Her blood red orbs flickered open "urge!" She groaned as she blinked her eyes to adjust to the darkness
"You're awake" Riezekiel's deep voice sounded and she tilted her head to the direction his voice came from, the darkness was endless, feeling like one was consumed in it. She could barely see her hands
"Mm, how about the others, they awake?" She asked softly, her voice rich and velvety
If he could taste it, he was sure that it would taste like vanilla
"They're doing their own things, you are one brave young woman Mrs Mors" he chuckled as he scooted over to her side, though the darkness was consuming. He could easily spot her and once by her side
He wrapped his hands around her, pulling her close to his chest as he buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling the minty scent that belonged to her
His heart had almost stopped beating, when he spotted her admist the debris
He had been so panicked, wishing he could haul her far away from danger and even now he doubted he could allow her face any
Maybe he wasn't sure about his feelings for her, maybe he hadn't understood how he felt or how deeply he felt for her
But at that moment, he knew he never wanted to let go ever. She was his, his wife
"What are you thinking about?" She asked leaning into the warmth of his chest, the scent of pinewood and sweat teasing her nostrils
"You're are brave little cat" he pinched her nostrils then threw his head back in laughter already imagining her reaction
"You made me worried commander"she replied with an eye roll "plus I'm too young to be a widow, still so young and beautiful to be a widow"
He chuckled at her words but ultimately said nothing, instead he twirled a fine loc of white hair in his hands and sniffed the mild floral scent on it
"We should get moving" he murmured, his deep voice slightly hoarse as he calmly helped her up. Everything that needed to be packed, had been put into the spacial pockets andthere was nothing to carry
"I wanna wash my face and brush my teeth first" Zosia replied as she strutted off to do a quick clean up while Riezekiel joined the soldiers
Out of the critical wounded soldiers a few had passed away quietly through the night and the others were currently hanging on a thin line
The other soldiers couldn't stop frowning nonstop
" Do we really have to bring them with us?" One of the soldiers asked with a deep frown on his face "they left us to die, what are the odds that they won't abandon us again?" "Worse they wouldn't even help, if we were in this position" " why then should we carry this half dead soldiers back" "when they obviously can't make it" "we should abandon them like they abandoned us" "they obviously can't even make it back to the base" the soldiers couldn't help their complaints, the thought of carrying the soldiers who were almost burnt to crisp and barely clinging to life, repulsed them
"Why shouldn't we bring them back? They did what any one of you would have done! This was all about survival, they left because they didn't want to die, braving the volcanic walls to safety and what did you all do? Blame the commander nonstop!" Azreal stomped his foot hard, glaring hatefully at the group of soldiers, who only cared when it benefitted them
"No one's forcing anybody, the path to survival is vast and it's everyone on his own journey" Riezekiel's deep rich voice made the soilders tremble, more than his voice, his words made them tremble even more
"That's not what we mean" one of the soldiers hastily tried to clarify, without the commander in the team, they were all as good as dead on their own, rather than risk it all
Carrying a few soldiers didn't seem like a bad idea at all, hence without saying a word, soldiers begun to carry the wounded on their backs
Riezekiel's stared at his team of neatly arranged soldiers, their weapons long used up with only a few available.
"Ready?" Zosia sweet sultry voice made the soldiers blush and without another word Riezekiel pulled her into his arms tilting himself to lean his forehead on hers
"Don't do anything stupid on this journey, I'm strong enough to protect you" he whispered with a hint of plea in his voice which made Zosia's toes curl instinctively, his deep voice was damn too seductive and being protected didn't seem like a bad idea at all
Though she was strong enough to protect herself, she also wanted to be protected too
"Alright" she gave his back a gentle pat and watched as he led the rows of soldiers through the darkeness with her following closely by his side
She had to admit, he wasn't a born leader not the kind of leader than was forged from years of practice but the kind of leader who was born to be a leader. The innate leadership in him was overwhelming, his hands wrapped around hers protectively as they moved on quietly
Hours passed quietly, be it night or day they had no idea whetherr it was night or day
Without weapons, the journey was even more gruesome as they had to fight with their bare hands in close combat against monster's
Zosia hadn't brought enough weapons to go around, the few she provided was guarded from any desperate soldier and left for emergency situations
After walking for over approximately half a day, they alas settled on flat lands, an open space which gave a view of every angle
The bonfire crackled softly, as the soldiers roasted game they had gotten on the long walk back
"I thought she'd bring a spaceship or a rescue team" one of the soldiers kale couldn't hall muttering as he glanced at Zosia's side, where she sat slowing eating a steaming hot meal
The aroma rich and delicious compared to their roasted meat which lacked even the basic ingredients Salt
"If she hadn't come to our rescue, we'll all be dead!" The other soldiers couldn't help glaring at kale, whose eyes held nothing but resentment for Zosia
"You all speak like you have no idea, the predicament we are in, are we supposed to walk back on foot? How long would it take to reach ou mr families!
I have a son and a daughter with a wife who's heavily pregnant" kale lamented his voice tinged with self blame and longing
Riezekiel's eyes narrowed to where the soldiers were gathered, his senses were honed and sharp and he was sure Zosia could hear them as clearly too
Yet glancing at the little woman who was slowly savoring her fish soup, a small smile
Crept on his lips