Chapter 10: Revelation

It was a relatively cool day in Weyard, and Mia could feel the chill of the wind blowing past her face as she examined the tall rock formations at the entrance to yet another desert. It had not taken long to get from Tolbi to the small town of Suhalla, which bordered a desert of the same name. The group of adepts had made a quick stop in the town to resupply, but were determined to tackle the desert in the same day and make up time chasing down Saturos and Menardi to put an end to the danger they posed to the world.

The rocks at the edge of of the desert were strangely smooth, worn down by years of relentless wind that was the hallmark of this particular desert. Mia could tell the stories were true from the whistling sounds coming from inside and the strong breezes that existed just outside it as well. Mia recalled the warning one of the villagers had given them after learning of their intent to cross the desert.

'You can get a taste of the strong winds in the region out here, but this is nothing compared to what you'll find in the desert. Frequent sandstorms make it difficult to see and navigate in the area and it's been getting worse as of late.'

The winds were certainly a concern as none of the adepts had any experience with sandstorms, but it was the parting words from the villager that really stuck with the Mercury adept and the rest of the group.

'Watch out for the giant lizards that love to follow the whirlwinds.'

The lizards already sounded quite dangerous to Mia and with the added challenges of limited visibility and insanely fast wind, it all seemed like a recipe for disaster. She opened her bags, looking over her supplies one last time to make sure she wasn't missing anything important.

Herbs, some food, canteens full of water, spare clothes, Mia counted everything off as she used her hand to dig in the bag. Pushing aside some of her clothing, a pinkish dress peaked out from the bottom where Mia had left it after Colosso night. Allowing a quick smile at the memory of Isaac picking it out for her, she pushed it too aside and continued through her belongings, ending with the psy crystal won from the Tolbi fountain game.

"I'm ready to go," Mia announced to the others, having completed her usual bag check before heading into unfamiliar territory. Isaac gave her a quick nod of acknowledgement and Mia could see Ivan rummaging through his bag out of the corner of her eye, doing a similar thing to her.

Garet called a small flame to his open palm, extinguishing and lighting it a few times over in a process he referred to as "flexing." Mia had first learned of the habit early on in their travels when Garet was doing the same thing he was now, claiming that it was a way of preparing himself mentally for the challenges ahead and ensure his psynergy was ready to go at a moment's notice. At this point, it was just something Mia had come to expect from the Mars adept and she paid it little mind.

Ivan looked up from his bags and glanced at his companions. "Sorry about that," he stated knowing he was holding them up slightly. "I have everything in order if you're ready to go," the blonde boy added.

Acknowledged by the rest of the group, Ivan slung his pack over his shoulder and followed along to the entrance of the caverns. The howling noise of the wind seemed to pick up as Mia stepped between the rocky outcroppings with the rest of the adepts, entering a smooth walled canyon that appeared to wind and twist around in a fluid motion from years of winds eroding it away.

Reaching out to touch the wall, Mia felt the smoothness of the rock beneath her fingers, something that she had never experienced until now. It's like a sheet of paper, Mia observed. There's no roughness to the edges whatsoever.

Rounding the first major bend of the crevice they were walking in, a blast of air slammed into the group, staggering the adepts and stopping them in their tracks for a brief moment as they adjusted to the harsh wind.

The whistling noise raced past Mia's ear as she braced herself, digging her feet into the ground and adapting a slightly crouched stance while leaning forward into the wind to stabilize. The other adepts did the same and waited out the strong gust of wind until it blew past and subsided somewhat.

"Wow," Isaac commented, vocalizing what they were all thinking.

"Those are some insanely strong winds," Garet added. "I was expecting harsh, but I didn't know it would be quite like that," he said.

"Apparently it's supposed to get worse still," Mia spoke up as well. "We're still in the canyons surrounded by rocks, but when the sand comes with this kind of wind as well…" she trailed off, knowing the others would understand.

Ivan shrugged, "Well we have to get through it, sandstorms or not, so hopefully it doesn't get too much worse," he said.

Feeling it was safe to continue walking, the group moved onward, approaching a tighter section of the passageway they were in, tapering down to a smaller section where the wind was blowing more fiercely. Hair being tossed in every direction, Mia could make out a small whirlwind blocking the way through the narrow section of the canyon.

