"Was it a good letter, at least?" Aurora asked once Juniper folded the paper up and tucked it in her pocket. The Lamball had waited patiently at her side once she’d found the envelope on the bedside table and headed outside to read it in the faint light of the morning sun. She really was so sweet.

  "Yeah, it was good," Juniper replied before stepping closer to the Lamball and pcing an arm around her shoulder. “Lily actually wrote more than two sentences this time. Dare I say it even made my heart flutter.”

  It wasn’t as though Lily had written anything beautiful, it was actually kind of the opposite if Juniper was being truthful. However, the only reason it was slightly odd was because she clearly tried to put more effort into it. Even tried to be a little sappy. It was that awkward attempt that made Juniper smile wide and let out a contented sigh.

  “Good,” Aurora nodded and smiled herself before being led off toward the shack by her human. Just like yesterday, everyone got up with Aoi and the grass Pals to begin the day early or so Juniper led them to believe. The real reason Juniper had gotten up was to try and get in one st goodbye to Lily. Unfortunately, the woman still managed to slip away sometime in the night without being discovered. Something that both vexed and impressed Juniper. Would it kill her to get a kiss on the cheek? Or maybe even smack on her ass to send her off? So annoying!

  Now that her pns were foiled, Juniper spent the morning helping with the food and then asked Flora, Sephie, and Aoi to give them all a lesson in foraging. Mostly for her and Aurora but it didn't hurt to give Vesta a better idea of what humans could eat. And speaking of food, she definitely wanted more fish! They’d have to rely on Vesta for that but maybe one of these days enough crap would wash ashore that she could fashion a fishing pole of sorts. She didn’t need anything fancy, just a sturdy branch, enough fishing line, and a hook. No need for a rod and reel even if that would be preferable. Surely there was a twisted ball of all that floating somewhere out there in the ocean, ready to pollute the shore as its final act. Only to be found the next morning by the little group.

  Throughout the day, Juniper moved from task to task with a speed previously unmatched in her time here. Sure, there were more mouths to feed now but that wasn’t the underlying reason why she threw herself into her work. If anything, they had never been more prepared. They had a steady food source, were tucked away in their quiet corner of the isnd, and the bedtime cuddle pile was nothing if not excellent. So, why did the hair on Juniper's neck stand up whenever she thought about those hills and what was on the other side?

  With this motivation to drive her, task after task fell to the group over the remainder of the day and through the next few. First up was the shack that had housed her for the first few days. The roof was still leaking water from the one giant hole, not to mention all the windows that were still busted out. Now that they had the tools though, Juniper finally felt confident to tackle the problem. Especially after another salvage trip to the beach rewarded them with enough pstic sheeting to finally cover the broken windows. Albeit in a multitude of colors. Whatever bits they had left over were used to cover one of the cabinet doors before it was nailed into pce using a few of the crude ones Lily had brought with the tools.

  The pstic was a great find but the two rge barrels they salvaged were the real star of the show. Along with some more cordage and some pstic bottles. No fishing line, sadly. With all this they were able to fashion a rain collector of sorts using the roof of the little shack as the big surface they could direct the water from. Sure, they had Aurora and her new powers to help with water; however, there was so much Juniper didn't understand about this pce and redundancy was a way to guard against it. Besides, it was clear that the Pals couldn’t use the powers continuously throughout the day. She’d seen how both Flora and Sephie needed to rest after making a certain amount of food grow. The Lifmunk did appear to be able to go longer, though. Would more powerful grass powers be able to grow food all day? Or in worse conditions? An interesting thought she would have to keep in mind.

  All these projects managed to keep Juniper's mind occupied for those few days, at least. Well, that and the sight of the group bathing and the gentle embrace of her pals at night. Even Aoi seemed to warm to her a little more following her binding of Sephie. In fact, they'd even taken to walking around the edge of their little clearing after dinner each night. Presumably to do st "checks" for the evening, but Juniper enjoyed getting to know the young woman more. Perhaps when you've id yourself bare in front of someone, the prospect of talking to them seemed much less daunting.

  "Sephie seems to be getting along with everyone nicely. Even Vesta, which I'm surprised about." Juniper shrugged as she walked but kept her eyes peering out into the forest from where they skirted along its edge.

  "Yeah," Aoi agreed. "She's been really helpful with the pnts, too."

  "Oh? Just the pnts?" Everyone appeared to be as focused on their work tely but she couldn’t help but notice one particur foraging trip had sted much longer than the others and left Aoi tired and sore. According to her own admission ter that evening.

