Feral Frenzy || Susie x Female Reader

~4~

"And this one's yarrow, it helps to prevent fever," Claudette explained, the firelight reflecting off of her ebony skin, giving it a gorgeous shine. Even in all the shit, she still somehow managed to look flawless.

This was slightly frustrating.

"They all do."

I thought, the faces of all the girls in the camp running through my mind. My heart started to beat slightly faster at the thought of them.

"Hell, the guys aren't that bad either."

I purse my lips and think of how dreadful my own appearance must be. I wasn't exactly jealous, just mostly feeling slightly awkward and out of place. But I guess that's expected when you're thrown into a crowd of strangers.

Especially beautiful ones.

Shaking my head, I pull myself out of my little trance and pay attention to Claudette's teachings once again.

I realized I was staring at her hands while I was lost in my own thoughts, which looked roughened yet so gentle at the same time as she flipped through a notebook that contained drawings of various plants and descriptions within it.

She was teaching me Botany Knowledge.

My brain was trying to retain the information all of the plants and their medicinal uses, which was honestly giving me a headache, but I tried my best to remember out of the fear to stay alive... or escape the trial.

Since we apparently can't actually truly die here.

"And this one here," she points to a drawing of a tall flower with small clustered blossoms, "is goldenrod. It helps with infected wounds."

She looked up at me after she finished speaking, pushing up her glasses slightly. I smile a bit a nod, showing I understand.

"I really don't think I do."

I thought, suppressing a frustrated sigh. I know it's important information, but for some reason I just can't focus on her plant talk.

"Alright, well. That's basically some of the most common plants that can be found around here, and most that can be found in the trials."

She gets up off of the log and stretches, her joints popping loudly. We've been sitting in front of the fire for well over an hour, going over plant after plant after plant. All I could think of now was how uncomfortable these logs were, and how much they hurt your ass after awhile.

"I think I've managed to make some of them stick."

I finally said, and tried smiling a bit. She just smiles back and let's out a soft laugh, looking somewhat disappointed that I didn't fully understand her interest.

"I guess herbs aren't everyone's forte. Well, as long as you remembered some, that's alright. It's better than nothing."

She waved and left me sitting there alone, as she had to go help Jeff and David with their new wounds that were still in the early stages of healing. They were in a trial yesterday, so the injuries were obviously still fresh, and needing some medical attention.

I got up and walked a few feet from the fire, looking for a suitable place to sit. After a few minutes, I focus on a patch of grass that looks longer than the rest.

I sigh and let my body flop down on the long grass, staring up at the sky. Claudette told me that this was the only place outside of the trials where you could see the sky. Everywhere else in the forest around us was so dense with trees and fog, but here at the campsite, the fog stays back to the tree line.

"Is it always night here?"

I thought aloud, letting my words hang still in the air for a few moments, my eyes resting on the twinkling stars above.

"Yeah, pretty much."

I jumped at the sound of the other voice that gave me an unexpected answer, and looked to my side to see a boy sitting next to me. I didn't even hear him sit down, much less walk over. Puzzled, I stare at him, trying to recall his name as he gazed at the sky as well, what looked like dark violet bruises framing his deep brown eyes.

A clear sign of exhaustion.

"It's Quentin."

He said his name without looking at me, and I quickly looked away and back up at the sky, feeling awkward. He let out a chuckle and I sigh.

"Im sorry. It's just kinda difficult to remember everyone's names this soon."

I tried to explain but he just lays back as well, at least two feet between us, and let out a thoughtful hum.

"Nobody expects you to. You're new here, so it's understandable."

A warm feeling goes through me to know that there weren't high expectations set for me. It was quite relieving, actually.

"Thank you."

I mumbled, stifling a yawn. He says nothing, leaving us in a surprisingly comfortable silence. It was pretty nice to not be left alone in this unusual place when I thought about it.

There were people everywhere, but most of them were going about their own business. It was soothing to have another person close by, and somehow the silence just made it better.

We sit there in our comfortable silence, staring up at the sky together. The full moon and light from the fire was illuminating the camp, and my surroundings actually looked sort of beautiful. The moonlight reflected off of the tree leaves and shone through the dense fog, making it shimmer, which was a nice view.

Well... I mean it was beautiful in a weird, 'I'm trapped and never gonna leave a cycle of unknown pain and torture so I might as well appreciate the small shit' type of way.

The hair on the back of my neck began to prickle, and it felt as if someone were watching me. I began to feel unease claw at me, and I scanned the area around me, forgetting about the scenery.

Towards the other side of the campfire, sits Jake. He was just watching me, and when he saw that I noticed him, he didn't even bother to look away. His nearly black eyes just stay locked onto mine.

It felt weird, but I guess they're just still kinda curious since I am new here, so I close my eyes again and exhale softly.

It was probably nothing to worry about.

"Overthinking, much?"

Quentin's quiet snores can be heard from beside me and I hold in a giggle.

"That was fast."

I thought, but then again, the guy does look pretty tired. I began to feel my own exhaustion slowly tug at me along with pity for him, willing me to sleep. Too lazy and comfortable to get up and go to my tent, I just stay laying in the grass.

After a few minutes of my eyes being closed, I fall into a deep sleep.