AN: A slight note for this world…. In this AU, wild animals are really dangerous and aggressive most of the time. They're not creatures you wanna run into alone let alone without weapons so you can think of Jackson as it is with the huge gates and all. And, instead of patrolmen, they have huntsmen for food and city protection and all that good stuff. That and also that there is NO cure for rabies. That shit is batshit crazy and if you get bit, you die a painful and agonizing death in like 2~10 days. And uh… yeah. That's a gist of it and I'll try to expand more as I go on in the story. Lmk if you ever have any questions tho.

This is part of a series called "Fuck, it's just us." and here's the order:

1- It all starts with something.

2- Stuck in a Cabin


"Fuck…"

Ellie could already hear the music and laughter coming from the tavern and she wasn't even within fifty feet yet. The lights illuminating the night sky from the windows told it all really. Hell, she dreaded events like this. Their town held them every now and then or whenever there was even the slightest excuse to celebrate anything. In this case, it was the kids coming back home from college. She wouldn't have paid attention to events like this in the first place but Dina had personally invited her yesterday.

How was she supposed to say no?

To Dina?

Never.

And that was where she found herself now. Right in front of the door to the tavern. She sighed one last time before shaking it off and pushing the wooden door open. Her face immediately scrunched at the number of people inside before she strode her way over the the bar. If she was gonna be hear, she was going to need some beer or whiskey so as she made her way over, she scanned the crowd searching for the damned reason she was here in the first place.

Where was she?

It was hard trying to find her voice over the loud music and crowd of people. The number of bodies wasn't helping either. Whatever, she'll find Dina later. She needed a drink first. Once she made it to the bar, she ordered a whiskey on rocks before downing it in one go. She then got a refill before turning around and scanning the crowd again. Starting from the left, she trailed her eyes over until finally, a smile crept up on her face.

And there she was.

Dina looked like she was having a blast. She was dancing around energetically to the beat of the music with some guy and god, the smile on her face was so bright. Only god knew that Ellie could honestly watch Dina all day long without getting bored. She ended up bringing her whiskey glass to her lips and taking a sip.

She needed to quench her thirst after all.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Dina's appearance since she normally had her hair tied up because she didn't want to deal with frizz and her unruly curly hair but god, Ellie could never get over how attractive her neck looked. Stunning really. Dina was all this party needed if they wanted to make it pop, none of those string lights were needed. When the guy twirled her around and pulled her in, Dina laughed, and this pang clenched Ellie's heart.

She chuckled sadly to herself while shaking her head before looking down.

Dina looked just so… perfect and she blended into this party so well. She belonged here and for the nth time in her life, Ellie was reminded of what she couldn't have. She'd never be able to pull that 'perfect appearance' off no matter how she tried. She was a woman after all and Dina was… untouchable in the way Ellie wanted her. Besides, she'd never do anything to fuck up their friendship.

It wasn't worth it.

As she wallowed in self-pity, a familiar face pulled up next to her.

"I hate these things," Jesse started with his raspy voice.

Ellie shifted in place before lifting up her head and forcing herself to straight ahead, ultimately facing Dina. She scoffed before agreeing, "Tell me about it."

It was the truth but she wasn't referring to this party at this exact second.

Jesse chuckled before finally looking at Ellie. "Your old man really laid into me today."

"What happened?" Ellie inquired while uncomfortably looking up and down from the floor and Dina. She just looked so captivating and Ellie couldn't help.

"Another big lecture about going out to hunt." Ellie finally tore her face away from Dina and looked at him as he began listing out, "Don't go here. Don't go there." She blinked before looking away again. "Funny how involved he gets whenever you're scheduled to go out."

"Yeah."

Ellie closed her eyes before looking down. Right. She forgot about the fight she had with Joel last night. They argued about her future and career-like topics that had Joel saying things like "I just want you to be certain," or, "I just want what's best for you," and before she knew it, she stormed back to her little flat away from Joel's home. That's when Dina knocked on her door and asked her out— or rather, invited her to come here to this little get-together.

Jesse's voice brought her back to the present. "She's uh… putting on quite the show."

Right on time, at the last beat, the guy dipped Dina, and fuck, she looked so goddamn breathtaking and Ellie could finally hear her cute laugh above the sound of the crowd. Everyone began clapping and whistling before Ellie finally swallowed her pride and snapped at Jesse.

"I give you guys two weeks until you're back together."

Jesse hardly spared her glance before denying it. "Not gonna happen."

They both squared their faces forward before curiosity washed over Jesse.

"She uh…" He looked back and forth between Ellie and Dina, "Say something to you?"

Ellie scoffed before shooting back with a confident voice filled with hidden anguish. "Make it one week."

"Ellie!" Dina finally called out in a cheery and light voice, making them break eye contact before facing her. "Hey!" She quickly walked over to Ellie's side before snatching the drink out of her hand. "What took you so long?" She quickly downed the rest of her whiskey in one go.

Give her a small smile, Ellie just shrugged. "Well, I'm here, aren't I?"

Jesse tilted his glass up as a greeting. "Dina."

