Rain Dance

Voltaire again nodded slowly, not moving otherwise. He suspected he was still soul-drained and his back was still sore, so more sleep might be best. If his state was anything like Adair's after Chiaroscuro, then what he needed was a good sleep, not just a nap.

Kimi smiled softly and brushed his hair from his face. "Do you want me to lay with you?" She asked.

"...Yeah," Voltaire said, vaguely wondering if he should tell her her unintended double meaning. He didn't really feel like it, so he said nothing else.

Kimi laid back down next to him and cuddled close to his chest. "I want to help you feel better. let me know if there's anything I can do to help you okay?" She murmured.

"You're here," Voltaire said quietly, giving Kimi a kiss on the forehead. "That helps."

Kimi smiled softly. "I do my best" She sighed. "Rest and you'll feel better. And Later, I'll hunt. Don't worry about anything, okay?"

"I'll hunt. I'm a Hunter," he protested sleepily. "As long as I actually catch something I find it's a stress reliever. Mr. Hero can be such a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes."

'Mr. Hero' was currently snoring away, having not woken up once since last night.

"Then you can help. But I'm not letting you do it yourself." Kimi told him firmly. "Ava was very worried about you"

"I'm still worried about Volty," Ava piped up. "You're so sad. It's not like you."

Voltaire sighed. He didn't really feel like himself either. All he wanted to do was lay there and sleep.

"...Fine. Should make hunting easier."

Kimi smiled. "Good boy." She murmured, tilting her head back to kiss Voltaire's forehead. "Now go back to sleep."

Voltaire drew closer to her, until their foreheads touched.

"I just...don't want you to get hurt anymore," he said.

Kimi smiled sadly. "Its alright. I'm used to it by now. I'm sturdy."

Voltaire's expression saddened, and he nuzzled her shoulder.

"I want to protect you," he whispered, as he felt himself being pulled back into slumber. "I...I love you."

Kimi's face flushed slightly. She didn't know what love ment, but the way Voltaire said it made her think it was very important. It also made her feel different inside. She simply held him as he drifted back to sleep.

When Voltaire woke up many hours later, the first thing he noticed was Kimi. For a while he just watched her sleep. The second thing he noticed was that he was very hungry. Now that he thought about it, he never did get the chance to eat yesterday. He wanted to get up, but wasn't sure how he was going to do it without disturbing Kimi.

Ava was asleep below them, having finally found a cave to rest at. Outside was a plain with long grasses and a few trees in it.

Kimi shifted in her sleep and mumbled Voltaire's name softly. She sighed deeply and turned her head. She seemed to be dreaming about him.

Voltaire flushed slightly as he tried to wiggle out of her arms without waking her up.

Kimi's grip wasn't very tight so Voltaire was able to slip out easily. Her hands fell to her side and she mumbled softly again.

After Voltaire was sure that Kimi was still asleep, Voltaire carefully crept over to the food rations. He was chewing on a piece of dried meat when he noticed Adair, who soon noticed him in turn.

"Look who's up," Adair greeted cheerfully. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Voltaire answered with his mouth half-full. "Kimi's still sleeping. Try to be quiet."

"It's not like you to worry about other people's sleep," Adair answered with a smirk, though his voice did get lower.

"Hmph."

Kimi yawned loudly and sat up. She looked over to the boys. "When did you wake up?" She asked, as if she had been awake for a while.

"A few hours ago," said Adair.

"A few seconds ago," replied Voltaire. "Did we wake you up?"

"Not at all" Kimi replied with a smile. "I woke on my own, Fully recovered"

"Go ahead and get something to eat then," Voltaire answered. "I know you didn't get anything to eat yesterday thanks to...all that crap."

"I'm okay" Kimi smiled. "We're going hunting today, I'll eat after that"

"You sure?" Voltaire asked. He knew of some Hunters that starved themselves before a hunt because they believed this made them hunt better. One was more keen on catching prey if one's stomach depended on it, some said. While Voltaire saw the logic behind this philosophy, and knew its effects better now that he was an outlaw, he wasn't fond of practicing this strategy if he didn't have to.

"Kimi's hunting with you?" asked Adair.

"Yeah, she wanted to join me," Voltaire answered. He still wasn't thrilled with the idea, but maybe it was for the best. If she was right there then he wouldn't be worrying over her while he was trying to hunt.