#another one being i had to reupload this bc the title card disappeared

[declinlalune]

Water You Doing Here? || Andy & Leticia

TIMING: before their run in with teagan after she's attacked by rhett. PARTIES: @rhythmicmeow & @declinlalune SUMMARY: andy and leticia run into each other with the return of the hellhound. CONTENT WARNINGS: parental death, eye injury.

Andy heard the sound of somebody else’s footsteps and she had half a mind to slink further off of the path and use the nest of shrubbery as a hiding place, but quickly decided against it. The feeling that ran up her spine told her it would have been pointless, anyway. It wasn’t a wolf, but something else. She paused momentarily before continuing up the trail. After just a moment, Andy recognized the familiar feeling. Before she could speculate any longer on who might round the corner, she was met face to face with Leticia. 

She stopped abruptly, unable to stop the smile that pulled at the corners of her lips. “I didn’t think I’d be running into you so soon.” Who the fuck said that? She cleared her throat. “I mean, in the woods. I thought it’d be your shop.” Dumbass. 

Leticia had been wandering, it was a constant fight to clear her mind these days and she had thought that a walk would offer some kind of peace. Something soothing and familiar that would let her breathe easier. But she hadn’t expected Andy. Not the kind of familiar that she had been looking for, but a welcome presence regardless. 

The other woman finally looked at her and Leticia halfwaved at her. “But you were planning on running into me?” The light teasing came as naturally as it ever did, but on Leticia’s end it felt distant and muddled like the rest of the world. But she clung to it regardless, hoping for something to remain as it was. “I usually go on runs around this time, or walks. Depending on my mood.” She took a few steps toward Andy, “Are you heading back already?” 

The back of Andy’s neck reddened slightly and she was suddenly grateful that the hike had brought a natural flush to her cheeks. “Yeah, I mean, the music is good.” She paused, and with a laugh she tugged at the end of her braid. “What would I look like, going somewhere else for vinyls?” She bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly feeling a little dumb. 

“Hm?” She shook her head. “No, I only just started, really.” Andy offered Leticia a smile and pointed down the trail. “The river is that way. Was thinking of sitting at it, maybe contemplate life, you know.” Not necessarily a lie, but Andy wasn’t typically the kind of person to sit and contemplate anything. She did so by moving. It got her brain working. “What about you? Enjoying your walk?” 

“I don’t know. I’ve only seen you in two outfits now, but probably something black. Sneakier, you know?” Leticia grinned before shrugging a shoulder. “I haven’t stopped by the bakery yet either, hands have been kind of full.” And her head too. And her heart - heavier. But those were all things that Leticia held in.

Her eyes followed where Andy pointed and almost immediately realized where she was. Close to where she had fought with that beast the last time she ventured out this way. “The river, hm? Make sure you don’t get too close to the water.” She quickly smiled, “I’ve just heard the pull of the river can get really strong this time of year.” It wasn’t a lie, but Leticia still felt uneasy giving their friend a vague warning. “I could go for a while longer,” she admitted. “Trying to work up the nerve to be an adult.” 

“But green is my favorite color.” Andy teased back. She wore it in almost every outfit. Even today, the tank top and flannel she wore were no match for the forest green hiking shorts she adorned. She liked it that way, though. “Oh, no worries. I’m sure you’ll make it by when you can.” Andy hoped she would, at least. 

“Are you threatening to push me in?” She asked with a laugh, crossing her arms over her chest. Today’s hike was supposed to be quick, and the backpack she wore was on the smaller side with a bottle of water, bear spray, and a compass, just in case. There was something different about Leticia this go around. Andy wondered if she’d faced any hardship since the last time they’d seen one another, then realized it was none of her business. “An adult, huh?” Andy let out another laugh, this time less sarcastic. “I can offer you company, or we can go our separate ways and I just have to hope you’ll drop by.” She wasn’t sure what possessed her to say that. “The bear claws won’t eat themselves, obviously.” 

“Oh. So, you would wear this out to go find another shop to spend your time in? I see, I see.” Leticia had told herself to distance herself from others just in case the worst possible scenario she had formed in her mind would come true. It was bad enough that Nora was going to get sucked into the misery that Leticia was reaping, the last thing Andy deserved was to be dragged into the oncoming storm. But selfishly, she didn’t want to be alone. So, she teased and carried on like nothing had shifted.  

“No!” She frowned slightly this time and crossed her arms. “I’m serious, the water can be real dangerous this time of year.” And Leticia wasn’t sure if this particular part of the water was going to be protected or not. But now she was worried that Andy thought she was out to kill her. Avoiding the other woman’s eyes, she nodded her head, trying not to exhale too loudly. Not wanting to open the door wide open. And thankfully, Andy didn’t push in for more information. “Well, we’re headed in the same direction, aren’t we?” She worried at her lip and then shrugged. “I can try to be quiet if you want. You know, for your life contemplation.”  