The wind continued to pick up as they approached and the adepts stopped in front of it, a respectful distance away so as not to be engulfed by it. Each member of the group eyed the thing with apprehension, remembering the warning about the lizards from earlier and unsure of how to approach the roadblock.

"How can we tell if there's a monster nearby in it or not?" Ivan asked the rest of the group, talking loudly to be heard over the roar of the wind.

"I don't think there's an alternate path," Mia replied, glancing around to see if there was any way to get around the issue, but seeing none.

Garet and Isaac looked thoughtful, having also considered Mia's idea of trying to find an alternate route, but ultimately agreed there hadn't been any other way to go that they had seen so far.

"I guess the best way to tell would be to try to provoke it?" Garet suggested hesitantly. "If there actually is a monster in there, surely it would respond to being hit by some sort of psynergy…" he speculated.

"That makes sense to me," Isaac replied while Mia considered Garet's suggestion as well.

Garet shrugged. "It's the best I have, though one of you are going to need to do it," he said. Conjuring a flame in his hand again, it was quickly snuffed out by the wind. "It takes too much energy to keep a flame burning with the heavy gusts," Garet explained, his demonstration more than enough for the others to understand.

"In that case we need to hit it with something else..." Ivan started to say until Isaac spoke up.

"Water," The Venus adept stated. "Water is the best bet I think," he added, turning toward Mia.

"I agree," Ivan said in response. "The least common thing here in the desert is water so drenching them should hopefully agitate them enough to show themselves," the younger blonde boy explained, catching on quickly to Isaac's thoughts.

The logic makes sense, Mia thought, listening to the explanation. "In that case, I suppose it's up to me," she answered the three boys with a smile.

Stepping out closer to where the whirlwind continued to spin fiercely in place, Mia called upon her psynergy, feeling the latent power grow within her as she commanded it to create water in her palms. I hope this does actually work, she thought, tapping into the wellspring of energy within her to shoot the torrent of water toward the whirlwind.

Isaac and Garet stood ready, stepping forward with hands on their weapons just in case. The blast of water made contact with the rapid winds and almost seemed to get absorbed into the twister. A second later, the adepts heard an ear splitting screeching noise and saw a blur of motion as something from the whirlwind raced toward the group. Diving out the the way as quickly as possible, Mia barely avoided the swift attack of the lizard that was indeed hiding in the whirlwind.

The monster came to a halt, leaving only a small gash in the fabric of Mia's robe, turning to face the adepts that had interfered with what it was doing. The scaly, orange skin of the creature looked rough and rugged in sharp contrast to the smoothness of the walls around them, with large fins on either side of it's head, covered in webbing the color of the sand surrounding them.

Isaac and Garet slowly closed in, cautiously approaching the lizard and blocking off Mia from further attacks. Not knowing what the enemy was capable of, each boy moved with more caution than normal, ready to move or react at a split second's notice to anything the monster could do.

Mia decided that attempting to match the speed of lizard would be a mistake, and left her mace hanging at her side as she instead called upon her psynergy once again to create shards of ice. Ivan recognized the speed of the creature could be a problem, but given his Jupiter alignment and attunement to the wind, he figured he could keep up and attempt to engage the monster to hold its attention.

With a hiss, the lizard lashed out at Isaac, sporting razor sharp talons that looked deadly if they landed a direct hit. Bringing his sword up to block the attack, Isaac found he was just barely able to keep up by the grace of his combat reflexes.

Mia released her spell and pelted the creature with shards of ice in retaliation and to buy Garet and Ivan chances to act.

Ivan rushed in with his blade drawn, landing a quick strike to one of the legs of the creature in an attempt to slow it down. Garet backed off, recognizing the inherit agility disadvantage he was at, and instead slowly moved to try to flank their foe.

Splitting attention to try to keep track of all the adepts, the lizard paused to take stock of its foe's positioning and gave Isaac the opening he needed. With a quick strike, Isaac severed part of the fin from the left side of the lizard's head, tearing through the fan like membrane with ease.

In pain the creature let out a shriek and unleashed a frenzy of blows in Isaac's direction, forcing the blonde boy to leap backward to avoid being impaled. That left Ivan as the only adept remaining in melee range and so the beast's focus turned to him. Fortunately, Ivan's deft movements allowed him to dodge multiple strikes in a row, enraging the creature. The lizard was obviously used to easily striking its targets, and the evasive adept proved to be a new and unpleasant experience for it.

