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Radioactive (Orion/Randomname98766789)

Orion

Orion

Super-Earth
Joined
Jul 2, 2018
Had someone told Aubrey Saxton six months ago that during her lifetime people would set foot on the ground once again, she would have considered them liars. However, she also would have said that she would never end up in lock up six months ago. Somehow, the seventeen year old had been wrong about both of those things. Two and a half months ago she had been thrown in to lock up after being caught with an illegal grow-op, a hidden behind-the-wall going-on that her friends Jasper and Monty had been involved in for months until they had been caught taking a little bit of the Ark's medical marijuana supply while in between crops of their own. Of course Aubrey had kept it going - but in the end the illegal use of supplies had gotten her arrested.

Today she found the other impossibility becoming reality. She woke up to the rough hands of guards grasping at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and taking her right out of her bed. She was brought to a drop ship where she was secured in to a seat - all before she even realized what was going on. As the last person was loaded on and they were released, the chancellor's voice started to ring out over a PA system in the drop ship, and her heart sunk in to her chest.

The Earth - it wasn't supposed to be inhabitable for another hundred years, and yet they were being thrown on to its potentially uninhabitable masses. Her hands quivered at her sides as the drop ship started to break through the atmosphere, and a couple people who had dared to leave their seats were tossed about. Idiots - some zero g action may have sounded fun to start, but Bree swore she heard the crunch of bones as bodies flew in to the walls of the pod.
 
“Prisoners of the Ark hear me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable. Those crimes will be forgiven. Your record will be wiped clean. The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years.”

Inside the plummeting exodus ship, Jasper Jordan realized his fate was soon sealed. Either they would die upon landing, or they would live. Surprisingly, nobody died after entering Earth’s atmosphere. It was a good sign, right? Buckled into the wall, Jasper remained silent while most of his compatriots berated Wells and Wells’ father. It was not like Jasper could exactly blame the Chancellor, though. Himself and his best friend, Monty Green, and their close friend, Aubrey Saxton were all arrested for stealing from the marijuana supply. Surely, there were teenagers aboard arrested for more minor disturbances.

When the ship finally crashed on the ground, Jasper almost felt surprised that he was alive. Everyone was alive (except for the two delinquents that followed the spacewalker’s lead).

“Listen. There’s no machine hum.” Monty commented, causing the criminals to stir, unbuckling from the walls and the seats.

Jasper had a slim build, just beneath six feet by a couple inches, around 160 pounds, though not too much of it was muscle. On the Ark, unless a member of the Guard, it was tough to stay in above average shape. The dark-brown eyes male stood, brushing a hand through his black hair. It was starting to get longer, quite unruly and messy from being tossed about against the wall. His trusty goggles were raised just above his forehead, his grey jacket remaining unbuttoned, a similarly colored shirt with green letters displaying “Earth Day 2052” being sported with his upper body. His lower body consisted of dark blue jeans and black, heavy boots.

“I guess we should follow everyone.” Jasper whispered to his best friend, figuring it was best for them to stick together, following the crowd towards the exit. While walking, Jasper could not help thinking about Aubrey. If he and Monty were here, was she here, too?
 
The crash landing left Aubrey with whiplash, something she needed a moment to recover from before she was able to properly take in what was going on. As her head stopped spinning the girl realized that she was still alive, and at that point she unbuckled her seat belt and got to her feet. The majority of the delinquents had already started moving towards the exit, but Aubrey herself was content with waiting for the others to leave. She had always been the type to keep to herself, though for quite a while she had been nearly inseparable from a couple of her friends. They would be here now, right?

The closer that she got to the entrance, the more she wondered about it. Ever since the day that the boys had been arrested, she had missed them (and especially Jasper, who she had developed quite the fondness for). If all of the delinquents had been sent to the ground, that would mean that him and Monty would be here as well, right? Her heart fluttered at the thought, as she was a mixture of both nervous and excited. Bree tended to be pretty picky about her choices in friends and was rather protective of the ones she did make.

