Wayfaring Companions

v. Verona

v. Verona  

Xander stumbled into the Walker’s residence from an oddly bright atmosphere as a light rain drizzled down upon the earth from a cloudless stretch of sky, and into a dim and gloomy house, causing him to frown slightly as he blinked at the sudden change of light.

He stepped inside, careful to land the damp soles of his sneakers atop the bristly welcome mat, and he proceeded to shut the front door behind him, allowing the lock to snap into place with a resounding click. He toed out of his shoes with his breath stilled in his throat, as not a single sound sounded throughout the house.

Xander peeled off his light cotton jacket, cringing at the uncomfortable feeling of the cool air throughout the house pressing up against him and kissing his exposed and muggy skin. The air wrapped around his body and clung to him as he ventured further inside the house, before he noticed the hazy flickering of the television screen sat right across from the tattered old sofa, perhaps his favorite spot in the house.

He squinted in a lame attempt to make out the blurred figures and images on the screen, but failed to do so, and instead allowed his eyes to wander over to the cushions of the faded old sofa, where he found Kira’s lithe and long limbs curled up into her chest as she sat against one corner of the sofa, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips turned into a pout as her thumb stabbed at the arrow keys of the remote controller in her hand.

Xander blinked at her, smiling slightly in amusement as Kira grumbled incoherently under her breath.

“Hey?” he finally said, not surprising Kira the slightest as she grumbled the tiniest bit louder and beckoned him to join her with a lazy wave.

Xander obliged, ambling into the living room with relaxed and lazy limbs as his eyes drooped in response to the sleepy setting. He rolled onto the sofa and rested his head against Kira’s folded legs. His hair brushed against her bare skin and she fought the urge to burst out into laughter at the undeniable tickling sensation that coursed throughout her body. Xander’s eyes landed onto the television screen, and Kira watched with her head tilted to the side and her face held in her hand as he pursed his lips and studied the images unblinkingly.

Kira’s heart unintentionally stuttered as Xander slowly closed a hand around her skinny wrist and brought the remote controller into her lap. She watched with wide eyes as his fingers brushed over her thumb, causing the incessant changing of channels to still almost immediately. Ironically enough, the channel landed on the very one she had begun with; it was a live travel diary of sorts, where the two reporters for the channel would travel around the world, someplace new every week, and would tour the cities, giving the viewers the pleasure of living the foreign places from the comfort of their own home.

But Kira didn’t want to watch reporters travel to places for her. She didn’t want other people to get the thrill of discovering new things and new places, things and places that she would’ve never imagined to have ever come across, when she knew that she could be doing the same thing herself.

Kira puffed out her cheeks and held her breath as she unwillingly, and rather bitterly, watched the two reporters weave in and out of the little markets lining the narrow and dusty streets of Verona, Italy. She squirmed slightly as they admired the crystal blue ocean waters, commenting on the fresh sea smell and the light ocean breeze. She gnawed at her bottom lip as they drove past vineyards flashing with brilliant greens, and she bit at her pinkie finger as they trekked across narrow and winding streets, leading them to marvelously ancient structures of architecture.

“Didn’t see you as one for cannibalism,” Xander’s voice said, fishing Kira out of her nightmarish reverie.

“Hmm?” Kira murmured as her eyes remained glued to the screen but her best friend now had her full attention.