Bonding By The Fire

"Hahaha!" You groan out as you throw your arm around Lexie and pull her close "No way, that's not true at all!"

"Oh please, before you decided to knock me up I was definitely one of the crazy ones in the group! You have no idea how much I had to sacrifice to keep my baby safe and healthy!" she retorts, resting her head on your shoulder "You remember the first day you came to the Syndicate? I took you into Sicilian, showed you around then we got black out drunk and fucked like rabbits?" she laughs out loud as the two of you stare longingly into the fire and watch it dance and wave right before you.

"I had to tame you a little bit." you rub your hand up and down the side of her own "You were way too wild for me, it was actually kind of a turn off." you tease "I saw you as a hot piece of ass and figured, hey, if it's a free hole that I can stuff my cock into, I may as well enjoy it!"

"Ooohh, is that so?" Lexie chuckles in your grasp "If I recall, you were the one chasing after me the entire time, trying your best to win me over! I took pity on you that first day because you looked hot and I've never fucked a Rathkin warrior before. I had you eating out of the palm of my hand after that first night."

"Oh please!" you groan out as you roll your eyes "You were the one all over me."

"Psh!" she jests "Remember the day I told you I was pregnant? It was right after you truly fucked up in the Syndicate and did a bunch of stupid shit. You came crawling back to my villa on your hands and knees and basically begged me to forgive you. The look in your eyes and you pushed open the door and saw me! Hahaha!" she giggles happily.

"Oooookay, Lexie." you grin and roll your eyes back at her, "I wanted to stay on your good side so if I ever wanted to tap you again I could."

"Uh huh." Lexie lifts her head and turns it to you, smiling ear to ear "I'll always let you tap me, whenever you want." you turn your head as well looking back at her, your noses rubbing together as the two of you bask in the firelight.

"I love you, Lexie." you whisper to her which she repeats before the two of you lean in and give each other a kiss, passionately making out in the night next to a gorgeous campfire.

"BLAAAHHHH!!!" Zoe goes loud, causing the two of you to break your kiss and laugh at the girl "You two are disgusting!!!" she releases a very deep exhale.

Lexie smiles back at her black haired friend as she laughs at her remark, "How about you Zoe? Anyone in the Syndicate get your attention?"

"Errr, w-well..." Zoe brings her finger to her chin and thinks.

"She's not dating anyone, she's way too young." you reply immediately.

"Too young? She's eighteen, by that age I was..." Lexie begins only to get interrupted by a whisper in her ear.

"Watch it, Lexie..." you whisper into her before turning your attention back to Zoe "Plus, if she ever gets with a guy, I need to meet this punk, make sure he's strong enough to be dating Zoe. I don't want any piece of shit just trying to get with her."

"You're not my dad, Darien!" Zoe spats back, "If I wanna date someone, I will date whoever I want!"

"But I am your leader, so if you piss me off, you're not gonna be a Sunrider much longer and I know how much you love that, probably more than you could ever love any guy!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me." you glare at her with a smile on your face.

"UGH!!!" she throws both her arms in the air "I hate you sometimes, Darien! I hate you so very very much!!" she playfully stomps the dirt in front of her as her head shakes back and forth.

The three of you continue to sit around the campfire in the warm clear night and keep sharing stories, having fun and enjoying the company of one another. It was a great way to try to get your mind off the situation at hand between Rathkin and Sicilian as well as the potential surrounding and slaughtering of all the Sunrider's that got sent to help. These women in your life, along with Ashe and Karisi were your rocks. As long as they were in your life, as long as they kept fighting not only for themselves, but also for you, you would never give up hope.

As Lexie and Zoe were talking back and forth you end up staying quiet, listening to them softly but also thinking about your life and everything that has happened. With the upcoming potential war between Rathkin and the Syndicate this could finally be it, it could finally be the moment where it all ends and part of you got scared for that but more importantly, you became hopeful. Hopeful that afterwards, everything would be settled and life would go on as normal. You watch the sparks fly up from the campfire going high into the night sky and your mind begins to think about your sister.

A smile forms on your face as seeing those ashes fly high in the air brings back memories of burning your sister's body on that Plateau in Sicilian and sending her into the afterlife. Your sister, the one you've always fought for and will keep fighting for even though she may not be here with you anymore. Your hand reaches down to that little pouch you always carry with you, the pouch that you keep your most prized possession in. You don't open it, but you know it's there, that tiny flat pressed purple tulip that you've carried around since Claire was originally taken from you. As long as you have that and as long as you have the memories of her, she will always be there fighting with you, no matter what, until your very last breath.

