The Untold Story of Texas and Lappland (Arknights)

Days of Remembrance 1

"It's delicious. What's it called though?" The liquid sloshed as she waved the glass at Texas. Poised comfortably on the bed, sheets pooled around her waist. Texas had one of them wrapped around her thin shoulders, bicolored eyes gleaming with some unknown emotion.

A raised eyebrow. "Uh, it's orange juice."

"Hmmm that's pretty unoriginal, naming something after its color." She thought out loud to no one in particular.

Texas frowned. "It's not named for that, though I guess I can see why you might think so. Did you not have orange juice where you came from?"

"No. We didn't have orange juice. We lived mostly in the wild, happy and free." Lappland murmured. "That was, until . . ."

Something inside her was curling up tightly, built up bile choking her throat. It had only been a few days ago that everything went wrong. Understandable for her to not be over such a thing. She doubted she ever would get over this. Death mingled in her grief, moisture gathering in her eyes. She would have reached up to smudge it away but her whole body was shaking.

Texas carefully took the glass from her, setting it down on the counter with a small clink of confirmation. The dark ears on her head were pushed down carefully, a sign that she wasn't a threat. When she reached out to Lappland it was met with no resistance. The plate was carefully put to the side. Something told her the appetite she had earlier was going to stay gone for a few hours minimum.

"You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to. But know that I'm here to listen." Texas told her sincerely.

Lappland nodded, a sense of feeling choked up taking out her normal pride. "Okay."

Texas slowly went further into her personal space, one small shift at a time. With only a single lamp lit in the room the shadows that painted their faces were broad and obvious, concealing intentions to provide mystery. Lappland was too tired to fight back. Being comforted, for a Siracusan, was meant to be a family affair. There was no one else they needed to rely on. At least, this was what her parents had told her. They made it clear there would be no one else who would love her as much as her family would, this was so reassuring back then, but now . . .

I'm so alone.

"We can talk about something else too if you'd prefer." Texas continued on.

If she noticed the sadness Lappland was feeling she didn't comment on it. Lappland didn't know if she should be happy about this or not. The needy part of her screamed for attention, for a bit of affection to come her way. Tail swishing behind her, ears twitching with the hope to be petted. But perhaps it was too soon for this kind of touch. Especially from a stranger. So she tried to remember the feeling of her mother and father doing these things, but this left her feeling sicker than she did before. So Lappland was left feeling emptiness inside.

"I'd rather not talk about anything." She admitted.

"I see."

Lappland doubted the other girl understood really, but the sentiment that she cared was nice, as was the plates of warm food which kept coming. A part of her had wondered if she would be able to eat at all with everything that occurred, yet the second food was brought nearby she was hungrily forking it down. The appetite she thought would be permanently dead return with salivation and clacking teeth.

"I'm guessing you're not from around here."

"No kidding." She snorted.

There's no way she doesn't know. If my fur didn't give me away my mannerisms must. And judging from the state of this home Lappland guessed Texas was high up in society. The word translation of that name would surface deeply later, not now when she was busy trying to recover. After being granted a shower last night the dust and grime and blood wasn't under her nails and melded to her skin but she still felt like it was. Her parents' dead bodies left phantom imprints on her limbs and chest.

"I don't mean to offend." Texas murmured hands raised placatingly.

"Yeah. Well you did. Let me make one thing straight Texas: you and I shouldn't be friends." Lappland told her firmly.

Getting help was nice but this wasn't the custom for Siracusan wolves. Everyone stood up for one another in a pack. Outside of this however they were meant to leave others to die. It was a sort of survival of the fittest taken to another level. Some may have called it cruel, others stupid, but this is just how things were. The system worked for the longest time.

Or maybe that's just what everyone thought?

Either way, it didn't do anything for her pack in the end.

"Well I—"

Lappland sighed. The look Texas was shooting her was a naive innocence she didn't believe herself to have ever possessed. She stared down at her lap, only to find out this was a terrible mistake. Texas's pajamas were a little short for her, but the soft material left her warmer than all the other clothing she'd had before.

"Wolves in the winter are meant to be chilled. It makes us stronger. City wolves don't know what it means to survive anymore. They're much too sheltered."

Did it though? Or was this just another saying?

She liked to believe her Father was right, though he also said to use everything she learned to her advantage. Be an opportunist. And she was. Texas was taking care of her without being prompted or threatened. The idea of threatening the other girl did not sit well with her, probably because of her present generosity.

"I'm not wrong Texas."

But she promised to stay. Said she wouldn't leave her mind whispered.

Texas stared at her, Lappland could feel a narrowed gaze without looking up. "I know. If things were normal, we probably would've never met. And maybe that's what you would've preferred. I certainly would not wish any suffering on you. But that's the reality of our world. And I might not know you but . . . I still care about you. I want to help. And if we can end up friends in the process, well, that's all the better. Right?"

At this, she did look up. There was so much sincerity in that amber-blue gaze. Naivety was supposed to be a weakness, but in this moment Lappland found it to be a strength. Because she wanted to believe in Texas and trust all the words she had to offer.

"Okay. I'll take you up on that," Lappland said.

Both of them seemed to relax, tension slipping out of the air like a dissipating cold chill. And then Texas was sitting up straighter, a small smile playing on her face. Lappland didn't know where it came from, but she wondered if she could be the cause of it someday. It was one of the prettiest things she'd seen.

"Good. Now let's take a look at those wounds of yours. I want to see how they're healing up."

"Sure."

Thus, their relationship was off to a pleasant start.

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A/N: Seriously. I don't know how I got so lucky to get W on my first ten pull, with Elysium to boot. Not to mention Exusiai came home on my main account two days ago from the recruitment pools. I plan to have a longer update ready for everyone next time! For now, happy new year everyone! Wishing everyone the best!