欧洲无人区天空码头IV

Liquor had poured all night. Xannos and Lilae were in a festive mood, matching Brök\'s energy.

Aura had also some to drink, but less than the others. She couldn\'t match their energy at all, and took comfort in Mori being around, who also didn\'t drink much.

Drinking wasn\'t something he disliked, however he avoided excess as much as he could.

Oftentimes when offered, he\'d just slide his drink to Xannos or Lilae, they would chug it down in an instant.

In a matter of hours, both of them had fallen asleep on the counter.

Brök took them in his arms, bringing them to their room like princesses.

Mori and Aura had done the same, easily finding their room while Brök took care of the others.

And there they were.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Mori.

Mori was on his back, close to the wall, while Aura was at the edge of the bed.

There was easily an arm\'s length between them.

If the lamps hadn\'t been off, he would\'ve seen her face bright red.

As the thought crossed his mind, he asked her, "What do you think of what you\'ve seen so far?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, you wanted to see more of this world, what do you think so far?" he asked.

"Hmm."

Aura was thinking hard, recalling everything they had seen.

"I think Dustriver was my favorite place, however, when we exited the forest around the mansion it was quite a moment. The plains on our way here were something, and that tornado we saw..."

"A tornado would\'ve been way taller than 1 meter in height," said Mori.

Aura had a disappointed face, not that Mori could see it, anyway.

"Hmm. I think my favorite part has been the people we met. Surprising how vulgar people are in real life, more than you..."

"You thought I was vulgar?"

"Father never would\'ve let me speak to him that way... You were something back there. But everyone we\'ve met... Especially Lilae..."

"Yeah, she takes the crown."

Aura was playing with her hair, also staring at the ceiling.

They heard footsteps, Brök on his way back from Xannos and Lilae\'s room.

Once they couldn\'t hear them anymore, all that remained was complete silence.

"I\'m getting tired, drink it now so we\'re done with it."

"Don\'t rush me..."

"Why are you acting like this is the first time you do it? It\'s been a while, you must be barely holding back," said Mori.

Mori felt Aura\'s grasp on his arms as she climbed on top of him, obscuring his view of the ceiling.

Her hair was brushing against his face, as her head was above his.

She wasn\'t moving, but he could see her eyes in all that darkness, staring at him.

She approached slowly until her forehead rested on his.

Her eyes were closed, he could feel her breathing.

With his right hand, he patted her head, playing with her hair.

"It\'s been a rough journey, I know," said Mori.

He kept caressing her head until she finally moved.

He could feel her fingers digging in his arm while she held his head with her other hand.

She was finally approaching.

Huh?

It was... gentle. While she held him with surprising strength, her lips were gentle on his skin.

They hovered around until he felt her kissing his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

He could feel her grip tightening as her tongue licked his neck.

It was the same way as before, so why did it feel different this time?

Her heavy breathing against his neck only amplified until he could feel her nails sinking into his arm.

...But while he expected her usual animalistic approach, he barely felt her teeth piercing his neck.

Her hands slid around him as she carefully laid on top of him, hugging him as she kept drinking.

Her chest was pressing against his, he could feel her heat and smell her perfume.

Without really knowing why, he held her in his arms.

—~~~—

Mori opened his eyes to the ceiling he had been staring at the night prior.

As he looked down, Aura\'s head was lodged on his shoulder, while she was still on top of him.

He could feel her chest slowly pushing against his, still sound asleep, her heavy breathing being a testament to that.

Mori rested his head back on the pillow. It must\'ve been early morning, he could already hear noise coming from the lobby downstairs.

He could still feel Aura\'s hands holding him, he wondered how had they not gone numb after a whole night?

"Aura?" whispered Mori.

Mori felt her moving, slowly moving her head.

"Maya? Where..."

Aura raised her head, realizing where she was, as if reality was only just coming back.

It hit like a truck. Hearing her name for the first time in days.

Mori hugged Aura, bringing her closer again.

"I\'m sorry, Aura. I miss them too," he said.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

Truth was, they would never leave his mind. Life is built of encounters, and that was one he wasn\'t ready to say goodbye to.

"I\'ll never forgive them. I won\'t rest until they\'re all dead, I promise you."

Aura wasn\'t answering, but he could feel her holding him tightly, as they stayed in that position for minutes while life was awakening in the village.

"Will you ever forgive yourself?" she asked, whispering in his ears.

"I can\'t. There will be nobody who can forgive for what I plan to do to them."

"I feel the same anger."

Aura\'s voice had hesitation in it, but Mori could tell she was honest.

"Let\'s join the others," he finally said. "There\'s a long day ahead of us."

Aura rolled on the bed and then sat on the side, while massaging her cheeks.

"I look forward to the journey," she said.