A/N: First chapter of part 2 ready for you, I hope you like it. Feel like I should put out a special disclaimer for Fleetwood Mac lyrics, which I of course do not own either (although that'd be cool). Anyway, as always thanks for reading and I love to hear what you think of it.
Part 2
"I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I build my life around you. But time makes you bolder, children get older and I'm getting older too."
- Landslide, Fleetwood Mac
Nature has its own voice. It speaks with the easiest language for those who listen, it sings to the right ears. It doesn't need an audience, but welcomes all of those who tread carefully. This was what Misty liked most about the Louisiana swamp. The sense of belonging. Misty felt at home here and not only because she had spent a year of her childhood alone with the secrets of the woods and learned to understand the way of life in the wild, but because it was her own. She coexisted with nature like every other soul in here.
She had almost gotten herself killed the very first day back. Foolish of her to run straight for the darkest, wettest part of the forest, but she was in a hurry and 'the deeper the better' had been her reckless plan. She ran straight to a pack of gators and had to sit in a tree the whole night to keep from being ripped to pieces.
She had made peace with them since. Mutual respect and knowing ones territory was the key. And they seemed to understand that she was closer to nature than most of her kind. She healed a gator pup once, one that had been fighting with a bigger one and it often stayed by her shack now, somehow letting the other alligators know she meant to harm. The little one always made her smile. When it didn't tear down her garden it a fit that was.
Misty was watering her plants, trying to keep them alive under the dry heaviness of the warm summer day, when she heard ruffling through the woods at a distance. She had a good ear for these things and usually it was just a swamp rabbit or a fox, but she knew black bears sometimes entered the proximity.
The ruffling came closer and Misty stood still, listening. Something was definitely on the move close by and fast at that. Too big to be a rabbit, too light to be a bear. Misty abandoned her garden and walked towards the source of the noise with hesitant steps. If it was some thieving fox, she had to lead it away from her home.
The creature's movements had slowed down once she got closer. It was merely walking now, defeated in its fast pace. Misty sensed that she wasn't closing in on a threat; the sound of the movements were random, hesitant now. They weren't the treading of a predator. Misty's caution turned to curiosity. She stopped and peeked around a tree, ready to take measure of the intruder.
What she saw made her heart leap in her chest like a little bird, just learning to fly. The trespasser was still a dozen feet away and with her back turned, but Misty would recognize her anywhere. The time apart could not take away the imprint of her every move, her posture. Her blonde, velvet hair.
"Delia!" Misty called out without a second thought and abandoned her cover to run towards the other woman.
Cordelia turned around with shock and disbelief painted in her every, beautiful feature.
"Misty?" Her voice was thick and rang with fright along with the same shock her face portrayed. "Misty, how…"
Misty stopped right in front of her, took a second to take her in and to understand that it was really her after all that time – and it was. The years had made an imprint on the teenager Misty remembered, but her dual colored eyes spoke of recognition and they hadn't changed a bit. Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, but halted and then Misty threw her arms around her neck in a fierce embrace.
"Oh", Cordelia uttered. She sounded absolutely perplexed, but her arms found their way around Misty's body to return the hug.
"I can't believe it's you!" Misty hugged a little tighter and then let go. At an arm's length, they stopped and stared into each other's faces. New first impressions exchanged in their old non-verbal way. In those silent moments, it felt like their connection was reattaching strings, rebuilding itself in seconds. Then they laughed. Misty noticed redness around Cordelia's eyes, but she also heard the soft, genuine laughter and decided not to spoil the moment.
"I don't understand, how… I'm having the strangest déjà vu", Cordelia said, her eyes still locked with Misty's, laughter and bafflement twirling around in them.
"At least I can speak this time", Misty said, earning another soft snicker for an answer. Without thinking, she reached out to touch Cordelia's face. The fright that had kept her from doing so in her early teenage years was long gone now. Cordelia blinked a few times and then her hand came up to gather Misty's in her own. "Delia, you're so beautiful", Misty told her as the hands fell. "Still, I mean. Are you lost again?"
