Dear Felix,

Reasons 4-6:

4. The cute dimples in your cheeks when you smile after making a pun

5. Your puns that I hate but also love

6. Your fashion sense, no one can rock an adventurer's coat like you

Ever admiringly,                                           

S.c.

This time, the letter was black with white writing, an interesting color scheme that gave the illusion of matching the other letter, despite the less amount of writing on this one.

Felix once again wondered who S.c. was, trying to think of anyone he knew with those initials. He was sitting at the waterfall with Shadow, who was once again gazing up at the stars with crescent moon earrings and a big rainbow sweater. His legs were dangling off of the cliff edge, getting sprayed by the water droplets flying up from the rushing river below. Shadow looked over at him.

"So, should I change your nickname to Loverboy now?"

He lightly nudged her with a faint blush.

"Shut up, why do you never take anything seriously?"
"Because I don't take life seriously, it's not like I'm getting out alive anyway."

Felix sighed smiling and stood up, shaking a bit. Shadow got up too, right on the edge of the cliff above the waterfall. He leaned against the rocks and Shadow stretched out, leaning a little too far back and

Falling

Into

The rushing

Water.

Felix immediately reacted and tried to grab her outstretched hand, but she was already too far away and he only saw her shocked face before she was plunged into the river below. He jumped in after her, refusing to let his friend die like this. The water swirled around him, trying to push him down and drown him, but he breached the surface and took in a gulp of air before looking around and realizing he was alone.

In the forest.

With no one to help.

No Shadow.

The thought of her gave him more determination. He took a deep breath and dove under the water again, soon grasping the wet cloth of Shadow's sweater and pulling her weak body into his arms before going up to the surface and pulling them both onto the edge of the river, far enough on shore that they wouldn't be swept away again. He started lightly slapping her cheek and attempted CPR, getting her to cough up some of the water she had swallowed. She used her arms to push herself into a sitting position, coughing up more water. Felix sighed in relief.

"You can't swim!?"
"Nope, never learned how to."
"Why didn't you tell me!?"
"I thought I'd never get the chance to go swimming."

She kept coughing, trying to get all the water out, while Felix registered the situation. They were both soaked through, with their clothes clinging to their bodies and admittedly uncomfortable. Their hair was wet and messy and Shadow had lost her signature black slippers she wore every day, plus the bandages over her left eye that Felix had given her the night before. They were both out of breath, but after a few minutes of recovery Shadow broke into a weak fit of laughter

"I almost died..."
"You can't swim?"
"You saved me. I guess I'm eternally indebted to you."
"How did it feeling to nearly die?"
"I may have been on the verge of death, but it was the most alive I've ever felt in my life."

They both started laughing quietly.

"You could be a lifeguard."
"What?"
"Yeah. Guard my life for me, Felix."
"Okay, I'll guard your life for you, Shadow."
"Thanks. We've had quite the adventure today."
"You know what? We should make a bucket list."
"I think that's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say, Kittyboy."
"No, let's do it. We could write down a bunch of things to do before the end."
"Let's make a bucket list then."

Felix hoisted Shadow onto his back. She was surprisingly light, wrapping her arms around him and smiling with closed eyes as they walked back home. Slowly but surely falling asleep.