Seeing how effective Isaac's attack was, Mia tried to carefully aim another round of ice missiles at the undamaged fin on the right side on the beast. Though the monster's attacks were lightning fast, it did not actually move much when doing so, which made Mia's job of hitting the target slightly easier.

Timing the spell as perfectly as possible, Mia unleashed the psynergy and though a couple of missiles missed to the side, more hit the target, puncturing large holes in the webbing.

The lizard screeched and staggered, sitting still as it tried to overcome the pain. Garet's flank from behind had perfect timing as he used the opening to dash in and deliver a death blow to the back of the creature's neck.

Collapsing to the ground, the lizard convulsed a few times and lay still. Retrieving his weapon logged in the nape of the neck, Garet wiped off the still fresh blood dripping off the edge.

Examining the dead lizard, Isaac made note of the potential dangers of fighting them based on the experience they just had in case it would be required again. The adepts regrouped with each other, noting that the whirlwind blocking the way had subsided significantly with the death of the lizard.

"These things must be what cause the whirlwinds to get going so fast," Ivan speculated, glancing back at the dead monster behind them and back to the cleared up path.

"I actually wouldn't be surprised," Mia commented. "I'm just glad Isaac was able to find an effective means of attack against them," she added.

The blonde boy shrugged in response. "It seemed like the weakest point so I figured it was worth a shot," he said.

"I couldn't keep up at all," Garet complained, referencing to how he had to resort to flanking tactics instead of a heads up fight. "I mean...I'd rather not be torn to ribbons by those claws, but isolating myself from you guys in order to get a hit in isn't my idea of an assured victory,"

Ivan turned toward the Mars adept. "Well, you've done it before," he stated matter of factly.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Garet retorted.

"I don't know...it seems like you actually might like fighting that way," Ivan insinuated. "Heck, I've seen you do that at least four times in recent memory."

Garet looked thoughtful and began silently counting on his fingers until he reached three. Shaking his head he turned back to Ivan. "Okay okay. But what was the fourth one?" he asked.

Ivan replied silently with a finger pointed back at the lizard Garet had just killed, a smug smile on the Jupiter adept's face.

"Oh come on, that one doesn't count!" Garet said, exasperated as Isaac and Mia couldn't help but to smile at the exchange despite the situation.

Ivan let out a laugh and Isaac decided to get everything back on track by getting serious again. "Well now that you know the tactic is effective and they can be slowed down with strikes to the fin like appendages, we should be able to fight them easier if we come across another one," he stated.

Deciding to keep moving, Isaac walked through the narrowed space where the whirlwind was previously, still being buffeted by strong winds, but not to the point of being unable to get through. Mia and the other two boys followed along, making their way through the gap as well and continuing along on the other side.

The further the group ventured into the desert, the harsher the winds continued to get and the sandier the terrain became. The mixture proved a difficult recipie to deal with as the winds regularly blew gusts of sand directly into the path of the group, forcing them to shield themselves from the onslaught.

Isaac used his scarf to cover his mouth and prevent himself from inhaling sand similar to how the others used their clothes the same way. Mia found herself grateful for her thick robes preventing the piercing wind from pelting her body with grains of sand. This could be a whole lot worse without such heavy clothing, Mia mused as she made her way along with the rest of the group.

The adepts had stopped communicating verbally as they continued the trek, the rapidly forming sandstorms making it difficult to understand each other over the roar of the wind. Visibility was also greatly reduced as sand continued to billow around the adepts, moving in every which way as the winds shifted on a whim.

Fighting in these conditions would be nearly impossible, Mia thought, briefly recalling parts of the Lamakan Desert earlier in their journey that were just as bad, though for different reasons. Fortunately those overgrown lizards don't seem to be too abundant out here in the open and seem to stick to the canyon like areas where there's less sand.

The group continued to press onward, through the wall of sand to try and make it to the other side of the desert. Just barely able to keep the others within visible line of sight, Mia could see Isaac and Garet stop in order to consult a map, rapidly flapping in the wind. Approaching the two boys along with Ivan, she could see Isaac and Garet pointing to the same position on the map.

Assuming that was approximately where they were at, the adepts would have to move to the east on an angle continuing south in order to reach the exit. Pointing in the direction to head, both boys agreed and looked to Ivan and Mia to make sure everyone was on the same page.

With silent nods, Garet rolled up the map and stored it back safely into his pack as the four of them kept slowly making progress through the harsh environment. The loud sound of the wind not only made it difficult to communicate with her friends, but Mia found the constant noise distracting, making it hard to think as well.