Dina's face immediately flattened as she shot him daggers with her eyes before practically scowling at him. "Jesse." She quickly set down the glass on the bar island before grabbing Ellie's wrist and tugging her forward. "C'mon."

They were quick on their feet but just before they were out of earshot, Jesse spoke up in a loud voice. "Hey, don't forget we're headin' out early so get some rest!"

Dina rolled her eyes before turning around to salute him. "Yes, sir."

Holding back her smile, Ellie whispered out loud as if Jesse could still hear them despite him leaving shortly after. "You're such a dick."

The scowl on Dina's face was immediately replaced with an annoyed smile. "Come on." She then stopped in place before pulling Ellie's hands so that they were on her waist. "Don't you start with me," Ellie almost whimpered from how raspy her voice sounded before Dina sucked in a breath and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Okay, I have a very serious question for you."

Ellie had to force her eyes not to flicker down to her lips as she awkwardly let her hands settle on Dina's hips. She then braced herself for whatever question Dina was about to ask her.

"How bad do I smell?"

That made Ellie's lips curl up as she glanced down at the rim of sweat on her long sleeve. She then leaned down and took a deep whiff before leaning back and avoiding eye contact as she answered. "Like a… hot pile of garbage." She then looked Dina in the eyes before snickering lightly.

"Oh! Okay." Dina scoffed before leaning up and rubbing her sweaty face all over Ellie's cheek.

Laughing like a confused gay mess, Ellie couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Ew gross." She then looked Dina in the eyes before looking anywhere but her. Her cheeks were starting to burn and Dina's chuckle really did things to her.

"You love it."

Oh fuck. How true that statement was. Thankfully, Dina looked away but then nuzzled into her shoulder, hugging her tightly as they began slowly swaying to the music. Ellie immediately became self-conscious as she looked around nervously at the crowd. Her heart was thundering from excitement, fear, and anxiety before she dully noted.

"Every guy in this room is staring at you right now." That made Dina lift her face up and stare directly at Ellie's face. Ellie could only pray that Dina wouldn't notice how jealous and embarrassed she looked and felt.

Dina blinked a few times before commenting back. "Maybe they're staring at you." She then eyed Ellie's neck with some lust as she intimately hung as close to her face as possible.

Ellie only bit back her jealously. "They're not."

This time, Dina smiled before compromising. "Maybe they're jealous of you."

That made Ellie smile a little before she slowly shook her head. "I'm… just a girl. Not a threat."

Immediately pulling away from Ellie's neck, Dina kept her eyes fixed on her facial expression. "Oh, Ellie…" She smoothly brushed away a strand of hair behind her ear and rested her hand on her neck before sighing. They stood there silently and Dina eyed her carefully before letting her eyes fall down to her lips. She then looked her back in the eyes before whispering in a soft and earnest voice. "I think they should be terrified of you."

Shivers went down her spine and before Ellie could process what was happening, Dina closed the gap between them. Their lips touched and Ellie inhaled deeply before closing her eyes. This had to be a dream. Right? As quickly as that rush came, it ended when Dina pulled back with a soft pop. Ellie was flabbergasted as she stared at Dina in disbelief but, as if the first time wasn't enough, Dina pressed her lips against hers again, and fuck, Ellie couldn't resist. She kissed her back equally eager.

They repeatedly pecked each other's lips slowly and gently before parting far too soon. Her body felt light and Dina had this look on her face that Ellie couldn't quite read. She was too busy enjoying the rush of joy and adrenaline with a shit-eating grin before a loud voice rudely interrupted their moment.

"Hey!" It was that bigot Seth. "This is a family event." He then eyed them both with disgust and Dina scoffed before pulling away from Ellie's shoulders. Her smothering warmth was replaced with stale cold air.

Dina was the first to speak. "Sorry." There was this slight laugh of disbelief in her voice as glanced between Seth and Ellie. His face didn't light up before Dina apologized with a little more oomph. "Sorry!" She scoffed before grabbing Ellie's hand, intertwining their fingers, and pulling her away.

Of course, Seth had to have the last word. "Remember next time there's kids around."

That made Dina hiss before biting back. "Yeah, like you're setting such a great example."

Ellie was still lost in her daydream, looking at Dina before Seth had to ruin it all.

"Oh, just what this town needs. Another loud-mouthed dyke."

That made Ellie stop as Dina quickly looked at her with an 'oh shit' expression. She immediately snapped before turning back around.

"What the fuck did you just say?" She was about to throw her hands as Dina quickly tried calming her down.

"Ellie! Ellie, don't!"

Out of nowhere, Joel came running over. "Hey!" He shoved Seth back and planted himself between him and his daughter.

Seth stumbled before biting back. "Get your hands off me."

Thankfully, before things escalated, Maria came rushing over and pushed them apart. "Hey!" She then gently pushed Joel away with her hand. "Enough."

Tommy also had his hand up, ready to pull back Seth just in case this didn't diffuse. Maria then looked at Seth before sighing. "Come on you, let's go for a walk."

He was still staring at the two girls. "What about them?"

Maria quickly snapped back. "You worry about yourself."

