Sun and Stone

IV.

I woke up for the second time that night staring up to the night sky. For a time, I just gazed up, trying to convince myself that my most recent memories were simply a bad dream. But I was too familiar with bad dreams to accept that my memories were anything but real. My reality was strange, and terrifying, but it lacked the stark contrast of colors my usual nightmares held. This was really happening. Groaning in frustration, I rolled over to face the world around me. I was lying on a soft bed that seemed to be made of or covered in thick dark green fabric. Looking beyond the bed, I saw that I was on the dirt plain again. In the distance, I could make out vague dark shapes that rose high into the sky. Those must be trees, I thought. Trees were now taller than any building I had ever seen.

Trying not to startle me, Gray made the quietest noise possible to alert me to his presence. I immediately tensed but didn't turn around.

"Gray?"

"Yeah How are you doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing? What happened? How did I get to a bed?"

"Well..." There was a long pause and I could still picture his concerned face, trying to find the right words to break whatever bad news he was about to share. I had to alter the picture in my head, remembering Grays new features. "That would be your hoodie. I found it in your pack. You fainted when I stood up, and I didn't want to leave you just sprawled out in the dirt."

"I fainted?! Like a Victorian lady that has her corsets on too tight? Honest to Zeus?"

I spun around and was in time to catch the slight smile on Gray's lips. His face was taller than my entire body, his chin resting on his hands on the ground. From this vantage, I couldnt make out the rest of his body, but assumed it was laid across the packed dirt behind his shoulders. My glare quickly sobered him. "I caught you, and then put you there." I froze as our eyes met and then I glanced down at the large hands resting under his chin.

"You picked me up. And carried me around. I would have been very high off the ground. And you could have..." Gray could see how my mind spiraled as color drained from my face and regret pinched the ridge between his eyebrows.

"Its me, El. Youre safe." As he spoke, he tried to catch my eyes. After some time, I began to relax. I shook my head and my eyes hardened as I glared back at him, not in anger but determination.

"Right, youre still Grayson. Just in giant grey form." I offered a small smile and snickered before continuing. "Gray-son. Youre really grey now." Gray smiled at my lame joke but I flinched in response before continuing. "Im sorry but you're... scary now. Not just giant scary, but not human."

Gray nodded solemnly and touched his face. "I didn't realize I had changed too until after you fainted. I was preoccupied before. You look the same, minus the obvious."

We lapsed into a tense silence, just staring at each other until Gray became uncomfortable with the growing look of wonder on my face and glanced away. I desperately wanted to reach out to him, seek comfort and ease his worries, but the thought of approaching such a huge thing seemed impossible still. My body refused to move in the face of my own fear. I scowled momentarily. I would not be a victim. This was my closest friend, my other half. I would not make him feel bad for just being himself, even if he scared me. I could hide that fear, bury it so deep no one would be able to tell it was there.

Stealing my resolve, I broke the tension first. "I'm going to come closer, okay? Just... don't move or get up."

Gray smiled, trying to look mischievous, "May I blink?"

Swallowing my fear, I narrowed my eyes at the jest, all seriousness, "No." It took me a couple of tries to stand and walk off of the hoodie-turned-bed, but once I was on solid ground, I gained confidence. I could bolt if things got too scary. But they wouldn't get that bad. Gray watched as I approached until I was too close for him to see out of the corner of his eye. I felt slightly calmer when I was no longer under his watchful gaze. A prey instinct definitely flared in me whenever I met his eyes, wanting to disappear and hide from his attention. As I neared his face, Gray became a statue, even holding his breath as he waited for whatever came next. I stopped when I was within arms-reach of his face. With his chin resting on his flat hands, I was level with the tip of his nose. I would have to stand on tip-toe to look into his eyes. Instead, I marveled at the new color of his skin. Up close, I could see it was flecked with black, silver and white, almost like freckles. I waited for a moment, just growing accustomed with the slight movements he made as he started to breathe again. Reaching out, I tentatively touched his face. He flinched in surprise and I jumped back, fear spiking when his head lifted. I walked backwards into his sightline and glared in warning before approaching his face again. Gray was better prepared the second time as I pressed my hand to his face, remaining perfectly still. His skin was cool and hard. I pressed in but feel no give. Was I so small that I couldn't even make his skin move? Sliding my hand across the smooth surface, I found no imperfections, no stubble or bumps. His skin was like polished stone.