Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Wayfarer's Oasis

Two hours passed as they traveled to their next destination and the rain was coming down upon them. They were getting entirely soaked as they rode the lizards through the now wet sand. Toshiro was putting off a cold that froze the water to his skin instead of running down his body. It wasn’t intentional, it was just happening and he couldn’t control it. Amane was putting off heat so his skin looked like he was steaming as the water hit it. Kyra’s body was absorbing it inside of her, leaving only a slick surface which was more normal than Amane and Toshiro.

Luckily for them, the Dune Lizards were absolutely loving the rain coming down on them and were going faster without worry. The dark green scales had perked up to show a passion for water as they were much brighter than before. Feeling reinvigorated they made good time to the next place: Wayfarer’s Oasis.

Arriving, the oasis seemed to be more like an additional town than a crossroads like the last one. There were shops set up around the water and a walkway entrance with real buildings, not just pop up shelters. These people stayed in this location and facilitated trade among other things. It was an oasis of shopping and merriment. Around the water in the oasis, were slanted roofs that poured the water from the rain back into the pond. Behind it, a covered stage, where people were dancing and enjoying themselves.

They got off the lizards and looked on in amazement. It had been such a long time since any of them had seen people having such a joyous time. Amane hadn’t had a joyous time in years at this point in his life. He began walking towards the covered stage leaving the others behind.

“Amane wait up!” Kyra yells out.

“Well, hurry up.” He replies with a smile. “I haven’t seen a party like this in a long time.”

“What about the bar?” Teo interrupts.

“I was working and sick.” Amane retorts as he shrugs his shoulders.

“That is true.” Teo laughs to himself. “Go enjoy yourself.”

“That’s the plan.” He replies with a short wave.

“You ready?” Kyra asks.

“I am.” Amane says as he grabs her hand as they run to the covered stage.

As they arrive at the stage, Amane hesitantly pauses and becomes nervous. He begins to wonder why he rushed to a stage where everyone was dancing? He took a breath and pulled Kyra on the stage with him.

“I'm not going to get this chance often.” Amane says as he looks into her eyes. “Care to dance…” He whispers,”Princess?”

Kyra blushes and smiles at him,”I would enjoy that very much.” It was the one time she wasn’t upset that he called her Princess. He didn’t do it in a sarcastic manner and genuinely asked to be cordial about it.

Luckily for them the song being played had just changed to a slower one. Amane shakes his head as he looks at Kyra. He wasn’t prepared for a slow song. Kyra smiled and placed his hands on her hips then wrapped hers around his neck. They were both now looking longingly into each other’s eyes.

“I didn’t know you could dance.” Kyra states.

Amane blushes slightly and chuckles to himself in embarrassment,”My mother taught me. I’ve been known to cut a rug figuratively and literally.” He was just making a joke, no one outside of his mother knew he could dance.

Kyra laughs to herself and smiles at him. “It’s mandatory in Royal Etiquette.”

“I don’t envy your upbringing, Kyra. I know mine wasn’t the best but yours couldn’t have been easy either.” He says pulling her closer to him as if hugging her while they danced.

She leaned her head on his chest, fully embracing the moment. “It was months before we met and my second uncle...whom I had never met due to exile, had returned. I ended up bound and knocked out. I understand what it’s like to fight against people who are supposed to be your family.”

“Yeah..” Amane replied quietly. “Let’s dedicate this dance to the future, and hope our children will never have to go through our upbringing.”

“I definitely hope they won’t.” Kyra responded.

The music picked up pace becoming faster. Amane smirked as he slightly pushed her back to change the style of dance. He spun her around and caught her by her waist as they leaned down. Kyra followed his lead as the two began dancing more upbeat, together. They were enjoying the time they had together.

Kitanni and Toshiro watched them dance together from the pond. Neither of one of them had seen this side of Amane or Kyra. This would also explain why neither of them was embarrassed being so close to each other during the dart game. They knew how to dance and the dart game was basically a dance. Toshiro shakes his head while Kitanni watches with a smile.

“Did you know he could dance?” Kitanni asks Toshiro.

“No, I had no clue.” He replied. “Learn something new every day I guess.”

“What about you? Can you dance?” She asks.

