Thunders Legacy [B. Barnes] [Thunder Wolf B.2]

Chapter 13

Fern blinked. The air was thick and warm. Her ears rang, and everything was gone.

White. All Fern saw was white. Her breathing quickened, "Shit. No. What happened?" She gasps out, trying to rack her mind for an explanation of how she ended up here. "White room is bad. Very bad. There's no way it was my time. Right? How many times have I beaten death? There's no way."

"Child, you're giving yourself a panic attack." Fern's attention turned to the sound of wingbeats.

"Thunder." Fern nearly sobbed, watching the Thunderbird land before her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing bad, I promise. You'll return soon. We just need to talk." Thunder bowed her head to Fern. The human could see the smile the Thunderbird held in its eyes.

"You're damn straight we do! You were the Queen! Why did you never tell me?" Fern glared at the beast. "Also, where the hell did I get all of this Thunderbird knowledge from? Why doesn't Mellan have your powers? Or how do we awaken them? There's a Thunderbird who needs his help. She doesn't have long Thunder; I'm running out of time and options. The greatest minds in the world can't figure out how to help her, and everything that seems to happen in my mind doesn't help either. I wish you were here, Thunder. I miss you so much."

"I know, my dear. But I went knowing that the two things I cared about most were safe. My role as Queen had been long forgotten in my mind; truthfully, I had been away from my kind for a very long time," Thunder paused; she examined the human. "You look well, considering all that happened. I know it was touch and go for both of us after the fight."

"I heard. Bucky was always there; if he wasn't with me, he was with you. That's what Sam told me." Fern's smile was distant as she thought about the broody male.

"He's the one, Fern. I hope you know that. No matter your ups and downs, he's never going to leave. He cares for you more than he has anything else in his life. It has been like that from the day he met you."

"How can you know that?" Fern remembers the day she met Bucky clear as day, how terrified of him she was, but she also felt the safest she had in months. It was instant. There was no warming up to him; even if he had always been Winter and Bucky never showed through the cracks, she had always trusted him.

"It is something I just know. It could be because I know you. It could also be because I've always been able to see your future; the plot will stay the same even if things change."

"So what now? I'm sure there are more pressing matters you wanted to discuss besides my love life." Fern sighed. "How do I save Thora?"

"Well, you have to trust yourself to start with. You've seemed to have forgotten who you are and where you came from. I'm not sure what changed you exactly, but you certainly aren't the scared-of-nothing little girl that I met all those years ago in the forest." Thunder's eyes sparkled, "What was it you were doing that day? Oh, that's right, I believe you were building a house out of sticks."

"What are you talking about?" Fern's brow scrunched together. "I don't remember us meeting before Hydra showed up."

The Thunderbird let off a chuffing sound that Fern believed to be a laugh. "You were just a wee little babe. I guess you might not remember it; if your father were around, he'd remember it clear as day."

"Dad? Hold on. I'm so confused right now. I always remember Mom and Dad telling me that you avoided humans." Fern bit the inside of her cheek, trying to force herself to dig deep into her memory.

"There are so many things we all did to protect you. Had we never lost them, your parents would have told you all this. I was always afraid to tell you before, but I didn't get to tell you before I died, so it's time you know the truth."