I hate to say it, but that was the best night's sleep I've had in a while. Rosé's weight was still pressed against my body and I had my arms loosely draped across her waist. I blinked my eyes a few times to adjust and looked down to see her face still tucked into my neck. I stayed like this for a few more minutes so she could sleep longer because she needs it.
But soon I got fidgety and I needed to get up and do something because I was bored out of my mind. I skillfully got out of her embrace and walked outside, stretching and thinking about what I want to do today. I know I want to get some candles going and I have been observing a seemingly abandoned beehive. For the past few days I haven't seen any bees go into it, so I'm going to try and get some wax from it.
I quietly went back inside my home and Rosé was still dead to the world. I grabbed my bigger knife and then also wrote in the sand outside the door that I'll be back so she doesn't freak out if she wakes up when I'm gone. I'd rather not have to comfort her crying again.
Once that was all done, I walked down the beach and a little into the jungle until the beehive was in my sights. I sat somewhat near it and watched it for about 10 minutes, and no bees came around. I then mentally prepared myself in case I do have to sprint away if like 200 bees magically pop out. I gently tapped the hive with the tip of my knife and ran away a little, then looking back to see nothing. I let out a sigh of relief and then with one clean motion, slashed it down from the tree branch it was on.
It cracked slightly, but no buzzing bees came out to attack me. I then walked over to it and picked it up, making my way back home. When I came back, I saw Rosé was doing something outside of my home and just hid behind a tree, watching with curiosity. She was crouched over my writing and it looked like she was also writing in the sand. I decided not to interrupt her and just waited as she soon walked away with my fishing rod in hand.
Once she was out of my sight, I made my way over to the front of my home and saw some writing in the sand. I squinted a little to make out the letters and smiled softly:
Going to get more fish :)
My writing was scribbled out and hers was where mine was. I just kicked the sand around to get rid of it and then sat down on a log outside of my home and cut the beehive in half down the middle. There awaiting me was some honey and a ton of beeswax. I smiled and started cutting it up, putting the small amount of honey I was able to get in a clay pot. I then got the beeswax into a pretty good sized pile and walked back into my home to start up a fire so I can soon melt down the wax and drip some natural string I've made into it; creating a candle after many dips.
The fire soon awoke and I got half of the beeswax for now into the metal pot Rosé brought over and placed it on top, waiting for it to melt. In the meantime, I went back outside and made a place that the candles can hang from to dry. That didn't take too long and I soon heard footsteps approaching from behind me.
"What's this for?" Rosé asked me as she now stood next to me, pointing to where I'm going to hang the candles.
"I went out and found an old beehive and got a lot of beeswax from it and a small amount of honey from it. So with the wax I'm going to make some candles because I'm getting tired of always having to light a fire to be able to see in the dark." I explained to her as I walked back inside my home.
"Oh, so that's why you were gone." She said as she followed me. I nodded my head as I saw the wax was melted,
"That is what I was doing. Also, I'm surprised you're up already." I said as I took the pot outside and grabbed some string and started the long dipping process. Rosé just decided to sit down next to me,
"Yeah, me too honestly."
"What woke you up?" I asked her as I waited for the wax on the string to dry enough so I could dip it again.
"I uh, I'm not sure. Guess I woke up naturally." She said softly as she just watched me dip the string back into the wax.
"I understand, I just woke up naturally today. I then got out of bed and went to get this stuff." I told her as she nodded her head,
"Yeah, I'll be happy to have some candles." I looked at her,
"Who said they were for you?"
"Me." I laughed a little at how confident she sounded.
"Hey you know what you can do while I do this?" She shook her head, "finish the house." I said with a smirk as I pointed over to the part that still needed a roof.
"Wow, would you look at the time! I need to go and take a bath in the river!" She said with a smile as she ran off back into the jungle. I laughed and rolled my eyes as the roof would probably have to wait until tomorrow. But by the look of the sky, I don't think it'll rain, so we should be fine.
I sat here for a good two hours making multiple candles for my home. Rosé came back within an hour and pretended that she totally didn't know the house didn't have a roof on half of it. I showed her my candles and she took one, putting it inside and lighting it. I smiled proudly as the small wick held the flame.