Toshiro chuckles, becoming embarrassed by the question. “No. My father taught me how to cook...I don’t think Fujimoto taught Amane to dance either.”

“You can tell by his placement.” Teo interrupted. “His mother taught him.”

“What? How can you tell that?” Toshiro asks.

“He’s got his hands delicately placed on her and they don’t move. He’s not trying to feel her up, he’s just guiding her.” Teo replies with a smile. “My mother did the same thing when I was younger.”

“You can dance, Teo?” Kitanni asked.

“I sure can. It has been a while, but I remember most of it.” Teo responds quickly. “Why? Are you interested in dancing, Kitanni?”

“I am, but someone doesn’t know how.” She said, staring at Toshiro.

“I’m sorry.” Toshiro replied jokingly.

“Let’s fix that real quick.” Teo says. “Get closer together. Put your hands on her hips. Put your arms around his neck. Feel the music in your soul. Let it guide your feet. Kitanni, you guide him first.”

While Amane and Kyra were dancing, Teo was teaching Toshiro and Kitanni to dance. This was the first time they had done anything like this together. Toshiro had never danced and Kitanni was definitely more versed than he was. Teo was more knowledgeable than both of them. But the real experts in the field seemed to be Amane and Kyra, which was just weird to everyone else.

After half an hour, the song had returned to being slow, and Amane and Kyra were close once again. Finally Toshiro and Kitanni made their way to the stage. Teo followed behind them and sat under the covered porch at one side of it, watching them. Teo was expecting this to turn into a competition between the two pairs of dancers.

Amane and Kyra were in a very synchronized groove. Her body fluid with him as they stayed close together. Each push and pull was them breathing in unison, and feeling the heat of each other’s bodies. Caressing and feeling their movements, like they had been dancing together forever. He spun her again, and pulled her even closer than they were already. He smiled at her, and lifted her up; spinning them both around for fun.

Kyra smiled at him,”Put me down.”

“Sorry, I got carried away.” Amane replied with a smirk.

“I enjoyed it. Just too long in the air.” Kyra jokes with him.

“We keep this up and people will start thinking we're together.” Amane retorts.

Kyra blushes brightly, and replies confidently,”Let them think what they want.”

“You guys want to get a room?” Toshiro states with a smirk.

“You gonna pay for it?” Amane retorts, entirely unfazed by the question.

“Amane!” Kyra says, hitting his shoulder. “Dancing is one thing...”

“No worries, Kyra. I was just being a smart ass.” Amane explains.

Toshiro put his hand on his forehead, and face palmed, as his question was answered in a manner he didn’t expect so suddenly. “No and I was kidding.”

Kitanni laughs at the speed in which the question was answered. Surprised at how easily Amane answered that question, and with a serious face. She wondered how far along their relationship really was. Her face turned bright red as she buried her face into Toshiro’s coat.

“I think I broke Kitanni.” Amane says with a laugh.

“Kitanni? Are you alright?” Toshiro chuckles.

She answers but it's muffled by Toshiro’s chest, so only he could make it out. “Do you think they’ve been in a relationship the entire time and have been lying about it?”

Toshiro laughs,”No Kitanni. If they were, Amane would have answered truthfully earlier.”

“Kitanni... Amane and I are not a couple in that regard. We’re apparently a couple of dancers though.” Kyra explains. “We haven’t known each other all that long honestly.”

“Dancing that close you might as well be intimate.” Kitanni says in response.

“Well if it makes you feel any better, I’ve got protection.” Amane jokes as he pulls his shirt down revealing his armor. “See? Full armor.”

Kyra shakes her head and blushes deeply hearing him say that. Toshiro sighs and puts his hand on his head again. Tonight was not the night to mess with Amane when his quick wit and responses were in top form.

“Alright Amane. Stop trying to kill Kitanni.” Teo replies walking over from the table. “I’m going to steal your partner, if she’s okay with it.”

“I am.” Kyra replies.

Amane spins Kyra into Teo’s hands. “Save me a dance at the end.”

“I will.” Kyra replies as her heart is now set on finishing the dance with Amane.

“Take care of her for me.” Amane says to Teo.

“You have my word.” Teo responds.

