LOCATION: no man’s land, between hunter and grizzly territory WHEN: backdated, 2039 FOR: @cordiiceps
aiden is exhausted. it’s no unusual sight to see, they’re always sleep-deprived anyway, but when they meet back up with sua in the spot they had settled for as a reunion point, they are an hour late and they look like a train just trampled over them. in reality, they don’t know how they feel. there’s overwhelming joy in knowing valentin is alive, but there’s also a sudden hollow in their heart from having to part again, so soon after re-meeting. because now that they know val is here, it’s much harder to be so far apart, and there’s the ever-lingering fear of losing him again. in conclusion, all of their energy has been robbed from them after going through such a rollercoaster of emotions.
so they look tired, they make up some lame reason to excuse themselves being late, and they hope that sua will not give them shit for it. “alright, let’s go,” they call, hoping that the walk back to the grizzlies will be uneventful. and quiet, but they know that’d be impossible with sua. still, they just want time to think. “did you bring cigarettes? i’ll owe you big time if you give me one right now.”
sua doesn’t believe them for one second. why would she? she saw with her own two eyes, an embrace that was only shared by people who trust each other. but sua doesn’t comment yet, she knows a thing or two about timing. there’s a hint of smugness, of knowing, in the way she hums in acknowledgement and takes after her fellow herder. “ you permanently owe me at this point.” she pulls two cigarettes out of her jacket pocket, stick one between her lips and holds out the second. when aiden reaches for it, she pulls back.
“ swapsies. i give you a cig, you tell me who the blond man was.” her grin is almost wicked but totally devoid of malice, she doesn’t ever want to see them thrown in the pits, but she’s yet to explicitly say so.
