A glaze covers your eyes as you can't help but get a little emotional from the thoughts. You take a deep breath and throw your head backwards and stare up into the night sky, watching the few clouds pass by ever so slowly in the distance. Soon after, you start to pay back attention to the conversation at hand.

"It's nice to finally get out of Loner's Reach though..." Lexie replies, "It would be fun if you had nowhere else to go or wanted to relax, spend money and have fun but I'm over that, plus...it's a scary place!"

"I-I mean, it wasn't all that bad." Zoe replies, "Plus Shade is kinda nice." she shrugs.

"Speaking of Loner's Reach..." you move your hand over to your other pouch, the one where you hide those six pouches of Snuff that you got from Shade himself "Good Riddance." you pull a bag out before tossing it into the fire.

"W-What was that?" Lexie and Zoe both ask out.

"Snuff." you say "The countless times Shade tried to give us more, I held onto it and after seeing what it can do to people and how addicting it is...I'd rather get rid of it." you pull out another pouch and throw it in the fire.

"S-Stop!" Zoe replies "Why would you do that? I-I mean, we don't have to use it but we could, we could sell it!" she exclaims "Or maybe, I dunno, after the war we could, we could try some again! When we're all safe!" Zoe nods up and down, trying her best to convince you.

"Nah." you pull out the third one and toss it in the fire "No thanks."

"Darien! Stop wasting it. Just, just hold onto it!" Zoe almost begs "What if we need it for some reason!"

Even though to your knowledge Zoe hasn't used any Snuff since that terrible night, her body still wants more of it, it seems to be craving more and for her to watch you throw these full pouches of Snuff into the fire she is trying so hard to convince you otherwise. With that, you grab the four pouch and toss it into the fire.

"You're so stupid, Darien." Zoe seems annoyed with you now "Throwing away good Snuff, think of what you could sell it for, or trade it for. That's dumb to waste it! Don't you agree Lexie?" she tries to get your fiance to agree with her.

"Up to Darien." she shrugs "Plus it's not like we need gold or to trade anything."

The fifth bag goes into the fire, burning up with snaps and crackles into the hot coals.

"B-But! What if we need to get information in Nillix!" Zoe tries, watching you reach in and grab that final pouch "What if we can trade that pouch of snuff to learn about Ashe!"

That got you. You were in the process of throwing that final bag into the fire before you stop, holding it in your hand.

"Y-Yeah! What if we offer to trade it for knowledge in regards to the Sunriders and if anybody knows what happened to them or where they went!" Zoe knows she's finally making some progress "T-Think! We, we can trade the Snuff! Not waste it! See. I told you. It could save Ashe! Think of that, Darien! Think of Ashe!"

She did make a good point. You detest this **** but maybe somebody in Nillix would be craving a hit and they would know certain information regarding Ashe, Rynlee and your Sunriders. "Fine." you palm the pouch before stuffing it back into your pocket "I'll keep one bag, just in case."

"G-G-Good!" Zoe smiles, looking at you with relief "That's a smart idea! Ya know, f-for Ashe, of course!" she gives you a toothy smile.

Something about her seems off but you really weren't sure what it was. She still seemed to have so much energy but that was also something you were use to with Zoe. You knew she was sleeping most of the day so obviously now since she's awake she would be bouncing off the walls with her normal spirit but she did seem a little odd although it may just be your mind playing tricks on you.

A giant yawn escapes Lexie's mouth as her arms go high in the air and stretch "I'm getting sleepy." she lets the two of you know.

"Yeah, I could sleep." you grin at her and then look at Zoe "How about you?"

"Me? Uhh, I'm good!" she looks at you before gazing off into the distance "I'm not tired, you two go to bed, I'll stay up a bit. I'll join you soon! I mean, not join you, well, I will join you, it's warmer to cuddle, but I mean like, not sleep with you, even though you want me to, but yeah." she corrects herself.

"Gotcha Zoe." you nod at her and smile "You can sleep with us, but you won't sleep with us, it's okay."

"Good! Glad you understand."

Lexie and yourself sprawl out on the blanket on the ground, next to the fire as you lay down on your side, softly cuddling with the love of your life. With your arm wrapped over Lexie's arm, you pull her in even closer, holding her so dearly. "Good night, Lexie. I love you..." you whisper into her ear before you nuzzle your face into the back of her head and close your eyes. Your mind began to clear of all thoughts as you were on a soft blanket, holding your fiance in your arms and listening to the soft crackling of the warm fire ahead of you.