Amane walks over to the post and leans up against it and watches his friends with a smile on his face. Dancing wasn’t a skill he thought was going to help him beat the Sorcerer but winning over the heart of a princess was another story. He put his hand on his chest and felt the rapidness of his heart beat even more clearly than it had been.

Toshiro and Kitanni had begun dancing finally, with Kitanni’s face returning to normal color after she was embarrassed. She was snuggled up against his chest as her arms were draped over him. His normal pale and light blue skin tone was slightly red as he looked at her. It was clear that they were past the friend stage and were deeply in love.

As Amane stood there watching his friends, a young girl of about ten, walked up to him. Her hair was brown and her eyes teal with freckles across her face. She looks up at him after tugging on his shirt.

“Can you dance with me?” She said quietly while blushing. “Everyone I came with has a partner already and I don’t have any one..”

“That’s totally unfair.” Amane says vibrantly. “We’ll have to fix that.”

“How?” The young girl asks him.

“Simply. Would you like to dance?” Amane replied as he offered her his hand.

The young girl's face lights up and a huge smile is on her face. “Please!” She takes Amane’s hand and leads him to where the rest of her group is to show him off while they dance together.

Amane is bent over pretty far as he dances with her and spins her around. The friends she came with watched in awe. They were envious, as she may have picked the best male dancer there after watching him and Kyra. He watched the people around them as they looked at her now as the popular person. Someone like Amane was dancing with someone none of them wanted to dance with.

“Thank you.” She says to him.

“No, thank you for the invite.” Amane replies. “They’re all looking at you like you scored the biggest catch. Don’t let the popularity get to you though, always be yourself. You have courage and strength.” He smiles at her.

“Who are you?” She asks.

“I'm Amane the Adventurer. I come from Quadrant Three. See those pairs dancing in the back? The one in the long jacket with the pale girl hiding in his coat and the taller man with the headband dancing with the Elven lady?” Amane questions.

“Yeah.” She answers.

“Those are my friends. We’re traveling together.” He replies.

“Where are you going?” She asks.

“Everywhere we can.” He replies quickly and simply. “I’d go anywhere with them.” Amane continued his dance with the young girl but felt something off as his eyes began scanning the area.

“Are you okay?” She asks.

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Amane replies.

As he says that an arrow flies out of the darkness, Amane quickly turns and scoops the girl into his arms and turns around. The arrow sticks into his arm, followed by another two hitting his armor. No one else was harmed besides him, this was a pinpoint attack on the group but they could only see Amane.

“Run.” Amane says to the girl as he sets her down on the ground.

The girl runs into the group of people and out the other side of them then disappears into the buildings.

Amane stands up and pulls the arrow out of his arm and tosses it on the ground and walks off the stage towards the direction it came from. The rain pours down on him as blood flows from his fresh wound. He sees animated stone statues with bows in front of a bigger group behind them. “Let me guess, you’re working with the Sorcerer.” Amane shouts at them.

“We are.” A man in black chain armor says as he comes from behind the statues.

“I’d appreciate it, if you’d leave this area alone.” Amane requests.

“I can’t do that. We’re looking for you...Amane.” He replies.

“Me? Specifically? How genius of you.” He replied sarcastically. “Wait what’s the opposite of genius? Idiotic. That’s what I’m looking for.” Amane retorts.

“I won’t go easy on you just because you have no weapons.” The man adds.

“I won’t go easy on YOU because I have no weapons. I am the weapon.” Amane exclaims while pointing at himself.

Meanwhile, the young girl had run home and found her father.“Daddy! Daddy! My new friend Amane needs help.” She shouts as she bursts through the doors.

“What? Who is that?” He replies.

“I was dancing with him because I didn’t have a partner and he protected me from arrows. He was hit doing so; he really needs help.” She continues to explain.

The man gets up from his seat on the floor and blows on a horn. The horn blows, warning the town of danger. The man grabs his green scaled mask and slips it on. “Stay here.”

“Yes, daddy.” She replies and sits down to wait.

As he runs outside, he is joined by a dozen men all wearing the hood and clothing of snake scale armor. They pass the dance floor and see Amane already in battle with one of the guys.