“Only if I’ve just come from a hike, though.” Andy failed at winking and immediately pretended that she’d gotten something stuck in her eye. She lifted her hand to rub at it, knuckles making her vision blur only slightly. “But who knows, maybe I’m down for some espionage. What is it, like some Rodeo and Julien story or something?” She’d gotten that hysterically wrong, but she didn’t move to correct herself. 

At Leticia’s insistence, Andy raised her hands as if to surrender. “Okay, okay, I’ll be good by the water.” Realistically, Andy knew the dangers. Although she didn’t like reflecting on her time at hunter camps, or during self-trained sessions her father put her through, the water, surprisingly, had become a battleground. What would happen if you lost your footing during a fight? Wolves roam the forest, and can often be found near water sources. How long can you hold your breath? Can you fight the current and the beast? Andy cleared her throat, hoping to dislodge the reminders by physically acting, so she took a small step closer to Leticia, allowing the buzz from what– no, who she was take precedent. 

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Head is always full of thoughts despite the distractions.” Andy smiled at Leticia before motioning the woman forward, falling into stride next to her quite easily. “I was mostly thinking about whether or not I wanted to eat the beef or the cheese ravioli tonight.” She looked over at the brunette, hopeful that her aimless chatter would help distract her from whatever was clearly bothering her. “Got a vote?” 

Leticia thought about saying something to correct what Andy had said, but immediately thought better of it. Maybe there was a version of Romeo and Juliet that was a different twist on the story? But either way, the other dots didn’t connect quite right. Star crossed lovers over vinyl stores? She tipped her head to the side and then hummed, “I guess I do have a small balcony.”  

“Good,” she replied, sounding all too pleased with herself. “And besides, if I had any plans in throwing you into the water, I wouldn’t warn you about it first.” Leticia mentally kicked herself, wanting to distract from the water remarks she had been making, she was making a fool of herself in an entirely different way now. But she could stand to look a little stupid if it meant that Andy stayed safe.  

Letting out a snort, Leticia fell in step with Andy. But her own confusing thoughts were disrupted by laughter. “Beef or cheese ravioli?” She looked at Andy and then shook her head. “Just beef? Or is this like a building muscle thing like...” She glanced at Andy’s arms before telling herself to focus, and to stop being weird. Trying to let the distraction do its job, Leticia bobbed her head to the side. “Both isn’t a choice, is it? If it’s just one... beef. But you need sides. You can’t just eat beef.” There was a brief moment of silence and immediately Leticia felt her mind slipping back into every aggravating thought she had for the past week. Forcing herself to focus on Andy, she glanced at the other woman as they walked. “Can I ask... are you from here?” The last time they had met, Leticia had been working and she had held back all her prying questions. But out here? Maybe now was the time.  

Andy grinned at Leticia’s revelation that maybe Rubois and Julia could encapsulate her shop warring with another one, all the while Andy being the one in between it all. It was a funny thought, but Andy still wasn’t sure if she was getting the name of the play right. Her high school education had been cut short, so she knew very little about popular literature amongst English teachers. 

“Really?” She raised a brow, and with a laugh she shook her head. “I guess you do have a point. Better to surprise, or whatever.” It was getting easier to ignore the voice in her head– the one that told her she’d be a disappointment to her parents. Andy knew she would be, but she’d made peace with the fact that she would have never meant much to them anyway, especially not after Alex had been bit. Despite the guilt and the fact that Andy often felt invasive by just being around shifters, she didn’t hold those hollowed out ideas of right and wrong anymore. She never had, really, but especially not now. Not after everything she’d been through with Alex. 

“Yeah, like in the can.” Andy tossed a sideways glance at Leticia before leveling her gaze on the path. She hadn’t noticed it too much before, maybe because she was used to being next to Alex so often, but Leti was shorter than her. Unlike with most people, Andy could see clear over the brunette’s head. It was a weird feeling. “Building muscle? No, I just really like chef boyardee.” Andy knew it sounded ridiculous. “My sister and I ate it a lot, I guess it’s sort of a comfort food or whatever.” She shrugged, thinking back to the nights where they heated it in the one pot they had over a small propane stove top. Silence fell between them, but only for a moment. At Leti’s question, Andy opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by the sound of hoof-like feet hitting dirt, and then a vicious snarl. 

Andy turned around just in time to see the hellhound crash through the brush next to them. She grabbed Leticia’s arm, yanking her to the side so that she wouldn’t get caught by the snapping jaws of the beast. Upon first inspection, the hellhound looked rough, but if its stomach was full, that didn’t mean anything– it’d turn them to a crisp without a second thought. “Are you okay?” She asked before tugging Leti instinctively behind her. 

