Ayaka crawled into the cavern and collapsed just within its jaws. I turned and stepped back into the thick of the trees, stooping low and snatching up dead branches wherever I saw them. In short order I had an armload of dried twigs, as well as a few heavier pieces of wood. I circled back to the mouth of the cavern and knelt perhaps a foot shy of the opening, building a nest of kindling.

“W-w-what’re you d-d-doing?” Ayaka said from the cavern, shivering badly. “You got no matches. You know f-f-fire magic?”

“Don’t need it,” I replied. If you can move your hands fast enough, you can literally make fire by rubbing two sticks together, which is what I did. The friction between the two bits of deadwood built up until a flame sprouted from one stick, and I transferred it to the nest quickly and smoothly. The flame caught, and before long I had a merry little fire going.

If only I could heat Ayaka up as easily. I crawled into the little cave next to her and pressed my equally damp body against hers. Feeling the violence of her shiver worried me. The catwoman’s frigid hand clasped mine, searching for warmth and comfort.

The licking warmth of the flames reached us, and with me on one side and the fire on the other, Ayaka’s shivers began to subside.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Should have fuckin’… let me die… to the ricin.” She said between long, deep breaths.

“You will be well soon. Am’aleh has shown it as her will.” She scoffed at that, but I saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“Do you actually… know a Thayne?” Ayaka said, her disbelief raw and trembling.

“Intimately.” I replied. “She is my patron, and I am her champion.”

“I’d have called fuckin’ bullshit on that about two hours ago,” she winced. “Still might, I haven’t survived yet.”

I placed my hands on her back and massaged the large muscles there gently, easing her tension and drawing the faintest shadow of a purr from the catgirl’s lips.

“I really thought I was dead,” she said in a soft, mewling voice after listening to the fire crackle awhile.

“You’re not,” I assured her, “and you will be well. Am’aleh-”

Thunder rumbled overhead, and I heard the skies open up like a faucet.

Rain poured down, dousing our fire and seeping through the loam, threatening to invade our haven.

“Has shown it as her will.” I finished quietly, drawing Ayaka tighter against me and reaching past her. Beneath my influence the water rose up in a wall guarding us and froze solid. It became darker within the cavern, and I felt Ayaka tense as she realized she was trapped.
“Do not be afraid.” I whispered. “Breathe, and have faith.”