Amane grapples with the man and tosses him on the ground quickly. The man pulls him down and tosses him backwards onto his back. Amane rolls back onto his feet as his opponent gets up.

Kyra and the group are looking around trying to figure out what that horn meant. Then they saw the Snake scale warriors going to the side across from them. At that point, Kyra and everyone saw Amane in a battle with a group of people. “That horn must have been for danger.” Kyra states.

“Seems like it.” Teo adds.

“Better go help him.” Toshiro replies.

Kitanni pauses her response before talking,”Let’s wait. Those guys are running over there.” She says as the dozen guys pass them by.

“They must be the defenders. Guess Amane found some new dance partners” Teo says with a slight laugh.

Amane was having no problem toying with his opponent during that time. He wasn’t sure if he could do much to the stone statues but this guy was flesh and blood. He also wasn’t very strong either after the battles they had been in just a few days ago. “If you give up now, I won’t have to kill you.” Amane says to him.

“I'd rather die than surrender.”” He retorts.

“So be it.” Amane says coldly as he pulls the man forward in their grapple and quickly snaps his neck in a matter of moments. “I really didn’t want to do that, but you endangered that little girl, and that’s unforgivable.”

“I guess you didn’t need help after all...” The Snake armored man states.

“With him? No. I fought stronger enemies in Quadrant Three.” Amane retorts and points. “I’m not so sure about them..”

The snake man laughs,”Easy enough. I know men from Quadrant Three. What clan are you from?”

“Fuseishutsu.” Amane replies.

“So you know Fujimoto.” He responds. “Good drinking buddy of mine.”

“You could say that.” Amane laughs. “He’s my father.”

The man is taken back by surprise from his answer. “You’re Amane.” The man shakes his head. “My daughter said your name and it didn’t register. It does now.”

“We can catch up in a minute.” Amane says. “How do we kill those guys?”

“Here take this.” He hands Amane a chain sickle. “Pour your spiritual energy into this weapon.”

“Now THAT, I can do!” Amane says excitedly. The chain sickle in his hand begins glowing brightly as a sheen of silver exudes from it just as his eyes do.

“Have you ever used one of these before?” He asks Amane.

“A few times, just none of them recently.” Amane jokes.

“Well, get ready, because here they come.” He replies

Amane takes the bladed end into his hand and begins spinning it to the side of him then slings it into the group of enemies. The sickle smashes through the three bowmen with ease, since it was infused with energy. He pulls it back and catches the sickle part in his hand by its handle. As he pulls it back, the statues collapse onto the ground and crumble to pieces.

“Begin.” The man commands his team.

As the men attack the statues with Amane, the dance continues on as if nothing is happening. They had gotten so used to fighting off the Sorcerer’s men, that it wasn’t even a bother to their daily lives when a battle broke out. The little girl only ran off because Amane told her to since she was dancing with him.

Chain sickles rattled as they were slung at the statues, wrapping around and cracking them. The dozen chains, clashing with the stone, as the Snake Clan begins to decimate the statues with ease. Amane finishes off another couple of statues with the chain and stares at the last remaining statue.

“Are you going to finish it?” The man asks him.

“In a second.” Amane replies as he walks over to the statue and looks into its stone eyes. “If they knew where I was that means he’s watching... or took a guess. So if you’re watching, remind yourself: I’m coming for you.” He steps back and gives him the finger. With his sickle in hand, he sets it a blaze with spiritual energy as well as fire and slashes the statue down the center. The flames and energy dissipate as Amane hands it back to him.

“You can keep that one.” He attaches his own sickle back to the holster on his hip. “Since we didn’t discuss my name, I’m Naraj Orm.”

“It’s great to meet you.” Amane replies, placing his right hand out to him.

“Likewise Amane. Thanks for looking after my daughter.” He replies, as he takes Amane’s hand and shakes it.

“Oh she was your daughter?” Amane reacts surprised by the news even though the man just told him that before the fight.

Naraj wraps his arm around Amane’s shoulders as he begins walking them back towards the stage. “Yeah. What did you tell her about who you are?”

Amane laughs briefly at the question, because he didn’t think anyone out here knew who he was but this man seemed to be on the ball with his identity. “I just told her I was an adventurer. Just passing through basically.”

