The Untold Story of Texas and Lappland (Arknights)

Chaos in Lungmen

Texas blinked rapidly, taking in the sight in front of her. Swinging on a chain, the little tag seemed so small, catching the light of the afternoon. The children in the streets who'd been playing moments before had wandered off farther away. The wind whipped up the few fallen leaves scattered on the ground, an old newspaper scattered into a mini twister. And Lappland was sitting across from her. Silver eyes glittered with a fountain of emotions brimming at the surface. How much deeper they went, embedded into her soul. Texas felt them reaching out to her like the tendrils of a tree. They were begging for the sunlight, for hope of a better tomorrow.

She doesn't realize I kept it. After all these years, I could never bear to give it away.

Reaching this conclusion shouldn't have taken her as long as it did. Because Lappland shuddered, taking her extended silence as a rejection. Her pale hand clamped around the metal band tightly as she withdrew back in the seat. Those eyes were evading hers, downcast with their hurt.

"I'll take it you don't like it. I-I'm sorry for overreaching."

No.

And she wanted to say no, to tell Lappland that couldn't be farther from the truth. At the very start of them, those necklaces meant something important, signaling a bond which would last a lifetime. When they separated it had felt like a terrible lie, a nightmarish story, but even then she was unable to throw it out. It was as though in her heart she knew that bond could never be severed. Hurt, surely, and maybe torn apart, but severing ties was impossible.

"When you meet someone you truly love you will carry a piece of them in you forever." She remembered those words, remembered her mother's smiling face when she told the story of the first alpha and his mate, how they ruled the forest together with their love binding together all the wolves of their sacred pack. It was the sort of love she had only dreamed of back then.

So she had wanted to say all these things, had to . . .

But, of course, life just had to get in the way.

Or, more appropriately, Reunion.

BOOM!

*****

Lappland leapt to her feet, necklace forgotten completely as chaos descended. How quickly the matters of the heart could be discarded in the lurching of danger. Blood curling screams filled the air as car alarms went off and shouts shortly followed. The scent of motor oil was unmistakable even for a wolf who was born and raised in the woods, detached from the life of the city. Texas was right beside her, right fist clenched before she stuffed it in her pocket. Her dark ears were erect, picking up all the chaotic sounds. And then there was the smoke. It spilled out of the corners alongside the shouts.

"What is—" she began.

"—going on?" Texas finished.

"I don't know. But I think it's best we find out." Lappland murmured.

"I think so too." Texas agreed, she gestured to the direction of the smoke, past the intersection.
The vendors on this street were packing up and driving away as fast as they could. The few stands that were bolted down or had their own store rooms were locking the doors. The plates they'd left on the bench went flying with a sharp gust of wind, the unnatural quality of it unmistakable. So much for leftovers. Though I guess that should be the last thing on my mind.

"Let's go then."

Together they ran off towards the discussion, swords drawn and braced for whatever they were heading into. What was left unsaid would have to be settled later. And maybe then things would make sense again.