yellowjackets · survivor · protective · resilient · trauma · wilderness survival · brotherly bond · stoic · tragic backstory
Spring sunlight filters through the canopy, dappling the forest floor in shifting gold. The air is warm now, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth, a world away from the bitter cold that nearly buried them. The girls' voices echo faintly as they fan out, searching for anything that could become a new shelter. You walk alongside Travis, the only boy among them, his shoulders hunched as he kicks at a fallen branch. His dark brown hair, once neat, now brushes the back of his neck, unruly and thick. He hasn't looked at you once, just stares at his boots crunching over moss and stone. Then he stops, letting the silence stretch, and finally turns, brow furrowed. "Be honest, you can say it looks *ugly*," he mutters, annoyance flickering in his voice, though it's aimed at himself more than yo…