Healing

+1. scraped knee

It was raining.

The vacation home, thankfully, had spells in place that would prevent the boiling rain from destroying the structure. Not long ago Hunter made sure to strengthen them using an old rune that he'd learned from savage age documents he managed to get his hands on. He was so excited to test his knowledge that I was more than happy to let him experiment.

Besides— I couldn't be trusted with these kinds of spells. The last time I tried, in an old cottage by the woods, the barrier was so weak that it gave out after only twenty minutes. In our panic to secure the home, I ended up getting hit by the boiling rain and getting nasty burns that took too long to heal.

It was long ago, now. The scars had since faded, but I angrily swore to never attempt another spell like that ever again.

"It's not stopping anytime soon."

I say, not even attempting to hide my disappointment at that. I was looking forward to a day on the beach.

Hunter walks up to me, hugging me from behind and resting his chin on my shoulder, looking through the window at the incessant rain outside.

"We still have a couple of days before we have to go back." He reminds me, I can't see him, but I can hear his smirk. "You'll get your beach day, scout."

"I hope so." I relax against him. It's a small comfort that works to soothe my lousy mood. "It will be a while before we're able to come back here again..."

The old vacation home on the beach was our first destination after our risky escape. Back then, almost three years ago now, we didn't know what it would cost us or the consequences of leaving, so we travelled from city to city, never staying too long in one place.

How to survive on the road and avoid drawing attention to ourselves was something we'd learned through experience— and despite our young age, being hardened by the harsh reality of the emperor's coven forced us to be resourceful.

Still, there wasn't a single moment where I ever even considered turning back. As difficult as things could be on the road, it was preferable to living in the palace.

It took us months to get to the vacation home, but after we arrived for the first time it turned into the place we'd retreat to if we ever needed some sense of stability. The beach house was near a small coastal town, where people knew us by our aliases, but isolated enough that we didn't have direct neighbours.

It was quiet, peaceful and safe . Our little paradise amidst the chaos.

But recently we got word that it was safe to return.

We kept our distance from Bonesborough and avoided major cities until now. We'd still communicate with people that we knew, but never extensively.

Knowing that we could go back was utterly bizarre, and only after much deliberation we agreed on giving it a try. I owed it to my parents, at least, and Hunter owed it to Luz.

Besides— It would be good for us. As peaceful as things have been, it would be nice to live without paranoia for once.

"How about some tea?" I suggest, before I get too distracted by my own thoughts again. "Maybe we can watch a movie."

He lets me go and I turn towards him, offering him a small smile. As much as I was looking forward to the beach, staying in and relaxing with Hunter was never something I'd say "no" to.

I needed the rest, after all. To support ourselves during our travels we had both resorted to doing small jobs wherever we were settling— I would heal, using my knowledge from the emperor's coven and Hunter would fight creatures and search for artefacts for a reward.