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A full moon hung in the midnight sky above Siracusa, a sea of glittering stars painting a living tapestry above the nation. These celestial bodies were the only witnesses to the black-haired Lupo who stood out on the balcony of a hotel suite, sighing deeply as she took a long drag of her cigarette, blowing smoke heavily. Her partner was inside their room, last she checked, idly clicking through the various channels on the television, never able to stay focused on the same show for more than a few minutes.
The Lupo could still see the blood on her hands. She’d showered hours ago, of course, and these were a fresh pair of gloves. Still, inexplicably, to her eyes, the crimson covering her skin wasn’t solely fabric. It wasn’t guilt; hells no. If it were, she would never have gotten here in the first place, chewed up and spat out by her enemies who wanted nothing more than the Siracusian streets to run red with her blood. Guilt was nothing more than a liability and a weakness. Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about the lives she’d taken… She didn’t really know what was wrong with her. Something had to be, though.
Another sigh, another long drag of her cigarette, the acrid smoke curling into the night air as she leaned further over the railing. The droop of her shoulders, ears and tail spoke volumes of her exhaustion. Today… had been a very long day, despite her partner’s best efforts to revitalize her after the work was done.
The balcony door slid open; soft padding of footsteps reached her sensitive ears. Speak of the devil and she doth appear. “Texaaaaaas,” the other Lupo drawled, lazy and carefree as always. Once upon a time, it had irritated her, the way the white-haired one didn’t seem to take a single damn thing seriously; but time had a way of changing things. Now, the other was the only pack she had left; her partner and her love. Even as the other drove her mad, she set her heart madly aflutter. Addicted, some would say, as though the white-haired Lupo was some kind of drug. Perhaps she was – but certainly the best drug Texas had ever known. “You’re still out here? Thought for sure you’d be done with your brooding by now.”
Texas huffed quietly, offering no response. Her partner darted to her side, jumping up to precariously perch on the balcony railing. This sort of risky behavior used to give Texas heart attacks, but she’d quickly learned there was no stopping the other; she seemed to get thrills out of living life on the edge like this.
Her cigarette had burned down to nothing. Without a word, Texas stamped it out in the ashtray, before reaching into her pockets for another smoke and her lighter. However, no sooner than she had placed it between her lips, her partner leaned forward and plucked it out, carelessly tossing it to the streets below.
Immediately, Texas began to growl in warning, ears flattening against her head. “Lappland.”
Lappland, predictably, wasn’t at all fazed by the show of aggression, throwing her head back as she laughed, almost howling. In the glow of the moonlight, teeth glistening, she almost resembled a phantom – but she was alive. More alive than ever, Texas couldn’t help but think, as the white-haired Lupo cocked her head to the side, grinning. “Come on. Don’t look at me like that, babe. That shit’s terrible for you, anyway, and you know it.”
Texas didn’t reply right away, knowing that was exactly what the other wanted. Instead, she patted her pockets, growling again as she realized that was her last smoke. Go figure. “Go to Hell.” Harsh words with very little bite behind them.
As expected, Lappland just laughed harder, tail twitching in glee as she snapped her fingers. “I’ll see you there, babe! Besides, I’m not going to kiss you when you taste of menthol. And I’ve got something better than that crap anyway.” In response to Texas’s raised eyebrow, the white-haired Lupo retrieved something from her pockets – a small red box which she rattled in front of the other’s face, before tossing it to her.
Texas glanced down at the box in her hands, eyebrows drawn into a frown. “...This is pocky.”
A cackle in response. “Looking for a medal for your observations there, Tex?”
Texas ignored her sarcasm. “Pocky has bromine in it, Lappland. This is toxic.” Granted, only in large quantities – a few sticks of pocky weren’t going to kill her, but the digestive system of a Lupo wasn’t designed to handle chocolate treats in excess.
“And the tar in your smokes isn’t?” Lappland smiled, smug, as her partner could come up with no rebuttal. How Texas longed to kiss that satisfied expression off her face – only the fact that the other was still balanced in a very precarious position prevented her from acting on this whim. Instead, small lashes of her tail and a glare gave away her displeasure.
Lappland snickered, leaning forward to try to take a stick of pocky from the box. “Well, if you hate it that much, Tex, just give it back to me. I’ll eat ‘em.” Instinctively, Texas flinched away, clutching the box closer to her chest as she bared her fangs, and the white-haired Lupo grinned in victory. “Wow, territorial much, Tex? Guess you do want ‘em after all.~”
Refusing to give Lappland the satisfaction of a response, the smaller Lupo silently tore the wrapping from the box, sticking one of the pocky in her mouth. It tasted overwhelmingly cheap. Crumbling, flavorless biscuit concealed most of the notes of an already-low-quality chocolate. “This sucks.”