“I said if I were going to. That doesn’t mean I will in the future. I would simply plan better if I was going to prank you like that.” And she would likely have a towel and some spare clothes on the side to make sure that as funny as it was — Andy wasn’t entirely miserable after. Pranks were only funny if they could both laugh. Leticia might not have been the butt end of the jokes when it came to stage work or most of the things that happened on her tours, but she always remembered feeling second hand guilt for not stopping it. “And I don’t have a spare shirt,” she added lightly. “So unless you’re carrying one with you, you’d just be soaking wet and sad. Not really in the spirit of fun.” 

A can. Leticia looked at Andy like she had two heads for a moment. Her mother would have heard that and demanded Andy sit at the table for some real food, all the while judging their diets and asking if they could even cook. Her mother, for as much care as she had for other people, was never gentle with her words. “Canned… cheese raviolis, right? Not canned beef?” There was a hint of desperation in her voice. 

Comfort food was fair, and Leticia tipped her head to the side and closed her eyes. Nodding just slightly. “No I just thought… the beef, for protein and muscles— I knew a guy back in New York who was very serious about body building and he had the strangest diet. So no judgment…” But maybe a little judgment. “Just concern!” Mostly concern. But before she could fully explain her stance, Andy had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the way of the hellhound. 

A hand placed on Andy’s shoulder, Leticia was leaning to the side to see the beast. The mark on the snout of the beast was familiar, “Fuck,” she whispered, barely processing that Andy had sensed the beast long before Leticia had noticed it. It paced around them, snarling at them — no, at Leticia. “I’m fine, “ she whispered to Andy. “But I know this one.” The confession felt heavier than it should have been, but until Leticia knew how Andy knew about the hellhound before it had jumped out at them, she couldn’t help but be nervous to a degree. “I tangoed with this one before. That mark on his face, I left that.” 

“I’ll make sure to keep my defenses up, just in case you decide to push me into a pool.” It wasn’t like she hung around pools to begin with, but the image of Leticia following her just to follow through on their conversation was a little funny to Andy. At least, it was enough to tease her back about it. As much as she wanted to go into detail about the moisture wicking sports bras she wore, she kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t a detail that Leticia needed to know, and Andy knew she’d only further embarrass herself if she did bring it up. “So miserable, you’re so right.” 

The pause Leticia took before addressing the monster that was Andy’s eating habits was not uncommon. The grin that broke across her features was hard to dispel, because really, she knew that chef boyardee wasn’t for everyone. She had gotten better about eating real meals now that Kaden was around. “No, there is canned beef, too.” She gave Leticia a sideways glance. “It’s not that weird. They can tuna, too. It’s the same thing… basically.” She wasn’t actually sure if it was or not. It didn’t matter. “No bulking up for me, not really.” Andy built muscle fairly naturally, thanks to the whole being a ranger thing. It was one of the only good things about it. 

As much as Andy wanted to continue bantering back and forth, whether about the potential to be pushed into a body of water, or about her eating habits, the hellhound interrupting them made it impossible to fall back into the easy rhythm of their previous conversation. 

Andy sucked in a breath and looked over at Leticia as she mentioned that she’d been the one to create the elongated scar on its face. Andy already knew she wasn’t a wolf, but the mark had definitely come from something clawed. Even though Andy didn’t think that the hellhound deserved to die, she’d have no choice but to defend herself and Leticia from it if it came down to it. “You got it pretty good,” Andy commended, stiffening slightly as it unhinged its jaws. The redhead grabbed Leti, pulling her to the side as a yellow gas expelled across the pathway. “Don’t let that touch you,” she warned, breath hitching in her throat as she backed up further, careful to maneuver Leticia so that she was still behind her. Even if Leti could shift and create another scar like the one the hellhound wore, Andy would prefer that not to happen. She didn’t want her new friend to get hurt. 

“Keep backing up.” Andy slowly and carefully swung her bag around off of her shoulder, digging into it to find the bear spray. She pulled it out and looked over her shoulder at Leti. “This might kick back on us, but it’s better than nothing.” The bear spray doubled down as a monster spray, and Andy preferred it over anything else. It wasn’t like she wanted to go around stabbing things. 

With Andy blocking her direct view of the hellhound, Leticia wished they could go back and argue about canned beef and how it was not the same as canned tuna. Or talk about the music that her sister was tormenting her with. Instead, she questioning how Andy knew the hellhound had been in the bushes in the first place. That inkling fear that she had done it again, become friends with a hunter. It was almost funny how Letiica had managed to avoid them for the majority of her life and here she had managed to make herself comfortable among them. 

