They see the Big Five.
Truthfully, neither of them knows what that even means until they're on an early morning game drive in the middle of the Kruger National Park and their guide explains it to them. There are five great, big animals to be on the lookout for, the most popular in Africa, and the two of them get to see all of them.
Lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and buffalos. And giraffes, if one considers it a Big Six. It's terrifying and exciting, and Ava sits far too close to her, seeking warmth in the cold air, the two of them marvelling at the world around them.
There is a family from Germany on the same safari as them, speaking in German occasionally, and Beatrice and Ava exchange amused glances whenever they understand what's being said.
"How safe is it, really?" Ava asks their guide, Johnny, when they've basically driven to within mere metres of a pride of lions. There are seven in total: three older lionesses and four rambunctious cubs. "We're basically in an open vehicle here. What's stopping them from attacking?"
"As long as you remain within the vehicle, you're safe," he explains. "Lions don't see things the way we do. They see a vehicle, and only a vehicle. They know it can't hurt them, so we're just part of the vehicle. The second they see a person as a person, separate from the vehicle, is when there will be a problem."
It's new information for Beatrice, who takes it all in with a calmness that contrasts to Ava's eagerness, asking questions at every opportunity. She wants to hear about the national animal, the springbok, and she wants to know why there's such a large elephant population but the rhinos are becoming more and more endangered.
"We have a very big poaching problem," Johnny explains. "Tusks and horns, they just kill these precious animals for the ivory. It happens far too often to have any kind of control."
The thought makes Beatrice inexplicably sad, and Ava scoots in closer to her, fingers linking with hers. She's a bit more subdued for the remainder of the drive, Johnny dropping them off back at their lodge in time for breakfast. Beatrice has learned that they tend to subscribe to a full English here, and she almost did a little dance when she spotted the baked beans on the menu.
Ava, of course, thinks she's lost the plot, which is really rich coming from her.
She's made friends already, which isn't a surprise. The lodge boasts a great mix of nationalities, from overseas and just within Africa. Ava just fits in so easily, always just speaking so proudly about the fact she's with Beatrice. People are largely friendly and accepting here, which is really nice, but even Beatrice notices when Ava picks and chooses the people she continues to interact with after she's made it clear that she and Ava are together.
It's just the world they're living in.
Which is the same one where she and Ava get caught in an interesting debate about religion around a bonfire. It's something they've avoided, really, indulging in conversation about the most recent events - or even the past explosion at the Vatican, but they meet a reverend at their second lodge who says, "Sometimes, people just need something to believe in."
It's why Adriel was able to convince so many. Even without the plague tricks or the demons, people of the world were looking for something - some tangible proof that there is something else. Something bigger. Something that can be seen.
"Do you believe, dear?" the man asks Beatrice. Reverend Thomas, she's learned, rarely asks questions he doesn't already know the answer to.
"Yes," Beatrice tells him, because that hasn't changed, even if she's essentially left the convent in search of - with the intention of -
Truthfully, Beatrice is still trying to make sense of how there could be no shame in what her own Bible tells her is a sin. She thinks people tend to pick and choose the parts they want to believe and follow, but where does it end? What is the threshold? How can she justify one part over another?
She likes to think her religion would be peaceful, and so she would follow the parts that cause the least harm, but she also knows she's committed sins in the name of the Order. Of God. She's killed and stolen and caused harm, in His great name, so where does her sinning end? Does it ever?
"You seem conflicted, my child," Reverend Thomas tells her, and she wonders, really, what this man is even doing out here. She supposes even men of God go on holiday, sometimes.
Ava is sitting right beside her, hand gently resting on her leg. She squeezes once, in silent support. It's everything Beatrice has ever wanted, just having her there.
"Did you believe?" Beatrice asks him in return. "What Adriel was saying."
He considers the question. "No."
"No?"
"But I believe what he showed me," he says. "Not that he was the Second Coming, but that he was something not of our world. I follow my own religion, but I know of others, and I believe the word that there will never be another Prophet among us."
"What do you believe he was, then?"
