Ray - Warmth (3)

Now the hoofbeats were unmistakable. Something was approaching at a steady gallop.

Were they enemies? Or were they…

“Demoa!” Sars shouted, running off into the darkness.

“What…?” Ray gasped.

No one heard her, as Eri was cultivating and Olver meditating to recover from the day’s journey. She made out a muldi in the distance, ridden by two figures, with Sars’s barely visible outline now rushing toward them.

Is that really…?

Ray leapt to her feet, even as exhaustion spread through her limbs. She hurried over the uneven stones, stumbling once or twice, though she didn’t care. The cool night air whipped past her. Then, at last, she could see the two figures more clearly.

Up front on the muldi, trembling slightly from the strain of travel, sat Demoa, looking down at her in exhaustion. Her long brown hair was a bit tangled, and her green eyes, though still bright, looked tired. Yet she smiled awkwardly as Sars reached up to help her down from her mount. The moment he had her on the ground, he pulled her into a crushing embrace, making Demoa gasp in surprise.

Then he laughed. “I can’t believe it… you made it! You made it. How…?”

Demoa uneasily pulled herself from his arms and took a deep breath.

“Rad saved me. He’d followed after us and took me with him. I’d barely managed to get away from them when my Lucidity gave out,” she sighed.

Ray narrowed her eyes to get a better look at the other rider, cloaked in dark fabric. It was the young man she had noticed at their shared meal, right before the Sun had burst out of her.

Rad.

She frowned. Last time she had gotten an uneasy feeling when he looked at her, though maybe that had only been stress. After all, he had saved Demoa.

“Thank you, Rad. I don’t usually welcome people trailing us, yet in this case, I’m more than relieved,” Sars said with a smirk.

“Yes, it was incredible luck—just the fact he could follow you at all, I mean,” Demoa chuckled.

Ray noticed she seemed a bit more mature now, and somehow prettier, more vibrant.

“We weren’t exactly careful!” Sars admitted, laughing again. “Anyway, come on quickly, to Eri and Olver. They’ll be just as relieved!”

That was an understatement, as Ray soon saw. When the two broke from their trances, Eri looked almost as if he thought Demoa had come to haunt him as a ghost. Olver jumped up to hug her too, but Demoa stepped back.

“Please… it’s kind of you, though I’m exhausted,” she said quickly.

Olver only nodded and sat back down.

“Then rest with us and cultivate for a bit. Rad, you too, take time to meditate! You’re both probably drained. You should look inward for a while,” Eri said, wearing a rare grin.

Ray didn’t dare say much to anyone. Demoa was already drifting toward rest, and Ray didn’t want to intrude. Yet she knew they needed to speak about what had happened to Elga. The two had known each other better, and Demoa still had to carry grief, perhaps even blame her for it. Ray couldn’t have faulted her if she did. Demoa had likely suffered more than anyone because of her.

Even so, the young woman gave Ray a tired smile as she passed, and to Ray’s surprise, pulled her briefly into an embrace.

“I’m glad you’re finally back with us. You protected me as much as Rad did! You gave me courage! Thank you,” she whispered.

Startled, Ray stiffened for a moment, then returned the hug with relief, holding Demoa tightly. She felt her warmth, her heartbeat, and carried that sensation with her even after they let go and Demoa carefully lay down to rest.

“Wait, I’ll get you some grass to lie on,” Rad said quickly, but Demoa waved him off.

“It’s fine. If I can cultivate on a muldi’s back, I can do it on these rocks. They’re smooth enough. I just want peace! We’ve ridden almost two days straight. You haven’t rested at all, Rad, and I only that one time after we escaped. So lie down as well, you’ve earned it as much as I have.”

The young man pressed his lips together as if swallowing a protest, but soon lay down nearby. His expression was thoughtful, and his eyes flicked toward Ray briefly before closing. Demoa smiled at him before turning inward herself.

“Sparky, you should rest too. We’ll be at the Monastery soon,” Eri told her.

Ray sank onto her grassy bedding with a halfhearted protest, and soon her thoughts began to draw her inward again. Her cultivation wasn’t deep, yet the Light brought her peace until the next morning.

