Chapter Text
Lottie was already used to the nasty taste of the tea after drinking it time and time again. The foul smell lingered in the air, drifting along with the breeze, traveling far into the trees. But she was sure that she and Travis were the only ones who could smell it. Peering over to the boy, she watched as he took a sip from his own watery brew; taking in a deep, dramatic breath before finally indulging in the sweet release.
This had been both of their daily routines for the past three weeks.
Wake up (Lottie was usually one of the first to wake each morning, Travis always woke at around 11:30am after a night of nightmares and constantly having his sleep interrupted by the forest sounds).
Do their chores (although most of time, nether one of them had any.) and converse with the other Yellowjackets.
Then at 1pm, meet in a small area just outside of camp and for the next hour, sit, speak and get stoned.
The first few times they tried this, it was... strange to say the least.
Previously Lottie had asked Misty for the whereabouts of some mushrooms, and to her surprise, Misty collected her some herself.
The brunette wandered into the wilderness in search of a secluded patch of grass for her to lay on and enjoy a peaceful evening alone. Just as she had finished crafting her drink, a nearby bush rattled, bringing her out of her soon-to-be dazed state.
Expecting a kind, oblivious animal, Lottie slowly crawled over to the noise, making a mental note to avoid all twigs on the ground as not to alarm the creature. Before she could arrive all the way to the bush though, a familiar face shyly waddled out. Travis stood before her, hands playing with the hem of his shirt. eyes on the floor, not daring to look at her out of embarrassment. The girl got to her feet, instantly towering over him (When they had first met, the height difference slightly upset him, made him feel like less of a man, now though, he knows that type of stuff doesn’t matter). The boy finally looked into her eyes, an apology and confession sitting on the tip of his tongue about how he had followed her in hopes of getting some shrooms, but before he could get the words out, Lottie spoke before him “Do you want some tea?”.
And from then on, every day was spent together in the clouds.
This day was like most others. The breeze sang; woods were quiet besides the birds and the occasional loud noise from the camp; it was maybe two or three degrees hotter than usual. They hadn’t spoken much today. There was no need to, they had nothing to discuss. The shrooms had finally set in and both teens were completely out of it.
This is what Lottie had always wanted; to rest in the middle of the Wilderness, surrounded by her furry forest friends, and to be so incredibly baked.
Now that she thought about it, it was weird how out of all the people who would want to get high with her, Travis was the only other person who joined in. “If anything” she reflected, “he should be the least inclined to, especially after the Doomcoming afterparty”. The idea stuck in her head, bouncing off its walls until it came to a slow stop. She let out a single “heh...” as the concept lingered in her mind. Before she even noticed what she was doing, she began giggling uncontrollably, encouraging Travis to do the same. For a few minutes, they sat there, leaning against a tree, gripping onto their stomachs, unable to restrain their laughter and control themselves.
When they eventually came to a slow, Travis perked up “What are we even laughing about?”
Lottie gazed into an opening of leaves out onto the sky above “I was thinking about... well... nevermind.” The boy didn’t ask any more questions, half for Lotties sake, half because he couldn’t be bothered speaking.
Natalie came stomping into the woods, neither Travis nor Lottie was alarmed. Her angry demeanor going unnoticed. Nat marched in front of her two friends, arms crossed, eyebrows knitted together in frustration.
“Natalie! Do want some, uh... you know, some tea?” Travis slurred. He opened his mouth to speak again but before he could, Nat’s gaze focused on his, starring daggers into him, he quickly stopped talking. “For God's sake can you two please shut up? We were having a meeting back at camp and all we could hear is you two laughing nonstop!”
Travis turned his focus to the ground as he always did in situations like this. Lottie on the other hand, paid full attention to Natalie. Her outfit was like what she would typically wear, only today she had on patterned, black and yellow, cloth headscarf. Lottie instantly recognized that it did not belong to Natalie. A wave of nostalgia washed over Lot, and then another feeling overtook it: grief.
“You two are lucky I was the one who came out here and told you both to quieten down. Shauna said that she was going to, but I offered to do it instead because we all know that her yelling would have been twice as loud as your little giggle fest.” Natalie’s words brought Lottie back to reality.
Suddenly, the shrooms didn’t make her feel calm and care-free anymore. She could feel the heat making her clothes stick to her body; back pain caused by resting on that stupid, uncomfortable tree behind her; the mosquito on her thigh that was drinking her blood like a vampire.
When she stood up, she could feel her blood swimming around in her body. Natalie eyed Lottie, her once fuming expression now changed into something a little more sympathetic.
“Hey... Lottie, are you alright? You look kinda pale.”
“Yes. I just... I’m going to take a nap...”
Without another word, Lot left the opening and trailed back to camp, avoiding contact with anyone and everyone, especially Shauna, lest she get a lecture.
When she reached her hut, her eyes were already watery and heavy. Crawling inside the circler door was easy as they had somehow managed to build it so it wouldn’t collapse at even the slightest bit of pressure. Besides the light from the entrance, the entirety of the room was dim, and Lottie wouldn’t dare waste one of their candles just so she could feel a tinge of light while she was in her dark mood.
Before she knew it, those clouds that she had been drifting on sleepily minutes ago started to thunder. An unstoppable rain seeped out of her eyes, making her sclera turn even redder than it previously had been.
