Fate of the Forest (A KaoEarth Story)

Fourteen: Earth

Earth knew his happiness was too good to last.

He could feel it fading. The joy. Sure, with ten-and-a-half Elementals, it was never a dull moment in the Meadow. But day after day, Earth felt more like he was going through the motions. Wearing a mask. His signature, beaming smile never faltered so no one knew any different. Except for the one who knew him best.

Earth constantly felt Kao's eyes boring into him, watching his every move. One look at him and Earth could tell that Kao knew something was off. He would slip his hand into Earth's and give it a squeeze, raising his eyebrows to ask the silent question, to which Earth would respond back with a squeeze, a smile and a short nod.

And so it went for a week. A long, torturous week. Filled with long, torturous nights. Every night the Darkness would come. At first, it was mild, only a glimpse or two, but as days passed, the Darkness would get more aggressive, like it knew it had to fight against the energy of 10+ Elementals.

Earth found himself sitting on a rock by the edge if the lake, deep in thought. He heard soft footsteps behind him and looked up to see the gentle gaze of man he loved. Kao sat down behind him, wrapping his arms around Earth's waist and placing soft kisses on his shoulders.

"What are you thinking about?" Kao asked him.

"Everything," Earth smiled, leaning back against Kao.

Kao placed another soft kiss on Earth's cheek. "Let's go for a walk! It's a beautiful day for a stroll around the lagoon!"

Earth smiled at Kao's spontaneity and nodded. Kao scrambled to his feet and held his hand out for Earth to take, keeping hold of it while they started walking.

They joked and laughed, enjoying the afternoon sun as they walked.

"Are you ready to go rest?" Kao asked, raising his hand to place a kiss on Earth's knuckles. Earth smiled and nodded, knowing he needed all the strength he could get. As they got to the entrance to the cave, however, Earth paused, an uneasy feeling knotting his stomach.

"What is it?" Kao asked, gently.

Earth shook his head. "Nothing. I just feel...weird. That's all. Probably a side effect of my exhaustion." He smiled reassuringly. "Let's go rest."

Kao smiled back and started to pull Earth by the hand into the cave, but out of nowhere, a vine shot out and grabbed Earth's other arm.

"Oi! What's going on here?!" Earth watched in horror as several more vines started to snake their way around his chest and torso, pulling him in the opposite direction of Kao. "Let me go!"

Kao pulled him from the front, but it was no use; the vines were too thick and strong. Earth struggled, kicking and flailing, but the vines held tight.

"Earth! Wake up!" A voice hissed behind him, but it wasn't the Spirit of Darkness like it usually was...it was a voice his heart knew...

"P'...P'Kao? But..." he looked at Kao in front if him and saw his worried expression turn cold in a flash. Kao moved closer to him, still holding his hand.

"Fight it, Earth! Come inside with me where it's safe!"

"Earth! Please! Wake up! It's me! Please!"

He had never heard Kao's voice so desperate. But if he was hearing Kao behind him, then...who was in front of him?

Earth gasped when he looked back at Kao only to see the shadowy entity of the Spirit of Darkness, still holding on to his hand. It slid closer to Earth and hissed in his ear.

"I almost had you this time, Earth Spirit. Soon, I will have you and that Light Spirit." With that, the Darkness let go of Earth's wrist, causing him to stumble backwards, hitting something hard, but he could still feel the vines around him, pulling him tighter.

No...not vines...

Arms. Warm arms. Earth opened his eyes, to find himself not in the cave at all. It took him a minute to take in his surroundings, as he tried to get his heavy breathing under control. Earth realized he was actually outside, on the large boulder that overlooked the lagoon, and only inches from the edge. He looked over his shoulder to see Kao's face buried in his neck as he held Earth tightly around his chest, refusing to let go.

Earth's heart dropped when his brain fully realized what almost happened. That...that...thing...almost made him walk off the edge. It had controlled him through his dream. If Kao hadn't been there...he didn't want to think of the outcome. Sure, Elementals were immortal, but their human bodies weren't.

"P'Kao?" he breathed, turning to face Kao, who engulfed Earth in his arms and Earth buried his face in Kao's chest. Earth's knees started to shake and he sank to the ground, Kao following him down. They sat there for who knows how long until Kao pulled away and Earth noticed the tears in his eyes and the helpless expression on his face. Kao stroked Earth's hair and caressed his face, taking in every feature. With both hands on Earth's face, Kao pulled him close to place gentle kisses on his forehead and temples.

"That was the scariest moment of my life," Kao whispered, his forehead pressed to Earth's. "When I saw you walking toward the edge...and then I couldn't wake you..." Kao trailed off, his voice catching in his throat. Earth pulled Kao's lips to brush his own, tasting the saltiness of their tears mixed together. It wasn't a fierce, passionate kiss like many of their previous kisses, but a soft, gentle kiss, filled with so much love.

Kao scooped Earth up when they separated, but Earth didn't protest this time and let his love carry him back to their room.

That was too close for Earth's comfort. It terrified him that the Darkness had built up enough strength to control him through his dreams. If it could make him almost jump off a cliff, who knows what else it was capable of, even hurting Kao. The Spirit said it will have him and Kao soon and Earth panicked at the thought that maybe he would hurt Kao and he might not even know he was doing it. 

If the Spirit of Darkness was this strong, Earth knew it was only a matter of time before it played it's final move.