Before they entered the park, they stopped at all-night liquor store to pick up a couple bags of unsalted peanuts and some orange juice. Shannon had discovered a craving for the stuff and it seemed to be Ern’s drink of choice.
Now they sat together against the tree offering tree rats and chipmunks the nuts with Shannon giggling in delight each time one of the little creatures boldly walked up to her and snatched the nut from her fingers. Ern not only had them eating from his fingers but two perched on his shoulders stuffing their little cheeks just as fast as he could offer the next nut. Nothing, not even the birds, seemed to fear Ern. It was like he was just a tree to them and a safe place to light.
When the sun topped the nearby Museum Building, Shannon stretched out on the grass and closed her eyes. It was a glorious feeling, absorbing the sun, and she regretted not being able to strip to the skin. Mentally she considered that, stripping down in front of Ern and laying beside him to sunbathe. It made her blush at the bold thought but also warm with excitement at the idea.
Opening one eye, she watched his profile, following the straight line of his nose down to his lips. Her thoughts hover there and she ...
The archer elf opened her robe and saw the blood welling from a slash along her ribcage. She wanted to pull the robe back around her but his eyes on her breasts and body made her temperature rise. From a pouch at his side he pulled a vial and unstoppered it with his teeth.
Placing one hand on her flat belly he poured the blood red liquid along the wound. It stung and she heave up but his strong hand held her in place until he’d emptied the contents. When the pain faded and she began to relax the pressure on her belly eased. She looked up into his eyes.
He leaned down slowly until his lips brushed hers then allowed them to settle more firmly in place. Fire began to burn in her loins and she responded, opening her mouth to him and taking in his tongue. He tasted of peanuts and . . .
Shannon awoke with a start. Ern glanced over to her.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She sat up, bracing with her arms behind her.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Just a dream.”
“A good dream,” Ern observed.
“How could you know?”
“You were smiling in your sleep,” he replied.
“You were watching me?” she said with a little shiver of goosebumps.
“Yes,” he admitted. “You glow when you sleep in the sun. It is very beautiful.”
She held up an arm and stared at it.
“Oh, God, I glow?”
Ern shook his head.
“To see, one must look,” he said.
Her brows knit, not understanding. He smiled slightly at her then returned to the squirrels. It was her turn to watch and in her mind’s eye she tried to imagine ‘soaring with the eagles’.
Once again she was in his arms and being carried aloft toward some secret destination. Far in the distance she could just make out the foliage that would be the Great Tree of Plume and her home but he did not set course for it, instead turning south and south.
Higher he climbed with sweeps of his powerful wings until the last of the Foxwings, those fierce aerial predators, gave up the chase and returned to their hunting grounds. Far below the hills and mountains rose up but still the archer flew on, at last coming to the every edge of the known world.
Without hesitation he plunged into the mist that all feared save, it seemed, this one elf. She could do nothing from that point but trust in this man. All of her adventures, all of her battles with the Wraiths and now to fly past the edge of the world ...
Crinkling of plastic broke her revelry as Ern carefully folded the peanut bag into as small a package as he could before tucking it into his jeans pocket. He glanced over at her.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
Her stomach grumbled and she prayed he wouldn’t hear it but she nodded. Coming to his feet he offered her his hand. It was warm in hers, and strong, with a hint of the oil from on the peanuts. He didn’t release her hand once she was on her feet but began to lead her out of the park.
They walked silently across the street and threaded their way through the growing Saturday morning crowd until they reached a neighborhood grocery just opening its doors. Inside Ern relinquished her hand for a basket then headed for the produce aisle. There he selected a pair of oranges, a bag of shelled walnuts, two bananas and a big basket of strawberries. At the refrigerators he added two pints of whole milk. As they returned to the front of the store, Shannon added a bag of dried fruits and nuts to the collection. They pooled their money to pay for their groceries then returned to the park.
Moving as far from any path as possible they sat in the sun facing each other, silently eating and occasionally exchanging looks. As Shannon took a bite of a large strawberry, Ern’s hands dropped to his lap.
“In my village,” he began. “It is proper for a man to ask of the father permission to court his daughter. I do not know if a phone call would count in this.”
Shannon looked up, the berry forgotten, the juice flowing down her fingers.
“I don’t think it would be . . . improper,” she said, a lump in her throat. “I am sure Mal’s father would not object if you wished to court her.”
In the months since they had met she’d watched Mal and Ern grow close, as close as she felt she were to both. They ate together, studied together, even ventured out into San Diego together. They were her first real friends since Deb . . . Northstar. She knew it was only a matter of time before the handsome Ern would fall in love with the beautiful Malin. Shannon, in a way, loved Mal a little too. They were her friends and she wanted them to be happy . . . no matter how much it hurt.
Ern was shaking his head. “No, Shannon, it is not Mal’s father I would ask,” he said his eyes finding hers. “It is yours.”
She blinked, uncomprehendingly. Why would Ern ask her father to court Mal? Ern’s hand found hers, the one with the strawberry. He lifted it to his lips and bit into it, watching her the whole time.
“I . . .” she began, confused.
“It is you, hlkin,” he said.
“You’ve called me that before, hlkin, what does it mean?”
“Dear one,” he said.
Her father refused to speak with her or Ern and through the phone Shannon heard her father’s words.
“Who cares what they do, go ahead and make more little metas, I don’t give a shit!”
Shannon disconnected without a word. Ern was there, his arms around her, his wings folding over the both of them. Inside the cocoon of his protection she pressed her cheek against his chest and let the tears flow.Text
