an eternity with wings

Coincidences

Reese:

Selene lay limp in my arms. Although I wanted to feel the rise and fall of her chest, I knew it wouldn't ever be possible. How many times had she fallen asleep with me already? Gods know she needed to catch up from transitioning, but she always seemed to fall asleep under my watch. I slowly let my wings fall away, breaking the protective shelter around us both. 

As soon as they dropped, I looked out into the vast field by Jenna's house and noticed something that didn't quite belong there. I squinted my eyes, trying to see past the darkness. What was sitting in the center of the field was definitely not what I would have expected. My grip tightened around Selene as I focused on the small animal. 

The sleek red fox sat like a curious little cat. It tilted its head at me. It had to be at least 300 yards away, why would it notice me up here on the roof? Are there even supposed to be red foxes in Texas? I had no clue. The fox put it's head back straight, then stood up. I clenched my jaw, not even blinking to take my gaze from the creature. It stared back at me, unmoving. Suddenly it turned and ran into the woods.

 I hadn't realized hat my body was as tense as it had been. My muscles slowly loosened up. I blinked a couple times, hoping that it wasn't just a vision. I don't think alcohol could do that to you. Deep down I know I hadn't imagined that, though. The image of the fox was scorched into my sight, and just like that, the mood changed. 

Just like that, I no longer felt safe up here with Selene. 

I caught a glance at her. Her dark eyelashes swooped down then started rising as they got thinner and wispy. I hadn't noticed before that they reminded me of wings. Not bat-like ones, but wings like a butterfly's. They were more smooth and delicate. Purely innocent. With the feeling of security still missing, I rose up with Selene in one smooth motion and slid down from the roof. My wings snapped free as soon as my feet were no longer gripping the shingles. I flapped once, twice, then landed semi-gracefully onto a dirt spot where grass refused to flourish.

 I walked quickly into the house and did my best to lock the door with Selene still dangling from my arms, then strode to the bedroom. I gently set her onto the soft bed and covered her up so that she could rest. I closed my eyes to help bring calm to my brain but it did nothing. I was about to turn to the door when I heard Selene stir. I whipped my head around. Selene sat up, gripping her hair tightly. Her eyes were shut tightly and she looked worried as she still pulled at her locks on the top of her head. I rushed over to her. As I sat on the bed beside her, I gently tugged on her unmoving hands. 

"Selene! Hey, hey. You're going to hurt yourself. Let go, it's okay." 

Her bottom lip shivered as her fingers loosened their grip. They then slid to her face, trying to cover her eyes. I grabbed her wrists and pulled them back enough to see her pale face. All of the sudden, she crashed into my chest and hugged me. Surprised, I whispered into the frigid air, 

"What happened? Did you have a nightmare?" I felt her head move up and down over my heart. She pulled away. Her eyes looked to the blankets with dried blood still streaked down her cold cheeks. Her mouth opened them closed, as if trying to figure a way to tell the dream. Finally she looked down even further to her lap and spoke. 

"I have no clue as to why it even startled me. It wasn't even that scary." 

She was again at loss for words. She closed her eyes lazily and concentrated. 

"I was in a bare field with grass up to my waist." 

Her eyes looked as if they were searching for memory. 

"I looked around, like I was gonna find something, but nothing, literally nothing was there but this thin grass. It would flow with me as I walked and it hid my feet totally. I strode a few feet from my original spot and stood for a minute until I felt my ankle get bitten. I looked down, but of course there was nothing I would have noticed. It could be a dog or something. In the dream, I had a heartbeat. A real heartbeat. It sped up as I kept walking, trying to find a way out. I felt the cold blood from my ankle stain the grass that it brushed. I stopped. Something felt off. My other ankle was bitten. This time, it was harder, but the pain didn't seem to hit me. I reached down and swiped the grass, desperately attempting to find the thing that bit me. I shoved the grass aside and caught a glimpse of red fur. I chased after it and out appeared a fox. It's eyes looked playful. I squinted my eyes at it and all it it did to reply was blink. Then it ran into the grass making a fading rustling noise as it slipped away." 

Her face looked concerned and confused. 

"That was all." 

How was this possible? She... she had had an interference with the fox as well? What could this mean? 

"Selene..."

 she perked her head up. 

"I just- there was a fox while we were sitting on the roof. It appeared from nowhere. I just watched it, and it ran off." 

I sat still for a minute, dazed. The whiskey still conjured up hazy thoughts. 

"We're leaving tomorrow night, right?" 

I asked quietly. I no longer felt safe here. Not with Barry. Not after the fox. 

"Yea. We should probably get our stuff together." 

Selene murmured. 

"Probably." 

Just then, a thought occurred to me. The fox coincident might be able to be deciphered for us. 

"Selene." 

She looked over to me and bobbed her head up, as if saying 'what?'. 

"Selene, in Colorado I knew a witch. We could, you know, try to ask her about it. The fox. When we get there, I mean."

 Selene blinked a couple of times before answering. 

"That's actually a good idea. What's her name?" 

Gods, I forgot. Was it Vira? Vidia? Something with a V.

 "I can't remember. It's been so long since I summoned her." 

Selene nodded her head slowly. 

"Well, It's nothing we should fret about right now. Let's try to wake up Jenna so we can prepare for tomorrow. Gods know she sleeps like the dead after drinking." 

I sat up from the bed, my muscles aching in protest. 

"We can attempt." 

We walked from the bedroom in unison and found Jenna completely passed out on the couch. Selene cracked her knuckles and strode over to where Jenna laid.