“I know.” This time, Lappland succeeded in snatching a stick of pocky for herself. Her jackal grin showed no time of fading anytime soon. “So do your cigs, though.”
Texas growled, turning her back as she tucked the box into her pocket. Her partner was definitely in for it later, when they inevitably fell down tangled up in each other in fresh linen sheets, but… she had a point. If she was going to indulge in a dangerous habit, might as well make it the one that had less risk of killing her.
The black-haired Lupo sighed, running her fingers through her ponytail as she stepped inside. Damn that wolf. That beautiful, clever, insufferable wolf. Damn her.
A full moon hung in the midnight sky above Rhodes Island, a sea of glittering stars painting a living tapestry above. These celestial bodies were the only witnesses to the black-haired Lupo who sat out on the deck of the ship, her legs dangling over the edge, a stick of pocky in her mouth. A light rain drizzled down – not quite enough to deter her, but enough to give her privacy.
Today had been a long day, and to say Texas was worn to the bone was an understatement. Really, this had been her constant ever since Penguin Logistics had picked up that contract with Rhodes Island a few months ago – ever since she’d met Lappland again.
Texas knew that avoiding the white-haired Lupo was cowardice – and something in her heart still sung whenever she saw that jackal grin and carefree teasing. Still, over the years, something had undeniably changed about her ex-partner – not just the Originium crystals that jutted cruelly from her skin. Lappland had “fallen off the deep end,” as some people would describe it, and her infection had progressed to her brain – Texas didn’t want to see it when it reached her heart and lungs.
And yet, Lappland still chased her. Even though Texas, in all her guilt and fear, wanted nothing more than the other Lupo to let her go… Lappland was relentless.
The shifts at the trading post were the worst of it – whenever her ex-partner tried to corner her at meals or in the corridors, Texas could manage to slip away. There was no avoiding work, however, and for whatever reason, the Doctor assigned Lappland to the same shifts Texas worked. The white-haired Lupo’s antics wore her out, and she found herself retiring far sooner than other Operators – and, strangely, even though Lappland’s reservoirs of energy always seemed boundless when that happened, the Doctor would order her to return to her dorm at the same time.
It made no sense at all. Still, her ex-partner’s antics were frustrating and wore her down to her last nerve, but they were ultimately tolerable, largely thanks to the presence of a third Operator on every shift.
However, yesterday, this had not been the case. Melantha had been scheduled to join them, but she’d been injured in an emergency early-morning operation, leaving no time for the Doctor to find her last-minute cover. So, Texas and Lappland had to cover the shift on their own – a paradise for Lappland, but decidedly a hell for Texas herself.
The previous day had been marked by her ex-partner constantly in her space, draping herself over the smaller Lupo’s shoulders, making flirtatious comments in that drawling voice of hers, nails digging into her skin
just enough
to make her blood burn, tail slowly curling around her leg–
Texas shook her head to clear it, feeling her heart begin to pound. Lappland was dangerous. So dangerous, but – she didn’t mean in a physical capacity. She was more than confident in her ability to meet the other in combat. No, Lappland was dangerous because of the way she made Texas
feel,
even after all this time. Years spent carefully crafting a stoic mask to hide her cruel, bloody past, and in one day with Texas, the other had threatened to tear it all down. Several times over the course of her shift, Texas had felt that burning desire shift beneath her skin once again – to pin Lappland down to the floor and just–
No. No. She couldn’t think about that. Her breath came out quick and heavy. Those fantasies were locked away for a reason, and Texas wasn’t interested in finding where she’d thrown the key.
The final stick of pocky disappeared into her mouth, and she uttered a curse under her breath. Had she really gotten so distracted by mere thoughts of Lappland she’d finished the whole box? She usually took a lot longer, slowly chewing instead of devouring like a… well, wolf.
It could be worse, she supposed, glancing at the sky. The rain was turning from a drizzle to a pour – it was about time to head inside anyway. That was even without mentioning how late it was. Her head spun as she got to her feet, pulling her jacket closer to herself. That was probably the exhaustion talking, she figured – her penance for staying up past midnight after such a hectic day.
She barely made it two steps before she collapsed to the ground, the rain soaking through fabric and stinging her feverish skin. The last thing Texas registered before everything went black was a familiar, frantic voice calling out–
“Texas!!!”
Red. Blurry red was the first color that broke through the darkness. As Texas came to further awareness, more hues began to shine into the spotlight – white, black, traces of pink. As she blinked a few times, the colors began to solidify, coming into focus to reveal–
“Exusiai?” Texas hated how bleary her voice sounded. What had happened to her?