As she hopped off of the ship, one of the last people to do so, the sun's bright rays illuminated her form, a slight build of 5'5" and maybe 120 lbs at her heaviest. Aubrey slipped her hands in to the pockets of her dark denim jeans as she looked around, waiting for the crowd to dissipate a bit as well as looking out for familiar faces. After a few seconds of her hazel gaze flicking about she swore she caught sight of goggles on someone's head that she recognized immediately. She slipped through the crowd to come up behind the boy, grabbing him by the sides as soon as she reached him.

"Hey loser, it's been too long," she said after giving Jasper a quick squeeze. She'd intended to spook him a little, but whether she did or not she released him after a quick second and dashed around so that they could be face to face for the first time in months. A smile immediately illuminated her full lips so wide that she was left with a tooth-bearing grin. "It's been way too long since I've seen your face."
 
On the lower level, Jasper overheard a confrontation between a man dressed in a guard’s uniform and Clarke Griffin. Clarke suggested they should wait before opening the doors because the air could be toxic. Bellamy made the point that, if the air was toxic, they would all be dead, anyways. His identity was revealed when he reunited with a girl near the doorway. The pair was infamously known on the Ark – Bellamy and Octavia Blake. The Ark only allowed one child per woman. Their mother broke that law, ending in Octavia’s arrest and their mother’s floating.

Obviously, the eldest Blake should not have been on the ship, he was no longer in the Guard. Jasper wondered how he managed to do it. Either way, it was sweet seeing the pair reunite until someone made a comment about her being the girl “they found underneath the floor”. Instead of being remembered this way, Bellamy offered an alternative: the first person on the ground in over a hundred years. So, the girl stepped out onto the ground and proclaimed proudly; “We’re back, bitches!” Jasper felt an adrenaline rush unlike ever before. Sprinting outside with the mob, Jasper nearly tripped three or four times, but that was okay.

It took him two minutes of pumping his fists into the air, shouting, and screaming in pure adulation before he stopped, admiring the world around him. Wow. It was the only word popping into Jasper’s mind. Textbooks and video evidence did not bring justice to the Earth. Everything was green, lush, and fresh. The air smelled new. It felt like a fantasy. Never in Jasper’s life did he anticipate walking on solid ground. On the trip here, Jasper was certain his life was ending today. Now? Not so much. It seemed like they were going to be fine.

After another two minutes, Jasper and Monty found themselves reunited, even hugging it out once they realized how crazy this whole day had become. The friends huddled around another smaller group of delinquents, simply admiring the ground when something startled him.

“Oh, shit! Who the-?”

Cutting himself off after turning around, hearing the voice, the happiest laugh of his life exited his lips. The smile on Aubrey’s face matched the smile on Jasper’s.

“Aubrey? You’re here!” He beamed, deciding to pull her into his arms for a hug. Monty, equally excited, joined the action.

“We missed you so much. It’s so good to see you!” The other male added, his eyes bright as well.
 
As soon as she saw the look on Jasper's face, Bree felt so much lighter. While imprisoned, they hadn't exactly been allowed to see each other very much. Before her own lock up she had visited them, or at least Jasper when she couldn't visit the pair, at least a couple times a week. Afterwards it was more limited. While there had been a brief, chaotic "earth skills" class before they were sent to the ground (which she saw the importance of now of course, but didn't at the time) those few hours in the weeks before they were sent to the ground was all the contact she'd had with her favourite people in a couple months. In fact, that class would have been when Jasper and Monty would have found out about her imprisonment, given that she wasn't caught until a month after the events that got them thrown in to lock up.

"Hey, you guys." Normally she didn't like being touched very much, but being in the middle of that little huddle was perhaps one of the best moment's in her almost-eighteen-year-long life. She was happy to see both of them, of course.

"Shit - this is insane," she said as they finally released each other. Despite the fact that they were no longer touching, Bree still hovered close to Jasper's side. Over the years, she had always found herself closer to him, and to say she hadn't had at least a small crush on him would be lying. She was too shy to act on such a thing, though. "We're actually on the ground. And not dead. Holy shit."