"I am good," I mumbled to myself as I went out to make another since I only have three in total. I want at least like five or something by the end of the day. I was hunched over continuing a candle when Rosé tapped my shoulder,
"How may I help you?" I asked, my attention still on the soon to be candle.
"Do you know how to make paper?" She asked me as she just walked around doing stuff behind me. I stopped and looked back over my shoulder to her,
"Does it look like I would know how to make paper?"
"Yes."
"Oh," I said not expecting that, "well I don't. Just like, I dunno, find some trees that have thin bark and use that. What do you even need it for?"
"I want to paint or something to pass the time." I just looked at her,
"Then you gotta figure out how you're going to do all that. I'll leave you to it. I'm going to finish this last candle up and then I am going to cook a fish; you want one?"
"I do want one and I'll be back in a bit after I get some colored flowers to make some paint with." Rosé said as she walked along the outskirts of the jungle, picking flowers as she went. I heard her scream a few times and guessed that she ran into some spiders along her travels. I finished the last candle and hung it up while I put two fish on the fire for us. I had grabbed some carving wood earlier and I grabbed my knife, starting a new carving.
Rosé came back after a little while with an assortment of different flowers. She sat down in front of me and happily told me about each and every single one she got; from the name all the way to the meaning behind them. I just sat and listened, eating my fish since I had nothing better to do right now. She also found some thin bark to use as a sort of paper for when she starts painting.
"That was quite the lesson, thank you Rosé." I said as I then handed her cooked fish over. She took it and then looked a little disappointed. I furrowed my eyebrows, "what's wrong?"
"Why don't you call me Rosie?"
"Um, I don't know. I guess I've just been calling you Rosé since forever." I explained to her, a tad confused as to why she brought it up.
"Can you call me Rosie then?" She asked me, looking a little shy at the request. I tilted my head a bit,
"Would you like it if I started calling you Rosie?" She nodded her head with a small smile appearing, "alright then, Rosie it is. But quick question, why do you want me to call you Rosie?"
"I don't know, just wanted a change." She said quickly as she looked down at the fish, taking a bite. I hummed and finished up mine, throwing the bones outside and going back to my carving.
"What are you carving now?"
"I want to try and carve out a spoon because I just feel like it. May also do a whole set of utensils since I've never had my own." I told her as I chipped away at the wood.
"Tell me about your life." Rosie said after I stopped talking.
"Um, what do you want to know? You already know everything past the age of 15." I said with a nervous smile, not really liking where this conversation may go. I might have to relive some of my past that I'm not too fond of.
"If you're uncomfortable with telling me anything, I won't pressure you." She rushed out, most likely noticing my change in emotion towards the topic.
"No it's fine, I just won't talk about the depressing stuff I went through when I was little," I told her as I then remembered childhood memories, "well one thing about me is I was the one to always adventure. I went out of the small alleyway that my parents and I lived in and just walked up and down the streets; finding new ways to get to places. I loved the woods that were near as I would sometimes hunt for a rabbit for us to eat since we didn't have the money. It was always my time to just let my imagination run wild and I always imagined myself as the best thief in the world." I said with a small smile tugging at my lips.
"That sounds like a fun time you had when you were younger." Rosie said with a smile. I shrugged my shoulders,
"I guess; it was the best thing I could do with my life at that time anyway." I told her as I tried to think of something else to tell her.
"Another memory is when my friend Mina and I went down to the local market and set all the chickens free. The man running the stand looked like he was going to explode. Mina and I ran away, laughing as chickens ran beside us. People were screaming and panicking because of the chaos, but I felt alive."
Thinking of that memory made me remember my childhood best friend Mina. She and her family were also poor and then they soon had to leave because they were all hired by a family. It was sad seeing the person who made you happy leave, but she couldn't stay in those conditions; I didn't let her. She didn't want to leave, but I told her she needed to go and hopefully live a better life. The family that hired them seemed like okay people, so I hope she's still doing fine.
"That does sound like something you would do," Rosie said with a chuckle, "Mina sounds like a lovely girl who was your partner in crime."
"She's great, I hope Mina is living her best life out there somewhere. I wish I could see her again."