Tommy made sure to lead him to the exit. "Let's get you some fresh air."

Breathing out through her nose, Ellie finally turned her back away and Joel quickly followed after her. "You alright kiddo?"

"What is wrong with you?" She suddenly snapped back with some anger.

Joel frowned. "He had no right—"

Ellie threw her hand forward. "And you do?" Dina looked at Ellie as she pulled the fabric of her shirt. "I don't need your fucking help, Joel."

A flash of hurt passed through Joel's face. He then breathed out a sigh before looking off to the side and backing up. "Right." He then turned around completely and made his way for the door.

Once he was out of sight, Ellie realized the weight of her words. She didn't mean to lash out at him. It was all that bigot Seth's fault that she was so riled up. Fear and anxiety washed over her and she didn't know what to do. Clenching and unclenching her hand, she sucked in a breath before turning around. She beelined to the door and Dina almost caught a sight of her breaking down.

"Ellie, I—"

Holding a hand up, Ellie wasn't sure what was gonna come out of her mouth next so she shook her head as an apology. "Sorry. Not today." She was glad her foul mouth didn't kick in and she didn't look back as she stormed out the door. In no time she was back home and slammed the door shut once she was inside. She then immediately dove into her bed sheets before groaning into her bed.

"Urgh…. fucking hell…"

She groaned again before getting up and heading to the shower. She needed to process her thoughts. In no time, she stripped down naked before turning on the faucet. She shivered at the initial shock from the cold water before relishing the heat once it kicked in as the water ran down her skin. After a moment of self-wallowing, she grunted in frustration before banging the tile wall with the bottom of her fist.

"Fuck."

Why did she have such a bad temper?

Why was she so mad?

Was she mad at Joel for helping her?

For caring?

He didn't even know! She never told him she wasn't into men and god, fucking, dammit! That asshole Seth just broadcasted her sexuality to the whole fucking village! She never denied it in the first place but she never flaunted it either. It was more of a 'if you knew, you knew' situation. And Dina. God, she didn't even want to begin thinking about what happened with Dina. That kiss. That fucking kiss.

Ellie ended up touching her lips, remembering the soft sensation of her lips pressed against hers.

"Fuck!" She quickly turned down the heat before instantly regretting it when it got too cold. "Fuck fuck— cold!" She shivered before quickly turning the heat back up and grunting pathetically. She then banged her forehead against the wall before cursing to herself, "Why am I such a fucking mess?"

By the time her heart stopped pounding, she cut the shower and dried off before wearing the same exact clothes she had taken off two seconds ago. She was too lazy to fetch something new and honestly, she was so damned drained and tired. This time, she slipped back into bed and buried herself under her blanket. She sighed one last time before letting her fatigue win.

The sound of someone pounding on her front door was what startled her awake.

Ellie's eyes shot open and she quickly crawled out of bed. "Fuck." She cracked her neck before rushing over to open the front door. "Hey."

"Morning!" Jesse greeted with his arm propped up on the side of the door. He was acting like he owned the place, just like a real brother who was ready to scold his sister for being late would do.

"Sorry, I totally overslept." Ellie decided to confess first. "Just give me a minute and I'll get dressed."

Jesse tilted his head slightly before noting, "I heard you had quite a night after I left."

Oh shit. That's right. The fight. The kiss. The whole village probably heard by now. Ellie had no excuses for herself. "I…" She had to just rip the bandage off right? "She kissed me." She tried explaining, "It was just Dina being Dina." She breathed in a shaky breath before excusing her actions. "She didn't mean anything by it."

Jesse's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I was talking about your fight with Seth." He straightened out his back a little, "Wait… you kissed Dina?"

Oh. Fuck her. She did not just throw herself under the bus. "Oh." Horror swept over her as she kept a stoned face. "I thought that's—"

Jesse cut her off and snapped. "We're broken up one week and you make a move on my girl?"

"No." Ellie quickly denied it and let out a long sigh. "She was probably just trying to make you jealous. I didn't…" She swung her hand around aimlessly, "I would never…" She took in a deep breath again before wrapping her arms around her stomach, fighting off the cold and protecting herself from having a breakdown. "Oh, fuck, this is awkward."

Jesse just had a stupid smug smile on his face as he clearly enunciated his words. "I'm messing with you, man. I don't care. Get dressed."

Sighing again, Ellie finally realized what he was doing as she moved to close the door. "You're the worst."

He stopped her short though by placing a hand on the door. "It's kinda fucked up you did that."

Ellie sighed again as she rolled her eyes and shut the door.

"Get your stuff together or we're gonna be late!"

Without further ado, Ellie sniffled her armpit. "Mmh, smells fine." It was a good thing she showered last night and thankfully her clothes were still good. "Urgh… so tired…" She then went over and grabbed her things. She packed her hunting knife and journal before walking over to the sink and washing her face. Once she patted down her face, she grabbed her boots and started putting them on. "Hey, is Joel up?"

"We got reports of weird activity from a passing herd of moose out north. Maria sent him and Tommy out early to check it out."

