The Revenant

Assault

ESKARINA

Nova slept soundly beside me that night. I had woken a few minutes ago, and found myself unable to fall back asleep despite several attempts to do so.

So there I sat,like a fuckin weirdo,just watching Nova sleep.

While he slept,I gently ran my fingers over his body,exploring every one of his scars. I wondered where he got all of them. I already knew about the one on his neck, and on his back,but what of the others?

His breathing was steady at times. Sometimes it would spike, and he'd almost hyperventilate in his sleep,as if he were having a panic attack during his time spent in dream land.

His nightmares must be pretty bad...I wonder what they're like?

I lay back into the bed,shifting closer toward him.

I wrapped my arms round him,pulling him close to me. I thought,maybe if he knew he wasn't alone,in whatever horrors he may have been experiencing in his dreams,that he would calm down, maybe relax.

It didn't work for awhile. It took a few minutes before Nova finally settled down and calmly slept in my arms. I chuckled to myself.

He was like a little koala himself when he slept.

When I was sure he'd settled,I let him go,still keeping close to him but no longer holding him.

I found myself searching our room out of boredom. Not knowing what to do or where I should go to,I searched high and low for some sort of entertainment.

In the darkness of our room, I could barely see my hand if I had it right in front of me, and often times I would fall right over something,laughing softly to myself while checking to see if I had woken Nove or not. When I saw him still fast asleep, I continued scurrying around in the dark.

I found one of our travelling bags,which Artemis' scouts had scavenged from the wreck. It took them a while to dry our clothing out but it worked out eventually. Inside,I felt round,to find a strange object. It had the shape of a heart, and the feeling of wood was familiar to the touch. This wasn't mine...

I checked to see if Nova was still asleep, and surely enough, he was. I slipped out of the room and opened the box outside. There was nothing inside,except for two initials.

E.N

E.N?

Didn't take me long to realise that this had to be the box for Nova's necklace...the last thing he got from Elena.

I felt somewhat guilty for rifling through his things to find something so personal. In a strange way, I felt a slight pang of guilt. I knew Elena and I had never really seen eye to eye, but she was still someone who cared for me.

In that moment,I wished I had gotten to know her better...and a deep regret seeped into me,knowing that a wish was all that would ever be.

Maybe,if I'd let her...Elena and I could've been good friends...

I went back inside,placing the box back inside of the bag.

Climbing back into bed,I moved close to Nova.

"You're awake at this time?"

I nearly leapt out of my skin. I gave Nova a friendly punch and he chuckled.

"Fucker,you scared the shit out of me!"

"I'm sorry Esk." He apologised,still giggling.

His smoky voice was palpable, and it often made me comfortable. If Nova spoke,I knew he was okay,both emotionally, and physically, and that was good enough for me.

He turned to face me, poking my nose with his index finger. I blushed and bit at his hand,yet he was too quick, drawing his finger away and causing my teeth to snap back together.

"Someone's rather violent tonight."

"I have a violent mentor."

"I'm starting to rub off on you is what you're saying. I'm a bad influence." Nova said, giggling softly.

"I could do worse than just bite your finger." I said.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"I could just tickle the shit out of you until you're crying?"

"That's not fair. You aren't ticklish,I can't tickle you back."

"Weren't you the one who taught me to take every advantage I could in a fight Nove?" I asked.

"I...yes but...that's not for this scenario!"

"Yes it is." I said,smirking as I raised my hands.

Nova pulled away,and I quickly moved closer to him. I managed to tickle him,pinning him beneath me as he entered a fit of laughter. His joy pulsated from him,bouncing off of his very being onto my own,filling me with happiness as well.

He giggled softly beneath me,his eye's locking with my own. His palm rested gently on my cheek.

"Esk..."

"Yes Nove?"

"Did I-"

I looked at him strangely as he stopped mid sentence. He never uttered a word afterward for a few moments.

"Nov-"

"Shh!" He said, holding his index finger to his lips.

I kept my mouth shut, not uttering a word. Then,I heard the sudden crash of glass and a massive surge of pain burst throughout my body,originating from my lower stomach.

I felt Nova roll me over,which hurt even more as the sound of fire cracking filled my eardrums, smoke choked my nostrils.

"Esk,are you okay?" Nova asked.

Our room was suddenly engulfed in a blazing inferno. Nova lay a top of me, his eye's still on mine for a few moments.

"I'm fine, I'm okay, let's get the fuck out of here."

I hopped up to my feet and ran with Nova for the door. He rammed his shoulder into it, but the door refused to budge. Time and time again he tried, even with his superhuman strength, Nova could not break the door down. He looked round, and I did the same. There was no way out except for our window, in which we could fall several feet.

Nova and I leapt out regardless, falling to the earth beneath us, where we were greeted by a mob of elves,each with bows and arrows in hand, some wielded pitch forks, all were out for our blood.

Alisha led the mob's charge as they chased us. Nova and I dashed through the streets of the wooden city, making our way out of the main gates,chased by an angry mob of elves. I saw King Artemis before we lost sight of the city, almost infuriated at Alisha, who stood proudly. The mob continued to chase us outside of the city, and Nova and I kept running.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"I don't know. Maybe Alisha planned something. Something to try and get rid of us."

My run soon became stumbles, and I struggled to stay afoot. I couldn't even tell why, but it wasn't long until my vision became blurry, and my legs became jelly.

"Nove...I'm not feeling too good..."

Nova turned round,his eye's widening as my vision darkened.

He caught me mid-fall, gently pushing my eyelids open. His voice was distant, sounding so far away despite him being right on top of me.

"Esk! Esk look at me! Look at me, don't fall asleep okay? Don't fall asleep!"

I felt something painful get pulled from my gut, sending a shockwave of pain through my stomach region. I struggled to stay awake as Nova said, the near overwhelming pain made me want to pass out more than anything.

What...is going on?

I couldn't hold my eye's open any longer. I felt so tired...so exhausted. I would close me eye's only for a moment, and open them just a second later...

I just had to close my eye's for one single second...