Chapter Text
The next time Jade gained consciousness, the sun was just starting to creep back over the horizon. The air was a bit warmer, but not by much. Their head was leaned up against something both fuzzy and lightly damp. Quite an odd combination, but also oddly comfortable too.
Their headache was still faintly present. It was nowhere near enough to debilitate them anymore, but they’d probably still need to keep an eye on it. The heat, lack of water and exertion from climbing would all likely work together to make it worse in the near future.
Last they remembered, it was still the middle of the night. They knew they weren’t a time-traveler, so it was strange that it suddenly went from the dead of night to dawn.
The unexplainable time-skip, the fact they were leaning up against something or someone…
It dawned on them pretty quickly. They had to have fallen asleep during the night. That didn’t make any sense though. They were well-rested and alert and—
They felt a gentle touch on the back of their left shoulder. “Relax, Jade,” Riley whispered.
Once their breathing re-stabilized, they sat up and stared at a random scorpion down below. “Riley? Was I asleep all night?”
“Well, not all night. You were still barely awake when I got up. When I sat down with you though, you immediately collapsed into my side.”
“Sorry, I thought I was—”
“You don’t need to apologize for sleeping, Jade.” Riley sighed. “It’s fine, I was awake anyways. No harm, no foul.”
It was then that Jade finally looked at Riley and softly smiled. However, they quickly noticed that Riley’s trench coat was missing, which prompted the following question.
“Hey Riley, where’s your coat?” Jade inquired.
“Well… when I woke up, I noticed both Jamie and Luna were sleeping with me. I didn’t wanna wake them up, so I gave them my coat as a blanket. Figured they’d be a bit more comfortable since it was chilly when I got up.”
Jade couldn’t help but smile at the visual that popped up in their head. It only proved how close they’ve grown since meeting. However, it also pained them that much more that they’d have to part ways eventually. Everyone had their own lives to get back to, whether they liked it or not.
They were also reminded of the conversation they had with Jamie during the night. As much as they wanted to bring it up with Riley, they wanted Jamie to be present for it too. So instead, they sought confirmation for one thing.
“Riley?”
Riley hummed in acknowledgment. Jade took that as their cue to continue.
“Once we get back to the airport, could you… keep an eye on us until we have to go back with our grandparents?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t leave until you’re all taken care of.”
“Okay, thanks…”
“Why do you ask?”
The real reason is because they secretly hoped their grandparents wouldn’t show and that Riley would scoop them up. If not for themselves, then for Jamie, at a bare minimum. Riley couldn’t know that though.
“I, uh… I’d just prefer if you stuck around until we’re accounted for.”
It was evident by the look on Riley’s face that they absolutely didn’t buy that.
Riley shook their head. “Neither of you actually want to go back to them, do you? Is that why?”
Jade’s stomach dropped. That was exactly why, but how did Riley even figure that out? Were they… eavesdropping earlier?
“H-How—”
“Just an observation from what I can tell. Maybe I’m wrong. Willing to bet I’m not though, based on your reaction. So…?”
Well, they’ve figured it out. No point in hiding it now.
“…You’re right.”
“I figured. Well, unfortunately, the best I can do is make sure the transfer is peaceful. Can’t really do much else while they’ve got custody over you.” Riley hummed. “Though… I do have an offer for you in spite of that.”
Jade tilted their head to the side. “An offer?”
“Yeah. While I can’t actually take you in, assuming that’s your end goal, I can at least keep my door open for you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, if you need to talk to me, or if you just need to get yourself or Jamie away from the noise… I’d be happy to let you visit. Don’t gotta call or anything.”
That seemed like a fair compromise. It also seemed a lot more reasonable than what they wanted too, given the circumstances. In the event that Riley couldn’t actually take them, at least having the opportunity to visit seemed nice.
Jade smiled for the first time that day. “Okay. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
Riley extended a hand. “Cool. Let’s shake on it.” Jade grabbed their hand and shook it without skipping a beat. “Oh, and, I’ll give you my address and everything once we get out of here.”
Not long after the two of them let go, Riley’s eyes widened suddenly, as if they remembered something. “Also, hypothetically speaking, if your grandparents decided they didn’t want you two anymore, you’ll be taken care of. That much I can say.”
