Jungle Madness

Chapter 1, P6 - Piling up

Natalie sat on the grass, her left leg raised so her arm and head could rest on top. The beaver looked up, staring at the starry sky with the brightest rock basking in their light..

Perturbed, Nova grasped the window rail and peeked outside to where the beaver sat somberly. The panda couldn't help but be worried; she had skipped dinner and, no matter how many times he and his family asked, didn't want to move. Additionally, though it wasn't windy, autumn nights were cold and her clothes weren't suited for the temperature.

"She may catch a cold..." Isabelle mused, eyeing the beaver her son watched so avidly. "Nova, you should bring her a blanket and, if you can, try to get her to eat something."

"Yeah, I know," Nova agreed, moving upstairs. "I'll see what I can do."

Marvin prodded her shoulder as she watched Nova leave, a smirk centimeters away from spreading across his face. His stare remained focused on his guest. "Isa, you should come see this sloth. He's eating in the slowest way possible! It's so entertaining to watch."

"You're such a kid honey," the polar bear giggled, sitting in the chair next to him. She watched her husband with amusement, but something tugged at the back of her mind.

"I wonder what happened to her. She didn't say much..."

As she mused to herself, Nova took one of the sheets from his closet, walked downstairs and snatched a couple of snacks from the kitchen before heading outside. Natalie was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't feel his presence until she found herself wrapped inside the blanket.

"Oh, hey..."

The panda sat down next to her. "So? How's it going?"

"It sucks."

"Yeah, I figured. It isn't exactly the best day ever."

"No, it's not just today. Everything sucks."

Nova opened a packet of crisps and tilted the bag towards her so she could grab some. "Eat something or my mom will have an existential crisis."

"Ugh... I can't. I legit lost my appetite when I saw her on the bed..."

The panda winced, pulling the bag back towards him. "I see. Sorry for pushing you."

Natalie grasped the blanket and tightened it around her body. "Thanks. I was getting cold."

"Don't mention it."

The two stayed quiet for a while as they stared up at the stars.

"I've been trying to get him to talk to me for a year now. Not even once did he mention this. He must be blaming himself, I'm sure of it. Mark isn't the type to tell you how he feels. That stupid cat has been harassing everyone trying to take his mind off it. Why can't he just tell us? I wonder what he's thinking. He gave up on school, yet he hasn't quit. He's doing his best to make himself hated while he grieves in silence."

"There are a few things in this story that don't sound right," Nova murmured, scratching the back of his neck with a pensive expression.

"I'm going to dig deeper into this tomorrow."

"I don't think talking to him is a good idea right now."

"Fuck, I know!" The beaver huffed, her grasp on the blanket growing tighter. "As much as I'd love to confront him about it, that's not what I was thinking. I want to beat his damn face in."

"You have something else in mind?"

"Yeah... I can try to pry some info out of him now that we know about Juliet."