Winter Fest in July 4: A Kiss in the Snow
Jul. 29th, 2024 04:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiramaru7Title: A Kiss in the Snow
Author: kira
World: The Wilds
Characters: Rabbit, Soaring Eagle, Fierce like Panther, and Flaming Arrow
Prompt: Kissing in the Snow
Word count:1601
Rating: PG 13 for Soaring Eagle’s crassness and Panther’s potty mouth
Summary: Sometimes a kiss can help make the pain go away…
Author’s note: Special thanks to my beta Kat for pinking this and giving me a title. Please also note that this was written for the Madrona Project and allbingo’s Winter Fest in July.
Author’s note 2: In Madrona there are a few groups of people who are named after legendary as well as mythological people. Elves are such people. Elves live in the northwest part of Madrona; they live off the land like Native Americans and other indigenous people. They’re thought to be the descendants of hippies and other free spirits.
They had been home a couple of weeks, after looking for and finding Little Hawk. The trouble was, his twin sister Fierce like Panther had insisted they tell everyone he was dead. Rabbit, while sad over missing his best friend, was happy he was still alive. Then again, Little Hawk might as well be dead since he was so far away. At least he was happy with his new family… Rabbit mused. Still, why wasn’t he happy with me…? Or Panther and the rest of us…? The crack and thunk of wood being chopped and tossed aside pulled his thoughts towards Fierce like Panther. He understood why she was angry at her twin, what he did not get was how everyone believed her lie. Rabbit stared at the opening of his tent, lost in thought. He never heard the silence that fell moments before Fierce like Panther gave voice to her anger at some unfortunate soul. He nearly leapt out of skin when Soaring Eagle poked his head in and spoke.
“Hey, Rabbit!” He entered the tent uninvited.
Rabbit took a deep breath and replied, “Hey…”
“I’m sorry to hear about Little Hawk.”
“Yeah…” Rabbit sighed. That explained Panther’s shouting… Why does that idiot keep bringing it up…?
“Ummm… You wanna come with me and check the traps?”
Rabbit shrugged. As much as Soaring Eagle irritated the hell out of him at times, it was better than sitting there wondering why Little Hawk left.
“We could’ve caught some actual rabbits, so if you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come. Besides, it’s not like I’ve never eaten any before.”
Soaring Eagle laughed. “Oh yeah!” He turned and left the tent, Rabbit following behind him. “Later!” he said, oblivious to Panther’s narrow eyed stare.
“We’re going to check the traps, okay?” Rabbit said.
She nodded and went back to chopping wood.
Rabbit was surprised to find he felt relieved to be away from Panther and in Soaring Eagle’s company. Hopefully, some time alone will make her feel better…
“Hey, Flaming Arrow!” Soaring Eagle called out to their tribe’s shaman.
“Boys.” Flaming Arrow nodded.
“We’re not boys,” Soaring Eagle said, “we’re men!”
“He’s old,” Rabbit hissed, “so we look like boys to him.”
“Oh…”
Flaming Arrow shook his head. While it was true he was older than they were, he was not that old. Then again, everyone knew Soaring Eagle was not exactly the brightest star in the night sky, so no one was really offended by what came out of his mouth. “Hey, Rabbit, how’s Panther doing?”
“Ummm… She’s still angry he’s gone.”
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“Good luck.”
Soaring Eagle made a face. “Yeah! She’s so pissy, she’ll probably bite your head off,” he added.
“Thanks for the warning,” Flaming Arrow chuckled. “See you boys later.” He walked past them, not turning to see if they continued on their way. He was worried about Panther as she had become more angry and sullen since she came back without Little Hawk. He found it odd that she was more angry than upset, so as the tribe’s shaman he felt it was time to find out what exactly happened.
He continued in the direction of Panther’s tent, taking his time, with the hope that when he finally encountered Panther, she would have cooled off some. Since it was starting to snow again, Flaming Arrow sighed. If he remembered correctly, it was snowing the day they left to go find Little Hawk. I hope things go well and she opens up about what happened… Then again she can be very reserved and close mouthed when she wants to be…He mentally shrugged.
Flaming Arrow headed up the path leading to Panther’s home. He saw her sitting there, poking a growing cook fire with a large stick. “Hey, Panther,” he said softly.
Fierce like Panther looked up. “What do you want, Old Man?” She frowned, and breaking the stick, threw half of it onto the fire.
“I came to see how you’re doing.” He walked around the fire and stood before her.
“I’m fine.” She looked up and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Good. I know it’s hard losing someone close to you.”
