Chapter Text
The clouded-out sun was beginning to set. The air was filled with falling snow slowly drifting down. All of this would normally fill Evi with a feeling of content and safety, but all she could feel is a mix of anxiety and excitement. Her sister Amsel, as her close friends and family knew her as, was coming back to their hometown, Bad Vigsten, for the festival of the winter solstice. It had been three years since Evi and Amsel have seen one another ever since Amsel moved away. They talked on the phone and computer often but it would never beat the real thing. As much as they both get along, after three years of not seeing each other, she was very nervous about the reunion.
She lightly crushed the snow beneath her boots as she walked in circles. Looking up at the dim sky and down at the white ground as she paced. Gosh, why am I so nervous? I talk to her all the time! But what if she is different in person after all this time? What if she is more anxious, and can hardly talk with me? What if… Evi thought. Her own mind was driving her mad. She kicked the snow underneath her foot and clapped her hands against her head in an attempt to regain composure. Just as she was finally calming down, she heard the familiar sound of a ringing bell. The ringing turned into wheels treading against snow as Evi caught her breath and looked over at the road.
She watched as the low lights of Amsel's bike got closer and closer, her heart rate raising in sync. She brushed some snow off her coat and cleared her throat. Eventually she saw her sister. She was fairly small, a bit shorter than Evi and much more skinny. Her normally reddish-blonde hair, fashioned into crown-like braids, was covered in snow—her head looked like polka dots of colour against a white dome. She was wearing a dark green coat with a simple pattern of golden flowers along the edges. She likely decorated the coat herself. Her skin was fairly pale, but as Evi was able to get a closer look at her sister, she noticed how flushed Amsel's face was.
At the sight of this, Evi was knocked out of her excited trance and looked closer to see if she was okay. To Evi's surprise, Amsel was panting like a dog on her bike! Her breath making a near constant cloud covering her lower face. Her eyes widened as Amsel got even closer, and she got into a position where she could catch her sister if need be. Amsel swerved the bike off the shabby dirt road as she slowed down, and she began to visibly lose control of her body. She clumsily got off her bike as it was still moving, albeit at a slow pace, and began to stumble quickly towards Evi.
Evi shifted her stance once more. "Ah!" Amsel exclaimed as she collapsed right in front of her sister.
"Hm!" Evi grunted as she lightly groaned, "I've got you." Evi had assessed the spent state of her sister correctly and was ready to catch her as she fell. She caught the falling Amsel under her arms. It was sort of like holding a toddler. She stabilized herself, grunting a bit more, and she eventually looked down at her sister.
"Mm!" Her sister groaned against Evi's chest, where her face had unfortunately landed. Amsel pushed herself up a bit and was able to unwedge her face from her sisters warm, soft coat. Her chin was pressed against Evi's chest as she looked up at her sister. She tried to say something witty but she choked up as she suddenly became flustered.
Evi looked down at the red Amsel, dismissing the new blush for the old blush from exhaustion, and laughed. "Well, that wasn't exactly the reuniting moment I expected." She smiled as she squeezed her sister. "Missed you."
At this, Amsel got even more flustered. She pushed away from Evi as she found her own footing. However, she misunderstood the level of exertion she underwent on her bike and fell straight on her butt. "Agh!" She yelled out at the sky as she committed to her fate and fell flat on her back in the snow.
Evi chuckled and walked over to her sister. As she looked down at Amsel, she teased, "Tired?" Poking at her side with her snowy boot.
Amsel tutted up at her sister, a thin puff of condensation leaving her mouth as she looked to the side in embarrassment. "Nice to see you too." She said sarcastically. She tried her best to look coy, but her excitement at seeing Evi made her smile impossible to hide.
Looking down, Evi smiled back and extended a hand down to Amsel. "All right, enough teasing. Get up so we can greet each other for real!"
Amsel looked back up at Evi and grabbed her hand. She stopped trying, and failing, to hide her smile and the glee was clearly written all over her face. It was rare to see her this happy about something that wasn't plants or small trinkets like gemstones and tiny bundles. As she was pulled up she used the momentum to crash into Evi, trying to push her down, but she was much too fit to be pushed down by someone like Amsel. Evi laughed at the attempt and wrapped her arms around her sister in a hug fitting for two best friends who hadn't seen each other in three whole years. "Think you can tackle me down?" She squeezed her sister. "I've only got stronger since you left, Amsel."
