Chapter 0.5

They slept soundlessly through the night, until the sun bravely peered through the window. The light rays crept onto the floor and spread across Gadreel’s resting features. It bugged him back into the reality of the cabin around him. His body ached from within the armor, he really had to stop wearing it while he slept. Sure it was because of his safety precautions, but it simply wasn’t practical. Gadreel clumsily hefted himself from the floor,and stood to stretch. The clanking metal woke the sleeping elf on the bed. 

Klau lifted her head sleepily, a bit of drool left on the pillow beneath her. Gadreel immediately felt bad about waking her and paused, hoping that if he stood still she could maybe fall back asleep or something. Against his wishes, she propped herself up with one arm , and rubbed her eyes sleepily with a tiny fist. ‘Awe, she’s so sleepy.’ Gadreel commented to himself, and walked over to the bed. He knelt down next to it and watched her gain actual consciousness Her shoulder showed bare as the top sleeve of her dress slipped down her arm. Klau didn’t seem to notice this, but Gadreel wanted nothing more to run his fingers over the soft skin of her shoulder. There was a slight tug as as his hand seemed to go against his will and raise slightly. He shook his head to clear the thoughts and stood, these wants are becoming worse. He would have to keep an eye on that so nothing happens. Klau sat up straight and swung her legs down from the bed, she sat and smiled up at him. 

“Good morning.” Klau said sweetly, the sleep vanished from her eyes and she was ready to have fun. Gadreel propped open the front door, and let in a cold gush of the nightly air. 

“Good Morning to you too, did you sleep well?” Gadreel posed the question anxiously, it was kind of an odd thing to ask. Unphased by his awkwardness, Klau replied,

“Surprisingly, yes. I don’t usually sleep well in here, I prefer the forest of course. But I feel great. I wonder why it’s different.”

“Oh it’s because i’m here of course.” Gadreel said with a fanciful wave of his hand, obviously joking. His sarcasm was lost on her and she seemed to tense slightly. 

“What does that mean? Did you do something to me? What did you do?” The sheets rumpled at her grip tightened on them, anxiety showing in her waiting features.

“Wait, no no. That’s not what I meant Klau. It’s just a saying. You know about being comfortable or changing, all that what not.“I have always heard that when you are in the presence of the one you love, you’re very comfortable with them and everything becomes easier, I guess.”

His voice scrambled to put together the correct words to try and explain himself. 

‘He said my name. I liked that, awe. I wonder if he thinks it’s a silly name. Wait why would I care? Hold on, what did he say. I wasn’t listening..”

“Hmm. Fine. It’s just a weird thing to say to someone.” Klau decided to him. ‘Only a few minutes into the  morning, and i have already made her freak out. Way to go me.’ He scolded himself. 

Klau jumped off the bed and stood excited, ready for adventure of the day. They went through the morning, cracking jokes, poking fun, and making breakfast with the crated foods. The sun rose out side, warming the night air, there was no breeze today however. While cleaning up the dishes of a yummy breakfast, Klau stood blankly into the distance, debating something within herself, or so it seemed. Gadreel had seen her do this every now and then and it was odd, but strangely cute. 

Gadreel’s increasing fondness over the girl was beginning to alarm him. She had cut straight into his life, seen his vulnerability, and was now changing him. ‘I had better get this little lust out of my head.’ He scolded himself, as he finished with the cleaning. Klau was standing at the door, testing the air. She was indeed very odd. Klau licked her palm and held it to the air, judging the breeze. Excited by something, she turned to Gadreel and took his hand. Her steps lead them out of the cabin and towards the woods. He gladly followed her on this random adventure. 

“Where are we going?” He asked her, obviously she had a destination, but he still knew nothing of the forest’s layout. 

“It’s a surprise!” Klau said mischievously. Her tone was sharp and excited. 

The purple hair waved gently as she took each step bouncing lightly off her back, he couldn’t help but notice that her hair wasn’t the only thing bouncing. He tried to look away, but there was a pull that made him want to analyze every part of her figure. This had never been a problem for him before, he had seen many women on his traveling. Most would call them breath taking, or goddesses, but there was no interest to take a second look at them. It was so different with Klau though. Even thinking the name in her head had excited something within him. She made him embarrassingly insecure and lustful for no particular reason. It wasn’t all bad though, the whole want was enjoyable to Gadreel. 

Abruptly stopping, she turned and held both his hands. The gloves her usually wore were tucked into his belt and the rusted helmet remained in the cabin, resting on the side table. Her hands were warm, soft, and strong. 

“Close your eyes. Then you can see the surprise.” Klau directed. He was hesitant for a second, but felt an odd trust to her. ‘Surely nothing bad would happen’ he told himself, and obediently shut his eyes. Klau released his hands, and he heard faint footsteps, she was walking away, then silence. Nothing moved, no noise was made, the only thing he could hear was his heart beat. It throbbed on his temples, drowning in the deafening silence. 