The beast snarled as the women moved along the path, keeping careful distance between themselves and it. “I knew it would be back,” she muttered to herself. Leticia had no way of knowing for sure, but what she knew about these particular beasts was very little outside the fact they traveled in groups. This one, it seemed, was alone again. And hopefully, it would stay that way. Her hands came up to Andy’s shoulder, bracing herself against the other woman, trying not to get in the way as they moved.

“What the fuck is that?” The yellow gas missed them, but Leticia tugged on her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose more fully. As the hellhound released the gas, it turned toward them with more confidence. Stalking toward them as if it had cornered its prey. Leticia wasn’t sure if she could take another battle with it — and she wasn’t sure the spirit would differentiate between Andy and the hellhound. Muttering a curse in Spanish under her breath, Leticia thought she had prepared herself for what was about to happen. But the second Andy sprayed the hellhound, Leticia felt the backspray immediately. 

Bringing her sleeved hand moved to her eyes now, rubbing them and immediately regretting it. The hellhound was having a similar time, roaring at the two women as it shook its head wildly, trying to escape the mist that was now clinging to its eyes. Panicked, the beast backed up and roared again, this time, slightly off the trail and not directly at the women. Thrashing its head, the beast roared before inhaling deeply and exhaling fire. Leticia blinked rapidly, feeling the heat. “Maybe hit it again?” She whispered, worried that raising her voice would lead the creature right to them. “It can’t make heads or tails of what’s going on.” Which was sad in its own way, but even if the balam within sympathized with the other beast, they were very different beings. It was the spray or a true fight. And Leticia wasn’t eager for another dance.

Leticia was saying something, but Andy couldn’t focus on it too much, too worried that if she took her eyes off of the beast, it’d lunge at them and she wouldn’t be fast enough to keep it from digging its teeth into either of them. The gas glittered in the low stream of light that bled through the canopy of trees and Andy sneered, shuffling backwards a few more inches to avoid it as it began to drift with a small gust of wind. 

The spray hit the hellhound, but doubled back on them as well. Andy had gotten sprayed plenty of times by it– a kind of preparation so that she would be equipped to deal with it, and though those training sessions had been back in Tennessee with her parents, she made sure to keep up with this particular one, especially because she knew how often she’d be relying on the can of spray rather than a knife. It still hurt like a bitch, though, and Andy wheezed slightly as it coated her tongue. 

Before she could tell Leticia not to rub her eyes, she was doing so. Andy held onto her joke for later, realizing now was not the time. The beast backed up, hooved feet digging into the earth as it thrashed its head from one side to the other as if to expel something from its ears. It unhinged its jaws again and this time in place of the gas was fire. Andy could feel the warmth of it against her chest, but she was far enough back that it didn’t exactly hit her. Leticia’s voice brought Andy to the forefront of what was happening and Andy nodded firmly, blasting the spray towards the hellhound again. She had the knife in her backpack, somewhere, but didn’t want to use it– not unless it were absolutely necessary. 

The beast roared again, spittle and flame falling from its mouth. Its teeth bared, tongue lolling from the corner of its mouth as it kicked back again, dirt flying from its hind legs as it crashed onto its side. A visceral squeal left the creature as it snorted, flames departing its now closed mouth, leaking from between gums and teeth. It slammed its nose against the earth, wiping its snout against the dirt in an attempt that Andy could only assume was to rid itself of the sting. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Andy whispered, knowing that the creature, if it could understand the apology, would think it was bullshit. She moved an arm around Leticia, pushing her back slightly as she tried to blink the sting away from her own eyes. “Go to the water, I think it will lose us there.” Andy whispered hurriedly, turning to the smaller woman before urging her along. 

Between the burning sensation that got worse with each rotation of her hand over her eye and the snarling of the hellhound as it rubbed its face into the ground, trying in the same desperate way to free itself from the bear spray that Andy had used – Leticia heard something she hadn’t expected. A whispered apology from Andy. The question was still in the back of her mind, one that Leticia had let slide as far away from the center of herself so that she could allow herself to be this close to Andy and not second guess every movement.  

But the apology made her question her original question. Was Andy a ranger? That had been the first question. But the bear spray and the apology, and maybe a quiet desperation to do no harm to the beast – what was Andy really? She was apologizing to a creature that was actively trying to harm them, hunting them in its own way. She was choosing kindness and Leticia was swimming in a new kind of confusion. The attention was now on her, and Leticia tried to keep her eyes open to get a better look at Andy’s face in the middle of the madness, but she was right – they needed to get to the water. And getting away was more important than Leticia sorting out whatever she was feeling.  

