CHAPTER FOUR
SUNSHINE AND PIGEON FEATHERS
Ariel wakes up just before the sun breaks. It's a morning routine that brings her comfort, being able to sit down on the porch with a warm cup of tea and watch the sun break above the horizon on one of the few clear days that's blessed the town. She always sits out there, every morning, rain or cold, but there is just something really special when she can actually see the sun and feel its warmth beginning to wake up the wet ground. She breathes in the fresh air and there's a sense of melancholy that washes over her.
The weather forecast is great today - sunny all day. A high of 75, maybe up to 80, which will be very warm for some of the locals, she's sure, but she relishes in the heat. She digs out her cell phone from the pocket of her robe, despite being only three weeks into her job, she doesn't hesitate to call in for a day off. Brett, who has the displeasure of being her supervisor, isn't thrilled especially since Dr. Cullen has already called out for the day, but she insists that one less doctor meant less patients. That they'd be fine for one day without her. He begrudgingly accepts her call off after muttering about it being too early for this shit.
She makes no hurry to go back inside, perfectly content to watch the shadows fade away with the morning light as colors swirl in the open sky. She spots a sparkle and movement far off in the distance, but ignores it. If one of the Cullens want to come to her to visit, they will, but with the sun just dawning, she doubts that she will be seeing any of them until the clouds return. She's almost glad that Dr. Cullen was smart enough to call in.
If that's not the Cullens that she spotted, then she'll know soon enough if a body turns up or if she spots any smoke from fires. She doesn't know what the Cullens do should another vampire turn up in their territory, but in her experiences, trespassers are rarely welcome. Dr. Cullen seems smart - he has to be if his coven have been around humans for so long and to be doctor vampire, she doubts that he would let anything threaten his coven's presence in Forks. If too many bodies turn up, she knows the unwanted attention it can bring and if she's being honest, the idea of police swarming her woods doesn't sit well with her.
She heads back in when the sun finally hits her face, soaking it in before moving her indoor plants out to both the back and front porch so that they could enjoy the fresh sun. She can feel the way the leaves just perk up with the attention and it makes her heart smile. Ariel throws open her curtains to let the sunshine beat into the bedroom and is more than thrilled at the fresh air that swoops in through the open windows. It's a rare, sunny day in Forks and she is going to milk it for all its worth.
This isn't what I had in mind for today. Ariel sighs deeply, her head throbbing lightly, knowing exactly who she can blame for this mess. When Lucifer texted her that her package is at the post office, she could have flown over to LA herself just to strangle him. Chloe insisted on it, he had said, but she definitely has her doubts on that. She didn't like how vague he was about what he apparently sent her either.
She supposes it can't be avoided, she was bound to actually venture through town at some point, but she would rather enjoy the sunshine deep in the woods, laying on soft grass.
With the sun being as warm as it is today, she bets that spring isn't as far away as some of the others would think. She thinks of the rudbeckia that's blooming in the window of her bedroom; if she moves it from its pot to the soil soon, she could start growing a field of them among other wildflowers around her house. Maybe add some pansies. If she mulches the pansies come early winter of the year, then she'd have a strong, colorful field of the coneflowers and pansies come next year.
With her skin so attuned to the weather, feeling it in her bones after living in the wild for so long, she doubts that there will be any more last-minute freezes.
"Excuse me, miss -"
Ariel pauses, coming back to the small, older woman in front of her. She got so caught up thinking about the sunny weather that she almost forgot that at the moment, she's stuck inside a crammed post office that's decorated with many of the knick-knacks that you'd expect from at a grandmother's. A few oddly colored feathers decorated the ground - some that definitely didn't belong to her - and she wonders if the post office is having an issue with pigeons coming in. Come spring, she could imagine that a few maybe not so smart pigeons would seek nests in odd places.
"Yes," Ariel gives a soft smile, her eyes softening. The older woman, who is absolutely small compared to Ariel's towering frame, returns the smile. "My brother insisted on sending me a package that I'd have to come up here to get in person. It should be under Ariel Sera."
"Ah yes," the woman's eyes brightened and she shuffled through some papers in front of her. Ariel vaguely wonders if the old post office hasn't switched to digital, or if the papers are just for show. "We saw your package this morning - oddest thing, none of us remember anyone dropping it off, but it's definitely a memorable package. It was signed by a -"
She squints at something scribbled on a post-it-note before glancing up at Ariel with a raised brow, "-Mr. Lucifer Morningstar?"
Ariel doesn't dispute the name. When it becomes clear that she's not going to offer an explanation for it either, the woman continues with a bit of a huff.
"Give me about ten minutes. It'll take me a minute to figure out how to bring it up."
She almost offers her help, but the woman waves her off before she can, insisting that she can and will do it herself and that's old, not dead. At a loss, Ariel sits in the post office a bit impatiently, wanting to go back outside, but knowing that she's too curious about whatever her brother sent her to just ignore this entire mess. Not even a minute after the woman disappears through a door and into the back area, the door chimes as someone comes in.
Ariel raises her brow at the disheveled man that comes in through the door. He looks tired, is the first thing she notices, with his hooded, deeply creased eyes and a thermos of what looks (or rather smells) like coffee. He has a dark shadow along his jawline and judging by the badge and uniform, she has no doubts that this must be the town's local sheriff. Something about it is a bit jarring, maybe from her being too used to the large and modern police stations in LA and Chloe's well dressed appearance.
It takes him a moment, but when he spots her, his eyes go a bit wide as his brows furrowed in confusion. He holds her eye contact a bit too long, the vibrant shade reminding him of a certain doctor. He can't help but think, just for a moment, if Carlisle had brought in another kid and he hadn't heard about it yet. But she looks too adult to be one of his - she looks about the same age as Carlisle, actually. Or the same age he looks, that good looking son of a bitch, Charlie thinks with a bit of fleeting amusement, knowing that Carlisle looks younger than his age and that half the men in town - Charlie included - would kill to still look so young in their thirties.