Here she was, crying over some girl who had been dead for... what? A year now? A few months? Lottie hadn’t kept count, no one had. All she knew what that it hadn’t been long enough for her to accept it, although... maybe she never will.
She had lost people before, people who were arguable closer to her than Laura Lee was. So why did she have a feeling that no matter how long time went on, Laura Lee would always haunt her, even when they were both dead.
As she got into a comfortable position, Lottie rested her heavy head onto her ‘pillow’. She prayed for her mind to slow, her head was banging, the only solution she had access to was sleep, and she did just that.
When she finally awoke, the sun had already set. It was raining gently outside, soft ‘pitter patter’ noises coming from the water colliding with the sticks of the huts. She could taste her breath, and it tasted bad. From what she could see everyone was getting ready for bed. Gen and Melissa, two of the girls who also slept in this hut were already in their beds, chatting about what they each had dreamed of the previous night, waiting for the other two inhabitance of the hut, Mari and Misty.
Lottie sat straight up, accidently shocking the other two girls a little. “Oh Lottie! Um... don’t be mad but uh... well... we just had dinner, and you weren’t awake, and we didn’t want to interrupt your sleep, so we didn’t save you any food... sorry.” Gen stumbled over her words; a guilty look plastered on her face. “It’s fine, I’m not hungry.” Lottie stretched her legs and headed for the door. Melissa’s finger poked Lotties ankle, bringing her attention back to the girls laying on the floor “Where are you going? Can’t you hear rain? You’ll get a cold if you go out there.”.
Though she appreciated how thoughtful the two were, Lottie didn’t really care if she got sick. She needed to be with the Wilderness for a few moments, to think. “I’ll only be out there a little while.”.
Melissa sighed “Okay then. Just be careful.” Before she left Gen mentioned something “Oh! At dinner, Natalie said that she wanted to talk to you.” Lot thanked Gen for informing her then waved her goodbyes, wagging her fingers like she always did.
Natalie was by the fire pit, about to put it out, till she noticed Lottie walking her way. She, like everyone else, was in her pjs. She wasn’t wearing the headscarf, but looking down, Lottie could see it hanging out of her pajama pocket. “Lottie! Okay uh two things I need to talk to you about.”
“Gen already told me about dinner.”
Nat exhaled, still feeling remorseful at letting her friend go to sleep without anything to eat “Alright then... one thing, I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have yelled at you and Travis like that. I’m sorry I made you cry” Lot could tell Nat was being genuine, despite all she's gone through and done out here, Natalie has remained one of the most empathetic persons Lottie had ever known. She patted her friend on the shoulder. “Don’t be sorry, Natalie. You didn’t make anyone cry. I just... you know that headscarf you were wearing? That belonged to Laura Lee. Seeing it, made me think of her. It’s not your fault.”
Realization of what she had done seeped into Nat’s mind and face. She had rarely ever spoke to Laura Lee, but she knew the two girls had been close. Nat peered into the empty eyes of the taller girl, knowing not what to say, she opened her mouth for a short few seconds, then closed it again.
“Natalie, do you mind if I hold onto it for tonight?” Lottie was wearing that same, calm smile she always had on. There was something about it that made anyone who looked at her feel uneasy. She gazed into the pot resting above the firepit, her reflection staring back at her from the boiling water inside.
Reached down to her thigh, Nat pulled out the yellow and black cloth from her pajama trousers, it was somewhat dirty but that didn’t bother Lottie, she was just happy to have a piece of Laura Lee back. She had missed her girl so much.
Lottie thanked her friend, picked up one of the bowls from the floor and scooped up some hot water, then wandered into the woods. Before she had fully submerged herself in the trees, Nat called out to her
“H-hey Lot! I’m okay with you chilling out there for a while if you need some alone time but don’t... just don’t stay out there forever, alright? And please be careful.”
Lottie nodded in her general direction. Natalie really was a good leader; the Wilderness had made the right choice to pick her.
As much as the others said that the woods were an entirely different place at night, Lottie knew it was the same old Wilderness, and that there was nothing to be afraid of.
When she was little, Lottie feared everything. Always sleeping with a nightlight on; scared of dangling her leg off the bed in case of the monster hiding under it would rip it off.
But now, there was no monster; just skeletons in the closet.
She breathed in the cool night air, chilling her lungs as it went down her nostrils. The rain had gotten heavier since she had woken up. It was cold to the touch, but it made Lottie feel less alone out here.
She brushed her damp hair out of her eyes as she walked over to the tree that she had been laying under with Travis just hours ago. The mugs they had been using were still there, as well as the mushrooms. Lottie knew better than to waste some of their stash (not to mention what happened earlier that same day, the last time she had gotten high) but looking at the substance, she couldn’t resist the urge.
She leaned up against the tree, trying to readjust her back into a less awkward position, but ultimately failing to do so. The bark was oh so harsh on her poor, sore spine. She did as she always did when she sat out here, she grabbed some scattered rocks and got to crushing some shrooms. The only sounds out here were of the rain and the grinding of rock against rock. She finished just as quick as she had started. Giddy with excitement, Lottie poured about half of the boiling hot water into her cup. Without even thinking, she quickly downed the entire mixture, burning her throat badly in the process (but that was the least of her concerns at the moment, she just wanted to unwind).
Now Lottie, she knew that this was a bad idea, she had lost count of how many times she had thought that to herself. “But” she reflected, “sometimes a bad idea can have a positive outcome”. Little did she know that she was totally fucked.