Chapter Text
After what felt like forever, the group finally reached a flatter and larger area of the mountain to spread out and rest on. It was quite rocky, so it wouldn’t work long-term, but it was at least safe. As much as Riley didn’t mind being around the kids, they could tell they were getting antsy with climbing and being so close to one another.
Jamie beckoned for everyone to meet with to them. “If you wanna get some rest, now’s your chance. Dunno when we’ll get another spot like… this…” Their gaze suddenly drifted away from the group. “Wait… is that… smoke?!” They pointed over towards the peak. Riley followed where Jamie pointed and… there really was smoke. And where there was smoke, there was fire. “Alright, scratch getting rest, we’re getting the hell outta here!”
They all raced to reach the peak of the mountain. What they found at the top was nothing short of a miracle. There was some food already skewered and placed near an already ignited campfire; one marshmallow and three hot dogs. Wait… isn’t that unsafe? There was also a backpack and a statue. The statue in particular confused Riley. Maybe they’d investigate that later. To top it all off, there was a lone palm tree, though unfortunately it bore no coconuts.
They didn’t feel so bad about leaving a trace now.
Both Jamie and Orange spotted the marshmallow and raced to grab it. Orange reached out for it, but Jamie swiped it just out of their reach. Orange appeared to be upset by this action, but quickly forced their expression back to a more neutral one. Jamie noticed this and attempted to offer the marshmallow, but Orange refused.
“You were just making a pouty face when I grabbed it, and now you suddenly don’t want it?”
“I-It’s okay, really!” Orange hastily grabbed a hot dog. “S-See? I can eat t-this, too!”
Jamie’s eyes darted between the marshmallow they held and Orange. They repeated this several times before sighing and offering the marshmallow to Orange. “Just… give me the hot dog and take the friggin’ marshmallow already. I’m hungry.”
Orange eyed the offered marshmallow warily. “B-But… you g-got it fair and—”
“Oh, shut up with the ‘fair and square’ crap.” Orange winced at Jamie’s sudden hostility. “Uh, I mean, clearly you want this more than me. So, just take it. Please.”
Orange slowly raised their right hand to grab the skewer from Jamie’s hand. They stopped just before grabbing the skewer, their hand trembling in place. Jamie carefully placed the marshmallow in Orange’s hand, then grabbed the hot dog from their left hand.
Jamie and Orange decided to sit across from each other, then proceeded to toast their own snack. Riley picked up their own hot dog and sat down beside Orange to do the same. Jade was busy digging through the backpack and sorting out everyone’s supplies, so Riley decided to leave them alone for the moment.
Rather than join the rest of the group, Jade instead shifted their attention towards the broken statue. Truth be told, Riley was curious about it themselves. They grabbed the hot dog that would’ve belonged to Jade and toasted it. They weren’t sure if Jade actually wanted it that way, but… it was too late to dwell on that now. They slipped away while both Jamie and Orange were distracted by their food.
Jade was sitting on their knees and staring intently at the writing on the statue when Riley walked up. They’d been muttering to themselves about their observations. “Is this… some kind of ancient language? Huh.” They let out a sigh of defeat and stood back up. They nearly jumped out of their skin once they looked to their left and noticed that Riley was standing beside them.
Riley held out the hot dog as a peace offering. “Uh… hot dog?” Jade hesitated, but when their stomach growled, they snatched it out of Riley’s hand and took a huge bite out of it. Poor kid must’ve been hungry.
After Jade finished eating, they stood up and brushed themselves off then staked the skewer in the ground nearby. “Thank you for the food. I’m sure you heard me talking to myself, but the text on this statue is indecipherable. I’m… not really sure what purpose it serves.” They then stepped aside to give Riley a chance to analyze it themselves. “Take a crack at it if you’re interested.”
Just as Jade stated, the text on the statue was indecipherable. Not only was it a language they were not familiar with, but time and the elements had clearly taken their toll on it. Various chunks of the statue had eroded away and most of the color was muted. It appeared to be sculpted as if it was supposed to be holding something… but nothing was there. It was an interesting find, but it left Riley with more questions than answers.
Riley walked around to the back and to no one's surprise, they found nearly the exact same details as they did on the front. However, they noticed a bundle of papers stuffed in a divot. They grabbed the papers and discovered that there were three of them for them to read.
The first page was a diary entry.
Dear Diary, bad news!!!
The ship captain made an oopsy, and we’ve wound up crashed on this mysterious island! Mysterious… island…? Thankfully, mysterious islands are my speciality.
With our whole troop working together, we’ll reach the top of the PEAK and signal for help in no time! The power of friendship prevails…
In the meantime, I’ll take this opportunity to add some additional pages to my famous guidebook.
Riley’s eyes drifted down to the signature… Scoutmaster Myres.
Scoutmaster Myres. The same scoutmaster that met his untimely demise yet lived on as a legend. Something akin to… Bigfoot. A scary story you’d tell around the campfire. And Riley just… had one of his diary entries? Why here? Was this… the same mysterious island that he…?