Is this desert another phenomenon of the imbalance of the elements? Mia found herself wondering as they continued on their path. It was always a similar story wherever they went. Everywhere we go, the locals tell us that this or that 'has been getting worse recently,' and I can't help but find all of these issues lining up with the the elemental stars being taken suspicious.

The wind began picking up again, distracting the cerulean haired girl from her musings as she brought a hand up to ensure her clothes would continue to cover her mouth from the sand being blown past. The winds continued to get more and more fierce, ripping past Mia and battering each of the adepts, forcing them to stagger along as best they could.

Curious to see what the cause of the sudden gales were, Mia turned around to glance behind her. Through it was difficult to tell with the extremely limited vision available to her, she swore the winds back there were moving more rapidly than the ones ahead of the group. Sand seemed to blow everywhere, swirling around at breakneck speeds. Somehow, I don't feel good about this, Mia's intuition told her.

Turning forward again, she could see her companions continuing ahead, sand still blowing everywhere, but not nearly as bad as what she saw behind the group. Concerned, Mia looked back at the sandstorm coming up on them and everything clicked into place.

It's not just a sandstorm...it's another whirlwind… Almost in awe, she raised her head to confirm what she was seeing and it was indeed a giant twister, sand blowing in circles as it spiraled around. It's huge! Mia marveled, stopping for one second just to process the fact that it could get so large. ...And it's heading right toward us! Her mind warned as the intensity of the wind continued to pick up.

If there's a lizard in there...it's going to be massive, Mia realized, springing into action as she recognized the danger the adepts were in. Knowing that shouting would get her nowhere with all the background noise, the Mercury adept put her feet down and began to ran, trying to reach the others and alert them as quickly as possible.

Catching up to Isaac first, she nudged the blonde boy with her fist to get his attention, wordlessly looking back behind her at the rapidly approaching storm. Prompted to follow her gaze, Isaac glanced back as well and his eyes widened in shock, understanding the dire situation they could end up in.

Mia though she heard Isaac yell out a curse, but it was impossible to tell over the noise around them. In any case, she ran along with Isaac toward Ivan and Garet to warn the two boys of the impending danger.

Their warning wasn't needed however as Ivan turned around when the wind really started picking up even more, throwing Mia off balance as she struggled to keep upright and moving away from the sandstorm twister.

She couldn't make out the expression on Ivan's face, but the younger blonde boy quickly alerted Garet to the situation and both adepts sprung into action, also attempting to outrun the storm.

The whirlwind gained on the group rapidly, each passing moment multiplying the difficulty of running from it as the wind intensity continued increasing. Buffeted by the insane force of the air currents, Mia felt herself being knocked around, unable to maintain the same direction she had been going in.

The same was happening to Isaac, despite the blonde boy's best efforts as the giant sandstorm overtook the pair. In an instant, everyone else vanished from Mia's sight and she was left with only sand. The one fortunate thing was that there was no sign of a lizard yet, but the Mercury adept was left wondering about her companions and where they might be.

Stumbling to the side where she thought a wall might be, Mia sought relief from the relentless assault and hope for a hint of her fellow companions. The fierce wind continued to blow past, but Mia thought she caught sight of a brighter yellow out of the corner of her eye.

Isaac? She wondered, hoping beyond hope that it was indeed one of her companions and not some giant foe she had noticed. Doing her best to make her way toward where she saw the flash of color, Mia was rewarded by a hand reaching out toward her. Grabbing it without hesitation, she could barely make out the form of Isaac next to her as the blond boy pulled her closer toward the wall they had both been trying to get to.

With no way to communicate, the pair followed the wall, doing their best to avoid the harsh winds of the storm around them. Step after step, they continued to push on, seeing no trace of their other companions. After an agonizing few minutes, the wall curved into a recess leading to a deeper cavern.

Mia found she could finally breathe properly again, panting as she took deep breaths of the cool air, no longer being blown about by the sandstorm. Isaac seemed to be doing the same, catching his breath as the roar of the storm outside echoed around the hollowed out rock.

Ivan! Garet! Mia thought as she stood fully up again, glancing around to take in their new surroundings. The hidden recess in the wall stretched inward, continuing on as a tunnel-like structure within the rock. The sand didn't reach too deeply into the tunnel and Isaac and Mia were far enough away from it to not be bothered by the force of the storm.

