Same Planet but Different Worlds

Chapter 19 Around the fire

Kaya's POV

I find myself just loving this tender and intimate hold, probably way more than I ever should. But as I suspected I am not the only one. Every time I seem to make a move, he hums out and retightens his hold around me. It's probably just needed to comfort his already hurting self, but for me, it makes me feel wanted and needed which is a feeling I don't get often.. Never actually.. At least not by a man. So I try to enjoy this as long as I can, even though I know this won't last forever, even if I want it to.. It can't.

Flynn tries to adjust, which only erupts a round of loud groaning that seems to get louder by the second, showing his discomfort, but I don't think it's with me, I think it's with the blade that is still pierced within his shoulder. I try to move to talk with him about this issue, but his grip just tightens around me, not even allowing a little bit of space to appear between us. Which I somehow like surprisingly.

But we have to get the blade out.. he can't sit and deal with this pain like this any longer. I don't know what damage this could cause if we keep waiting to remove this. But the internal damage to him is what is really worrying me even though it seems like it might not be worrying him at all, even with the obvious pain he is suffering at the moment. I try to move again but of course, he has the same reaction, not allowing me to move from him at all. But this is not something that can be ignored any longer.

"Flynn.. listen to me.. You can stay here with me for the moment, but I need to get that blade out of your shoulder whether you like that idea or not.. You can't just leave it in there and ignore its existence." I state as he shakes his head, but I nod mine as I adjusted then separated my legs over him, making it so I am straddling him. He looks just as shocked by this action as I feel by it happening so naturally, especially around a stranger.

I think he knows that I won't be giving him much of a choice in this serious matter, especially since it seems as if he is going to be difficult. But luckily I think he realizes this since he doesn't outwardly object anymore, which is good. He just sucks in a sharp breath before putting his worried features back into my shoulder. So I wrap my arm around his back, pulling his torso into me more as he does the same, tightening his hold around me.

I take my open hand, gripping the handle of the knife as I let out a deep breath and pulling it out as fast as I can, getting the blade out of his shoulder but causing my skin under his face to vibrate as he loudly groans out in pain. He instantly squeezes me tighter, holding on to me as if it is for dear life. I feel him in my tight hold as he trembles, making me feel awful for being the one inflicting this pain on him, but it had to be done. That's all I keep telling myself, but it's not as convincing as I would like it to be.

I open my hand, releasing the handle from my fingertips as it drops to the ground besides us. The blades fall is almost silent as the dirt and grass catch it. Without hesitation, I put my hand to the back of his head as I try to help him feel better. I caress my hand over the back of his neck and through his hair as I feel him letting out a wavering breath over my skin. He then sucks in a sharp breath before he gasps for air as he holds me, pulling me closer to him when I didn't think that was possible at this point.

This reaction is making sure that there wasn't any space between us. There is no easing his pain right this second, so I just try to help comfort as much as possible. I feel so bad for inflicting this pain on him, not once but twice tonight. But I knew it had to be done just as much as he did. I can only imagine the pain he must be feeling right now. I feel his face now nuzzle into the curve of my neck while I continue to instinctively run my fingertips through his hair as gently as I possibly can.

I feel him sniffle in my hold, probably from the overwhelming pain going through him at this very moment. It's completely understandable, I'm sure I would be reacting the same way. So no judgment here. But now that the knife is taken care of, it's on to the next task. So what I am more concerned with is an infection that might be being created after all of this torture. So I hold him for a little while longer until I don't hear his sniffles and his hold slightly loosens from around me. Probably the exhaustion hitting him at this rate.

I glance around us, but I can't see very well though, even with my eyes adjusted to the dark, it's still incredibly dark in this structure. So I need to do something to help with my vision so I can help him effectively in this very sensitive moment. "Flynn, I am going to stand up.. just stay here and I will get things set up for us." I state as he shakes his head. I let out a deep breath as I tip his head back so he will look up at me. "I need to.. do you understand that?" He reluctantly nods and leans back giving me the room that I need to get up off of his lap.

Before I even make that move, I notice glistening on his cheeks as I gently reach up, wiping the stray tears that he shed in this vulnerable moment. "Everything will be ok." He leans into my gentle touch on his cheek as he nods in response, not saying anything out loud, but maybe it hurts too much to do so at the moment. I use this moment to pull away before I stay on his lap forever since I feel so bad for him right now. I just want to continue coddling him since I'm hoping it is helping him feel better.

