“Kestrel, you’re shivering.” Catherine chuckled.
“I k-know.” stammered Kestrel, her teeth chattered incessantly.
Under the strict guidance of Catherine, Kestrel had been diligently practising her Bow for the upcoming Winter War. This winter was unlike no other; it was much harsher than Catherine had experienced in her lifetime, despite wearing her specialised Winter War uniform. The weather did not seem to be showing any mercy that day. As a matter of fact, the snow kept growing heavier and the winds only kept becoming chillier, which sent a shiver down Catherine’s spine.
“Let’s take cover. Nobody’s gonna survive out here for long.” Catherine suggested as clouds of vapour puffed out of her mouth. Kestrel squinted her eyes in frustration. Birds such as kestrel have incredible vision. However, the same cannot be said for a human Kestrel, as she was struggling to distinguish Catherine through the thick snowfall. Catherine’s signature red beret was coated thoroughly with snow, like icing on a cake. She stood 10 metres away from Kestrel and waited patiently for her student to make a move first.
Kestrel walked gingerly back to the general’s tent, closing the gap between her and Catherine. All she could think about was keeping herself warm, until Catherine closed the gap between them even more, such that Kestrel could feel the warmth radiating out of Catherine’s body. Kestrel felt awkward, thus hung her head low and watched the layer of snow on her boots grow thicker and thicker.
Catherine seemed to be a bit dazed. Consequently, she tripped over a stray twig. Funny how she had not noticed it – the twig was dark brown in stark contrast to the pure white snow. In reflex, Kestrel threw her arms towards Catherine in an attempt to catch her from falling. Fortunately for Catherine, she regained her balance almost instantaneously, but her beret had fallen off of her head. Unfortunately for Kestrel, she had held onto Catherine’s waist with both hands.
Catherine spun her head to look at Kestrel, her face contorted with confusion, but a hint of curiosity. Kestrel was dumbfounded at what she had done. Slowly, she let go of Catherine, but her hands still tremored like an earthquake.
Catherine picked up her beret, shook the snow off of it and scoffed nervously. “See? I’m fine.” She gave her beret one last wipe before fitting it back onto her head.
Kestrel, drowned in embarrassment, said nothing.
They continued to march. The incident kept replaying in Kestrel’s mind, which began to boggle her. Eventually, she gathered the courage to say something. “Sorry about that.”
Catherine’s footsteps stopped abruptly.
Kestrel slowly looked up towards Catherine.“Catherine?” she questioned politely, having noticed her captain in deep thoughts.
After a few moments, Catherine snapped back to reality. “Oh. Umm, it’s nothing.” she replied in a nervous tone. She then noticed Kestrel gazing at her, and her body tingled with electricity or some sort. Now it was Kestrel’s turn to be deep in thoughts. It was not the first time Catherine had caught Kestrel staring at her, as if in a trance – but she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable towards Kestrel with each passing second. She knew exactly why Kestrel was looking at her that way, but decided to feign ignorance anyway. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Kestrel’s eyes widened in surprise, before desperately directing them to the front so that she could change the subject. “Oh! I don’t know… Shall we continue heading back? We’ve still got a long way to go.”
“I’ve seen that gaze before. I know what it means.” Catherine remarked slyly with a small smirk. That made Kestrel’s cheeks blush salmon pink and her knees weak.
“Stop it, Cath.” Kestrel looked away from her captain, feeling provoked. She was tempted to turn on her ‘Active Camo’ ability and become invisible, just so Catherine could not see her face and mock her. Suddenly, the crisp cold winds hit her again, hence she she turned on her ‘Active Camo’ just to gain some speed and hurried towards the tent.
Catherine heaved a sigh. She managed to catch up with Kestrel in the tent. No one was in sight.
“Kestrel… if there’s anything bothering you, you know you can confront me.” From Kestrel’s perspective, it seemed like Catherine was talking to the air. She turned off her ‘Active Camo’ and snickered to herself.
Catherine shifted herself to the right to find Kestrel just an arm’s length away from her. She could barely resist the urge to smile at Kestrel, but managed a stern look. “What’s so funny?”
“Ya know Cath, people laugh for no reason sometimes.” Kestrel giggled.
“When they’re in love.” Catherine corrected.
“Fine, you win.” She set aside her Bow that was initially slung around her back. Catherine lowered her shield to the ground. She took a careful step forward and grabbed Kestrel’s left hand reassuringly, which made Kestrel’s heart skip a beat.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while, Kestrel.” Catherine paused to calm herself and Kestrel blinked at her innocently.
“I love you.”
Kestrel’s eyes beamed in delight. She approached Catherine and whispered into her right ear, “I love you too, Catherine.”, almost as if too afraid to declare to the entire world. She proceeded to softly kiss Catherine’s slightly windburned lips, then wrapped her arms around Catherine’s torso. Catherine’s left hand caressed Kestrel’s back protectively; the other hand sank into Kestrel’s blonde hair and stroked it playfully. Both ladies closed their eyes, embracing each other’s warmth with a burning passion, appreciating the peace and tranquility the kiss had brought upon them. The rest of the world was insignificant.
“Thank you, Catherine.” Kestrel breathed. She opened her eyes gradually and saw Catherine’s crystal blue eyes glistening with emotion. “We will win the War together.” She wiped Catherine’s tear away. Oblivious to Kestrel, the War would’ve begun the next day, and her lover’s life would be at stake…