Cordelia blushed at the words and nodded slowly. "I was even running away again, although not from Fiona this time. Are you living out here again?"
Misty nodded and grinned at the odd replay of their first encounter.
"Yeah. But this time I have a house. You wanna come see?"
"I…" She trailed off, let go of Misty's hand and Misty tilted her head a little, waiting for words. She was on the verge of asking about the tears, when Cordelia continued: "Yes, of course, I would love to. I'm just so... shocked, I suppose. You're really here."
"Yeah, right here. C'mon." She held out her hand for Cordelia, who took it again after a moment's hesitation. As she did, Misty noticed red scratches up her exposed arms, probably from running through the wilderness. Misty looked up to meet Cordelia's gaze – "What? Oh that's nothing…" – and down again, as she laid her free hand over the cuts and concentrated. Energy surged through her and the damaged skin healed under her touch. It barely even made her dizzy. Her powers had grown over the years and small scrapes like this was nothing. She checked the rest of Cordelia's visible skin.
Cordelia stared at Misty's hands and when she finally talked, it was a whisper: "For a moment, I forgot you could do that. I suppose that completes the déjà vu."
Misty gave her a quiet smile and received a similar one in return. Cordelia slid her hand into Misty's again and let her lead them back to the little clearing, where Misty had built her shack from an old ramshackle thing someone had abandoned once. Misty thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of Cordelia's slender hand in hers again. It had been so long, but now finally reconnecting with the skin she knew like her own, it didn't feel like all a whole decade had passed by. She turned and smiled every second step and made sure Cordelia didn't misstep, as they made their way over the rough texture of the forest floor.
"How come-" Cordelia started, but as they entered the clearing she fell silent with another "Oh." She let go of Misty's hand and Misty let her take a look by herself. She stood back watching Cordelia instead. She had perhaps grown a little in height since their separation, but Misty was once again the tallest. Her hair had grown over her shoulders again, and carried the same soft shine that Misty remembered. Her posture seemed more mature, but Misty could still sense the insecure teenager lurking behind the surface of this grown woman's body. She sensed all the things that made her her Delia. Cordelia absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, while looking at Misty's extensive garden, the same way she used to do when reading an interesting book and she walked with her arms wrapped around her body as if for protection. It made the little bird in Misty's heart flutter with excitement, joy and longing all at the same time.
Cordelia turned around. "This is impressive. Have you grown all of this?" Misty nodded. "How long have you been living here?"
Misty shrugged with a lopsided smile. "Aw, some years, kinda lost count. Lived in the city for a while, but it wasn't for me, so I moved out here."
"But what about your mom? You went with her."
Misty felt a little jab of guilt and the smiled faded. She knew this would come. Cordelia did her best to hide it, but there was a hint of accusation in her voice. Misty nodded and braced herself. She walked close, while searching for the words. There was no reason not to spit it all out at once.
"Yeah. I'm real sorry I left like that. It killed me, it did. But I always dreamed of my family comin' for me, you know, so when she was suddenly there, I couldn't turn my back on it. And I don't think I fully understood how permanent my decision would be back then. Sorry I never got to say goodbye."
Cordelia didn't say anything, only looked at her. A hardness had crept into her eyes. Misty continued: "Turns out I'm from a small religious society behind this forest and they banished me when I was four, 'cause of my ability. But my real mama never wanted that, she told me, only she couldn't ague with the old priest. None of them seemed to remember me, when I got back though and the old priest had died, so he was no problem. The new one never talked to me. They let me alone with my mama. 'Cause she was real sick, you see, that's one of the reasons I went with her. I didn't know how to ignore that. And they let me stay with her until… Yeah. But she's gone now so I was out in the cold again. They want nothin' to do with me and I ain't got no reason to stay there anymore, so… Here I am."
Cordelia's face abandoned all sign of reproach and she reached out to take Misty's hand in hers.
"I'm sorry, Misty. I had no idea she was sick. Fiona never told me that. You couldn't… Help her?"