All the while, as the trio was getting reacquainted, others were starting to form their own ideas. Bellamy Blake was already trying to take control of everyone, and Clarke Griffen had become aware that they were not even near Mount Weather, the place they were supposed to land.
 
“Yeah, I know. This is so crazy. We’re on the ground, we’re all back together again. This isn’t so bad.”

Of course, Jasper knew that Monty still had family on the Ark he wanted to see. There were probably people up in the sky they all wanted to see. For now, this was fine.

“I don’t know if I believe Jaha. Do you really think they’re going to forgive us for committing our crimes? I don’t.”

Naturally skeptical, Jasper was certain it was a trap. They would all likely be killed by the Council when the Ark landed. It was a problem for another day, though Jasper was happy, unable to think about such negativity for too long. Just like Aubrey, Jasper found himself hovering close to her side. Monty had often teased him about it – Monty believed they made a great couple. Hell, they already acted like one half the time, anyways. Jasper never saw it though. Bree was great, but there was no chance she’d ever want to be with him that way. Instead of openly acknowledging the crush, Jasper denied it, knowing that the rejection was much less painful that way. Even now, Monty shot his best friend a knowing smile, purposely turning to a couple of their new friends, letting Jasper and Bree interact.

Sadly, their first moment somewhat alone was ruined. John Murphy and Wells Jaha were getting into an argument over something. Wells caught the attention of almost everyone, expressing the need to get to Mount Weather, but Bellamy lead the mocking of him and Clarke Griffin. Nobody wanted to listen to a council members’ child on the ground. The delinquents were already having disagreements. It did seem like help was needed, but Jasper just was not all that sure he was interested in helping, especially since everyone else seemed to shun those two away. However, the moral side of him was fighting back.
 
As far as feelings went, it seemed like everyone on the Ark was aware that Bree had been desperately (and awkwardly) crushing in her best friend - except for the boy himself. She couldn't really help it. They had grown up close to each other and both always been the odd ones out. They had got along and been able to balance out each other's weak spots. One of the main differences was that Bree had actually liked tending to the crops on Farm Station, whereas the boys were more interested in making intoxicants out of what was there. Of course, she had made use of her fair share of those as well.

Actually, those intoxicants (namely Monty's moonshine) were part of why she felt so nervous now. As happy as Bree was to be reunited with her friends, one of the last times that her and Jasper had been alone was... heated. They had gotten really drunk and she had gotten strangely confident. While nothing major had happened, that drunken make out was all the intimate experience that she had ever had. When morning came and her memories returned in bits and pieces, she didn't know if Jasper had just been too drunk to remember anything or if he was purposely not saying anything because he had hated it. Even now just looking at him made her wonder if she was wrong to still find herself thinking about it.

Bree didn't have much time to be happy or nervous though. With everything going on there was already trouble ensuing. The dark haired girl was happy to keep out of the mess, but at the same time it seemed that staying neutral wouldn't help anything. They would eventually die if they didn't get supplies. After Octavia Blake stepped forward and said she would go on the trip to Mount Weather, Bree did the same. "I will to. We're going to need what they have there."
 
On more than one occasion, someone tried to tell Jasper that Bree had a crush on him. On each occasion, Jasper denied it. No way. Not her. Indeed, everyone knew it, except Jasper. Vice versa, it seemed like everyone knew that Jasper was crushing on Bree except for the girl herself. If Jasper remembered the night of moonshine and making out, he might have acted differently. Nobody could truly classify Jasper as strictly shy or unconfident with females. It was not true. When it came to Bree, though, that was a different story. He valued their friendship too much. He witnessed what happened to those friendships when someone made a move, but the other did not return the feelings. It was literally impossible to carry on like usual. He could not lose her – if he could only have her in his life as a friend, then so be it. It surely beat not having her in his life at all.

At first, Jasper was more than willing to remain neutral. It was not until Bree spoke up that Jasper did as well. Maybe, it was too quick, but he was not letting Bree go out there without him. Maybe it was a twisted sense of thinking he needed to protect her, to keep her safe, but that was exactly how he felt. He cared about her too much to let her wander around this dangerous new world without him. Even though she was capable of keeping herself safe, Jasper would feel better this way.

