Crimson Rebirth

Part 34

 A gentle nose tapped her cheek, startling Genevieve from her semi-pleasant dreams. Her brow furrowed slightly, as she nestled closer in Jace's cloak.

 "Five more minutes......" Gene mumbled, trying to roll over, and recovering her face.

 No. Kumaru chuffed, moving to nose her again. Rise and shine.

 "No." Gene grumbled. "Five more minutes."

 Even with her eyes closed, Genevieve swore that the blind Bear rolled his eyes. She could practically feel his eyes roll. But she didn't want to get up. Wrapped in Jace's cloak, it was like a bubble of warmth, and the scent of Kaiju's undertunic still remained in that bubble. And it was almost like he was there, even though he wasn't.

 And she wasn't willing to give that up quite yet. A bubble of bliss for a few more minutes.

 Kumaru plopped next to his student. He gruffed, his breath smelling awfully like fish...

 "You should eat a sprig of mint every now and again." Gene mumbled just a bit more, peeking out from her makeshift blanket. "I'm not getting five more minutes, am I?"

 Kumaru growled lowly and nosed her, this time almost to the point of rolling her over almost fully.

 "Okay okay....." Gene muttered, sitting up with a yawn and a stretch. She could barely see the beginnings of dawn's fingers stretching into the mouth of the cave. "Still tired from yesterday..... I'm awake-ish now. When did it stop raining?"

 Kumaru turned to the outside. He didn't say, but the earth was rich with morning dew and other aromas. And from the sounds of it, somewhere, a river was practically ringing bells of breakfast.

 A smile fell onto her face as the earthy scents reached her nose. It reminded her of foggy mornings spent waking up with windows open from the night before. It reminded her of her clan, though not in a way that send a pang through her heart once more.

 In a way, that was freeing.

 Gene slowly got to her feet, rubbing the sleep out of them and stretched again. "Alright, what's the plan for today?" She asked curiously.

 Kumaru nosed his satchel that rattled with his basket from last night. More fishing, and from the sound of his satchel, more finding herbs.

 She nodded her head in understanding, running a hand through her locks to loosen any knots. If someone had asked her two days ago if she was excited to learn, or excited in general, she would've said no.

 But something about the distance between her and place where everything happened, distance between herself and where her heart broke, seemed to lessen the burden of pain on her soul. Maybe it wasn't necessarily the healthiest coping mechanism, putting distance between herself and what happened, but it was working for now. And that's all she needed.

 Kumaru chuffed and shuffled out of his cave, taking a moment to inhale the morning air. He followed his wiggling nose to a worn path of the other side of the mountain, all the while listening carefully for Genevieve. If she didn't follow, he turned around and bellowed, a manner like mother bears calling for her cubs.

 "Did you just bellow for me?" Gene asked, raising an eyebrow at the Bear. She had been slow to move, letting her limbs wake up and letting her eyes trace over the mountainside, seeing all the lights that stretched underfoot. Magic connected to each plant via roots, the colors showing her what stage of life the plant itself was in. Brighter greens for ones that were in the prime of their life cycles, darker greens for ones nearing the end of their life cycles, and paler greens for ones just beginning.