Leticia reached for Andy’s hand, not wanting to lose her own footing, but also not wanting to run off and find herself alone without her. As soon as her fingers wrapped around her hand, Leticia started running at Andy’s side, only separating once they were at the water and not hesitating before using the raised rocks that broke the flow of the water to get to the other side of the stream. Her hand immediately extended to help Andy cross with her. Her mind was twisted with confusion, but her actions showed none of that hesitation.  

The hellhound was barreling through but its face was pressed to the ground as if trying to find their scent still. But if Leticia’s burning senses were a hint of what the beast was experiencing, he couldn’t smell them. Which left it with one reliable sense left. She brought a finger to her lips, silently instructing Andy to keep quiet before she crouched down and grabbed a stone from the bed of the river. The hellhound lifted its head, breathing at an accelerated rate. Frustrated, most likely. His plot for revenge hadn’t gone the way he had hoped. Leticia threw the rock as far as she could and the second it hit the ground; the hellhound ran.  

A few moments passed before Leticia started breathing more easily. Her hand was immediately at her eyes again, rubbing away, trying to get the spray out of her eyes. “Fucking hell.” Leticia dropped to the ground, sitting down by the river. “You know, this isn’t quite what I imagined when you said sitting by the river and contemplating things.” She huffed a laugh before pulling her hands away from her eyes and blinking rapidly. The pain was distracting, but not enough for Leticia to silence the question from before. “You knew it was coming, didn’t you?” Leticia shook her head. It wasn’t the question she needed an answer for. “Did you know about me?” But the real question hung in the silence after. One Leticia was still too cowardly to ask outright: you’re a ranger?  

Leticia’s hand found her own and Andy gave it a tight squeeze. Whether it was out of reassurance or to make sure that the other woman was actually there and it wasn’t some vicious phantom feeling, she wasn’t sure. Andy only spared one glance towards the hellhound as it bleated pathetically, a mixture of gas and fire erupting from its snout. Guilt pulled at her like a leash, and while she knew she had no choice to incapacitate the beast, this was better than actively putting silver into its throat. 

The way in which the water flowed was far too calm a backdrop in comparison with the beast behind them. The urge to continue upstream was stifled as Leticia broke away, dashing across a nature made pathway. Andy followed suit, her hand finding the other woman’s once again. It’d been lucky she’d worn her waterproof boots. She hated having wet socks. Andy fell into a low crouch just next to Leticia as she brought her fingers to her lips. She watched in silence as Leti picked up a rock, chucking it towards the opposite corner of where they were hidden. As soon as it connected with the ground, the hellhound let out another terrifying squeal and headed in its direction, continuing down the path and chasing after something that hadn’t even existed. 

With every breath that Andy took, she could feel the burn of the spray at the back of her throat. She blinked rapidly as she moved towards the water, flattening her knuckles into the cool stream. She brought them out, pressing them against her reddened eyes, grateful for the sudden relief. The sky above them looked like mosaic tiles between the dense copse of trees, and suddenly she was grateful that the sun wasn’t blaring over her. Andy leveled her gaze with Leticia who was rubbing at her eyes again. Just before she could offer her own method, Leticia was making jokes. “Well, I guess adrenaline gets the gears turning?” Andy offered back with a light laugh, wincing at the taste of the spray still on her tongue. 

The reality of what had happened hadn’t really hit Andy, not quite. To her, she was doing her best with the tools she had against something that was actively trying to harm herself and Leticia. To the other woman, it probably set off warning signals. “I–” She paused, a sort of quiet desperation taking over her. Leticia didn’t exactly command an explanation from her, but didn’t she deserve one? Andy sat in silence for a few seconds before she pressed her hands underneath the water again. The sensation would at least keep her grounded. “Yeah, I… knew.” She worried the inside of her cheek with her teeth, digging her fingers into the pebble ridden bed of the river. The water rushed over her hands, still on its way forward despite the sudden obstacle. 

“I don’t…” How could she phrase this? Though she didn’t know Leticia very well, Andy knew that she deserved some truth. Whatever Leticia was, Luis and Nicole were the same, and while the former wasn’t exactly a close friend, Nicole meant something to her, too. Lying to Leticia would be like lying to her, and Andy didn’t want to do that, not to either of them. “I did. Know about you. I don’t…” She let out a frustrated sigh, pulling her hands from the water after deciding she didn’t deserve the calming sensation. Her eyes and throat still burned and the worry that the hellhound might circle back had her in a chokehold. But she knew that they needed to have this conversation now, or else Leticia might never speak to her again. Did it matter if she didn’t? It wasn't like they were best friends or anything, or something else– she was just a pretty girl that Andy had stumbled over her words in front of. A pretty girl who had actively helped her in the fight against the hellhound, even if it meant running. Andy liked running away. She didn’t want to fight. Leticia didn’t want her to, either. 

