Dark Water

Chapter 9

Oisin jabbed his friend in the side with his elbow to wake him up as they listened to Mihris speak.

"What happened next?"

Arlid walked closer to them, and Peggy quickly stood up to try and intervene.

"You leave them alone now Arlid. You and your crew aggravated them and got what you deserved." Arlid seemed to ignore him, stepping closer to the pair. Orliantha seemed to be scared of him, linking Mihris's arm in hers quickly and keeping her close.

"Maybe I do know you from somewhere else." He reached out to grab Orliantha, and Mihris quickly shoved him away.

"I'll gladly break your nose again you bastard."

"She just busted my friend's face open and you're worried about me giving her a little nudge? you better get your priorities straight blue, maybe get those anger issues checked out." Mr. Gulliver came over and put a hand on Orliantha's shoulder.

"I think you two should go before this gets any worse." Mihris looked over at him, before taking Orliantha's hand and walking out with her.

Mihris was practically dragging Orliantha along through the snow, caught up in her emotions and rage. She wanted to bust his teeth out, to stomp his head into the floor. She was walking up the path in the thicket of the woods to her cabin, the stars invisible behind the thick clouds. As Mihris wasn't paying attention, she felt a strong pull on her arm, and soon the wind was knocked out of her as she hit the cold ground. She gasped for breath as she stared up at the sky, Orliantha soon coming into view as she peered down at her. Before she could fully get back up Orliantha had grasped her by her leg, dragging her along the rough, snow-covered ground.

"Orli! what the hell!" She tried to fight her off, and in response, she let out a small huff. They got to the cabin porch and Orliantha dropped her in an awkward position, nearly knocking her head on the small wooden patio. Orliantha went inside, and as Mihris sat up she noticed an unusual amount of dark, ink-colored blood, trailing into the house. She rushed up and inside, quickly grabbing Orliantha. She noticed her hand and wrist, the cuts from the man's teeth had not clotted along with a small gash on her wrist. Mihris hadn't noticed that one of the buttons on her coat had been digging into Orliantha' s wrist as she had hauled her along in her rage. With how fast her body seemed to heal, she should be fine already, the cuts gone and the gash a mere scab. But they simply kept bleeding, her blood dripping down onto the wooden floor.

She looked up at Orliantha, and in return, she glanced away, a certain sadness in her eyes.

"You have to go back, don't you?" The room was quiet as Mihris slowly wrapped up Orliantha' s hand and wrist tightly, trying to slow the bleeding the best she could. She looked up and her face softened as she watched a few cold tears run down Orliantha' s cheeks, and she slowly wiped them away.

"Orli, I can't go with you, you know that," She spoke in a soft voice, pulling Orliantha close, running her thumb across her cheek to comfort her. "I'm not going to risk you being caught and killed just to be with you Orli. I'm sorry." Orliantha rested her chin on Mihris's shoulder, looking up at her with a pitiful look on her face. She slung her arms around her neck, pulling her into a gentle and warm kiss. It had surprised Mihris slightly, but as Orliantha went to pull away, she kept her close, not letting her go. Mihris ran her thumb along Orliantha' s lower lip as she cupped her cheek, soon tangling her fingers in her hair as they indulged in a long passionate kiss, unable to let each other go.

"I promise, I'll come see you Orli." She cupped Orliantha' s face with her warm hands, wiping away any remaining tears she had.

Mihris had held onto Orliantha' s hand as long as she could, not letting go even when her hand went from lush, soft skin to smooth, slimy scales in the frigid water. Her physical wounds quickly healed, but Mihris could see the pain and sorrow in her eyes. She had gotten Orliantha' s blood on her hands when she had accidentally cut her earlier, but surprisingly to her she had no reaction.