After Vesta left to go fishing, Juniper and Aurora gathered the sleeping bag up and got out of the natural pool. They took the time to wring as much of the water from it as they could before setting off toward their shack. It was a good thing they managed to find a place to hold up so close. Juniper had a feeling that regular trips to bathe were going to be the norm. Or for other things like collecting drinking, for example. 

On the way back, Aurora held the wet bag so Juniper could start picking up any loose sticks that would make good kindling. It felt like even the simplest of tasks was about to become multi-purpose where possible. Once they returned, the pair hung the bag on the door to let it dry in the sun and the light breeze that rolled off the ocean. All in all, both things felt nice on Juniper's skin but she probably wouldn't be going around nude regularly. That just seemed like trouble. So, she was relieved to find her clothes had dried enough to get dressed properly. 

Ready to go, she retrieved the multi-tool from her pocket and gestured for Aurora to follow her inside. "I like to get it cleaned up in here and fix some of the furniture and cabinets. Can you handle the floor? Maybe go find a branch to help sweep things out and pick up any glass that’s left from the broken windows?" 

Instructions received, Aurora nodded before turning and bounding for the door. "Yes ma'am, Miss Juniper! I'll be right back!" Another moment and she was gone, leaving Juniper standing there giggling to herself. She really had been lucky to find Aurora. Vesta was going to be great; she had no doubt of that. But there was something about the Lamball's optimism that lifted her up. That made Juniper feel like she could do anything here.

Alone, she flipped out the screwdriver portion of her little tool and got to work. First, she set about removing all the screws holding the doors onto the cabinets. Then, she started to remove the hinges from the doors so she could gather the hardware in a pile. Unfortunately, having to do everything by hand meant the process was slow going. She only made it halfway through the second door before Aurora reappeared. 

"Oh, taking those off?" the Lamball said as she came in and looked over what had been done so far. 

Juniper stopped and nodded before indicating her growing collection of hardware. “Yeah, I think they are more of a visual luxury. For now, I want to see if I can scrape together enough stuff to get the door hung back up.” That would be much more than a bonus. It would make her feel much safer at night. Even if most of the Pals in this area could be considered “harmless,” having a way to block more curious or cheeky visitors was welcome. “I see you were successful as well.” 

Aurora held the branch she had retrieved high and waved it back and forth gently. Prompting one of the leaves to fall off and drift to the floor. Which caused a smile to form on Juniper’s lips. “Hey! No laughing!” The Lamball turned and, with one mighty sweep, sent the errant leaf flying out the door. “See? It’s perfect.”  

“It sure is.” Juniper couldn’t help but agree before her eye ran up and down Aurora where she stood. However, they soon returned to the door in her hands. Her partner likewise got to work, doing her best to get dust and debris out of the little shack. However, despite her earlier success, the branch was sadly coming up short as a broom. Obvious by how many grunts and groans were slipping from the Lamball’s lips. It was a very cute, and slightly amusing symphony. After about 10 minutes, the branch was sent flying through the front door and Juniper looked up to see Aurora standing with hands on her hips, tongue extended for a moment. 

“Good riddance!” She announced before turning and heading back inside. “Well, hands it is. At least for the bigger pieces of junk and glass.” 

Juniper’s lips curled into a smile and her eyes followed Aurora’s movement across the room. “Just be careful you don’t cut–”

“Ow!” She watched as Aurora bent down to retrieve a piece, only to sharply jerk her hand back a second later.

“…yourself.” 

Juniper nearly threw her current task aside before standing and making her way over to where the Lamball stood. Once she arrived, she brought her hand up and gestured for Aurora to lift the injured hand. “Let me see, please.” After Aurora complied, Juniper’s eyes widened at the sight of dark, turquoise-colored blood currently flowing from the fingertip. “Whoa…it’s not red…”  

She almost let her curiosity get the better of her but she refocused herself and brought her other hand to the small of Aurora’s back. Pushing gently her toward the door. “Come on, let’s get the water and wash it.” There was a steady stream of blood but only just. Which hopefully meant the injury was only superficial. After the pair made their way outside, Juniper grabbed the canteen and quickly poured some of the cool water over the cut. Aurora winced but otherwise held strong, keeping her hand still so Juniper could take a closer look. 