Misty shook her head. As sad as the memory made her, the time when she had shed tears over the loss of her mother had long passed now.
"Couldn't do enough. I kept her alive for some time, but couldn't cure it."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I wish I had known. I think perhaps Fiona never gave me all the details from that day. So you found your family?"
Misty shrugged. "Found my mama. And found out my last name is Day."
"Misty Day?" Misty nodded and an infectious little smile broke out on Cordelia's face. "It suits you."
"Yeah, I guess."
"So you didn't meet your dad?"
Misty shook her head. "No one ever told me who he was. I didn't ask."
"I'm sorry", she said again. She looked towards the door. "Can I see the inside?"
Misty nodded and the grin returned. She went to open the door and held it open for Cordelia, as she stepped inside. Misty didn't have many things, mostly the necessary: A bed, a small kitchen, a large barrel to take a bath in and a pile of blankets meant for the cold winter nights. The more luxurious things were her small table with only one chair, her little radio and a poster of Stevie Nicks, someone she had come to know the existence of through various brief bartending jobs. Cordelia saw it and eyed her with a crooked smile.
"I listen to her a lot. She speaks to me I guess", Misty explained. Cordelia continued to look around the small shack. It was only one room and one turn of a heel was really enough, but Cordelia turned again and again like it was the most fascinating room she had ever entered.
"I can't believe you live out here. It's so… It feels so like you. Like everything about you. Everything I remember anyway." She looked shy all of a sudden.
"Haven't changed much", Misty admitted.
"Is it safe to live here? Aren't there alligators just down by the water? And all kinds of dangers?"
"Na, me and nature we got a deal. It's save as can be."
"You're so strange, Misty", Cordelia said with a slight shake of her head and a voice so warm Misty could feel it through her skin. Cordelia walked close again and stopped in front of her. She hesitated there, but Misty understood and pulled her into another hug. Nothing had ever felt as good as Cordelia's arms around her neck and her body pressed against Misty's own. She heard Cordelia's low voice near her ear: "I've missed you."
Misty smiled when letting go. "I've missed you too. Like you wouldn't believe. You want somethin'? I can make tea? Got my own brew just outside."
"Tea would be lovely. I'd like to taste your brew."
Misty spent a few minutes heating up water and making tea, while Cordelia looked around her garden in silence. By the time she was done, Cordelia had gone inside again and Misty gestured for her to take the chair, while she herself hopped onto her bed, holding the hot tea in a mug between her hands. Luckily, she had two of those.
They drank in a short period of silence, once again reading each other non-verbally in the way they did as children.
"I came back for you, you know", Misty said after a while. "The day I left my birth town. I came back to the house, but Fiona told me you'd moved to Boston. To go to college."
Cordelia looked shocked again and took a while before she answered: "I did. Go to college. As soon as high school ended. I wanted to go back to the city I came from, but to be honest, what I wanted most was to get away from Fiona. You can imagine why. I finished college and lived there for a couple of years after. I… got married there." At this she shot an extra look at Misty as if seeking her approval. Misty for once didn't know how to react. It was a strange sense of loss. She was glad to hear Cordelia had found love and comfort, when she couldn't provide it for her, but…
"Anyway, his name is Hank. We met in college. We made a pretty good life for ourselves there, I guess."
"But you don't live there now?"
She shook her head. "No, I live here. Again. Same house. Fiona never handed it over to the state. She lost her job not many years after you… after the scandal. I was in my second year of college by then. We thought we had it under control, but it got out somehow. We're guessing someone got hold of the police report or someone who lived in the neighborhood then. Anyway, she started up in a new business, but it's not doing well and she needed us to take the house. So we did. I love Boston, but I always knew I wasn't done with this place. I teach at the school here now. I have a second grade and a fourth. I'm teaching English and biology."
"You always were a good teacher."
"I think it's the only thing I was ever good at. But I love the kids…" She trailed off again. Misty had a feeling that every pause was from stopping herself from saying something she didn't want to say. Misty didn't pressure her. She knew her well enough to believe that Cordelia would tell her, when she was ready. She nurtured herself with the mere presence of her and pushed the thoughts of distance aside. They had only just met again. And, Misty thought to herself with a smile, it seemed they had gotten a second chance at getting to know each other all over again.
