Remainers

The Things We Lost, Part 4

Caleb and Tia sauntered through the forest, trudging through fallen trees and burnt grasses. Neither of them had spoken for the last half hour, and because of that, Caleb had no idea what Tia was even trying to do. She seemed to be wandering aimlessly, as if waiting for her partner Aislinn to show up again. He thought to try getting her attention, but at the same time, he figured she'd just keep on ignoring him anyhow.

He turned his attention to the forest around him. If he wasn't going to get Tia to talk to him, then he'd at least take the time to do his job. Not that there was much to see anyhow. The area was covered in splintered wood and spiky branches – not exactly the best place for animals to hide out.

So he thought, but as he continued strolling through the forest, he suddenly heard something in the distance that caught his attention. It sounded like a desperate squeal, one he would have missed if this area wasn't so silent. He turned to call Tia, but thankfully, she had already noticed as well, what with her hearing being much better than his.

The sound was coming from an area that was thickly covered in tall, prickly grass and fragments of charred tree bark. They had been walking around it due to how difficult it would have been to traverse, but right now they didn't have any other options. Caleb took out a machete from his pack and began cutting away at the fallen trees, attempting to carve a safe path to where the noise was coming from.

The cutting somewhat drowned out the sound, but as they got closer, the animal's mews only became louder. Eventually, they found its source: a small rabbit laying meekly on the ground. It's hind leg was pierced by a splintered piece of wood, making the source of the animal's woes clear.

"What are the chances?" Caleb grumbled as he searched through his pack. To his surprise, he couldn't find his first aid kit, and when he realized that Hope may have taken his on accident, Tia had already knelt down and taken out her own kit. As she removed the splinter and dressed the wound, Caleb sat down on a nearby stump and watched her work. When she wasn't throwing him dirty looks and angry scowls, she certainly looked the part of a diligent remainer.

Once the rabbit's wound was bandaged, it hopped off happily, though a little unevenly. Once Tia was sure the rabbit would be fine, she packed up her things and walked off without even a word to Caleb.

"Shouldn't we take that rabbit with us?"

"It'll be fine. Rabbits can take care of themselves. I bet it wandered in here randomly anyhow."

Caleb was unsure, but as she continued to walk off, he ended up following after her with a tired sigh. At this point, he was just waiting for Hope to return, just like Tia was Aislinn.

However, the two ended up spending the rest of the day working together. They largely operated separately, and there was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that they wouldn't unnecessarily butt in on each other's work. Caleb was worried that Tia would take the chance to walk off while he was busy searching a particularly messy area, but thankfully it seemed like she was, at the very least, willing to wait for him to finish up before moving on. Perhaps she simply didn't want to be told off by Aislinn if she found out she walked off, but Caleb simply had no way of knowing.

In the end, they never ended up linking back, so Caleb decided to head back to his camp. He made the suggestion to Tia, who didn't respond one way or another, but since she did end up following, he guessed she didn't really have an idea of where she'd be either. It was a good thing she didn't try and fight him either, especially with the sun barely floating over the horizon.

Thankfully, his hunch was correct. There, sitting at his camp roasting fish without a care in the world were Hope and Aislinn, idly chatting by the fire. Aislinn waved casually to them as they approached, to which Tia responded with an annoyed scoff.