Wander || Chapter 84

Lungs burning.

I'm going to die.

Head spinning- like a carriage careening off a cliff. 

It had been full minutes this time. His insides felt like they were shriveling up. 

Need air. Need air. Need AIR-

A fresh type of pain shot through him as the same hand that held him under yanked him upward by his hair. Jude’s head broke the surface of the water with a loud gasp, sucking in all the oxygen he could. Stearn regarded coldly as the man tried to breathe properly but choked on inhaled water. 

"Once again- Names and location." The genral's voice was demanding and unsympathetic. "This is as difficult as you make it."

Water dripped from Jude's face and hair, clouding his vision and spattering on the icy stone floor. 

"Bite me." Jude spat then doubled over, hacking. 

Stearn's lips became a thin line. "Dunk him."

Jude barely had time to suck in a mouthful of precious oxygen before he was once again thrown forward against the trough and the frigid depths washed over him.

        Devon's eyes bore concentration of the utmost intensity and he poured over what information the twins had managed to get over the short course of time they'd been absent. Whilst they hadn't been able to confirm Jude's exact location, they'd heard enough to give Devon some indication as to the amount of security that would be around him. Which would no doubt mean quite a bit of work getting to the man.

We would need to cause a distraction to get him out without being caught ourselves...

He sat on a boulder and scribbled out ideas on a pad of paper, previous plans he'd nixed taking the physical forms of scrunched up balls of paper littering the ground below.

Kanna stood on a crate of papers while Adrian sat nearby, rifling through his bag and debriefing her on the results of the interrogation. He removed his voltage gun along with a few other handmade weapons most people didn't know he had in his possession.

"I don't know what to expect." He glanced up at her, gauging her reaction to the modified guns laid out at his side. "It pays to be prepared."

Kanna pursed her ruby lips, conflicted. "I should come with you."

The woman's almond shaped eyes bore mahogany worry for two of her closest companions, who would no doubt be going into the heart of enemy territory. The thought scared her to no end. Kanna moved a bit closer to Adrian on the crates, feeling the wood catch her skirt in a few small places.

"'The more the merrier' doesn't exactly apply here." Adrian replied. He stowed the small gun in the pocket of his jacket. Setting the others aside in a neat stack, Adrian scooted over to lean on the crate. 

Kanna watched the large man move and tucked her arms closer to her body to combat the forbidden cold. She stepped across the crate to get closer and look him in the face, to stand on the same level.

"And if you don't come back? What then?" The very concept of him failing to return put a burn in her eyes and a seed of panic in her chest. "...I wouldn't be able to handle that."

He wanted to reassure her that of course he would return... But all things considered, that was not guaranteed. Understanding softened the somewhat severe look in his eyes and revealed the conflict within. He had a soft spot for her like no one else. 

"Kanna... You're just gonna be shaken up in my pocket the whole time. Wherever Jude is, it's all going to be our sized and we can't slow down for you."

He gazed at her, so close to him.

The sobering knowledge of just how powerless she was to do anything helpful at present confronted Kanna with a harsh truth. It would be selfish to press this point any further, to continue her attempts to tag along when Adrian would need to keep his load light, if anything at all.

None the less, Kanna continued forward to the very edge of the crate and extended her hands forward. He was just out of her reach.

His heart did a small backflip, but he bent down closer, leaning his arm on the side of the crate to bridge the remaining space between them. 

"Don't get me wrong, I love being able to tote you around and all ..." He pursed his lips, giving her a gentle, reproachful expression. "I just think you're going to regret it later."

Kanna placed her hands on his arm and lowered her eyes a moment, collecting words and thought alike to be spent respectively.

"...You're right. I would get in the way." She lifted her eyes to his, a seriousness pervading the very essence of her being. "You need to be able to rescue Jude without worrying about something extra."

Adrian cocked his head to the side in reluctant admission, suddenly wishing he was better with words. 

"I didn't say that..." He trailed off when they touched.

"But you meant it. And I know now that were I there with you, you would not be able to focus adequately, Adrian."

She reasoned. Kanna leaned herself against his arm, closing her eyes as she willed some semblance of tranquility to take hold.

"You need to have as clear a head and as few things to worry about. This won't be an easy task. From what Devon says, he will likely be under heavy guard. You cannot afford to have anything that might slow you down."

"Well, you are pretty distracting." He cracked a small grin that seemed oddly out of place during such dire events. His brows unknit, relieved that she understood his point of view.

Adrian shifted further, crossing his right arm atop the left and resting his chin on his arm. 

