Lycer's POV
The snow is starting to get heavier.
Celestial shivers, pulling the coat tighter around herself. I tried to offer her mine but she refused. I regret not taking the offer of shoes. Even if they didn't fit either of us, it must have been a better option than our toes freezing. I consider taking us off course to get to a human town I somewhat remember as nearby. Stealing some socks from a store. In the end, I decide it's too out of the way. Her mate is out there, looking for us, and we should stay on an expected path.
"Lycer?" I look up. Celestial's hair is damp and covered in melting flurries of snow. "Are you o-okay?" Her teeth are chattering; she tightens her jaw to try and hide it.
"Yeah," I shrug off her question. Even now, amidst our found freedom, I think back to how it was just a bit warmer in the caves. Part of me wonders if I made the right choice in taking us out of there but then I remember what drove us here. What drove me to shift. I remember the small girl I once met, small and not yet of age. Outcasted and abused. And I remember vowing to save her. Even here, in the snow and dark, I do not regret saving her.
"I know it's cold now," she says almost in a hiss through her teeth, "but the pack house is warm. When we get back there, Hanna, one of the cooks, she'll make us soup." There's a dreamy tone to her voice now. "Something hearty. Wild rice with chicken or turkey. And carrots. And celery." She pauses and I nudge her forward with my shoulder. She grabs onto her shoulder and I wince. She doesn't say anything about it. "With a nice toasted sourdough."
"That sounds nice."
"Hanna and Xavier have been teaching me to cook." I nod. "I think Xavier learned from his mother." I hum. "Hanna wants to open her own restaurant. I know she will. It'll be the best in the pack. And we can go." We.
She's so excited. I don't know how to tell her that it's probably best that I don't stick around. Malum will still be after me. If I'm smart about it, I can drag him and his experiments far away from her. And Xavier and her pack can keep her safe then. I hope.
"Lycer?" She grabs my arm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Celestial. I'm just cold. Let's keep going." She doesn't say anything but she lingers a step behind me for several moments before catching back up.
We're maybe another hour or two into our walk when I nudge her again. I give her a smile when she turns to me. She smiles back.
"Um," I say, clearing my throat. "When I was a kid, my mom and I used to go ice skating."
"Ice skating?" Looking at her, her brows are furrowed. "What's that?"
"Um, it's like gliding across ice. With bladed shoes."
"Bladed shoes?" I see my words have done no good to clear the confusion.
"Yeah, I'll show you when we get to your pack."
"Our pack," she insists.
"Yeah." I go quiet for a second before clearing my throat again. "So uh, we'd go ice skating at a local rink. And I remember it would feel so cold, even through our shoes and layers. But I'd be having so much fun with her that it wouldn't matter. Not until the little in-between moments. Then we'd go back to skating and I'd be lost in the fun again."
"When was the last time you went ice skating?"
I think back. The winter my mom died, she was too sick. So it must have been the year before. And that was. . . That was so long ago.
"I don't know," I half lie. I've lost track of the years of my life. It's been a long one, that much I know. "But I do know I should teach you." I give her a smile. Her shoulders drop in a relief I didn't know she was looking for. "You'd like it."
"Is it as cold as this?" She hasn't stopped shivering and I'm sure it's bringing an ache to her shoulder. I think again if it would be wiser to shift but I'm worried it'll reopen the wound. Magi weapons are not meant to merely injure. They are meant to kill.
"Colder, sometimes. There's outdoor rinks and indoor. Both are chilly but it can vary."
"I think that could be fun." She smiles brighter than I've seen her smile in. . . In a long time, it feels.
"Do you think there's anything to hunt out here?" The sun is just starting to set when she asks the question.
"Maybe." I place out my hand, motioning for her to stop. Closing my eyes, I tune into the forest. And then I hear it. A rustle not too far away, a small animal. Perhaps a rabbit. "Stay here." I pick at the fabric of the coat Leroy gave me. I can't risk it. I peel off the coat first then my stolen pants. Celestial turns away.
Unlike the last time, this shift feels more connected. The way my bones reshape and the fur sprouts ignites a greater feeling in me. A connection to myself and my kind, passed down through the generations. A feeling of completion, of wholeness to oneself. Then the world is clearer, warmer too.
I turn back to the coat now on the ground. I nudge it towards Celestial. 'Take it,' I link to her through a proximity link. She hesitates before nodding and leaning down to pick up the coat, struggling to shrug it up over her shoulder. In the end, she ends up leaning down and awkwardly putting it loosely over the injured appendage and holding it tightly with her other arm close to her. 'Stay here,' I instruct while I go to hunt the rabbit.
I end up finding and bringing back two rabbits. 'Maybe we should make shelter for the night.' She nods, looking up towards the trees.
"I can't climb right now," she admits with a defeated huff. "And the snow has made everything too wet for a fire."
'Stay near me.' I lay down and motion for her to lay against me. She sits upright while we tear the rabbits apart. She picks at hers. I scarf mine down. With a defeated sigh, she gives me what's left of hers. I take it with a greedy stomach I didn't know had a voice.
"He's close," she tells me as the night descends. She curls herself into me, hissing in pain as she adjusts.
'Can you smell him?' I snake my tail to curl around her stomach, trying to give her every ounce of warmth I have.
She shakes her head. "No. But I can tell." She stretches her good arm out, flexing her fingers. "I felt this way before we met. Like there was a charge in the air, an oncoming storm almost."
'That's good. You'll be home soon.'
"We'll be home," she emphasizes. "Xavier is gonna have to accept you into the pack." A smile breaks out on her lips. "I won't let him say otherwise." I don't respond.
Celestial falls asleep not long after. The snow lightens until it stops completely. She stops shivering as she sleeps. Me? I'm still cold but I don't much care.
I must fall asleep too. Next thing I know, I hear a growl.