STRANGERS ♱ yellowjackets

19. a river of blood and a cloud of red smoke

BUNNY STARES AT HER BEST FRIEND as Taissa makes the final preparations with the other volunteers. A strong mix of fear and hope swirls in Bunny's chest, overwhelming the girl as she watches her best friend walk to almost certain death. As the group finally began to say their goodbyes, Bunny walks straight to Taissa, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck. Taissa hugs the shorter girl with just as much power as the realization hits, that this truly might be the last time they see each other in a long long time.

"I love you, Tai", Bunny whispers, letting out a shaky breath. Taissa pulls away, bringing her hand to the girl's face, wiping the lonely tear away that falls down the girl's cheek.

"This isn't a goodbye", Taissa promises, trying her best to comfort the girl. It pains her to leave Bunny, but she can't imagine taking her with her. It's already too much to know she's putting Van in danger by allowing her to come with her, she couldn't possibly lose them both.

As the two friends part, Taissa is greeted by Natalie. As they share a short hug, Taissa whispers something to the girl's ear causing the bleach blonde to nod. Bunny notices this and makes a mental note to ask about it later from the blonde.

Bunny makes an effort to hug all the other girls who are leaving with Tai, trying her best to not burst into tears as she wraps her arms around them. It's filling her lungs, the sadness, it's suffocating.

Bunny brings her hand to her chest, pressing three fingers gently into her shirt to the spot where her heart would lie underneath all the skin and flesh. It's beating, Bunny can feel it - through the fabric and all. Her chest feels heavy, her mind clouded, and the heartbeats start to echo in her ears as she closes her eyes.

"Hey", Lottie grabs the girl's hand softly, seeing that something's wrong. As Lottie's skin presses against Bunny's, the feeling mellows down. It doesn't fully leave, but it dilutes like coffee when milk is poured in. Only Bunny is the coffee, and Lottie is the milk in this scenario. "I feel weird", Bunny whispers, as her eyes flicker to the brave travelers before them. Misty is making some sort of a scene as she's decided last minute to leave with the others.

Lottie frowns as she slides her hand up to the girl's elbow, "I had a dream last night." Bunny's ears perk up as she turns to look at the dark-haired girl. "What was it about?", Bunny asks, keeping her voice low as the others surround them. Lottie glances around, her eyes finding the bone that Van is holding in her hand.

"There was a river of blood, and red smoke", Lottie says, her voice lowering even more as she speaks. Bunny's brows furrow as she turns to look where Lottie is staring, her eyes catch the white bone in Van's hand. "A lucky charm?", Bunny asks, her eyes flickering to her tall friend, "Yeah", Lottie confirms, "I told Van."

"That's good", Bunny sighs in slight relief. The overwhelming feeling is almost gone, now all that is left is just longing and sadness, she wants her friends to be okay. Taissa gives Bunny a final look of goodbye before the small group takes off.

Bunny squints her eyes as she focuses on the small rock formation she's drawing. Her face is close to the paper as she spills every detail she remembers from the sight on the page. Finally, when she's content with her drawing she leans back and brings the notebook to an arm's length, turning it slightly in every direction just to check if it matches her memory.

"Can I see", Nat asks from her spot on the floor, but Bunny only shakes her head, "I'm not done", the younger blonde says, and brings the notebook back to her knees, propping it against them as she continues to draw. Natalie sighs softly as she turns back to her original position; staring at the ceiling on her back.

After a few moments, Natalie asks again, "Can I see?"

"Jesus Christ, Nat. Are you four?", Bunny huffs as she gives the girl a pointed look, before focusing back on her work. Natalie only smiles, before sitting up. Bunny only glances at the girl before shaking her head with a smile, "are you having like withdrawal symptoms or something?", the girl asks with a chuckle. Natalie must have run out of cigarettes and weed weeks ago.