"It's a very dangerous undertaking." A bit of his former cocky attitude crept in, willing her to be impressed by his bravery. "We're hopelessly outgunned... I might not even make it out of there." A closed-mouth smile spanned his full lips. "Gimme a kiss for good luck?"

"Don't sell yourself short." Kanna huffed and stepped up onto his arm, careful of her own movements then took a step towards his lips. She extended her hands and laid them over the lower.

"...You will make it back." She insisted stubbornly. Then, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

He parted his lips instinctively and then pressed them together against hers. A pleasant silence filled the chilly tent as their lips were far too busy for talking. He couldn't help the faint noise of happiness that rose in his throat, much to his embarrassment.

Kanna stroked a hand down Adrian's lips at a slow pace as she got to know the pleasant surface more and more. She he leaned against him, eyes hooded and her focus solely on the man before her. She could recall the taste of his lips twice before when doubt had heaved upon their relationship. Now, she felt freer than ever. Such feelings registered in this act they committed now for she held nothing back.

Instinctively, he wanted to hold her. But seeing as moving his arms would thrown her off, his lips would have to do the job for him. 

Those minuscule fingertips made his eyes shut tight. It made his stomach clench and unclench at the novel sensation- he loved it. Kanna gave such singular attention to details he had never experienced. 

He tilted his head to the side, rubbing his upper lip against her face. He could spend an entire day holding onto her and still find new things to marvel at.

"Adrian..."

She sighed against his lips, warmed by gentle exhalations that rushed past her. Kanna pressed her entire torso against his face, wishing to hold him more than anything. Her heart felt overfull but in a good way.

"...I love you."

Her footing was disrupted as Adrian raised his head quite suddenly. His eyes were wide open, studying and searching her countenance. 

"You're.. not just saying that because I'm about to risk my life... Right?" His adam's apple ducked. There was a rare vulnerability in his tentatively hopeful expression, the quiver in the softly spoken words.

"I was waiting for the right moment to say it." She attempted to steady herself, nearly falling backwards off of his arm. She instinctively had reached for his face again to regain her balance. "This felt like the right moment...Nothing else is blocking me anymore."

How long, he wondered, had she been in love with him? In a sudden movement of long-held desire, the giant swooped back down to her. Adrian felt her weight lean on his cheek when he suddenly drew out the lower arm and raised it behind her. An immense, caring hand curved around her, guiding her somewhat gruffly to his lips in the best way he could express he feelings for her. 

I love you. Her words resounded over and over in his brain.

They were lost in an oasis of bliss in a desert of political turmoil.The cold tent ceased to exist. The sounds of solemn murmurings of men and women ready for battle sounded outside. Life had been drained from the camp in favour of darker pursuits. But for Kanna, she felt as if she'd become a light in amidst the swallowing shadows and Adrian kept her bright.

She smiled against his lips and kissed him again and again, setting the moment in stone.

After all this time...

The moment deserved a far better celebration than they could afford. 

"Adrian? Are you still joining us, brother?" Desmond was the only other giant going in the small group of four. His shadow was sillouetted. 

Adrian withdrew a moment later, eyes still locked on the human standing on his arm. 

"..yeah." He dismissed him whilst gingerly touching his thumb to Kanna's cheek. He was ready. 

"I'll see you soon." He promised as he rose to his feet. He gathered up the weaponry and started to leave- then stopped short.

"Oh." He pivoted and came back to take Kanna off the crate. "That would have been fun for you." He chuckled sheepishly.

A small laugh left the teacher, her cheeks rosey and blissful.

"I might not have even come down by the time you'd returned. That certainly would have been embarrassing." She crossed her arms, a playful brow raised as if to reprimand. 

He smiled back, widely and uninhibited. His laughter was heartier than usual, reveling in the wonderful fact that this amazing woman felt the same. Exciting and terrifying conversations about what possibilities for a future together they had... But another day. 

Adrian placed her on the foot of his bed so she could leave at her leisure. 

"Love you." Sheez, that's something to get used to saying.

He dropped low to the ground to give her a peck her cheek. He turned to flash her one more toothy smile over his shoulder, then he was gone.

Kanna watched him leave, renewed hope bubbling up in her like fresh, spring waters from a willing fountain.

The world began to shift under threat of nightfall. The air became charged with more than a chill for the anticipation of a coming storm existed upon the horizon, invisible to waking eyes.

Somewhere in the camp, an old fortune teller felt disturbances amoungst the spirits. Something was very wrong with the world and needed to be rectified quickly. 

Words worked their way through her age addled brain, warning of loose shots, injuries, falls from grace and the threat of tainting of pure, innocent life.