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24, Thunderous Realization

The next day, she helped him down to the river as she promised, swimming further upstream to give them both some privacy.

"How long until you think we can start walking?" She asked, when they were both out of the water again.

"I'm not sure." He said, gingerly touching the wound. She could tell it still hurt.

"I think I have a way to fix it now it's clean." She drew in a deep breath and thought hard as she swum upstream. She would have to heal him with The Voice. She was unsure how long it would take for them to get back and she couldn't afford to stay much longer.

She helped him back to the cave once he had dried and found herself blushing at the touch of his warm skin against his own. Honestly, she told herself, she had no reason to be acting like this. She set him down and begun to talk.

"You remember how I brought you back?" She asked him. He nodded, fondling the snake which was taking advantage of his warmth which Britta was sure she could feel from where she sat from a safe distance away. "I think you've figured it out; me and Diana have some connection with the Aurea. We can talk between ourselves and to animals and we can heal. I healed you a lot that first day-" She shivered as she remembered his skin as cold as ice, "but I didn't have enough energy to fix you properly and I was hoping I wouldn't have to try again but..." She trailed off and examined him closely. "Are you okay if I try and fix you with magic?" She asked.

"You don't have to." Said Micah uncertainly.

"Not my question." Britta reminded him.

"I trust you." Said Micah, his words sending her head reeling in a way it shouldn't when she would need such concentration.

"Okay," she took a deep breath, "and look away, you're distracting me."

Micah smirked at that, but did as he was told. Britta placed a hand gently over the wound and drew up the power she felt inside her. She could see it rush eerily inside her skin down her arms and pool in her hands until her fingertips shone gold. She was not sure why the light of The Voice was green while the one of the Aurea was gold if they were essentially the same thing, but didn't dwell on it as she pressed the light through her fingertips and onto him. She felt his sharp intake of breath below her hands and saw his face scrunch up although she'd told herself she wouldn't look that way while trying to concentrate. She cautiously lifted a hand to see the skin healing over and forced a last burst of power through till it was merely a scar which stood out against his pale skin.

"Done." She said, and then collapsed on the ground beside him, thinking that she would have to get used to how much power she could use.

She woke up in darkness, feeling Micah's warmth beside her although she was on the hard ground. She nudged him awake, ignoring his incoherent mutters until he asked her what she was doing.

"Going back to my own spot." She told him.

"I didn't need to know that." He said, his voice thick with sleep.

"I wanted to point out you're perfectly capable of putting me in my own bed." Britta stood up and rubbed her back.

"I liked you there." He said sleepily, his voice trailing off.

"What do you mean?" She asked, before realizing his heavy breathing meant he'd gone back to sleep. She shook her head and found her own bed, trying to put his words from her mind. Still tired, she found sleep came easier to her then it would have had she been alert enough to mull over his statement.

She was woken by Micah the next morning, who was standing over her and looking pleased with himself.

"Whatever you did last night tires you out," he remarked,