“Yeah, I’ll go too. Why not?”

Monty decided to chime in as well. “Count me in as well.”

So, it was six of them. They all gathered around Clarke while she pointed out the route on the map. They needed to take a route around the forest full of radiation. It would take at least two days for the trip, so they had to get moving. It was an exciting adventure to start their lives here on the ground, Jasper thought. So, he simply waited as Clarke took the lead in the pack, now walking forward, keeping beside Bree as they hiked.
 
Six was better than two - and the best way to describe how Aubrey felt when Jasper said that he would join the party was relief. In the situation doing the right thing and doing what she wanted had not neccesarily been the same thing, as above all she just wanted to be around her favourite person. Luckily, he would join her - she didn't have to worry as much as she would have otherwise.

A course was decided amongst the group. Well, Clarke decided on a course. Bree herself mostly hovered as she grabbed a bag with a small amount of supplies from the drop ship. Very little had been sent down with them, but it wasn't like they could go the next two days without eating. If they tried they would never make it to the mountain in the first place.

In the end, the trio of friends stuck close together at the back of the pack. Of them, Bree and Jasper were the closest. It came naturally to her, and there was bo denying that she would look over and watch him here and there when she thought he wasn't paying attention. Talking came easy, but even in the moments when there was nothing to say, silence came comfortably as well.

However, her crush mixed with her own clumsiness became her down fall. Mixed with the soft, uneven ground beneath her, walking on earth for the first time was bound to go wrong. During one ofnher little gazes, Aubrey's foot snagged on a root and the tumbled forward. As soon as she hit the ground, a sharp pain eminated from one of her ankles.

She turbed it a bit, this way and then the other. Every motion made her wince, but it didn't seem broken. After letting out a sigh, she looked towards her friend. "Help me up?"
 
Everything was running smoothly: Jasper was reunited with his two best friends, they were on Earth, and they were going on an adventure. In theory, it sounded like nothing could interrupt their day. Well, they would be wrong to assume that. After carrying on a casual conversation, sharing a few laughs, a bit of a problem was encountered. Jasper heard the shuffling of boots before he saw it, seeing that Aubrey crashed into the ground. One of her ankles had been snagged by a root, so the first thing Jasper did was untangle it. Everyone stopped, looking to check on her. None seemed more concerned than Jasper though.

“Oh, shit. Bree – are you alright?”

It just seemed like a simple trip and fall. Yet, Jasper was making a huge deal out of it, because, that was just him. Jasper wanted to make sure that Bree was safe. Reaching a hand down to her, he helped pull her up. In fact, he offered both hands to her. Once she was standing again, Clarke crouched beside Bree to inspect it.

“Can you put any weight on it?” She asked, looking up at the girl. After asking a couple more questions, Clarke realized the prognosis was not good.

“We might just have to wait it out, then. Aubrey shouldn’t be doing much walking right now.”

Yeah, that was one option, but Jasper knew how important these supplies were. Plus, it gave him the opportunity to offer something he loved doing for Bree – a piggyback ride. Maybe it was corny, but Jasper knew that he particularly enjoyed doing it, she had always seemed to enjoy receiving it as well.

“I could just carry you. Piggyback riding – we’ve done it before.” Jasper added, now looking to Bree, still keeping his hands on her, supporting her to stand.
 
Thanks to heart eyes, she had gone and got herself hurt - and she really hoped that no one had noticed that her eyes had definitely been on the boy beside her instead of watching where she was going. (Monty had seen - Monty had seen more than his fair share of her shy glances even before they had found themselves arrested.)

Once she was back on her feet, the medic in Clarke came out and it was determined that while her ankle wasn't going to be a problem long term, she did have a minor sprain. Aubrey would have chosen to tough it out, but Clarke had been right. If she tried to keep moving, she would likely make things worse. While she wasn't seriously injured and would likely be good to go in an hour or two, time was of the essence. If they could somehow keep moving, then they needed to - therefore, Jasper's suggestion worked out best for everyone.