“Well…” She paused and looked up at Aurora, a look of concern now plain on her face. “It looks like we’ll have to amputate. There’s no saving it, I’m afraid” Juniper could only hold herself together a few moments longer before another smile spread on her face until she finally winked. 

“Oh! You, you really had me worried!” The Lamball let go of her injured hand and smacked Juniper on the shoulder, causing her to chuckle lightly before standing straight. 

“Thankfully, it looks pretty shallow, not even deep enough for stitches. If I actually had access to the right tools for such a thing.” The smile faded and Juniper couldn’t help but sigh at this. There were so many different things she was missing. Many that she wouldn’t even realize until she needed them. 

“Still hurts…” Aurora grumbled while inspecting the cut.  

“Yeah, I imagine it does.” Juniper followed the words by lifting the injury to eye level and then leaned in to plant a kiss just to the outside of it. “There, any better?”  

Aurora smiled and nodded before pulling her hand back and placing the tip of her finger between her lips. 

“Good. Now, you take it easy until that stops bleeding.” 

The Lamball looked to one of the chairs with clear hesitation. However, before she could protest, Juniper raised a hand. “If anything, it will prevent us from making a bigger mess, right? Blood is even harder to clean.” 

This seemed to finally get Aurora to relent and the Lamball began to move to take a seat, removing her finger temporarily so she could speak. “Good point. Especially weird Pal blood, right?” 

Juniper might not have described it as “weird” but Aurora’s playful smile reassured her there was no unintentional insult. “I mean, I was certainly expecting it to look like mine. You know, red.” 

Aurora only shrugged before taking the opportunity to examine some that hadn’t been wiped away in her mouth. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. Strange, huh? It won’t surprise you to learn that I have no idea the reason for the difference.” 

Juniper nodded and then brought her hand up to grab at the back of her neck, rubbing it slightly. “Really starting to figure me out, aren’t you?”

“A little.” This time it was Aurora’s turn for a wink before attending to the cut once more. 

Once the Lamball was settled, Juniper turned to head back into the house. She promptly returned to her spot on the floor and got back to work, quickly finishing her current door before moving on to the next. By the time she was done with that one, Aurora had reappeared and returned to that same window. Causing Juniper to look up. “You can put the bigger pieces in the trunk. I want to save them for…well, I’m not sure yet. Doesn’t hurt to have it though.”

“Yes ma’am!” 

Her eyes lingered on Aurora as she bent to pick up that first piece again. However, once it was safely stowed away, Juniper let herself breathe again and refocused her efforts. Subsequently, the two settled into a steady rhythm over the next hour or so. The clink of glass hitting glass and the sound of metal hitting metal punctuated the sounds of nature drifting in from outside.

When the last bracket was free, and all the hardware and doors were neatly stacked, Juniper finally let her head fall back with an audible groan. “Ugh…my hand is killing me.” What she wouldn’t do for a drill right now. Or even any number of manual or powered tools. Before Aurora could respond though, a sharp laugh could be heard in the distance. Followed by voices that seemed to be growing louder with each passing moment. Juniper and Aurora exchanged a look before they both stood tall and headed for the door. 

It took a second for Juniper’s eyes to adjust to the sunlight after passing through and, once they did, she quickly found Vesta walking towards them. But she wasn’t alone. Two other Foxparks flanked either side of her and all three Pals held fish in each hand. Could these two be the other troublemakers from this morning?  

Aurora came to stand beside Juniper and the pair waited until Vesta and the others arrived. “I’m back!” She announced before raising the fish for Juniper to see. “I was careful and I brought fish! Oh, and friends too…” She paused to look at the two newcomers for a moment before looking back. “Well, they’re my sisters but they’re friendly enough.”  