"You will." Rosie said as I just went along with her words of reassurance.
"What about you? What did the rich people do?" I said with a teasing smile as she hates when people bring up how she was rich. She rolled her eyes at me and stuck up her middle finger,
"Har har har, you're so funny," I laughed a little and then told her to tell me her favorite story, "fine. I think my favorite story from when I was younger and my older sister's boyfriend came by to visit for the day. I never like him and wanted him to leave my sister because he was," she stopped herself from speaking more. She looked away from me and I soon realized what she was going to say,
"He was poor, wasn't he?" I asked her quietly as she just guiltily nodded her head.
"I was 9 and my parents told me that poor people were no good, so that's what I thought he was. Now looking back, he was a nice guy, but that isn't a part of the story. So he came over and we had a cat that he absolutely feared. I made it my goal to carry that car into every room of our house to make him uncomfortable. Alice always loved our cat, so every time I walked it, she took the cat from me and pet it. The guy was terrified and soon ran out the door, never coming back. Alice then told me afterwards she was thankful for my plan because she didn't like him anyways."
"So you were a snobby 9 year old who played with people's fears?" I said, summing up her story. She gave me an unimpressed look and I smirked, "I nailed it."
"Shut up, I know I wasn't the best child out there."
"You can say that again." I said as I reached over for another piece of wood since my spoon was done.
"But I've changed, so that's what counts." Rosie said proudly as I just rolled my eyes at her, starting on carving a fork.
"So what set you off on hating me the second you laid eyes on me?" I asked her as it was always a question that lingered in the back of my mind. I could tell she wasn't expecting the question because she was taken aback slightly.
"Oh uh, I thought that you were going to steal any suitors away from me." She mumbled embarrassingly. I burst out laughing and had to set my knife and the beginnings of the fork down. I was losing it and Rosie just kept trying to defend herself, a blush settling on her face out of humiliation. I was in tears as I rolled over onto the ground, Rosie hitting me a few times to try and get me to stop laughing. I wiped away the tears and looked at her, still chuckling a little,
"That's hilarious! You thought that I was going to steal boys away from you! Haha!"
"Y/n!" She yelled annoyed at me as I started another laughing fit.
"You really picked the wrong girl because there's no way I'd ever want a man!"
"I get it! Okay, I was wrong, we understand that now!" I got my breathing back and slowly calmed down. I took a deep breath before talking again,
"I remember I was excited that there would finally be another girl there. Key told me the recruit was a girl and I was excited to meet you. That excitement washed away very quickly when you literally murdered me with your eyes." I told her.
"You were excited to meet me?" I nodded my head at her question,
"Of course I was. I was looking forward to making a new friend. Then found out right away that we weren't going to be close at all."
"I guess I shouldn't have been super rude to you because since we've been isolated on this island together, I've found out you aren't half bad."
"You're still as advertised." I said with a teasing smile as she roughly hit my shoulder. I rubbed it a little as she got me right on the bone, which hurts a lot more.
"You're infuriating." She stated as she got up and walked outside to do whatever she's going to do. I decided to follow her outside because my candles were most likely done drying and I can bring them in and cut them up into smaller ones. I got outside and saw Rosie just standing, watching the jungle with intense eyes. I grew interested and also watched the jungle, trying to see what captured her attention.
"What are we looking for?" I whispered to her as my hand slowly moved down to my sword. As soon as I said that, a sight that sent chills through my bones appeared.
A giant saltwater crocodile emerged from the jungle.
I froze and I heard Rosie take a deep breath in, telling me that she was about to scream. I quickly moved behind her and cupped her mouth and wrapped an arm around her waist. She screamed into my hand and I shushed her, whispering in her ear to shut up. Her eyes were wide as the over 2 meter croc was about 6 meters away from us at a 45° angle.
I'm surprised to see this creature here because they usually don't live in the Atlantic. We always watch out for them when we go into the Pacific Ocean. I'm also not sure how I haven't seen it before, so now I'm more terrified about what lies within the jungle. But I know enough about their behavior to know that we need to get out of its sights as quickly as possible. But we have to try and be slow about it so our movement doesn't attract it. I leaned in until my lips were gently touching Rosie's ear so there was no chance the croc could hear me.