O0O
Cordelia sat in Misty's small home, feeling like she had crossed a border somewhere back there into a surreal flexible childhood memory. Or a daydream perhaps. The impact of emotions was so powerful it felt like waking to a cold shower. She felt oddly alert, now as every emotion spilled over her and pulled her from the grey for the first time in so long. Suddenly everything was sharp and it felt so good, but God, it hurt too. In the first few minutes of their reunion, she couldn't decide if joy or hurt was the most predominant emotion, but she figured that in this dream-like state, she could choose whichever. In this daydream, she just wanted to be happy.
The mere sight of Misty was surreal. There she sat, every bit as charming and energetic as the teenager Cordelia had known, with almost no sign that nearly ten years had passed. She had grown, yes, in height mostly and she was – remarkably considering where she lived – less skinny. She looked like a young woman instead of a teenager, but she still looked so much like herself the notion threatened to bring tears to Cordelia's eyes. Sitting here, talking to her, it was like the essence of Cordelia's childhood rushed to her from the past, overshadowing all the years spent apart. And the agony of their separation. She was so overwhelmed, she could barely speak of it, but as it always was with Misty, she did not need to. Misty understood. It made Cordelia feel bad for all the awful things she had thought of her, when she thought she had just left. Her mother had never mentioned her return either and it made new pulses of unresolved anger welled up in her, but she pushed it away. She didn't want to ruin this sacred moment.
They had talked for hours already. Cordelia told her all about the kids, she taught, and what the house was like now. The house felt so big now, because even Spalding had disappeared. Somewhere between Fiona's departure and now, the butler had stopped creeping around the shadows of the house and vanished all together.
Misty, in return told her all about her newfound love for Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac.
"A guy in a bar, where I once worked, told me 'bout 'em. They used to play the music in there all the time. They inspire me, 'cause they took all their problems and made it into art. I think Stevie is very in touch with nature like that, 'cause I feel that's how it is out here. Changes in nature creates art everywhere. Like that tree in my back yard. It was struck by lightnin' once and it made it shape the most beautiful ways. It died, but somethin' pretty came of it."
Cordelia couldn't help snickering at Misty's overshadowing love for nature. The forest was tethered to her soul in a unique way. And as Misty went on to talk about the creatures who shared the forest with her, Cordelia got an idea of the so called deal, Misty had made with the Louisiana swamp. Misty told her about the pack of alligators down by the riverside, how she learned to live alongside them, all the while grinning at Cordelia's horrified expression.
"Don't worry. They keep to themselves. The real problem's all those damn foxes, sneakin' 'round, stealin' my food."
And only Misty would make that priority, Cordelia thought. No one else would shrug at the threat of alligators, but worry at the prospect of hungry foxes. It suited her wildness, still so clearly present in the movements of her body and the words on her tongue. She talked and she walked like any other human – and Cordelia noticed that the Cajun quality of her accent had gotten stronger – but it was as clear as daylight that she would always be one of a kind. And Cordelia still adored that about her.
When the darkness of the night started seeping in through the windows, Cordelia reluctantly announced that she had to get back. She felt a jab of guilt leaving Hank at home with no word from her. She had been away for hours before, but that didn't ease the guilt. It was a stupid fight anyway, they always were.
"I'll walk you to the edge", Misty said and Cordelia sent her a grateful smile. All the years of age had not soothed her fright of the dark forest, which made it so ironic that she always fled in here, when fights at home became too much.
The light from the road glimmered in through the trees, when Misty said: "Don't think I haven't noticed that your eyes were red. I just assumed you'd tell me, if you wanna."
This was what she had always loved about Misty. Her intuition. It never wavered.
"I was just being silly, don't worry about it. I had a fight with Hank, but it was nothing serious."
"You can tell me anyway."
"I know." She squeezed Misty's warm hand. "Another time."
