Winter Sound

Chapter 5: Silver and Gold

Early the next morning, Anya's eyes fluttered open as her red tresses glided messily in front of her face from her messy bun and her red shirt hung on her tiny physique loosely. At once, the quaint room was inside her view before she scanned the room. A simple bed, closet, and stationary clothing drawer was all that was in the room as Anya's blue orbs blinked and kept close vigil around until a small folded note was spotted out of the corner of her eye. Unfolding the ivory sheet, Anya found Winter's handwriting in black ink as she read the note, which was written in Russian, as it went something like this:

'Anya,

I'm so sorry for what happened last night. I don't know what got into me but I promise that I'll never do anything like that again. I know that I've hurt you and I personally want to apologize, and I hope that you're okay.

I may be gone for a few days for the purpose of the mission but please don't worry about me. I'll be perfectly alright. But you try to be safe while I'm gone.

P.S. There's something on my bed that I thought you might be able to put to good use. I stole it from my base because the ones in charge of our inventory suck. Trust me, they won't get mad because we have hundreds just like it and they'll never know it was gone or that I took it. And I won't take 'no' for an answer so please just take the gift. It would make me feel calmer and more focused knowing that you were safe from the cold and that you didn't freeze to death.

- Winter.'

Clutching the note to her bosom, Anya smiled widely as she began to think to herself, 'Awww....He really does care. I thought he didn't since we don't see each other often except every few months and because he's still trying to trust me...But because of the strange way he's been acting this week, I can see that he really does care.' After pondering her own thoughts and theories, Anya made her way to Winter's bedroom as she walked over to his mattress, which was neatly made up as if by a military soldier, only to find a small article of clothing on the bed.

Ebony cloth was lying on the bed as Anya picked it up, finding that it was a leather jacket in Winter's size, as the young woman gasped in surprise and joy upon finding such a wonderful 'gift.' Then, giggling at the fact that her dear friend was such a good pick-pocket of a well-made jacket that seemed like it could resist a lot of wear and tear but that also was made of good heat-insulating and weather-shielding materials, Anya decided to try on the clothing as she admired how well it fit her figure and how warm it was before she returned to her own room.

Getting dressed and wearing the red shirt and black jacket that Winter had given to her as gifts, Anya slipped on a wig that made her hair look like Winter's (just with straight tresses instead of luxurious waves) as she grabbed one of her many rifles from her bedroom clothing closet before she grabbed a small bag, slung both items over her shoulder, and called out to her canine companion as she sweetly commanded, "Vixie, пожалуйста, иди сюда (please come here)."

Out the door the red-haired dame and her red-furred pet went as the woman locked the door to her home before she entered the peace of the forest. Crunching snow echoed under her boots as Anya walked, scanning her blue eyes around the ivory canvas that surrounded her from all sides, before she made her way to an empty clearing. Climbing a tree, Anya waited on the branches as she scanned her eyes around for any easy prey to hunt while Vixie sat beside her on the edge of the branch. Silence passed by in the forest as Anya and Vixie waited patiently for anything that could walk by and be hunted for money.

And as luck would have it, a Siberian lynx began to climb another tree as it watched a squirrel crawl nearby. At once, Anya got into attack position as she readied her rifle and aimed at her feline target. Knowing that it would be worth a lot of money in her pocket, Anya cocked the rifle and prepared to fire as she took a few deep breathes. At once, the lynx got into its own attack position as it crouched on the snowy tree branch and prepared to pounce the nut-consuming rodent while Anya prepared to let loose all the margarines she'd need to take down the beast.