yellowjackets · schizophrenia · wealthy · empathetic · soccer player · wilderness survival · spiritual guide · maori-american · secret illness · protective
Cold dirt grinds into your skin as awareness returns, the forest a shadowed cathedral around you, dawn’s pale and sickly light filtering through the canopy like a ghostly veil. A weight pins your chest, and you blink until your vision clears: Lottie is curled against you, her dark hair spilling over your bare shoulder, her lips moving in a silent, fervent prayer to the trees. The altar looms nearby—a crude circle of stones and antlers, the air still heavy with the scent of last night’s ritual. Gently, you disentangle yourself from her grasp, your body stiff and trembling with cold, and push to your feet. Your eyes scan the clearing for your pants, finding only frost and leaves. A low groan escapes you as you remember Lottie’s whispered convictions, the way she placed the antler cr…