  Aoi didn't respond to the question and only cringed away from the implication. Which caused Juniper to chuckle before reaching up and lightly squeezing her shoulder. "I certainly don't have room to judge," she started before leaning over and dropping her voice conspiratorially. "It's really fun, isn't it?" Fun, free, and it only helped to deepen the bond between her and her pals. A win, win, win if you asked her.

  "Yeah...yeah, it is," Aoi finally admitted.

  "So don't sweat it. We deserve to have some fun, right? And it helps you get closer with Sephie."

  Aoi cracked a small smile then and nodded. "You’re right, and it's a nice way to rex."

  "It really is, there's nothing like getting fucked to melt the stress away! And, from what I saw, Sephie seems pretty good...just like she is with pnts."

  Aoi's face appeared to flush at the honest admission but she otherwise seemed lost in thought for a moment. Perhaps remembering her and the Lifmunk's test tryst? "Oh, well, yes. She certainly knows what she wants, too!”

  "Well, it sounded like you knew what you wanted the other morning. You're making that clear, right?"

  "Yes, I am."

  "Good." Juniper looked over following the single word and raised an eyebrow as she slowly looked over her companion. "Is there anything else you want, Aoi?"

  Implication was practically dripping from Juniper's voice but she otherwise held a respectful distance as they walked. She had been careful not to come on too strong thus far but she wasn't exactly blind either. She saw how Aoi’s gaze lingered, how her cheeks flushed every so often during their evening bathing routine.

  "I...uh," Aoi stammered and finally had to look away under Juniper’s gaze to collect herself. "I do but I'm not great at going and getting it, not like you and Lily.” Following another few moments of silence, she looked back over with her own inquisitive look. “Do you and Lily get what you want...from each other?"

  “We do, sometimes.”

  “Everything you need?”

  “Ohhh,” Juniper drew out her response in understanding. “Are you asking if Lily and I are together? Like, exclusively so?”

  Aoi only nodded in response and Juniper assumed this was no doubt hard for her to ask, even if it had probably been on her mind awhile now.

  “No, we aren’t. At least, I don’t think so.” Honestly, Juniper had to pause and think about it for a moment. It wasn’t like they had talked about what they meant to each other explicitly. Shit, they had only really known each other for what? A week or two? Still, Juniper couldn’t deny that she felt a connection with Lily that extended beyond mere friendship. She could be frustrating in her approach to things but there was a certain elegance to how she saw the world. In a practical way that just made things simpler.

  It was much like Juniper herself, who tended to want to save complicated feelings for complicated problems. As if serious retionships weren’t complicated or those involving multiple partners. However, for now, she was just looking for support and companionship, besides having someone or someone’s to occasionally share her bed with. “No,” she repeated, shaking her head for emphasis before looking back over at Aoi. “So, you know, if you ever need something from me, all you have to do is ask or even just reach out.”

  “Oh, okay…I will.”

  Juniper smiled and nodded and then let the matter drop before they arrived back at camp and gathered everyone to go to the pool. Whereas Lily might’ve taken her up on her offer right away, she figured Aoi might need some time to think it over and come around. If she was even going to. Oh, Juniper hoped she would! She just couldn’t let her excitement get the better of her, not yet.

  The rest of the evening proceeded like normal and a few hours ter the group was busy arranging themselves and deciding who was going to y where for the evening. This time Flora ended up behind Juniper with Aurora and Vesta cuddling into her chest. However, after everyone settled down, she suddenly felt Flora sit up and then move away from her back. That was odd; was something wrong?

  She was about to ask when she heard a few whispers and then felt another body press into her back. A new body. Aoi’s body judging by the ck of anything pressing into her back and how timidly the arm id across her. Well, that wouldn’t do. So, Juniper shifted and took up the hand before using the leverage to pull her new partner close until their bodies connected at nearly every point.

  “Much better, right?”

  “Yeah,” Aoi whispered back in the darkness. Juniper was surprised she had been this bold but wasn’t about to question it. Perhaps she, Lily, and the Pals were rubbing off on her in more ways than one.

  The new arrangements finally brought a calm over Juniper’s mind and she rexed further back into the hug. This wasn’t a repcement for Lily but something new, something exciting. Aoi had cracked the door and Juniper fully intended to keep easing it open until she could step through. Little by little, starting with repaying the gesture in kind tomorrow.