Kenric's POV:
a/n: finally some actual kenric and oralie moments <3333 but seriously its such wholesome content between them because im listening to love songs while writing this hehe
It had been officially a week since the last time Kenric was in the healing center. (no not Foxfire's healing center, it was a different one)
Kenric had returned to his normal Councillor castle that was next to Oralie, and he had began to make his return to official Council business (somewhat).
Sure, every time they had a meeting with someone who didn't know what happened, they raised an eyebrow at Kenric's crutches.
Which reminded the Council that they needed to make an official announcement, which they still haven't done.
After the weeks Kenric had gone off and died and came back, and then was held hostage by the Neverseen, and then his mind broke.
It had taken him awhile to get situated again, but day by day it was getting better.
Especially if Oralie was with him.
Kenric was almost back to his normal self, minus the crutches.
While everyone was off doing their assignments, Kenric sat at home, reviewing documents for the Neverseen.
Because he was in first person contact with them, it was his job to sort out the memories and project them into a memory log.
They were trying to find some more planted memories in Kenric, and investigating what they could mean.
Of course, Kenric couldn't be left alone due to his current circumstances, so they had another Councillor watch over him and help him with the investigation.
The vote was unanimous.
Oralie.
That was his only thought as he was sitting on the couch in the living room, filled with piles of papers on the Neverseen, and books to put his memories in.
Right on cue, Oralie walked in from the unlocked door. His heart pulled in his chest a bit, thinking about the time she was gone from his life.
She held a little bag that had a delectable aroma that wafted through the air.
Kenric took a deep breath in, remembering the last time he even had mallowmelt.
1 month ago. That's how long it was
He must've had a look of sorrow on his face, because Oralie put her hand gently on his shoulder, and he looked up at her.
"Ripplepuff?" She said, holding out the little bag.
Kenric smiled and took one graciously from the bag. He took a bite into one, relishing the long forgotten taste.
He looked at the little filling inside, which was pink. His heart twisted even more.
"It's pink," He said with a smile on his face. He put the rest in his mouth.
"Thamk youfh" He said with his mouth full.
Oralie laughed and reached her hand forward. "You've got a little something here-"
She brushed her hand near the bottom of his cheek, near his lips.
Kenric got lost in her azure blue eyes. Oralie paused her hand on his cheek, looking at him with the most melancholy look.
Kenric broke the silence. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Kenric motioned for her to sit down next to him, clearing out the papers.
Oralie sighed, "It's just- things won't be the same anymore."
Kenric furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? I'm back, it's going back to normal now."
Oralie picked up a memory book, taking a look at one of his memories. "We can't reverse what happened with the Neverseen."
"Yeah- and? I'm alive and here." Kenric paused to read her face, then grabbed both of her hands. "I promise you this won't happen to me again. I won't leave you."
His grip tightened on her hands, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
"I-Its going to be a few chaotic and stressful years, isn't it?" Oralie muttered quietly.
Kenric tilted her head up, eager to understand what Oralie was trying to insituate.
"We'll be together," Kenric said, more hopeful than reassuring.
Oralie looked at Kenric with slightly glassy eyes, then Kenric slowly understood.
"Ora-" he said, putting his hand on her cheek, and she leaned into it.
Oralie closed her eyes and they stayed there for a couple of seconds, just enjoying and absorbing the moment.
"Oralie. T-this is going to be over. I-its going to be over soon." Kenric said, his voice cracking with emotion that he didn't even know was there.
I guess being with Oralie changed him and influenced him a lot. More than he ever knew.
"Kenric," Oralie said, but it came out hushed, "What if I lose you again?"
A silent tear slipped down her cheek, and Kenric reached to wipe it away.
This time he had nothing to say.
Because he knew it was possible.
"We might not be so lucky," she whispered.
"Then- Then we enjoy the moments we have together." Kenric said, and Oralie finally looked up to meet his gaze.
Oralie's look was filled with fear, love, and loss.
They were so close, maybe even inches apart.
Kenric trailed his fingers along Oralie's chin, tilting it up, as if he wanted to kiss her.
And she didn't stop him.
They were centimeters apart, he could feel her breath lingering on his cheeks.
Then they heard a loud bang that echoed across the room, jolting them out of their trance.
Kenric jumped to cover Oralie and protect her from whatever just happened.
When they looked around the room, they realized that it was just the mound of books and papers that had been piling up in Kenric's living room toppled over.
Kenric let out a bunch of curses under his breath, then he realized he'd been on Oralie.
He blushed a bit, turning as pink as the pink frosting from the ripplepuffs Oralie gave him earlier.
"Sorry." He cleared his throat and scanned the room. "Uh- maybe we should get to work now." He chuckled awkwardly.
They picked up the papers and started reviewing them, but Kenric couldn't bring himself to focus.
His mind was still situated on the unsaid words between them.
We can't leave the Council. The world is in too much chaos for us to leave. But if we don't leave, we're at risk of dying.
Kenric was jolted out of his thoughts when Oralie tapped him lightly on his shoulder.
"Is this one of the planted memories?" She asked, showing him a scene from one of the memory books.
Kenric nodded and took the book from her. "I still don't know what this means. It's just a bunch of random runes- or even a map."
Oralie looked at the picture again. "Maybe we can get a polygot to translate this."
Kenric still had a doubtful look on his face. "Maybe, but I really think this could be a map. Do you see these lines? They look like- like rivers. And those-" He said, pointed to a certain area of the picture, "Those look like mountains."
Oralie stared intently at the picture, trying to figure out what Kenric was seeing.
She sighed, "Why would the Neverseen even plant these things in your mind? What do they want us to do with it?"
Kenric shrugged, "They probably want us to find all the memories, figure out what they mean, take action on it, and then- a trap."
"I guess that would be the most likely scenario, but how do we know when we find all the memories?" Oralie asked.
Kenric stayed silent, staring into the distance. "I don't know. But if we can't find anything useful from this, then the Washers are going to take this out of my mind."
Oralie looked at Kenric surprised. "Really? Even when this could be useful."
Kenric nodded sadly. "Unfortunately, we can't do anything more than that."
They sat in silence for a moment, then Oralie asked a question, "How many forgotten secrets are in your cache?"
Kenric thought for a minute, "There was 9."
"I only have one." Oralie said, and Kenric did his best to hide his facial expression.
Oralie looked a bit confused, but she didn't question it.
That was when Kenric noticed how her white diamond earings complimented the flecks of silver in her eyes, which made Kenric feel bad about taking the memory.
I should've taken that memory from me, too.
He shook away the thought, but there was something else lingering.
"Everything alright?" Oralie questioned.
Kenric put on a loving smile and nodded, "Everything's alright when I'm with you."
But it wasn't. Not at that moment.
Oralie could see that in his emotions.
They both knew that they just discovered another memory- and it wasn't good.