"That sucks." She then quickly tightened her shoelaces before slipping on the other shoe.

"Yep. Can't imagine they got much sleep. Definitely not as much as you."

She groaned before huffing. "Oh shut up. I was just about to get up."

"Mmhmm."

She opened the door before deadpanning at his face. "I was."

He ignored her of course. "You got everything?"

Ellie sighed one last time before putting on her gloves. "Yes." She then followed Jesse as they made their way to the gate.

"Heads up. You're the talk of the town this morning."

She groaned out loud before whining. "Ugh. What?"

"Let me see if I got this right," Jesse started to clarify his facts as his boots crunched on the snow. "You kissed Dina."

"She kissed me." She quickly corrected as she sped up her walking pace.

Jesse ignored her comment and continued on with his mini-interrogation. "Which triggered Seth to call you a… not-so-nice word."

"Yep."

"Then Joel decked him—"

"More of a push." She corrected once again.

"And then you got mad at Joel?" He deadpanned as he spared her a look. "That part confused me."

That made her frown. "It was a strange night, man." Was the simple way of putting and dodging it. Even after a night's worth of thinking, she still couldn't sort out her thoughts.

"Sounds exciting."

After a second, she picked at her fingers before deflecting when she remembered a rumor she heard around town. "I heard that someone got bit?"

Jesse immediately sighed. "Yeah, Jacob. One of the groups got cornered by those fuckers and they tried getting away but he got bit."

Ellie sighed at that. "Did he at least go out quick?"

"Sort of." He sighed before expanding, "It wasn't exactly… the most quiet night."

Letting out another long breath, Ellie frowned. "What's with the influx of rabid animals recently?"

He shook his head. "I don't know." They walked for a hot second before he spoke up, "Maria wants a word with you."

That made her eyebrow twitch. "Where is she?"

"The diner."

She immediately whined. "Ugh, is this about Seth?"

"No clue."

"Just tell her you never saw me."

"Nope."

Feeling somewhat betrayed, Ellie finally couldn't hold back her tongue. "Where's your fucking loyalty?"

"Excuse me?"

They made their way through the small wooden gate before Ellie nervously asked.

"We're okay, right?"

Jesse spared her a curious look. "You and me? Yeah, of course. Dina and I are done." He confirmed again.

That didn't make her feel any better, they had been saying that for the longest time after all. "Yeah, I know. I just didn't want you to think—"

"Ellie," Jesse started in his 'big brother' voice. "We're cool. I promise."

Okay, cool. Probably. That comforted her just a little. Only a little though. In no time, Ellie found herself dragging her feet across the wooden boards as she made her way into the diner.

"Want to grab some breakfast?"

"No." Her mouth automatically replied. There was no way she was gonna eat here after last night. "Where's Maria?" More like, she didn't have the appetite for it.

"In the back."

"Excuse me…" Ellie made her way through the crowd before Maria called out to her.

"Ellie! There you are. C'mere."

Feeling like a scolded child, Ellie sighed before trudging her feet over.

"Seth's got something he wants to say to you."

Ellie immediately shook her head with her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't want to hear what that bigot has to say."

Maria shot her a look. "Do it for me. Please."

She hated it whenever Maria did that. She could never say no. "Ugh… fine."

"Seth," Maria quickly called out. "Seth, c'mere."

Ellie groaned to herself again before whispering to herself. "Fuck me…"

Seth came out from the back cautiously looking possibly guilty. "Hey." Ellie just glared at him with a disgusted face. "Uh… look. Last night… I was uh, drinking too much."

"Sure." Ellie rolled her eyes a little before Maria shot her a look. She gave her the 'what' look before looking back at Seth when he spoke up again.

"I'm trying to say I'm sorry." He then glanced at Maria before adding, "Maria tells me that you and Dina are headed out." She just stared at him before he continued. "I, uh, made you some sandwiches." He then placed down this brown wrap on the table before fiddling with his hands as Ellie hardly spared it a glance.

"Okay."

"They're steak."

Andddddd, Maria finally ended her misery. "Thank you, Seth." She grabbed the sandwiches before placing them in Ellie's hands.

"Yeah. Well, uh…" He smacked his lips before pointing at Ellie light-heartedly. "You be safe out there."

"Yup."

Once he was gone, Maria gave her a soft look. "I appreciate that."

Bless Jesse because he finally came out of his corner and asked, "What you got there?"

Ellie turned to face him before pushing the wrap on his chest. "Bigot sandwiches."

Jesse took it before sniffing it. "Mm. Smells good."

"They're yours."

"You sure?'

"It's fine." Like hell, she'd eat sandwiches made by an asshole that threw her on blast like that.

Maria nodded her head toward the door. "Let me walk you out."

Jesse just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

Once they exited the diner, Maria looked at Jesse before starting, "When you go out, I want you to trade with Tommy and Joel. Those boys have been out there for far too long."

"Where do I meet them?" He asked as they all walked through downtown.

"If you go up to the northwest lookout, they're scheduled to arrive later today. Watch yourself, there have been too many sightings of wild animals recently. There's been too many passing herds. Everyone's been more cautious when dealing with the hunted animals. Not many people want to get in contact with their flesh."

