunged into the water, apparently deeper than it looked. But then I saw it, something grabbed her and I noticed what was wrong. Magic. There was something magical in the water. And it just grabbed Kimi. It's drowning her. IT'S DROWNING HER.

I grabbed a rock and threw it at the hand, which released Kimi in shock. She resurfaced and gasped for air, I pulled her up quickly.

"What in the name of hell was that thing!" I screamed. Kimi was still gasping for air.

"I don't know... i... it," she panted. "We need to find somewhere else,"

"NO," I demanded. "We ran for hours finding this stream and we're in the complete wrong direction. We just need to fight it off or outsmart it or something," confidence/stubbornness took control of me. We could do this. It was just... something. Besides, we weren't wasting more time on safe water. I wouldn't allow it.

"Alright Val, what do you suggest?" 

"We could make a dam. With rocks," I suggested. Kimi considered for a moment and shrugged.

"I guess we could try it,"

Rocks are heavy. We loaded them up into a wall until the wall was tall enough to keep the thing out, hopefully. I got in first and beckoned for Kimi to come in after no creature attacked. She came in cautiously, always trying to stay near to me. I was glad we were together, but I couldn't stop wanting to kiss her in our calm moments cooling off in the water. I was glad we had decided to stay in our clothes because god that would be awkward for me. And maybe a little tempting. But mostly awkward. Definitely. Ok you know what im gonna shut up.

I got the dirt and sap out of my hair and ear. It was still a little sticky afterwards, but I figured i could rinse it out again in a moment.

The multilayer outfits we were wearing proved to be useful because we could take off our pants and shirts but not be naked. Our clothes we doused in water before I laid them on a rock to dry. We washed off nice, chatting and splashing a little. Kimi's hair and eyes looked radiant. My cheeks were flushed pink, I could see it in the water. I dunked my ear under a few more times and all the sap cleared out. My pink cheeks didn't.

We were about to get moving when we looked up at the sky.

Holy hell it's already night.

"So... I guess we're camping here?" I suggested.

"Yeah I don't think we have a choice," Kimi added. We giggled and set up camp by the river's edge. Kari, who had been scurrying around randomly while we were washing off, snuggled close to us. I laid down and Kimi cuddled me. Dynamite was lit. Why was this happening now? The feelings I thought I had controlled were way too powerful now. At possibly the least convenient time of all.

But I didn't want to scare them off like I did when I was 13. I didn't want to hide from them like when I was 14 and 15. I most certainly didn't want to do what I did when I was 16, which was to ignore her existence half the time.

I let the dynamite blast in my stomach, refusing to react.

Because if I reacted; how would Kimi react to me?