With the ship steadily soaring through the skies of Sowhait, Ra'venna and Helio snag a few hours of sleep below deck. They awaken to the sunlight against their eyelids. Helio is the first to stir as his front is to the window. Ra'venna lies beside him, her face pressed against his shoulder. He stares out the window at the early morning sky, lavender and dusted with streak of pink and orange. The only sound is the wind howling against the sides of the ship. It's so quiet. Usually he'd be able to hear Sinnion's whines or his wingbeats passing by their door. There's no muffled yells of Sinnion's name or Amsyn's muted laughter, not even the familiar clobbering of Avdon's hooves. It's silent, dead. Helio can't help but feel as if he's just made the biggest mistake of his life in parting ways with Amsyn and Avdon.
Ra'venna stirs beside him. She trails her arm up his chest. He intertwines their hands and squeezes. She opens her eyes all the way and instantly winces at the offensive sunlight. Helio pulls free of her embrace and turns so his front faces her. He brushes a few rouge strands from her face.
"Good morning," he greets.
"Morning," she returns with a low hum.
Ra'venna reaches up to stroke the side of his face. He closes his eyes, leaning into her touch. "We need to decide where we're headed." Helio sighs, his eyes opening.
"I know."
Reluctantly, the Fairy tears herself away from her lover and unwinds herself from the covers. She tosses her legs over the side of the bed. Her wings scrape the bed, their tips nearly slapping Helio in the face.
He watches as she goes to the wardrobe and reaches inside for fresh clothing. As she clothes the door she catches sight of Helio. "You have to get dressed too," she reminds him.
He gets up and goes to the dresser. He pulls out a tunic and a pair of trousers from the top drawer. As he's sliding into the dark brown trousers he glances over at Ra'venna who is in the midst of shedding her pajamas.
"The closest is Justune's chakrams." Helio tells her. Ra'venna steps into her pants and tugs them up.
"What you mean to say is we are returning to Quvania?" Helio sighs. He rests his hands on the dresser, one still clutching the powdered blue tunic he's selected to wear.
"Yes," he steps away from the dresser. "I'm never going to get away, am I?" He mutters under his breath. Ra'venna hears every word, but chooses not to mention it.
"It's the nearest weapon and poses a unique set of challenges it's best to recover it now." Helio mumbles a verbal agreement.
Ra'venna slips the draping tunic over her head and adjusts the neckline. Her wings open and close once. She grabs her bracers and slips them over her forearms. Helio watches as he wraps the belt holding his sword around his waist.
"The only good thing is Feculk Bay is a major trading area. We won't stand out in the cities along the Bay." Helio says. Since Etrien's fall all trade is controlled by Quvania and as such the cities along the Bay have a heavy Fairy presence. Her kin forced to barter with the ones that slaughtered their kin and destroyed their homes.
Ra'venna snags her belt from the dresser and wraps it around her waist. The sai are a familiar weight at the base of her back. "I am the Nether Fairy. I stand out everywhere." It doesn't seem necessary to mention the bounty on her head or the fact that if any Quvanian soldier spots her they will arrest her and attempt to execute her. She can easily conceal her identity with a cloak.
Helio chooses not to respond to her remark. "I think I may know where the temple is or rather was." He tells her. Ra'venna sweeps her hair away from her neck.
