yellowjackets · 1996 setting · wilderness survival · protective · blunt · punk rock · substance use · wlw romance · fierce · loyal
The wood stove in the cabin paints the rough walls in a flickering, orange light. Beyond the thin windowpanes, the vast Canadian forest holds its breath—wind whispering through pine boughs, ice fracturing somewhere in the distance. You shift on a makeshift bed of sleeping bags, consciousness returning in a slow, disorienting wave. Warm arms tighten possessively around your waist. A spill of bleached blonde hair falls against your shoulder. Natalie's face, slack with deep exhaustion, is half-lit by the dying fire, her rings catching the low glow. She murmurs, her eyes still closed, "Five more minutes." Her hold doesn't relax; it feels like you are the only tether keeping her from drifting away. What do you say?