“I appreciate that you didn’t go into detail about what you’re really doing. She has a hard enough time with me being in danger. I think she’s taken a liking to you for helping her at the dance. I believe if she knew how much danger you were putting yourself in she’d be a bit more upset.” Naraj continued to explain. “She makes strong bonds when she makes friends..she just doesn’t have many.”

Amane nods in agreement with him as he is the same way as his daughter. He made a strong bond with Toshiro, and it put him in a lot of heartache and pain. His quick and deep bond with Tenkai was a powerful hit to his emotions as well. Now he’s made a deeper bond with everyone else in their group. “I fully understand.” He hears the chain rattle on his side,”Are you sure you don’t want that back?”

“Glad to hear you understand and yes, I’m sure.” Naraj replies as he looks around,”Where is your group at?”

“The stage.” Amane answers quickly.

Amane and Naraj make their way to the covered tables and sit down across from each other at a large one, with enough seating for the rest of the group to join them. As they sat down at the table, his daughter returned to the stage area, and sat beside her father.

“Amane this is my daughter Tani.” Naraj says calmly as he pats her head after she sits down.

“Nice to meet you, again.” Amane replies. “You didn’t get hurt did you?”

“I’m entirely okay!” She replies excitedly. “What about you?” She asks as her face becomes worried.

Amane flexes his arm up,”Just a scratch, but I’ll be fine.”

Tani gets up from her seat and takes the ribbon from her hair which drops her hair down to her shoulders. She walks over to Amane and wraps her pink ribbon around his so-called scratch and ties it up. “Now it’ll get better, faster!”

“For sure!” Amane replies back excitedly to match her enthusiasm. “Thank you so much, Tani.”

“Don’t lose it, please. I want you to remember we’re always friends.” She says with a big smile.

“Of course, I'll cherish it always.” Amane says smiling back at her.

Naraj watched them as they had their conversation and was more surprised she gave up her favorite ribbon to make sure he was okay. In his mind, she must have really liked Amane if she wanted him to have that. He picks up Tani and kisses the top of her head,”That was very kind of you.”

She blushes in embarrassment, as she is set back down. “That’s because he’s the best.”

“Wish everyone felt that way about me, Tani.” Amane replied somberly.

As he replied, Toshiro led the group back to where they were seated. “You know why they don’t think that, Amane.”

“Does this guy bother you, Amane?” Tani asks.

“Always.” Amane jokingly replies.

Kyra laughs and interrupts,”What happened over there?”

Amane shakes his head,”I’ll tell you later.”

“You’ll tell us now.” Toshiro replies.

“No. I will tell you, LATER.” Amane retorts as he motions to Tani. “If you can’t respect that request. I suggest you return to the dance floor for now.”

“Yeah! He’ll tell you later! Go dance!” Tani shouts at Toshiro.

Kitanni snickers in the back, behind them, while Toshiro shakes his head. Kyra sits down next to Amane followed by Teo next to her. “Are you alright at least?” Kyra asks Amane.

“I’m doing just great.” He turns towards her and shows her his arm. “Look at my awesome ribbon.”

Kyra smiles seeing the pink ribbon on his arm,”It goes so well with your red armor.”

“RIGHT!” Amane replies. “I'll have to take it with me everywhere.”

Slowly, Kyra puts her hand on Amane’s new ribbon and his arm. “Protect it with everything you are.”

“I will.” Amane replies.

Tani looks on and turns red as she watches Kyra and whispers, asking Amane, ”Is she your girlfriend?”

Kyra jumps back into her seat, becoming vibrantly red as she hears the whisper. Amane watches her reaction carefully and smirks at her. He bends town to Tani and whispers to her knowing Kyra will hear it still:“She’s not, but maybe one day she will be.” Amane says to Tani quietly in their whisper.

Tani whispers back,”She’d be a good one. She can dance.” She says before she skips off towards her house.

Naraj full on belly laughs at the conversation being held between them. “Kids always seem to know what to say to make adults blush.”

“So what happened?” Teo asks.

“Since Tani is gone, I’ll just flat out tell you: the Sorcerer’s men found me. Said they were looking for me specifically. Had a small force, but myself and Naraj along with his men cleaned them up quickly.” Amane replies. “Only one guy was flesh and blood, the others were stone statues.”