Amsel grunted as she was squeezed, replying with a strained voice, "Stronger? Geez, find that hard to believe."
At that remark, Evi picked up Amsel effortlessly as they hugged, spinning around with her sister in her arms. Amsel laughed and wiggled in excitement. In this moment, it finally sunk in for Evi how much Amsel had missed her. After a bit more spinning and laughing, Evi put Amsel back down and gave her hair a careful scuffle.
Amsel recoiled a bit, "Hey! Don't mess up my hair. These braids take a long time to get right." She was touching up her hair carefully.
"Don't worry, I was careful." Evi stepped closer and looked over and around her sisters head to make sure her hair was okay. "You're all good." She smiled, "And even if I did mess it up, I could braid it back for you, like old times."
Amsel scoffed and smiled, blushing as her sister loomed over her in examination, "As if! You don't know how to braid hair like I do, Evi." As she said that, she pointed at Evi's hair, which had one loose braid in it.
"Only one way to learn!" Evi responded. "Plus, I remember very fondly that you love when I braid your hair." She looked at the snow around her feet. "Or, loved, I guess. Been a while."
Amsel frowned. It had been a while. Far too long for either of them. She blushed as she tried to lighten the mood, "Well, we are here now. Let's make the most of this." She shot Evi a smile. "When the main festival events are over, I promise I'll let you braid my hair."
Like a lamp amongst the dim snow, Evi lit up in excitement as she heard this. "Yay!" She cheered. "Sounds like a great time! We can drink, relax, and I can braid your hair as we talk." Evi watched as the snow fell and melted on Amsel's face. "So come on! We should get to the festival, it'll be the main offering soon and I'm sure dad and people would love to see you!"
A soft smile appeared on Amsel's face as their dad was mentioned. "Sounds great but let's wait a bit more. I'm still exhausted and we have to haul my bike back to town." They were on the outskirts of town. It was about a ten-minute walk back through the snow and forest to get to Bad Vigsten.
Evi nodded, "Sounds good, but take it easy next time you are biking to me! It's not like I'm going to run away from you or something." She sat down on the little wooden bench by the road and patted the seat next to her.
Amsel walked over to her and took a seat right beside her. "I know, but I just get so excited to see you." Her face went red, this time clearly not from exhaustion, "You are my best friend and my sister and… I missed you a lot."
"I missed you too, Amsel." She patted her sister's thigh softly. "I missed you so much." She looked up at the small covering above the bench. "Let's just relax for a bit, recover both physically and verbally." She smiled, still looking up. "We'll have plenty more time to catch up later, and this will be like old times, minus hiding away from our angry parents." She giggled.
Amsel looked up as well, although looking at the small lone lamp beside them. "Yeah, sounds nice. I like spending silent time with you."
The sisters both continued looking up at all the surrounding wonders from the lamp to the covering to the trees, the snow, the sky, and occasionally at each other. Amsel was taking in the moment and trying her hardest to recover. Her mind was a shallow stream of thought, constant movement yet no depth. Evi, on the other hand, was deep in the trenches of her mind. I'm so happy that she is being so open and energetic, Evi thought, Last I saw her, even with me, she sometimes struggled with a conversation. Maybe she has gotten better with this sort of stuff.
Suddenly, Amsel poked Evi's side. "We should probably get going now. We don't want to miss the main events, or not get there in time to see everyone."
Evi looked up at the sky to estimate the time and took a deep breath. "Sounds great! Do you want to hold the bike as we go, or should I?"
Amsel got up with a big stretch. "Mm… Could you roll it? You are much stronger than me, as we know." She said with a light chuckle. She got the bike off the ground and walked it over to Evi.
Evi grabbed the bike's handle and brushed some snow off it. "You are right about that, unless you've been working out at your fancy school." They started to walk off from the old road towards the town.
Amsel scoffed as she looked at the ground in front of her. "That doesn't sound much like me at all, does it?" They kept on walking through the snowy trail, being guided by old wooden fences at the sides, though nature had reclaimed much of them already. Amsel bit her lip and blushed a bit as she looked at Evi beside her, "Um, when we get to the festival, do you think it'd be possible if you could maybe do most the talking?"
"There's the sister I know and love." Evi said. "I was worried you suddenly became a people person at that school of yours." She grinned to herself. "I want you to improve and not worry so much, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss having you rely on me like that when things got social."
At the word love, Amsel's face got red again. She couldn't figure out why she was being so affected by Evi's teasing today, and chalked it up to how they haven't seen each other in awhile. Amsel made a few jokingly mocking noises, then said, "Thanks, Evi." Her voice was clear and sincere.
