FIC: Popping Trees (Ray Levoi/Walter Crow Horse, PG)

[carlyinrome]

TITLE: Popping Trees
RATING: PG
FANDOM: Thunderheart
PAIRING: Ray Levoi/Walter Crow Horse
SUMMARY: It was so cold that Ray shivered in his sleep.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For rarepair100 prompt #19: sleepwalk and Mundane Bingo prompt: trying to learn a foreign language and feeling stupid because you never seem to get any better

The Sioux had their own calendar, but his mouth was clumsy fumbling the names of the months. He had only been on the rez a few months, and his Lakota resembled that of an infant just learning to point at things and christen them with two-syllable names. He felt foolish enough, so he didn’t ask Walter for an explanation of Cannapopa Wi—Popping Trees, even though he didn’t even understand what the month meant when it was translated to English. He thought maybe it had to do with trees budding, the flowers popping up, but he hadn’t seen evidence of that; the month covered parts of January and February on the Wasi’chu calendar, which were bitter cold on the rez. The trees stayed skeletal, flowerless.

It was so cold that Ray shivered in his sleep, and dreamed of falling in a frozen lake, the water so cold it cut through his flesh and down to the bone with a knife-sharp pain.

He woke to a sharp crack, and he was still shaking sleep off him as his hands, half in his dream and half in the waking world, reached for his holster, slung around the bedpost.

“Whoa, there.”

Walter’s hands on him, gentle and sure, and Ray forced his to still. He clutched the smooth leather of the holster, as familiar to him as his own hands.

“I heard a shot,” he said. His voice was waterlogged with sleep, with drowning dreams.

“Put the gun down, kola,” Walter said softly. “Ain’t nobody shooting.”

“But—”

“It’s freezing, Ray,” Walter said. “Put the gun down and get back under the covers, and I’ll explain it to you.”

Ray still felt uneasy, but dream logic was leaving him; maybe he had imagined it just like he had the frozen lake. He left the gun alone, and got back under the covers, snuggled into Walter’s embrace.

“It gets so cold sometimes that tree branches just snap and break,” Walter said. “You hear them cracking and popping. That’s all that was. Just the cold getting to some poor tree.”

Walter rubbed the palm of his hand over Ray’s goosepimpled flesh. His shivering calmed. Then Walter tipped up Ray’s face, and kissed him, and Ray felt good and truly warm.

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I'm really enjoying this series of stories. The characters are charming -- yes, even when Ray is cranky about enforced rest :-) -- and I like the shape of the relationship.

[carlyinrome.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you very much! I didn't know you'd been reading these. I like the characters and their relationship, too, and I really like writing them; even with the meds starting to normal me up a little, writing these little stories is where I feel the most engaged. I really appreciate you taking the time to read them, and to tell me how you're enjoying them. :)

[jule1122.livejournal.com]

I like that Ray's instinct was to reach for his gun. And I love Walter calming him down.

[carlyinrome.livejournal.com]

Ray's a little high strung, it's true. I think Walter's a good balance for him.

I'm glad you liked it. Thank you.

[carlyinrome.livejournal.com]

Verdict: I am still not tired of the Sioux calendar series.

I am super glad to hear that, since there's, like, six left.

I really never tire of Walter calming Ray down. I'm glad you liked it, sweetie, thanks.

[storyfan.livejournal.com]

I've heard of the popping trees — something about the moisture inside the tree actually freezing and expanding enough to break the limbs. But it's so much more romantic the way the Lakota tell it.

I'm glad I decided to check your LJ today. New stuff!

[carlyinrome.livejournal.com]

That's really cool; I honestly hadn't considered why the trees did that; I got to "Holy crap, that's really cold!" and idled.