The relief offered little comfort however as Mia couldn't help but to worry about their other companions. Glancing over at Isaac, who had also recovered somewhat and was frowning at the uncertain situation they found themselves in, Mia voiced her concerns.

"What happened to the other two?" Mia asked, hoping beyond hope that Isaac might know something she didn't.

"I don't know," Isaac answered simply, starting to inspect their surroundings as much as he could in the dim light. The sandstorm outside blocked most of the sunlight from reaching the interior of the cavern the pair was in, but not quite all of it, though it would only get worse as time passed and the sun continued to fade away.

It was not the answer Mia wanted to hear. Looking out toward the sandstorm, Mia gauged the possibility of heading back into it to get Garet and Ivan. They could be lost, injured….or worse, Mia found herself worrying.

"No." Isaac's voice could clearly be heard as he put a stop to Mia's line of thought before it really went anywhere. The blonde boy must have been thinking about the same thing because he could tell where Mia's head was at.

"I know you want to try to find them," Isaac said, a hint of sorrow in his voice as he spoke to the cerulean haired girl. "I do too," he said, turning to look Mia in the eye. "Of course I do...but you were out there. You know what that was like...there's no way," he said, glancing toward the raging storm they had just escaped.

He's right, the rational part of Mia's mind knew, but that did not mean she wanted to give up. "You found me out there," Mia voiced, grasping at a hope that was all too distant. It was nothing more than a rationale and she knew it, just as Isaac did.

"That was blind luck," Isaac said, face like a rock, hiding whatever emotions he was feeling in the moment over his leader-like demeanor.

There's nothing that we could accomplish going out there, Mia's mind told her, knowing what Isaac said to be all too true.

"I...just wanted some piece of hope," Mia answered Isaac honestly. "I know you're right...I just…"

Isaac's stoic face cracked a bit seeing Mia's admittance that there was nothing either of them could do for Ivan or Garet at the moment. For all his efforts to hold himself together, his mindset was no better than Mia's.

Taking a few steps toward the Mercury adept, Isaac placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know too," he said simply. "I want to go back out there and find them as well...but we would just be flailing around blindly again at that point."

Dropping the hand, both adepts took a few seconds to come to terms with the situation. It was Mia who decided to talk again first.

"So what's the plan then?" she asked. "Wait it out in here and hope for the best when we can go back out to find them again?"

"I think that's our best bet unfortunately," Isaac said. "Though we don't know how long these sandstorms last…" he mused.

Glancing toward the outside again toward the meger light of the opening, Mia caught on to the blonde boy's train of thought. "And there isn't much daylight left today either," she said. "It's a realistic possibility we may be stuck here for the night," she finished, swallowing nervously.

Isaac didn't like the sound of that prospect either, noting that the already cool air would likely continue to chill as night fell. "I'm not sure we have any other choice really," Isaac answered with a frown.

The pair fell into silence as they explored their surroundings a bit more. Occasionally a gust of wind would blow sand through the entrance and into the cavernous tunnel, but wouldn't really get more than a stone's throw from the outside. As she looked around, Mia noted a small crevice cut into the side of the tunnel as well, bypassed by the sporadic gusts of wind. This would be the perfect place to set up our tent for the night...if we had it with us, she thought.

The tents were with Garet, and neither Isaac nor Mia had any idea where he had ended up in the storm. While the tunnel gave some measure of shelter as opposed to being outside, the prospect of a night without the tents did not sound pleasant.

No fire. Mia stopped in her tracks realizing what the other missing commodity she was used to would be. No Garet means no fire.

Isaac passed by and Mia decided to speak up. "It could be a very cold night tonight," she commented dryly.

Nodding his agreement, the Venus adept looked solemnly back at Mia. "Yeah...it very well could be," he said.

"You don't have any way to start a fire with what we have do you?" Mia asked, knowing that the belongings on her wouldn't be able to rectify the situation.

"...No, I don't," Isaac realized what she was getting at as he considered what he had on him and how none of it would be much use for that purpose. "We're really going to be in for it aren't we?" he asked.

"Yep," Mia replied shortly.

The temperature had been steadily dropping throughout the time the pair had spent in the cave, and it became a lot more noticeable to them after that exchange.