Ever since she had been helped to her feet, the young woman had kept her hand wrapped around Jasper's back and resting on his hip. She was able to take her weight off of her foot, and regardless the touch came easy and natural.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Bree looked up to her friend with a cocked eyebrow and a small smile. She wouldn't admit it, but she loved the idea. In the past they had done piggy backs quite often, normally when they were being silly with each other. It was almost like a little piece of normal among all the chaos. "I wouldn't mind as long as you wouldn't."
 
Was Jasper sure? If Bree even halfway understood how much the male enjoyed offering piggyback rides, then it would not be a question. However, Jasper would never admit it. It was an irrational fear, but it was a fear nonetheless – if he talked about enjoying it, Bree would think he was weird.

“I’m sure. I don’t mind at all. It’s not the first time, after all. You need this, anyways. We get to keep moving, you get to rest your ankle, I have no problem with this.” After offering the assurances again, Jasper turned his head a bit, seeing Monty flashing him a knowing grin. Yeah, Monty was well aware of how much Jasper enjoyed this.

To an eye outside of their little friendship core, it seemed like Jasper and Bree were already in a relationship. Hell, Finn, Clarke, and Octavia probably thought it anyways. It was tough to believe they were not something to each other, more than just friends. Crouching down slightly, he waited until Bree could jump onto his back. A happy chuckle left his lips, feeling so full of life once she was settled onto his back. Letting her get comfortable, Jasper turned his head slightly, looking over his shoulder at her.

“Alright. Are you ready to get moving?” Jasper questioned, waiting for her to confirm that all was well. If it was, the group started moving again. Even though Jasper did not look like he lifted weights every day, even though he did not have bulging muscles along every inch of his body, his strength was still exposed, carrying Bree around like she weighed much less than she actually did.
 
Bree was not impressed by acts of machismo and could not care less about any perceived strength. In fact she wouldn't pay any mind to it at all. If anyone thought that was something that would impress her, they were sorely mistaken. It wasn't like she was heavy, and it wasn't like they hadn't done this a million times before in the past. Getting on to his back was the hardest part for either of them, as leaping with her injured ankle had been a bit of a task. Once she was up she was able to settle, though.

It felt right to her. Too much time had passed since the last time she had gotten to touch him, especially in a manner like this. Even though there was a serious task at hand, everything felt a little playful and silly when she was able to be up on Jasper's back. A light hum escaped her lips as she adjusted until comfortable, and then she was good to get moving. "Mhm," she mumbled.

At that point she angled her head to the side and rested it against her shoulder. Her face was turned in towards Jasper's neck, and for the first time in a long time Aubrey felt genuinely at peace. After a couple minutes of walking she let out a soft sigh, nuzzling her forehead against her neck. If someone had looked over in time to see that, it would have come off as an intimate and affectionate gesture - the kind that partners would share. "I missed you," she said in a soft voice.
 
“Not as much as I missed you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Jasper’s face grew pale. Damn it. Real smooth. The last thing Jasper wanted was to seem like he was coming across too strong. Considering that his only experience with women was an experience with Bree that he did not quite recall, he was unsure of how to gauge appropriate actions. All he could do was wing it, hope for the best. Jasper felt quite awkward, always having thought that quality of his was not a good thing, so he quickly tried to correct his perceived blunder.

“I mean, it’s not like I was obsessed or anything. I just – I… I did miss you a lot, it’s really nice to be by your side again.” Jasper feared that she thought he was weird after listening to him stammering and tripping over his words. Hell, it was difficult enough to walk straight when Bree was in this position. Yeah, it was just a piggyback ride, but the contact felt intimate and Jasper’s entire body was on fire. If he wasn’t careful, he would end up tripping with her on his back. How could he think when such a pretty girl was nuzzling against his neck, in a way?

Jasper was certain Bree might want a guy that knew what the hell he was doing. Jasper was on shaky legs. Even walking seemed like a difficult task, but he still enjoyed carrying her like this.