“How do you fight stone?” Toshiro questions.

“Spiritual energy.”Amane answers quickly. “We all may need a few lessons in that.”

“When the time comes.” Toshiro replies. “Is that all that happened?”

“I got shot in the arm. I snapped a guy’s neck. What do you want me to say? I danced out there while waiting? That I just got my groove on?” Amane replies very sarcastically. “It was a quick battle, nothing else had time to happen.”

“Couldn’t have just said that before?” Toshiro adds coldly stating in disbelief it couldn’t have been said earlier.

“No, we had a child present. I don’t go around saying things like that in front of children. Do you?” Amane retorts, getting somewhat fed up with the situation. One good conversation and now it's back to how it was beforehand.

Naraj looked on during the exchange, ”Could you guys excuse us? I need to discuss something with Amane personally.”

Teo gets up from the table and wrangles everyone together,”Come on Kyra.”

“I’m coming.” She replies.

“I'm staying right here.” Toshiro argues.

Kitanni pushes him by his chest and keeps walking to make him back up forcefully. “Let’s go. We can see him from the dance floor.”

“Fine.” Toshiro replies as she pushes him backwards. “I'm watching you.”

“I know... I know.” Amane sighs followed by rolling his eyes. “Hey, Kyra.”

“What’s up, Amane?” She replies before getting up.

“Don’t forget to save me a dance.” Amane smiles at her.

“Of course I won’t forget. If I can run around Quadrant Two all day, a little dancing is nothing. I”ll be waiting for you.” Kyra replies with a soft smile as she walks off towards the stage with the rest of the group.

“Thanks!” Amane shouts from the table, as he watches them walk back with his eyes more fixated on Kyra than anything.

Naraj watches Amane as his eyes linger on Kyra, as if he wanted to dart after her. He had definitely seen that look many years ago from the unlikely source of Fujimoto. He remembers clearly that Fujimoto’s eyes were fixated heavily on Jade, during the time they had met..but not many people weren't for varying reasons. “Amane.” Naraj says sternly.

“Sir?” Amane replies.

“Stop staring.” He laughs.

Amane looks down at the table, blushing, then back up,”What did you want to talk about?”

“Your father. How has he been?” He asks with concern.

“Oh…” Amane pauses and looks back down at the table then takes a deep breath before looking back up. “He’s..he’s passed on.” Amane explains.

“My god, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Naraj replies, shocked at the news.

“I didn’t know either…” Amane adds somberly. “Toshiro told me..when I fought him. Before that, I saw his spirit rise and his sword break but I wasn’t positive until Toshiro mentioned it.”

“You definitely have his heightened sense of spirit and your mother’s ability to see spirits clearly. How’d he die, if you don’t mind me asking.” Naraj asks.

“Some general killed him. If I had to guess it was because he was drinking more frequently after Mom’s death.” Amane goes on to explain to him.

“Lost your clan, your father, your mother, and your friend. I’m sorry you’ve had it so bad.” Naraj states.

“I’m managing.” Amane says quickly. “Do you know Toru?”

“I do.” He replies. “I saw him a couple weeks ago, He may either be in Areno, or he may be at the Coastal Inn.” Naraj replies thinking about the answer before asking his own question,”How do you know him?”

“He was my commanding officer in the war. I was a Lieutenant in the assassination team. I helped take out specific targets. He led us and helped me train more.” Amane explains. It was the first time he had talked about what he did in the war so specifically.

“If you find him, tell him I said to give you the important thing.” Naraj laughs to himself,”He’ll know what it is.”

“What is it?” Amane asks.

“A relic of days gone by. Let’s just say you’ll be surprised when you see it.” He explains. “Well I’m going to head on in. It was great meeting you, Amane. Get your dance with your elven lady.”

“I will.” Amane replies. “I hope we see each other again in the future.”

“I’m sure we will, son.” Naraj replies with a smile, as he heads off towards his house.

