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The tundras near Sretomorozsk were flat and empty, and blanketed in glistening snow. A chilly breeze stirred the shrubs beneath two pairs of boots. Everything was still and silent. Lumine felt like she had to hold her breath, lest she disturb the land's slumber. She adjusted one of Alyosha's cloaks around her shoulders as she watched him line up a shot.
Then, a resounding crack cut through the quiet. A bullet from his gun landed square in between the eyes of a snow-covered, white hare.
"Nice shot," Lumine said as the hunter eyed the prey with his scope.
"Thanks." Alyosha pulled off the hood of his cloak before shoving two fingers in his mouth and whistling. "Tugarin, fetch!"
His canine companion barked and burst through the shrubs that covered them, bounding toward the carcass. He got on one knee from his crouching position to open his bag and search for more bullets. Lumine watched him for a moment, then her gaze flicked over to the rifle. It'd been his father's, she remembered, and made of iron and wood. The weapon was almost as long as her arm. The stock was a polished brown, scarred with a few notches along its length. The rifle was unembellished and plain, unlike the few weapons she'd acquired from her time in the Shadow Realm.
"How old is your rifle?" She asked.
"Older than me." He turned the weapon over in his hands, checking the chamber before setting it across his lap. "My father used this rifle when he was my age. Maybe younger."
Lumine crouched beside him. "And it still works well."
He gave her a small but proud grin, golden eyes meeting hers. "I work hard to make sure it still does what I need it to do. I've spent a lot of Mora on this thing."
Tugarin returned a moment later, the hare hanging from his mouth. He dropped it at Alyosha's feet and wagged his tail.
"Good boy," Alyosha said. The husky let out a noise, and opened his mouth to let his pink tongue loll. The hunter reached down to scratch his ears. Lumine's attention remained on the rifle.
"Could I try using it?" she asked.
His eyes lifted to hers. "You want to? Well… sure."
He handed it to her, and she accepted the weapon carefully. It was lighter than she expected. The wood was solid against her gloves. It was quite different from the weapons she wielded in the Shadow Realm, which were a lot heavier and stockier than this one.
"Here. Hold it like this." Alyosha stood and demonstrated, gently taking the rifle and setting the buttstock under his shoulder with an ease that came from years of practice. When he handed it back to her, Lumine copied him. Or, she tried to. She shifted her hands, adjusted the stock, and moved her feet several times, but in spite of her efforts, nothing felt quite right. He observed her for a few seconds.
"Your stance isn't wide enough. Slide your left foot back a bit."
She did.
"A little farther."
Lumine moved it again.
"Good." He walked a slow circle around her, studying her posture. "Your shoulder is a bit too high. Here."
Alyosha moved closer, and a hand settled on her shoulder. His fingers pressed lightly into the muscle, guiding it down. She went still. The touch was a practical one; it was brief and corrective, but it sent a strange little shiver through her.
"You should angle yourself a little, with your dominant shoulder back. It'll be more comfortable for you that way."
Lumine followed his guidance, moving her body and shifting her weight. While she adjusted, Alyosha's hand moved from her shoulder, briefly grazing the curve of her waist before settling on her hip to guide her into a better position. Her grip tightened on the rifle at the sudden touch.
"I can see you're struggling with it still. Turn your back foot away from the target."
She shifted again. His fingers brushed her waist as he corrected the angle of her stance, then slipped away. "That feels better," she said.
"You're tense. Relax. Take a breath."
Lumine swallowed hard, before letting the cold air in through her nose.
"Better?" He asked.
"Much better, yes."
"Good."
His hand lingered for half a second longer before falling away. Lumine searched the area before picking a target. It was another hare, several yards away, half-hidden beneath a shrub.
"Keep the buttstock in your shoulder," Alyosha said. "Lean forward a little, so you can absorb the recoil. Bring your cheek to the weld so you can line up the sight."
She adjusted the rifle, pressing the wood into her face. "Like this?"
"Close." He stepped behind her. "Move it a little to the left." She did. "Can you see your target from the scope?"
"Yep."
"Good. Now breathe and fire whenever you're ready."