“Klau? What’s happening?” He braved to asked, only the silence replied. The leaves whispered above him, keeping his eyes closed, he shuffled his feet around. 

Only 6 feet in front of him, Klau was tip toeing on the balls of her feet, expertly crouching in a hunter’s stalk. A bow ready in her hands, a solid black arrow held in the draw string. She crouched in front of him, smiling at her own sneakiness, and trying not to laugh at Gadreel’s behavior. The smile disappeared as she pulled back the drawstring, and aimed at Gadreel’s unsuspecting face. His eyes were still closed tightly, trust holding him to his word to do so. Inhaling deeply, she steadied herself, Gadreel looked directly down at her, continuing to close his eyes. It was as if he knew somehow she was there. The bow sprang to life as she silently released the arrow. The silence grew as the only noise through the woods was a sickening thud. 

“What the F**k?!?” Gadreel called, opening his eyes. An arrow stuck out from a tree slightly behind him, embedded deep into the trunk. The arrow had whizzed right past the side of his face, hitting his slightly with the tail feathers on the end. Klau laughed and giggled hysterically, her words caught in her throat as looking as his confused face made her laugh so much more.

“Your Face! You were,.. And standing,  Moving.. HAHAHA Face, then BAM! Ah, i’m so funny. Did I scare you?”

“Hell yeah you did! What were you trying to kill me?” Gadreel scolded loudly, Klau’s innocent laughing stopped abruptly at his reaction. Her eyes narrowed as if she was getting angry. 

“Oh Calm down will you. It’s just a prank. Sorry if I freaked you out but come on, chill out at least.” She slung the bow over her shoulder, as if she had done it a thousand times before. The angry expression melted from Gadreel’s face and he smiled widely, pleased with himself.

“I know. And so was that. I can prank too you know.” A sigh of releaf escaped her, she smiled again. Shaking her head that she had fallen for Gadreel’s stupid trick. 

“I guess we’re even then huh?” She retorted. 

“Anyways, besides the point. Why did you shoot at me?!” Gadreel questioned, gesturing violently to the stuck arrow. 

“Oh Yeah! I kinda forgot about that..” Klau admitted, she handed him the bow, and explained. “I wanted to teach you how to shoot a bow. I can tell that you don’t know how.” She sassily gestured to his apparel and figure with a finger. “This is today’s adventure! I’m going to give you a tiny sense of grace and teach you how to be a ninja. Okay we may not get that far, but this is still going to be fun!” She giggled with delight and did a little bouncing dance. Klau handled a slim quiver with a bounty of dark black arrows. 

“Where did you get the arrows?” Gadreel questioned, gesturing for her to let him examine them.

“I made them myself. Out of a black cherry tree. I think they are really pretty, and fairly easy to make. I ought to teach you that too. I also made my bow that way too.” She said as if it was no big deal. They were the most flawless arrows he had ever been in contact with. That may be because usually he was the one getting shot at, but even he could tell that they were stunning in the craft. Dark stone tips leveled perfectly on the tip of his finger, adorned on the end with black crisp feathers, they looked worn, but sharp and direct. Even the bow was a stunning factor, so smooth and solid, pretty heavy duty surprisingly.

“Try shooting at something.” Klau instructed, stepping off to the side and slightly behind him. Gadreel positioned the bow in front and secured the arrow on the draw string. The whole weapon was unhelpfully small in his hands, but the string was fiercely weighted. He squared his shoulders and tried to copy what he had seen archers to, leveling his arm, he pulled back the string. It took a lot more force than he originally thought. This whole time, he was really underestimating Klau’s strength despite her appearance. Gadreel aimed at a tree 10 feet directly in front of him, ‘She’s not saying anything, so I must be doing it just fine. Hmm. Maybe i’m a natural.’ With that though, he released the arrow and felt his upper body thrown forward slightly with the force of the bow. 

His armor clanked as he examined the damage of his shot. It was barely a hit, the arrow was stuck in the bark of the tree, just narrowly missing the entire tree. It feebly cracked the wood and fell to the ground. 