"We need to slowly move into the house. But, if the croc starts charging us, run in a straight line as fast as you can, okay?" She nodded her head, "I'm moving my hand away from your face now, so shut up." I removed my hand from her mouth and she stayed in the exact same position.
I started to remove my arm from around her waist, but she moved her hand down to mine and grabbed onto my hand. She squeezed it out of anxiety and I started to lead us slowly back to the house. I held her hand the whole way and she had a death grip on my hand, making my face scrunch up a few times out of discomfort.
And as if our luck is absolutely gone, I heard the hiss of the croc and looked back, seeing its eyes set on us. My eyes widened and I knew we were going to have to run.
"Rosie, we gotta run!" I yelled as I started booking it down the beach, pulling her behind me. She started screaming and I could hear the croc barreling towards us. We had a good 7ish meters of a head start, so I think we'll be fine. Plus, it probably doesn't want to chase after us for that long.
Then this absolute idiot had to fall down. Next time I'm ever running to save my life, I'm making sure I'm not doing it with Rosie. She practically dragged me down with her since she was still holding my hand and I glanced up to see the croc stop looming over us, gaining ground now. I panicked slightly and by the wince that fell from her lips, she wasn't in the proper form to run anymore; most likely a sprained ankle.
"Damn you, come here." I said quickly as I put my left arm under her legs and my right under her back. She instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck and I soon stood up, running towards the rocks for some sort of safety I guess. I was panting harder now that I was carrying the deadweight herself. Rosie then started screaming in my ear,
"It's getting closer!" I became more frantic and my adrenaline took over now, allowing me to have a burst of energy and run faster, holding onto Rosie. A little time went by and I felt her physically relax,
"Is it done chasing us?" I asked her out of breath as I now just jogged a little.
"Yeah." As soon as she said that, I dropped her onto the sand below me. She landed on it with a thud and I held my lower back as it kind of hurt. I looked over my shoulder as saw the croc going into the ocean. I let out a big sigh and just collapsed to the ground, staring up at the sky.
"You didn't have to drop me like I'm deadweight!" I glanced at her,
"Did you forget one of the nicknames I have for you?" She just stared at me and I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing a little more.
"I definitely have a sprained ankle now." She said to me, I hummed,
"You definitely do. Have fun crawling back to my home." I said as I got up from the sand and turned around, ready to walk home.
"No come back!" She said dramatically. I actually chuckled a little before turning around to see her arm stretched out to me. I rolled my eyes,
"And why would I help you back?"
"Because..."
"Because what?" I challenged her, wondering where she was going with this.
"Because, we are friends now."
What? Friends? I blinked as I took in her words. I don't think we're that close for friends, but to her I guess we are. I quirked an eyebrow,
"So we're friends?" She nodded her head in confirmation, "how the hell did I get to be that status?"
"By becoming nicer to me. And by helping me out."
"That was all I had to do?" I asked her as those were some pretty low standards.
"Yes, now shut up and help me."
"Jeez, what a lovely friend I've acquired." I said sarcastically as I walked back over to her. She pinched my ankle and I yelped as I jumped back,
"I am a great friend; now give me a piggyback." She demanded of me.
"What's the magic word?" I said with a fake smile. She just rolled her eyes at me,
"Please?"
"The word was annoying, but I'll let it slide," I turned around and squatted down for her to get on my back, "hop on." I heard her moving around and soon her front was pressed onto my back. I hooked my arms under her legs and she loosely wrapped her arms around my neck, resting her head on top of mine.
"Can you not rest your boney chin on my head? It hurts." With that, she moved her chin around obnoxiously, then I threatened to leave her here. She stopped immediately and soon I was walking back home with good ol' deadweight attached to me. We were soon back and I set her down outside as there was no way I was going to be able to take her inside on my back.
"Thank you y/n." She said as I cracked my back. I looked down at her and gave her a small smile,
"No problem Rosie."
—————
sooo, what do y'all think? i think it was a good chapter, not my best but whatever lol. thank u all for reading and i hope to see you in the next chapter <3