And now his face went ten times redder than usual at the kiss. He sputtered incoherently for a moment before he managed to formulate an actual sentence. "It was a highly exceptional attempt."

He grinned then, stupidly and a little shyly, and averted his eyes to the abstract patterns on the forest floor created by the filter of sunlight through the leaves and branches. He kept holding her warm, gentle hand in his. The faint scent of rain still lingered in the cool air, and he could even hear the distant chirping of birds and the cries and calls of other unidentifiable forest animals.

And for the briefest of moments he completely forgot about the arena, of the danger and the fighting and the deaths. Just for a while it was only him and her and this tiny piece of land that they have made theirs.

Suddenly, however, something slithered around his ankle. He gave out a cry of shock and shot back up to his feet, pulling her along with him. Frantic, he whirled around, eyes darting wildly about the ground. From the corner of his vision he spotted a tendril slink out of sight.