Once Juniper and Aurora disentangled themselves, the pair made their way back to the shallow pool. Both to relax sore muscles and to remove the dirt and fluids that covered both their bodies. As they cleaned themselves, and subsequently sat in the water, Juniper managed to get a good bit of information from her new partner. Aurora was a "Lamball," a kind of tame and curious Pal that didn't usually pose much of a threat. They apparently spent much of their day grazing and searching for anything interesting that might catch their eye. Including naked humans napping in the afternoon sun.

She also learned that the berries she found earlier were safe to eat. As well as various other plants and, more disturbingly, Pals. Well, it seems as though Juniper might be trying out a vegetarian diet for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the one thing she did not learn was how to get the hell off these islands. That important piece of information apparently eluded everyone, human and Pal. As far as Aurora knew, anyway.

Juniper sighed following that upsetting realization and sank further down in the water. Perhaps sensing the woman's frustrations, Aurora came closer and nuzzled her way up against Juniper’s side. "It'll be alright. I’m sure we can figure it out." 

For all the unease swirling in the pit of Juniper's stomach, this simple act made her feel a little better. "Yea...thanks, Aurora." She brought her arm up and around the Lamball’s shoulders, squeezing her tighter to her side. This time the sigh that escaped her lips was one of contentment and not anxiety. They sat like that for a few more minutes before Juniper realized she still needed to find a place to shack up. Maybe Aurora had an idea? 

"Hey, so...where do you live? Is it someplace that I can stay for the night?"

"Well..." Aurora paused and the trepidation in her voice was unmistakable. "I sleep my with my herd usually. I say herd but it's really just a few families. However, I'm not sure they’d like it if I brought a human around. Especially a new one. Besides, we just sleep outside on the ground."

Juniper let out a thoughtful hum at that. She didn't want to stress out the other Lamballs if possible. Especially if it was only to sleep outside on the ground. No, Juniper wanted somewhere more secluded where they could both sleep. 

"That's ok, let's not put a burden on your herd. Do you know of anywhere else that would be good to stay? Are there any more buildings like that one?" Juniper indicated the big, stone structure she'd passed through with Lily. Of course, she could stay there but it was damn near cavernous, and people and Pals seemed to use it to go to and from the beach. "But smaller and more tucked away?"

Aurora considered the question, her mouth twisting into various shapes as she thought. "There's one right before heading into the foothills on the far side of the valley but people often stop there to rest."

"Hmm, I was thinking somewhere quieter. More...secluded."

"Ohhh, I see." Aurora smiled and offered a little wink. "You just want to get me all alone so you can have your way with me."

"What? No!" Juniper’s cheeks flushed a little at her partner's assertion but Aurora only laughed. 

"I'm just teasing you!" She reached up and planted a gentle kiss on Juniper's cheek then moved her lips to the woman's ears. "But you don't need to do all that. Take me whenever and wherever you want..." 

Juniper had no doubt in her mind Aurora meant those words. Especially since she had pretty much done just that. And it looked like they were still all alone too….

"Actually, there is a rundown old building not far from here. I've only seen it once or twice but it may be worth checking out."

This new piece of information brought Juniper's mind from other plans before she got distracted again. "Really? That sounds perfect!" She began to shift then, dropping her arm from around Aurora so she could rise from where she sat. "Alright, let's go check it out before it gets much later. I want to be settled in before nightfall.” When no confirmation from Aurora came, she turned back to see the Lamball staring directly at her ass. 

"Aurora..."

"What?" She brought her head up and locked eyes with Juniper. "Oh...yes Ma’am! Let's go!"

She also stood then and both women got out of the water so Juniper could head for her clothes to start putting them back on. As she did so, she turned towards where Aurora waited and noticed a pouty look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

Aurora's expression became more dramatic before she sighed. "The pretty lady is covering up."

Juniper chuckled but continued to do so anyway. Now that her bra and panties were on, she began working on her shorts next. "Just for now, you'll get to see it all again." Next was the camisole. "Do all Pals go naked?" After asking, her eyes wandered over Aurora's body again.

The promise of future fun put a smile on the Lamball's face and she moved to pick up Juniper's button-up to help. "Yup! Though, I've heard some will steal human clothing to try and accessorize a bit."

Juniper nodded and put out her arms so Aurora could slip on the last piece of clothing. "Ah, like the Katress I met earlier."

"You met a Katress!? Who?" The excitement was plain in Aurora's voice and, once she got the button-up mostly onto the taller woman, she came back around into Juniper's view.

"Yea, Mist. She was with Lily. Do you know Lily?" 

Aurora chuckled and shook her head lightly in response to hearing the name. "Oh, yes. We all know Lily around here. She tries to act all tough but she's a real softie inside. I'm not surprised she's already found you."

