Lily concentrated so much on herself that she didn’t even notice that Ryon was watching her.

  He wondered why she was acting so strange all of a sudden. He guessed that she had picked up his feelings and that she had then decided to rather say nothing for a while. Ryon wasn’t quite sure why her words did upset him. He shouldn’t care whether they were friends or not… Besides, Ookubi didn’t make friends. Friendship required real emotions - and warmth - and Ookubi had neither. So, he really shouldn’t be upset with her… But somehow, he couldn’t help but feeling hurt. He couldn’t explain it.

  But he could see how she would come to think that keeping to herself would be the best action for a tense situation like that, and he was even rather thankful that she was so considerate. He could not, however, see why she would growl and rub her chest like a maniac. That worried him, somewhat. Maybe she was catching a cold. Or could she even be suffering from a heart attack? That would be very unfortunate. If she was to die, he would never be freed by the king!

  Since she was a demon-blooded, that was a rather unlikely scenario, but just to be sure he checked her life span. He tried to calculate the ?day of departure‘, but when three out of three attempts failed, leaving him with three nonsense results, he was assured - and relieved - that everything was in order. It was only natural that demon- and deity-blooded creatures delivered nonsense results, should one try to calculate their ?day of departure’. The reason was that such creatures had a life span so grand, that lesser beings could even call them immortal.

  The only time when the date was visible in those cases, was when death was imminent.

  But now that he could be sure, that she wouldn’t die on him on the way to the next tavern, he could ease up a little. He had been a little tense after he’d seen from up close how very fragile she was. It had been a strange assignment to begin with. He remembered being called forth to serve the king. He remembered his bewilderment at that moment. And suddenly, he remembered there being a strange creature behind the king’s throne, a shadow of a man with an eerie golden gaze, staring right into his soul, seizing it… He felt as if his heart dropped for a second. Great… He had been trying so hard to forget about that, but now the memory was back, and he couldn’t shake it off… It was a good thing Ookubi didn’t need any sleep, or he was sure to be plagued by nightmares.

  He looked at Lily who was still consumed by her own thoughts, so he tried to think of something else, too.

  … They would need a campsite for the night soon enough.

  He looked about to see if he could find a suitable spot.

  ***

  When they erected their campsite in the early evening the tension had somewhat lifted but they still hadn’t talked much since midday.

  Ryon had found a clearing in the forest that had suited their needs for supplies and shelter, featuring a thick growth that would keep the icy wind away from them, and that even sported a few meager berries which Lily ate for supper. It wasn’t much to go with but Ryon knew that demons didn’t need much in terms of nutrition so he wasn’t particularly worried.

  Keeping both to their own thoughts, they had only traded the words necessary to determine that this would be a good spot for the night, then each of them had taken up a different task. Ryon had cleared the crust of frost that covered the forest floor.

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  Meanwhile Lily had been kept busy looking for inflamable wood and setting on fire what she found in the middle of the cleared ground.

  Now they sat next to each other, Lily huddled in a blanket she had magicked from her personal void, while Ryon didn’t seem to notice the cold, whatsoever.

  They sat side by side in silence, Lily slightly shivering despite the blanket and the fire. For the longest time, she just stared into the flames as if they could tell her anything if she just listened intently enough. But eventually she abandoned the endeavour and looked up at the nightsky. And froze in place. Her eyes widened and her mouth shaped a silent ?Oh“. Curious what she’d seen, Ryon looked up as well. Overhead, the two moons of Tiadar shone brightly.

  ?They are beautiful tonight, aren’t they?“, he asked softly.

  ?There are two of them“, Lily muttered in disbelief. ?Two moons.“

  Ryon tilted his head in confusion.

  ?Of course there are two“, he said, but Lily shook her head.

  Suddenly he realized that she must have missed them up until now because they had camped in a cave. That was probably why she was so astounded… But then again, it wasn’t like the second moon had popped up just now. It had always been there.

  He regarded her for a moment, her moonlit face and her awestruck eyes, and wondered what was going on in her head right now.

  Ryon kept checking on her departure date from the corner of his eye, since she didn’t stop shivering for the longest time. He wouldn’t spoil her, but again, if she died of pneumonia or of the cold itself, he could forget about his reward and maybe even look forward to an eternity of royal punishment. So, he made sure she didn’t get too unwell. That reminded him, that there was still something he needed to address.

  Cautiously, as not to fracture the shell of silence that had engulfed them almost completely, he raised his voice only a little - hoping the topic of her wellbeing would have the soothing effect he expected it to have.

  ?Well… It seems you’re all better now“, he began, but Lily’s startled look made him stop for a second. He could see her confusion, but whether it was because he had tried to start a conversation or because of the topic, he couldn’t tell. It was probably both, though.

  ?Ah… yes“, she replied hesitantly. ?I told you it wouldn’t be a problem.“

  ?…The wound you mean?“, he asked, making her aware that he hadn’t mentioned at all what he had referred to with his opening statement.

  The realisation made her blush a little and Ryon’s notorious grin widened a little.

  ?Ah… yes“, she made again and hid her insecurity in the task of tugging the blanket tighter around herself. Then years of training mannership got the best of her. ?And you?“, she asked politely. ?Are you really not cold?“

  ?No“, Ryon answered nonchalantly. ?I’m fine. Told y’a I wouldn’t feel anything. Neither cold nor warmth nor…“

  ?Yes, yes“, she interrupted him. ?But just don’t come squawking at me when you catch a cold.“

  ?I never squawk!“, Ryon squawked.

  That made her laugh a little, and Ryon’s grin widened still. He liked that sound. In the Realm Between, no one ever laughed. The highest of emotions one could hope for were malvolent chuckles, but nothing genuinely good.

  He didn’t expect her to notice a difference in his facial expression but she proved him wrong, because now he caught her glancing sideways at him.

  ?…What is it?“, he asked.

  ?Oh… I just never saw you grin like that before“, Lily said with a smirk of her own.

  Now it was his turn to laugh, and even though he was aware that it must sound like two millstones grinding against each other, he could see Lily’s cheeks redden with pleasure. And it was beyond the words he knew to describe what that made him feel like.

  ***

  After a little more uneasy and yet not really uncomfortable chitchat, Lily said her goodnights and curled up next to the fire.

  Even though Ryon needed neither rest nor sleep he decided to close his eyes for a while as well.

  I’ll be up as soon as a twig breaks…, he thought with a bored yawn and was about to close his eyes, when he, for some reason, decided to check one more time on Lily’s lifespan so that he could rest at ease.

  But as he looked over to her, he immediately snapped to attention and although the grin was still as wide as ever his eyes were locked in shocked disbelief and mortal fear. For as he looked over, he saw a departure date dangling over Lily’s head, mocking him. 26th September 1892. Three days from now.