Serenity | Halsin

Ten

The air felt warm and sticky against Roralei's skin as she woke. Fluttering her eyes open, she noticed Halsin standing beside the cot she rested in. The man was whittling something in his hands.

Glancing up, he stopped and moved closer. That's when Roralei remembered their kiss. Had she dreamt it?

"You fell unconscious last night. I'm not sure if it was because of the hyperventilating, or the kiss we shared. Or both."

Her cheeks burned as Halsin pressed his hand to her forehead. "Good. No fever. How do you feel?"

Roralei took in a deep breath. "I feel fine."
He hummed. "I'd like to take a look at your ribs, if you'll allow me."

As she nodded, Halsin lifted her shirt and revealed her bruised torso. The purple was gone, and had been replaced with a yellow tint to her skin, indicating that they were healing.

"You're almost healed up." He assured her.
"Are we going to talk about last night?" She asked him.

Halsin sat down beside her again. "Roralei, I don't think you realize how important you are to me. . . But I do still stand on what I said last night. I was wrong about you. You're growing into a strong druid, and that frightened me. The idea of not being there for you after everything we've been through just frightens me."

Roralei sat up slowly, staring at him as she did so. "Who said I wouldn't need you, even after my training?"

Halsin watched as she moved to slide out of the cot. As she stood there before him, he tilted his head up to look up at her.
"I will always need you, Halsin."

As he stood, it was his turn to tower over her. The man held up the small wooden figure in his hand he had made; a bear.

"And I," he responded softly. "There's something I must discuss with you. . ."

Roralei rose a brow as he sighed.
"You know I feel particularly responsible for everything that's happened. The grove, all of it. . . This is why I must go to Moonrise with the others."

"The others?"
"Your friends. They're traveling to moonrise by the end of the week, and I am going with them."

She sighed. "Well, then, I'm going with you. And don't even attempt to argue with me."

His lips twitched as he smiled lightly. The look in his eyes was enough to set fire in the pit of Roralei's stomach.

"I'm a lot smarter than that."

She held the wooden bear in her hand as Halsin pulled the bracelet from his wrist and tore through the rope to make it large. As he tied it around the bear and knotted the end to make a necklace, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

As the man moved her hair from her neck, he stared at the soft skin as he wrapped the necklace around her.
"Do you think I'll ever be able to shift?" She asked him.

His fingers brushed over her skin as he set the necklace down. "I'll see that it happens. But one step at a time."

She never understood why it was so difficult for her to shift. She was a druid, and she had never successfully shifted before. Halsin mentioned a few months ago that some druids have an emotional connection with their inner animal, but she had yet to discover it.

Roralei turned around and looked up at him. The air was thick with a foreign tension, but she was too shy to make a move. She didn't want to overstep.

"One step at a time." She repeated.

Later that day, Roralei returned to the druid chamber to take the evening to think and to bathe. Some of the other healers made it a necessary mission to place a pool of healing inside of the chamber.