Sisters? One of Juniper’s eyebrows rose and her head tilted in curiosity. “Welcome back Vesta and Vesta’s sisters.” She turned her attention to each one in turn, making sure to lock eyes with all three before continuing. “Any friend, or sister, of Vesta’s is certainly welcome.” To this dumpy little shack, they were currently squatting in…

One of the new Foxparks leaned in toward Vesta, her hand coming up to cover her mouth so she could whisper something in her sister’s ear. The other stood speechless, eyes doing multiple circuits of Juniper from head to toe. Whatever the one had been whispering, it caused Vesta to elbow her before rolling her eyes. “Anywayyy, this is Livia.” She turned her head to indicate the other, silent sister. “And this is Phoebe. Livia and Phoebe this is Juniper. Oh, and Aurora.”

Livia, whose smile only grew upon receiving the smack took a step closer and shifted her eyes to inspect Aurora as well. Of course, her eyes stopped on one particular body part hanging between the Lamball’s legs. Only for a second though, before her attention returned to Juniper. 

“So, this is the famous Juniper and Aurora we’ve heard so much about. I figured my sister was embellishing but I must say I’m very happy to be wrong.” Livia took another step and then brought up her hand, clearly intending for Juniper to take it. Which she did, and then promptly planted across a few on the knuckles. Eliciting a few decidedly girlish giggles from the Foxparks. 

“It’s lovely to meet you, Livia.” Juniper turned her attention to Phoebe then and, after dropping Livia’s hand, waved lightly. “And you, Phoebe.” For her part, Phoebe only offered a polite wave back but otherwise didn't move closer. Or even speak. 

Having them standing so close provided a good opportunity to see a few different examples of the same Pal. As Aurora had mentioned previously, the three sisters looked remarkably similar. However, there were subtle variances. Livia appeared taller than her sisters and Vesta’s tail had a larger brown patch at the tip. Phoebe was definitely the shortest of the three but not by much. She was also packing a little…more when compared to the other two. Interestingly, though the sisters resembled each other closely, their personalities seemed to vary by a much greater margin.

Introductions made, Juniper turned and indicated the shack by extending her hand, palm up. "Well, I would welcome you to our little corner of the island but I'm afraid it's not much." 

"That's actually why we've come," Livia added. "Well, besides saying thank you for saving our sister. We thought we might help you get this place fixed up as a token of our gratitude."

“Really?” Juniper’s eyebrows raised and she looked to Vesta who nodded in confirmation. "Well, alright then. Why don't you all follow me." She turned and made her way toward the shack, all the while pondering how to best divide the tasks. The cabinets were deconstructed and all that really remained was to give it a proper dusting. For now, at least. Also, Juniper assumed the three Foxparks wouldn't care how their fish was prepared but she wanted hers cleaned and gutted. That she would do herself. And…did Aurora eat fish?

Once they all arrived at the entrance, Juniper turned and looked at the two guests. "Could you please help clean the inside? Aurora was trying her best to get the dirt, dust, and debris out but I'm afraid that's harder said than done." She paused and dropped her eyes to Livia's tail, indicating it with a head nod. "But those tails are quite bushy. Think you're up for it?"

"Of course! We can do lots of things with our bodies Miss Juniper." Livia’s words had a flirtatious air about them and Juniper thought she detected an eye-roll from Vesta at the edge of her vision.

"Of that, I have no doubt, Livia." She offered the Foxparks a wink but subsequently turned to Vesta and Aurora. "Can you two help me with lunch? I'd at least like my fish cooked so we'll need to gather firewood."

At this, Vesta shook her head. "Nah, don’t worry about that. Sticks for roasting sure, but I'll cook them up no problem."

Juniper narrowed her eyes slightly, confused by the assertion. After a few more moments of careful thought, realization finally dawned and her eyes shot open. "Ohhh, fire! Duh."

"That's it, fire." Vesta chuckled but otherwise nudged Aurora with her elbow. "Can you grab the other fish, then we'll go find some good roasting sticks." 

"Sure!" Aurora happily nodded and reached out to take the bounty from Livia and Phoebe. However, Juniper intercepted one for her own purposes. 

"I'll take that, thanks! I'm going to prepare it a little." The Pals stared at her for a moment but simply shrugged or nodded their understanding. Except for Aurora whose head was titled to the side. 

