here comes the rain

“Oh, huh, these things certainly do come out of nowhere, don’t they?”

The sun was setting on another long day of travel, but instead of a sunset of warm golds and oranges painting the sky, deep, dark grey thunderclouds rolled over the horizon. It hadn’t started raining yet, but with each clap of thunder slowly growing closer, it was clear that the sky was about to crack open any minute.

Emyr had made this comment as he stood at the mouth of a cave, watching the clouds above with an almost judgemental squint. Inside the cave was a small camping setup; a crackling fire, two sleeping bags, rations, and a less-than-elated Götz. The wolf sat near the fire on edge, tail tucked between his legs, and trying not to jump at every roll of thunder.

“Y-you could say…”

Just as Emyr turned around to acknowledge Götz’s reply, the rain began to fall, only drizzling for a handful of moments before turning into a downpour. He almost skittered in, pulling his tail close to his chest so as to not get it soaked.

“W-whoa!” he exclaimed, looking at the now-soaking ground. “Guess we were lucky to find this cave, huh?”

“Mm...mhm,” was Götz’s only addition, doing everything he could to not look outside the cave’s entrance. The fire certainly was fascinating in that regard. Despite the knot in his chest, he was going to do everything with his power to not show that fear. He didn’t want to worry Emyr, and it-

CRACK!

Nevermind. He stiffened up like a board, silent but screaming on the inside. It didn’t take long for Emyr to notice.

“...Götz, are you afraid of thunder?” His voice was quiet, empathetic, but obviously worried. Götz merely nodded in response.

“Oh, gods...here, let me…” his voice trails off and he paces around the little camp they had made, pulling out a warm, fluffy blanket and tossing it over Götz’s shoulders.

“I’m...sorry…” Götz mumbled as Emyr wrapped his arms around him. “It’s...a little silly I think…”

“No! No!” Emyr pokes his cheek and sticks his tongue out. “Being afraid of thunder iis totally reasonable! But it’s just as important to know that we’re completely safe in here! Lightning can’t go through rock…”

“Hum...so I see…” Götz’s ears are flat against his head, tail tucked between his legs and to a degree he wishes he could disappear into the blankets. “How long...will it last…”

“Don’t quite know,” Emyr replies, drawing out the ‘quite’ for a little bit as he thinks on it. “They can last for only about five minutes, or all night,”

“Hrghk-!” Götz stiffens again at the thought of having to deal with this until morning. He’d be unable to sleep, then he’d wake up groggy and left vulnerable, and then-

...Was Emyr petting him?

“Hey, it’s ok!” he said, and yes he was indeed petting him. “I’ll be here with you for every second of it, right?”

Götz looked over to see Emyr smiling at him, and for a second that knot in his chest is replaced with blood running to his cheeks. Cute…

“Right...thank you…” he mumbled, accepting the pets.

“You should lay down!” Emyr tried to push Götz down with all of his little dog weight, and for more Emyr’s sake than his own, he complied. “Much easier to weather a storm when you’re asleep!”

Götz didn’t bother with a reply, just laid down with a huff. The ground underneath his bedroll was cool, grainy loam, and the view above was an almost endless view of craggly black rock. If he squinted, maybe he could draw some pictures in the rock face. Nothing coherent, but it’s something to focus on. The rain continued to pour outside, and a part of his brain was dedicated to anticipating the next clap of thunder. Other than that, it was just him breathing, the crackle of the fireplace, and...Emyr humming?

“What are you doing?” he asks, looking over at Emyr who has not yet stopped petting him.

“Just humming,” was his answer, as if it were obvious. “Gives us both something else to focus on, yeah?”

“...yeah, I suppose.”

What an odd idea. If anything Götz’s first thought would’ve been to stuff some dirt in his ears as to cancel out the noise. That being said...Emyr was really good at it.

It wasn’t a song Götz recognized, not much of a song at all really, just a bunch of makeshift melodies without a sense of tempo or rhythm. But it served it’s purpose- he was focusing on it much more than he was the drumming of the rain just overhead. Whatever part of his brain that was on edge waiting for the next snap of lightning was now distracted by the wayward music notes and Emyr’s voice. Soft sounds that almost resembled memories, shards of happier times in musical form.

The whole thing was almost...soothing.

Enough so that after a while, Götz felt himself getting heavy-eyed. He had practically nested his head in Emyr’s hand, and now was essentially rolling on top of him.

“Getting sleepy, big guy?” the music finally stopped as Emyr laughed, which was just as lovely of a sound.

“Mhm…” he huffed, practically sinking into the ground.

“Want me to keep going?”

A pause, and then a nod.

“Alright then,” Emyr leaned down, and gave Götz a kiss on the forehead. “Rest well, I’ll see you in the morning.”

And as the improvised melody kicked up again, all other sounds faded out. No rain, no thunder, no fire, wind or lightning. Just him and Emyr, in this space together.

That, in and of itself, was enough to weather any storm.