Rise of The Fallen

–Elazar–

As sunlight irritated my eyes my senses slowly grew more aware and my consciousness came to. Stretching my tail and arms I paused as I realized there was something in my arms.

Opening my eyes I gave them a second to adjust. I found myself lying on the forest floor with kora fast asleep in my arms.

My arm was draped over her as we both laid on our sides a few feet from the healing pool. 

Waking up with her in my arms filled me with so much joy as I pulled her closer and nuzzled the top of her head. Inhaling her scent I purred happily, relishing in the peace of having my mate in my arms.

She slowly stirred awake snuggling up closer to me for warmth which I gladly gave, coiling my tail around her leg and holding her firmly against my chest.

"Mmm… how early is it?" She mumbled sleepily while getting cozy once more. A smile formed on my face as I buried my face in her hair. 

"It's not early. The forest awoke hours ago. If anything it is quite late in the day." I replied.

"Has the first sun already passed halfway over the sky?" She questioned.

"No, not yet."

"Then It's still early." She declared, making me chuckle. 

"Come now mate, you should awaken with the rest of the forest and we can scavenge for some of your favorite foods." I rubbed my hand up and down the length of her arm enjoying how soft kora felt.

With a groan she turned over to face me and snuggled closer. "Just a few more minutes…"

Smiling down at the female in my arms I moved my hand up to start combing my fingers through her hair, ridding it of any tangles and knots. Seeing my braid in her hair made my heart swell with pride and I made sure it was firmly secured as I tended to her mane.

After a while her eyes finally fluttered open slowly and her pupils took a moment to adjust. Tilting her head back some to look at me tired lying she spoke up groggily. "Morning." 

I removed my hand from her hair and rested it on her hip. "Yes it is morning?"

"No- that was meant to be a greeting…"

Looking down at her questioningly I watched as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "We have not left each other, why would we greet once again? And how does the time of day symbolize a greeting?"

"Uhg, nevermind. I'm too tired to explain this right now…"

'Humans truly are strange creatures' I mused to myself. Sitting upright I rubbed koras back in an attempt to rouse her from her tired state. "Come now we cannot sleep the day away, you do not function well at night."

With a mildly dissatisfied groan, Kora sat up and looked at me with an accusing glare. "What do you mean I don't function well at night?".

Did she mistake my words as an insult again? "You humans are not nocturnal, you are not night creatures. You can hardly get around or do much in the dark. I simply do not wish for you to waste precious daylight.

She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Humans are plenty capable at night thank you!" 

"Even when you cannot see in the dark?" I pointed.

"Yes! We are quite inventive! Humans can always come up with creative ways to satisfy their needs and accomplish the impossible! If we can build rockkeets and go to space then we can adapt to darkness!" She spoke in xandisian but the word 'rockeet' was in english.

I watched kora curiously. I don't know what these rock-keets are or what she means by 'space' but I do understand what she means by humans being creative. She's proved that on more than one occasion with her clever tactics and knowledge.

Not to mention how creative humans seem to be when it comes to pleasing one another… just last night Kora and I explored even more, interesting ways to please each other.

My gaze became hooded as I reached out to stroke her cheek and leaned closer. Her stubborn attitude faltered as she saw me getting closer, and her cheeks reddened as she parted her lips as if inviting me to kiss her. 

My tail lashed out happily behind me as I closed the distance with a heated kiss and closed my eyes groaning in satisfaction. 

A throaty moan escaped Kora as she returned the kiss just as passionately. As always I was careful not to cut her with my fangs as we melted into the strange sensations brought on by the gesture.

Her hands moved up to my face and slid into my hair and my arm moved to her waist to pull her closer as we got lost in the sensation.

After a moment Kora pulled away to catch her breath and we both gazed into eachothers eyes. "I enjoy your creative tendencies, especially the ones that bring such pleasure~" kora gulped as she clung to me and I leaned in to steal another kiss only to stop as a voice spoke up from behind me.

"Do humans usually eat eachothers faces?!"

Both of us pulled away from each other and I spun around with a snarl, grabbing my spear as I faced the intruder. 

To both of our surprise it was none other than, kion?

As soon as I recognized the familiar face my body relaxed and my anger faded, replaced by confusion.

"Kion?" Kora spoke up first.

The youngling stood near the treeline with a large basket in hand. What is he doing here?!

