How'd That Happen?

Chapter 12

As exciting as their adventure was, it felt so good to be back at the base with everyone. Sleeping in a decent bed and having decent meals.

"How are you feeling?" Lilith entered the tent to bring some fruit to Lani, seeing as she couldn't move much with her ribs.

"Better, thank you." She gratefully takes the fruit bowl from Lilith's hands and starts chewing on a bright, red strawberry. "I see goddess Demeter is feeding us generously." She says it between bites.

"Yeah, apparently we got the food packages around the day after we went to see her. And Athena's weapons are starting to come in, her trainer too!

"That's good, Lani smiles. "We can work with what we have in the meantime. How's Nero?"

"Almost healed, actually, but that is the second time their wing has been shot, and it was vital; Monica says they might not be able to fly again." Lilith replies with pity for her friend.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's going to be hard for them on the battlefield."

"Don't worry about that right now, angel. You need to rest." Lilith peppers a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I wish I could, but I'm so worried about everyone."

A second later, Monica enters the tent. "Well, good work." She congratulates the two. "It seems like you're not so foolish after all," she says with a smirk.

"Uhhh, thanks?" Lani smiles, trying to take it as a compliment. She takes another bite of her strawberry. Monica leaves the tent, leaving Lani and Lilith alone and together once again. "Well, isn't she just a kind soul?" Lani jokes with laughter.

"Oh yeah, not sarcastic at all?" Lilith plays along. Lani keeps laughing while taking a bite of a grape; that's when Lilith starts tickling her. Lani giggles, then is full of laughs.

"Okay, okay, haha, hahah, thank you." She musters out and takes a deep breath between laughs; that's when she feels it. Or rather, he doesn't feel it. She can't feel the grape in her mouth, and instead, etching is clogging her throat. Her laughs quickly turn into panic as she motions her hands around her neck. That's when Lilith stops, only to realize she's choking. Quickly, Lilith gets up behind her, lifts her up by her stomach, and begins the Heimlich maneuver.

A flash of light crosses Lani's eyes. The same light from the cave. My child, you know the truth; tell them. Tell them. That same voice was speaking, but who did it belong to? That's when the light flashed through her sight again, and when it faded, her consciousness returned to her lying down on her side, on the mattress, with a figure next to her that looked to be Lilith. Everything happened so fast that she barely had time to process what happened. Lani slowly lifts her body to sit up.

As her vision cleared, she could see Lilith's distressed facial expressions: "You're okay!" Lilith exclaimed with a deep embrace. "I'm so sorry; that was so stupid of me. I don't know why that was a good idea!"

Lani slowly hugs her back caringly and says, "It's okay, I'm okay."

"I can't believe I did that...fuck!"

"Please don't be mad at yourself." Like you said, I'm okay." She smiles brightly toward her girlfriend. "Accidents happen," she says. Thinking again of that voice she heard. Was it the same voice she heard in the cave? It had to be. Should she tell Lilith? Would Lilith believe her? She didn't believe her the first time, but it was her girlfriend, so it had to be worth a shot. But should it be right now?

Lilith planted a soft kiss on Lani's forehead, which broke her train of thought: "I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you. I thought I could have killed you." Before she could say anymore, Lani pulled her in by her waist and placed her lips firmly on hers. Making sure her girlfriend wasn't able to speak anymore on the topic.