Oliver executed commands one after another in a haste, and before long, most civilians were ready to leave their beloved ruined nation. It might not have never been the best. but they loved it all the same. With sadness in their eyes, they slowly went about climbing unto Phoenix.
Lea decided to remain, and so did Victor, as usual. Upon her decision, Bright was conflicted for several minutes before bidding the baby with teary eyes. With one last playful sounds, he was able to make the baby giggle. "Get her a good family there, Oliver..." He requested to the Emperor to which he received a curt nod.
Once Oliver saw to it that his passengers were settled, he approached Lea. She was sitting on a broken fountain, overlooking the whole process. He was sure this time that he might not see her for a very long time. And with that thought, he couldn't help feeling the ache in his chest. His cyan eyes expressed longing.
His steps were heard, and she turned to gaze at him with a slight smile. ["You are doing wonderful."]
Her words pleasant, he could only smile in response. He then offered his hand for her to take hold, which she accepted quite readily. It seems Lea has grown comfortable to Oliver's company after their brief journey together, especially when he was not touching her aplenty.
He led her to a corner where there were less prying eyes, and he blocked anyone's gaze from reaching Lea from where he stood. As he gazed on her, he felt he was already missing her. A very strange sensation, but nevertheless genuine.
Never bothering to let go of her soft hand, he played with her fingers by gently pressing each one as he wasted time. He knew there was not much time left, but he didn't know what to say. A moment of silence, he then opened his mouth at random, "It was last year that I met you, and it was last year my life started to change. Not just my life, but myself altogether." He begun, feeling unusually calm this time.
"Dear Lea... I wish I could always look out for you. Alas, I can only stay back. But I promise, the next we meet, a nation of equality and with high morals shall receive your welcome. For these people you and your friends tried to save, I shall provide them with a better future..." He was beginning to feel emotional at the thought of not being able to see her afterwards.
It was not hard for him to act cold to others, but he couldn't hide his vulnerability in front of the girl he cared for the most. Within him, a gush of melancholy flooded his chest, and he could barely carry out his next sentences.
Fortunately, before he forced himself to say more, Lea opened her mouth to say, "Your mother, and your siblings, treasure them." Her words simple, her smile affectionate. She wanted him to not only focus on his people, but to his family as well.
He was not intent on spending time with his family, but after his father was revoked as the Emperor, there were more chances for his mother to go out and explore. His siblings not much younger nor older than himself also begun to express themselves openly. Lea might indeed be right, he has his family to focus on as well. Filling up the lost moments of their family bonding could take time.
With a dutiful nod, Oliver smiled sweetly. He was always a sweet man to Lea. So doting and generous. She then returned his smile with equal affection. ["I am grateful to you too. May we meet again."]
Her tone stoic, Oliver felt a lump in his throat. Suddenly, he didn't want to let her go. But the other half of him knew she had greater plans in mind. And nothing could stop her from moving forward. With brief silence, came his wish.
On her soft lips, Oliver gently gave her a moment's kiss. It was only but a moment. However, it made Oliver feel relieved in his chest. "Pardon me..." He apologized right away as Lea was unresponsive, looking blank.
Then she uttered something incomprehensible. "....I feel violated....." Fortunately, Oliver was not able to hear her words. She felt it was not the first time something touched her lips in the same manner, but she did not know how and when. She couldn't quite remember.
The sensation and tenderness were similar, which made her look up to see Oliver's cyan eyes that only stared intently at her. Then she heard her chest beat a little faster under his intense gaze. For some reason, he made her feel very special. Unfathomable, she kept herself quiet as she listened to her accelerating heartbeat.
In another moment, his hand was around her waist, "Just... let me hug you, please..." Was all he said and laid his lips on her soft hair.
Her face was gently embraced onto his chest that revealed hard muscles from physical training. Although it was a hard surface, Lea found comfort to his rapid heartbeat that was in accordance to her's. She felt warmth. Being cradled as such was quite comfortable.
She was starting to get used to physical touch as of late. And she felt anxious at the thought. She didn't know if it was good or bad, but she understood how others show their affections now.
To love is to care and think for the other person's benefit. To accept them for what they are, and save them when they needed saving. To stay by their side with patience and empathy. A love so genuine that it would be hard to doubt it never was.
She smiled at the thought of how much she learnt from the men she only thought as capture targets. They became great companions, enough for her to hope for their safety and happiness.