"At least there aren't any monsters around trying to kill us in here…" Isaac muttered, the one bit of good news they had. Though Isaac was talking mostly to himself, Mia didn't reply so the blonde boy shrugged. "I'll go see how the storm is doing I guess," Isaac told his companion, getting a quick acknowledgement from Mia before doing so.

As Mia watched him walk off, she sat down in the crevice she found earlier to await his return. It was chilly, and though her thick Imilian robes helped a bit, Mia found that it was still quite cold.

Isaac eventually did return and took a place next to Mia, sitting down against the wall alongside her. The cerulean haired girl looked over at the boy next to her, noting the lack of explanation from Isaac.

That must mean it's not looking good, Mia surmised.

Isaac waited a few moments longer, but ended up confirming Mia's suspicions. "It seems there is nothing else to do than wait it out," he said, slightly turning his head for a glance at how the Mercury adept would take the news.

It really wasn't that surprising to Mia as she already suspected what the outcome would be. "I suppose that's that then," she replied half heartedly, leaning her head back against the rock behind her and listening to the noise of the wind outside.

The pair sat together in silence a little bit longer until Mia broke it. "Where do you think Ivan and Garet are?" she asked Isaac, not bothering to look over at the blonde boy.

"Who knows?" Isaac replied, and it was clear to Mia that the unknown situation their friends were in was troubling him as well. "They should be okay though," he added as reassurance, though Mia wasn't sure if it was more for her benefit or his own.

"Well they do have the tents I suppose…" Mia said, trailing off an attempt to convince both of them that the two boys would be okay. Another few moments of silence passed with nothing but the echo of the storm keeping the pair company.

"Food?" Isaac asked, getting Mia to turn her head for the first time in the last few minutes. Isaac held some bread in his outstretched hand, one of the rations they had picked up for their journey in the town just outside the desert.

"Thanks," Mia replied, gratefully accepting the offer with a smile. Her fingers brushed against Isaac's hand as she took the bread from the blonde boy, startling her at the feeling. It was a minor thing. It meant nothing in the situation they were in, but Mia felt it was somehow significant in some other time or place.

Looking down at the bread before bringing it to her mouth, she did her best to ignore the memories of Tolbi the brief moment of contact was dredging up. Though it had only happened just the other day, they still felt distant to Mia, as if hidden behind some veil she was unable to see past. Those thoughts contained embarrassment for her, and had the same small touch happened just the day before, she might have felt a blush creeping up her face.

There was no blush though, not today. Today it was nothing more than an event that had happened, a moment in time of no real significance in any way. It's funny how circumstances can change your perception on things, Mia mused. She continued to eat the piece of bread, glancing over at Isaac to see he was doing the same, unaffected by the brief touch.

As she watched, Mia noticed Isaac shiver slightly as he finished off the last of his piece of bread, noting the creeping cold that was settling in around them as the day continued to fade away. Concern was one of the feelings Mia knew she could recognize well, and she definitely felt it now.

She had been blissfully unaware of the cold for the most part until seeing Isaac shiver, but she could feel it now too; the freezing feeling penetrating her robes and goosebumps across her arms and skin. My robes are much more suited to temperatures like this than Isaac's travel clothes, Mia knew. He must be freezing!

Knowing it was not in Isaac's nature to worry about his own well being, Mia took things into her own hands. "You're cold aren't you?" She posed the question to Isaac, already knowing what the answer would be.

Without waiting for a reply, Mia started looking through her pack to see if she had anything that would help. Meanwhile, Isaac shrugged. "It's pretty chilly in here. It must be getting closer to night," he said.

It was as good a confession as she was going to get, and pushing aside packages of herbs and other supplies, Mia found the additional clothes she had with her. Staring back at her was another set of spare robes as well as the dress Isaac got for her from the Lucky Fountain game. A brief smile graced her face, but Mia let it go as she pulled out the set of robes.

They're definitely not going to fit on Isaac, but perhaps he could use them as a blanket… she thought, turning back to the blonde boy. "Here. Try this," Mia said, draping the robes loosely over Isaac's legs and torso as he looked back at her with an appreciative smile.

"Thanks," he replied with gratitude, even though the smile had already said it all. Adjusting the robes a bit to help cover himself, Isaac frowned and looked back at Mia. "Won't you be cold though?" he asked. "It's not like your clothes will protect you that much better."

