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It wasn't often you were grateful for the pre-cycle flooding. Awoken either by nightmares or the cold wet of the flood, you only seemed to grow sleepier each passing cycle. Luckily your companion never strayed too far from your shelter, providing a way to ground yourself amongst the ever intensifying currents of life. Enot was always an... interesting character to you. It seems lately their carefree attitude has been growing on you... not that you'd ever admit it out loud.
This cycle was no different; you seem to find yourself soaked more often than you find yourself dry these days. Lost in thought, you barely register Enot tugging on your arm. You let yourself get dragged along. You never really minded the rain. It was an inconvenience at most, living most of your life in a desolate city far above the clouds. Of course, you know it's lethal, especially now when you happen to get stuck in it quite often... but you could never imagine going back to your old life. Life without Enot isn't an option, not anymore.
As the two of you dart in and out of clearings, dodging the sporadic outbursts of rain, you can't help but get lost in thought. The process of making it through the pre-cycle is awfully droning at times. Besides, Enot is wary enough of their surroundings for the both of you. You trust them to keep you safe if you truly need it, as well as vice versa. Honestly, you aren't quite sure when your... feelings for the other slugcat began to develop. Despite it being an obvious crush, you still can't bring yourself to call it as such. Shouldn't simply having them accompany you be enough? Seriously, when did you become so selfish?
Not that any of that matters, as you know Enot would accept you no matter the circumstance. But pondering is where most of your free time happens to be spent these cycles.
Soon enough the sun begins to peek through the cracks of the horizon, the clouds beginning to clear, the smell of petrichor and fresh starts lingering in the air. Enot's hand interlocks with yours. The sounds of the waking echo through the open air, and the drunken swaying of the flora captivates you. Enot gently tugs you again, trying to get your attention. You look over to see them pointing outwards. Ah.
Warm hues fill the entire sky the way ripples bound across an open lake, reverberating off of the mountains and clouds in the distance. You feel the warmth creep up on you, resonating deep within your chest. You can't help but let out a pleased purr, a feeling that spreads like a blooming flower throughout your body and into Enot's where you are still connected at your fingertips. For once you are grateful for the rain that wakes you, as well as the nightmares that shake you. Even if just for a single moment in time, you are not an outsider looking in. You are part of the scene. Not the artist, but rather the depiction. You are one with the world around you. One with the sun. One with the ground and sky. The water and the light. The flora and the fauna. One with Enot.
"Selfish" is the last thing that crosses your mind as you tug Enot closer, closer into yourself. You hold them tight as if trying to envelop them into yourself, merging into a single form. You feel doubt for only a single moment before Enot holds you close as well, asserting that you've made the right choice. Enot nuzzles into your chest, almost in a sleepy fashion. You only grow more awake as the seconds pass. It feels like an eternity before they pull away, but the sun hasn't even finished rising yet.
But at last when you look into their eyes and truly see, you know that every second the pre-cycle rain and the nightmares had instilled fear in you had been worth it. If even for a single moment in time.