"Of course and don't worry, we leave them behind if there are any traces of rabies." He explained before pointing out, "I was going to check out the creek trails. I'll need someone else to cover it."

Maria immediately turned around to face Ellie. "Ellie, you know the creek trails?"

Her eyes flicked to the side when she heard some whispers. The people who were staring at her immediately turned away before she responded, "Not really."

"Dina's done it a bunch." Jesse chipped in, "I'll have the two of them take care of it."

"That solves that," Maria confirmed before stopping at a fence. "Ellie, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Taking in a breath, Ellie walked up to her side before asking, "Sup?"

Maria turned to face her before giving her a squared look. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you and Joel…"

That made her immediately groan. "Maria."

"The guy really cares about you." She pointed out as if she didn't already know. "And I'm sure he didn't mean to—"

"We're fine." She insisted as she cut her off. Why was everyone asking her about this?

Maria looked straight in the eyes before double-checking, "Yeah?"

She didn't look away from her eyes. "Yeah."

"Okay. Sorry to pry." Maria then leaned in with a soft and loving facial expression. "Be safe."

Ellie's face finally softened as she gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

The two of them walked past the gate, seeing a straggler in the park before Jesse called out to her. "Yo, Dina, assignments."

Dina grunted before throwing a snowball at a kid. "Just gimme a minute!"

Jesse tilted his head before turning to face Ellie. "Will you get your girlfriend to the stables please?"

That made Ellie groan. "Oh my god…" Jesse left shortly after and she dragged her feet over before speaking up. "Hey, Dina. Can I talk to you?"

Without further notice, Dina dropped the snowball in her hand before raising her arms. "Hey, guys? I'm tapping out!"

The kids immediately groaned in disappointment. "Come on!"

"For how long?"

Dina stood up and shrugged before walking over to Ellie. "Phew…" And the closer she got, a bubbly smile grew on her face. "Hey…"

"Hi," Ellie straightened out before resting her hand on the wooden gate. She started fiddling around with the snow on it before avoiding eye contact. "Um, I just wanted to say sorry for running off last night."

"Oh, that's—" Dina quickly shook her head. "It's okay, I totally get it. I…" She chuckled guiltily before looking Ellie in the eyes. "I just, I felt bad."

"Why?" Ellie gave her a confused face before looking her in the eyes.

"Cause I…" Dina hung her head low before giving her an apologetic look. "Started the whole thing… and I just, I shouldn't have kissed you in front of all those people and I—"

Ellie was quick to cut her off and excuse her faults. "You were drunk. It's fine."

"Well still, I don't what you to think—"

She quickly cut her off again. "No, I'm not reading into it or anything."

Taking a long breath through her nose, Dina shook her head while looking her straight in the eyes and starting, "You know what I love about you? How you let me finish my sentences." She then gave her the sweetest smile out there.

Ellie's breath hitched before she looked down at the ground. "All right… well, we should probably get going."

Dina had her head held low as well as she fidgeted in place. "Yeah."

Just as Ellie turned to walk away, one of the kids hurled a snowball at her, hitting her right in the side and making her shout in pain. "Ow!"

Dina immediately snapped around before yelling at them. "What the fuck?"

Ellie was mad. "I'm not even playing!"

"Cause you're a chicken!" One of the boys taunted before laughing.

The other girl was no better as she practically sang, "You're a chicken!"

Groaning a soft scowl, Ellie looked at Dina. "I hate these kids so much."

Dina turned to face her and held eye contact before raising her eyebrows and nodding their way. "You wanna fuck 'em up?"

Ellie immediately turned around to check if Jesse was anywhere near this park. Once she confirmed he wasn't, she turned back before answering, "Yeah, I do."

Turning around in triumph, Dina raised her hands to taunt them. "You asked for it."

Quickly hopping over the fence, Ellie was ready to destroy them. "You better run you little shits!"

Of course… the two of them easily destroyed the kiddos with an overwhelming ten-to-zero ratio and the moment Ellie shot the winning snowball, the kid quickly protested.

"No fair!"

Dina had a smug grin on her face. "Eat it shrimps!"

Two of the kids exclaimed at the same time.

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

There was still this proud and shameless tone in Dina's voice. "How's it feel?" She then noticed a girl running her way before lowering her stance and allowing her to topple her over. The two kids were quick to dog pile on her.

"Get her!"

They happily squealed out loud as they flopped on top of Dina.

Dina just accepted her defeat like a champ. "Ah! Help me! You'll never get away with this!" They started failing about, fooling around in a harmless and playful banter.

Chuckling at their silliness, Ellie finally went over to help Dina. "Get off of her you monsters!" She then scooped up one of the kids and pushed him away.

"Hey, Ellie, Ellie! Hey!"

The two of them were laughing and gigging happily like crazy.

"All right! All right, we actually have some work to do." Ellie announced while shooing them away.

Dina finally got up before dusting off the snow on her ass. She then looked at Ellie before confessing, "I guess I asked for that huh?"

"Yep."

