Twicelight

Chapter - 10

Tzuyu's eyes were suddenly shrewd. "How about if I mean it, and I agree to let you drive Saturday?" Tzuyu countered her conditions. She considered, and decided it was probably the best offer she would get.

"Deal," Sana agreed.

"Then I'm very sorry I upset you." Tzuyu's eyes burned with sincerity for a protracted moment - playing with the rhythm of her heart - and then turned playful. "And I'll be on your doorstep bright and early Saturday morning."

"Um, it doesn't help with the Appa's situation if an unexplained Mercedes is left in the driveway."

Tzuyu's smile was condescending now. "I wasn't intending to bring a car."

"How -"

Tzuyu cut me off. "Don't worry about it. I'll be there, no car." Sana let it go. She had a more pressing question.

"Is it later yet?" Sana asked significantly.

Tzuyu frowned. "I supposed it is later."

Sana kept her expression polite as she waited.

Tzuyu stopped the car. Sana looked up, surprised - of course they were already at her house, parked behind the truck. It was easier to ride with him if she only looked when it was over. When Sana looked back at Tzuyu, he was staring at her, measuring with his eyes.

"And you still want to know why you can't see me hunt?" Tzuyu seemed solemn, but Sana thought she saw a trace of humor deep in his eyes.

"Well," Sana clarified, "I was mostly wondering about your reaction."

"Did I frighten you?" Yes, there was definitely humor there.

"No," Sana lied. Tzuyu didn't buy it.

"I apologize for scaring you," Tzuyu persisted with a slight smile, but then all evidence of teasing disappeared. "It was just the very thought of you being there... while we hunted." His jaw tightened.

"That would be bad?"

Tzuyu spoke from between clenched teeth. "Extremely."

"Because... ?"

Tzuyu took a deep breath and stared through the windshield at the thick, rolling clouds that seemed to press down, almost within reach.

"When we hunt," Tzuyu spoke slowly, unwillingly, "we give ourselves over to our senses... govern less with our minds. Especially our sense of smell. If you were anywhere near me when I lost control that way..." Tzuyu shook his head, still gazing morosely at the heavy clouds.

Sana kept her expression firmly under control, expecting the swift flash of his eyes to judge her reaction that soon followed. Her face gave nothing away.

But there eyes held, and the silence deepened - and changed. Flickers of the electricity she'd felt this afternoon began to charge the atmosphere as he gazed unrelentingly into her eyes. It wasn't until her head started to swim that Sana realized she wasn't breathing. When she drew in a jagged breath, breaking the stillness, he closed his eyes.

"Sana, I think you should go inside now." Tzuyu's low voice was rough, his eyes on the clouds again.

Sana opened the door, and the arctic draft that burst into the car helped clear her head. Afraid she might stumble in her woozy state, she stepped carefully out of the car and shut the door behind her without looking back. The whir of the automatic window unrolling made her turn.

"Oh, Sana?" Tzuyu called after her, his voice more even. He leaned toward the open window with a faint smile on his lips.

"Yes?"