Everything We Lost In The Fire

Deadlines

There was a new taste of dread that Lloyd couldn't explain.

He started to feel very heavy, unable to move a muscle. He could feel his diaphragm bottoming out, Lloyd was struggling to breathe. With the heaviness of his body came a warmth from all sides of him. He could feel himself becoming more and more aware that his head was restrained, feeling something touching his hair and the back of his neck. He felt the warmth in every cell in his body, and he could feel himself succumb to the heaviness in his body. A pleasantly thick smell began to creep into the space, slowly filling his lungs.

'I am here.'

Lloyd could hear the voice of Akita rumbling the darkness surrounding him. He took a deep breath of the heavenly smell like it would be his last. Suddenly, his senses came back to him.

Lloyd was still in bed. He was laying face down on something warm, with a soft pressure running from the top of his head to his neck, as well as pressure below him. He could feel himself slowly rise and fall. His eyes were heavy, he felt like he had just been in hibernation. He then realized the full extent of his position. 

His Gi was gone, only a pair of boxers remained. He was sleeping on top of Akita, with his arms wrapped around her tight and his face buried in her chest. Instead of her robes, Akita was wearing a thin fabric tied around her torso as well as her normal pants. She had an arm around Lloyd's back allowing no space between them. Akita had another hand on the back of his head, caressing him softly and slowly. The blanket was warm around them, tucked at the edges. A fierce blush began to show on Lloyd's face. His head was now empty.

"Lloyd... It is okay. I will not leave." Akita softly said to him. Lloyd could feel the vibrations coming from within her torso. He then began to shake slightly, becoming terrified of his current position. "You were dreaming. I could hear you calling for me, you are afraid... That is okay. But I will not leave. You are mine now."

Lloyd moved his head up to look at Akita, who was staring right back into him. She also housed a similar blush to what he was displaying. Seeing Lloyd's slow reaction to the situation caused her to wear a smirk on her face. Her dark eyes had a window straight into his soul.

"Am I on your mind?" Akita asked.

"Y-yes." Lloyd stumbled.

"Good."

Lloyd had never felt so warm in his life. He could feel her skin touching his, and she was incredibly soft. He began to run his hands on her back and started to notice something strange, it was almost as if the bed was shaking. Suddenly, without warning, the entire room began to violently shake. As if it was an earthquake, objects began to fall around the room and the air began to escape Lloyd's lungs. Lloyd became paralyzed, and with a loud crash the windows of the cabin shattered into stardust, creating a chain of echoing sutures that sounded like gunfire.

Lloyd's eyes fluttered open, his head felt as heavy as an anvil. He couldn't quite figure out what actually happened, but it certainly felt like a dream to him. He looked around the bed and the room, finding he was alone. 

'What a crazy dream...'  Lloyd thought to himself. 'There's no way I'd ever be her mate. That's not how that works.'

It was impossible. Humans lack to sense to smell the pheromones of animals. Besides, there was no way she'd pick him. Lloyd tossed the thoughts aside, but slowly thoughts bubbled up from the recesses of his mind, causing him to come to the realization that he wished it had happened. Maybe they would've slept next to each other, or he might have gotten the chance to finally be in Akita's arms, enveloped in her. The thought made him blush. 

Lloyd tried to remember anything else from last night, but was having some trouble. He could remember parts of the dinner, but didn't remember how he got in the room. All he could remember was that strange dream. His head began to pound with all the horsepower this was requiring at the moment. 

Putting his thoughts aside, he sat up. He was still in his clothes, laying on top of the sheets. Deciding that he wouldn't have to get dressed, he slid out of bed and stretched. 

Today, they would be leaving and going back home. The thought of leaving made Lloyd pause. Today is the Ninja's last day in the never realm. Today will be the last time he would ever see Akita. 

The thought made Lloyd feel another wave of dread falling like a thick, humid fog onto his heart. He would not regret a single second spent in the Never Realm.

Before Lloyd could further look into his feelings, there was a knock on the door. Lloyd quickly sat up, patting himself to find he was still in his Gi. The door opened, and Nya's face popped through the opening. 

"Wake up you two-" Nya looked into the room to find just Lloyd, and stopped in her tracks. "O-oh. Morning! How are you feeling?" She continued nervously.

"My head hurts, I can't quite tell what all happened. I had a strange dream, its all kind of blending together. What did you mean by 'you two?'" Lloyd replied, not missing a syllable of what she said.

"Well... at some point last night, Akita took you here and didn't come back. I just kinda thought.. well- isn't it obvious?!" She replied, embarrassed.

Lloyd's eyes widened at the realization. 'This means it was real! What she said is real! D-does that mean she really slept here?!' Lloyds mind began running 8 miles a minute. 'If she did, where did she go? Am I really her mate??' He clutched his forehead and his face turned as red as a tomato.

Nya observed as he gave in to his inner turmoil. It felt refreshing for her to see this side of him. "What are we going to do with you two." She said, smiling at his reaction to her teasing.

"Sorla is gathering everyone in the town square soon. You should look go look for her Lloyd... We'll be waiting for you." Nya stood her ground, feeling proud of herself for pushing him. 'I'll always be there to help.'

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