Stranded in Paradise [An II Au]

Lunchtime

"I-I just don't get it!" Balloon said as he set down the makeshift shovel by his side. He looked down at the newly dug grave for Paintbrush, which sat right next to Cabby's. "We've searched everywhere for Silver, yet we just can't find him anywhere! Where could he be...?" He continued as he held onto the side of his head.

"Hey, don't you worry about all that balderdash. I'm sure we can get the others to set their sights on Silver. It's not like he's gone forever, ain't he?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Why don't we go get a bite, okay? You look like you could need it, buddy."

"Um, wait...! Before we go..."

Balloon went towards a small bush of bright purple flowers. He picked one of them off its stem and placed it on Paintbrush's grave, lowering his head mournfully. "Rest in peace...I'm...sorry we couldn't save you," he then got back up and walked towards Tea Kettle, who pat him on the back. "You're such a respectful young man, kiddo." She smiled as the two walked away from the gravesite.

...

...

Nickel leaned against the Pic-Nix table with a grumble, sipping slowly on a can of Dr. Fizz. It was a good thing Yang wasn't here to call him out on it. I mean, he wasn't the only one who could drink Dr. Fizz, right? His eyes were plastered on OJ, who was leaning against the cave wall, coughing violently into his forearm. The breakfast beverage's condition had gotten worse since he first began coughing. No one was sure what exactly it was just yet, but OJ mentioned before how it had something to do with the water from the river.

Where Lifering's body had been floating for days on end.

It was best not to think of the worst. "Hey! Jay! You...want something from the table? I can generate you something." Nickel shouted to OJ from across the table. He just raised his arm in denial, "No thanks...I'm *cough*...I'm good. I can hardly taste it anyway..."

"...Suit yourself."

"Go ahead and sit down for a bit, okay, boy-o?" Tea Kettle said as she sat Balloon down on the other side of the pic-nix table. "Uh, thanks..Tea Kettle...but I'm sure I can take care of myself!" Balloon smiled.

"Heh. And here I thought you weren't such a big mama's bo after all," Nickel chuckled.

"Hey!" Balloon blushed in embarrassment.

"Hey! Don't be arguing with your ally like that. One day you'll look back on your actions and regret them, mister!" Tea Kettle scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah. Like that'll ever happen." Nickel rolled his eyes.

"Such disrespect...anyway, help yourself to a sandwich or something, Balloon-"

A turkey sandwich appeared in front of the bright red balloon. "-...Yeah! There we go!" Tea Kettle chuckled, "I should go see if Testy and Fan need help with their little quandary. You boys try not to kill each other until then, got it? And OJ is here, so he'll be watching!"

"Yeah, in the state he's in right now.." Nickel said and glanced over at the sick glass of orange juice, "I doubt he'd even be able to think straight."

"Nickel. That means you!"

"Right, right, sure."

"Atta boy! I'll be seeing you boys later then!" Tea Kettle waved goodbye as she went down the path to the rest of the forest. It was quiet in the campgrounds, save for the sound of crackling fire and OJ's coughing. "...You know, I've been getting better at using this leg for everything now," Nickel said, looking at his prosthetic leg, "You really don't need to help me anymore."

"Well, I'm...glad to hear that, but...you've been acting really upset these past few days. You've been avoiding getting any actual sleep. Are you really not getting sick?"

"What? Of course I'm not. I've just been...experiencing some nightmares these past few days. Nightmares about Baseball and Clover and Su-"

Nickel paused.

"...Nickel...Clover and...who?" Balloon inquired.

"...I've just been having bad dreams, okay? Don't worry about it."

"No, please...just tell me."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore than I need to, okay? It's not like we can just...forget the past happened. It sucked, I'll admit it. But I just don't want to think about it anymore for the time being. So let's just...try and move on from that, okay?"

Balloon sighed and nodded.

"...I've been dreaming that I was back at the hotel...and...everyone around me just...hated me. Not like they don't already, I mean...I AM Nickel, after all. But...this seemed a lot more...personal. Like I'm a public threat or something. They've just been...badgering me about my trauma. I don't know how else to really explain it. But...I think this island is just driving me insane."

"...It's...driving us all insane, Nickel. Don't blame me, I wanna go home and see everyone else too. Especially Suitcase..."

Nickel flinched at the mention of her name.

"...But...I guess that's what's worth surviving over. We have people waiting for us at home, right? And...I'm sure that if we cooperate just a bit longer, if we can try and set aside the past and...try to at least trust each other...then we can finally go back and see everyone we love, right? We don't have to be friends, but...maybe just a...truce would be nice?"

"...When did you start getting into all this motivational talk, huh?"

"Well...I guess I've just really changed a lot."

Balloon chuckled before he broke his sandwich into two, passing one of the halves off to Nickel across the table. The five cent coin picked up the sandwich with his good foot and raised it into the air. "A toast, to everyone vac at home, everyone here, and eventually getting the fuck off this island."

Balloon chuckled and tapped his sandwich against Nickel's.