Klau snickered loudly behind him. Gadreel turned to defend his snipering pride, but quickly lost the intent when he saw the joy in her eyes. Her face turning a fierce red, a smile stretching her features. It was positively infectious. He felt a broad smile creep onto his face, and he even began to laugh as well. It didn’t come out as a deep toned chuckled, NOPE! Gadreel began to giggle like Klau, high pitched. Embarrassment shook him, and he clamped his hands over his mouth, praying that she didn’t hear that. To his dismay, she was laughing so much harder, tears welled up in her eyes and she clutched her stomach with the racking laughter. Klau rolled onto her back and kicked her legs in absolute joy. The snickering turned into a full blown laughter fit, and she tried her best to stop it. Gadreel laughed at her laughing which made her laugh more, and he laughed more. The vicious cycle went on for a couple minutes of side splitting laughter, until Klau breathlessly laughing said, 

“Noo, Shtapp. I Can’t breathe. Oh my gouddness.” Slight panic caught in Gadreel’s throat and he immediately stopped laughing, feeling strangely serious. Klau lifter herself from the ground and released more dying laughter. Leaves were crushed into her long hair, and one fleck was resting cutely on her cheek. Trying to regain herself, a quick pat down lead to leaves falling to the ground once more, when she was satisfied, even though a few leaves were still stuck on her, Klau retrieved the arrow. 

“You know it would be A lot easier if you would just take of some armor.” She commented, handing the arrow back to Gadreel, tapping the point on his chest plate. 

 “I’m good, I like it this way anyways. I’ll just get used to it this way.” He retorted, a little too harshly maybe. 

“Fine, have it your way fam. I’m just trying to help you learn how to shoot and all.” Klau concluded, trying to guilt trip him, returning favor for skill. It was lost on him however, and he formed up once more with the bow, aiming for the center of the tree. 

“By the way,” She said mischievously, “ Almost everything you’re doing is wrong.” Oddly silently, Klau skipped over to him and began to adjust his form. Moving his elbow down, straightening his back, when she kneeled to adjust his feet, he shamefully blushed as he thought to himself, ‘ Okay, maybe I do want to take of my armor now. But come on, I need to stay safe. Don’t be foolish, Me.’ She stepped away and examined her handiwork. Gadreel’s arms began to quiver under the weight on the pulled arrow, it had to be released. He took a deep breath and released his grip. A satisfying thump made him smile as he saw the arrow stuck dead center in the tree in front of him, It went exactly where he wanted it to go. 

Klau smiled at his reaction, like a small child that finally climbed to the top of a tall tree. There was an odd sense of proudness, she didn’t quite understand it. 

“Great job, you didn’t miss,” She said teasingly. “Now do it again without me moving you into position.” Klau waved her hand lazily, directing him to go about his business. Gadreel lifted back the bow and tried to remember how she had positioned him. ‘This foot there, the arm a little down, cup the shoulder.’ He reminded himself. Gadreel was determined to get it just right. Maybe she would be impressed if he could do it on his own. The string tightened in his grip, it was kinda getting easier to pull back such a weighted bow, but he still kinda struggled. The sights lined up just above the first arrow, he held his breath in anticipation and released the bow. The arrow flew fast, straight towards the target, then straight past. He missed the tree entirely! 

Gadreel’s face flushed violently with a crimson red of embarrassment. Klau giggled, and ran off after the arrow. Seconds later, she returned and took the bow from his grasp. 

“Here, watch how I do it.” She directed him, and shocked the arrow so expertly. Her arms raised and tightened as she flawlessly and with liquid grace let loose the taunt arrow. It whizzed loudly through the air, and directly below the first arrow Gadreel shot. It implanted itself very deep into the tree trunk, deeper than Gadreel’s for sure. He stood in awe for a moment at the infinite grace that just happened in a split second, it was so fast and precise. 

“How fast Can you do that?” He asked innocently, turning to face her. Just as he finished the last words of his question, her body flashed with movement, and he felt a strong whoosh past his cheek, the scar around his eye tightened at the pressure. Gadreel turned his head to see another arrow just centimeters from the side of his face, again stuck in a tree behind him. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Kinda fast I guess.” Klau said playfully, turning the bow in her hands, embarrassed that she showed off.  ‘I hope he thinks that was kinda at least a little bit cool..’ Klau said to herself, unsure why, but it still happened. 

“That was freaking awesome Klau!” Gadreel praised her enthusiastically. Her eyes lit up brightly with the praise and she bounced on the balls of her feet happily. 

“Thanks, I try.” She responded, trying to sound modest. “Anyways, here. Try to do it again. Just relax.” Klau handed him the bow and an arrow and he squared up into the stance once more. The string shot forward and released the arrow, which went etching onto the side of the tree, a bit far off from where he wanted it to hit, but it was a hit none the less. ‘Better than nothing’ Gadreel complemented to himself. 

“Well, if that was where you were aiming, good job.” She teased. “Hand me that,” She held out a hand for the bow, Gadreel obliged the request. “Okay now come over here. I’m going to square up, and I want you to examine my stance.” As stated, she drew an arrow from the quiver and put it against the string. She pulled back and held the position, despite the heavily weighted string, she wasn’t struggling in any way like Gadreel had. 

