It was exceptionally cold that morning, or perhaps it was just the agonizing feeling of despair that hung stubbornly in the air. The day had come so quickly, Tizzrah would have to return later that afternoon. Neither her nor Andariel said much to one another, it was hard. No pictures had been taken, there was no need really as the whole experience had been implanted in their minds. Something such as this would be very hard to forget. Such sorrow. Just how had the week gone by so damn quickly? It wasn’t fair. It hurt so very much.
The husky sat in bed, deep blues stared out the window. Salty tears had carved wet trails though snowy-white fur, she didn’t even bother to wipe them away anymore. It was useless. Between the two of them, a box of tissues had been nearly all used up. It was so hard. A shaky breath escaped her lips as the husky fell back onto the mattress, face being immediately buried among the pillows.
Tizzrah quietly climbed onto the bed, arms reached out to slide around the husky’s middle. The moment Andariel felt the skunk’s gentle touch, she turned and wrapped her own arms around her, clinging tightly to the skunk. The husky trembled almost violently, sobbing quietly into the skunk’s shoulder.
"You can’t go... you can’t!"
Tizz had no response, how could she? The skunk was fighting her hardest not to cry, not to break down but it was so hard. She didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to go back to the life she had left behind. She’d been happy throughout this last week, why should that just come to an end now? It had taken so long to find a moment of happiness and now it was just being ripped away! She held on tightly, disciplining herself not to cry. Someone had to be the strong one here, but it was so hard. It hurt... as if a hundred tiny knives were being stabbed into her heart with every breath she took. Why couldn’t anything ever go right? Why couldn’t she just get what she wanted for once? The clock was ticking, the hours counting down. Two hours to go before that plane took off. Andariel sat behind the wheel, nails digging painfully into the black leather. Damp eyes stared straight ahead at the traffic that refused to move. But perhaps that wasn’t all that bad. It gave them more time.
You still my heart
And you take my breath away
Would you take me in
Would you take me deeper now
‘Cause you’re all I want
You’re all I need
You are everything
Everything
The CD came to a brief pause, but the song started once again. The tiny word "repeat" displayed in the car’s stereo. Of course it wasn’t helping matters, but they didn’t care, this song had been played all week and especially throughout the last couple of days. Tizzrah sat huddled in the passenger’s seat, staring down at the floor in silence. The pain was obvious in her eyes. How things had changed. Never had they thought it would be this hard. Never. What would happen now? Where did it leave them?
The Chevy was thrown into Park and there was silence. Damp violets met also damp blues. No words were spoken; none were needed. Moments later, they stepped into the icy cold night and padded across the parking lot towards the airport entrance. The silence was suffocating; both attempted hard to fight back the tears. It was becoming harder by the second.
The security line was absolutely insane, but once again that only gave them more time together. The husky slid an arm around Tizz’s waist, holding her closely despite the odd looks and whispers. It didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered right now. The skunk leaned in with a soft exhale.
"I already miss you..." She whispered softly.
Andariel glanced down at her and sniffled quietly. "Me too..."
Forward they moved until the husky could go no further. Their gazes met for a short moment before the husky threw her arms around the skunk’s shoulders, holding her painfully close.
"I love you..." They whispered nearly at the same time. Tears sprang to stain deep blues. Andariel was shaking violently now, she couldn’t let go but she had to. She had to or it’d be even harder. Seconds later, the husky did just that. She pulled away and turned, dashing through the crowd. She was sobbing uncontrollably now but she didn’t seem to care. The hell with what people thought. They didn’t know. They didn’t know how much it hurt, how hard it was, how painful it was to walk away.
Tizzrah stared after the husky, her own gaze blurry to the point that it was hard to see clearly. Fingers touched her lips lightly, holding in a sob. She looked at the security line ahead of her, not all that many people left... soon she’d be on that plane and away from here. Here... what was here? Here had but one meaning: the one place that she’d found happiness. The skunk suddenly picked up her bags and dashed out of line. She ran after Andariel but could no longer see the husky anywhere. She knew where she’d gone though. Maybe with some luck... maybe she could catch up with her... just maybe.
Andariel padded slowly back down towards the lot, sniffling quietly as she went along. People stared but she didn’t seem to notice, or perhaps simply chose to ignore them. She stepped outside and immediately the cold air broke her into shivers. The thin hoodie she wore was pulled tightly around her in attempt to block out the cold, but not all those shivers were from the chill temperature. No, most were from sorrow and loss. Deep blues gazed around quietly, the lot was straight ahead but it was as if something was holding her back. Perhaps it was easier to stand out in the freezing cold than go to the car and drive away. She exhaled, her breath curled in the air before her and disappeared moments later.
Tizzrah stumbled down the escalators and turned to see the husky standing in the cold a moment longer before proceeding to cross the street. Violet orbs widened in fear. Would she leave her here? The skunk rushed forward.
"Andariel!" She called loudly as she burst through the rotating doors.
The husky blinked and froze in place, taking a second to quickly turn around. Probably imagining things now too, how lovely. But this wasn’t her imagination, not this time. Teary eyes widened as she saw Tizz. The skunk immediately dropped her bags and dashed across the street. She fell into the confused husky’s arms sobbing almost uncontrollably.
"I can’t leave. I can’t leave you..." The husky embraced the clinging skunk tightly and let out a shaky breath.
"What about everyone back home...?" She whispered quietly.
"I don’t care about them! I want to stay with you... I have to." Tizz whimpered softly, gazing up at her. Her only answer was the soft kiss that touched her lips. "I want to stay... please don’t tell me to go. Please..." She whispered against the husky’s lips.
Andariel gazed down at her and slowly nodded after a moment. "I can’t send you away. It was hard enough making it down here. I don’t want to lose you..." The whisper was returned just as quietly. Grey fingers slowly trailed down the skunk’s face and to the back of her neck as she was pulled into a second embrace.