Yes...I am. Mia knew, feeling the chill of their surroundings, but recognizing the intent behind Isaac's words. I know where he's going with this…

Isaac shook his head, recognizing what the extra seconds of silence from the cerulean haired girl meant. "Let's share it at least," he proposed holding out one end of the robe for Mia to take, knowing she would be unwilling to take the whole thing back.

Mia looked at the robe in a moment of indecision, but only hesitated for a second. She raised the corner of her mouth in a slight smirk as she fell into Isaac's true intentions. Nonetheless, she was grateful for it and moved closer to the blonde boy as he draped half the robe over her as well to keep both of them warm.

Mia could feel Isaac's warm breath on her cheek as he exhaled while adjusting the robe for her, and noticed just how close the two of them were. It made sense of course. Here they were sharing a makeshift blanket while stuck in the desert at night, but that didn't stop Mia from dwelling on their close proximity, no matter if there was a good reason for it or not.

She could feel herself heating up, but it wasn't embarrassment or a blush that was doing it. Instead it was how close she was to Isaac. His body heat was the source. It was a comforting feeling, something that drew Mia in even more. Would he mind if I moved even closer? Mia wondered, looking over to see Isaac's smiling face looking back at her.

That was a silly question, Mia told herself, happily taking advantage of the blonde boy's warmth by scooting closer to him. She felt her leg touch that of Isaac's next to her, but made no effort to move it away.

Neither did Isaac. His reaction was to shift his arm and put it around the Mercury adept instead, drawing her in closer so as to share more of their body heat. Though surprised, Mia gauged the reaction as a positive one and allowed herself to snuggle up next to Isaac with a smile.

There were no pretenses here, no awkward emotions between the pair this time as they sat together in the dark tunnel, keeping each other warm with the howling of the wind outside. Despite the situation, Mia felt relaxed. It was perplexing to her given everything that had happened so far, but definitely not unwelcome.

Mia could feel Isaac's hand on her side, holding her in place next to him. It's still cold, Mia thought, the cool touch a sharp contrast to the feeling of warmth on the other side of her body. Of course it would be...it's much harder to warm up your hands after all, Mia knew, thinking back to plenty of examples during winter in Imil.

Without giving it any thought, Mia moved her hand on that side of her body and brought it towards Isaac's, feeling the cold touch of the boy's skin. Covering the back of Isaac's hand with her plam, Mia snaked her fingers through the gaps of Issac's own and moved his hand further in from her side more towards her stomach in an attempt to warm it up for him.

Now holding his hand in a loose grip, Mia glanced over to see the blonde boy looking at her curiously, not quite sure what to make of the move. Giving him a quick smile, Mia also leaned toward him until her head was resting against the front of Isaac's shoulder blade. Cerulean hair falling against Isaac's body, she lay there, enjoying the comfort and warmth the Venus adept provided.

Isaac glanced down at the Mercury adept leaning against him while in his arm and gave her a genuine smile with a host of emotions behind it. Moving the arm around Mia gently in a comforting motion, Isaac silently conveyed reassurance to his companion before looking away and toward the far wall of the tunnel.

"I'm glad you're here," Mia said finally in a soft voice reflecting the state of mind she was in, speaking up after a minute or so.

Isaac was unsure how to respond to her, but didn't need to since Mia spoke again. "I think…" she trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. Isaac looked back at her curiously, but she didn't look up to see his face. "I think I feel much better off with you here too," Mia added, not really explaining why she felt that way, but needing to voice the feeling anyway.

"Me too," Isaac replied, knowing the he also felt the same way. Isaac knew that somehow it would be much different without the cerulean haired girl with him.

"If we had been split up…" Mia didn't want to voice the idea further. I would be in a completely different mindset alone, she knew. I would be worrying non-stop about everyone...

"But we aren't," Isaac answered firmly, preventing her from thinking down that path. "I'm here...you're here…" he squeezed Mia's fingers gently in another comforting gesture. "We'll make it through this together," he said.

...And find Garet and Ivan after the storm blows past, Mia finished in her head, knowing what the blonde boy was thinking but had left unsaid.

"They'll be okay right?" Mia asked, looking for reassurance.

"They're tough. I'm sure they will be," Isaac replied confidently, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "They're probably in the exact same situation as us right now," he added.

Mia looked up and over at Isaac. "I hope it's not the EXACT same situation," she said with a grin, referencing the fact that she was, for all intents and purposes, in Isaac's arms.