“Whatever you’re thinking is true.” Because Leticia knew she wasn’t a shifter, she would be able to smell it on her if that were the case. “But I don’t…” She tested the words, “I don’t hunt. I haven’t. Not ever. I was raised to, but I don’t… I can’t.” Andy didn’t feel right outing Alex, not even if it would provide Leti with more insight or a sense of relief. “I can still feel it all, I know what to do, with the… training I had, but I’ve never– I wouldn’t.” She looked at Leti, desperate for the other woman to believe her. Iron filled her mouth as the adrenaline faded and she tightened her hands into fists at her sides. 

Her laughter betrayed her. Leticia had tried to keep all the emotions she was feeling from spilling out, but in the sudden calm in the aftermath of what they had faced, it felt like she had no control over herself. Mostly. The balam was calm despite her internal struggles. She touched her eye once more and winced, cursing herself before following Andy’s example and dipping her hands into the water, doing her best to clean the spray out of her senses. But the relief the chill of the water brought didn’t last. It couldn't. 

  The reality of Wicked’s Rest was an unexpected weight. Her mother had sworn up and down on the phone that this place would be the safest for her until they were together again. But everywhere she looked, it seemed she found another hunter. None of them cut from the same horrific cloth that Leticia had imagined from the horror stories. And that was another thing that stirred fear in her heart. How could she know what to look and to avoid them if the ones she found weren’t the monsters that hid in the shadows, waiting for her to be alone?  

  The confession out loud felt heavier in the open air. Frustration and hurt settled into the damage of her heart, and she splashed more water on her face, only half-tempted to put her entire head underwater just to buy herself another moment to collect her thoughts. Andy hadn’t owed her an explanation. And hiding the fact she was a hunter and knew Leticia’s secret wasn’t something she had to reveal either. They were omissions of the truth. The very same things that Leticia tucked away from most of the people she met. It wasn’t a lie. But it left the same sting.  

Andy stumbled over her words and Leticia stayed silent, trying not to jump in and assume the ending before she had a chance to speak. This wasn’t the same as back in the shop where Andy would fumble over a word or two – it was cute or funny in the same way, either. Meeting her eyes, Leticia inhaled deeply, trying to process. 

She wished this was easier. She wished she could look at Andy and spit in her face and fall into the anger and grief she had felt months ago. She wished she could look at her and see a monster instead of a person because that would make things easier. It would make her feelings simple and the path forward would be clear. But Andy was looking at Leticia and had quietly talked about a life she didn’t participate in and the more that Leticia knew the less she understood.  

They weren’t friends in the way that Leticia and Emilio had been. They hadn’t spent hours avoiding their responsibilities and sharing random things about each other. It wasn’t a betrayal. But it stung in a way that Leticia didn’t know how to quiet. Her eyes burning for a new reason now, her head tipping toward the sky as she told herself she wasn’t going to cry because she had no reason to be this hurt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely steady.  

Inhaling deeply, Leticia held her breath for a moment before slowly letting it out, finally bringing her gaze back to Andy. “I believe you.” Which was the truth. Andy had done nothing to warrant any distrust, but there was some pain she couldn’t wave away. All she could do was react, and maybe not pretending to be just fine was the first step in a direction of being fine. “I don’t know how to feel,” she admitted. “I believe you, I just...” But Andy had a sister which meant there was a family of rangers here. Were they all like Andy? Or was this a choice she made on her own?  

It was too much to think about in the moment. She had to focus on this and this alone.  

“You could have killed that thing,” she finally said. “You could have let it kill me. But you didn’t.” Saying it all out loud felt better than trying to organize it in her head. And the more she said, the safer she felt. Those were all choices that Andy made that she didn’t have to. Things that kept Leticia safe and the other beast even when it was bent on killing them. Her actions filled in every word that Andy couldn’t speak. Words were cheap but everything Andy had done matched what she said now – Leticia scrubbed a hand over her face.  

“Your secret is safe with me.” Because it was a secret. There were a thousand beings out there just like her that would tear Andy apart even if her hands were clean. Existing was the crime that couldn’t be forgiven – just as the hunters did to supernaturals. It was a bloody war that no one was going to win.  

Pushing herself up from the ground, Leticia dusted off her pants. “My dad taught me that a person was the sum of their own actions. I doubt he intended for me to apply that logic to a ranger but...” Leticia shrugged, knowing that her father had died at the hands of a ranger. The thought simmered under the surface of her words, and bringing new thoughts to life. Did the hunter who killed him know Andy? Were they related? Did they have the same hair? The same freckles? Did it matter?  

Leticia extended a hand out to Andy to help her stand. “Again, not quite the contemplation by the river I had imagined.” Though there was a faint smile on her lips, her tone sounded too sad to match the expression.  