“Pretty sure I just made that weird… I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve never had to go that long without talking to you. I can’t quite control my happiness right now.” Jasper admitted, a quieter voice, having no idea whether he was saying the right things in that moment.
 
"Creeeep," Aubrey teased in response - she drew the single syllable out longer than she needed to, and though Jasper couldn't see her face as it rested virtually nestled in to her neck Aubrey was smiling. He may have found himself awkward, but almost always Bree found that same trait endearing. She almost didn't want to tell him that everyone was okay, because the deeper he dug himself in to a hole the more she just wanted to kiss him and tell him that he was overthinking things.

Yeah - kiss him. Sometimes she hated herself for the way she thought. Even if she was the only person to see things as she did, Bree was confident that Jasper wasn't even the tiniest bit in to her. There were things she couldn't say and feelings that she felt like she shouldn't have because of that.

"It's okay," she assured in that same soft tone. If she had been better positioned to hug him, she would have. "I'm pretty sure we both already knew that you're a little weird, but that's okay - I am too. I couldn't stop thinking about you either."

She purposely mimicked the way he had worded things at first, and teased him a little more with it. In reality, that was the most honest she had been in a long time.
 
The teasing was so damn adorable! How many times had Jasper found himself blushing because of what Bree said to him in the past? Did numbers even extend that far? Again, Jasper’s face flushed red. Yeah, he knew she was teasing, that it was not a big deal, in reality. However, he did think he sounded like a creep by the way he worded things. Overthinking things was a primary trait with Jasper, especially when it came to girls.

Or more specifically, Bree. He never really felt this way about anyone else to be so worried about his actions. He had no experience to compare this one with, so Jasper was just winging it, as usual. He did feel better, soon enough.

“Yeah, I think we can all agree on that one. I can’t help it though. I tried not being weird once… it was the worst five minutes of my life.” Jasper teased and chuckled soon after.

Oh yeah, hell of flirting job, huh? Really, talking about how weird you are? That’s smooth. That’s what gets women going.

He should have been used to it by now. Jasper always found himself feeling like he made a fool out of himself when he actually tried to flirt with Bree. Now, he found himself blushing even harder. He did try to hide his face a bit, ducking his chin down, hoping that the angle above him was now allowing her to see the look.
 
He may have thought that he was being awkward and strange, but to Bree it was perfect. They fell in to their old ways so easily with the piggybacks and the teasing and everything. One thing she had always liked was that they could be silly with each other. She, at least, didn't have any expectations of coming off charming or confident - they could just be. (She also didn't realize this was an attempt at flirting, because she was blind to such a possiblity due to the fact that he had never seemed to look at her that way outside of "that night" as well as the fact that this was just their norm.)

"Hey - normal people wouldn't want to deal with me stoned off my face," she returned. "They would get sick of me giggling and then saying stupid stuff after like five minutes - and you'd spent nights doing that. Actually, you put up with it for years. I think it's a good thing."

In reality she didn't mind at all - and because of the way that she was tucked against Jasper's body, she wasn't able to see his reaction to his own fumble. Monty, however, did - and thought that this was a rather funny interaction to observe from the outside.
 
While they continued hiking, Jasper felt himself growing even more flustered. It was over silly things, honestly. Since he was giving her a piggyback ride, his hands were placed somewhere along her thighs, offering extra support. However, he kept fidgeting with himself, worrying about his hands being too close to more private parts of her body, terrified that she might think he was a creep. His hand did accidently brush dangerously close against her thighs when he realigned his grip, making his face heat up again. It was not like he did not want to touch her that way, Jasper sure as hell did, but he figured it was never happening.

“So..uh, h-how are you feeling now?” Jasper asked quickly, almost tripping over words again, but quickly able to reign himself back in. Besides, he wanted to know how she was feeling. It was just a minor injury, even Clarke said that it was no big deal, but he was fussing over her, like he always did. He hated knowing that she was feeling even a bit of pain. She could get a paper cut and Jasper would push everyone out the way until he could find a band-aid for her. It was hopefully a nice conversation to take away from his perceived blunder. He never wanted to make her uncomfortable.
 