Riley shook their head. Never mind that. They decided to take a look at the second page. Just like Scoutmaster Myres’ journal entry stated, it was an additional page educating scouts on proper precautions with any mushrooms they find.
BONUS RULE 1
SCAN YOUR SHROOMS!
Mushrooms can be a valuable source of nutrition in the wilderness. Riley knew that from experience. But watch out!! Some of them can kill you, or even make you poop your pants. They… unfortunately also knew that from experience.
There’s always a way to tell the poisonous ones apart. Here’s just one example!
Just below the text, there was an illustration of two mushrooms. One of them looked almost like the head of a screw with a thumbs up beneath it; the other one was dotted and had a skull beneath it. Would’ve been nice to know back then. Oh well. Nice to know now, at least.
Riley suddenly heard a giggle to their right. They turned their head to the source and it turned out to be Jamie. They must’ve read the “poop your pants” line and got a kick out of it.
“Haha! ‘Poop your pants.’ That’s funny! Whoever wrote this definitely had that happen to them!” Jamie swiped their hand across the statue, leaving behind a thick layer of sand and dust on their fingers. “Why are you two lookin’ at this dusty old thing anyways? There’s nothing cool here!”
Jade joined the duo at the back of the statue. “As funny as it may sound with the mushrooms, it is true. Some of them have adverse effects. I can tell you which ones are good and bad if you’re uncertain. Just come find me and ask.” Riley nodded while Jamie rolled their eyes. “As for your question…” Jade shrugged. “No idea. It just caught our attention, I suppose.”
Riley looked at the final page which contained an informational spiel about gathering around the campfire.
BONUS RULE 2
GATHER ‘ROUND THE FIRE
If you find a nice place to light a campfire, make sure to bring your friends close by first! The fire brings something even better than heat and cooked food… and that’s motivation.
Riley scoffed at the last part. Would “motivation” bring you back from the cusp of death? Heat you up so you don’t suffer from hypothermia? Jamie scoffed in a similar manner at the same thing. “That’s a fat lie. ‘Motivation’ isn’t better than some good food, nuh uh.” You and me both, Jamie.
“Welp. That was incredibly boring and useless. I’m going back to the fire.” Jamie stopped in their tracks. “Oh, and, Riley? I think Orange wants something from you. They’ve been looking at you kinda funny for a bit. It’d be a real shame if you kept them waiting.” They walked back towards the campfire without waiting for a response.
Riley re-organized the papers and went to put them back, but was stopped by Jade. They held out an open hand, as if they were requesting the papers. Riley complied and watched as Jade tucked them away in their backpack. “You never know. Maybe these will come in handy sometime soon.”
A wave of confusion, then concern, swept across Riley when they didn’t see Orange at the fire. Their eyes darted around the campsite before landing on the palm tree that Orange sat beside. Just like Jamie had said, Orange was staring at Riley. However, once Riley spotted them, Orange tore their gaze away and towards the ground.
Riley sat down beside Orange, leaned up against the tree and gazed out towards the horizon. They always took the sunset for granted, but it wasn’t until they were in a life threatening scenario that they truly appreciated it. It marked the end of another day, their continued fight for survival.
It was nice, but that wasn’t the reason why they were there. Jamie had tipped them off to Orange’s antics. Orange needed something, they just weren’t saying it out loud. They had briefly acknowledged Riley’s presence, but they seemed to be afraid to speak their mind. As much as they hated the idea, it was likely that Riley would have to probe a bit for answers.
They looked over at Orange, who continued to be avoidant. This would likely be the best time to get through to them. “So, uh, Orange… is everything okay?”
Orange stopped fidgeting with the stick. “I… I haven’t f-figured it out yet…” They appeared to be on the verge of crying.
It? A confused look swept across Riley’s face. “What do you mean?”
“M-My…” Orange drew a jagged breath. “My… new name.”
“Ah. Well… I did say we could work it out together, didn’t I?”
Orange rubbed their eyes. “I… I guess so… I just…” They sighed. “Had t-too much fun climbing to, uh, t-think about it…”
“If it makes you feel any better, I was too busy struggling to think about it, so…” Riley shook their head. “Well, regardless, we’ve got plenty of time now.” They turned towards Orange. “Maybe some questions will get some ideas going?”
Orange nodded then mirrored Riley’s motions; the two of them now seated and facing each other.
“Okay, let’s start with this: what are some things that interest you? Maybe things you like to do, favorite objects, things of that sort.”
“W-Well, uh…” Orange looked around for something, but couldn’t find it. “I l-liked that Bing Bong plushie, but uh…” They giggled. “M-Maybe I shouldn’t n-name myself that…”
Riley laughed. “But imagine this, every time you get squeezed, you squeak and then say something random.”
“W-Wait… like t-this?” Orange squeezed themselves and let out a small squeak. They put on the most deadpan face they possibly could. “I’m Bing Bo—” They didn’t even finish their sentence before erupting in laughter.