Nodding her head softly, Dina nudged it toward the main gates. "Let's go."

The two of them quickly jogged their way stables. Along the way, Ellie sighed before speaking up. "So… Jesse wants us to do the creek trails. He's gonna relieve Joel and Tommy."

"Oh. That's nice he assigned us together. You're gonna like this route."

The stable watchman was quick to greet them. "Morning girls!"

"Morning!"

The two of them quickly went inside and borrowed their respective horses before meeting the rest of the hunting team. Jesse was busy checking up on others before finally noticing the two. "Ahh! Look who decided to join us."

"Yeah yeah yeah." Ellie quickly took the hunting rifle from Jesse when he passed it to her.

"One for you." Ellie checked the gun's barrel as he walked over and passed one to Dina. "And one for you."

Dina just smiled as thanks before flipping it around so that the rifle was pointing at the floor.

Jesse then walked toward the middle before speaking up. "Open it up!" He then turned to face everyone, "Settle down children. All right." He looked at everyone's faces before listing, "You all know the drill. Run your routes. Mark your logbooks. Don't be stupid and overshoot your quota. You run into anything you can't handle, you come back. Be smart about it." He looked at everyone again. "All right. Get goin'." He then made his way over to his horse before sparing Ellie and Dina one last look.

On cue, they all turned around and mounted on their respective horses. Once settled, Ellie looked at Dina as she looked at her. Dina then gave her this big smile before ushering her horse. Falling in line, Ellie did the same and in no time, they were outside the town's gates. As they rode their way to the creek trail, Ellie somehow found herself in the lead despite not knowing the route. Part of it was because Ellie vaguely knew where it was but most of it was because she had a hard time riding right next to Dina.

After all, that would give them the golden opportunity to talk and well, shit, Ellie didn't know what to say. So instead, she opted to take in the view. Dina was right. This trail was seriously beautiful, more than she could have imagined. The hills dusted in the snow just looked so aesthetically pleasing despite the shitty cold weather. The trees did their work too and were that little splash of oomph that was much needed on a barren white plain. And as for the creek itself. Something about riding through the river relaxed and calmed down her nerves.

Very therapeutic to be honest.

She was lost in the scenery but eventually, she hit a fork in the road. Shit. That's when Dina finally took the lead.

"Come on!" She nodded her head in the right direction. "This way."

Ellie shifted in her saddle. "Right behind you."

They picked up their pace before Ellie's curiosity finally took over and won. Before she knew what she was thinking, her lips parted. "Do you miss being with him?"

"With Jesse?" Dina confirmed with a confused voice. She then chuckled before quickly denying, "No."

"You've been together for so long." Ellie pressed again for no damned reason because she knew they were close to that level of intimacy.

"Look, Jesse's great. I love his parents…" She paused for a second before continuing, "They will always be family but we were just on autopilot."

Huh. Okay. Well, that was… interesting. "Hey, how come we never talked about this stuff?"

Dina shrugged. "I don't know. It didn't feel…" She paused to collect her thoughts before continuing, "You never really talked to me about Cat."

"Yeah cause… there isn't much to talk about."

"Yeow." Wincing at that confession, Dina turned back to look at Ellie before facing forward again.

She just scrunched her nose. "I just… I got the impression that you didn't really like her."

"I don't care about her one way or the other," Dina clarified as she glanced at Ellie again.

Ellie let out a playful scoff. "Okay."

"I think she's a talented artist," she added after noting a hint of her bitterness. "I've grown to like that tattoo of yours."

"Oh, that's so big of you."

"And I think she wasn't right for you."

Now that piqued Ellie's attention. "Interesting."

"Shut up."

"Okay."

They finally made it to the lookout's underpass.

"You can tie Shimmer here."

They quickly unsaddled and tied their reigns before traveling on foot.

"Hey." Dina started out of the blue, "You wanna see something spectacular?"

"You're gonna point at your face aren't you?"

That made Dina chuckle. "Nothing is that spectacular."

Hissing at that, Ellie shook her head. "Oh, brother."

"Come on stupid." In no time, Dina led them to the top of this building, outside on the balcony, before resting her arms on the railings. "What do you think of this view, huh?"

Ellie took in the beautiful details of the mountains, the forest, and the lake in the distance. "It's pretty nice."

"Yeah. This route has its perks." Dina said before shooting Ellie a glance and bobbing slightly back and forth.

They both stood there awkwardly, taking in some deep breaths with this searing tension, before Ellie finally deflected.

"Where do we sign in?"

That made Dina smile in disbelief as she rolled her eyes. She scoffed before pulling away from the railing, "Come on."

Ellie immediately lowered her head before whispering to herself. "Fuck."

They quickly made it over to the logbook before marking it and making their way back.

That's when Dina's curiosity finally tipped. "Question. Were you wearing those same clothes yesterday?"

That made Ellie scoff in defense. "They're clean."

Dina immediately laughed. "No judgment."

Feeling the need to explain herself, Ellie sighed. "It's patrol. We're here to fend off animals and kill some for the town, not to look fancy."

