Wolf Heart

Chapter 18

Planet: Eteran

First Insurgency War

JAMES

Autumn winds caressed his cheek in gentle swirls along his skin while he slumbered in darkness of golden oranges. It lit the ideas in his mind with compositions of fire. Framed by a picture perfect horizon, a gas giant rose out of the void to spread its colours and shine across the stars. Grass tickled his skin and leaves whispered above his head, lulling him into contentment.

A familiar whir jolted him back to reality. He dared not open his eyes and listened instead. Worlds fluttered when he tore through his sleepy haze. Lounging beside him, a black-haired, golden eyed figure adjusted the lens of a high end datacam. James sighed and kept his hands on the back of his head and crossed his leg. Honestly... people should leave the photography to me.

James lifted his hand to Rayan's forearm on his chest. "What do you think you're doing?"

Rayan peeked around the datacam with a sheepish grin. James gazed into the lens, then sat up to grasp the precious instrument of capturing the beauty of a frozen moment. His fingers drifted against Rayan's as he adjusted the lens. "You dabbling in photography now?" he questioned and returned to his blanket of grass.

"Nope." Rayan undocked the infopod out of the datacam's slot. "I just thought I'd see if I could catch you off guard for once. Good to see I succeeded."

James motioned for Rayan to put down the datacam onto the grass of the mansion's backyard. Once it left Rayan's hands he tackled him to the ground. Rayan yelped when he shoved his fingers underneath his ribcage. It never failed to get a reaction out of anybody he used it on. Knees against Rayan's stomach, he wrestled him to the embrace of grass.

"This is what you get for disturbing my nap." He struggled against Rayan's attempts to shove him off.

Rayan laughed and wriggled. "Hey! You've taken pictures of me — didn't even get my good side." His hand shoved into his cheek, and James tried not to bite on it. "Only fair that I have some payback."

"I'm the photographer. You're the painter." James dropped all his weight on Rayan. "Besides, you're the one who impedes on my shots every time." Rayan raised an eyebrow, and James scowled at him while conductive electricity lit through his cheeks.

"You certain about that? It seems too coincidental. I mean, if you need a model—" Rayan grinned with wicked fervor.

James smacked him on the arm, and he grunted when Rayan brought his legs up and shoved him. His back hit the grass with a thump, where small pebbles dug into his spine. Soreness crawled across his shoulder blades as he rolled over onto his stomach. "Ow," he whispered while he traced the spot. "Damn, Ray. Don't let Jon see you do that. He'd ask you to be our first frontliner in a blink."

He jolted when Rayan grabbed his arm with an expression of terror. "Did I hurt you?"

"What?" James let Rayan pull him to his feet, and frowned when Rayan rested a hand on his tickled back. "I'm fine. Give me more credit than that. I've had worse in Starcross." He headed to the datacam, tucked in the autumn grass to investigate it. "Really, Ray." He checked the shutters, the settings. Every single button and the variety of transforming lenses. "So, what's this for?"

Rayan's sheepish grin returned. "Uh, well... I was debating on what to get you for your birthday. Meryn helped me decide and we picked it up a couple days ago." James froze at the information, and turned to Rayan, who jolted. "I-I just know you were getting frustrated with that other datacam, and seeing it was my fault I... I just wanted to do something nice." He rubbed the back of his neck, and James stared at the beautiful instrument of his art.