Occhiolism

It ended up being too late to reach anyone when we finally left the basement. No one answered so Camael left a voicemail with my phone number and decided he would call back tomorrow. I went to my bedroom and left him to sleep in the basement. Spitefully, I enjoyed the fact he’d still be sleeping on an uncomfortable cot.

In the morning, I left Camael at the breakfast table with strawberry oatmeal and home made toast. I told him that I needed to harvest my vegetables before we made the necessary calls, but I was just delaying them. I grabbed a large wicker basket, placed a thick towel at the bottom of it and stepped out the front door.

Saya was hot on my heels, her fluffy white tail waving in air. It was like a fountain of fur that cascaded down. Patrol?

She asked me through our link, her big brown eyes looking up at me while her tag wagged fast enough to become a blur. I felt amusement bubble up in my chest about her excitement. She loves to patrol the farm. Through our link I sent my approval for her patrol. Yes, Saya Patrol.

She shot off like a canine rocket, running to the fence and hitting the button I had installed that let her wing the gate open on her own. She then ran off in the direction of the barn. I smiled and glanced up toward the sky. It was thick with gray clouds and overcast. There was slightly wet chill to the air. I could taste the coming rain on the back of my tongue.

The scent of it was an alluring call that conjured the image of wet grass, bare feet, and dancing in the rain. Perhaps, if the storm came before we left I would do a cleansing ritual in the rain. For now I made my way to my little garden in front of my house. It had three rows of vegetables on one side, and three rows of berries on the other. I set myself to the task of picking ripe zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. I put them all into my basket and hummed to myself as I worked.

After harvesting vegetables I moved on to tending to my animals. The scent of rain got heavier by the hour. I had to get my horse in the stable, bring my sheep inside, and make sure none of the chickens were running loose. It was tiring work but it grounded me, made me feel like I was a part of the land. My feet across the dirt, my hands working with soil or animals. It was peaceful out here on my farm.

My peace would be gone soon. A certain angel in that was inside of my house made sure of that. So I lingered outside despite the impending rain. I would get trapped in it, but it was better than facing the angel inside.

Besides, rain had a way to washing away ones worries.

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The sun was heavy with dark clouds, rain imminent on the horizon. A wind had picked up rustling leaves in the trees and making my tomato plants sway slightly. The storm hit just as I was headed back to the house. A droplet of water splashed across my cheek, sliding down toward my chin like a wayward tear. I closed my eyes as the rain picked up, one drop became three, six, uncountable amount of raindrops. I was soaked in no time.

No! Bad! Sky water bad! Saya called to me through own link. It was a touch faint which suggested she was pushing the limits of our range. I got the impression of her paws racing across dirt and grass, splashing in mud puddles as they formed. She was headed back to the house.

I let the rain drench me, my head lifted to the sky. Let the rain clean away all my anger, pain, and my sense of unfairness at the world. I licked the rain from my lips, tasting salt and something else in it. The rain out here in the country was cleaner than in the city, but had it’s own otherness to it.

I wiped the water from my eyes and across my forward. A cold had started to seep into my bones, making me shiver. The wind blowing only chilled me more. Before it could creep deeper into my bones and blood I made my way to the front door. I reached for Saya to check on her progress. I caught a glimpse of the barn and the next minute I saw her come around it. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

She looked like a drown rat. One that weighed a hundred and fifty pounds, but a drown rat nonetheless. Getting her dry was going to be a nightmare. I pushed open the door and she dashed into the fenced garden then into the house. Just as I stepped inside she gave a violent shake, fling dog scented water all over me, the couch, the ceiling, the walls… Everywhere.

At least she allowed me to wipe her paws on the welcome pat so she didn’t track mud all over my hardwood floors.

Sky water. Bad. She told me telepathically.

Rain, sky water is good for the plants. Let’s get you dry, I will get a towel. I responded, heading into the kitchen and putting my basket of vegetables on the table. I barely spared a glance for the injured angel sitting at the table. He was reading another one of my romance novels. This one, instead of being a bodice ripper, was a post apoc romance and had a woman with a sword on the cover, her brown hair flowing behind her like ribbons.

At least that one had better quality writing and didn’t have people having ridiculous sex with an angel. Though if I recalled correctly that particular book series did have a dragon as the love interest. I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling and went about my business. I had nothing to say to Camael at the moment.

Come. I told Saya, who had been in the kitchen sniffing at her kibble bowl (and turning her nose up at it). She shot me a disgruntled look but made her way toward me. We went into my bathroom. It was luxurious. One of the few things that I had really spent money on while having this house built.

It was an expansive space with a large whirlpool tub, a separate walk in shower with a bench, an impressive vanity, and a modern toilet. The floor was a cool blue tile, while the walls were done in vibrant sunset hued tones. A gradient that made my bathroom look like I was stepping into a sunset itself.

I opened the closet just inside of the bathroom and pulled out several fluffy towels. One was for me and three were for Saya. It took just that many towels to get her dried after she had a bath or got drenched in the rain. Her fur was dense and double coated. I dropped to my knees before her, draped a towel over her back, and began to rub her back with both hands.

Most of my dogs had hated being dried off with a towel and would try to run away. Saya knew what I was doing though because our link. She understood I was helping her get dry so she wouldn’t be wet for hours. So she happily wagged her fluffy tail, flicking water all over the doors of my vanity cabinets. I’d have to dry up the bathroom when I was done.

