Ivory & Death | ONC 2021

8. Into Battle

"Hey, Hey, come here for a minute." Kai grabbed Sol's hand, pulling her away from their parents, both of them moving out of the line of sight of everyone, into the forest before the front door of the secret base. 

"Is everything alright?" Sol looked up at the man before her, seeing a small smile on his face, as if he was sharing a secret with her.

"The country or the city?" Kai instead asked, wrapping his arms around Sol's waist, staring at her as if they had all the time in the world, and not some war on their doorstep.

"What?" Sol shook her head, laughing at little at the absurdity of such a question. 

Kai merely rolled his eyes playfully, leaning down to kiss Sol softly before whispering against her lips; "The country or the city? After all of this, where do you want to live?"

Sol stared up at the man before her, blinking slowly as she tried to understand such a question, before seeing something pass Kai's eyes. He was asking her about his future, her future... their future together, together at last it would truly be their future.

"The country." Sol moved her hands to run her fingers over the nap of his neck, feeling him shiver slightly. "I imagine after being locked up like you were, you'd enjoy the country to be able to fly whenever you can."

"We should figure out how to get you flying to." Kai kissed Sol again, always softly, always at a moment neither of them were talking, as if he were trying to remember the feeling. "It's beautiful up there."

"You know, you could let me on your back, I'd just hold on for dear life and see where that takes me." Sol laughed a little into the next soft touching of their lips, Kai moving back enough to watch the happiness pass over the woman before him.

"Would you like to?" Kai asked in all seriousness, bringing a hand up to rub his thumb across her cheek, eyes searching her own. "Right now, if we are to go into battle tonight, I can fly us in, keep the vantage point from the sky for us both." Sol leaned back now, seeing just how serious Kai was about letting her ride into battle on his back. "You can drop in on Mathis, and I'll lead the army, I know a lot of Draco are looking to me to lead them."

"Kai..." Sol whispered his name before leaning up to kiss him again, this time a little longer and a little deeper, feeling the weight of his words cancel out her before. When Sol finally leaned back, Kai tried to follow her, as if he wasn't finished kissing her, standing in the shade of the forest that surrounded them. "If you lead them, we'll have to-"

"I know we will." Kai nodded, eyes still closed as he leaned his forehead against her own. "I would truly have loved to live on a small farm with you." Kai kissed Sol one more time, quick, feather like, before standing to his full height, his hands playing with a strap wrapped around Sol's waist, holding a small bag. "Okay. Now I'm ready."

"Time to be their King." Sol pushed her hands through Kai's hair, pushing it all back, the long dark strands falling just above his shoulders. "King Drago of the Draco, first son of the Mother Queen Kaida, Descendant of the First Mother, Wielder of the skies themselves... you come back to me, you hear?"

"Everyone know the story of the little witch and her dragon." Kai smiled widely now, both of them sharing a memory that would hold them until the end of this. "But lets not make it a legend, we'll come back to each other. We always do."

"You better. I will come find you again." Sol warned as she turned away, both of them moving to join where their families stood, looking around nervously, no one really knowing what to do or say in a time like this.

Kai stopped Sol from walking, turning her around to plant one more kiss to her lips, a promise passing between them; "You'll always find me, and you'll always know how to. Now, climb on my back and lets go get my kingdom back."