Lumine's finger rested near the trigger. She checked the scope to make sure it was lined up with her target. She took a slow breath before she pulled it. The sound of the bullet cracked through the tundra. Her shoulder jolted from the recoil, and her foot turned to keep her steady. Snow flared up in a burst around the hare. Neither of them moved as the animal stumbled and fell. The bullet had struck its shoulder. "It seems I..."
"Yeah. You got it."
Lumine lowered the rifle. "That wasn't so terrible."
Alyosha shook his head. "Not bad for a first shot."
"It wasn't the head, though."
"You don't have to hit the head. The shoulder is still a good shot. You did well."
Warmth fluttered in Lumine's stomach. She fought a smile threatening to creep up her lips. "Thanks."
Alyosha nodded toward the rifle. "Want to try again?"
She looked toward the wounded hare. "I think one shot is plenty."
"Fair enough." He held out his hands and their fingers brushed as she gave the rifle back. The sudden contact sent a sharp prickle of electricity straight up her arms. It was nothing, surely. At least, that was what she told herself.
"Now let me ask you something," Alyosha said as Tugarin bounded past them, disappearing into the shrubs again. "Those Shadow Realm guns... would you let me use those sometime?"
Lumine looked back at him, pushing down the lingering tingling in her fingers. "Only if you promise to be careful with them," she said. "They aren't exactly standard issue."
Alyosha chuckled, the sound deep and low in the quiet winter air, and gave a sharp nod of agreement. "Deal."
A few moments later, Tugarin returned with the hare. He set it next to the other carcass and barked at the two of them.
"I think he's getting hungry." Alyosha sighed. "All right, all right, Tugarin. I hear you. We'll get going."
He secured the rifle and tied the two hares to his pack. Lumine adjusted the cloak around her shoulders before fixing the matching ushanka sitting snugly over her head, the ear flaps pulled down against the wind.
Alyosha glanced over at her. "You warm enough?"
"I am."
"Good."
They started walking back to his cabin. Tugarin trotted ahead, his paws sinking into the snow. Alyosha followed beside Lumine, his hands tucked into his coat. For a while, they said nothing, and the Snezhnayan tundra stretched endlessly around them, white beneath the pale sky. Their footprints trailed behind them in the snow, already beginning to disappear beneath the wind.
Lumine glanced sideways at him. She caught a glimpse of his pink, freckled cheeks and his mint green hair getting blown in the wind as it picked up. He tossed the hood of his cloak up and over his head, obscuring his features from her line of sight. She pulled his cloak tighter around herself as the frigid wind began to seep into her clothes.
"If you'd like, you can stay for dinner," Alyosha started. "I don't have much in the way of food right now, but we could share some sausages and cheese, and sit by the furnace."
"I'd love to."
"Great." A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.
The wind had grown stronger, sweeping across the tundra in long, icy gusts. It tugged at Lumine's cloak and made the fabric snap behind her. She tucked her hands beneath it, trying to keep them warm. Tugarin continued a few paces ahead of them, occasionally stopping to sniff at something beneath the snow before bounding forward again.
Lumine looked toward the horizon. The tundra seemed endless; now that the wind was picking up, there was no distinction between the ground and sky except for the faint gray line where they met. Snowflakes had begun to drift through the air, light and sparse at first.
"We should hurry," Alyosha said. "There's a snowstorm coming. Thankfully we're almost there."
Lumine looked up. The sky had darkened considerably since they'd left. Clouds had gathered over the distant hills, swallowing the last traces of the sun. He'd picked up his pace, and she took longer strides to keep up. The snow beneath their boots began to crunch more loudly as the wind howled. Lumine pulled the ushanka down over her ears and tightened the cloak around her shoulders.
The cabin finally appeared in the distance, little more than a dark shape against the snow. Tugarin was the one to notice it first, letting out a bark and running ahead the both of them.
"There it is," Alyosha said.
Lumine looked at the cabin. A faint warmth seemed to settle in her chest at the sight of it. She wasn't sure if it came from the promise of a fire and a hot meal, or from the man walking beside her, or maybe even both. She pulled Alyosha's cloak tighter around herself and followed him inside.