"I'm good," Aubrey said to him. Her ankle still hurt, but she felt at peace. For the first time in months she was reunited with her best friend, and like flies to honey they had fell back in to their ways. Bree could think of very little that could make for a better day than this, even if she had gone and got herself injured (and hey - her heart eyes had gotten her carried around for a bit).

They had been on the move for what felt like ages when suddenly the group stilled. Bree's eyes were heavy lidded but she forced them open and raised her head to see what was going on. In a clearing nearby, a doe nibbled at the grass. It was the first time that they had seen an animal, and everyone seemed amazed.

"It's kind of beautiful," she sighed. As if to prove her wrong it looked towards the small group a second later - to reveal a mangled second head. Beauty quickly turned to horror.
 
Everyone gasped when the mutated animal turned towards them. Then, the deer shuffled away from the small group, deeper into the forest.

“In our textbooks or videos, I’ve never seen a deer like that.” Two-headed deer did not appear to be a commonality before the world ended. It would not take a rocket scientist to figure out why that deer might appear now.

“I wonder if all animals are mutated. If they are, will they even be safe to eat?”

If all animals were mutated with radiation, what would they do for meat? There were other ways to get protein, sure, but none as simple as hunting. Rations did not last forever. There was truly only one way to find out whether it was safe or not, but nobody would want to risk eating tainted meat.

“Well, at least there are animals. I guess that’s one positive we can take away from this.” Jasper stated with a shrug of his shoulders. It did terrify him, though. Would other mutations involve animals being larger and/or more aggressive? Suddenly, the serene woods felt dangerous. Maybe Jasper was just paranoid, but he felt rather pessimistic right now.
 
Something surviving was better than nothing at all. That deer, though disfigured. had been the first sign of animal life that they had come across since they landed on the ground several hours ago. At the same time, Aubrey had the same question that others were voicing: they couldn't rely on rations forever, so what were they supposed to eat once those ran dry if not the animals? There may not have been animals up on the Ark, but now that they were on the ground they had to rely on what they could find rather than what would be handed to them.

"I mean yeah... It's good to know that something survived." Aubrey shifted herself on Jasper's back. They couldn't really stop so the group had to resume moving immediately, and she settled back in to him with ease - or as much ease as she could. Everyone seemed to be on edge now, and that feeling didn't fade for some time. As the sun started to set it was decided that they should probably find somewhere to spend the night, and then they could resume the trip once morning came. Bree was good to walk by now - she had been for a while but she hadn't said anything because she was rather enjoying her piggyback time - but she still settled down pretty quickly.

Because they hadn't been prepared to land away from the mountain, there were no blankets or pillows or anything. The clearing that they settled in to had a perfect view of the night sky above them, so Bree decided to pull her jacket off and use it as a blanket to keep her head off of the ground. After settling down she put one hand behind her head and then used the other to pat the ground beside her. Accompanied with a sweet smile, she was summoning her friend to her side.
 
When the group settled down for the night, Jasper flashed a geeky smile at Bree when she offered him the opportunity to sit beside her. So, he took it, plopping down beside her. Taking Bree’s idea, Jasper folded his jacket, using it as a pillow. Their bodies were close, which flustered Jasper, but not too close to where it would offend her. “Good night.” Jasper whispered, catching her gaze one more time. Everyone knew rest was important for the trip, so nobody tried to talk or stay awake. Jasper closed his eyes, ready for sleep to overtake him.

However, it took just a bit longer for him to fall asleep than it took Bree. He noticed that it was a little chilly outside, but not too bad. Therefore, he unfolded his jacket and covered the sleeping Bree, content to rest his head on the ground. Minutes later. Jasper was also peacefully asleep. He did not wake until early morning when a couple of the others were moving around. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the bright sun shining over the clearing, but once he did adjust, Jasper intended to stretch out his body. Then, he realized that was impossible.