Andy stayed silent, searching for something in Leticia’s expression that told her they were done for. Whatever they meant in this context. Andy wanted friends. She wanted to trust people not to hurt herself or Alex. She wanted normal. But if she couldn’t be honest with those same people about who she was, what did she deserve? Not a goddamn thing. 

Leticia’s apology, however, caught Andy off guard. Silence ensued and Andy began to feel lightheaded. Maybe it’d been all the gas and fumes from the bear spray. Whatever it was, the feeling that settled over her now was not a good one. There was no relief, not this time. Andy met Leticia’s gaze, and though she’d been searching for something prior, she wasn’t sure she would find the hatred she thought she deserved. Even if it was true that Andy wasn’t a hunter in the usual sense, didn’t she deserve anger from shifters? From anyone who was hunted simply for the way they existed? Andy thought so. 

“You don’t have to feel anything about it,” Andy croaked, voice hoarse. She looked down at her hands, clasping them together. There were scars that ran deep from the training and the defensive maneuvers she’d done as a child, and though they were covered in freckles, too— (a reminder that she was also human), from the moment she’d taken her first breath, she was meant to be a weapon. Especially against those like Leticia. She hated herself for it, even if it hadn’t been her fault. 

Leticia continued and Andy’s heart sank further. “I wouldn’t have let it. Kill you.” The words tasted rancid, but not because she didn’t believe in them. It was because she did. “I didn’t want to kill it, either. It’s lost and alone, and…” She shrugged, squeezing her hands tightly together. “Maybe it’s fucked up, or maybe it’s selfish to let it run off and maybe hurt somebody else, but it was just defending its land.” Even if that hadn’t been true, it was what Andy wanted to believe. 

Andy bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. It flattened over her tongue, a reminder of what she’d done, or rather, what she hadn’t done. Despite her parents’ efforts, either in practice or in memory, she hadn’t turned out like them. She revolted against their ideologies, and while Alex hated herself for other reasons, all Andy could do for either of them was pretend. But here in this moment with Leticia, there was no pretending. 

“Yours, too,” Andy reassured, voice cracking slightly. She knew what it meant coming from Leticia, and even though she knew if another ranger waltzed in on them right now they’d be able to single her out, it mattered to Andy to reciprocate the promise. Even if it did not bind them in some odd way in which a fae’s words did, it might as well have. 

Andy watched as Leticia got to her feet, listening intently to the words she spoke. She dropped her hands away, pressing them against her knees only to look down and see the crescent marks on her knuckles. She averted her gaze, stomach twisting again. “I’ve got the genes, but that’s all there is. Maybe the knowledge, too, but…” She let out a soft breath, rubbing her still burning eyes with the back of her hand. At least if she cried she could pass it off for what the spray had done. “I never wanted this. To be this. Ever.” Andy finally got to her feet, standing across from the other woman. “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you right away.” 

She didn’t have to feel anything about it. It was funny that Leticia was still holding onto this idea that she needed to have all the answers immediately in the moment in order to be a good person — to give everyone around her the closure they needed without any consideration of what she needed. But Andy stood there, clearly hurting by the reality they were faced with, and didn’t force it. Didn’t distract from the importance of what Leticia was feeling for her own benefit. Another reason that Leticia couldn’t hate her, as much as she wanted to. 

But life in Wicked’s Rest was never as simple as Leticia had thought it would be. It was a small town in every sense of the word, including the drama that was packed within the limits of the town.

“I know you wouldn’t have. I mean…” Everything she said sounded ridiculous. “You didn’t hesitate to put yourself between me and it.” It had been an instinct. The same kind her father had to protect her, the same kind that her mother had when her first thoughts after the death of her husband had been to call Leticia and warn her that she needed to get to safety. It was the kind of instinct that came with a kind heart that cared about others. 

Looking down the path in the direction the hellhound had run in, Andy was right about that at least — they should have killed it. But Leticia hadn’t moved to take that hit either. But to her, it had been different. Killing that vampire was devastating because that was a person, who had people, wants, dreams, things that Leticia could easily quantify. And Andy was treating this animal with the same remorse. Maybe to Andy, they were the same. One could easily turn into two and once that blood was there, that wasn’t the kind of stain that could be washed off a soul.

Leticia knew that much, too. 

“I appreciate that,” Leticia whispered, her expression softening. In another situation, she would have taken a step forward and wrapped her arms around Andy and offered some kind of physical comfort. But she didn’t know what Andy needed or what might help — or what would make it worse. She hid her hands in her jacket pockets. Uncertainty settled in her chest as every unanswered question that was pulling at her mind was left unspoken, and the silence that filled the air between them felt like a heavy answer that Leticia didn’t want to interrupt. 