Her brother remain special in her heart as he is the only family she has got left. It is without a doubt that she has more people she cares now. She felt happy at the thought, and returned Oliver's embrace by lacing her arms around his chest. Then she breathe deeply.
["Please, take care of yourself too. Don't get lost somewhere without warranty... Be safe."]
Her thoughts filled with concern, the small joke she made caused Oliver to chuckle softy, brushing off a few strands of her hair. "As you wish, Lea Rain..." he whispered under his breath.
"Keep Hamsphant with you too..."
Her soft mutter caused Oliver to open his cyan eyes with a frown. "You would need the beast...."
"We'll be fine, but Hamsphant... It is mating season after all."
"But why with me?" He softly asked, his voice a whisper.
She smiled mysteriously, revealing a set of dimples. ["Phoenix and her make a wonderful family."]
"Hamsphant's a girl????"
Lea snorted at his point, missing the key point of her response. With a smile on her lips, she replied, ["Yes, and I believe so is your Phoenix."]
Oliver was relieving the memories of the many times Hamsphant antagonized him for wanting to reach out for Lea. He felt he had lost big time. "But, a family??? How...?"
She glanced into his eyes with bemuse, ["You'll see..."]
He could only gape at Lea's playfulness. She was intent on not telling him more of it at all. The two beasts were of different species altogether, but remembering Victor, he was enlightened.
And just when he was gonna hug Lea once again, "*Cough* *Cough*" He heard a familiar cough. With a sigh, he turned around to meet Bright's raised brow, as well as Victor's unusually stern face. His lethargic aquamarine eyes gone and replaced with a glare and accusing gaze.
"If I didn't know better, I would have thought Oliver here was Lea's boyfriend. But thank god I know better than that!!" Bright begun with his hands in the air while seemingly thanking the non-existent gods. "Tsk tsk. Come, come." He called and casually grabbed Lea's wrist.
With a frown, Lea felt the strange tension in the air. She felt a similar sensation before, but she felt anxious of the intensity this time. Without further ado, she bade Oliver one last goodbye as he hauled himself aboard Hamsphant.
["Congratulations."] Was what she thought to Hamsphant. The beast then wailed joyfully. Without word, Lea and the beast had a mutual understanding of what was to come.
Before flying in the air, Hamsphant wrapped Lea with her trunk and gave Lea a hug. They were both thankful for their meeting. Both have done each other favours that they were capable to provide. They were sure to meet once again.
With Hamsphant and Phoenix's last orchestra, they left amidst the clouds in the sky.
Having observed the supposedly heartwarming scene, Bright felt something important just occurred that he had missed completely. But it was immediately replaced with a question.
"What to do for now?"
"Sabrina." And with her uttered words, Bright looked forward to the future. He then gave his nod, only to raise another question aloud. "Our ride?"
At his words, Lea smiled an unusual mischievous smile that gave Bright a fright. He felt he had to utterly refuse whatever words her mouth would utter next, but it was too late as his consciousness felt a great leap.
The next moment, he was by the port. "HOW???!!!"
"A successful theory." Was all she said and disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving small bright particles where she was.
In an attempt to do the same, Bright ended up draining most of his essences. It might have been his inexperienced skills at manipulating essences with imagination, but teleportation was beyond what others could simply imagine without the fundamentals of the process. And, it required abundant amount of essences to engineer.
After his attempts, Lea instantly appeared once again with Victor's hand in one hand, while a black cat in her free arm. The latter looked displeased.
Releasing both baggages, Lea observed within her and realized how seamless the essences felt. The absorbed Spirits greatly helped with her essence absorption and intimacy with her surroundings. It was much easier to analyze her surroundings as if they were letting her know of their senses by themselves.
It seems most effective with non-living things and plants. Beasts rarely contain much essences, while humans are mostly in control of their thoughts.
With a smile on her face, she glanced towards Bright's flabbergasted expression. "A fly will get into your mouth and cause you to grow an alien in your finger if you don't close it occasionally." Her voice stoic, but her ruby eyes were in amused in contrast.
To her joke, however, Bright hurriedly closed his mouth and stood up to watch his surroundings. "How do we get---"
His words hang in the air upon Ashe's appearance.
"Hey. Time to go?"
Lea smiled with expectations in her eyes. "Sure."
Bright couldn't keep up with the events and could only hope nothing too dangerous would befall them. Then he looked to gain a comrade from Victor, only to be met with serene aquamarine eyes.
He could feel how Victor did seem to have any worries at all. His lethargic indifference made Bright feel quite at ease. His worries, however, does not end there.