A scout in the woods - Kaela's story. In the Inak village, a villager falls ill. Schala, having some medical skill, is appointed to help cure the villager of the disease. Janus and Kaela decide to make a short hunting trip, since Schala can't go anywhere. They set off with minimal supplies; A bow and quiver of arrows each, a flint knife, and the clothes on their backs. Janus takes along his leather pouch. They leave the village, and set off towards the south, which, coincidentally, is where Kaela's parents were killed when she was nine. As night is falling, they come to the border of a small but crystal clear lake. Kaela decides they should stop for the night, and sleep around a campfire a short distance away from the lake. Janus lights a fire, and they find berries plentiful on the bushes that seem to be everywhere. After the fire had died down, they decided to turn in. Janus tucked his arms inside his tunic, which was the velvet blue one he'd kept from Zeal, and it was really warm. Kaela took off her leather tunic, and wrapped it around herself like a sleeping bag. As the fire died down completely, the stars began blinking. -- She was rushing through the bushes. Branches flew in her face, and she brushed them away with her free hand, her other hand cluthing her bow. Kaela was sprinting down the path, leaping over upraised roots and ducking low overhangs. Then, she heard the howl. Long and wailing, deep-throated but high-pitched. She froze in her tracks. Her mother, fearful for Kaela's father, dashed past her around the bend and out of sight. Kaela took an arrow from the quiver on her back and fletched it on the bow. She drew the string taut and ran forward, bow at the ready. It was all there. Her parents. The bushes. She felt herself surge forward. And then, the root. She felt the arrow fly, her body hit the ground. The inarticulate scream. And suddenly, she was in the dark. Janus was shaking her gently, worry clouding his eyes. She immediately raised herself onto her knees and wrapped her hands around Janus's neck, and put her head down on his shoulder, tears flowing. Janus felt a sense of tenderness, aware that someone had the trust in him to cry on his shoulder with no hesitation, and he felt a strong pull in his heart. Could it be.. Love? Janus held her close to his body, and stroked her gentle black hair. Her tears were flowing down his shoulder, and she showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Janus reached over, and grabbed her tunic from where she had been sleeping. To keep the night chill away, he wrapped it around her bare body, and they stayed like that for a long time. Eventually, Kaela fell silent. Janus thought to himself. "She's cried herself to sleep." Sighing, he gently re-arranged Kaela's tunic so that it covered her whole body, and he lied down, placing her to rest right beside him on the ground. As a final gesture of reassurance, he held her hands in his, and he soon fell into a deep and restful sleep. --------------- Janus awoke. Something inside him told him it was morning, and he was suddenly aware of the warm sun on his body. Opening his eyes, and blinking to adjust to the bright sunlight, he surveyed his surrounding as he remembered where he was. He looked beside himself, with a bit of a start, and saw Kaela resting peacefully. There was a sort of smile that played across her lips that Janus knew to be a sign of a restful sleep. During the night, their hands had come together in a hold, in which neither had both hands around the other's. Janus now noticed this, and that their hands were clasped against Kaela's chest. Janus slipped one hand out of this gentle lock and caressed Kaela's cheek, brushing her raven-black hair out of her eyes. As if in a pleasent dream, she smiled, and murmurred something. Janus strained to hear what it was. "scout.." Janus got his other hand loose, and sat down, looking with wonder at the innocent beauty on Kaela's face. Her hair rustled in the breeze, brushing against her eyelids, making her blink slightly in her sleep. Janus sighed. There were several tasks to be done this morning. He rose, and grabbed a few of the branches they had piled near the fire stones. He put them into the firepit and lit them, using a flint Kaela had found nearby. Making a small blaze, he assured that there was no flammable material that could catch and spread the flames, he stood up, and took his pouch from beside his bed. Tying it around his waist, he took off, in search of the berries Kaela had described the afternoon previous. After finding several very abundant bushes, from which he completely filled his leather bag and then some, Janus walked back to their campsite. When he returned, Kaela was still asleep. He threw another few branches on the fire, then knelt beside her. He took her hand, and held it against his cheek. Then he bent down, and whispered her name softly in her ear. She opened her eyes, and, noticing Janus she looked into his eyes urgently. Desperation and embarassement flashed rapidly through her eyes. Her gaze was met only by warm reassurance. Janus knelt beside her, and bent over to hug her. She hugged him back, tightly, pulling herself to a kneeling position, while pulling her tunic with her to cover herself. "J..Janus..", Kaela started, in a shaky voice, her lower lip quivering. She was afraid. How would Janus react? She had been so emotional last night, she didn't even fully know what happened. How would he take this? She really liked him, but would he like her anymore after what had happened? "It's okay, Kaela.. It's