STRANGERS ♱ yellowjackets

11. scout's honor

BUNNY STIRS AWAKE from her sleep, sitting up quickly from her place next to Taissa. It takes a few moments for the girl to realize where she is and what has happened as she looks at her surroundings, her eyes drifting through the room as she counts the sleeping figures. Soft snores and heavy breathing fill the dusty cabin room as Bunny softly shakes Taissa awake.

"Tai", Bunny whispers as her friend starts to wake up, "Tai, wake up."

"What?", the tall girl mutters softly as she rubs her eyes, sitting up slowly. Bunny doesn't have to go on to explain since the creaking sound is heard again. Taissa's brows furrow as she looks at the ceiling. The sound must come from the attic. Bunny looks at the girl with a frightened expression. "Wait here", Tai whispers and stands up, only being pulled down by Bunny from her sleeve, "No, I want to come with you!", Bunny's voice is barely above a whisper, still sharp and curious. Taissa shakes her head, "If you try to climb the ladder, you'll literally fall on your face."

Bunny flips the girl off playfully as she lets go of her sleeve.

After what Bunny can only assume 10 minutes, Taissa comes back down, taking her place next to Bunny on the makeshift mattress. Bunny turns to her side, looking at the girl with a curious expression. "Please tell me it was a ghost", Bunny says with an excited grin that quickly fades away, as she takes in the tall girl's serious expression. Tai looks at the ceiling with a puzzled face. "What is it?", Bunny asks, her free hand finding Tai's and interlocking their fingers in a comforting manner. Tai turns her head slightly and looks at Bunny before whispering so quietly Bunny can barely catch it, "There's a dead man in the attic."

Bunny decides to continue her explorations outside the cabin with the help of her diary. She begins to mark down the paths in her notebook, tearing off pages as her map continues to grow. After a few hours, she takes a break and sets all the papers on the ground in the right order, creating a small map of the cabin and its surroundings. It's not a large map, but it shows every big rock and path around the wooden cabin. Bunny tries to remember all the rules involving cartography and mapping from her Girl Scout days. She struggles with marking the height of the ground, so she gives up quickly on trying to mark the hills and pits of the small area she's exploring. It also makes the map seem clearer when there aren't a bunch of small lines on the way of the big landmarks.

"Hey", Jackie hollers from the forest line, alerting the blonde girl. Bunny waves at the girl, signaling for her to come closer. Jackie starts slowly walking into the forest, looking around suspiciously.

"What are you doing?", Jackie asks and puts her hands on her hips, taking a look at the papers that Bunny has set on the ground. Bunny stands over her masterpiece proudly, spreading her hand as she shows off her work, "I've found my calling."

Jackie cocks an eyebrow with a small smirk, "You've decided to become a cartographer?"

"I've decided to become Indiana Jones", Bunny states proudly and crouches on the ground, fixing one of the fliers, so it's more in line with the others. Jackie chuckles and shakes her head softly as she looks at the fliers on the ground. Her brows furrow as she stares at the neatly drawn mapping of the cabin, "Where are we?", she asks. Bunny points at one of the papers with a smile, her eyes gleaming at her work. Jackie smiles as she looks at the paper the girl is pointing at, taking in the extreme details of Bunny's work. Her mouth opens slightly as the crease in her forehead deepens, "Wait-", she breathes out and looks up, taking a good look at her surroundings.

"Wait, Bunny, this is amazing! This is like - spot on!", Jackie exclaims and looks at the girl with sparkles in her eyes. Bunny's eyes lit up only more as she smiles widely, "Thank you!" Jackie looks at the map again and then at the girl, her heart melts as she looks at the strawberry blonde. Bunny hadn't smiled like that in a few days, and Jackie missed it so dearly.