Jade immediately wrapped Riley in a hug. “Thank you, Riley…” The gesture felt odd since they weren’t a terribly affectionate kid, but their emotions dictated they do it.
Riley returned the hug and patted Jade on the back. “Of course, Jade.”
After the hug ended, the two of them smiled at each other and returned to where they sat.
A lot of pressure had been lifted off of Jade’s shoulders, and they felt truly good for the first time in a long time. While the lack of assurance on actually staying with them was a bit disconcerting, the guarantee that they’d at least have someone to fall back on made them happy. It was so tiring growing up and having to deal with life alone.
The two of them had fallen into a comfortable silence, though it didn’t last for long. Jade’s stomach growled, which meant they were hungry. They’d almost completely forgotten they needed food. Oops.
They started to get up in search of food, but Riley gently pushed them back down. They seemed confused by the gesture.
“Sorry, but I think you deserve to just sit still for a minute.”
“Riley, I can…”
“Get your own food? I know that, silly. I also know you’ll just try to scrape by with the bare minimum too, and that’s not gonna fly under my watch.”
“But…”
“No ‘if’s, ‘and’s, or ‘but’s, got it?”
Jade nodded. “Got it.”
“Cool. Just wait here until I dig through Luna’s backpack.
Why Luna’s backpack specifically? They weren’t carrying much aside from medical supplies, the likely spoiled Thick Mints and—
Riley pulled out the yellow winterberry from Luna’s bag.
Ah.
Riley returned to Jade’s side and began fidgeting with the berry, likely plotting a way to split it evenly.
“What about Jamie and Luna?”
“They devoured the Thick Mints, didn’t they? I think we deserve a sweet treat every once in a while too.”
Jade felt conflicted about this. On one hand, maybe they did deserve something nice every once in a while. On the other hand though… they couldn’t help but feel bad about taking that away from the younger kids.
With a soft grunt, Riley managed to split open the winterberry. It wasn’t the most pretty split, but it was still a split. Some juice escaped from both halves, but it still looked very delicious otherwise. If they had no self-control, they’d be drooling at the sight.
Riley dropped the larger half in Jade’s hands and quickly bit into their own. It seemed that this decision was not up for debate.
They glanced over at Riley as if they needed confirmation. Riley gave a reassuring nod. Jade then pulled the berry up to their mouth to take a bite and…
Fortunately, it seemed neither the heat nor the climb ruined the berry. It tasted incredibly sweet and savory. They couldn’t quite pinpoint what fruit it closely resembled… but it had hints of both lemon and raspberry, maybe even others. The juice that gushed with every bite was so refreshing that they could swear off water and survive off of only the juice. It felt invigorating.
The worst part of it was actually finishing it. After no time, they’d swallowed the final bite and frowned once they noticed it was over. It did make them feel really good though, so they couldn’t complain too much.
They went to brush their hands on their shorts but noticed that several splotches of juice had already stained them. They felt embarrassed at allowing themselves to be so messy while eating, but it was too late to do anything about that now. Instead, they folded their hands in their lap in a vain attempt to cover up their mess.
Riley chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Jade. I’m not gonna judge you for it.”
“Still… it’s not very clean—”
“Look, no offense Jade, but for several days you haven’t showered, you’ve been sweating and you’ve been sleeping on the ground, but that’s where you draw the line?”
Jade couldn’t even argue that. Riley did have a point. It was difficult to argue cleanliness when they were the complete opposite of that—albeit not by choice—and couldn’t do anything about it. At the same time though, it was still inappropriate to make such a mess, and if they could control even one thing about their cleanliness, they absolutely would.
“I get it. Just… trying to not make a mess where I can, I guess.”
Riley sighed. “Yeah. I know. I’m sorry, just…”
“We have bigger problems to deal with. It’s okay, I’m just being dramatic.”
“Stop. You’re fine.”
“…Okay.”
The two of them sat in an awkward silence for a little while until Riley mournfully sighed.
“Riley?”
“I do miss being able to take a shower.”
Jade smirked. “Thought we had bigger problems to deal with?”
