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“Zorah! Wait up!” Rhian called, brushing another branch out of her way, doing her best to follow her through the wilderness.
Zorah reappeared, having doubled back, holding the path forward clear for her. “Well hurry up! You’re an elf, aren’t you supposed to be faster?”
“Not trudging through a jungle following a madwoman who I don’t think actually knows where she’s going,” Rhian complained, swiping another leafy branch out of her way.
Zorah darted forward, grabbing her hand and dragging her forward. “Oh, come on. We’re almost there!”
Rhian nearly tripped as Zorah tugged her forward, and the forest opened up. After a few more steps, they were standing back out in the open. Rhian blinked in the sunlight, trying to get her bearings. Zorah had said she’d found something and had talked her into coming all the way out here.
They were standing atop a cliff, overlooking a shaded glen. There was a small waterfall off to their right, quietly bubbling down into the pond.
She walked to the cliff’s edge, getting a better look around. Everything was secluded and quiet, the sunlight streaming in through the canopy to illuminate their vantage point, but most of the water was shaded over.
“How’d you even find this place?” Rhian inquired, gaze fixed on the landscape in front of her.
Zorah answered from behind her, “Well, while you were bent over your work table for the umpteenth hour the other day, a few of us went out scouting. I heard the waterfall once I got close enough, and followed it here. Honestly, Rhian, if you’d put down the tools for a few hours and join us sometime…”
Rhian couldn’t help but grin at her annoyance. “Hey, you got me out here today.”
She could feel Zorah’s eye roll and turned to say something else. But her words died in her throat. Zorah had undressed, standing only in her underclothes, and Rhian felt her brain fizzle out as she gave her a once-over. “Uhhh, what’re you doing?”
When her eyes met Zorah’s again, she gave her a knowing smirk. “Nice to see I can still get that reaction out of you.”
Rhian flushed. Gods help me, she thought, watching as Zorah quickly tied her hair up. “Well? Are you planning on joining me?”
“Join you?” Rhian glanced back at the water down below; it wasn’t a far fall, but further than she fancied, “You’re insane, you know that?”
Zorah stepped up next to her, lightly punching her shoulder. “Aww, come on, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I left it at home.”
Zorah laughed, drawing Rhian’s gaze. She would be content to stare at her forever, the sunlight on her face, her deep blue eyes, sparkling full of joy. Zorah noticed her attention, and her expression softened, reaching up to cup Rhian’s face in her hands.
“Kiss for courage then?”
Butterflies fluttered in Rhian’s stomach, eyes closing as Zorah leaned in. Her lips hovered just above Rhian’s, barely a whisper between them.
And then she was gone, sprinting to the edge of the cliff, and launching herself into open air.
Rhian’s eyes flew open, and she raced to the edge of the cliff, calling after her, “Hey! No fair!”
Zorah hit the water with an enormous splash, shattering the quiet of the pond. After a moment, she resurfaced, grinning wickedly at Rhian still up above. “Additional incentive! Get down here and you can kiss me all you want!”
Rhian gaped at her, incredulous, and then stepped back with a grumble. Zorah always could find ways to talk her into doing, well, just about anything.
Rhian made quick work of stripping out of her clothes, dropping them next to Zorah’s. She stalked back to the edge, and then lost her nerve, looking at the drop to the pond below. Her partner was still waiting, looking up expectantly. “Just close your eyes and jump!” she called up.
Rhian blew out a breath, nervously shaking out her hands, and then she took several large steps back. Sprinting forward before she could think too much about it, she kicked off the edge of the cliff, and she was falling. Her stomach was in her throat. She was weightless, and then-
FWOOM!
All bubbles.
She kicked toward the surface, coming up sputtering and spitting water. She flipped her wet hair out of her face, rubbing water from her eyes.
She found Zorah watching her from across the pond, waiting where it was slightly shallower with a bemused grin. Rhian paddled over to her, grateful when she hit where her feet could touch the bottom. Even still, the water came up to her shoulders.
She wrapped her arms around Zorah’s waist. “That was very rude,” Rhian said.
“It got you down here, didn’t it?”
Rhian hummed, “Mhmm, you do always know what to say. Now, you promised-“
Zorah interrupted her with a kiss, tangling her hands in Rhian’s hair. Rhian kissed her back just as eagerly, fire igniting along her spine.
Rhian pulled back first, but Zorah followed her, drawing one more quick kiss from her. Rhian rested her forehead against hers, her breathing heavy and her heart still racing.
Zorah’s breathy laugh tickled her face, “Worth it?”
Rhian kissed her again in answer.
Rhian jolted as something smacked into her shoulder, knocking her out of her reverie. Everything came back into focus suddenly: the sun setting behind the mountains, the forest of trees far, far below, and the sparkle of a river out in the distance. Where they’d made camp in the mountain pass had reminded her of home, of things… of people… she’d not thought about in a long time. An old, long-forgotten ache had started again in her chest.
Blinking, she shook her head, glancing around. A spoon lay in the dirt next to her foot, and Shadowheart stood a few feet away, preparing to launch another projectile her way.
When Rhian caught her eye, the cleric only shook her head in question. “Sorry, stuck in a memory,” Rhian explained, stooping to grab the spoon from the dirt, “Were you planning on launching all our cutlery at me?”
“Well, I could’ve shoved you off the cliff instead.”
Rhian scrunched up her nose in a scowl, but didn’t give in to her friend’s jest. “Did you want something?”
Shadowheart cocked her head, concern lacing her expression when Rhian didn't respond to her joke. Her voice softened, “Dinner is done, if you’d like to join us.”
Rhian turned, casting one last look over the landscape in front of her. Moving to head back to camp, she found Shadowheart watching her expectantly. “Yeah, I could go for some food,” Rhian said.
Shadowheart fell into step beside her. “But next time you throw something at me,” Rhian held up the silverware threateningly, “I’m throwing back and it won’t be spoons.”
“Noted,” Shadowheart laughed, and the ache in Rhian’s chest dissipated just a little.