Monthly Bonus Content #4—An Echo of a Storm (Nat Spring Scenario Special) (Patreon)

The scent of lilac plumes into the air as fat raindrops burst the delicate purple buds. We run past the plants, taking only a second to enjoy the heady aroma, before dashing out of the rain into the dry safety of a shop’s alcove.

Nat shakes the wet from her leather jacket and peers out at the sheets of rain which act like a watery screen, obscuring our view of the rest of the Square. Not that there’s much to see at this time of night.

Everyone else has done the sensible thing and gone to sleep while the weather hammers against the buildings, while we struggle to even see the orange glow of lamplights as the rain masks everything in a damp, grey palette.

“So much for our balmy Spring night,” she remarks with a chuckle.

“Do you think Ava will let us off of patrol duty due to the weather?” I ask, glancing to Nat who purses her lips. I fold my arms and let my shoulders sag. “No, I didn’t think so either.”

“It’s not all bad,” she says.

I frown and glance to her. “We’re completely drenched and still have two hours left to go before we can head back. How is that not bad?”

She angles forward, resting her forearm on the wall beside my head to lean in even closer with a smile that sends a pleasant skitter through my body. “I would say the delightful sight of seeing you so wet is quite the opposite of ‘bad’.”

I chuckle, spreading my hand across her stomach, the dampness of her t-shirt meaning I can feel the gentle lines of her torso and the heat of her skin. “Are you trying to distract me from my duty?”

“Most definitely,” she purrs, her face nestling into the crook of my neck and kissing just below my ear. “We have to find some way to warm ourselves up.”

The strength leaves my hand as I let my fingers roam upwards. “In the middle of the Square?”

“It wouldn’t exactly be my first choice.” Her laughter vibrates against my skin and draws a breath from me. “But we have to take the moments as they are given to us—” Her very smooth, tempting flirtation is sliced through by a flash of lightning.

Nat freezes in place, her body rigid, and I can feel the uneven thump of her heartbeat punch against my palm.

“Are you alright?” But my words can barely be heard over the roar of thunder which accompanies another blast of electric light which crackles across the midnight sky.

She swallows hard, leaning into me further, and I wonder for a moment if it’s a ploy to draw me in…until her body shudders with obvious panic. I wrap my arms around her on instinct, and her fingers grip me tightly, as though I’m the only thing keeping her standing.

“What’s the matter? What’s wrong?” I call over the battle of lightning and thunder that continues to rage in the sky. When she doesn’t reply, my voice turns tight with desperation. “Nat?!”

“Just…,” the word is almost a sobbed whisper in my ear, “please don’t let me go.”

I don’t. In fact, I draw her in further against me, both of us huddled into the stone alcove where the rain and storm can’t reach us.

Her shoulders shudder with each ragged breath, and her muscles coil at each growl of thunder.

She says nothing.

And I have no idea what to say when she won’t tell me what’s wrong.

So, I hold her as tightly as I can, but nowhere near with the amount of desperation that her grasp has on me. I’m afraid if I let go, she might crumple to the ground.

The storm begins to fade slowly. The lightning becomes a faint flash over the stony skyline of the Square, and the thunder’s growl dies to more of a whimper with each passing minute.

“1…2…3…4—” Nat counts each beat between the flash and the whimper. When it reaches double-figures, her fingers relax their hold on me, and I take a deep breath. My pulse is now the one that’s erratic as Nat’s finds its calm rhythm once again.

When she draws away, she brushes some dark waves of hair back from her eyes and glances away, but I cup her cheek to draw her gaze back to meet mine.

“What was that about?” I ask, trying not to let my worry turn the question into a demand.

Her smile quivers at the edges, apparently still not quite herself. “Nothing. I just wanted to take the opportunity to be as close as possible to you.” Her lips firm into a much smoother smile now—almost as good a mask as Ava wears. “You know I always want that.”

A protest lingers on my tongue, but I bite it back. Whatever frightened her that badly obviously still has her shaken. Maybe there was something out there I couldn’t sense? Like with Murphy?

…But then why wouldn’t she tell me?

As the questions whirl in a confused mess in my mind, her fingers slip into mine, and she squeezes my hand.

“Come on. We better get back on patrol now the weather’s cleared.”

And just like that, she tugs me from the alcove, and we begin our task once again.

All throughout the rest of the night, she ensures to keep the topic of conversation as far away from the storm as possible…even with how much I pry.