But I know that my hugs and affections won't heal his wound properly. So I stand up and look around this structure, trying to find something that I can light on fire. My eyes bounce around before locking on some old and abandoned nests in the corners. There is obviously nothing that has lived in these in quite some time. I quickly grab the dried grass and leaves that were used in the creation of the nests as I come straight over to Flynn's side. I give him a little room from the fire I will be creating, as I set it a little bit from him. But not too far, he is going to need the warmth in this night that I know is going to keep cooling off as time goes by.

I take a couple of rocks into my hands and scrape them together beside the pile of dried kindling. I hear muffled groaning as I notice he is adjusting I think to look at what I am doing right now. "What are you doing?" Flynn asks while sounding curious as he tries to figure out my next move. "I am trying to make a fire.. It is getting cold already and since we will need to stay here overnight, it will help us out." I declare before glancing up at him to see he is shaking his head. "No.. we have to keep moving. I thought we were just resting here for a little bit." He says to me as I shake my head before interrupting him.

"Flynn.. we can't go right now.. you can't.. we are both hurt and need somewhere to rest for a little bit.. ok?" I ask again but this time I make sure that he knows this is not a negotiation. The stern tone and no nonsense in my comment gets him stiffening up as I notice he is staring over at me but not agreeing as I thought he would. So I have to make sure he understands the situation, at least from my point of view.

"You cannot go out there or you will most likely die, and I am a person who always wants to help anyone in need of it, which means I would be helping you as you died, which would probably get me killed in the long run. But I won't have that. It's one thing if you want to get yourself killed but don't involve me in it, and as of right now my friend, we are in this together." I snap out in the best motherly tone that I could come up with, showing him there is no wiggle room in my plan. That explanation gets his attention before I see a small smirk emerge, followed by nodding, letting me know I won this.

I look down again as I keep quickly scraping the rocks together until I see a couple of sparks come out, but it is not enough to start the fire. "This makes fire?" He asks with question as I nod since I know this process can, even though I'm having a hard time showing it at the moment. "That's interesting.. I have never made a fire like this." I nod at his comment as I try it again, but I don't think I am sliding them together fast enough, or with enough pressure. I am normally better at this, but that is probably because of my arms being hurt and sore with every move that I make. I grunt out in frustration, knowing I can do this but not seeing the results I want to right now.

I feel the wave of pain and exhaustion hit me incredibly hard. I was too busy worrying about Flynn that I forgot to worry about myself. The overwhelming pain is taking over as I put the rocks down for a second. My arms and wounds throb in unison, feeling the pain in my body as I gently touch them to see that they are still bleeding. I huff out in frustration as I see Flynn reach out, I think asking for the rocks with his opened palm. I shake my head in response to his silent gesture.

"Come on Kaya, let me try." he softly says as I shake my head again. "No you're hurt." I declare in his defense, which makes him scoff. "But so are you. So why can you try this, but I cannot?" he asks with so much attitude in his tone that my eyes lock up with his automatically. I can't think of an actual reason why he shouldn't be trying. Maybe it's pride taking over, since I know for a fact I can do this but the injured arms won't allow me to. But even though I am irritated and ashamed that I can't do this action that I have done so many times before, I still have no reason that I can come up with that he can't participate.

"Can I try? Please Kaya." Flynn asks me as I hesitantly hand him the rocks. I just don't want him to hurt himself more than he already is. "So you just hit them like this?" he asks as I watch him scrape it like I did and create more sparks than I did in all my attempts. That action makes me happy to see as I smile and nod my head before leaning my head down by the dried kindling. "Keep doing it.. You're doing great." I state as he nods and tries again while I gently blow on the kindling, the combination of our actions causes the sparks to ignite a fire. I get excited before jumping up and grabbing anything that looks like it is dry enough to burn, gently placing it on the fire to create an even bigger one.

"Great job, Flynn.. thank you for your help." I state humbly but with excitement in my step as I start looking around the area that is now illuminated with the glow of the fire. I notice more broken branches that can be used for the fire. I take it and step on it to break it in half before wandering around a little more. I see a couple of herbs that are needed right now, but it is not enough for all of our wounds.. just his. He has the worst wounds out of the both of us anyway, so it only makes sense to take care of his first, at least to me.