Amane’s thoughts lingered on what Toru could have and that Naraj called him son. He was surprised by that as he got up from the table and made his way to the dance floor and just watched them for a few minutes. He was thinking about what would happen if he just left them there? They weren’t involved with this. He could outrun Toshiro with ease and probably Kitanni and Teo. His problem would be out racing Kyra and her hearing him leave. He didn't want to see any of them get hurt on this quest, it was his quest. He had seemingly already hurt Toshiro, and he didn’t want to take a chance of ruining anyone else’s life. The depression started to cloud his mind again as he was lost in thought staring off into space.

As he stood there lost in thought, Kyra had walked over to him and stood before him. “Amane?” She said, waving her hand in front of his face, but didn’t get a response. She saw the look on his face and just embraced him as he stood there. Her arms wrapped around his body. “Come back to the present, please.” She asked him quietly, whispering into his ear. “You’re not at war, you’re in a town, next to a dance floor.”

Amane shook his head as he came back to the present, feeling her embrace. He embraces her back and just holds her in his arms. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She says quietly, not releasing him. “Are you okay?”

“No. I guess the conversation about my father and the war triggered something. I couldn’t stop thinking about leaving you all here...so you didn’t get hurt. Then, zoned out entirely it seemed.” Amane explained to Kyra. He didn’t know what really happened himself.

“Amane, I’m not going anywhere. You can’t get rid of me that easily. I said I was coming with you and I am. You can lean on me.” Kyra states in a caring and friendly tone. “You’re not alone.”

“I’m trying so hard to remember that every day...but it’s been hard after being on my own.” He replied quietly. This was becoming a commonality between them; Kyra, so naturally, drawing forth real emotions and responses from him when no one else could.

The rain begins pouring down more as they stand there in an embrace. Kyra begins swaying them back and forth as she places her hands on his and moves them to her hips and places her own arms around his neck. “I’m not going anywhere.” She states again as she places her head on his chest.

Silent tears roll down his face as they stand there in the rain, dancing slowly. The rain washes the tears from his face, hiding it from everyone else. He could be as strong as he needed to be but it seemed like he found his heart's one weakness: someone genuinely caring about him..in this case Kyra. She was able to pull so many emotions forward that he tried not to have, but she would embrace it wholly to make sure he was alright.

From her cathedral in Quadrant Two, Ama watched from above with a soft smile on her face. This timeline was changing quite a bit from the one she remembered. The two people she remembered were a lot more stubborn and a lot less closer to people, generally speaking. Amane was opening up to her so much easier than he did before, and Kyra was embracing his loneliness and depression, trying to help remove it. They weren’t shy with each other in serious aspects of their lives and weren’t hiding from feeling things together. She was happy for them knowing they had a strong relationship. They’ll bend their bond, but it won’t break.

“I’m so proud of you both and I can’t wait for our first visit together...that you can both remember.” Ama smiles as she watches them continue their dance in the pouring rain.

“Miss Ama, you really have to stop watching them. What if they were being intimate?” The handmaiden blushed as she said it.

“Then I guess we'll just have a show.” Ama jokes with her handmaiden. “I’m just checking in on them. They’re so different but so similar.”

“Different how?” She asks.

“I was wrong when I said he wouldn’t open up. Amane is more emotionally available this early on. He hid everything until he visited me but I knew how to get him to open up. Kyra is more empathetic than she was before, and is able to see his real emotions and pull them forth. It’s a new experience. This is definitely a novel timeline.” Ama explains with delight in her voice. This new one was going to be a roller coaster of emotion for them all.

Amane and Kyra were drenched from the rain and their clothes entirely soaked through but that didn’t stop them from continuing their dance in the pouring rain. The development of their bond was steadily increasing and so was the water around them. They hadn’t planned on stopping so many times, and the rains were supposed to cause floods quickly. The oasis would fill up rather fast with water. All the homes were slanted down into it, as if it was a reservoir.

Reaching up, Amane lightly caressed her pale cheek with his right hand. She looked up with a hint of blush on her face, and her wet bangs in front of her eyes with a smile on her lips. She stared into his eyes, as he stared into hers. Her heart beats faster in her chest as she feels his heart do the same. Her hands slide upward from his neck to the side of his face. He brushes her bangs out of her eyes with his right hand as his left hand travels to the small of her back. Kyra leans in further feeling his hand on her back, slightly but gently pushing her forward. They continue to stare into each other’s eyes as they lean in, and their eyes begin to close with their lips ever inching towards one another.