Dina just shrugged. "Still look nice."

Ellie scrunched her face. "Ugh… thank you…?"

"Alright, let's go hunt something then shall we?"

"I guess."

They walked the rest of the way over to the cliffside before lying down on the snow. Ellie pulled out her hunting rifle first and set down on some flat rocks as Dina pulled out some binoculars to scoop out the landscape. They stayed as silent as possible and practically still for the next few minutes before Ellie eventaully started.

"You know, going out at an old age doesn't sound bad."

Dina scrunched her nose at the random topic before she immediately took her chance and roasted her. "You? No way, come on. You're way too reckless."

Ellie immediately balked back, "Look who's talking!"

"Wha— you'll probably die from hypothermia from wearing canvas sneakers in the snow!"

"I am wearing boots today." She proudly claimed as a retort.

Dina immediately shook her head with a smile as she rolled her eyes. "What are you doing tonight?"

That made Ellie twitch. "I uh… was thinking of inviting Joel over to watch a movie."

"Oh…" She tore her eyes away from the binoculars to look at Ellie. "You guys good?"

"Yeah."

Dina hummed quietly before looking back at the landscape. "What movie are you guys going to watch? What's Joel into?"

"Uh… Curtis and Viper 2. That's the one that's been on my radar for a while."

Her tone flattened. "Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. We used to watch these really cheesy 80s movies. He's really into them."

Dina grimaced at that. "Oh no…"

Ellie just shrugged. "I actually really like them too. What about you? What are you doing later?"

"Some people were talking about sneaking out. Going sledding."

"Sounds fun."

"Yeah. You want to meet up later?"

"Uhh…" Ellie bit her lip as she contemplated before answering. "Okay. Maybe I'll play guitar for you."

That made Dina immediately light up with a soft smile. "Okay." She then pointed her laser light at their first target, an unknowing bunny, in the distance.

Ellie quickly steadied her aim before pulling the trigger. Her shot landed with no trouble before she reloaded and Dina continued on.

"What's Curtis and Viper 2 about?"

That made Ellie take a deep breath. "Okay, so, two former commandos that go rogue to fight bad guys. And, I think in this one, they go up against Russian spies or something."

Dina hummed at that. "I'm more interested in this than I thought I would be."

Ellie chuckled before continuing. "All right, so the young one, Viper, he's a trained ninja. And he's a complete badass."

"How old is he in the first movie?"

"Uh… ten."

"Wait, how many movies did they make of this?" She finally asked, pointing at another bunny in the distance with the laser.

"Uh… I think they made four?" Ellie then readied her gun before taking her shot.

Another bullseye.

"Jeez… You think filmmakers get tired of making new stuff?"

"Eh… nah. I doubt it. There's plenty to work with so I wouldn't be surprised if they made a fifth."

"Doesn't it get boring though? Coming up with new ideas."

"Well, when an idea hits, I write new music so I wouldn't be surprised if they were writing a new one as we speak."

That made Dina's eyes widen as she turned to face Ellie. "Wait, hold up. There are original Ellie songs?" Her voice grew with excitement as she stared down at her. "Why haven't you played any for me?"

"Well I… I, I don't know." She huffed before glancing at Dina and adding, "I guess… it's just embarrassing?"

"But I love hearing you play and sing." Dina shot her a pleading look. "Promise me you'll play for me?"

That made Ellie's cheeks heat up. "I don't know…"

"Come on, pleaseeeee?" She batted her eyes before pouting her lips. "I promise I'll behave."

Ellie chuckled at that before rolling her eyes. "All right, fine, you win." Who was she kidding? She would never say no to her. "Maybe… later tonight?"

"Yes!" Dina giggled at her sweet victory, "I'll hold you up to it then." She finally raised her binoculars again before spotting a blurry flash. "Oh— a white fox, one o'clock."

Quickly adjusting her line of sight, Ellie spotted it before chasing after it with her gun. That fast sucker was running around at full speed before stopping for a brief second to sniff something. That's when Ellie took her shot.

Dina whistled in awe. "Nice shot."

Ellie looked at her before flashing a small grin. "Thanks. You think three is enough?"

Dina just shrugged. "We're pretty lucky to be honest. It's not often you find small animals back-to-back let alone in a short amount of time."

"True."

Licking her lips, Dina looked at Ellie. "You want to… call it quits and waste some time?"

That made Ellie cock an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

She immediately grinned. "Okay, we'll go secure our prey and then take a little detour on the way back. There's an amazing lake that's stunning just off the trail route."

"Do I wanna know how you stumbled upon this?"

Dina just had this devious face. "You tell me."

Chuckling at that, Ellie finally pushed herself up from the ground. "I'll take that as a no."

"Aw, come on, not even a guess?" Dina teased before following after her when she started walking again.

"Nope." She popped the 'p' as she didn't bother turning around, "I'll pass. Sounds like a pain in the ass."

Scoffing at her remark, Dina quickly caught up and punched her arm. "You're a jerk!"

"Ow— hey! Says the one that just punched me!" Ellie retorted with an over-exaggerated and offended voice as she rubbed her arm.

