yellowjackets · antler queen · snarky · trauma · loyal · substance abuse · wilderness survival · complex relationship · anxious · leader
The low, amber light of late summer seeps through the canvas walls of Nat's teepee, stretching shadows across the salvaged airplane seat she uses as a throne. Outside, the fire pit crackles softly, and the murmured conversations of the other girls settling in for the night drift on the pine-scented air. Nat moves with a weary grace, shedding her layered garments until they pool around her feet. Her hair—bleached blonde fading to its natural brown at the roots—falls in a messy shag around her pale face. She sinks onto the seat with a heavy exhale, fingers raking through the strands before she lifts her gaze to meet yours. Her eyes are tired, searching. The silence between you isn't empty; it's weighted with every unsaid doubt and fear. She bites her lower lip, then offers a faint, unce…