A grin crept onto Riley’s face, but they managed to keep their composure. “Exactly! But, uh, maybe you’re right. Not the best thing you could name yourself after…”
After the final laugh escaped from Orange, they laid on their back. Their eyes moved over to the moon, which was now shining brightly in the sky. “Uh… I… I do l-like looking at the moon sometimes.” Riley turned to face the moon as well. “The city was r-really quiet at night… s-so I liked to just w-watch from a r-random roof…” That sad look returned to their face. “I’d g-get in so much trouble i-if I got caught… t-then I’d run away…”
Okay, mountain be damned, I’m adopting this kid and nobody will stop me.
Riley almost echoed that thought out loud but felt it’d be too sudden. Instead, they offered a name idea based on that spiel. “Hmm. How about… Luna?” They had heard that name before. It was Latin for, well, “moon.”
“L-Luna…?”
“Yeah. A while ago I heard it, it’s Latin for ‘moon.’ Very pretty name for an equally pretty ball floating in the sky.”
Orange repeated it to themselves under their breath several times. “I… I’ll k-keep that one in m-mind…”
“Oh! Uh, I… it’s k-kinda silly because— well, uh, I was t-thinking of ‘Scout’ but…”
“But?”
“N-Now that I’ve t-thought about it… I r-really like Luna… a lot. It, uh, f-feels like… ‘me,’ if… if that makes sense…?”
Riley nodded. “It does. ‘Scout’ is a good one too, but it’s your choice at the end of the day.” They hummed. “And… if nothing else, you could always pick out another one later if you don’t like what you’ve got. Just… maybe have it decided before we go? I know that’s a lot to ask.”
Orange sat up. “N-No. I t-think I’ve decided.”
“You have? Already?”
“Y-Yeah. I’m gonna… I w-wanna be called ‘Luna.’” Luna smiled as their new name left their mouth.
Riley ruffled Luna’s hair, much to their dismay. “Well, that’s settled then, Luna.” They stood up. “Why don’t we go tell the others?”
Luna froze up. “Uh… o-okay…”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll do it for you.”
Luna simply nodded and grabbed Riley’s hand. The two of them headed back to camp, where Jade and Jamie were mid-conversation.
Jamie was the first to spot the two. They appeared to be slightly irritated. “Took you two long enough!” Jade laughed and had a smug look on their face. “Jamie was reallllllly worried about Orange.” A mix of embarrassment and anger spread across Jamie’s face. “I was NOT!” Jamie let out a defeated sigh and crossed their arms. “Okay… Maybe a little. But that’s all!”
Luna couldn’t help but giggle at the siblings’ antics. They tugged on Riley’s sleeve and motioned for Riley to come close, to which they complied. “M-Maybe I should… t-tell them. Uh, m-maybe when you s-say we picked t-the name out.” Riley nodded.
“Anyways… we’ve got something that we need to tell you two. Back at the previous camp, Orange asked if the two of us could come up with a new name for them when we got here. That’s why we were gone for a while.” Both Jade and Jamie nodded in understanding. Riley gave Luna a reassuring pat on the back. “Why not tell them what that new name is?”
Luna hesitantly stepped up towards the campfire. They opened their mouth, but clammed up the moment they saw Jamie and Jade. Maybe they just had a little bit of stage fright? Luna looked back at Riley for reassurance, who then gave them a nod in response.
“Uh… it’s… uh, L-Luna.” Luna immediately darted behind Riley afterwards.
Both Jamie and Jade echoed their name in unison. “Luna.” They then both gave Luna a thumbs up. For the first time since Riley met Jamie, they couldn’t sense any malice in what came next. “I like it.” Luna must’ve got the same vibe, since they peeked out and smiled in response.
Luna stepped out from behind Riley after the positive response to their revelation. Though, Riley wasn’t sure why they hid in the first place. Were they expecting a worse response? Neither Riley nor Jade were ever mean to them, and while Jamie was rough around the edges… their display just now revealed a nicer side of them.
Luna sat down and yawned almost immediately after. The climbing plus the stress from their name likely wore them down. Riley decided to sit down beside Luna, but they wouldn’t be going to sleep themselves for a moment. That didn’t matter for Luna, though. They rested their head on Riley’s lap and fell asleep almost immediately.
Jade laid back, and much like Luna, fell asleep immediately which left Riley and Jamie as the last two awake. Jamie gave a small smile at the sight of Luna, then looked up at Riley. “You know… you’re not so bad after all. Always thought adults sucked, but…” Jamie’s gaze returned to Luna. “You’re okay. Never got to say that with everything going on.”
“Likewise. Can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“I guess you’re right. And uh, thanks… for everything so far. But you didn’t hear any of that from me.” Jamie immediately flopped down on the ground, bringing the conversation to an abrupt end before it could continue.
Just like that, a wave of fatigue crashed over Riley. They had exerted a lot that day themselves, it was only fair that they got to get some rest. They gently moved Luna’s head before laying down on their back to do some stargazing.
The group felt as unified as it would ever be. Which was… quite unfortunate, since they were about to part ways. They’d made it to the top. In the morning, there would be a helicopter waiting to take them all home and that’d be it.
That’s what they wanted to believe, anyways.