okay..", Janus whispered, brushing her hair reasurringly. His heart tugged again, as he noticed her arms tighten around him, and he felt the warmth of her body next to his. "J.. Janus..", Kaela stuttered, confused by the emotions running through her body. "This.. this is a new feeling to.. me.." "I.. I know, Kaela.. I know..", Janus whispered, almost overwhelmed by the growing compassion and love flowing through his heart. "It's.. new to me, too.." Kaela lifted her head and leaned back, to sit on her heels. Her hands traced Janus's arms until they reached his hands, which she held. "Janus, I..", she began, but fell silent. Janus raised his eyes to focus on Kaela's gentle face. "I love you, too, Kaela.", he said softly, tears welling in his eyes. "And..", he tried to say, as the words caught in his throat. "W..what is it, Janus?", Kaela asked, concerned. This was a side of Janus she had never seen before. Surely he wasn't.. crying? "Janus..?" Janus shook his head, and brushed away his tears. Reaching down to his waist, and untying his pouch, he placed it in Kaela's open hands. "Here.. eat these." Kaela unstrung the pouch and gingerly started eating the sweet berries inside, totally at a loss of what to say, and concerned about Janus. Why was he acting so? Did he love her that much? She looked at him again. He was sitting, facing towards her, with his eyes shut tight, biting his lower lip with what appeared to be some force. In her carelessness and worry for Janus, she payed no attention to trying to get the berries into her mouth and for them to stay there, so as a result she made a small mess of herself with them. When she had finished, she realized that she was a mess, and she broke the silence that had engulfed them, a sphere of stillness. "Janus.. I need to wash off. Do you want to take a swim, too?", Kaela asked, with a definate tone of concern in her voice, uncertain of how Janus would react. He was so.. unpredictable. Janus opened his eyes, and let off the pressure on his poor lip. He quietly nodded assent, as he felt he needed a bath, too. Why she would ask him if he wanted to come wash off with her was strange in his mind, but his heart made a possible suggestion, in the form of a warm feeling that flooded through his body, from head to toe, making him shiver. Kaela rose, and waited for Janus to stand up, himself. Then, they started walking towards the shore of the lake, in even pace. As if under their own control, their hands joined, and they looked at each other. Kaela smiled, and they looked forwards again. At the shore, they stopped. Janus bent down and tested the temperature of the lake. It was a bit cold, but much warmer then usual for the season. He passed this judgement along to Kaela, and they stared across the surface of the lake, unbroken and unrippled. As one, they turned back to each other, and mischievious smiles played across their faces. On an unspoken signal, they both ran and splashed into the lake, until they were completely soaked and up to their shoulders in water. Kaela washed off her face and chin, with sand that Janus had dragged off the bottom. Kaela dunked her head under, to get her hair wet so she could rinse it and wring it out. When she surfaced, Janus was nowhere to be seen. Anxious, she scanned the surface of the entire lake. There was not a ripple around, except from her body movements as she turned around in her search. Suddenly, a bubble burst just in front of her. She looked down to where it was, and suddenly Janus sprang up, right in front of her, with a great gasp. At first she jumped from surprise, but Janus's grinning face was too much to stay mad at him for long. Giggling, they joined hands once again, and moved closer. Janus's deep blue eyes were sparkling with merriment and laughter, a rarity in his life. Kaela suddenly got an idea. "Janus.. close your eyes for a second..", she giggled, with a tone of mystery in her voice. She was taking a gamble, and if she guessed wrong, this could have dangerous results. Janus looked at her quizically, but complied, shutting his eyes and just grinning for the sake of it. Trying to guess what Kaela was up to, Janus tried to sense her physical prescence and motion. He felt her slowly coming closer, then suddenly, surprising Janus completely so that he almost cried out, he felt the warmth of her body pressed against his and a sudden pressure on his lips. Now fully aware of Kaela's "surprise", Janus wrapped his arms around her body, and they remained, set in this loving embrace for what seemed to be an eternity. Janus couldn't believe what was happening. He had never felt any of these emotions before in his life. He knew he loved Kaela, having said so from his heart and believing every word of it with his body and his soul. He also knew that Kaela loved him. Why else would she have trusted him so implicitly? But, this.. this was so.. special.. He had never felt these feelings before, even this morning.. He felt Kaela's soft breath, brushing against his cheek. Her black hair was soft and silken in his hands, and he gently brushed it. Gently, Kaela's strong arms pulled them closer, and Janus noticed for the first time that they were draped around his neck. Kaela was stunned. Never before had she felt such a universal feeling of warmth run through her body, after feeling Janus's wet tunic and body against her. From the moment her lips had touched his, something had clicked in the world. The bond between then was so strong that their hearts had joined, in some middle ground, and she knew there was no going back.