Juniper let out a few laughs as she finished buttoning her shirt about halfway up. "Yeah, I've started to get that impression. Wish she had given me a few more starting supplies though. And answered more of my questions. And some food..." As she listed the items, the smile on her face gradually dissipated as annoyance set in.

"Well..." Aurora started but paused long enough to reach down and collect the items Juniper had left piled on the floor. "That's what you have me for!" She handed them over as she spoke then waited for Juniper to put them away. 

"You're right. I don't need Lily! I have an Aurora! The best Lamball" Juniper nodded and dropped to the ground. Sitting so she could put on her shoes. "Speaking of which...do all Lamballs look the same? Would I lose you in your herd?"

"Probably," Aurora confirmed. "There is a lot less variation in Pals than in humans. However, some always exists. If you stayed around us long enough, you’d figure it out."

Juniper became thoughtful as she finished and then stood up. "Well, that won't do. I'd like to be able to know it's you from a distance without yelling your name."

"What did you have in mind?"

What did she have in mind? Pals didn't wear clothes so that was out of the question. Perhaps an accessory? "I'm not sure yet, I'll have to think about it."

Aurora simply shrugged and then took a step forward so she could reach down and grab Juniper's hand with one of her own. "Right, adventure awaits. Let's go!" She began to tug excitedly and Juniper quickly followed, a few giggles in her wake.

The pair made small talk as they went. Aurora led the way and Juniper continued with her series of questions. It seemed that Lili wasn't lying about the area being relatively safe. Relatively because apparently the rest of the islands could get pretty dangerous and nowhere appeared to be completely safe. 

Aurora took them back towards the stone staircases but kept going into the forest on the other side. Eventually, they came out of the trees into a large, grass clearing. Juniper's eyes went wide when she emerged and saw what looked to be a stone shack sitting in the open. Small but still  standing!  

"Wow, look at that Aurora. Good job!" She gave the hand she held an affectionate squeeze and then pulled the Pal into a jog towards it. She would’ve run but her poor legs had really been through the ringer today. When they arrived at the front door, Juniper realized just how far into disrepair the building had fallen though. Mainly because the door was on its side, leaning up against the wall. The glass in the front window was broken too and the hits just kept on coming once the pair made it inside. 

"Well, shit." Juniper stood in the middle of the shack with her hands on her hips, eyes surveying the damage. Unfortunately, there was a lot to take note of. Part of the roof had caved in and most of the furniture was destroyed. Even if it was only a few chairs and a table it was still a loss. There were also a few cabinets and even a footlocker in a similar state. The only thing that appeared not to be completely fucked was a small bookshelf by the door. 

All in all, the whole interior was probably the size of her living room back home. Each wall except the "back" one had a window. All smashed, of course. It was going to take a lot of work to get this place into any kind of shape to live in. Juniper could already feel her muscles ache with the effort this was going to take. Which caused her to audibly groan, bringing Aurora's eyes to her. 

"That bad, huh?" The Lamball asked.

"Yea. Pretty bad, unfortunately." Juniper brought up her hands and ran both through her hair until they landed on her neck. "Ugh, this is going to take forever." 

Aurora came over and put her hand on the woman's back, gently rubbing it a few times. "Yeah, but you have me to help. Maybe you can get more Pals too."

This caused Juniper to look over, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "What do you mean, more Pals?"

Aurora looked as if the answer was obvious but thankfully still humored her. "Yea, more Pals. You just need to bind them."

"Wait...you're telling me I can do that to more than one?"

Aurora laughed and then nodded before dropping her hand away. "Sure you can, silly! I mean, anyone can if they're good enough and I'm sure you've got the stuff...if you catch my drift."

Juniper hummed in understanding, a sly smile playing across her lips. "Yeah, you seem to be a really big fan of my stuff. I guess maybe we’ll see if others are too." 

"I sure am! And I have no doubt others would be as well. Now, let's get started, shall we? Beginning with these cabinets, maybe someone left something behind..." Aurora moved to where they were attached to the wall, barely hanging on for dear life. She started up top first, standing up on her tippy toes to look inside the first one. 

After she went, Juniper stood still for a few moments, eyes following that cute little butt as it practically bounced across the room. Aurora must’ve noticed that the woman hadn’t moved because, after she searched the first cabinet and found nothing, she turned and regarded Juniper with a raised eyebrow. 

“What?” 

“So, you can stare at my ass, but I can’t repay the favor, hmm?”

Well, she had a good point there, Juniper laughed and finally started to walk towards that trunk tucked in one corner. “Fair point, I guess I’ll let you stare as much as you like. Later.” 