It took me half an hour and a fourth towel to get her dry enough to not risk her health. The first and second towels were soaked all the way through, so I hung them over the enclosure of my walk in shower to dry. The other two weren’t as bad so I tossed them into the dirty clothing hamper to wash tomorrow before we left.

I followed as Saya sashayed out of the bathroom went over to Camael and knocked the elbow of his good arm with her head. His arm jerked and he nearly dropped the novel he was reading. I couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped me. She did that move to me all the time when she wanted attention.

“Pet her.” I told him, “She’s asking you to pet her.”

He looked at me then down at the dog, then run his hand over her head. She sat down and started to wag her tail with happy grin upon her face. Camael saw her face only to shoot me an alarmed look.

“She is showing me her teeth.” He asked, “Is she going to bite me?”

He lifted his hand to stop petting her and she let out a huff, then knocked her snout against his arm again. She was demanding that he continue to pet her. She would get more aggressive in her attention seeking if he did not pet her.

I shook my head, “No. That’s a grin. If she were going to bite she’d have her mouth closed and the fur on her back would be standing on ends.”

He resumed petting her, a small worried expression on his face. I just shook my head at him and turned toward the kitchen. I snagged the basket of vegetables on my way to the stove. It was lunch time.

“I’m going to make a vegetable and cheese quiche. Would you like some?” I asked without turning back to him. As far as I was concerned he didn’t deserve a face to face conversation.

“Yes.” He paused and said, “I noticed none of your meals have meat in them. Are you a vegetarian? I thought vegetarians didn’t eat eggs.”

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling as I picked out which vegetables I would be putting in the quiche. Again with my back to him I explained, “I’m a vegetarian, yes. Which means I do not eat meat. I include fish in that, though some vegetarians do eat fish. You’re thinking of a vegan in the not eating eggs. Vegans eat no animal by products, but I just don’t eat meat. Non fertilized eggs are fine, as is milk, cheese, butter and other diary products.”

Behind me I heard the rustle of feathers, followed by the soft padding of feet against my wooden floors. I felt the heat of him before I saw him in peripheral vision. He leaned a hip against a counter and crossed his good arm over his chest.

“Look at me.” He ordered. There was something about the way he said that had me turning automatically toward him. When I looked into his eyes he frowned at me. His sea blue eyes turning stormy. Like the sky outside as rain splattered against the roof. His voice was low as he says, “I understand that you don’t want to do what I am asking of you, Sarah. But we need you and I’m not your enemy.”

I’m not your enemy.

Where had I heard that before? His words echoed the same as Wyatt’s the night before. Both of them were wrong. Both of them were a threat to my life. Wyatt because he wanted more than I could give him, and Camael because he wanted to take me away from my life. I shook my head at him and turned away, but he reached out and took my elbow in his hand.

I turned back and gently tugged on my arm, he let go immediately. I frowned at him and asked him, “What? What do you want from me, Camael? Do you want me to be happy about this? Do you want me to be your best buddy? You’re ruining everything I’ve built here. There is a good chance that Wyatt will find out I am earthblooded and make my life here miserable. Or worse turn me over to the Anti-Skyborn groups in the area. Do you know how dangerous it can be out in rural areas for someone like me? I can’t simply fly away if someone starts shooting at me! I don’t have glamour. I don’t have skyfire. I don’t have-“

He raised both of his hands and I took a deep breathing, closing my eyes. My fingers curled so tightly, my nails dug into my palm. My knuckles turned white and I knew I’d have indentations from my fingernails. I had to calm myself down. There was no use fighting it.

I couldn’t say no to what he was asking me. Anymore than I could have turned away the Wattsons when Wyatt Sr was injured. It was in my very blood to help people. I was born to heal and it couldn’t be fought.

“I don’t like this. So please don’t make this hard for me by trying to make me like you, or be friends with you.” I told Camael, tears threatening to spring in my eyes once more. He was taking me away from the life I had worked so hard to build.

Camael gave me a sad smile and said, “I understand, but I don’t want you to hate me. I’ll do everything in my power to help you return to this life when we are done. I don’t want to ruin your life, Sarah. If I could ask someone else I would. But you’re one of a kind. The other sky and earthblooded, well…”

He shrugged both of his shoulders and he said, “Some of them do have powers like the skyborn, but none of them have powers like yours. They tend to have destructive powers. Only you have powers to heal.”

I let my shoulders drop, defeat flooded my body, making my muscles weak and my bones feels heavy. I shook my head once more and said, “I’ll do it, Camael. I told you I’d do it… But I don’t know if I’ll ever stop hating you.”

Once more he gave me that sad smile and said, “I guess that is the price I pay for saving the next generation of skyborn.”

I turned away again, quickly changing the subject, “So do you want some quiche or not? Are there any vegetables you don’t eat?”

From the sound of his footsteps behind me, he must have retreated back to my kitchen table. The chair creaked under his weight and the table wobbled slightly, making a soft clattering noise. He answered in a depressed tone, “I would love if it you cooked for me, I have no dietary restrictions.”

Why did he care if I hated him, anyway? It wasn’t like I was going to see him ever again, once I was finished taking care of the skyborn children. He would go back to being a crown prince and I would try to come back and be a farmer. As if I had never been found by the skyborn people.

If Wyatt allowed me to.