Divine Enmity (Catnipz)

XXXVI. There's always a first.

Haerin collapsed onto the grass of one of the camp's hills along with Danielle. The two had decided to work on their endurance and stamina, so they had been running through the forest almost all afternoon, dodging trees and a few campers.

As she caught her breath, Haerin wondered why they had turned into masochists. Running in that unbearable heat while everyone else was having fun made no sense. But at least it distracted her enough, and that was what she needed most right now.

Whenever the memory and thought that had kept her awake for months came to mind, she would lose her breath. She had managed to control it until now, but the date was now so close that it only chased her, so she tried to clear her mind with Danielle, and the other day playing volleyball helped a lot. But it was clear she couldn't always be running away from her thoughts.

Laying there in the grass, keeping her mind blank wasn't easy. She felt an invisible weight tormenting her.

But, as always, she was able to hide it.

From the hill, the entire camp was bathed in the sunset's glow. Haerin loved the view of the white buildings bathed in reddish and orange hues; the sight of the Parthenon with those colors was incredible.

Her friend hadn't gotten up; she was still lying down and seemed to be taking a nap, so Haerin gave her a gentle shake, earning a groan from her.

"Haerin!" she complained. "Let me sleep!"

"No!" Haerin laughed. "We need to talk."

Danielle opened one eye and looked at her. "I don't like how that sounds. Are you breaking up with me?"

Haerin laughed. "No! Idiot!"

Her friend sat up, laughing. "Thank goodness, you had me scared."

"Well, I don't think the other option is much better."

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm scared..."

She looked at her intently. "You should be; this time you're not running away. Mainly because you won't be able to; I've made sure you're dead tired."

Danielle narrowed her eyes. "So that's why you wanted to go running... I feel betrayed!"

"Ah, ah, whatever you say, but this time you're telling me everything."

Danielle sighed deeply, nodding and letting herself fall back onto the grass again while turning over.

"Fine, fine, I give up. Shoot your shot. What do you want to know exactly?"

Haerin smiled triumphantly and settled down on the grass beside her, stretching her hands toward the sky while playing with them and watching her.

"Everything... You haven't told me how it all started with Hanni."

"Well... I don't know..." Danielle hesitated, trying to remember. "During the rescue mission for Hyein, when we got separated, Hanni was by my side the entire time."

"Right! You never told me what happened there!"

Danielle nodded. "I was really scared and nervous, and Hanni kept making her heavy jokes to calm me down, but it didn't help, until she held my hand and that calmed me."

Just like Minji did with me.

Haerin smiled, surprised. "Oh! How sweet, Danielle!" she joked.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up! Don't make fun of me."

"Don't blame me, it's amazing seeing you losing your mind over her."

Danielle sat up, followed by Haerin, and they looked at each other.