STRANGERS ♱ yellowjackets

31. no return, no return

BUNNY TAKES ANOTHER DEEP BREATH.

She sits cross-legged on the creaky wooden floor, her thin frame hunched forward slightly as if the weight of her thoughts is too much to bear.

Her eyes are covered by a soft, worn blindfold Lottie made for her when they first started their sessions. She tries to focus on her breath, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly, attempting to find the rhythm that once led her to the abyss. Her hands rest lightly on her knees, fingers twitching involuntarily with pent-up energy and frustration.

Bunny's mind races, a relentless tide of thoughts and worries crashing against the fragile walls of her consciousness. She tries to push them away, to find that elusive calm, but the harder she tries, the more elusive it becomes. Her breathing quickens, and a knot of anxiety tightens in her chest.

She adjusts her position, shifting her weight in a futile attempt to find comfort. The floor creaks in response, the sound echoing through the attic like a reminder of her isolation. She is alone here, with only the cold and her restless mind for company. The winter wind howls outside, rattling the window panes and adding to her sense of unease.

It's as if a door has been closed, locking her out of her mind and now all she can hear is Jackie.

She tugs at the blindfold, tempted to rip it off and give up, but she resists. She takes another deep breath, trying to force the anxiety away, to find that flicker of peace that seems so far out of reach.

"Bunny", Natalie's voice breaks the silence in the attic. Bunny lets out a long weary sigh and pulls the blindfold off, blinking a few times as her eyes adjust to the reality of the dull attic. The older blonde's head is peeking from the hatch on the floor, eyeing the younger Hopper twin with a gaze that is coated in suspicion and worry. "I'm gonna take Jackie to the plane. Do you...", Natalie's words linger in the air as the question is asked. Bunny inhales sharply as her mind returns to the remains that lay outside, and the reason they look the way they do.

"Actually, yeah", Bunny sighs and sets aside the blindfold. She's too tired to focus and she doesn't want to disappoint herself again. And she wants to get out of the cabin. Natalie nods as she lets out a small huff of air, a part of her surprised by the fact that Bunny wants to accompany her on moving Jackie's bones. Bunny walks to the hatch and follows the girl to the front door, where she slips on another jacket, and wraps her head in a makeshift balaclava. The winter gear makes no difference in Bunny's opinion, she still returns to the cabin every time just as cold as she would've without the extra Yellowjackets jersey.

"Do you wanna- uhm... stay here when I collect the--", Natalie struggles to finish the sentence, but Bunny knows what she's applying to, images of Jackie's bones in her hands instantly flashing before her. "No, it's okay", Bunny says, although her voice betrays her and shakes as she speaks, revealing the nervous wreck the girl is. Natalie nods, a sympathetic gaze resting in her eyes as she looks at the girl she so dearly loves.

The two gather the bones in a small sack, one by one until they're all in a pile.

Lottie appears next to the two lovers, holding out a cup to them with a worried look framing her face. The blue tin cup, steaming with hot tea is just the lack of warmth that is missing in Bunny's bones on the cold winter day. "You're doing the right thing, it's not easy", Lottie's voice is warm and praising as she eyes the older blonde, her eyes somewhat dodging Bunny's. Bunny swallows slightly as she turns her gaze back down to the pile of bones that lies before them. "Whatever", Natalie mutters, letting out a huff as she picks up the last bone from the ash and carefully sets it on the pile. Bunny takes the ropes to her fingers and starts to wrap the cloak into a carriable sack, just as she and Natalie have done before, but with small animals like rabbits and foxes.