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There’s not much to say after Water and Krow get done with planning. They know how they’re going to get to Little Cranberry, they know how they’re going to keep Owen and company from following them, and there’s not much to talk about after that.
Water finds herself laying on her back on the fake bed she made out of a stick with her Mist, legs swung up against the wall, staring at the ceiling. A frigid breeze seeps through the cracks of the illusioned cabin, a gust of snow flirting its way in through the windows. It’s cold.
Cigarettes litter the floor- Water and Krow have been smoking them to keep warm, and the rank smell of their smoke fills the frigid place. Water finds herself coughing every now and then- they don’t lie when they say smoking fucks up your lungs. A few days ago, Water would have cared. Now?
Well, she just can’t be bothered anymore.
Her mind works its way into loops, following the same traces of thought over and over again. And the thing it keeps coming back to is Krow.
Krow, who’s laying on the bed across from hers on its stomach, tracing shapes into its pillow, eyebrows crinkled with some unknown thought. Water finds her eyes tracing across to it, the shape of its face, the distinctive black and red of its hair- sue her, okay? It’s just hard to believe that it’s actually here . But it is- and shit, Water doesn’t know what she’d do without it.
Die?
Water hadn’t really thought when she’d run into the woods and past the border after burning Owen’s face. She’d sort of just… gone. There had been a sinking, intrinsic knowledge that due to what she had done, she would no longer be welcome at Camp Hermit. And it was better to leave on her own terms than those of some fuckass centaur who didn’t understand .
So Water had turned and she had run. She… honestly doesn’t know where she is, even now. Somewhere in upper New York, she guesses? Somewhere where there’s snow on the ground. In September.
But Krow had said that this cabin Water had Mist-ed into existence is somewhere near Albany, so…?
She wouldn’t have known shit if it hadn’t shown up.
Water would’ve stayed here, stranded in the snow, until she fucking died. Because when Krow appeared, Water hadn’t eaten in days . She was half-dead to the cold, and a big part of her had just… given up.
And now Krow’s here, and Water has food. She has warmth. She has a plan.
Perhaps most important of all, Water has a friend . An ally, who she knows has her back because it ran away from Camp, from the only home it has currently, to follow her.
That’s a big fucking compliment right there.
“Thanks for being here, Krow,” Water says, breaking the silence before she even realizes she’s speaking. Krow looks over at her, a quizzical expression written across his face. “Seriously. I mean it- I’d be dead without you. I love you, man.”
The sentence hangs in the air, and a curious look appears in Krow’s eyes.
“...I love you too,” it parrots, slowly, cautiously. Then it offers Water a smile.
She returns it, and her heart soars out of this snow-ridden, blood-stained cabin.
Thank the gods she has her friend.