right in [★] front of me

[lavi s.]

Lavi came to with the sudden realization Tena was not there.  Alarm splashing him awake.  Had I fallen asleep...?  Tired muscles protested as the mountain cat rose to his paws.  Chocolate eyes quickly scanned the room, his stomach twisting uneasily as he continued to see no sign of the fiery sand cat.

"Te?" His raised voice is gentle.  Hopefully, his ears perked for a sound or sign.  Somehow, he felt sure she was still close by even if she was not obviously inside.

The sight of the stairs reminds him.  The feline breathes out a heavy sigh of relief and trots up the steps.  When the option to sit outside was available, Tena often snatched it.  Lavi stepped onto the roof tentatively, blinking at the sunrise.  It had been late when he had reached her home, struggling for the strength to keep walking, unwilling to put her down until they were inside.  No wonder he had fallen asleep without realizing it.

"Hey Te you really shouldn't agita-" The young Jedi closed his mouth.  Pushing Tena to care for herself had never been an easy task.  He didn't want to press her now.  He would continue to care for her instead.  Now she was awake and fully conscious it may be more difficult.  Tena may as well be a brick wall most days.

Last he had seen her awake... Lavi swallowed a lump back in his throat.  The thought he may have been losing Tena had terrified him straight to the core.  He had not dove into the fray only to lose her.  Not Tena.  Luckily, she had not been dying, though as far as he could tell, she thought she was.  Questions still lingered in his mind, to the words she'd murmured before she fell unconscious.

The feline felt inclined to ask how she felt, tongue halting on the roof of his mouth as he caught movement below.  Lavi knew he should have brought up where he thought Tena might have been headed to when he noticed she'd been absent.  He should have told at least one other Elysite.  Talking about Tena's past without her present had never felt right to him and he found himself acting more impulsively -- following her headfirst into the fire.

With the few supplies Tena's new allies offered him, he did his best.  Tending to her wounds first.  His scratches could be mended another day.  Then, as they parted, he lifted his unconscious friend on his shoulders and carried her home.  Quietly, he took care not to draw attention.  He knew Tena would not want excessive attention.

Now, she was awake, the sky reflecting in her eyes and Lavi knew she would still push it away.  She wouldn't let anyone get close if she could help it.  Not me.  So, he let his thoughtful gaze flicker between Rin and Tena, reluctant to move from his friend's side.  "I'll get those supplies," he offered quietly, rising to his paws once more.