“That was years ago, Old Man. I’m over losing my parents.”
Interesting… No mention of Little Hawk…Maybe he’s not as dead as she insists he is… “I meant Little-”
“Shut up, Old Man!” Panther stood up. It was all she could do to stop herself from pushing him backwards into the fire. Why does everyone have to come around and rub my nose in the fact that my brother chose to stay with those stupid town people!? If I said he’s dead, he’s dead; so leave me alone to mourn my loss!! Assholes!! Where the hell were they when our parents died…? Where were their offers of help then?
Flaming Arrow’s expression softened. “What really happened?”
“Stupid Numbnuts went and got himself killed in some weird-assed town!” Panther felt her eyes welling up with tears. She was so angry at Little Hawk and everyone in their tribe who came around to bother her about him that she wanted to explode. Why can’t they all just leave me alone!!
“I see…”
Panther rubbed a tear away with her finger.
“We can talk about it, if you’d like. It really does help the pain go away somewhat.” Flaming Arrow stepped closer to her.
Panther shook her head.
“You sure?”
“Yeah…” She closed her eyes and let out a ragged breath. “Why’d he stay?” she said softly.
“I guess he had his reasons?” Flaming Arrow held up his arms, briefly deciding whether he should hug her or not, when Panther leaned into him. She cried softly as he held her close. “Sssh… Things are going to be alright.”
Panther stepped back, embarrassed at what she thought was a sign of weakness. She angrily wiped away her tears. “He’s such an asshole.”
Flaming Arrow snorted in amusement. “Most men are, if the women of our tribe can be believed.”
Panther barked out a little laugh. “I wouldn’t know, they don’t like me all that much.”
“They like you; they just don’t understand you. You live your life like the women in the time of the Ancients did. Surely you know the stories.”
She nodded. “Hey, Old Man?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks. I feel better now.” Panther stepped closer to him. As much as she hated admitting it to herself, it did feel nice having his arms around her.
Flaming Arrow nodded. “Good.” Taking a chance, he wrapped his arounds around her again, pulling her close.
She tilted her face upwards and closed her eyes. Panther snaked her arms around his neck when he kissed her. Kissing him felt strange and weird and kind of good just like it did the first time they had kissed. When they came up for air, Panther giggled softly at the snowflakes dotting his lashes and the faint dusting of snow in his hair. It made him look old and young at the same time, and she liked that. Unfortunately, the moment was not going to last forever as much as Panther would have wanted it to.
The snow dampened their footsteps as Rabbit and Soaring Eagle approached with a brace of rabbits in hand.
“See, Rabbit?! I told you she’d feel better if she just got laid! Who knew the old man had it in him?!” Soaring Eagle grinned.
Rabbit face palmed. At the look on their faces, especially Panther’s, if a hole suddenly opened up in the ground, he would have happily jumped in it. Thankfully, Flaming Arrow had Panther held tightly in his arms, because if her expression was anything to go by, he and Soaring Eagle were dead meat. Even Flaming Arrow seemed upset by Eagle’s crassness. “Uh…” was all he could get out. “Sorry?” Rabbit fled to the safety of his tent.
Soaring Eagle gulped. “Here,” he said, shoving the brace of rabbits at them by way of an apology.
“Leave it and go,” Flaming Arrow said.
Dropping the rabbits as if they had suddenly caught fire, Soaring Eagle turned and ran down the path. “Later, Rabbit!” he called out.
“I’m going to kill them!”
“No, you’re not. We’re going to tell Rabbit to deal with his namesakes and start dinner. Then we’re going back to my place-”
“Excuse me, Old Man?”
Flaming Arrow sighed. “As you said, I’m an old man, and such I need a successor. You’re one of the smartest people I know and I think in a year or two, you’ll be able to help me look after everyone.”
“Oh.” The change of subject took her completely by surprise and it did a lot to lighten her mood. She was very intrigued by his offer. Then again, she did enjoy being a tracker and hunting with the men in the tribe. She wondered if she could do both.
“Think about it.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t forget to tell Rabbit he’s in charge of dinner.” Flaming Arrow watched her go do as he asked.
Panther headed over to Rabbit’s tent. She entered without asking. “Rabbit, two things; one, you’re in charge of making dinner for us. Two, if you mention to anyone that I kissed Arrow, I’ll…” She trailed off ominously.
Rabbit nodded. “I’ll tell Eagle to keep quiet too, if you want.” He had a feeling Panther was going to get a hold of Soaring Eagle anyway, but felt better about offering.
“Good.” Panther nodded. “See you later.”