Andy continued to speak, not asking for forgiveness for existing but still asking for forgiveness for not coming forward as soon as she felt whatever sense she had about Leticia when they first met. She wanted to offer her forgiveness. To give her that absolution that Leticia thought might help Andy center herself and realize that being alive wasn’t something to be sorry for. Andy had done nothing wrong. Her existence wasn’t something worthy of punishment, no matter what the surrounding forces might have claimed. 

But Leticia didn’t have the words. Which was funny coming from a person who had spent twelve years of their lives singing on a stage and sharing their heart with people in the form of words and music. But she didn’t know the ones that Andy needed to hear to make this better. She had people working on those songs with her, whispering the perfect phrases in her ear so she could find the words that would match perfectly in the way that people would think was magic. 

In her need for perfection, Leticia chose silence. Heavy and mourning the person that Andy might have been if things had been different. “You don’t need to apologize,” she finally said. “I wouldn’t have told you about what I am unless I had to. And that’s… I’m proud of what I am. And I still keep it close to my chest because… once secrets are told, there is no way to take it back. You can’t unspeak words.” The thoughts that were finally coming out were muddied. “I’m sorry too. I wish we had less devastating secrets.” 

Leticia seemed so different from the woman Andy had met in the shop. This Leticia was careful words and a thousand yard stare. But this version of her was the same, even if in a different setting. She was still the same, just endangered. Andy couldn’t blame her if this was the version of her that she got from now on. As much as Andy wanted to pity herself, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. This wasn’t about her. To Leticia, people like her were violent and put Leticia’s kind and so many others in danger. 

Andy didn’t like the intimate level in which she was getting to know Leticia. It should have been on different terms. On Leticia’s terms. Not because something terrible had almost happened and the truth tumbled between them like broken glass. 

“Okay.” Andy had to believe Leticia’s words, no matter how much she wanted to doubt them. It’d be a disservice to push back on Leticia’s forgiveness, even if at the most basic level. 

With Alex it had been easy. Alex had known that Andy wouldn’t hurt her. She’d seen it, even before getting turned. With others like her, though, how much convincing would Andy have to do to fall into alignment with what they thought was a good person? Or even an okay person? Leticia wasn’t the only one. What if neither Nicole nor Leah accepted her truth the same way? What if her friends began to drop like flies? She’d just allowed herself the opportunity to gain them, and as selfish as it was, she didn’t want to lose them to something she didn’t want to be. 

Andy flexed her fingers, frustrated with how stiff they’d become. “I…” Andy wanted to say she understood, but did she? Nobody could point her out in a crowd and automatically assume the worst of her just because she was something else beneath human skin. “It makes sense. Easier to keep quiet.” She thought about Alex and how that was her secret. How through everything, it was her sister that was her top priority. And while she knew her story would put things into perspective for Leticia if she came clean about it all, she couldn’t bring herself to. She didn’t want Leticia’s pity. 

“The river of contemplation knows no bounds, apparently.” Andy felt the sting of uncertainty and mourning before turning away from Leticia. “We should head back. Before it comes back for us.” 

There was something to be said in the relief in not having to lie to another person. It was funny in a way; how much Leticia had wanted to be known and be herself and be seen as who she was and not the caricature the world had seen her as for a decade. This hadn’t been the way she had imagined it, not against her will or on accident, and certainly not to ranger. 

But there was no room left in her heart for the grief of what could have been or what should have been. Leticia couldn’t keep planting those seeds in her heart -- the amount of regret she was starting to carry was going to kill her if she kept it up.  

“Safer, too.” It was why her mother had wanted her to stay home from school instead of mingling with the hundreds of humans that surrounded them daily. And why she always had furrowed brows when her father took her in hand and dragged her out to the record shop that he ran. Being seen so often was dangerous for them. But being told to be proud of she was and being told to hide it in the same breath, Leticia never knew which side of the line to stand on.  

Looking at the water as Andy mentioned it again, a sad smile touched the corner of Leticia’s mouth. It was still running peacefully by, untouched by the chaos that had just unfolded around it. She had imagined them sitting at the side of the river and relaxing. Not speaking, perhaps, or even arguing about the shapes of the clouds. Something simple and mindless – something normal.  

“Right,” Leticia whispered, finally. Her gaze lifting from the water next to them and focusing on the woman who had just turned around. So much had been said and so much had been discovered, but with every word they had shared, new questions had come forward and more confusion and hesitance burrowed its way into Leticia’s heart. “Let’s go.” She moved next to Andy, almost patting her on the back to signal that they should both start, but stopped, putting her hand back in her pocket and bobbing her head in the direction of the trail that headed away from where they had last seen the creature.  

A silent walk would do them both some good.