A Raven's Darkness (Book 1)

Chapter 37: Oanin

Luciano's Point Of View:

After I stormed off into the cave, Frazior came in to check up on me. He slowly walked up, with seriousness in his eyes. "You do know that Exavior was just messing with you, right?" I couldn't look at him. Not yet. I was disgusted at the thought that Exavior put into my mind about Frazior and I crushing on each other. Come on, that was just pure nasty. I heard Frazior sigh and sit by me on the cold hard ground. My back flexes into alertness. Frazior noticed my discomfort but chose not to acknowledge it. He placed his hands out in front of him, holding them together as he looked forward. "Come on, talk to me Lucy." I forgot he always called me that. However, now that Exavior made that joke, I felt uncomfortable about it. "Don't let Exavior get to you. You shouldn't believe anything that comes out of that kid's mouth." I actually looked up at him then, and his eyes lit up with hope. Almost immediately, I hung my head back down. At this, he breathed out a long sigh. "Looks like I'll have to come back later." He stood and my eyes attached to his arm. Could I let him leave without asking for forgiveness? Why did Exavior get to me? Was there truth in his words? Heck no! Frazior was like a big brother. Instantly and without my knowledge, my hand was upon Frazior's arm. He looked down at me with a playful smile. "Don't want to be alone?" I nodded. He replied, "If you want me to stay, you're going to have to talk." I stiffened at this. Why must I always talk to Frazior about things? Especially when it's about him. I really hated this protector thing, allowing our protectors to know when there is something wrong. They also knew how to fix the problem, most of the time. "Fine." I finally muttered in defeat. Frazior gladly sat back down beside me. "Tell me what eats you." My face scrunched up in disgust. "I hope nothing has eaten me." Frazior chuckled then. "It's a figure of speech. I meant what is bothering you." Oh, I felt dumb.

"Well, you were right. Exavior got to me." I replied and shrugged. Frazior looked at me. "What's so bad about being accused of crushing on me? It's not like it's true." At that last sentence, I knew he was probing me. Trying to find out my thoughts about the matter. Well, I might as well give in. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I looked up at Frazior's pleading eyes. "I just hate the fact that Exavior spreads rumors that are not true." Frazior looked at me with wide eyes. "Yea, right." I glared at him. "Yes, it is right." A smile tugged at his mouth. "Okay. I'm happy to know that you don't like me." He paused. "Our ages are too close for comfort." He teased. I smiled at him. "I feel the same way." Frazior stood. "Alright then. Let's go." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Go? Go where?" He leaned down and grabbed my arm, tugging me violently. I was forced into a standing position. "Let's go play with Exavior." He replied, dragging me along with him. I didn't like the sound of that at all. He stopped me and pivoted our bodies on the wall. He snuck around the corner with his head to see Exavior standing outside. His head quickly came back into the darkness and turned to me with a huge grin on his face. "Will you be okay in acting like you love me?" He asked in a serious voice. I laughed. "What?" He covered my mouth and made a shushing noise. I nodded that I would be quiet and he took his hand off. "Don't you want to freak Exavior out?" He probes me. I sighed and looked back into his eyes. "Yes, but not in the way you think." Frazior rolled his eyes. "Just do it, it will be funny." He jabbed my elbow and I groaned in frustration. "No." I forced out. His demeanor completely changed. His whole body felt threatening as he narrowed his eyes. "We must do this in order for Exavior to acknowledge us as mature people." He teased with a small smile. I shrugged. "Whatever. Let's do this."

Luciano's Point Of View:

"What now?" I asked, now getting excited in making Exavior pay for that embarrassment. Frazior looked at me with a grin. "Just follow my lead." He whispered. I nodded and found myself following Frazior out of the cave, toward Exavior. Frazior walked up to Exavior and slapped his shoulder. "Hey, man. Thanks a lot." Exavior pushed his black eyeglasses up. "What are you talking about?" Frazior turned to me, wanting me to participate in this charade. "It appears you have enlighten us about our current mistakes." I voiced with maturity. Exavior raised his small eyebrows at me. "Why have you not changed your age?" I looked back at Frazior. Frazior kept a straight face as he stared Exavior down. "She looks like that so our relationship can work." Exavior's eyes almost bulged out of his head. "What relationship?" He gasped. It was now my turn. I enveloped my hand within Frazior's hand. I gazed up at him lovingly (totally fake lovingly). "I was able to tell Frazior how I felt for him for so long now." Frazior looked down at me. "How I have longed for this day." His finger lightly touched my jaw, almost appearing as if he was about to kiss me. Exavior freaked out before Frazior had the chance to "fake" it. He wouldn't have actually done it. Exavior ran at Frazior and tackled him, his glasses flying off into the ground below. "Oh no you don't! I was totally messing with you two! Who knew you two even had a sense of maturity?" His voice was rising as he continued. "Don't ever take what I say seriously! You two know this!" Finally, Frazior pushed Exavior off and stood with a grin. "Gotcha." Exavior's eyes widened with acknowledgement. "That was so not cool, Frazior!" He lightly punched Frazior's arm and picked up his glasses, dusting them off and putting them back on. Frazior crossed his arms. "I don't know, man. That was pretty dang funny." Exavior rolled his eyes and looked at me. "I would have never thought YOU would agree to this, Luciano." I shrugged. "I wanted to pay you back in any way I could." Exavior sighed. "Sure, a near heart attack is by far the best pay back." I chuckled lightly. "You deserved it, you young fool." I teased. He looked at me, finally breaking into a small smile. "Very well. Good one, guys. Now, on to more important matters." He leaned down and pressed two fingers against the sand. He picked up some strands and watched them fall back into the ground. "I have found traces of life in this sand." This was curious. Surely no one lived at the edge of nothing? "What does that mean?" I asked. Exavior pushed up his glasses and looked up at me as he stood. "It means we are not alone here."