Spirit of the Woods

Back into the Pan

Back into the Pan

LGD Headquarter's roof, Lungmen

Firewatch opened her eyes as the sun hit shone directly at her eyes. She took a quick glance at the scenery in front of her and discovered the same city view from last night. She fell asleep on the roof. Yawning, Firewatch attempted to raise her arms to rub her eyes, but felt something weighing them down. Looking down and blinking hard, she discovered a black and blue jacket draped over her like a blanket. Just by the color pattern, she could tell it was Jacob's, but why was it here? However, her question was answered when she looked to her right. It was Jacob, leaning against the same wall as her, peacefully asleep.

As she observed his sleeping face, she remembered what last night. He had come up to the roof to bring up a couple of snacks and ended up listening to her play the harmonica. Firewatch smiled as she played with the jacket in her hands. She must have abruptly fallen asleep last night, and Jacob stayed with her. Standing up carefully, she grasped the jacket and draped it back over Jacob. Making sure it was secure, she left him and reentered the headquarters. The hallways were desolate at the moment, with the bulk of the building still asleep. Taking advantage of the time, she quickly took the stairs down to the cafeteria and grabbed a pair of breakfast and coffee from the food line.

As she exited the cafeteria with the food in hand, she ran into a certain Rhodes Island executive. "Ah! Miss Firewatch!" Amiya said as she stopped in front of her. "awake already?"

"I just woke up." Firewatch answered as she held the breakfasts in her hands. "Just grabbing some breakfast."

"Ok. Oh, have you seen the Doctor? He wasn't in the break room when I woke up."

The sniper rubbed the back of her neck before she gestured towards the bag of food in her hand. "The Doctor came upstairs to check on me last night. He fell asleep up there and still is. I'm just bringing him some breakfast."

Amiya gasped, "Get going. Don't let me stop you."

"Thank you, Amiya." Firewatch walked past the bunny girl, not seeing the bitter smile behind her. Trekking back through the building and up to the roof, she saw Jacob still asleep under his jacket. She set down the bag of food before crouching down in front of the sleeping Doctor. Placing her hand on his cheek, she gave him a sharp pinch.

"Ow." Jacob moaned as Firewatch let go of his cheek, "Why did you have to do that?"

"Good morning." the elafian said, not answering his question, "I brought you breakfast and coffee." Jacob yawned and began to put on his jacket as Firewatch rummaged through the food bag. After donning his jacket, Firewatch quickly handed him a styrofoam container and a cup of coffee.

Jacob accepted the two items in stride before snapping the container open, revealing a mix of eggs and potatoes. "Thanks, Firewatch."

"Sofia." Firewatch quickly corrected.

"What?"

She sat down beside them. "Just call me Sofia."

"Are you sure? Doesn't that go against procedure?"

Firewatch let out a chuckle. "It doesn't really matter if my name goes public. I'm an anomaly even to Rhodes Island. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, don't feel forced to use it."

"No, no, it's fine..." Jacob said, "Sofia. Then you can call me Jacob." The both of them let out a laugh as they sat on the roof again. However, before they could get comfortable, the door behind them bursted open, revealing a panting Blaze.

"Doc! We need to move out, NOW!"

Lungmen Highway

Firewatch slammed on the gas, accelerating the armored SUV down the empty highway. Beside her sat Jacob fretting over a map and behind in the back, sat the half of the Rhodes Island contingent, with the rest trailing behind in another car. Their vehicle wasn't the only one, either. They were only the vanguard of a massive convoy traveling to the city slums. Chen's voice came from the inbuilt radios, "We weren't expecting a Reunion offensive this late into the battle, but here we are responding to the second-largest Reunion attack so far."