tongue of a fox, tongue of a cat || aespa || ningselle

1

"Fuckin- Fuck everything under this goddamn sun!"

"Yeah, I know. That's the third time you've said it this hour."

The ground under their feet is definitely hot enough to cook an egg in less than a second, and the trees towering over the patch of path they're on are dry and skeletal, a few pathetic leaves hanging off the forks of the branches barely enough to provide any shade.

Why on earth had Ningning agreed to come?

Let's rewind -

A few days ago, Ning Yizhuo and her lovely friends Minjeong and Jimin were splayed out on Yizhuo's couch, bingeing on original glazed Krispy Kremes and oreos, living the life truly. HBO true crime was flashing on the screen of the TV. The AC was whirring, and out of the blue, Jimin poked Minjeong's tummy and giggled. Minjeong suggested they go get some exercise.

Yizhuo groaned. Once Minjeong or Jimin suggested something, it would be their weekend plan without fail. So she had just sucked it up this morning and slipped on a zip-up hoodie and sweatpants.

And so here they are, three hours on the road, or the ground, with backpacks of energy bars and energy drinks on their backs, as the sun beats down mercilessly on them.

Sweat makes strands of Yizhuo's hair stick to her forehead. She wipes it roughly with the sleeve of her hoodie, then makes an animal noise as she halts and keels over with her hands on her knees.

"How... much... further?" she pants, chest heaving.

"About... About fifteen more minutes," Minjeong wheezes. "Jimin should already be at the top."

"What the fuck did she do to get to the top so fast? That silly bitch and her," Yizhuo huffs; takes a breath as they continue trudging uphill, "her long ass legs."

"She got here earlier than us to get out of the sun," Minjeong hums, grinning. "Which we would've been if someone got up earlier."

Yizhuo's ears warm. "Shut it. Let's just- whew- let's just get it done and go for lunch-"

First, Yizhuo isn't a very hydrated person. She's a performing arts major, making that fact very ironic.

Second, the sun doesn't help. It made her ears buzz so hard she didn't at all hear the skidding footsteps rapidly growing louder and louder, and the near heatstroke didn't let her register red hair and wide eyes flitting past her right before she and the owner of said red hair and wide eyes tumbled down the dusty path.

"NING YIZHUO! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Minjeong yells down the steep hill. A bottle of Mountain Dew had fallen out of Yizhuo's bag. Minjeong pauses to pick it up before crouching and sliding down the hill to Yizhuo.

She landed on her bum, crumpled. Red hair fans out as the other girl struggles to get up. She scurries backwards and off Yizhuo's lap.

"What the- there's dust, and dirt, and god knows whatever in my hair now!" Yizhuo groans loudly, voice high and irritated.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

"Uh, I guess," Yizhuo scoffs, running her fingers through her hair to loosen some dust out of it. It's not that bad, just a few pebbles at most.

"I'm so sorry," the other girl parrots, panicking.

Yizhuo cuts her off with a hand. "Shut it for a second! What's your name?"

"Giselle! Aeri!"

"Giselle Aeri?"

"No! Just- call me Aeri."

"NING YIZHUO!" Minjeong singsongs as she searches for her. She spots her sitting on a mossy boulder at the side of the path and trots over. "Who's she?"