The Dead May Rise ✓ (GxG)

Thirteen

After a week or so had past since the night Bear and Donnie had just talked, Donnie still couldn't get Bear off her mind.

     Goddamn, it's just like when I was twelve. Donnie groaned at that thought.

      Aedona found herself lingering someways away from the fireside, watching Dagmar and Valeryan play with each other.

     To Donnie, part of her mind was still in shock that she had adopted Valeryan despite him only being seven years younger than her.

     Witnessing Dagmar and Valeryan's game of hide and seek warmed Aedona heart.

      Looks like Valeryan's got a friend, Donnie thought to herself, happily. Donnie pushed herself backward a little so she leaned against the tree behind her. She inhaled. After this is all over, Valeryan will never have to worry about the battlefield again. She wetted her lips. But I will… Donnie frowned at this realization.

      "What's with the long face?" Bear asked as she made her way over to the red haired siren.

       Aedona exhaled. "Oh," she began, noting Bear's presence. "It's nothing."

       "Really? It didn't look like nothing," Bear pointed out. "Something about you just felt… sad."

       Aedona sighed, slumping down into a sitting position. "I don't know… It's just that after what I saw at Osowiec, I don't think I can just go back to being a military nurse…"

      "The first time you see your men die in droves around you, it's hard," Bear said, sitting next to Donnie. "I can still remember the first time I witnessed something like that…" Bear sucked in a breath. "I was about eighteen… I remember seeing bodies falling… left and right. It was sickening. One of my comrades—-named Ivan—-died right in my arms. I couldn't sleep properly for weeks. Every waking minute, I thought of that haunting moment. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the look on his face… Desperate… Terrified… In pain… Alone." Bear fell silent for a few moments.

    "I'm sorry… That must've been hard for you," Donnie said, trying to offer her condolences.

     "I'm used to it," Bear said. "I had to be… I'm the Warmonger after all—-it's what's expected of me. But you? You, Aedona Stavayeva, are a bright young woman… There's so many other places you can go… So many other things you can do. If you don't want to be a nurse anymore, you don't have to be… You just need to find what makes you comfortable."

      "Well," Donnie began. "I have to admit I do find it interesting how all of those new automobiles are made."

     "There you go." Bear smacked her lips against each other. "Mechanics."

     Silence.

    Aedona breathed in. "Can I ask you something?"

    "It depends what it is." Bear shifted in her seat.

    Aedona laughed a little to herself about Bear's comment.

     "I'm serious," Bear said. "There's just some things that I'm not willing to share yet."

     "And I understand that," Donnie responded.

     "So…" Bear clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "What's the question?"

     "Where'd you get the name?" Donnie began. "You could've picked any name in world… But you chose Bear. Why?"

     "Well… Bear was already a nickname when I first joined the service…" Bear laughed a little, adding, "Alongside yeti…" Bear fidgeted a little in her spot before speaking again. "I earned the name because how I cut through my opponents… Each slash mark from a knife resembled the result of a bear's mauling." Her yellow eyes fell to the ground. "But, even before that, I was still called 'Bear'." She paused for a moment before continuing. "When I first figured out who I really was as a child, I told who I confided the most in—-my mother. I was scared, to be honest… Scared she wouldn't understand… Scared that she wouldn't accept me for who I was."