Aurora mock frowned for a moment but swiftly returned her attention to the search. Likewise, Juniper made it to the trunk and knelt down. What would it contain? More survival items? Like a flashlight, or maybe a compass and map? Oh! Maybe a jacket or something…

Nothing. It contained nothing. 

Juniper huffed and then turned to Aurora as she finished with the second cabinet of the pair. Which was also empty judging by the way her body deflated. Damn, who abandoned this place? Didn’t they know you were supposed to leave useful things behind! With a sigh, Juniper rose and made her way over by Aurora, kneeling once more to check the two bottom cabinets. As she did, her partner began to open one of the two drawers that sat just under the countertop. 

This time though, when Juniper opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of something haphazardly stowed inside. Excitement filled her chest and she reached to pull it out. “Aurora, look!” She turned and held her find up. “A sleeping bag!”

At the same time, Aurora’s expression shifted and she excitedly pulled out two objects before turning and showing them off. Realizing the coincidence, both women laughed before Juniper stood tall, noting Aurora’s items first. “Candles, nice! Those could come in handy. Even if one appears to be half-used.” 

She took a step back and spread her arms wide and high, letting her prize fall out into a big square. Some dust fell, and possibly a spider or two. Now that it was open, a scowl formed on Juniper’s face. Mostly because she could see Aurora through the material. “Aw, damn. It has a hole in it!” She crinkled the thing and sighed to herself before shrugging. “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

“That’s the spirit!” Aurora offered before setting the candles down on the table. “We’re finding the good stuff now!” After depositing her bounty, the Lamball turned back to the cabinet. “Anything else in there?” 

“Maybe…hopefully...” Juniper similarly placed her find on the table and then bent down in front of the cabinet opening again. The light didn’t reach inside the space very well but it didn’t look like there was anything else anyway. “I don’t see anything…” She was about to pull her head out when something else caught her eye. “Wait, what’s this?” A moment later, Aurora opened the other cabinet door and Juniper vaguely saw her face appear in her peripheral vision. 

She ignored that for now, instead focusing on a little panel mounted in the back of the wall. Out of it hung a few wires, ends exposed like something had been ripped off. Juniper’s head tilted curiously, lips pursing in thought. “What the hell is that for?” If this was mounted on the stone then that meant…

Juniper abruptly pulled her head out from the cabinet and stood before turning and making her way to the door. Aurora did the same and quickly followed. 

“Juniper, what’s wrong?”

“That box…it’s a solid stone wall, there’s no room for wiring so that means…” Juniper was muttering to herself more than answering Aurora’s question. She could always be wrong though, this wasn’t exactly her area of expertise. However, when she made it around to the back of the shack, she was rewarded with the sight of a small, metal tube sticking out right where the box would be on the other side. 

“Ah-ha! Look, Aurora.” When the Lamball came up beside her, Juniper brought a hand up and squeezed her shoulder, using her other hand to point out the discovery.

"Oh! A pipe? That seems very out of place.”

Juniper nodded her head in agreement. “It sure does. Come on, let’s check it out.” She dropped the hand and quickly made her way over to investigate. It looked like the pipe came out of the wall and immediately bent 90 degrees to head into the ground. So, did it go far away then? Buried for safe travel? Juniper reached out and began to dig at the earth with her fingers, removing the layer of grass and then the dirt beneath it. Aurora joined her on the other side, doing the same until they discovered the pipe again after a few inches. 

“It looks like it’s going off in a straight line…right towards…” Juniper looked up and followed the direction of the pipe. “The cliff?” Sure enough, about 50 feet away was sheer rock, covered in vines. It didn’t make any sense and Juniper rose slowly as she shared a confused glance with Aurora. “Well,” she shrugged. “Let’s see what’s over there.” 

She started walking then, doing her best to move in a straight line. Following the pipe she assumed was only a few inches beneath her feet. Hopefully the tube didn’t bend away and head in another direction between the stone and the shack. If this didn’t prove fruitful, she could always dig it up just to be sure. 

However, in the end, that ended up not being necessary. When she came to stop in front of the plant-covered rock, something caught Juniper's eye. Something metal. "Aurora, look!" She stepped forward and began to pull the ivy aside. Revealing more and more of the smooth, polished surface. The Lamball quickly joined in and the two soon had everything cleared away. They both took a step back and looked over the newly exposed door.

"What the hell?" Juniper put her hands on her hips and continued to stare. This was a far cry from the stone shack that sat behind them. Eventually, she turned her head to Aurora and indicated the door with a small raise of her chin. "You ever see anything like this?"

Aurora kept her eyes forward but still shook her head. "Around here? No. Maybe other places though?" She turned and shrugged Juniper's way. "Lily might know. She travels pretty far and wide from what I understand."