"How will you do it?" 

Always so curious. Juniper brought the fish up and used a finger from her free hand to drag along the scales. "First, I'll remove these. Then, I'll cut it open and take all the guts out. I probably won't be able to get the head off but it will at least leave me with good meat."

"I see. Very interesting…" 

"Sounds like a lot of work to me!" Livia interjected before ducking inside. Quickly followed by Phoebe. Well, that was true but the overall dining experience was much better when you weren’t picking scales out of your teeth. They even had a table to eat at! 

While Aurora and Vesta moved to attend to the catch, Juniper followed the two sisters into the shack and began to tidy up the hinges, screws, and cabinet doors. Once they were all stowed out of the way on top of the counter, she chose one of the doors and went back outside. Just in time to get out of the way so the Foxparks could begin. Maybe not the most efficient way but certainly better than a branch with leaves.

Juniper subsequently went to sit by the firepit even though it wouldn’t necessarily be used. There, she sat cross-legged and placed the flat piece of wood in her lap. Next came the fish on top and the multi-tool reappeared from her pocket. She immediately set to work scraping the scales free with the knife portion, trying to get as much off as she could. 

As she worked, her eyes found Aurora and Vesta who were walking around along the edge of the forest. The two seemed to be getting along much better than this morning. Well, before the trio engaged in their…fun. If Juniper had to guess, that certainly played a big role in this new comfort. Aurora was very clearly smiling and Vesta was gesturing wildly about as if she were telling a story. And was that faint laughter that made its way to Juniper’s ears? 

The sight of the two Pals getting along so well absolutely warmed her heart. Especially since Vesta’s earlier comment gave her the impression they might not have otherwise mingled if not for Juniper. After a few more moments of observation, she returned her attention to the fish. Once the scales were gone, she turned the blade and deftly made a cut up its underside so she could scoop out the less appetizing insides. In the meantime, Aurora and Vesta returned from their search and unceremoniously dumped both the sticks and the fish in the grass near where Juniper sat. 

“So, that’s what it looks like?” Seeing the progress Juniper had made, Aurora quickly hurried over and knelt down. Crossing her arms around her knees. 

Juniper giggled a little and then pointed to the guts still piled on the board. “Yup, this is what I took out from the inside and…” She flipped the fish over then to let the Lamball get a better look. “Now the skin is clean. Much tastier this way.”

“So you think!” Vesta quipped from where she stood spearing a fish through the mouth with a stick. 

Juniper could only shrug before setting the knife down and reaching over to pat Aurora’s rear affectionately. “Be a good helper and fetch my canteen, please.”

“Yes ma’am!” Aurora quickly moved to comply and Juniper happily watched her, and her body, bounce across the little campsite before coming back. Always such a treat.

“Thank you,” Juniper practically cooed before reaching up and taking it.

“You’re welcome.” Her task complete, and curiosity apparently satiated, Aurora moved back to Vesta to help her prepare the rest of the fish. After giving her own fillet a rinse, Juniper stood tall and did the same. Selecting a branch to butterfly the meat on for roasting. Once the sticks were set, Vesta instructed them to dig them into the ground at an angle so they came together to a point. Making it easier for her to roast them all at the same time. 

 “Now, just stand back and watch me work!” Vesta came up and stood about a foot away before cracking her knuckles and rolling her neck. She took in a deep breath then and unleashed a steady flame from her mouth, engulfing all the fish in her fire. 

Juniper was practically mesmerized by the display and moved behind a similarly stunned Aurora to watch the show. In place, she wrapped her arms around the Lamball from behind and rested her cheek on the silver hair, careful to avoid the horns. Without shifting her gaze, Aurora brought her hands up to grip Juniper’s forearms where they lay across her shoulders.  

The two just watched then, absorbed in Vesta’s display of power. Not only that, the smell and sizzle of the fish was making Juniper downright ravenous. There really was no substitute for enjoying things that had been cooked. Meat, vegetables, fruit. You name it! If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up drooling on Aurora’s head.