As they get closer and closer with their lips almost touching, a loud thunderous roar breaks the silence as lightning strikes in the background. The bright flash wakes them out of their own world, where it was only them. As they both snap out of it, they let each other go and start blushing.

Teo runs up from the stage,”The weather is getting worse, we should get going while we’re still able, if not, we’ll be stuck here until it stops raining.”

“Right.” Amane agrees. “Come on, Kyra. Let’s go saddle up our lizards, and get a move on.” He adds as he tries to stay calm, even though he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

As Amane turned around, Kyra grabbed his hand,”Amane?” She said softly as she pulled him towards her. She touched his face, and pulled him down to her chin. She kisses his forehead and holds it there for a couple moments, then pulls away, resting her forehead against his. “I’m here for you.”

Amane grasped her hand tightly as she kissed his forehead, her soft lips pressed against his skin, his heart skipped a beat and his eyes closed listening to her. His well being was her priority, and he didn’t know how to handle that information. He remembered the last person who kissed his forehead was his mother. He knew this was a message from her: it was a sign of protection. In her own way, Kyra being there was a way for her to protect him as well. He felt strangely empowered, knowing someone had his well being in their thoughts. He quietly replied back to her,”Thank you.”

“You’re welcome...Amane.” She replied in a breathy manner. Kyra took him by the hand, and began leading him to the dune lizards. She didn’t know why she pulled him close like that; all she knew was that it felt natural to do so. She was becoming more empathetic and more nurturing towards him at least. She didn’t want him to feel alone. As she walked she had a huge smile on her face.

This was the second time Amane had let Kyra drag him somewhere. It was something he didn’t mind, but at least this time was by the hand not by his shirt. He looked at their hands being intertwined and wondered what she wanted from their growing relationship. He had just told Toshiro that he wasn’t trying to be in a romantic relationship...but he also said if it happened, it happened. He definitely felt the urge, the desire, building up within him to be closer with Kyra.

As Kyra and Amane arrived at the lizards, the rest of the group joined around the same time. The five of them looked at the lizards, with a confused expression on their faces. The dune lizards all of the sudden had frilly necks. They were hopping up and down excitedly in the rain. Their frills catch the rain by their necks.

“This is weird.” Amane states as he stares at them.

“Can we ride them like this?” Kitanni asked.

“Probably.” Teo says as he looks them over quickly. “The saddles aren’t interfering with them at all. We might get there at a quicker pace like this.”

“Let’s go then.” Toshiro replies. “I'm curious to see how fast they go.”

Kyra had already wrangled her and Amane’s Dune Lizard, she climbs up and looks at the group impatiently. She waits anxiously for Amane to get on. “Get on.” She says to Amane, reaching her arm out to him.

Amane takes her hand and hops on the lizard with a smirk,”Do I get to nap on you?”

“Nope!” She leaned back on him and whispered,”But you get to wrap your arms around me.”

“If that is what you want..” Amane said with a blush on his cheeks.

“Let’s move!” Teo shouts as he begins leading the way north again.

Toshiro and Kitanni hop on their lizard then begin following behind Teo. Kyra and Amane follow behind them looking more like a couple than before. It was as if they were in between stages of companionship, also known as the “cutesy phase”, where they aren’t sure what they are entirely yet but are growing into being more.

As the rain came down, the dune lizards stood up on their hind legs fully able to support the passengers and baggage as they began running, and running fast. With the wind blowing across them and the water being blocked by their frills, the group was going to cover some distance quickly.

As they rode, Amane leaned over Kyra’s shoulder,”Thanks again...for everything.” He leaned back as they continued the ride.

The group was generally silent and mostly just holding on for dear life as the dune lizards ran like there was no tomorrow. Teo had seen lizards in smaller stature like this, but never a large Dune Lizard. In his mind, Aren was just really weird, but in a good way. He enjoyed being able to help guide and mold this younger generation. Their worlds may have been different, but it was easy to tell their natures were not. Knowing that he could help them grow and flourish into adults gave Teo a peace of mind he hadn’t had since he arrived there. As a leader within his people, he missed that gratification, and now he had it again.