Two Months

Field Trip! (Part 1)

Floyd asks if he and the rest of his brothers can go on a little trip to find some puffalos when JD suggest doing a family bonding activity.

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It didn't take long for Clay to clean up the bathroom and the small mess they had made in there. Floyd has insisted that he needed to help since he was the "root of the problem" as he had put it, but Clay ignored him and sent him off to join the others in the main area of Branch's bunker.

That had been his original plan when he walked into Floyd's room. John Dory had suggested that the brothers all do something together, and Clay volunteered to go get the only one of them who had been missing.

He wasn't excepting to find Floyd rocking back and forth on the floor by his bed, in what seemed like a state of pure panic and terror. He can't even begin to imagine what Floyd went through that prompted that sort of reaction.

Sure, his little brother was known for being the sensitive one of the group, but this didn't seem like the same thing. What he'd gone through was a genuinely traumatizing experience, and Clay could only wish that none of it had happened in the first place.

Moving on from that train of though, Clay decided it was about time he go rejoin the group and finish discussing their little family activity. He made his way out of the bathroom next to Floyd's room and started his small journey back to Branch's main living area.

As he approached the space, he could hear JD and Bruce arguing over what they should all do together. The oldest of the five wanted to go on a hike, explore the forest and see all of its magnificent wonders. Bruce, on the other hand, wanted to go to the beach and relax. Clay couldn't hear if Branch or Floyd had anything to say, however, so he imagined they were both just sitting there, listening to the two eldest argue like they always did. Back before they had all split ways and abandoned their family.

"I'm back, guys," Clay practically shouted, as it was the only way to be heard over all the commotion. "Did ya miss me?"

"Clay! Welcome back, bro," said JD. "Don't know if you heard, but we were just coming to the conclusion that we should go on a hike for our little family reunion."

"Hey, wait a minute," interrupted Bruce. "We never decided on that, man. You've got to at least let Clay have a say in this."

"First off, thank you Bruce," Bruce smiled at Clay, "and second, have either of you asked Branch or Floyd what they'd like to do?"

"We already asked Branch. He said he doesn't really mind what we do," said John Dory.

"I said I don't mind it this one time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he waved off Branch's comment. "Kinda forgot about Floyd, though, not gonna lie. Sorry about that."

"It's all good. Don't worry about it," Floyd was quick to assure his brother after he was given an apologetic look. "Uh, I don't really know what I'd like to do, though. It's been so long since I've done some things, so it's hard to pick just one." He thought about it for a moment, ideas running through his mind. He quickly glanced down at his arms, remembering the Band-Aids that were there, when something caught his eye.

"Actually," he started, "could we maybe go out and see if we can find some puffalos? I haven't seen any in forever, and I really want to feel their fur again, if that's possible."

"You know what, Floyd? That's a great idea," said Clay, looking at his two older brothers to try and gauge their opinion on the matter. It seemed as though they agreed with him, and when he looked over at Branch, the youngest of them all had a smile on his face. Why? Well, he doesn't exactly know, but he's glad it's there.

He's glad to see both his little brothers with smiles on their faces.

Now, onto the puffalo adventure!