But the girl - woman - doesn't seem to be one of Carlisle's. Charlie would have recognized her if she was. Looks about twenty-five at the most with a maturity in her eyes that a lot of adults lack. Pretty too, he notes, though not his type. Something about her reminds him almost of Renee - the hair, maybe? Or maybe it was her look of disinterest
He was never one for small talk - can never seem to know what to say. He finds himself at a loss for words before he seems to finally settle on one question at a time.
"Uh, where's Ida?"
"She went into the back to get my package," Ariel explains simply before sighing and taking a step toward him, her hand reaching out for a friendly handshake. "Ariel Sera. I'm the new nurse at the hospital."
He shuffles, adjusting the grip on his thermos before accepting the handshake, "Charlie Swan. Sheriff… Nurse? I think Carlisle said something about someone new coming in… But you don't really look -"
She raises a brow in question and however he was going to end that sentence is lost to the world as he decides that it's best to stop while he's ahead, a light flush on his cheeks as he gives a flustered smile. She returns the smile, if a bit hesitant.
"What I mean to say," Charlie starts, "- is that I didn't expect you to look so young. There's not a lot of fresh faces around here and most people who decide to head this way are a bit of the older variety."
The smile comes a bit easier, despite the uncomfortable ball building in her chest at the casual, small talk forming between them. Sheriff. She reminds herself. Small town or not, he had to have earned that position. He's a cop and from what it seems, he's likely a good cop. Or at least a good person. Like Chloe - and Dan, she begrudgingly adds.
"Then I'll take it as a compliment then… I suppose you must know Dr. Cullen then?"
He knows Dr. Cullen - it's a small town, she supposes everyone must know him or come to the hospital and get to see him eventually. But Charlie didn't call him Dr. Cullen. He called him Carlisle. The idea of him becoming friends with the sheriff is amusing - and familiar.
Charlie loses the tension building in his shoulders, his smile reaching his eyes, "Yeah, that's Carlisle. Good guy. Good friend. Lotta kids for just one guy to look over, I don't know how he handles a house full of so many teenagers. My ex-wife and I could barely take care of the one kid."
He laughs, but he doesn't fool her. Despite his words, she can see the sadness in his eyes at the mention of his family and a part of her heart goes out to him. It sounds like he doesn't have much family here - if his ex-wife and kid are here, she doubts that he gets to see them from the tension in his voice at the mention of his ex-wife. He sounds lonely, but has a lot of fondness for Carlisle. She can almost see why Carlisle - - would befriend him. As a doctor, she imagines that like everyone that comes into the hospital, there's that need to help him and from the looks of it, Charlie can use the help.
There's a loud squawk that cuts their conversation off and Ariel furrows her brows at how loud the scratching, squawk is. She thought, judging by the pigeon feathers, that some of the birds may have come in, but did they really become that big of a problem in the back? She is about to jump over the counter to find for herself when the door to the back is thrust open and the woman comes through carrying the source of the noise - and the feathers.
Birds, Ariel realizes exactly what her supposed package from her brother is. Of course he did, that idiot. While she is a bit surprised, it's nothing to the surprise of the sheriff nor the amusement of Ida. Charlie watches in wonderment as the container is handed over, Ida's laughter filling the small office. The loud squawking of the birds calm down when they reach Ariel, who takes it carefully and with love. She whispers a few comforting words and the birds quiet down in a moment. She's not sure if it's the strength of her power of suggestion or the timid, easy minds of the birds that make the pigeons listen so easily.
She can't help the bit of heavenly energy that pours out of her, her heart swelling at the sight of the birds. Birds have always been one of her favorites of her father's creation. He made them so simple, but intelligent - they always know where they need to be and when, but always have this sense of freedom. She used to love flying through the wilder areas of the world with the birds, integrating with the flock always came so naturally. She didn't get a say in a lot of her father's works, Amenadiel always took the lead on those types of decisions. But her dad did listen to her about one thing - the idea of flying little things. Birds.
"Ha! I told you that we would've remembered a package like this." Ida comments, a grin lighting up her face, "Mr. Moringstar - your brother, you said? Left a note with the package."
Ariel takes a small card from the woman, reading the cursive letters printed perfectly on the pristine paper.
Didn't want you to get lonely
- Lucy
Ariel smiles at the comment, knowing in her heart that she can't get too upset at the pronto gift. She shoves the note in her back pocket, a part of her wanting to keep it as proof that her brother cares. If anything, it's something to tease him about later. Ariel lets both the woman, and the sheriff, get a closer look at the birds through the open-wire lid at the front of the container.
The closer he gets to her - and the birds - the more it all feels so surreal. A moment of fleeting happiness, warmth. The energy of the room just feels lighter than usual, for reasons he can't fathom, everything looks a bit brighter. Despite the bizarre surrealness of the situation, Charlie can't help but appreciate the vibrant coloring of the feathers.
"I think those are going to the prettiest pigeons in town," Charlie comments lightly, "The tractor supply is just around the bend and they've got a lot of bird feed. Don't know about a cage though. You'll probably have to order one."
"They're archangel pigeons," Ariel's voice is soft, her eyes lighting up at the familiar golden hues of the pigeon's feathers, "Not bred for the wild, I'm afraid, poor things have had it the wild instincts bred out of them. I'll figure out what I'll do, thank you Charlie."
Charlie flushes at the bright grin she flashes him, a warmth forming in his chest, leaving him a bit confused as she leaves the post office in a bit of a happy hurry.
