"Leave."
I don't answer.
"I mean it now. I'm not letting you put up with me anymore. Go."
He's getting angry. Perhaps at himself.
"You need to go! Get away! I'll end up hurting you!" His voice raises and he clenches his fists. I don't pay attention to him, he's talking nonsense.
"Y/n. I'm not saying it again. Leave now! Leave me here!!" He tries his best to look into my eyes and I slowly bring my gaze up from the floor.
"You're so pretty." The words make him freeze and he steps back slowly. He drops to the ground and stares at me with his eyebrows furrowed. "I don't think pretty Muri is gonna hurt me." I shrug and pat my hand on his head. He hugs my legs but doesn't speak as I comb my fingers through his hair. "Come back to the fire. We have a few beers left." I crouch down to speak to him and he just nods.
He doesn't speak much as we sit around the fire and drink. I wonder what he's thinking as he stares into the dancing flames. A breeze comes through the trees and blows smoke onto me. I cough and shuffle backwards, waving it away. Muriel looks at me and pours his water over the fire, extinguishing it fully. "Oh you didn't need to do that!" I chuckle and sip my drink. We sit there in silence for a bit, feeling the cold. He stares with his eyebrows furrowed and looks down at his wrists where his chains were. "You..." the word escapes him before he can sort his thoughts.
"I...?"
"Are we supposed to have met or something?" His gaze doesn't move.
"I'm sure Asra certainly wanted it."
"No I mean..." He sighs, "Sort of...cosmically?"
I think for a moment. My hands search my little satchel for an answer and fiddle with something in my pocket. I pull it out and stare at the card, "The hermit. Huh." The picture stares back at me, "It must've fallen out when I gave the cards to Asra."
"What does it mean?"
The answer comes to me like a flash of light, "I think you're right. There's a spiritual connection that's really healthy and deep."
His eyes widen and he stares at me, "This was in the cards?"
I chuckle, "Yeah literally!"
He snorts and smiles a little, staring at the dying embers. Both our minds race as we think of the card but I can't help but be interrupted by the smokey scent covering me.
"Do you think the other cards would tell me to wash the smoke smell off of me?" I say, sniffing my cloak.
"Definitely." He gets up and we walk over to a little lake by the forest. I give him a nervous grin and take in a deep breath. "Wait don't just ju-" He stops as I drive straight into the cold water, "Y/n!" A few moments pass before I pop out of the water and flip my hair out of my face. "Come on in!"
"It's cold..."
"You get used to it!" I pull off my clothes as he contemplates getting in. Finally he slides in and gently dunks his head under. "Come here." I reach out my hands as he floats over. He looks at me fondly before I start pulling off his clothes and chucking them onto the grass. "Y/n!! Rude!!" He covers up and sinks so that just his head is showing.
"Check this out." I pull him over to the edge of the lake and into a little pool beside it. "It's a natural bath!"
He tests the water with his hand and quickly jumps in, sighing happily. I quickly get in and sit comfortably on him. He stares nervously down at me before letting himself relax and kissing my head. "This is nice." He shuts his eyes, content.
"It better be. The cards picked it out for us!"
"Thank u cards." He sounds almost sleepy. I turn to sit facing him and play with his hair a little as his cheeks redden from the heat. I feel drawn to him so naturally and kiss him like it's a pastime. He sits up a little and kisses back, cupping my cheek with his fingers in my hair. We move slowly, soaking up each second of each kiss like we have forever. I gently touch his chest as I move closer to him and he pulls away to breathe. "wow,,"he says breathlessly.
"you get a little irresistible after a while, Muri."
"No that's just the cosmic energy telling you to do it." He chuckles.
"I feel the energy again.." I kiss him more, hands running over his body.
