Ariana couldn"t understand why Cayden was acting so weird. She looked back at the house and sighed. "Thank you." Vasu said as he floated in front of Ariana"s face, blocking her view of the house. "Silly you don"t need to thank me. I really want to spend time with all of you." Ariana said with a gentle mile. "Besides I owe you a lot more than I think I can ever repay within my life time. You are sacrificing your wishes that the G.o.ddess was going to grant you and I can"t tank you enough." Ariana said as her smile started to slowly disappear."It"ss not fair for you to give something so precious up and I don"t know what to do about it. If there is a way for me to become as strong as then the jewel eyed prietess maybe I can grant your wishes but I can"t even dream about it. I know I"m not loved by the magical creatures like my mother. So I know it" impossibe. The only thing I can do is make sure your happy in this life with me and when...." Ariana started to explain but then she went silent.
She wanted to tell them that when she died and was judged before the G.o.ddess she would beg to have all their wishes come true. But would the G.o.ddess agree? She couldn"t bring their hopes up, there had to be another way. "Ariana?" Loralei called out. "Sorry I just don"t know what to say anymore." Ariana said apologetically.
"Ready to go?" Cayden called out as he stepped out of the house. Ariana nodded her head yes but she couldn"t get excited about their outing. She felt like she was just trying to avoid her problems with a distraction. "You know it"s okay to have some fun." Cayden said softy as he gently brushed back a loose lock of Ariana"s hair.
Ariana jumped. She didn"t realise that Cayden had closed the gap between them so fast. "Is it really?" Ariana asked as she averted he gaze. "... Of course it is." Cayden whipered as he leaned in and placd a kiss on Ariana"s cheek. Ariana felt her cheek heat up and she looked at Cayden. "You"ve become more affectionate since yesterday." Ariana said softlty as she moved closer to Cayden"s lips. "I don"t ever want to hold back again." Cayden replied as he closed the gap and kissed her.
Ariana could feel her heart swell. The kiss was sweet and loving with need no sense of desire or l.u.s.t. Just pure simple love and it made her feel wonderful. All her worries few away and she could feel her legs starting to lose their strength. Cayden pulled back and blushed when he caught sight of Ariana"s face. It was like she woke up from a wonderful dream and begged to stay in it. "W-we should go now." Cayden said as he averted his gaze. "Mmh." Ariana replied as she caught Cayden hand and brought it to her face. She rubbed his hand against her cheek affectionately causing Cayden to become more shy.
"It"s not just me who changed." Cayden said under his breath as he tried to calm himself down. Vasu floated towards Cayden"s face and stared. Cayden was taken aback but at least it helped him sober up. "We better leave now or we"ll get caught by the other students." Cayden said as he started to walk forward.
"Okay." Ariana said as she let go of Cayden"s hand slip away. Cayden stopped walking and looked at the hand that Ariana was holding. He felt it had gone cold and didn"t like the feeling. He turned around and grabbed Ariana"s hand before he started walking again. Ariana couldn"t help but smile. She felt that she was always the one looking to do small acts of intimacy with Cayden and this time he grabbed her hand first so they could walk together. She giggled slightly at the act. She never felt so happy. While her Lumas followed closely behind them. Vasu decided to glare at the back of Cayden head as the walked.
"You should probably get them to turn into their stone forms. I know you want them to be with us during our outing but too many people will see them and our cover might be blown." Cayden said as they walked towards the bathhouse. "Is that why you wanted them to stay with Mrs. Dabney?" Ariana asked.
".... Part o the reason." Cayden admitted. "What was the other part?" Ariana asked but Cayden stayed silent. Ariana stared and noticed that the tops of Cayden"s ears had turned red. She didn"t know what he was thinking but she couldn"t help but feel shy herself. Her face started to blush as they walked in silence. After a while Cayden finally spoke up. "So your not going to send them back?" He asked awkwardly. "No, we will make it work." Ariana replied.
Cayden went silent and took Ariana into the woods behind the bathhouse. Ariana"s body started to temble. She recognized the area they were walking into even though it was day time. Though she trained herself, she stood up against Flint and was no longer afraid of some random person touching her, her mind still sensed danger when she saw the place of Flint"s a.s.sualt.
Cayden stopped walking and turned to Ariana. He made a worried face and was having a hard time with his words. His mouth open then closed then opened again. "We are with you. Don"t be afraid." Davita said as she approached Ariana.
Ariana calmed down slightly but it was only because Davita had said something, she was waiting for Cayden to say something first but at that point she was happy for any words of comfort. Her mind wouldn"t stop going back to that night. "T-thank you." Ariana said to Davita. Shr felt the gap between her and Davita had closed immensly, making her heart swell slightly. She took a deep breath in and then exhaled. "I-I"m okay now." Ariana said feebly but Cayden felt worse. Ariana had no idea how pale she had turned and he couldn"t comfort her with words. It was her Luma that gave her a little bit of courage.
Cayden pulled Ariana towards him and wrapped his free hand around her body. He refused to let go of the hand he was holding. "I"m sorry." He whispered. Ariana had tensed up when Cayden pulled her but she felt her body relax when she heard his voice and smelt his scent. She finally felt at ease. "How much further?" Ariana asked as she made herself more comfortable in Cayden"s embrace. "Not much further."