City in the Clouds

Chapter 15

(Lynx's POV)

"Why do I have to cook while she gets to frolic in the waves with the dolphins?" I grumbled as I struggled with the task of starting a fire.

"Lynx! Stop attempting to make a fire that's never going to light! We have to leave right now!" Inky cried running towards me.

"Hey, what do you mean 'a fire that's never going to light'?" It would have lit if she hadn't interrupted me.

She pulled me up by my shirt. "We have to leave the shore right now!"

"Why?" I complained.

"No time to explain!" She gasped as she scrambled to pack everything up. "Let's go!" She cried, yanking me away from the shore by my wrist.

"Will you please tell me why we had to leave the beach?"

"Wasn't... safe."

"What did you say?"

"I SAID 'IT WASN'T SAFE'!"

"Why isn't it..." My vision began to cover in black dots and it was slowly becoming harder and harder to breath.

"DON"T YOU DARE PASS OUT ON ME!" Inky cried. "TAKE DEEP BREATHS!"

I did as she said and my vision slowly began to clear. "What's going on?" I gasped as we continued to sprint, tree branches whipping at my face.

"The sea is made of sulfuric water." She said and we finally stopped running and collapsed against a tree.

I fell over and laid down with my head in her lap.

"So? Sulfuric water isn't deadly to be around is it?" I asked, breathing heavily; my vision wasn't returning to normal like it did the first time.

"No, it isn't. But as I was standing in the water I remembered that there are certain types of spirits who enjoy hanging around beaches which contain sulfuric water. I almost was too late, they were trying to steal your soul. If you'd passed out then you would have gone into a state similar to that of a coma and I wouldn't be able to wake you up."

I stared up at her face; she was looking away from me like it would hurt her to do so.

"Thank you for saving me."

Inky looked down at me, her eyes filled with un-shed tears. "You're a strange boy." She said quietly, before looking away again.

We sat in silence until I eventually fell asleep on her lap.

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(Inky's POV)

At first I wanted to kill Lynx for falling asleep in my lap... but he looked adorable! Almost like a tired little kitten; and it wasn't long before I fell asleep too.

By the time I awoke the sun was rising. I began to roll over but found I couldn't, I was being held in place.

My immediate reaction was to hit what was holding me but for some reason I didn't. After lying there for  a minute or two I realized that Lynx was hugging me in his sleep.

I closed my eyes and smiled, the feeling of his warm embrace was surreal. I heard him groan as he slowly began to awake.

He tightened his grip on me and seemed to almost smell my hair in his half-awake state. His presence felt... weird, and yet pleasant at the same time.

"Ah!!!!!!!!" He practically jumped out of his skin. He instantly let go of me and scrambled away from me.

I restrained the urge to laugh. 'I guess he's up now.'

"Oh, my god! She's gonna kill me when she wakes up!... Then again... I doubt she'd ever know..."

I heard his footsteps as he slowly walked back over. Then I felt his warm arms wrap around me and hold me like he had been before.

We both simply laid there, absolutely still. Each of us waiting for the other to do something to break the moment.

'This is wrong! What about you're fiance?' A voice in my head scolded.

'But I don't even remember having a fiance!' I objected back. But I knew the voice was right.

I shifted my weight around and moved as if I was about to wake up. Lynx released me and my heart sank.

'That isn't what you are, you can not feel anything for a mongrel like him. He can only ever be a toy for someone as cold hearted as yourself.' The voice said and the truth of the matter stabbed through me.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Lynx was lying several feet away facing away from me. I stood up, started a fire with ease and began cooking the deer meat from the prior day into a breakfast.

The whole time I did so Lynx didn't move.

"You can stop pretending to sleep. I made us some breakfast." I said blandly.

"Thanks." He grumbled, standing up and accepting the plate of food I offered to him.

We both sat there, not touching our food. "Well, dig in." I said, munching into my meat raffishly.

Lynx hesitantly took a bite. "You can't cook!" He exclaimed in disgust.

"Just be grateful to the person who's feeding you!" I scowled.

"I would be if she could cook better!" He yelled.

"Well what do you want? Tuna?"

There was a long period of silence. "...Do you have Tuna?" He asked with big eyes.

I sighed. "I was going to save this for a special occasion but I guess I could give you this now."

I reached into my bag and pulled out a small box of sushi. "Here you go."

Lynx stared at me in awe before cautiously taking the tiny box.

"How did you know I liked Sushi?" He breathed, still staring at me.

My cheeks felt hot, "I didn't. I must just be luck that I had some with me." I lied.

I didn't want to tell him that the reason I gave it to him was because I liked Sushi.

"Do you want some?" He asked.

"No thanks," I lied quietly, trying to avoid his stare. "I prefer deer meat anyway."

I took a chance and glanced over at him. His stare was doubtful, as if he knew I was lying. I tried so hard to look away but his yellowish eyes seemed to transfix me.

After what seemed like ages I forced myself to look away and began to wolf down my skewered deer meat.

Lynx was about to dig into his Sushi when I remembered something.

"Wait a second!" I cried and he froze. I got up and ripped some bark off of a tree.

I took one of the Sushi rolls, placed it on the bark and held it over the fire. After a while I removed it. "Try this! Sushi tastes better cooked!"

He laughed, "But Sushi isn't supposed to be cooked!"

"Just try it!" I said stubbornly.

"Fine," he said reluctantly taking it and eating it. "This is actually really good!"

"I know right?" I smiled before walking back around the fire to my food.

"I feel like I've eaten cooked sushi before."

'Probably, you seem like the type of person who would.'

I finished my food and smiled. I really did sorta like deer meat. It had an interesting taste. It just needed some flavor.