fembuck | Fic: A Mord’Sith’s Gotta Do, What a Mord’Sith’s Gotta Do

This was supposed to be a comment!fic, but my brain doesn't understand the concept of 'drabble' so I wrote something that was too long for a comment ... hence the posting of this fic here.

Title: A Mord’Sith’s Gotta Do, What a Mord’Sith’s Gotta Do
Author: Janine
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t own them.
Prompt: Cara/Kahlan - Cara's not sure how to comfort Kahlan while Richard's gone...
Meme: seriousfic's The (potentially) Great LotS Spooning Commentfic Meme

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Cara’s eyes opened suddenly and her heart spiked in her chest, sending a shot of adrenaline through her system. She sat up quickly, eyes wide and alert as her hand reached to the side and gripped her agiel. Within seconds she was on her feet, body tense and still as she listened and tried to identify the threat that had awoken her.

A soft sound reached her ears and Cara turned sharply to the side. Her eyes landed on Kahlan’s restlessly slumbering form. A weary sigh emerged from Cara’s throat as she looked over at the Mother Confessor. Cara breathed in and out deeply trying to slow the rapid beating of her heart as she forced her muscles to relax.

There was no threat. There was only Kahlan having bad dreams again.

A mewling sound reached Cara’s ears and Cara frowned, watching Kahlan as she twisted and turned on her bedroll, no doubt in the throes of yet another nightmare about what was happening to Richard.

Cara’s jaw clenched. Kahlan’s distress irritated her. She didn’t understand Kahlan’s fear. Richard was locked away in a magical palace and protected by the powerful Sisters of the Light. He was far safer with the Sisters than he ever was on the road. It made no sense to Cara that when they were daily encountering banelings and fighting rogue bands of D’Haran soldiers Kahlan slept like a baby, yet now, when Richard was actually out of harm’s way Kahlan tossed and turned like a small child who had been told stories about Schadrin’s right before bed.

Kahlan made another distressed sound and Cara bit down on her bottom lip, worrying it as she gazed at the Mother Confessor.

Cara knew that she was not going to be able to sleep with Kahlan making such noises all night, and she knew that Kahlan would not stop making them if simply left to her own devices. For the past two nights Cara had been awoken again and again by the Mother Confessor’s noises of distress, and on both those occasions Kahlan had carried on until daylight came.

The thought came to Cara that she could move her bedroll further away from Kahlan until she was unable to hear the brunette snivelling in her sleep, but she quickly put the idea out of her mind. With Zedd away she didn’t like the idea of being so far away from Kahlan. It was unlikely they would be attacked in the middle of the night, but if they were the extra distance Cara put between her and Kahlan to sleep could be the difference between life and death, and she had promised Lord Rahl she would keep the Mother Confessor safe.

Distractedly Cara’s fingers ran across the length of her agiel, while her keen eyes watched Kahlan shift restlessly once more and murmur something under her breath as her face contorted with worry.

Cara’s jaw clenched and her head turned to the left and then the right, searching the darkness around her helplessly for a moment. Kahlan had been exhausted for the past few days. She slept during the night, but she did not rest and she woke up more tired and run down than she had been before she had gone to sleep. It was important that they keep their pace up, but Cara had had to slow down earlier that day so that the exhausted Mother Confessor could keep up. Slowing down any more was unacceptable, but Kahlan would not be able to maintain a tolerable pace if she did not get some rest.

The Mord’Sith had no love for magic or wizards, but at that moment Cara wished that Zedd was present so that he could have waved his hands over Kahlan’s body and spelled her to sleep. However, Zedd wasn’t present which left Cara the task of trying to figure out how to soothe Kahlan enough that she could rest.

Kahlan made another embarrassingly pathetic sound and suddenly Cara knew exactly what Richard would do to comfort the brunette.

Cara’s lip curled up and she grimaced.

Cara’s eyes lifted and looked around her again. She wished that someone or something would attack so that she could kick Kahlan awake. A battle would’ve been good for them both. It would have allowed Cara to work off some of the frustration she was feeling and it would hopefully have exhausted Kahlan enough that she would fall into a dreamless slumber.