One arm was underneath Bree’s head, despite the jacket pillow. His chest was firm against her back, his other arm dangling over her abdomen. Their legs were more or less tangled together. Their bodies had become one. Oh, shit, shit, shit - Bree was going to flip on him when she woke up! Jasper told himself to move, but he froze in fear. Would she ever talk to him again? Even though it happened in their sleep, Jasper felt both guilty and responsible. She started to move in his arms now, causing Jasper to swallow thickly as he awaited things to take an ugly turn.
 
When she awoke, it took Bree a moment to realize that the warmth around her was in fact another body. It didn't happen soon enough, though. Before she'd opened her eyes or even been able to think straight she had taken a hold of the hand around her body and dragged towards her face. She'd even nuzzled it against her cheek. To most it would be a soft, affectionate moment and likely came off as such. Anyone who saw it would feel more assured that these two were definitely a couple, which would be a thought that started circulating almost as soon as they had landed on the ground. The only people who weren't on the same were the pair themselves and their best friend, who had woken up to see the little scene had a feeling that something was about to go wrong.

The worst part, though? Before she had lazily grabbed Jasper's hand she had tried to stretch her body out - and as her arms had extended to full length in front of her, her hips had pushed back against his body. There was a moment of clarity for Bree as she held on to his hand where her eyes flashed wide open, and her head turned lightning fast towards whoever happened to be touching her. Jasper - fuck. This wasn't the first time that they had been cuddled up before, back before imprisonment they had often fallen asleep somewhat touching while inebriated, but that never happened sober... and she'd never shoved her ass right in to his pelvis before.

"I'm so sorry," she said to him. Her eyes were as wide as they could go. She wasn't upset about the cuddling (she hadn't even let go of his hand yet) but even if she hadn't been awake she felt like she had crossed a line.
 
When Bree pulled Jasper’s hand towards her face, Jasper gasped. Instead of thinking about how cute it was, Jasper started panicking. Ah, fuck. This was only adding to his list of problems. Bree was going to freak out when she saw him like this! Yet, again, Jasper was frozen stiff. Nothing was going to make him move. It was not like her ass being pushed into his crotch helped things either. Jasper was attracted to Bree, but could not act on anything. It meant he spent too long just fantasizing about her, so feeling her ass in such an intimate spot only fueled that fire. It was disappointing though – Jasper knew this was the closest to her he could ever get.

Finally, when she came to, it surprised him when SHE apologized. Really? Jasper’s voice hitched in his throat at first since she was still holding his hand. As minute as it seemed, her holding his hand did unspeakable things to him, like making him flustered and flush a deep shade of red. Jasper could not help it. His inexperience was obvious. “Oh, no… don’t apologize. It’s fine. I mean, I liked it. I didn’t mean to do it though. I just woke up here. I do like it though.”

Great, now he was repeating himself, talking like a total creep. Did she really want to hear about how much he liked being against her body? That was probably disgusting to her. “I mean, I like being near you and all. I didn’t mean to get so close. I’m sorry.” Jasper’s eyes were just as wide as Bree’s, too nervous to even realize how she was reacting, too shaken to pull his hand out of hers. Instead, he just sat, staring hopelessly at her, his face growing redder each second.
 
Moments like this were part of why Aubrey believed that Jasper didn't want anything to do with her. He touches her and then goes on about how he hadn't meant for it to happen? That he didn't want to be so close to her? Meanwhile all that bothered her was the fact that she had been grinding on him for a moment - albeit while still half asleep. Moments like this were also why she was rather sure he had simply hated the fact that they'd fooled around the one time rather than it just being a memory lost to a black out.

"It's okay - like you said, you were asleep. I was definitely awake when I decided to stretch so I really think that is my fault." She was watching him turn redder by the second, and that made her feel like she had to somehow assuage the situation. If she could have had her way she would have stayed curled up with him forever, and she thought his nervousness was quite endearing - but Bree wasn't about to go out of her way to make an awkward situation awkwarder. Her lowered her her hand, and hence his, away from her face and then released it. Right after, she rolled off of her side and on to her back. That alone would make things a little less intimate, but he would still have to move away from her as well.
 
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