Rabbit watched her go. He waited several heartbeats before he went out to start dressing the rabbits for dinner.
Author: kira
World: The Wilds
Characters: Rabbit, Soaring Eagle, Fierce like Panther, and Flaming Arrow
Prompt: Kissing in the Snow
Word count:1601
Rating: PG 13 for Soaring Eagle’s crassness and Panther’s potty mouth
Summary: Sometimes a kiss can help make the pain go away…
Author’s note: Special thanks to my beta Kat for pinking this and giving me a title. Please also note that this was written for the Madrona Project and allbingo’s Winter Fest in July.
Author’s note 2: In Madrona there are a few groups of people who are named after legendary as well as mythological people. Elves are such people. Elves live in the northwest part of Madrona; they live off the land like Native Americans and other indigenous people. They’re thought to be the descendants of hippies and other free spirits.
They had been home a couple of weeks, after looking for and finding Little Hawk. The trouble was, his twin sister Fierce like Panther had insisted they tell everyone he was dead. Rabbit, while sad over missing his best friend, was happy he was still alive. Then again, Little Hawk might as well be dead since he was so far away. At least he was happy with his new family… Rabbit mused. Still, why wasn’t he happy with me…? Or Panther and the rest of us…? The crack and thunk of wood being chopped and tossed aside pulled his thoughts towards Fierce like Panther. He understood why she was angry at her twin, what he did not get was how everyone believed her lie. Rabbit stared at the opening of his tent, lost in thought. He never heard the silence that fell moments before Fierce like Panther gave voice to her anger at some unfortunate soul. He nearly leapt out of skin when Soaring Eagle poked his head in and spoke.
“Hey, Rabbit!” He entered the tent uninvited.
Rabbit took a deep breath and replied, “Hey…”
“I’m sorry to hear about Little Hawk.”
“Yeah…” Rabbit sighed. That explained Panther’s shouting… Why does that idiot keep bringing it up…?
“Ummm… You wanna come with me and check the traps?”
Rabbit shrugged. As much as Soaring Eagle irritated the hell out of him at times, it was better than sitting there wondering why Little Hawk left.
“We could’ve caught some actual rabbits, so if you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come. Besides, it’s not like I’ve never eaten any before.”
Soaring Eagle laughed. “Oh yeah!” He turned and left the tent, Rabbit following behind him. “Later!” he said, oblivious to Panther’s narrow eyed stare.
“We’re going to check the traps, okay?” Rabbit said.
She nodded and went back to chopping wood.
Rabbit was surprised to find he felt relieved to be away from Panther and in Soaring Eagle’s company. Hopefully, some time alone will make her feel better…
“Hey, Flaming Arrow!” Soaring Eagle called out to their tribe’s shaman.
“Boys.” Flaming Arrow nodded.
“We’re not boys,” Soaring Eagle said, “we’re men!”
“He’s old,” Rabbit hissed, “so we look like boys to him.”
“Oh…”
Flaming Arrow shook his head. While it was true he was older than they were, he was not that old. Then again, everyone knew Soaring Eagle was not exactly the brightest star in the night sky, so no one was really offended by what came out of his mouth. “Hey, Rabbit, how’s Panther doing?”
“Ummm… She’s still angry he’s gone.”
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“Good luck.”
Soaring Eagle made a face. “Yeah! She’s so pissy, she’ll probably bite your head off,” he added.
“Thanks for the warning,” Flaming Arrow chuckled. “See you boys later.” He walked past them, not turning to see if they continued on their way. He was worried about Panther as she had become more angry and sullen since she came back without Little Hawk. He found it odd that she was more angry than upset, so as the tribe’s shaman he felt it was time to find out what exactly happened.
He continued in the direction of Panther’s tent, taking his time, with the hope that when he finally encountered Panther, she would have cooled off some. Since it was starting to snow again, Flaming Arrow sighed. If he remembered correctly, it was snowing the day they left to go find Little Hawk. I hope things go well and she opens up about what happened… Then again she can be very reserved and close mouthed when she wants to be…He mentally shrugged.
Flaming Arrow headed up the path leading to Panther’s home. He saw her sitting there, poking a growing cook fire with a large stick. “Hey, Panther,” he said softly.
Fierce like Panther looked up. “What do you want, Old Man?” She frowned, and breaking the stick, threw half of it onto the fire.
“I came to see how you’re doing.” He walked around the fire and stood before her.
“I’m fine.” She looked up and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Good. I know it’s hard losing someone close to you.”
“That was years ago, Old Man. I’m over losing my parents.”