I quickly got to my feet as he approached. "What is this- " I stopped as I noticed all the supplies inside the basket, most of which I recognized. Furs and tools from my den? As well as some food.

"Kion, what is the meaning of this?!" 

"Well I thought since you guys can't really stay in the village you might need some supplies to camp out here! I also brought some food I gathered along the way." He smiled proudly.

I stared at the boy in disbelief. "Kion, that is not what I mean, why are you here? Why would you come back! It's not safe-"

"Don't worry I snuck everything out overnight! No one saw me taking anything out and I made sure to cover my tracks so no one would follow me out here! I've gotten really good at it!" 

I grabbed at my head in frustration. Kion wasn't supposed to come back. He wasn't supposed to get more involved! The situation with kora is a dire one, and sensitive. One simple mistake could be the end.

"Kion that besides the point, it's not safe for you to be around us, you were supposed to forget about us." Kora stated firmly. 

"I know I just couldn't, I really did try! I was up all night because I couldn't stop thinking about it, I couldn't sleep. so I decided I wanted to help any way I could! You guys are worried I might get hurt or cause trouble but I promise I won't be a burden and I can take care of myself! So please let me help!" Kion practically begged. 

Kora gave me an unsure look as I sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Fine but at the first sign of danger I want you back to the village immediately! You let us deal with it and don't get involved, understood? And you need to be extra cautious! If there's any chance of someone finding out about this you will cease all contact with us!"

Kion beamed happily and nodded his head in understanding. "I won't let anyone catch me! Promise." 

Groaning, I sighed and let myself relax before taking the basket from kion and bringing it over to the camp to start going through the stuff Kion brought. Kora came up beside me and picked up one of the fruits before taking a bite out of it and watching as I picked through the supplies. 

"At least we don't have to go get breakfast now right?... Are you sure about this El?" With a sigh I looked back at Kora's concerned face.

 "I'm not sure I will ever be sure about anything anymore." I admitted. "I do know we need to find proper shelter. Another hunting cave would be ideal."

Kion quickly joined us and grabbed some berries to snack on. "So if you two are courting why don't you have a braid elazar?"

I froze a bit as Kora glanced between the two of us, also curious. I hadn't told her that we were meant to both carry braids made by each other.

"Because… It's not ideal for me to wear a braid when I may need to go back to the village every few days. Others will ask questions if they see me with one." I was a bit annoyed by the subject.

I wanted nothing more than to wear a braid once again and show everyone that I belong to kora. But that was a luxury I could not afford at the moment. I sulked just thinking about such, it was a great honor to hold a mate mark but because of our circumstances I could not enjoy such.

Kion realized his mistake in bringing up the subject and lowered his head shamefully while going quiet. Kora hummed while eyeing me and both of us looked at the small human who seemed to be staring at me intently.

"What if we just hide it?" She suggested. I arched my brow and my eyes followed her as she stood up and got closer. She started working on my hair with her small hands and I sat there unsure of what she was doing.

She quickly finished and smiled before stepping back. "There, now you have a braid from me and don't have to worry about anyone questioning you!" 

Reaching up to touch my hair I combed my hand over my head but felt nothing. Kion stood up and looked at me and his eyes widened in excitement. "Oh that's genius! I almost didn't see it! Had I not watched you do that I wouldn't have noticed!"

My tail thumped against the ground as I got to my feet and walked over to the pool to look at my reflection, as I turned my head both ways I saw nothing. Kora stepped up beside me and pulled my hair back some and underneath all of it I finally could see the braid hidden beneath.

My hand traced over the braid and my tail curled in delight simply from having such. Kora has marked me…

"This way you Can carry my braid while also hiding it. No one will see it unless you want to show them!" Kora smiled. I looked at her surprised as she crossed her arms. "Told you humans are creative!"

She always seems to know how to make me happy. Even now I'm baffled by how her mind works. Grabbing her wrist I pulled her into an embrace and cradled her head with my hand. "Thank you, mate."

She hugged me back without another word. We pulled away gazing at each other in the eyes once again. Words could not express the pure joy and happiness kora brought me. Without her I'm not sure where I'd be now…

I leaned in nuzzling her head with a purr and she giggled in response. 

At the sound of someone clearing their throat we stopped to look over at kion who was standing off to the side awkwardly. 

"You're not gonna try eating each other's faces again, right?..."