Lost on Titan

{Part 10}

~Videl~

Kane tried to argue that it was a game for kids, but Dare insisted on the three of them playing Hide-and-Seek.

"Oh, loosen up," Dare chided, smirking playfully, then an imploring gaze turned to Videl. "V, you're down for a game of Hide-and-Seek, right?"

Videl had to admit that she was thrilled at the idea.

"I would love to, but - " Videl risked a pleading look toward Kane. "Kane said he doesn't play games."

Kane stiffened slightly, the expression on his face inscrutable as he mulled it over.

"Please?" Videl begged, trying for her best attempt at a puppy-dog pout. "Play with me, Kane?"

For a moment, Kane's silver eyes darkened into a stormy, tempest color, and his jaw flexed like he was gritting his teeth. Videl's heart sank, thinking she might have made a terrible mistake. Was he pissed off? It was hard to read in the dark, and it appeared as if the lights were dimming incrementally every few seconds. And just when she thought that he was sure to refuse, he sighed, shaking his head.

"Just this once," Kane's voice sounded deeper, rougher, with an unusual edge, but he didn't sound angry. 

Videl couldn't help but beam at his concession, and started bouncing on the balls of her feet, giddy with excitement.

"Alright!" Dare cheered in triumph. "Who's counting first?"

"I'll go first." Kane surprised her by volunteering as he strode away toward a tree. She couldn't see it, but she could have sworn that she heard a smile in his voice. With his back turned to them, he made a show of lifting his hands to cover his eyes and began counting loudly. Dare immediately darted away, laughing like a little boy, and disappeared among the foliage. Videl nearly tripped as she took off running the opposite way. Her heart started pounding and her breathing hitched with exhilaration. As soon as she heard Kane stop counting, she dove behind a tree and tucked herself into the smallest ball she could manage, hoping her curtain of dark hair was an effective camouflage. 

"Ready or not," Kane bellowed. "Here I come!"

Videl waited with bated breath, trying to listen as hard as she could over the sound of her pulse thumping in her ears. All she could hear was the gentle rustle of the leaves in the artificial breeze, and the twitter of the nocturnal birds. After a few minutes, she began to wonder if it was even possible to find people in a place this vast, but her silent question was answered when Dare's voice broke through the silence in a shout of terror, followed by a sound that could only have been Kane tackling him and foiling his attempt to make a last-minute mad dash to the tree that would serve as home base, where Kane had been counting. The raucous sounds were followed by their peals of laughter. The sound of Kane's laugh warmed her heart, but the next thing she heard made her blood freeze in her veins.

"Let's get her."  

The words were so quiet that she couldn't tell which one had said it, but she assumed it had been Dare. Videl clapped a hand over her mouth, trying not to squeal in a mixture of fear and delight. She listened to their footsteps heading in opposite directions as they split up to find her. One of them was going further and further away, and she was momentarily relieved. But one of them was getting dangerously close to her hiding spot. A good kind of panic hummed in her body like electricity. She'd never felt so awake, so alive.