"So I'll see you again, right?"
They stopped and Cordelia turned to face her best friend – because she still was. The years of hurting couldn't change that. There was a spot in her heart, from where Misty never strayed and she had to only catch the grown wild child's eyes to know she felt the same.
"Nothing could keep me away. And you know where I live. My door is always open for you."
Misty pulled her in for another tight hug.
"And I won't leave you again. I'll make a path for you, so you can find me", she whispered in Cordelia's ear.
When they let go and said goodbye, Misty stayed by the edge of the forest as long as they were still within line of sight of each other. Cordelia could see her waving every time she looked back over her shoulder.
It was past midnight, when she walked up the isle to the front door of her mother's house. The light was still on in the living room and the light from the windows lit up the grass just outside. She had barely gone through the door, before Hank was there with worry in his eyes.
"Cordelia? Are you okay? Baby, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that."
"It's okay, Hank. It's forgotten now."
She walked to him to let him see that she meant it. All the harsh, frustrated words had been so thoroughly pushed back in her mind, that she could barely recall the sound of them, let alone the feeling. He placed a hand at her arm, gently rubbing it.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I just needed air. I'm sorry I was gone so long." They went into the living room and the bright light stung in her eyes for a moment. She shuddered at the change in climate and Hank was over her at once, hugging one of his shirts around her shoulders. She was aware how different her home was from Misty's little cozy shack. It felt even bigger all of a sudden.
"I met Misty", she blurted out as soon as she sat down. Hank tensed up beside her and she could feel his gaze zoning in on her. He clearly hadn't forgotten the only conversation they had ever had about Cordelia's long lost childhood friend.
"Misty, who lived with you?" His voice was cautious and his eyes locked on her face.
"Yes. She's back it seems. She found me, when I ran into the swamp. We talked for a few hours, which is why I'm only home now."
"So are you guys okay? Because I remember you said she really hu-"
She interrupted him, before he could remind her of too much: "It's nothing to dig up now. Right now, I'm just glad she's here. And I learned that she returned to find me shortly after I left for college. Fiona never told me that." Hank cursed under his breath. "I know. It's a Fiona class act. But it doesn't matter now, because she's here in New Orleans. Misty. I just feel so… I don't know, I guess I'm still a little stunned, but I'm really happy I found her again. She was my best friend."
"So you're really okay?" She looked up at him and nodded with a reassuring smile. "Well this is great! Let's invite her over!"
Cordelia hesitated and Hank's face fell again.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing, it's... I don't know, Hank, she not always that taken with people."
"Are you saying I would scare her?" Cordelia couldn't help a little laughter. She couldn't think of any person who had truly ever scared Misty. Not even Fiona. Fear wasn't the problem.
"No, I doubt it. She's just not…" Cordelia was starting to realize how hard it was to describe her to other people. She never had needed to with her mother and Hank had never gotten this many details before. Cordelia had been too mad and too wounded to talk about her. Now that she wanted to, she couldn't find the words. She knew exactly how Misty was back then and, it seemed, still was, but she had no idea how to express that to her husband. She ended up saying: "She's not that social. Likes to keep to herself. Besides, I think I'd rather not introduce her just yet. It's only because…"
Hank stopped her. "Babe, it's okay. I get it. She's your friend. You want her to yourself for a while and that's fine. I was just curious."
Cordelia smiled gratefully. "Thank you."
He returned the smile, leaned in and kissed her softly. He seemed to understand that she was too lost in recent events to commit and settled for a gentle peck on the cheek, before saying: "You want to come to bed?"
"Sure. Just a moment." She now realized how tired she was, as if all the bewilderment of the past hours had held back every redundant feeling, only to release it in this moment. She felt utterly confused, and she felt like every emotion, she ever experienced throughout her childhood, had been dug up from the ground for a fresh taste.
Hank gave her the space she needed to absorb as much as she could of it and when she pulled up the covers on her side of the bed, he only kissed her shoulder and whispered goodnight, before leaving her to her thoughts.