The Sankta jumped as her name was called, glancing down. In the moment it took for Exusiai to register that she was now awake, Texas was able to get her bearings better. The angel was clinging onto her hand, eyes puffy and red and cheeks stained with tear tracks… She’d been crying? And this was… a hospital room. Texas was well familiar with Rhodes Island’s medical facilities by now, thanks to a certain white-haired Lupo…
“Texas, oh, thank God, you’re awake!” Her attention was drawn back to Exusiai as her partner began to babble and sniffle, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I was so worried, you have no idea, when I saw you collapsed out in the rain, and the Doctor said you were poisoned and–”
“Poisoned?” This word sliced into Texas’s thoughts like a blade. She was beginning to recollect what had happened – she remembered falling on the deck, at least, and Exusiai calling out to her. Poisoned… She realized now that what she’d been feeling weren’t because of exhaustion or her thoughts of Lappland at all, but rather, they were symptoms. Still, how had she ended up with poison in her body? The last time she’d eaten a meal was at breakfast, and she couldn’t think of a single reason anyone might want to try to poison her at Rhodes Island…
Exusiai nodded, her halo dimmed with worry as she gave the Lupo’s hand a squeeze. “The Doctor said they – they found traces of bromine in you? They figured it was probably an accidental ingestion since there was so little of it, and they said you’d make a full recovery, but I couldn’t help but be scared anyway because what if–” The angel continued to ramble, wings fluttering in distress, but Texas had already tuned her out, starting to put the pieces together.
A faded memory drifted to mind.
(“Pocky has bromine in it, Lappland. This is toxic.”)
Silently, she grabbed her jacket from where it was folded at the bedside, surprising Exusiai out of her rambling. Fishing around in the pocket, she quickly retrieved her suspect – the empty box of pocky. For a moment, both women could only stare, comprehending.
Exusiai was the first to break the silence. When she spoke, her voice was several pitches higher than normal. “Texas… Did you accidentally overdose on bromine?”
Slowly, feeling shame and guilt nag at her heart, Texas nodded.
“I… I don’t understand. You’ve been eating pocky for as long as I’ve known you, and this has never happened before!” Exusiai wrapped her arms around the taller Lupo, sniffling still. Texas wasn’t a huggy person, exactly, but she let it happen – she understood that she’d given her partner quite the scare.
“Don’t… worry about it.” Texas exhaled slowly as she even dared to take the redhead into her embrace in return, not even reacting when she buried her face into her shoulder. “It was just an accident. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t worry about it?” A small hiccup escaped Exusiai, and her words were muffled by fabric. Still, she didn’t move from her current position. “Oh, Texas, how can I not worry about it? You’re my partner! I was – I was so scared I was going to lose you!”
Texas hesitated at those words, biting her lip. The guilt in her heart only swelled tenfold. Still, how to explain to Exusiai that she’d accidentally overdosed due to a lapse in attention caused by a certain white wolf? She feared it would only breed enmity between the two, and as much as her relationship with Lappland was complicated right now, the last thing Texas wanted was bad blood between the two people most important to her.
Thankfully, she was saved from a potentially very awkward conversation by the door to the room opening, revealing the Doctor, clipboard in hand. They stood still and blinked as they took in the scene before them, before coughing lightly. “Should I… Should I come back later?”
Texas didn’t even get a chance to even begin to think of an answer before Exusiai was pulling away, the sudden bright glow of her halo complimented by a dusting of pink on her cheeks. “N-Not at all, Doctor! Texas is awake so you should really examine her right away!” She paused, glancing down at the bedridden Lupo. “Texas… I have some work to do. But I’ll be back later to check on you! Please just focus on getting better!”
Her tone was earnest – but she was gone before Texas had a chance to respond, leaving her alone with the Doctor and their medical exams.
A month later saw Texas taking shelter from a storm inside a corner store in Lungmen. It was one of the rare times where the vacation days of all the members of Penguin Logistics aligned, and she’d volunteered to do a late-night snack run for the girls. However, while she was out, the downpour and hail had increased to a level where she’d quickly deemed it unsafe to drive. That led her to her current situation, tail twitching in agitation, leaning against a wall as she waited out the storm.
Out of the corner of her eye, something caught Texas’s attention – pocky, on sale at half-price. Her ears pricked up in curiosity. It had been several weeks since the bromine incident – several weeks since she’d last indulged in that dangerous snack. She’d made a full recovery as expected, but she hadn’t touched the treat since then, for fear of having to see Exusiai’s eyes full of tears as she fretted and worried once more. She didn’t think her heart could take it.
Texas turned her back on the pocky stand. Still, as she did so, more memories flowed into her mind, of times further back – a cigarette exchanged for a pocky stick, deep, passionate kisses, laughter on the wind and breathless whispers of love and adoration sending her heart beating to a staccato rhythm–
Without daring to look, Texas quickly snatched up one of the boxes. Just one box couldn’t hurt, she thought, ignoring the twisting feeling in her gut. Exusiai didn’t have to know.
Exusiai never had to know about her little vice; but whether that was the pocky or a certain white-haired Lupo, even Texas herself did not know.