"No problem, I'd do anything for my little sister, even if she is a little bundle of anxiety." Evi said as she patted her shoulder.
"Anything?" Amsel muttered under her breath—unsure herself why she said it.
"Hm?"
"Oh, nothing, sorry." She backtracked.
The two sisters kept walking through the dim forest. The snow and trees made for a very pleasant atmosphere, made even more cosy by the occasional lamp still lit. It was a calm walk that they both needed together. The only excitement so far being a small unkindness of ravens and a hare that ran across their path. Amsel couldn't be happier to be home.
Eventually, however, they walked to a point on the trail that they couldn't forget. They both slowed down and looked to the side of their path. A small, almost completely hidden trail leading into a denser part of the forest could be seen. They stood in silence for a moment before one of them spoke up.
"Did you want to say hi?" Evi asked with a small voice.
Amsel took a deep breath and nodded. At her nod, Evi put the bike against a tree and they both diverged from the path together to go down the trail. It was a small trail dense with trees and thick brush. Each step came with a crunch from the buildup of snow. As they got to the end of the trail they could see a familiar small clearing. It was only big enough for one person to sit there, so Evi stopped right before and leaned against a tree, letting Amsel through.
At the end of the clearing was a strong, tall tree, and in front of its base was a small, rounded woodblock, covered in snow. Amsel knelt down before the tree and began to brush the snow off the woodblock. As she brushed, some detailed and delicate carvings became visible, that of a feather, a bird's foot, and the moon. In front of the wood carving was a small bowl, also covered in snow, and as she brushed that off she noticed dried herbs. They were old and withered but it was clear that they were somewhat recent.
Amsel looked back at Evi and asked, "Have you been taking care of Lotte for me, Evi?"
Evi blushed a bit. She had never been into anything spiritual or occult and was fairly embarrassed to be—due to past trauma. "Well, yeah…" She said, fidgeting with her fingers. "I knew that if you were here, you'd be taking care of it, so whenever I'm nearby and have time I try to clean things up and bring whatever I remember you used to offer." She looked away. "I liked them too, you know. Even if I don't know if this would matter to them, I still come here to remember them and… to think about and remember you."
Lotte was one of Amsel's dearest friends and companions. She was a blackbird who Amsel had found malnourished and chose to nurse back to health. When Lotte was back in good shape Amsel let her go, but the two formed a connection and Lotte chose to stay in the area with Amsel. Lotte is even the reason that Amsel is called Amsel, the name meaning blackbird, by those who are close with her. After Lotte passed away, her family and friends stopped calling her Amsel, and rather called her by her chosen name Esther. However Amsel decided she wanted to honour Lotte and their connection, so she asked them to keep calling her Amsel, and it became her primary name with those who she trusted.
All of a sudden, Amsel got up and hugged Evi with all her might. Evi returned the hug without a second thought. She heard light sobs coming from Amsel, in which she tightened her hold and rested her face against her sister's shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Evi." Amsel said against Evi's coat. After a long moment of hugging, she lifted her head to look up at Evi. "This really means everything to me. Thank you for caring about me, and thank you for caring about Lotte."
Evi was beginning to tear up as well. "Of course, of course." She said as she let any tears flow freely. "I said I'd do anything for you, didn't I?" Softly and slowly, she planted a kiss on Amsel's forehead. "You mean so, so much to me, Amsel." Evi considered saying more, but she couldn't find the right words for how she truly, deep down, felt. Instead she decided to slowly start sliding down the tree with Amsel. They both held each other, surrounded by snow, yet kept warm between their shared heat.
The snow kept drifting down onto them as they held one another. The only sounds either of them could hear being the sounds of their own tears. After a little while Evi patted Amsel's back. "We should get going, all right? We don't want to miss the festival."
Amsel sniffled and nodded, "I know…" She slowly pushed herself a bit away from Evi, still sitting between her legs, and looked into her eyes. "Thank you for that, I needed it."
Evi gave her sister a warm smile and nodded. "Of course, I needed it too." She wiped her own tears away, then softly wiped Amsel's away as well. They both started to get up. "There will be more where that came from after the festival." She said as she brushed the both of them off. "Come on, lets go see some friends." Evi extended her hand at her, and Amsel gladly accepted. The sisters began to walk back to the from Lotte's shrine, crunching through snow hand in hand.