Interesting… No mention of Little Hawk…Maybe he’s not as dead as she insists he is… “I meant Little-”
“Shut up, Old Man!” Panther stood up. It was all she could do to stop herself from pushing him backwards into the fire. Why does everyone have to come around and rub my nose in the fact that my brother chose to stay with those stupid town people!? If I said he’s dead, he’s dead; so leave me alone to mourn my loss!! Assholes!! Where the hell were they when our parents died…? Where were their offers of help then?
Flaming Arrow’s expression softened. “What really happened?”
“Stupid Numbnuts went and got himself killed in some weird-assed town!” Panther felt her eyes welling up with tears. She was so angry at Little Hawk and everyone in their tribe who came around to bother her about him that she wanted to explode. Why can’t they all just leave me alone!!
“I see…”
Panther rubbed a tear away with her finger.
“We can talk about it, if you’d like. It really does help the pain go away somewhat.” Flaming Arrow stepped closer to her.
Panther shook her head.
“You sure?”
“Yeah…” She closed her eyes and let out a ragged breath. “Why’d he stay?” she said softly.
“I guess he had his reasons?” Flaming Arrow held up his arms, briefly deciding whether he should hug her or not, when Panther leaned into him. She cried softly as he held her close. “Sssh… Things are going to be alright.”
Panther stepped back, embarrassed at what she thought was a sign of weakness. She angrily wiped away her tears. “He’s such an asshole.”
Flaming Arrow snorted in amusement. “Most men are, if the women of our tribe can be believed.”
Panther barked out a little laugh. “I wouldn’t know, they don’t like me all that much.”
“They like you; they just don’t understand you. You live your life like the women in the time of the Ancients did. Surely you know the stories.”
She nodded. “Hey, Old Man?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks. I feel better now.” Panther stepped closer to him. As much as she hated admitting it to herself, it did feel nice having his arms around her.
Flaming Arrow nodded. “Good.” Taking a chance, he wrapped his arounds around her again, pulling her close.
She tilted her face upwards and closed her eyes. Panther snaked her arms around his neck when he kissed her. Kissing him felt strange and weird and kind of good just like it did the first time they had kissed. When they came up for air, Panther giggled softly at the snowflakes dotting his lashes and the faint dusting of snow in his hair. It made him look old and young at the same time, and she liked that. Unfortunately, the moment was not going to last forever as much as Panther would have wanted it to.
The snow dampened their footsteps as Rabbit and Soaring Eagle approached with a brace of rabbits in hand.
“See, Rabbit?! I told you she’d feel better if she just got laid! Who knew the old man had it in him?!” Soaring Eagle grinned.
Rabbit face palmed. At the look on their faces, especially Panther’s, if a hole suddenly opened up in the ground, he would have happily jumped in it. Thankfully, Flaming Arrow had Panther held tightly in his arms, because if her expression was anything to go by, he and Soaring Eagle were dead meat. Even Flaming Arrow seemed upset by Eagle’s crassness. “Uh…” was all he could get out. “Sorry?” Rabbit fled to the safety of his tent.
Soaring Eagle gulped. “Here,” he said, shoving the brace of rabbits at them by way of an apology.
“Leave it and go,” Flaming Arrow said.
Dropping the rabbits as if they had suddenly caught fire, Soaring Eagle turned and ran down the path. “Later, Rabbit!” he called out.
“I’m going to kill them!”
“No, you’re not. We’re going to tell Rabbit to deal with his namesakes and start dinner. Then we’re going back to my place-”
“Excuse me, Old Man?”
Flaming Arrow sighed. “As you said, I’m an old man, and such I need a successor. You’re one of the smartest people I know and I think in a year or two, you’ll be able to help me look after everyone.”
“Oh.” The change of subject took her completely by surprise and it did a lot to lighten her mood. She was very intrigued by his offer. Then again, she did enjoy being a tracker and hunting with the men in the tribe. She wondered if she could do both.
“Think about it.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t forget to tell Rabbit he’s in charge of dinner.” Flaming Arrow watched her go do as he asked.
Panther headed over to Rabbit’s tent. She entered without asking. “Rabbit, two things; one, you’re in charge of making dinner for us. Two, if you mention to anyone that I kissed Arrow, I’ll…” She trailed off ominously.
Rabbit nodded. “I’ll tell Eagle to keep quiet too, if you want.” He had a feeling Panther was going to get a hold of Soaring Eagle anyway, but felt better about offering.
“Good.” Panther nodded. “See you later.”
Rabbit watched her go. He waited several heartbeats before he went out to start dressing the rabbits for dinner.
