Lost

[Soran Nightblade]

Caleb stared at her. 'Average' angel? He'd never met anyone that looked like her in his life. There had been rumors and legends about a kingdom like the one she was speaking of now, but he'd never imagined it could be real. "I don't understand," he said. "If you're the princess...why aren't you with your people?" He wondered if she'd had some reason to run away from her home.

[Celeste]

"There is no people left . . ." Celeste whispered "A rival army burned most of Faralon . . ." Her mind wandered back to her last day at home, how she couldn't even find one Soldier form her side. She shuddered "They destroyed everything . . .and left no one alive"

[Soran Nightblade]

Caleb drew a slow breath, knocked back by her words. He understood the atrocity of what had happened to her, because it had happened to him as well, right where they were now standing. "I'm sorry," he breathed. He had no idea what to say to her. So he decided instead to focus on getting a fire started. He broke away from her gaze and walked across the street to haul a number of half-charred chunks of wood out of the rubble. Piling them up in his arms, he walked back to her and arranged the firewood on the ground. using some of the scraps from the bandaging for extra friction, he began drilling a peglike chunk against a flat plank of dry wood until a trail of smoke rose up.

[Celeste]

Celeste meekly watched Caleb. She yawned again and stood up slowly. She watched Caleb with a childlike curiosity, and smiled.

[Soran Nightblade]

It took about ten minutes for the fire to get established. Caleb let silence fall between them as he worked patiently at the fire. Finally satisfied, he sat back in the snow and watched the flames. The heat felt good on his bare upper body. Getting comfortable also made him more aware of the sting in his leg. He stretched forward and rolled up his pant leg, peeling the fabric away from the clotting gashes. They didn't look deep enough to do any permanent muscle damage, but it would be a very bad time the next day if they became infected.

He leaned over and grabbed the bucket that was sitting next to Celeste, pulling it down next to him on the ground, and began rinsing the wounds with his fingers.

[Celeste]

Celeste closed her eyes and tried once again to channel her magic, she could feel it build up just enough to heal Caleb's injury. She murmured the spell and it was healed but she flopped over unconscious.

[Soran Nightblade]

Caleb didn't understand what happened at first. One second he was pouring stinging water across his wound, and the next it was simply....not there. He breathed an involuntary sigh of relief. It took a few minutes to realize the angel had done this for him....again. "That's amazing," he said earnestly, looking over at her.

His expression fell as he saw her body slumped against the stone. "Hey!" he called to her, rushing to his knees and leaning over her. "What happened?" he asked her, suddenly realizing he hadn't asked her name. What was he thinking...she'd asked his name, but he'd been too lost in the chain of events to reciprocate.

When it became clear she was unconscious, he touched the vein on her neck, possessed by an irrational fear she might be dead. He found her pulse beating weakly but steadily and slowly lowered his hand.

As much as he wanted her to wake up, he told himself that the best thing for her was probably to let her body work out the exhaustion until it was ready to wake up. He stood up and dragged more planks from the wreckage to build a dry surface next to fire. Then he turned and lifted her gently from the awkward position she'd collapsed in and brought her closer to the warmth. He lay her on her side on the dry wood and sat next to her, pulling her head gently into his lap.

He looked down at her unconscious expression and studied the lines of her face. He brushed back a strand of silken hair that had slid forward across her face, and sighed. He had no idea why he was so worked up over this total stranger.

[Celeste]

Occasionally Celeste's expression would change, like she was in thought or memory.

She was wet, A kind face appeared in her sight. "Oh My Dear Princess" the mermaid spoke softly. she didn't understand. "I found you nearly drowned" Celeste looked to the west, towards her home. All she saw was a fierce bonfire consuming the only town that had been left. "There's nothing left my Princess . . ."

[Soran Nightblade]

The night passed slowly around them. Caleb watched Celeste like she was an endless puzzle he couldn't figure out. Celeste's occasionally troubled expression baffled him, and he almost felt he was intruding by watching. He also listened closely to their surroundings for signs of trouble, but no new threats emerged from the dark. He got up several times to stoke the fire before returning to her side.

However, as the dull glow of dawn began showing its first signs on the horizon, he was starting to worry that she might not recover before daylight. Caleb dipped his fingertips into the cold bucket of water next to them and stroked the cold moisture lightly across her forehead, hoping to revive her.

[Celeste]

Celeste stirred a bit, opening her eyes with a grunt. She looked up at Caleb, whom she would have though would have left. She smiled a bit and slowly sat up to hug him. "Thank you . . ." she murmured "Thank you . . ."

[Soran Nightblade]

Caleb tensed slightly as she hugged him. He simply wasn't used to being embraced, ever. But it wasn't unpleasant. It felt good to be touched by someone else. He gradually eased up in her arms. Not wanting to touch her wounded back, he cupped his large hand lightly against the back of her head and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I should be thanking you he said quietly.

[Celeste]

"why? I haven't done anything" Celeste whispered. She snuggled a bit and relaxed. "You stayed when it would have been easier to leave me, Both times"

[Soran Nightblade]

You're not so easy to leave as you think, Caleb thought, but stopped the embarrassing words from getting out of his mouth. "How do you feel?" he asked her. "You collapsed..."

[Celeste]

"I feel better" Celeste replied. She held her eyes closed and smiled "I'm glad I met you"

[Soran Nightblade]

"Good," Caleb said. He tensed as an involuntary shudder ran through him. "Do you remember the trail next to where you slept last night," he asked, straining to keep his voice normal.