Juniper nodded and then took a step forward once more. If she made it long enough to see the other woman again. "Good idea. Let's see if we can get in though." Surely, whatever was contained within was better than one and a half candles and a ratty old sleeping bag! She brought her fingers up to try and shimmy them into the divide running down the middle of the door. Perhaps she could just...you know...force it? It worked with elevator doors, right? At least in the movies. 

Try as she might though, Juniper felt absolutely no give. Even when Aurora tried her best to help. After a few moments, Juniper gave up with a grunt and kicked the door out of frustration. "Damn it! Piece of junk." Had the box in the shack been the way to open it? The one that was very clearly damaged.

Aurora gave up as well and brought a hand up to squeeze Juniper's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can use something to force it? Or maybe there is another way in?"

Juniper nodded before blowing out her breath and shaking her head. "Yeah. Maybe..." she turned and smiled at the Lamball's touch before bringing up her opposite hand and to lay over Aurora's. "It’s not going anywhere, at least. We have time to figure it out. Instead, we should probably get to work preparing for the night. Let's go collect some of that food you were telling me about and some firewood. Then maybe we can start cleaning out that shack." It was a lot to do and daylight was fading fast. 

With a nod of agreement, the pair set to at least start on the first two tasks. Aurora showed her where a closer berry patch could be found and the two happily filled up Juniper’s flannel after it was fashioned into a makeshift bag. Of course, they ate plenty at the same time and happily chatted about topics much less serious. When they finished, and returned the food safely to the shack, they similarly set out to gather wood for a fire later. By the time a muted orange stretched over the horizon, the two managed to collect enough for a pleasant blaze. 

Throughout the whole afternoon, Aurora didn’t complain once. Apparently simply happy to be at Juniper’s side. She made sure to heap affectionate praise on the Lamball every once in a while too, just to help strengthen that bond. More importantly, she was just genuinely grateful for the help. They were still practically strangers, after all. 

By the time the sun completely set, the pair sat in front of a small fire ringed with stones and cleared of brush for safety. Aurora’s head rested gently on Juniper’s shoulder and they simply watched the flames dance in comfortable silence. After the fire burnt low, sleep began to tug at Juniper’s eyes and one large yawn sealed the deal. 

“Someone’s getting sleepy.” Aurora chuckled and sat up straight, stretching her arms high over her head before falling victim and yawning herself. 

Juniper nodded and looked back towards the shack as she considered where to set up for the night. “I’m not sure I want to sleep inside that just yet. I wish we had more time to get to it ready.”

Aurora simply shrugged and tilted her head back, looking at the stars that had just started to come out. “We could sleep outside you know. I promise it’s perfectly safe. We do it all the time.”

“I guess that wouldn’t be so bad.” Juniper copied her partner and observed the night sky for a few moments before deciding. “Right, let’s do it.” She stood tall then and started to kick dirt onto the fire to help extinguish the few pieces of wood that still burned. When that was safely dealt with, she went and retrieved the sleeping back from where they’d hung it to air out earlier. For lack of a better place, she laid it out next to where the fire was giving off the last remnants of heat.

“Where are you going to sleep?” Juniper asked as she sat on the bag and began to remove her shoes and then her shorts. Leaving her only in the camisole and her underwear.  

“Right next to you,” Aurora answered. “It’s not anything I’m not used to.” 

“Do you want to share? The zipper is busted anyway so it’s not like we’ll break it.” Besides, she didn’t want the poor girl to have to sleep on the ground!

“It’s fine. I’m used to it, remember?”

That’s right, she’d mentioned as much earlier. Hadn’t she? “Alright. Goodnight then.” Juniper followed the word with a nod and then lay down and folded half of the sleeping bag over herself. She turned away from the fire, and Aurora, and rested her head on her arm. She never thought the day would come when she wished for the shitty, thin mattress found on the research ship but here she was doing just that. A sigh escaped her mouth and she closed her eyes before she tried to will herself to sleep. 

“Good night, Juniper.”

Sleep wouldn’t come though. What did rear its ugly head was all the worries of the day that she had managed to push aside by staying as busy as possible. Now that she finally stilled, and had nothing but time to think, it was like a flood. Would she ever get back home? Would she even make it the few days to see Lily again? She felt a tear run down her cheek and a sniffle soon followed as she tried to hold back against the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her. Fuck.

A few moments later, Juniper heard shuffling next to her and the top half of the sleeping bag lifted up. Another second and Aurora’s body pushed into her back and the Lamball’s arm wrapped around her, pulling her close.

“It’s going to be ok…” Her voice came across in only a whisper but it easily pushed aside the worry gripping Juniper’s chest. In response, she pushed back against the other body and lifted her head so Aurora’s other arm could slip under her neck. Now that they were intertwined, Juniper let out a contented sigh and let herself relax. Would she make it? She still didn’t know, but she liked her odds.