Sweet Shadows (Rogue x OC)

*Eight*

After being pulled onto the floor from her bed, Zephyre finally woke up with a deep groan.

"Do I have to wake you up like Frosch did?"  Rogue asked teasingly, his low voice in the girl's ear.

She simply tried to wave him away, curling up on the wooden floor tiredly.  Then, she felt strong fingers pressed to her waist that began to move in a rhythmic pattern.  It wasn't long before Zephyre erupted into a fit of hysterical giggling.

"Rogue! S-stop! I'm aw-wake!"  She gasped, trying to force his fingers from her waist.

"Now you are."  Rogue laughed and ruffled her thick locks before standing up.  

"Can't you wake me up in a less irritating way?" The girl whined, groggily standing to her feet and searching through the cabin's closet for the clothes that were given to them by the young child the previous day.

"You won't wake up any other way."  He chuckled.

She just groaned again in response.  She tossed the pile of clothes they received onto the plush, unmade beds and went into the bathroom in order to change into her own.  It would be more convenient to walk around dressed like the other villagers than to stand out.

The clothing consisted of a cropped tube top and a high-waist skirt, enough to cover the mark on her lower back.  Soft boots reached her ankles and beaded straps wrapped around her breasts and neck.  She tied her thick hair up and braided one side of the strands that framed her face.  Now, she almost looked like one of the villagers.

She excitedly returned to the main room of the cabin, sporting her new outfit.  Rogue also wore new tribal clothing.  He had thick sleeves connecting to a band underneath his muscular upper chest.  He wore a red scarf around his neck and plush, dark pants tucking into soft boots and reaching high on his waist.

A knock on the door caught the mages' attention.

"Come in!" Zephyre called, seeing who would walk through the wooden door.  Sure enough, Aija's form stood at the entrance to the cabin.

"Good morning, Zephyre and Rogue." He smiled kindly.  "I assume you've decided what to accomplish today after discussing with the Priestess."

The two mages became serious and nodded.  "Yes."  The girl began.  "We would like to see the border between the portion of the forest consumed by 'death' and the portion that is not."

A look of surprised crossed Aija's face before he returned to smiling.  "Alright, then.  We should get going."  He instructed.

Zephyre nodded, a hint of excitement glinted in her crystalline eyes as she followed after the chief, with Rogue not far behind her.

-----+-----

It was obvious when they reached the edge of the pure forest.  They were able to witness the horror of the 'death' clearly as an innocent, brightly spotted butterfly fluttered too far.  As soon as it crossed the deliberate line between the darkness and greenery, it shriveled into black flakes and fell to the death-ridden floor.

Zephyre looked at Rogue's pained face, his crimson eyes staring into the depths of the ruined forest distantly.  He seemed horrified.

Aija's emerald orbs seemed full of deep sorrow as he, too, gazed into dark smog.

The girl hoped her diamond-esque eyes didn't show how pained she was by looking at all of this... 'death.'  She looked back at the scene before her.  Cautiously, she raised her hand, slowly stretching it towards the delineated line in front of the 'dead' forest.

"What do you think you're doing?!"  An alarming, familiar voice echoed through her ears as her body was pressed against something strong.  A sturdy hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling it back to her body.  Her crystalline eyes snapped open as though she was being awoken from a trance.