Love, Against All Odds

III - Chapter 3

'Are you sure? It will be cold.'

Becca zipped on the leather jacket. 'Ja. I need to go for a walk before I get cabin fever.' She went over to Kal, who waited beside the front door. After they'd had sex, they napped and woke up to the last hour of daylight. The approaching winter was bringing shorter and colder days. After being in the cabin all day, Becca needed to stretch her legs, even though it was nearly sunset.

Kal had on her long jacket but didn't bother to button it, plenty warm from the rut. She unbolted the door and allowed Becca to go first, then sealed the cabin door. 'Follow me.'

Becca assumed her lover knew a path or two around the area that they could enjoy. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and kept pace. 'How many times have you been here?' They left the open lands and followed a path through the woods that had been cut open.

'Since becoming Kal, about a dozen times.'

'Maybe more before you were Kal,' Becca whispered while studying the rusty colored leaves coating the ground. She exhaled and watched the white mist form in front of her face. It was colder than she'd expected, but she was determined to take a walk. Even with the chill, it was peaceful and eased Becca's current worries about the future. 'Have you always enjoyed drawing?' she asked and almost slammed into Kal, who had halted in front of her.

Kal pivoted and studied Becca, as if confused by the question. 'Enjoy it?' She shook her head and continued the walk. 'It's merely a means to record what I remember.'

Becca pursed her lips and walked closer. 'You're a talented drawer. It's a gift to be able to draw.'

'You can't put images to paper?' Kal asked, a hint of bewilderment hidden in her tone.

Chuckling, Becca shook her head and replied, 'I suck at being creative, other than maybe putting together a really good rescue plan.' She shrugged and whispered, 'I'm better at math or learning a new language.' Her thoughts were cut off when Kal snared her, and they came to an abrupt stop. Before she could say anything, a hand covered her mouth.

Kal withdrew her hand and pointed ahead of them toward a downed tree with its roots twisted up in the air. Next to it was a furry creature larger than a fox. Its ears perked up, and its fluffy tail swooshed before it started sniffing the air. Becca knew a locke anywhere she had always been fascinated by them since first coming to Kander. She leaned into her lover and observed the animal, stiffening when it saw them.

The locke hissed low, squatted, and crept away without every losing sight of them. Its honey brown fur was speckled with white tufts that signaled a change of season. Soon the locke would shed its darker fur for a snow-white coat for the winter. As the animal neared the end of the rotting tree, it paused and bared its teeth at them.

Becca heard Kal's own snarl that warned the locke to back off. She wasn't concerned that anything would happen other than one predator outmatching the other. The locke's pure white eyes flashed red, then it darted off and vanished in the woods. She grinned at Kal's low puff once the minor threat was gone. 'Lockes are so beautiful.'