They set out early after sunrise, mounting the muldis and riding on. It felt good, for once, to gain companions instead of losing them, though Ray still felt a lingering wariness toward Rad. He was handsome, his smile carrying an edge of charm that unsettled her… perhaps it was only her connection to Dio that made her more skeptical toward other men.

Ah, Dio… soon I’ll finally be at the Monastery and can begin to find myself. I think I’ve finally set foot on a good path, one that will make the Dream better. When we meet again, you’ll be proud of me, she thought happily, gazing out over the smooth stone hills, streaked here and there with ripples in the rock.

From time to time she spotted small animals she didn’t recognize. Sars, Olver, and Rad had started calling the names of those they had encountered before for fun, clearly enjoying themselves. Only once did Ray recognize a creature, a small six-legged insect whose four wings shimmered brightly in the Sun.

A glister beetle… she remembered.

She couldn’t help but smile, though she wasn’t sure why.

Maybe in my former life I saw them often? Maybe they made me happy once? Or maybe I’m glad to remember something at all by myself again…

“A glister beetle? That sounds pretty. And fitting! Not like those mosquitoes from earlier. One of them got me!” Demoa complained, rubbing her forearm theatrically.

“You remembered what they were. Shouldn’t you have known they bite?” Rad laughed, nudging her playfully.

Demoa pouted, but winked at him, blushing slightly. “Yes, I suppose that’s true…”

Ray found herself smiling as well, finally. She looked over the slopes ahead, some of which caught the Sun’s reflection, and felt a warm satisfaction.

“Hey, Demoa… can I ask you something?” Ray asked carefully.

“Yes, of course. What is it?”

“You said I saved you, but I’m the one who put you in danger. All of us, really. With the appearance of the Sun. Shouldn’t you be angry with me? Hate me, even?”

It made her uneasy that Rad could overhear, even though he pretended to study some knobby rock formations. Demoa shifted a little awkwardly and took a deep breath.

“I… yes, I did blame you at first. After all, Elga was gone, and she meant a lot to me. We were alike, I think. Yet the Sun—it wasn’t your fault. I don’t mean the Sun itself, it’s wonderful. I mean the way it burst out of you and… you know.”

“Yes.”

“But what was inside it, that circle of light—that’s what changed me. It wove itself into my thoughts and gave me access to the Light in a way I never imagined. Because of it, I found something that defines me.”

She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice. “I influenced people that day. So many. Me, someone who had barely arrived here. I brought them calm and joy in the face of something terrifying…”

“That really does sound wonderful. If I ever need help against fear, I’ll let you know,” Ray joked, then quickly turned serious again. “Demoa, you have every reason to be angry with me. Or to hate me. You probably suffered more than anyone because of me…”

“I suffered from the same thing that made you suffer. It’s not your mind doing these things, it’s a part of you that doesn’t yet fully understand what it is. You can learn at the Monastery, I think. Still… I have to admit, I’m afraid of what’s inside you. Sometimes very much. Yet I’m not afraid of you. Does that make sense?”

Ray swallowed. “Yes. I understand…”

“So let’s not talk about it anymore. We’ll tackle your problem soon! I’ll help however I can. And then maybe you can help others too…”

Hearing her words, Ray was glad to have her nearby. Over the next two days, as they traveled through ever higher hills, soon covered again with lush grasses and massive blossoms larger than a muldi, they didn’t speak about such serious things again. Yet over time, Ray realized Demoa’s warmth was always with her. It felt a little like what she shared with Dio, but also different; she had woven a bond with her, one that filled her with renewed drive and calm.

Rad kept to himself, speaking only with Olver and Sars, ignoring her and Eri. Now and then he would pull Demoa close, run his fingers through her hair, or whisper something in her ear, drawing a smile without fail.

Ray found herself a little jealous. Olver still rode behind her, though she wished Dio were there instead, traveling with her through the now towering blossoms that sprouted among grasses with rounded stalks, filling the air with a sweet scent. He would have delighted in the scenery, just as he would in any place. He would have absorbed it the way he had the forest and the clearing where they had arrived together, asking questions that surprised her over and over. Yet now he was only a distant, warm point in her thoughts, living somewhere in a settlement, waiting for her.

I’ll be back soon, Dio. I’m trying… she thought.