"You don''t smell like them," the small boy with tousled brown hair whispered nervously from behind the protective shield of his leader''s leg.


    “Shh, Gabriel,” the little girl quickly hushed him with a gentle shove, giving me the opening I needed.


    "Well, Gabriel," I began, stepping forward with a calm smile, "the reason I don''t smell like your group is simple-I''m not part of their pack. Not yet, at least."


    Gabriel blinked in surprise, stepping out from behind the boy''s leg and approaching me cautiously. I patted the ground beside me, inviting him toe closer.


    "You see, I lost my pack a while back, so I had to fend for myself for some time. Kind of like what you guys are doing now." I nced at the older boy beside Gabriel. "Do you mind if we start a fire? The sun''s about to set soon, and it''s best to get a good ze going before darkness falls. Plus, now that we''re all together, we should make sure there''s enough wood to keep us warm, right?" I looked at him expectantly.


    He let out an exaggerated eye roll before replying with a reluctant huff. “Landon. Yeah, I suppose that makes sense if you''re sticking around."


    "Great! Hey, can my buddy Seth help out? It''ll go faster with two of us." Seth caught on immediately and jumped up before Landon could protest. "Oh! Do you have something to light the fire, or should we gather extra stuff and do it caveman-style?"


    "No, I''ve got it,” Landon said, pulling a lighter from his pocket and tossing it toward


    me.


    “Nah, you keep that. We''ll see you in a bit.” I turned away, trusting Seth to take over. Then I nced back at the little girl. “Hey.......”


    "Peyton," she replied, crossing her arms with a knowing smirk. "Let me guess-you think I''m going to cook for everyone just because I''m a girl.”


    I grinned. "Nope,” I said, emphasizing the ''P''. "I was actually wondering if you''ve seen any deer or tracks around here. I can''t survive on rabbits and little critters alone. We''re big men, right, Gabriel?” I nudged him gently in the ribs, catching a faint smile in return. "We need some serious food."


    "Oh. Uh... I''m not sure,” she admitted hesitantly.


    "Have you ever hunted a deer before?" I asked.


    She shook her head. "I''m only eight. I haven''t learned that yet."


    "Samuel''s a master hunter. You should go with him-he needs a scout." She nced between us, and Samuel looked right at home in his role. He seemed like the kind of dad who cared deeply for his kids.


    Peyton hesitated, ncing nervously from the brush cave entrance to Samuel. “I don''t want to go too far from Trinity. She might get scared if we''re not there."


    "Gabriel and I will take the first watch, alright?" I offered.


    She nodded, still unsure. "I promise I''ll be here when you get back. I want to hear all about your first deer hunt-every detail-so pay attention." That earned a smile from her, and she followed Samuel into the brush.


    “Alright, Gabriel. Tell me about your shy friend." I nodded toward the brush cave entrance.


    "That''s Trinity," Gabriel said softly. "She''s just little. I think she''s sad because we didn''t find her mom in the fire."


    "A fire?" I asked, hoping his story would help me piece things together.


    "Yeah," he said, eyes wide as he recounted the memory. "All the grass died, and the trees went like BRUSHKSK!" He mimicked the crackling sound with wild hand gestures. “My mommy made me run out of the house, but we couldn''t see anything because the dirt was in the air, too." His voice trembled slightly, as if the memory was still raw. “She told me to go by the river and wait, but she never came back. Landon found me, and we waited a little longer. Then it rained, and we had to go inside, but we didn''t want to go near the fire, so Landon found a spot close to the river where I could stay-where Mommy told me to."


    "You guys were really brave to stay safe like that," I said warmly. "When did you find the girls?"


    "Uh, I think it was after the rain stopped. We went to check on our mommies, but Peyton was just wandering around, crying because all the grown-ups were gone. Trinity was hiding under a big tractor near the barn. We searched for days, but no grown-ups showed up, so Landon said we had to find somewhere else."


    "That''s incredible. I''m so d you made it through all that. You worked together like true warriors." I smiled at Gabriel. "So, do you think Trinity would like toe out? Could you talk to her for me? Since all my friends are helping your friends, it might feel less scary."


    He shrugged uncertainly. "I''ll try."


    Miss L Author


    Thank you so much for reading. All constructivements and kind words are truly appreciated. I''m not able to interact here, but if you''d like to join the conversation, you can find me on social media as Miss.L.Writes.


    I appreciate you.