Psychic

40. Temple

 Rai went into the tent with Jericho and Isaac after they finished sharing their fish. Ken did not want to be alone with Reno so he went inside too. He was sure to stick all the way to the right of the large tent for the comfort of Rai and Roxanne, who returned a while later, eager to go to sleep.

Rai wanted to be certain Isaac was asleep before she dared to attempt it. If he woke up afraid, he would never get back to sleep. She was letting him hold Jericho while she ran her fingers through his curly hair, humming quietly behind him.

Reno was watching the tent as he sat leaning against the tree trunk Rai had been sitting on. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, listening to her hum. He was familiar with the song and was sure Rai had no idea what it was about.

Aila stepped off Reno's shoulder and flew up to stand on his forehead. "What're you thinking?" she asked him.

"There's a temple nearby. Remember? That water one?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It was nice, wasn't it? The temple. It looks nice."

"I don't know, I guess. What's your point?"

Reno sat up suddenly, forcing Aila to fly back. He took a deep breath and slammed his hands onto his thighs. "Okay." He stood up and approached the tent. Aila rested her hands on her hips with a crooked smirk while Reno carefully unzipped the flap to the tent. Rai's voice stopped and watched the zipper move up slowly. Once it was open wide enough that Reno could see her glaring at him, he stopped. "Hey, I just wanted to put this in here." He held up a small matchbox with tiny pieces of material sticking out of it. "Aila's bed." Rai gestured for him to give it to her as she sat up. Reno turned to his fairy. "Come on." Aila flew over his shoulder, pausing to give him a knowing smile before going inside and settling into the bed Rai put the bed above their heads where it would not be squished. "Hey."

"What?" Rai said quietly.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

"What?"

"Are you doing anything tonight?" he repeated exactly the same way. They both smiled. Rai covered her mouth so she would not laugh.

"I was going to sleep."

"I want to show you something."

Rai leaned forward and crossed her arms with a little smile. "I don't want to see your dick."

"Not that. Well, not right now anyway. It's a place I've been to before. It's really cool."

"That sounds just like the sort of thing you'd say right before flashing me, scarring me for life."

"I'll scar you for life some other time. Come on, let's go."

Rai groaned, "you're letting in all the coldness."

"You'll like it. It's an old temple. No one uses it anymore and it's all overrun with plants and stuff. It's cool."

The image did sound fascinating to Rai but she did not want him to know it. "Fine but just so you'll shut up." Reno stood back so Rai could get out of the tent. He closed it behind her and she looked at him, waiting for him to begin leading. He exhaled slowly, "you are... stunning."

Rai looked down and rubbed the back of her hand, uncertain how to respond. "So where are we going?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, this way."

* * *

When they were a decent distance away from the camp and could speak without whispering, Reno looked back at Rai as she stepped up onto a tree stump in her way and hopped off, following him. He told her, "are you still mad at me?"