Riley playfully, and very gently, elbowed Jade. “Hush.”
Their little moment was interrupted by soft grunts and whines from behind. It was most likely just one of the younger kids waking up, but they were curious as to who it was.
They looked back for just a moment and confirmed that it was Jamie arising from their slumber. They didn’t want to stare though, so they instead watched the sunrise.
Well… they weren’t going to stare, until Jamie made a very disgusted “blegh” sound.
Jamie had turned their nose up and pulled Riley’s coat off of themselves as best as they could. They crept out from beneath it and from besides Luna, but froze when Luna started muttering something.
“P-Please… don’t leave me…” Luna whined. It appeared to just be sleep-talk, but still caught both Jade and Jamie by surprise.
Jamie scrambled to find their Bing Bong plush and then shoved it in Luna’s hands. Luna hugged it as tightly as they could as a smile formed on their face. Jamie then gently covered up Luna with Riley’s coat.
“You should wash that thing some time, Riley,” Jamie whispered.
“Let me know when you come across a washing machine out here, okay?”
“Sure,” Jamie replied sarcastically.
Jamie then sat down beside Jade. Jade gave a small wave and Jamie returned the gesture with an equally small wave.
“Good morning, Jamie. Sleep well?”
“Mornin’, Jade. Yeah, I—” Jamie’s gaze moved down. Oh no. They smirked. “Didn’t know you were a messy eater, Jade.”
Jade scrambled to justify the mess they made. “I, uh—”
Jamie scoffed. “Jeez, relax. I’m just messing with you.”
Riley stood up and approached Luna’s backpack once more. “You hungry, Jamie?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
“Alright…” Riley pulled out the box of Thick Mints. “You feeling these this morning?”
“Hmm…” Jamie grabbed the box and opened it. They frowned immediately. “Guess not.” They pulled out the bag, revealing a mess of cookie and fudge on the inside of it. “Still got that winterberry?”
A pang of guilt suddenly hit Jade. It turns out that they ate the very thing that Jamie had taken interest in. However, before they could apologize, Riley spoke up.
“I’m afraid not. I split it with Jade earlier.”
Jamie stared at Jade for a moment, then shrugged. “’kay. I guess I’ll just take whatever’s available..”
Jamie once again glared at Jade. “Don’t even.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know that look. You feel bad about eating it, don’t you? Well, don’t.”
“But—”
Jamie shoved an open hand in Jade’s face. “Nope! Not listening to it!”
Riley cleared their throat. The siblings turned around to Riley holding out some food. “Hey, uh, I’ve got some choices for you Jamie.” They held an ordinary mushroom in one hand and a red shroomberry in the other. “Didn’t think you’d want the thornberry so… here’s your options.”
Jamie rubbed their chin as they thought about their options. Jade assumed they’d immediately pick the shroomberry, so this came as a surprise. They didn’t think Jamie would even consider the other mushroom given the other choice they had.
Jamie, surprisingly, pointed towards the mushroom. “I’ll take that one. Let Luna have the shroomberry.”
Riley smiled. “Of course. That was the plan.” They then handed the mushroom to Jamie. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks.” Jamie turned back around and immediately tore into the berry. Jade ended up watching the sunrise while Jamie ate.
Riley sighed. “I suppose I should get Luna up. We can’t stay here all day, and they need to eat too.”
Jamie nudged Jade in the side. “You good?”
“Uh… yes? Why do you ask?”
“Just making sure. You seem a bit on edge this morning.”
“I’m alright.” They paused, deciding whether or not to disclose what they talked about with Riley. “I ended up having a chat with Riley about what we talked about last night.”
Jamie seemed much more interested now. “Yeah? And?”
“They can’t exactly take us, but… they’ll leave their door open for us at a minimum.”
“And what if… you know…?”
‘You know’ was code for ‘our grandparents giving us up’ or some variation. Jade knew that very well.
“They were kinda vague about it, but said we’d be ‘taken care of,’ whatever that means.”
Jamie hummed. They seemed to be satisfied by that response. “Thanks for that.”
“I figured you’d be upset about me doing that without you.”
