134340 |JJK FF|

Chapter 39

"You think they will see the smoke as a signal we're here?"

"They know there's no living being here that would use fire other than us,"

Yumi was quietly munching on the peach as if in thought. The duo were right now walking through the greenery of this island, more to explore than to collect the woods they'd initially needed. Proxima was slowly setting now, and the chill of the night was creeping on them slowly. They needed the fire, to not just keep them warm but also to send an indication for their teammates to find them.

If they themselves are in a fit condition to sail. The unsaid words hung silently in the air.

"Maybe you shouldn't have climbed that tree," Yumi said as she glanced at his slightly sluggish steps.

It's not like her worry was unfounded. Jeongguk had nearly fallen off the tree trying to get down. He insisted that that was intentional, that he thought he looked cool as he slid the rest of the way down the tree, and that little accidents were common in the big world, but Yumi knew better than to believe him. Of course, he'd be like that, he was unconscious and half-dead only an hour ago.

"For the last time, I'm fine!"

Well, if he still knew how to argue stubbornly, Yumi reasoned that he probably was not that bad.

"Besides, I can't imagine you trying to climb a tree. And I didn't want to starve,"

"Hey, you're talking to an astronaut here! I've spent years in space. Trees are easy compared to a gravity-less vacuum,"

"They are not even the same thing! Have you never seen a tree before?"

"Um." Yumi wondered how she could break the news without sounding pitiful, "No,"

Jeongguk blinked, before shaking his head. He was having a hard time trying to hold up this weird sort of friendship they had formed. And her living a life without trees... Pluto was a hundred times better than Earth, he decided.

"... anyway. I doubt you know how to climb, much less how to get down. I'd be old and balding by the time you figure your way up and down,"

"That's..." She trailed off, feeling mutinous.

"Do you really want to help, though?"

"I do not like that tone."

"Well." Jeongguk glanced at her head, she did not like the glint in his eyes, "I can think of something,"

___________

"Am I a replacement for your beloved ship?"

Yumi grumbled at the new weight on her head, feeling something sharp poke her forehead.

When she said she was worried about him, that was hardly an invitation for him to change to his animal form and demand she carry him around. What, was she his new convertible vehicle now?

He poked her again with one tiny finger, making her change her direction to the way he was pointing. He let out a small noise when she reluctantly complied, balancing at a near-professional level on her head.

Yumi stumbled over a tree root, nearly sending Jeongguk flying off her. He tittered indignantly, pulling at her hair.

"I can't tell if you're a rabbit hybrid or lice."

That earned her another hair pull.

It took a while until they located back to the sea coast. Yumi couldn't help but think, hey, this island was quite small. In the vast sea, this was probably the size of a dust particle. It worried her slightly when when Jeongguk looked as clueless as her regarding their location. How her friends would find them here was beyond her, smoke indication or not.