Chapter 9: You'll Shower Me With Lots of Kisses
"Um, are you really so sure about this?" Calista asked him hesitantly.
"I know you're a god and all, but I mean. Are you really going to know where exactly you're going once we're out there? With the rain beating down as hard as it is right now, will you even be able to see through it?" Calista asked with uncertainty.
The Forgotten One's lips began to quiver as he tried his best to hold back a laugh to no avail. A small burst of laughter ended up escaping his lips anyway in response to her concerns.
His laugh was almost like an attempt to cast her concerns aside as if there wasn't anything serious to worry about.
"Tsk tsk, now I know your problem, Dove, and why you're so stressed," he playfully chided, a smirk crossing his lips.
"You're not thinking outside the box. Who said anything about needing to see? You do remember I'm a god, right? Relying solely on one's eyes is a human thing. Who needs eyes when you have my godly sense of memory to rely on?" The Forgotten One said smugly.
"It's not like the hot springs suddenly sprouted two legs and wandered off from where I remember them to be regardless of how much time has passed," he said conceitedly.
"The statement you made just now worries me on so many levels. If that's the case, what direction are the hot springs in?" Calista said in a shaky voice before unleashing a flurry of coughs.
This only caused him to let out a disgruntled sigh before stating, "See, look, you're getting much worse." He pointed out.
"The hot springs are located south of here. I don't want to waste any more time. If you're so against leaving here right this second, I have another option in mind. But you probably won't like it much, but I'm not really opposed to the idea," The Forgotten On said.
"And what would that be exactly? Now, this I would love to hear. An idea conjured up from you is what concerns me the most. I am very curious to hear about your so-called idea," Calista said, intently listening to what he was about to say next.
"Are you really sure you want to hear it," he asked with uncertainty.
Calista nodded her head eagerly before smiling and saying, "You're the one who brought it up. Let me hear it. There's no need to be all shy now."
"Ahem, okay then, but only because you asked. We could try... sharing our body heat by cuddling closely together," he blurted out. It wasn't long before his lips curved up into a playful grin.
"You can't actually be serious right now. Definitely not; I'd rather take my chances out there. I think the hot springs are sounding pretty good right now," Calista said defiantly.
"Ouch, Dove, you didn't have to be so harsh. You hurt my feelings. I'm not used to hearing that kind of response. No one's ever turned me down like that before," he said, pretending to be slightly hurt over her rejection.
"Well, how else would you suggest I warm you up while remaining in this place?" The Forgotten One asked curiously.
The Forgotten One then shrugged his shoulders in defeat while trying to hide the disappointment in his voice as he spoke. "Alright, Dove, I'll do as you wish and go with your terrible idea and throw out my brilliant one. But remember, if things happen to go wrong at any given point, I did suggest that we snuggle, but you were totally against the idea."
"Ugh, well, you can't blame me. It's not like I have a whole lot of options to choose from. If it makes you happy, I guess I'll put my trust in you for now and your supposed godly sense of memory to guide us to the hot springs safely," Calista said unhappily.
"But if things get too bad out there, I want you to turn back around and fly right back into the safety of here, understood," Calista said seriously.
Hearing her say things praising his capabilities was like music to his ears, which only caused him to smile from ear to ear.
"Good choice, Dove. You'll see everything will turn out alright. Putting your faith in me is the best decision you'll ever make. You'll thank me later for this, even if you don't realize it now~," he said in a playful tone.
He then took a short pause before letting out an exhausted sigh. "I can hear it already. Once I save you, you'll say something like I owe you my life blah-blah-blah, and then I'll say enough with the kisses, Dove; you've given me one too many."
"I'll try to stop you by holding you back and telling you to control yourself. But you'll continue to shower my face with so many kisses that I'll have lost count," The Forgotten One said conceitedly.
"Ugh... what the," Calista said while grimacing.
"As if I would ever dream of doing a thing like that. You have a very vivid, conceited imagination, don't you? Quit stalling, and let's get out of here," she said in a disgusted tone while rolling her eyes.
"Whatever you say," he teasingly said. "Let's go up, shall we."
Calista squeezed her eyes shut while wrapping her arms tighter around his neck, using the little strength she had remaining as she felt them rising upward.
For a brief moment, she braced herself as she imagined they would burst through some glass window-like surface when coming into contact with the barrier, causing broken shards to come crashing down everywhere. But she quickly relaxed when nothing like that happened. They easily passed through the cave's hole into the stormy night air.
This can't be happening, Calista frantically thought as concern crept into her eyes when she realized that the weather conditions were worse than before she fell. Her teeth began to chatter. Her shivering intensified from a mixture of fear and the cold as the rain pelted down on both of them with no sign of letting up.
"Hang in there, Dove. We'll be out of this mess before you know it," The Forgotten One reassuringly said while confidently soaring through the air to the south. It was as if he possessed his own internal compass that he could rely on to tell him where he was going.
"I hope you know what you're doing, and it's as you claimed. Are you sure this is the right way? How much longer do you think it'll be before we get there?" she loudly cried out. She wanted to make sure he could hear her and avoid having her voice drowned out by the roar of the heavy downpour descending upon them from the sky.
Neverending streams of water flooded down from the sky, blurring Calista's vision and making it impossible for her to see the things around her clearly.
"We're almost there, just a little bit further. I promise," The Forgotten One said in the most comforting tone he could muster.
I don't know how much more of this my body can take. I feel so drained after everything. I'm really starting not to feel so good all of a sudden, Calista thought as her vision and consciousness began to go in and out of focus.
Suddenly, the wind howled as it began to pick up. A bone-chilling wind started to whip around Calista and The Forgotten One. The wind sent a shiver up her spine and caused strands of her hair to fly everywhere. At that moment, Calista's heart sank into her chest as something very unsettling caught her attention.
Is it just my imagination, or is there a gust of wind blowing specifically behind us that's growing stronger? She thought, shuddering.
At that moment, the wind began to act as if it was a living, breathing entity all on its own, sucking in a breath before exhaling rhythmically.
A rush of cold air passed through them. But this time, it carried a voice within it that flowed right into both their ears as if someone was right smack next to it. The voice spoke in a raspy female voice that seemed to linger in their ears.
"I would recognize that handsome face from anywhere. How could I ever forget it? So you finally managed to escape after all those years. I never thought I'd see it again; it's been so long, hasn't it?" the voice cackled.
"We have so much to catch up on. Let's make up for lost time."
As soon as The Forgotten One heard the female's voice, Calista could feel his grip tightening around her. This caused Calista to tilt her head and look upward to try and catch a glimpse of his reaction. He seemed utterly unphased by the whole situation. A mischievous smirk became plastered on his lips as he kept his eyes straight, determined to reach his destination.
"Now, who's she?" Calista questioned him.
"Oh, just some wind goddess," he said casually.
"Just some wind goddess, huh? I'm not so sure about that. She clearly seems to know you very well. In fact, She seems to be quite infatuated with you. Is she your ex or something," Calista said, pressing him for an answer.
Her curiosity drew a small chuckle out of him. "Quite the nosy little Dove, aren't you~."
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