“Nah. I… uh, was kinda afraid to talk to them about it, I guess. So… thanks.”
Jade patted Jamie on the back. They didn’t say anything, but Jamie seemed to understand the gesture nonetheless. Jamie leaned in for a side hug, which Jade happily provided.
It made them feel warm and fuzzy in their heart. Like… they didn’t feel hopeless for once. With Jamie on board with this arrangement, Jade felt a lot better about their situation. Maybe they couldn’t actually be a “family” with Riley but at the very least they could confide in them and they also had a safe space with them.
”Hey, you two!” On cue, the two of them turned around. Riley stood not too far behind them with a freshly bandaged arm and Luna glued to their side.
Jade waved. Riley and Luna responded with a nod and wave respectively. “Oh, hello you two. Sorry, were we taking too long?”
“Huh? Oh, no.” Riley shook their head. “You’re fine. Luna just finished eating and tending to my bandage, so…” Riley’s eyes shifted over to Jamie. “Jamie, I’d suggest having Luna check your cuts out while we’re here.”
Jamie glanced over at Jade, who silently responded with a nod.
Jamie shrugged. “Sure. Guess it wouldn’t hurt.”
Jamie then got up and walked past Riley with Luna to be examined. Jade wanted to give them some semblance of privacy, so they looked away. Jamie would likely follow up with them anyways if they felt the need to, so they didn’t need to observe.
Jade finally got up themselves. They felt a bit wobbly when their headache surged, but it quickly subsided and allowed them to re-stabilize. If it was going to stick around, it’d likely be a problem in the future. For now though, they chose to ignore it. After all, it was just a headache, it’d go away eventually… right?
“I take it we’re leaving soon?” Jade inquired.
“Correct. As much as I don’t want to go back out into the heat and sun, the sooner we get to the next camp, the better.”
“Agreed. At least there we can actually relax.”
Riley hummed in agreement. “Well, if there’s nothing else you need to do or talk about, we’re gonna get moving once Jamie is taken care of.”
Well, they did have that headache, but that was a lot harder to cure than open wounds so…
“I’ve got nothing else, so that sounds good to me.”
They weren’t entirely happy about lying about that, but they didn’t want to cause more of a burden over something that couldn’t just have a Band-Aid slapped over it. They’d probably bring it up at the next camp if it continued to be an issue.
The conversation abruptly, and awkwardly, ended there.
It seemed that Riley was not the greatest at socializing. It didn’t change how Jade viewed them, but it was still interesting to take note of.
Rather than stand there awkwardly, they grabbed their bag. They had forgotten how heavy it was because of the statue, but nevertheless, they slung the straps across their shoulders. The sudden addition of weight made their arms ache, but they chalked it up to simply being worn out.
They’d likely end up messing with the statue when they were somewhere safer. Their curiosity wanted answers. It was way too enticing and well-protected to not have any value or purpose.
They took a glance over at Jamie, though it seemed that Luna was not applying new Band-Aids. In fact, they gave a thumbs-up and Jamie put their tank-top back down. Had the wounds healed enough to not need to be covered? They were smaller cuts and scrapes, so it made sense if that was the case.
“Hey, listen up, you three!” Riley exclaimed. “If everyone is done with their business here, I propose that we continue moving. As always, I’d like for you to take charge Jamie. Uh, well, if you want to, that is.”
Nobody objected. Jamie seemed to be in agreement with this arrangement.
“I’ll take your silence as being ready.” Riley looked at Jamie and nodded. “Whenever you’re ready Jamie, we’ll follow.”
Jamie took a step towards the ledge and scanned the surrounding area, presumably for a way up. After a few minutes, they pointed over towards another shaded area. “Let’s head over there and work from there.”
Riley looked over at the area and nodded. “Sounds good. After you.”
Jamie started scaling down the wall, and as expected, both Riley and Luna followed behind them. It seemed that Jade would be trailing in the back again, which they had no problem with. They gazed at their makeshift camp before silently wishing it farewell and made their descent after the others.
They held their head a little higher today. A lot of things had gone well in the morning and they felt pretty confident that things would go their way from here on out.
All they had to do now was actually survive to be able to see all of that through.