Take Back the Light

Chapter 37

Evanlyn smiled and scratched the back of her head. "That's probably good. I'd hate to have to fight those things again."

Alana turned as another person approached her. A man with caramel colored hair and a mischievous glint in his brown eyes- Nathanael. Alana's dad.

Another brief moment of confusion before Alana pushed it away.

"Hey, look who's awake," Nathanael laughed, ruffling Alana's hair. Alana smiled up at him, and found herself taking a moment to memorize his face, his smile lines, the way he looked over at Evanlyn with pure love in his gaze.

"This is kinda weird, but I feel like I'm supposed to be doing something," Alana said. Nathanael thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.

"Oh, right! I was supposed to tell you, Ray's on his way over with lunch. He wanted your help unpacking."

Alana didn't quick feel like that was what she'd had in mind, but she nodded anyway and turned to head to a pathway behind some palm trees that led to the clearing for Mecha parking. Her legs were on autopilot, walking down the sand path barefoot like she'd done it a hundred times before. She glanced down at the lush bushes on either side of the path, blooming with azure and magenta flowers that had faint glows to them.

The sand path opened up into a small clearing, where several Mechas were parked. One, a lioness, was mostly golden, with cyan and white details. A young man stood next to it, unloading several baskets. He had warm brown skin and dark brown hair, with golden eyes that looked like they'd captured pure Lumino light. He had a white shirt on and a pair of gold swim trunks. Alana smiled as she walked up to him.

"Couldn't carry it all by yourself?" she said with fake pity. The young man snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Haha, very funny. I could handle the weight, there's just too many baskets. Paladins eat like crazy," Ray said, setting down a third basket on the ground.

He would know- his father was Marcus Dorado, one of the Paladins standing on the beach.

Ray and Alana were the same age, and had grown up together, bonding over a love for slinging and their parents being teammates. For a while, the Paladins had teased them about being lovebirds. When they were five, they tried holding hands. Three seconds later, they deemed that disgusting, and had decided they were better off as friends.

Strange... that had been when they were five. For some reason, Alana's memory was foggy from there on out. She couldn't pinpoint recent birthdays spent with Ray, but that couldn't be right-

"Hey, Ray to Alana? You there?"

Alana blinked a few times, focusing back on Ray, who was holding out two baskets to her. "Oh, sorry."

She took them, and they were admittedly heavy. Ray picked up the other two, looking Alana up and down. "Are you okay? You seem a little distracted."

"I'm fine. I just woke up from a nap," she admitted as the two headed back down the path. Ray rolled his golden eyes.

"You can sleep back at home, we're in the Cay Cavern, we need to enjoy the peace while it lasts," he laughed as the two reached the beach. Alana was once more engulfed in the sound of the waves and the glistening cavern sea. Another person had joined the group of adults- a cave troll, with orange-blonde hair and tattoos on his arms. He had on a white cutoff and red swim trunks. The tattoos, Alana thought, should have reminded her of someone.

"The food has arrived," Ray announced as he and Alana walked up to the bunch. "Ezekiel, you've got this whole basket to yourself."

"Good! I'm starving!" Ezekiel responded, although it looked like he hardly missed any meals. The group settled down on the sand, opening baskets and passing food around, enjoying the view of the beach.