"Oh get over it you big baby."

She scoffed again. "Whatever." Carefully treading down the hill, Ellie swung the rifle over her shoulder before nodding her head in the general direction toward their earnings of the day. "Let's hurry up then, I don't want it to get too late."

"Don't worry, we'll be back before sundown."

"Mmhmm. Sure."

They quickly climbed down the hill before finding and grabbing their two rabbits and one fox. They checked them for any signs of rabies before preparing them for travel and in no time, they were strapped down to Ellie's horse. Ellie mounted Shimmer before glancing at Dina.

"Alright, lead the way."

And just like that, they derailed from their assigned route. It took about thirty minutes for them to reach the lake that Dina had talked about and the moment Ellie saw it, her lips naturally curved up into a soft smile.

"Wow, it's beautiful…"

Dina had yet to take her eyes off Ellie. "It sure is."

Ellie couldn't help but express her awe again. "Damn."

They rode over as close as possible to the rock bed before stopping their horses, side by side. Ellie smiled, taking in the vast clear water and cool yet fresh air. She eventually turned to face Dina before asking.

"How did you find this place?"

Dina just smiled at her. "Take a guess."

That made Ellie roll her eyes. "Don't be an ass. Just tell me!"

She chuckled at that before teasing again. "But that's no fun."

"This is stupid."

"You're stupid."

Ellie hissed at her. "Fuck you."

Laughing again, Dina shrugged. "Just guess."

Sighing out loud, Ellie shook her head. "Fine. You came here to wash your hands after murdering someone."

Dina immediately giggled before joking, "Close but not quite. Think smaller."

Ellie's eyes widened at that. "Wait, shit— you actually found this place after killing something?"

"A fawn actually." She finally looked away from Ellie's face before patting her horse's mane.

"Damn," Ellie whistled before shifting in her place. She then took a breath before starting out of the blue. "There was this time a huge ass buck was on top of Joel." Dina turned to face her. "It had him pinned down and he couldn't reach his gun." She looked down at the lake, remembering the details of that day before stating, "I just ran over, grabbed his gun, and shot it in the face."

"How old were you?" Dina inquired out of curiosity.

"Fourteen." She blinked before asking, "How old were you when you first killed something?"

"We talking deer?"

"No. Anything breathing and alive."

Dina let out a breath before speaking in a soft voice. "Ten."

Ellie couldn't suppress that surprise in her voice. "Wow. What happened?"

She just shrugged. "A wolf was coming at my mom. I stabbed it."

"Shit." Ellie smiled bitterly, "You got me beat."

Dina immediately grinned at her. "Yeah. I'm a real badass."

Rolling her eyes playfully, Ellie licked her lips before turning away. "Alright, we should… probably start heading back. The sun's getting low."

Sighing in agreement, Dina ushered her horse. "Yeah."

They started making their way back home at a leisurely pace. Their horses trotted along the creek, hooves trampling on the snow, until they eventually jumped past a fallen tree. Shimmer was quick to whine in distress as the snow was horribly stained red.

"Whoa, easy girl." Ellie scrunched her face when she got a closer look. "Holy shit."

They both came to a stop before dismounting their horses.

"What the fuck?" Dina exclaimed once she got closer. "Ugh, that smell." She ended up gagging before turning around. Unable to hold it in, she rushed off to the side and threw up.

Ellie immediately perked up with a worried face before asking in a gentle tone. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's just… the smell." Dina turned her body as far away as possible as she held her mouth. She swallowed back her nausea before asking, "How many you think it would take to bring down a moose?"

Ellie just shrugged before snarking, "More than one."

Dina snorted at that. "No shit."

A small smile grew on Ellie's face before she gingerly asked, "You good to keep going?"

Dina's eyebrows furrowed before she dismissed herself. "Yeah, I'm fine. Please."

Frowning with a somewhat displeased face, Ellie sighed as she nodded back to their horses. "Alright, what are we waiting for?"

They resumed their trot home, high on guard, but didn't make it far when a sudden gale hit them.

"Shit, that was strong, what—" Ellie's eyes widened the moment she turned around. "Oh no… Dina!"

Dina quickly turned around before her eyes widened as well. "Fuck. When did the storm creep up us so fast?" She then jerked her body to usher her horse. "Come on, we gotta go!"

"God dammit, haa!" Ellie quickly followed after Dina before the weather escalated in a matter of seconds. The wind started howling and the blizzard practically slapped Ellie's face, giving her a cold kiss and prickling her skin. "Fuck— Dina!"

Dina kept on leading the way as she shouted over the wind. "Come on Ellie! Hurry up!"

"Shouldn't we turn back!" Ellie questioned as she screamed back. "There was cover near that moose!"

"We're not gonna make it back!" Dina yelled over her shoulder. "But, my uncle's cabin should be nearby! We can wait it out there! Just follow me!"

The snowstorm was truly a pain in the ass. It was just clear two minutes ago!

"Okay, if you say so!" Tightening her hold on the reins, Ellie tightened her jaw. She had a bad feeling about this and little did she know, her life was about to change for better or worse.