The Beasts That Make Us

Dove Was Strange

Sera thought Dove was strange. Everything about the Snow Angel confused her. She was always humming to herself and she chewed her nails constantly. Her skin was covered in sweat but somehow ice cold. 

Sera didn't know how to function properly around her. The way Dove stood uncomfortably close to her made her brain fuzzy and she had trouble focusing on the path in front of her.

"Why do you have those spots on your face?" Dove asked Sera as they walked.

Glenn snorted as Sera's mouth fell open.

"W-what do you mean?" Sera replied.

"Those spots, I've never seen them on anyone before."

"Well I don't know I just have them I guess, what does it matter to you?" Sera snapped.

Dove bowed her head and apologized softly and they walked on in silence.

Glenn caught up to Dove and took her hand as Sera walked ahead.

"Don't worry about her, Dove, the freckles are just a sore subject."

Sera looked back to see Glenn holding Dove's hand and suddenly felt her hands and cheeks get hot but she didn't know why. She cleared her throat and Glenn dropped the Snow Angels hand so he could jog up to walk beside his sister.

"You don't have to be so rude to her," he said.

"And you don't have to be so nice."

"She's come a long way, you know, she's uncomfortable and far from her home," he told her, "the temperature is quite possibly killing her and she's just trying to be friendly with you. She doesn't know what the freckles mean, she was just being curious."

"You're right," Sera whispered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Glenn asked, putting a cupped green hand to his ear.

"Don't get cocky, I'm not saying it again."

Glenn smirked at her and then nodded his head towards Dove as they stepped over a log. Sera sighed and stopped to help her over the log as she was too short to do it herself like they had.

"Thanks," Dove squeaked.

"No problem. Listen, I'm sorry for getting mad earlier."

"Don't worry about it," Dove told her in a slightly louder voice than before, "I understand some things don't need to be explained right away."

Sera smiled clumsily and Dove smiled back at her.

They walked the whole day, Sera guiding them with the map in her father's journal. They traveled deeper and deeper into the wood and the trees got taller and taller as they went. The canopy above allowed less and less light down to the ground and it got harder for Dove to see. Her eyes were not as adaptable to the dark as her two Forest Dweller companions and she was constantly tripping over rocks and branches she couldn't see. Everest tried to help her navigate the forest floor by squawking if there was something in her way but most times he warned her too late and she would fall anyways.

A few times, Sera had to catch her and when she did, Dove seemed to thank her more than what was necessary and would stutter far too much over her words. 

"Don't mention it," Sera would mumble, raising an eyebrow at her.

At one point, the three of them came across a stream and had to cross it by stepping on slippery stones. Sera tried to help Dove over by holding her hand but, of course, she slipped anyway and pulled Sera down with her into the water. She apologized for about ten minutes straight until Sera just sighed loudly and she stopped.

After about the twentieth time Dove fumbled over something in an hour, Glenn decided it was probably time they rested. 

"It's getting dark, even by our standards," he told the Snow Angel.

"No it's not-" Sera started but Glenn shoved her with his shoulder.

"Right, we should get some rest," she replied dryly.

They set up camp and Everest huffed out a spark that lit the logs they had gathered in a makeshift fire pit. Then, he snuggled up next to Dove on the fallen moss covered tree she had decided to perch herself upon and she stroked his small head. Sera glanced over at him often, feeling the slight twinge of jealousy at seeing her pet choose someone else over her.

"He doesn't usually do that, you must be special," she said to Dove.

"Animals don't seem to ever be afraid of me, I don't particularly know why," she replied.

"Like I said, you're special."

Dove's pale round cheeks blushed profusely and Sera didn't have the slightest clue why. She saw Glenn smirk out of the corner of her eye but she ignored him.

What is with these two? I haven't done anything and they're acting like a bunch of idiots.

Soon, Glenn and Everest were sound asleep and it was just the two girls left staring into the fire.

"What is your story, Sera? Here we are with so much history together without even having met and I don't know a thing about you," Dove asked her, breaking the silence.

"There isn't much to know."

"Of course there is, there has to be."

"What about you then? Since you're so eager to know about me, tell me something about you first."

"Well I was born in a town called Barrow twenty years ago on Valentine's day, that's why my name is Dove. Doves are the symbol of peace and love. Ironically enough, though, I've never seen a dove in person."

She seemed so confident and proud of her name, and Sera wondered what it was like to feel like it would never hurt her to say or no one use it against her. Sera had never felt that way about anything of herself before.

"You've never seen a dove before?" Sera asked her.

"Nope, not once. It's too cold where I'm from."

"You are a very strange bird, Dovey."

The Snow Angel blushed beet red for the second time and Sera was as confused as ever.

"Your turn," Dove stuttered out.

"I was born in a village with very little love for me call Galena twenty-one years ago. My name is not something I can particularly brag about."

"Why not? I think it's beautiful,"  Dove said, cocking her head to the side making her delicate white curls fall down like a waterfall of snow down her shoulder.

"You wouldn't if you knew what it meant to my people."

"Well what does it mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it, just know that it's meaning is not exactly something to be proud of as a person of my race and...status."

"What ever are you talking about?"

"Just leave it!" Sera hissed, trying not to wake her sleeping brother and dragon.

"Alright fine, but I do think you're the strange one, Sera."

The girls made their cots in the leaves and pine needles with the blankets Sera had brought. Initially they were at opposite ends of the fire, but as the night wore on, Dove woke Sera up several times with the chattering of her teeth so Sera finally gave in and decided to walk around the dying embers to lay next to her. Dove immediately curled up as close as she could to the larger girl, and stopped shivering almost instantly. 

Sera was reluctant to get closer but eventually put her arm around Dove's shoulders. Her soft white skin smelled strongly of sweat and periwinkle flowers, but Sera didn't dare pull away. She wondered what she smelled like to Dove, but decided never to ask. Soon, she fell fast asleep and Dove wrapped her own arms around Sera and they stayed that way until the morning light fell upon their eyes.