A Girl's Turmoil

Chapter 40 - Epilogue - Cold Trip

The glistening white of their forms absorbs whatever small ray of light in the cloudy morning. They still continue to fall from the heavens, although in a much smaller number, as they blanket any piece of land that remains untouched. Though they are fragile, and their thickness serves as an illusion for their thinness, they are infinite, and they are everywhere. Bringing along them the natural chill and coolness that is evenly spread throughout the land. The trees, the dirt, the grass, the rock, they are already there without so much lifting a single foot. Birds gladly float above these formless entities, while wolves and other smaller critters would stomp over them to find shelter or get euphoria with the traces they left on their white skins.

Even with the almost absence of wildlife, they soon feel a still but warm texture in the midst of the white greenery. They see a long metal barrel jotting out behind a small boulder, sleek and smooth alongside the majestic handguard due to its mahogany colors. Those remnants on the boulder could see four figures watching under the shades of a large tree, and one of the figures was holding onto what they realized to be a rifle. A blonde wavy girl, inside the comforts of her gloves, woolen jacket, scarf, and her ear warmers. Her body remains still as a slight mist slowly exhales from the girl's mouth and nose. With a hand placed over the fore barrel, both her eyes kept open as she looked through the rifle's scope.

She would move her rifle little by little to scan the surroundings horizontally, sometimes backing out of the scope to get a complete picture of the view. Another blonde girl crouched beside her, tapping impatiently on the rock while looking as far as she could with her own eyes. The black gentleman in his bulky jacket watches on with his binoculars, whereas his sunglasses are left standing above his bald head. Lastly, a short young woman with short brown hair lazed herself against the tree, her blue eyes darting to watch their backs.

"Man, this is really boring~," Kyouko commented, slumping over the boulder.

"For how long we've been waiting now?" Tsubasa asked, turning her head.

"Almost half an hour now," George answered.

"Do we really have to wait here?" Kyouko asked. "There's nothing else to do here, and I kinda like playing snowballs."

"That's the essence of hunting, Ms. Toshinou," George replied. "Once, I keep my watch with a sniper over an area for roughly more than 12 hours back in the middle east just to find a target."

"That must be extra boring."

"It is. But it's better than having to deal with terrorists killing my brothers."

"What if you really have to go?" Tsubasa asked.

George lowers his binoculars and looks up. "Really hate to say this. But we got the bags for it."

"Bags?! Eww!" Kyouko winced her face. "I didn't expect it to be that hard. How do you even deal with it?"

"Would you like me to speak it in detail?" he asked.

"Eehhh...," Kyouko merely shrugged. "I rather not."

They stare back at the unobstructed view when Tsubasa remarks. "You're pretty quiet there, Sakurako-san."

Sakurako merely grunts in response as she carefully scans the landscape.

"I hadn't seen any animals by the time we got here," Kyouko stated. "Are they still in hibernation?"

"Mostly, yeah," George then looked to the right. "A wolf. Over there."

All except Sakurako turned at what George pointed at. A lone grey wolf stands by a tall tree, watching the group from afar as its ears almost noticeably whiff at the wind caressing them. Kyouko looks on with a pretty smile, whereas Tsubasa only crosses her arms on the boulder. They see it tilting its head, voiceless and firm, as the proud wolf stares on.