She was looking out from their hidden vantage point when a sharp breath to her left made Evie's head snap over, hand nearly moving to extend her blade already.
The sight of her brother dipping silently into his shoulder twice, shuddering with the effort to restrain his sneezes made the tension drop from her shoulders.
"Bless you," she mouthed towards him, and was rewarded with a curt nod from him before he continued focusing on the task at hand.
--
"HHHH'YiSHHEW! H'YIISHH!!"
She nearly startled out of her own skin at the loud sneezes that echoed through the dining car. "Oh my god," she exhaled. "You scared me."
Jacob blinked back up sheepishly at her, still rubbing his nose. "Sorry. Caught me off guard."
"The contrast between you sneezing while we're out and when we're not baffles me."
He chucked in response. "Just makes me unique," he said.
His reward was the eye roll he'd been trying to elicit.
Wilbur's corpse lay in rot for days, festering a putrid stench; something scavengers are attracted to. They lie in wait, waiting for the skin to slough of his bones and flesh to gather in piles like discarded blubber. A poached whale, the spear of a sword lay in a tilt. Leaning against the insides of his ribs.
at some point a coyote comes along, with it a crow and fox. In solemnity they stare at the meal. Not hesitating to ask the bodies permission for a taste, his eyes pop with the clack of beak against bone & his heart(the fly infested thing it is) sleeps between the teeth of the fox.
While the other two feast and collect, the coyote watches. He already has a plate of mutton waiting for him beyond a ridge.
A rare occurrence. Shiro set foot in the Diamond Clan village less than once a year, under the best circumstances. His presence typically meant that there was something wrong- But everyone knew it already.
The winter had been harsh, beginning early and fierce, with bitter frosts which killed the last harvest of the fall, damaged the rosalia fields, and withered the forage. The wild pokemon felt it too, and grew aggressive, protective of what little food remained.
Illness swept through their ranks and weakened them, and into the depths of the season it persisted.
The appearance of the hermetic Coastlands Warden now was an anxious one, as the villagers feared news of the worst.
The moment Seyla heard the call, she darted out ahead of her mother to see Shiro. Her older brother, all but a stranger to her, but with the affectionate bond of blood relation.
Instead of bearing grave news, Shiro’s stantler mount was laden with bushels of forage and fish. He stood, handing them out to the villagers to gather and add to the stores. Despite the food he handed out, he looked lean and weary himself.
“Shiro!” Seyla ran up to him, and wrapped her arms around his middle in a hug. He lay a hand on her head. “Seyla,” he said. “Have you been well?”
She looked up at him, chin resting on his chest, and nodded. “Mh-hm. Mother and father too.”
“Good.” He replied, looking up to spot his mother hobbling out of her home, shadowed by his father.
“You took your time,” his mother said, pursing her wrinkled lips in a severe expression. “You should have come sooner, if food is this abundant on the coast.”
“It isn’t.” Shiro said, and Seyla heard an edge to his tone. He always sounded angry when he spoke with mother. “It took me all season to gather this much.”
Mother sniffed, tilting her chin up. “You could have told us. At least that you were helping.”
“Now, Lia…” Father tried to console her, pulling her away towards the food that Shiro had brought. She would not be deterred.
“You never visit,” she continued. “And look at you, filthy child, you look like you were raised by wild pokemon.”
“I have my duties as Warden to attend to, mother.” Shiro said, his voice level, but Seyla could tell he had no patience for this conversation.
“Your duties include us. Your family and your village.”
“I am aware.” Shiro turned his gaze to his stantler, seeing that the last of the bushels had been removed. “Pardon me. I need to speak with the village head.”
He turned away abruptly and mother tried to follow, though father caught her arm. “Don’t turn your back on me, you disrespectful whelp-”
“Lia, please.” Father murmured urgently, trying again to calm her.
Family or no, Shiro earned the title of Warden- Yet mother hardly seemed to acknowledge it. She held the other Wardens in high regard- But not her own son.
Seyla fidgeted, mother’s outburst having caught the attention of the other villagers. She felt too antsy to return to her weaving, and elected to follow Shiro- Even though she knew well enough that she wasn’t supposed to.
She caught up to him, leaning against his arm as he walked. She looked up at him, almost wanting to apologize. He kept walking, slowing to make pace with her but otherwise failing to acknowledge her. His expression looked neutral, or as close to neutral as his fierce resting expression could be.
“Shiro?”
“Mm?”
“Are you angry at mother?”
Shiro paused, looking down at her. “What makes you think that?”
“You’re always so harsh when you talk to her.”
Shiro sighed, and placed a hand on her head again. “Don’t worry about that, Seyla. It can’t be helped.”
She furrowed her brow in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Mother and I need space from each other, but she doesn’t understand that.”
“Is that why you never visit?”
“No. As I said, I have my duties in the Coastlands. You should go eat, Seyla.”
He pat her head and turned away, walking up to the home of the village leader.
Chloe looked up from what had been written in the postcard, tears in her eyes as she found the framed photo of herself and Beca stood together at a rooftop bar. It was hung by the door of her dorm. Her most favourite birthday had been back in the summer, when Beca had treated her to dinner and drinks at that exclusive high-end bar in NYC. The city that had once been their home.
Now they lived thousands of miles apart. Chloe here in Davis. Beca in LA and wherever else in the world her high-flying career took her. Only on rare occasions would Beca turn up on her doorstep to spend the day with her because she had a tiny scrap of time in her busy schedule. Just as she had done this morning.
They’d had the most perfect day together, wandering around, sharing lunch and visiting a nearby market. Chatting. Laughing. Just as they always had done back in Brooklyn.
Chloe had just found this postcard on her pillow and she recognised the hand writing. Her heart hammered away against her rib cage. And suddenly, without thinking, she flung herself out of her dorm door, speeding over to the stairwell.
The redhead launched out of the doors of her dorm block, gasping for air that she’d lost with the running and the adrenaline pumping around her body.
“Beca!” she choked out, watching as the woman she was after was just reaching out for the door handle of her private car, ready to drive her away from Chloe for who knew how long. Chloe didn’t wait for Beca to turn or respond. Instead she ran as fast as she could down the steps.
Beca turned on the spot, her breath catching in her throat as within a second she felt a pair of warm arms throw themselves around her shoulders, pushing her body back against the car. Chloe’s lips immediately fell onto Beca’s and the two best friends shared a passionate kiss.
“I’d rather be doing all those things with you too.” Chloe breathed out against Beca’s lips, their eyes opening so they could see just how broadly the other was smiling.
Because they’d been crazy about each other for years. They’d just always been too afraid to tell the other for fear of ruining the most important relationship in their life.
“Fancy coming to Louisiana for the weekend?” Beca asked with a grin, and Chloe let out a content sigh.
“Give me five mins to pack a bag.” came her immediate answer, and Beca let out a chuckle as the redhead placed a chaste kiss on her lips before turning and dashing back up the steps to her dorm block.
They were in for the most perfect weekend together, even when the recording artist had several work events to attend. Beca would ensure Chloe had the time of her life. Because she loved Chloe. And she was so pleased she finally had the bravery to leave her that postcard.
——
Based on the lyrics by Naughty Boy (ft. Emeli Sande) - ‘Bungee Jumping’