He walked to the side of her, making mental notes as he tried to copy what she was doing. Gadreel’s mind kept wandering off however. There was such a fierce delicateness with her and the bow. The muscle’s in her arms were taut and defined, showing unbefore seen strength. Her back sloped gracefully, and the wide spread stance angled her thin legs, perfect for running his fingers over her skin. 

“Put your hands on my waist, i’ll show you how to rotate and stuff.” Klau suggested, turning her head from the aligned target and looked into Gadreel’s eyes. ‘He has the most beautiful eyes. So warm and soft.. Wait, What? Stop that and focus. It’s teacher shooty bow time.’ Her mind scolded herself at the random thought. Gadreel was hesitant, but fell back behind her, his hands fit perfectly on the sides of her hips. The length of his big strong hands held around her. His breath seemed to be stuck in his chest, because he couldn’t really breathe. The armor he wore, always, seemed so make her smaller in front of him, delicate and fragile. Then she turned her head back and looked up at him. The piercing blue green eyes diminished all concept of fratality and weakness, she looked strong and brave. Gadreel’s hands moved up from her waist, he curled on armored arm around her cocked back elbow, and the other hand rested on her shoulder. He felt the strength through her muscles as she held the bow solidly. ‘why do I feel this way? I could just bend my head down and kiss her neck, hold her to me. Oh god what’s happening here! Stop it Me!!’ Gadreel’s mind was racing wildly with these thoughts, Distracted by what he was even doing with his inner conflict, he took his hands from her and stepped back slightly, shaking his head to clear the thoughts.  

Klau looked a bit sad that Gadreel was falling away, so she turned back to the target in her sights, and releases the arrow with the slight touch of her fingers. The arrow flew to the mark, and it perfectly landed beneath the 2nd arrow in the tree. The arrows created a line, trailing down the trunk.

Klau pulled away from Gadreel behind her, and handed him the bow once more. 

“Are you kinda understanding a bit more? How to stand and all?” She questioned. There was a thought in the back of her mind, burrowing into her subconscious. ‘I liked it when he had his hands on me. I wonder why. It’s because we’re friends! 

That’s it. I like my new friend.’ Klau distractingly conversed this with herself and drifted off into space, imagining unknown things. She suddenly snapped out of the trance when Gadreel accepted the bow and said,

“Kinda, do you think it’s because the bow it small? I mean we are different sizes, and this was built for you.”

“Oh I see, Blaming it on the equipment. Real classy.”  She teased him playfully. 

“No, well i guess. But it’s reasonable is it not?”

“Oh course it’s reasonable, did you really think that it have you keep using this one if i had a bigger one. But frankly, I don’t have anything right now. So just practicwe standing with that one.”

“Fair enough. I’ll get the hang of it. And hey maybe one day you can teach me how to make some of these things. Bows and arrows and all.” Gadreel suggested.

“I’d like that. I can teach you a lot of things, but I want to know about the world. The stories of your traveling, what people are like, weird stuff. I want to know everything!” Klau demanded, they silently agreed to the deal of information traded for skills. 

Over the course of the day, Gadreel lost many arrows and frustratingly had to watch Klau run off into the trees to retrieve his lost ones, but his aim became better, his stance more secure. They talked through the hours, about the world, the concepts of science and history, It was a peaceful day.

The sun was setting, the shadows became elongated and skinny on the leaved ground. Klau slung the bow across her back and tucked the quiver under her arm. She lead him back to the cabin, and said goodnight. 

“I like it better in my woods, and i hope that i can show you my camp sometime later. But i’ll be back when the sunrises, and we can go play in the forest again.” She explained to Gadreel when he asked why she wouldn’t stay in the cabin again that night. He understood and said good night. The sun light rays diminished quickly, vanishing completely when Klau waved from the forest line and disappeared into the trees. 

Over the next few weeks, this had become routine. He would wake to the sound of Klau knocking on the door of the cabin, smiling in the sunlight. The had the beast timing, always managing to bring the sunshine with her when she would appear at the door. Klau had become very comfortable with Gadreel, she stopped knocking on the door and let herself in every morning. He would always wake up to ‘Good morning, Did you have any fun dreams?’ She always asked about dreams, it was cute. Gadreel had even begun to take his armor off at night, and welcome her into the cabin when he wasn’t armored up. But as soon as he was awake, on went the armor. He refused to let her see his body and whenever she snuck in, he would tightly wrap his blanket around him to cover himself. Everything was going so well, day by day they were becoming closer. Gadreel learned to shoot the bow and arrow, throw knives, scavenge for particular foods, even healing plants. Peace was found through their little domain, nothing seemed to want to bother the two. But as the days grew hotter with the promise of summer, something was bound to disrupt the peace and quiet.