Isaac laughed. "Okay, maybe not the exact same," he conceded with a smile as the image of Ivan and Garet sharing a blanket came to mind.

The laughter was a refreshing thing to hear and for a moment Mia felt like it was any other night on the side of the road, ready for watch and a long uneventful night. She closed her eyes, her head still resting against Isaac, and took comfort in the blonde boy's steady breathing.

Mia was acting differently than usual tonight and she could tell. Normally she would be worried about Ivan and Garet, stressing out over where they were and if they were okay, but it seemed like more of a distant issue to her right now.

Is it wrong of me? Mia wondered. Even not knowing what happened to our other companions, I still feel at ease...like everything is okay. She felt guilty, as if it was a betrayal of her friends to not be focused on them.

Isaac's embrace is just so nice though… she thought, conscious of the boy's arm still around her. Mia picked her head up from Isaac's shoulder to look over at the companion she had spent most of her time with over the course of their journey.

His messy hair, handsome face, broad shoulders… She wasn't quite sure where those thoughts had just originated from, but Mia didn't recoil from them as she had in the past under the pretense of being 'too busy' or 'figuring it out later.' Instead she found the thoughts to be quite pleasant and felt a sense of warmness in her chest as she recalled the things that drew her to the blonde boy.

He has a good sense of humor too, Mia remembered, smiling as she thought about the laughs they'd shared together. I love how he's always there for me too. Isaac knows how to cheer me up or reassure me about everything.

Her eyes traced Isaac's jawline to his chin where she looked up slightly and gazed at his lips. They look so soft...perfect for kissing… Mia found herself thinking, slipping further into the untapped emotions she had hidden away over the course of their journey.

"Is something wrong?" a voice asked, breaking Mia out of her daze as she noticed Isaac had caught her staring for an extended period of time.

"Nothing!" Mia replied with a flustered smile of reassurance as she nestled herself back up against Isaac's shoulder to avoid eye contact. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest with the last thought in her head burning in her mind. Perfect for kissing?! She asked herself incredulously, staring off at the far wall. Isaac replied with some neutral answer like 'Okay,' or something, but Mia didn't really hear it while lost in her mind.

Do I want to kiss Isaac? Mia asked herself more directly, hoping that Isaac could not feel the rapid pace of her heart. The warm feeling Mia had been experiencing up until then was more of a bonfire now, as a burning desire she had ignored and locked away began to surface.

There was no more running from her feelings, no more pretending they didn't exist. Yes. Mia admitted to herself, feeling a blush in her cheeks as she finally admitted the truth. Yes I do...but more so than that...I want Isaac to kiss me.

The thought wasn't even embarrassing to her. For Mia it simply felt natural to think about the blonde boy that way. It was like a dam within her finally broke. Memories, moments in time, came flooding out. She remembered Isaac on a hill in the morning sun, Isaac with her at the oasis in the Lamakan Desert, Isaac teaching her how to wield a mace more effectively, countless nights spent together in a tent under the stars, and the night with Isaac in Tolbi most of all.

I was so blind, Mia thought. So blind to what was right in front of me… The clues were there, I just never pieced them together...

It was a warm fuzzy feeling from deep within the cerulean haired girl as the puzzle finally fit. When did it happen? She asked herself, holding tightly to Isaac's hand as she sat there with him. When did my feelings make the jump from friend and companion to the love I finally noticed now?

It was not an easy question to answer and Mia wasn't sure it was any one moment that pushed her over the edge. Perhaps it was just a collection of events over time...each one a building block that helped create something new…

Though she was curious how her feelings had originated, her mind really wasn't in a good state for pondering the past at the moment. With the knowledge that she had fallen for Isaac, Mia allowed herself to stop and just enjoy the blissful feeling that accompanied the revelation.

Though she knew Isaac was next to her for the purpose of warmth, Mia couldn't help but think about how it meant so much more to her. I could get used to this, the Mercury adept thought as she nuzzled Isaac's shoulder with a content smile on her face. I would not mind moments like this more often, she found herself thinking.

The Venus adept glanced at Mia's face after feeling the movement. She seemed to be positively glowing, with one of the happiest smiles he had seen on her in a while as she lay against him with her eyes closed.

Unsure what exactly it meant, but finding her happiness contagious, Isaac felt a smile pop up out of nowhere. He was used to being around Mia and had certainly stumbled upon times where he found her to be either cute or pretty, but tonight was somehow different.

Tonight she was adorable.