Reunited

When Jonas woke up and heard the announcement, he wasn't sure what to make of it. Though, he didn't bother getting up. He was more comfortable remaining where he was. Elmo was laying half on him, though Jonas couldn't tell if Elmo had fallen back asleep after the announcement.

For some reason, laying on the cold stone didn't feel as bad with Elmo there to keep each other warm. Though, he didn't plan on saying that to anyone, even Elmo. While he was willing to do this during the night before, he felt his general apprehension towards being more open towards others returning.

Even now, he was feeling rather uncomfortable, even when he was otherwise comfortable and didn't care to move. Though, he knew sooner or later he was going to have to.

He wasn't sure how long he laid on the stone after the announcement, but it didn't feel like it was more than a few moments, even when it felt like hours. He just knew that when he started to get up, his body wasn't happy.

Then when he started to move around drawing out a groan from him, a very familiar voice called out, "Whoever you are, come over here slowly and we won't hurt you. We were taking shelter from the storm last night, so we'll be only here until it gets light enough to move. If this is your home, we're sorry for having barged in here like that."

Jonas felt surprised at hearing Kim's voice. He couldn't say how they both had ended up in the same place at this particular time, but he wasn't going to argue. It was enough that not only had they essentially been able to get reunited, but he and Elmo had really found a way out of the caves.

"Kim?" Jonas couldn't help but call out. "When'd you get here?"

He really wasn't worried about when Kim had gotten here, but he felt like trying to make light of the matter. It wasn't like it was a big deal or anything, just that given the circumstances, he thought it might be better to add a little levity to the moment.

"Last night," she answered. "We had to take shelter here because of the thunderstorm."

Jonas nodded even though he knew Kim couldn't see it, and suddenly realized that he and Elmo were naked. So, while there wasn't enough light for them to see by, Jonas pulled out of Elmo's grip, feeling only a little regret when his body wasn't touching Elmo's anymore, but he quickly pushed that out of his mind as he started searching for his clothing.

He was confident that Kim wouldn't be so kind if he and Elmo weren't wearing anything when there was enough light to see each other by. Which he couldn't blame her for. It was one thing if they didn't have any choice in the matter and another if they chose not to take action when there was the opportunity.

Though, as Jonas searched, finding a damp piece of clothing laid here and there, he wasn't surprised to find that they were still damp. He didn't know how long they'd been there from after they'd reached this point and fallen asleep after stripping off their soaked clothing and laying it out to dry as best it could.

When Jonas was nearly done, he heard Elmo start to stir. "Glad you could join us," he remarked, having tossed to Elmo his clothing as Jonas had come across it while he had searched for this own.

"What time is it?" Elmo asked, sounding like he was still at least half-asleep.

"Time to get up," Jonas answered simply. "Otherwise Kim and Elin will be able to see things about you that I'm pretty sure you really don't want them seeing."

Elmo's confusion was apparent, though Jonas didn't worry about it. He knew that Elmo would do what he knew he should. Especially when it came to potentially facing Kim's wrath.

After a few minutes, Jonas added, "It should be dawn soon. I can see the faint traces of light starting to shine into the cave down where Kim and Elin are."

"Uh… did what happened last night actually happen?" Elmo asked, sounding like his mind was elsewhere at the moment. Even as he started getting dressed.

Jonas even wondered if Elmo heard what he'd just said.

"What do you think happened?" Jonas asked, not sure how else to respond. "I mean, it rained and we moved own one of the passages, so what else would you think?"

Jonas had a feeling that this topic wouldn't be so simple to explain. Either that or he was going to wish he hadn't allowed himself to become so weak during that time. If he hadn't then he might not have to worry about how he and Elmo had woken up, even thought it was partly because of necessity.

"Well, did you return my kiss?" he asked and through his voice, Jonas didn't need to see Elmo to know he was blushing furiously.

However, Jonas didn't plan on going into that subject. The fact that those sorts of things happened was already enough to make him rather uncomfortable already. Having to talk and discuss it, even if it was just between him and Elmo, was just going over the line in his opinion.

"I'll let you figure out what may or may not have happened," Jonas replied, already feeling embarrassed for saying that much. "Though, keep in mind, that we were soaked, cold, and tired. I don't know what you have in your mind, but what we did the most was sleep. Though, I couldn't tell you how long that was."

Elmo sighed. "I thought maybe you had started to return my interest," he said wistfully, before gasping a moment later and making flustered sounds before going quiet.

Jonas couldn't help but chuckle. He doubted that Elmo was going to continue on with that topic, so he didn't really feel the need to continue himself.

"Well, if you want to know, I have good news for you," he said instead. "Not only are we by the exit of the caves, but we also found Kim."

"Kim's here?" Elmo yelped, clearly startled. "Since when?"

"Since I'm pretty sure before we got here," Jonas answered calmly, putting the last of his clothing on. "Which means we should be able to relax more now."

"Why?"

Jonas couldn't help but feel annoyed at that question. As far as he was concerned, it was not only self-explanatory but also rather obvious. "Because we won't need to wander around in the dark so much. Because we won't need to worry about bumping into something like the stellar bear. Because we'll have the rest of our group and can get more rest since we can take turns keeping a watch," he answered, then paused for a moment. "Need I go on?"

"Sorry," Elmo muttered and Jonas couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd been too harsh on him. Yet, this wasn't the time to worry about such things.

"When you get dressed, you should head over towards where the entrance of the cave is. Soon it'll be easy to spot for you when the sun comes up," Jonas said gently, in an effort to soothe over Elmo's feelings. "Take your time, I'm sure Kim and Elin will like taking this morning slow as well."

Jonas didn't hear any response, so he imagined Elmo nodding to him as his response. Not that he really cared. At the moment he was just grateful that they'd been able to meet up with Kim and Elin. Though, Jonas couldn't help but wonder if things would be just that simple now that they were back together again.

When Jonas walked over to Kim and Elin, he could see that Elin was finishing getting dressed herself, though she still needed Kim's help to secure the bodice part of her dress. Plus, it looked like whatever enchantment had been put on the dress also kept it from basic wear and tear.

As such, it looked like it had not only been recently cleaned, but also looked like it did when they'd first found it. Jonas wasn't sure if maybe it would last like that or if it was something that would fall apart once the enchantment starts. He could see that occurring, but he figured that he'd have learned about that when they'd first found it. As Elmo's Identify spell didn't indicate anything like that.

"Where's Elmo?" Kim asked before Jonas could say anything, startling him.

Kim wanting to know where Elmo was seemed almost like it was out of character for her. While Jonas could assume that she was merely being cautious, since she hadn't shown signs of really trusting Elmo before, he had a feeling that wasn't the case this time.

"He's still getting dressed back there," Jonas answered, indicating the direction he'd just come from.

"Why?"

Kim sighed and pulled out her bastard sword before placing it on the ground in front of her. "The creature that was tracking us? The one who's shadow was the only thing of that we could see? That was Aquis," Kim said bluntly. "When I killed him, my sword was still buried inside his chest and I had to cut it out. When I did that, it was like this."

Jonas looked at the sword and could understand why Kim needed Elmo. The blade certainly wasn't like it was when he'd last seen it. The only problem with it all that he could tell was that he couldn't be sure that the blade wouldn't be useable anymore.

If it had gotten cursed, he wouldn't like to have to deal with Kim unable to let her hand or hands off of the sword.

Though, it wasn't like they had much choice about the matter at this point. Whether it was cursed now or not, didn't matter. All that mattered was what Elmo could learn about it by using his Identify spell on it.