Unfortunately for Cara the woods remained calm and still and she was forced to turn back to Kahlan with only one solution to her problem in mind.

With a soft sigh, Cara resigned herself to her fate and dragged her bedroll beside Kahlan’s and then lowered herself to the ground so that she was lying directly behind the Mother Confessor, close, but not yet touching.

Cara understood that this was the part where she was supposed to take Kahlan into her arms, hug her and coo at her like shivering puppy until she settled down. The problem was Cara didn’t like hugging, she didn’t like puppies, she didn’t like cooing, and she didn’t like this plan. So she lay there, still and stiff as a board, watching Kahlan with reluctant – and slightly resentful – eyes.

Another pitiful sound escaped Kahlan and Cara sighed deeply and extended her hand until it was hovering over the Mother Confessor’s waist. Her hand floated above Kahlan’s body for a moment indecisively, and then Cara forced herself to lower it so that her arm was draped around Kahlan. Cara then shifted until her body was pressed firmly against the Confessor’s back.

Kahlan sighed softly, and Cara’s arms automatically tightened around her waist, holding her securely. Kahlan murmured something unintelligible and wiggled her body, her hands moving for Cara’s and covering them, holding them against her as she relaxed into the blonde’s embrace. The process lasted a few seconds, and then Kahlan sighed once more, though this time the sound was full of contentment.

The noises Kahlan had been making petered out, and soon Kahlan’s breathing evened and Cara knew that she was in a deep, peaceful slumber. Cara’s arm moved gently forward and back with the movement of Kahlan’s stomach as she breathed in and out, and blonde eyelashes fluttered and threatened to close. Cara fought the calming effect for while, and thought about pulling away from Kahlan, but as the brunette hummed happily and squeezed Cara’s hand with her own, Cara decided that it would be best to stay put. After all, if she moved Kahlan would probably become restless again and wake her up once more and then all of her suffering and hard work would have been for nothing.

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Kahlan breathed in deeply, taking the crisp morning air into her lungs. She blinked slowly, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light and stretched, moaning in pleasure as muscles that had cramped in sleep loosened. She felt warm, relaxed, and rested in a way that she hadn’t in days.

She smiled contently and her eyes fluttered closed as she snuggled further into the body beneath her ...

The body against her?

Kahlan’s eyes snapped open and her heart pounded in her chest. She blinked rapidly, willing her eyes to focus until finally a curtain golden curtain began to reveal itself. Kahlan reached out, her fingers brushing through silken softness and she realized that she was touching hair. She breathed in deeply, and smelt leather, wood, smoke and ... ‘Cara,’ Kahlan thought. ‘It’s Cara.’

The realization that it was Cara beneath her calmed Kahlan and her eyes finally became clear as her breathing returned to normal. Kahlan lifted her head slightly and gazed down at Cara, a smile touching her lips as she watched the blonde sleep. Cara didn’t usually scowl in her sleep, but there was usually tension about her, as if she could pop awake at any moment and stab you with her agiel. As Kahlan watched her, she saw none of that strain however. Presently, as Cara slept, she looked at ease, almost at peace for once and Kahlan found the sight of her captivating.

Kahlan tilted her head up looking towards the sun. It wasn’t late in the morning, but it wasn’t early either and she knew that she should get up, but as Kahlan glanced down at Cara again she couldn’t find the motivation to nudge the blonde awake. Another hour of sleep wouldn’t do them any harm, and if the lightness she was feeling was any indication it would probably do them some good to get a bit more rest.

Resolved, Kahlan lowered her head onto Cara’s chest again, just above her heart where it had been resting when she awoke. Kahlan shifted carefully, arranging herself comfortably and when she stopped moving Cara’s arms tightened around her. Kahlan’s lips curved up in a gentle smile and she closed her eyes, once again giving herself over to sleep’s gentle embrace and Cara’s.

The End