Episode 159 Am I Allowed to Hug You?
Am I Allowed to Hug You?
After leaving Taliel and Jonas to what will surely be an awkward night together, Cerian and Arisanna wander back to Elowyn and Rominy where they stand in the glow pouring from the stone shelter.
Thoughts of that tiny bed Cerian made leave him with a few regrets. He didn’t grow it with anyone but Arisanna in mind.
Jonas is not a small man, even by human standards.
They’ll figure it out. If Cerian and Arisanna managed to survive their binding night, Taliel and Jonas should be fine.
“I need to hug you or something,” Rominy says as soon as Arisanna is within reach, and she doesn’t fuss when he wraps his arms around her.
“I can’t even describe the terror I felt when they said you were missing.
I barely slept at all that night. I was so sick with worry.
And yes, I sound like Mother. I won’t apologize for it. ”
Arisanna laughs.
“I would have joined the search if I could have,” he continues.
“It’s all right,” she says. “Elowyn needed you more. I understand.”
“Am I allowed to hug you?” Elowyn asks Cerian. She doesn’t usually try. She knows hugs aren’t his favorite thing. Aside from Arisanna’s hugs. Those are in a different realm entirely. Arisanna could wrap herself around him all day, and he wouldn’t complain.
Elowyn leaves him his space as she awaits his response, and this time, he nods. He can endure a hug from her after everything she went through tonight. It only takes Elowyn a moment to pull him close.
“I believed in you,” she says softly. “That feeling I had. I knew you would make everything right, and you did. You saved Uncle Quilian’s life.”
“Only because you told me to go.”
Elowyn releases him and looks into his eyes. “I admit I was questioning myself when they said you were lost. And no one would let me help search for you.”
Cerian smiles at that. “You could barely walk.”
She waves him off. “Details.”
“But you’re better now? You look better.”
“I feel like myself again. Thank the fates.”
Relief fills him. She looks like herself again. Perhaps a little weary, but strong.
“Was it terrifying?” Arisanna asks when Rominy finally lets her go. “The attack tonight?”
“One of the most terrifying nights of my life,” Rominy whispers before turning to Elowyn. “Especially when you got it in your head to take that elf out yourself. I was ready to tackle you to stop you.”
“Were you really?” Elowyn asks.
“Of course I was. I’m just glad Tharios talked you out of it. Can I also say that I am not helpless? You all kept shoving me down.”
“You didn’t even have a weapon,” Elowyn says. “What could you have done, my love?”
“I should have brought my rifle.”
“But you didn’t.”
Rominy sighs. “No.”
“Elowyn is the most powerful fire wielder I have ever met,” Cerian says quietly.
He rarely admits that her fire magic is stronger than his, but perhaps it will reassure Rominy in the future.
Not that Cerian wants Elowyn to put herself in danger, either, but she isn’t helpless.
Far from it. She’d probably be on track to becoming one of Father’s elite warriors if her future lay in Lostariel rather than in Nunia with Rominy.
“The most powerful fire wielder, huh?” Rominy wraps his arm around Elowyn’s shoulders. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. I still would have tackled you. It’s in my nature.”
Elowyn laughs at that, and Arisanna smiles at her brother.
Then Elowyn’s laughter fades. “I didn’t realize Tharios was still struggling so much until he said he couldn’t hold his air magic and life magic at the same time. I’ve seen him use all three of his affinities at once as if it’s nothing. It was unsettling watching him panic like that.”
Cerian frowns. Tharios panicked? He glances at the stone shelter. Tharios always seems so sure of himself.
“We can’t change what happened,” Rominy says. He looks full of his own regrets to rival Tharios’s earlier. “All we can do is offer Jonas and Taliel our support and make this adjustment as easy as possible for them, as Grandmera said, and I have every intention of doing so.”
“Tell me about Taliel,” Arisanna says as she reaches for Cerian’s hand.
“She’s Pera’s youngest elite warrior,” Elowyn says.
“Too young to fight in the Battle of the Wildthorne Woods. That’s when Pera chose his elite warriors from the elves who remained loyal to him after everyone else abandoned him.
There were originally seventeen, including Mother, Corivos, Rafelis, and Uncle Quilian.
One died on the battlefield that day, may he find rest.”
“Your uncle was part of your father’s elite warrior band?” Arisanna asks.
“He was Second to the First for nearly a decade,” Cerian says. “The oldest and wisest among them.”
“When Mother became pregnant with me, he stepped down to help her adjust to her new reality,” Elowyn says. “And to be Pera’s representative in the Outerlands since Pera could no longer travel there himself.”
“And that’s when Rafelis was promoted to Second to the First?” Arisanna asks.
“Yes,” Cerian says. “And Taliel joined Father’s elite warriors to replace Uncle Quilian.”
“Rafelis had spent the past decade ensuring she had every opportunity to hone her skills as a warrior,” Elowyn continues. “She wields destruction magic, which is usually better in defense than offense. So she trained in other combat arts as well.”
“She’s the best archer in the warrior bands,” Cerian says. “And her hand-to-hand combat skills terrify me.”
“She aims with her ears,” Elowyn says. “She trained me to use my bow, but I haven’t mastered it the way she has.”
“No wonder she said she could take those elves with an arrow in the dark.” Rominy shakes his head. “Is anyone else imagining her facing Jonas in a practice arena? His own combat skills are well-known in Nunia.”
“That would be fascinating to watch,” Elowyn says. “Think of all the fun they could have in their heartlanding.”
“Are you saying we don’t have fun?” Rominy laughs, his amusement lightening the tension they must all be feeling after what happened tonight.
Elowyn gazes up at Rominy as she wraps her arms around his neck. “I’m not saying that at all, my love.”
Then she kisses him. Whistling wind. Cerian looks away.
Perhaps it was better when she was sick.
“I think that’s our cue to leave you to your fun,” Arisanna says with a smile. “Do you need anything?”
“I wouldn’t turn down a patch of moss.” Rominy looks a little red in the glow from the shelter.
Cerian finds an isolated spot near the stone dwelling and reaches for his magic.
For a moment, he considers growing two patches of moss several feet apart.
But he sighs and grows one large enough for two people instead.
“Are you sure you don’t want an actual shelter?” Arisanna asks.
“No, this is perfect. Thanks, Cer.” Elowyn sends him a smile before removing her quiver, and relief fills him.
The last thing he wants is to turn into the bear again tonight.
They say their goodnights, and Cerian and Arisanna wander back to the stone shelter.
Thoughts of Tharios fill his head. At least when Cerian panics, he rarely endangers other people. Other than perhaps Arisanna.
Not for the first time is he glad Tharios carries the weight of a future crown rather than him.
Father may have been justified in his anger, but Tharios clearly grasped the seriousness of his own mistakes without Father’s reprimands. Father isn’t usually that harsh. It was a little shocking to observe, though Father must have had his reasons for reacting the way he did.
They all expect so much from Tharios. How does he not cave under the pressure?
Does he ever wish he could escape it all? Or is it only Cerian who feels that way?
They reach the doorway, but before they go inside, Cerian grasps Arisanna’s hand and pulls her to a stop.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Do we still have apples?”
“I think so. There were some earlier. Not many, but a few.”
He reaches for the flap of his knapsack and digs around inside. He almost forgot to retrieve the bag before he left the shelter to Taliel and Jonas for the night.
Three apples. That’s enough for something small.
He pulls one out and bites into it. “Come on.”