"A sign that there is something bigger," he says. "A sign that something bigger is coming. Maybe we're closer to Judgment Day than I initially thought."
"Didn't think it would be in your lifetime, hmm?"
"I'm half hoping I'll kick the bucket before then," he jokes, laughing heartily. "But there is a feeling that some end is coming, is there not?"
Anyone else might have dismissed his thoughts, but Beatrice just nods and says, "We should probably live life to its fullest, then."
He ducks his head in agreement, and the entire conversation sits on Beatrice's brain for a while. Even as they sit through what they call a braai, essentially cooking on an open flame, getting a good char on the meat and chicken. All of it paired with a maize flour that's cooked into a hard porridge they call pap. And then some kind of gravy they call chakalaka, which is a word Ava absolutely loves to say.
"And this is boerewors," one of the self-proclaimed braai masters tells them. "It's basically a kind of South African sausage. Super traditional." He hands Ava another bottle of Heineken, and then leaves them to it.
"I don't think I like beer," Ava tells her after a moment, "But I totally love what's on my plate right now."
There's also some potato salad and coleslaw, their plates piled high, sharing in a meal in a way that reminds Beatrice of Cat's Cradle. Of what was once her family.
It sets an odd sense of melancholy off in her gut, and she's aware she fades a little as the night goes on, their group offering all sorts of impossible stories. Someone even brings out a packet of marshmallows to roast on sticks in the fire, but Beatrice turns in early, leaving Ava to enjoy herself with a gentle kiss to her temple.
Beatrice fully expects to be long asleep when Ava returns to their small cabin, but she follows mere minutes later, joining Beatrice where she's settled in an armchair to do some late reading. She basically drops herself in Beatrice's lap, eyes a little red from all the smoke.
"Did you know you're my favourite person in this world?" Ava asks her, hands on Beatrice's chest. "Like, literally no other soul comes close to meaning what you do to me. It's a literal no-brainier, zero competition, why even bother?"
"I don't know where you're going with this."
"I just - I always want to be near you," she says. "I always want to be able to see you. Shit, Bea, I always want to be touching you. It's just - it's me, and I realise that isn't - you aren't - "
"Ava."
"Would you tell me if you needed some space?" Ava asks. "Because I can totally give it to you, you know? You just have to tell me."
"Excuse me?"
"Is it too much?"
"What? No." She shakes her head. "Ava, it's not you. It's never you. Touch me whenever and as much as you want. Truly. I will never tire of that."
"Then what's wrong?" Ava asks, and she sounds a little lost.
"I - " she starts and stops. Breathes deeply. "Don't get me wrong, because I love being here with you. It's literally my impossible dream come true, but sometimes I miss the way things were, before the world decided to implode. I miss the OCS, just that camaraderie and our time together. Training just because, not for any specific purpose. Listening to Camila play her music, trying to keep Mary from shooting everyone in her path. I don't know why, but I miss it sometimes."
"They're your family."
"So are you."
Ava smiles softly, running a hand over Beatrice's hair, carefully taking it out of its strict bun. "I'm the family that constantly wants to jump your bones," she says, and Beatrice laughs, shaking her head to free her hair even further. "I can't even get over how hot you are. It's not even fair."
"You're terrible."
"I like it when you wear your hair down," Ava says. "You just - you look so much freer. Happier, younger. You look - "
"What?"
Ava shakes her head, fingers threading through Beatrice's loose hair. "Would you ever dye it?" she asks. "Maybe do a blue. Or a pink. Wait, what about a rainbow?"
"You've lost the plot now."
"I bring such delicious spice to your life, don't I?"
"Well, yes, I've always known you'd be a handful," Beatrice tells her, smiling softly. "I had no idea what wonderful chaos you would bring to my life."
Ava just curls deeper into Beatrice, ducking her head under her chin, fingers of her other hand playing with the seam of Beatrice's shirt. "You knew that from the start, hmm?"
"I had a feeling."
"And now?" Ava asks. "Am I still a handful?"
Beatrice kisses the top of her head. "Yes," she murmurs, "But you're mine."