Chapter Text
Maybe if it weren’t the end of the world, Fauna would think that their surroundings were beautiful.
The sky was bright and blue, sun shining down on their meager camp site with intent to draw her companions from their slumber. Fauna has always been an early riser and seven months of sleeping in a ratty tent made no difference. She pokes gingerly at their dying fire, listening to the sizzling of plastic wrappers and dried leaves as she waits. There wasn’t much to do before the others woke up. Round up some breakfast, maybe, but the crumbled packages of granola bars are already laid out near two bottles of water.
She briefly wonders how much longer she will have to pretend to ignore the rustling within the tent before sleep-warm arms wind themselves around her shoulders. “Good morning,” a voice coos, soft and sweet, into the base of Fauna’s neck. She prays that the prickling of her skin beneath supple lips goes unnoticed. The way that they curl in response dashes any hope she has. “Did you miss us?”
Fauna turns as much as she is allowed, gloved hands tightening against the front of her sweater. “Of course I did, Mumei,” she answers, slipping as much honey into the tea of her words as she can. She wonders if the younger girl’s hair rises at the sound of her voice too. The pleased hum pressed against her hair makes Fauna think that it might. “I was oh so lonely out here by myself.”
“Now you have me!” The brunette chirps, slipping around the side of Fauna to drop down against her side. There is no room to be found between them, huddled close in wake of autumn’s chill. Fauna finds that she doesn’t mind the empty forest as much when there’s a willing predator clinging to her side. She can almost hear the clinking of Mumei’s arrows against themselves when she drags her quiver closer to their position. “You could have both of us if Kronii decided to wake up.”
A groan sounds from somewhere within the fabric of their tent, and it isn’t long before a blurry eyed head of blue emerges. “M’awake,” she grumbles, half-lidded expression doing everything in its power to go against the words. Well, word. That’s alright. The three of them have been together long enough to know of simple morning habits. Fauna’s all too aware of the fond upturn of lips that Kronii is being greeted with on her behest. “Scoot.”
Mumei sticks her tongue out, not bothering to clamber away from where she’s practically draped across Fauna’s lap. Lose her warmth in favor of letting Kronii’s body squirm in between them? Not a chance. Fauna raises a hand up to card nimble fingers through light brown locks, a pleased noise rising from Mumei’s throat at the action. She thinks that the younger girl might be showing off, and if Kronii’s huff is any indication, she’s thinking the same thing.
“Eat your breakfast, Kronii,” Fauna urges, nodding towards the granola bar and mostly-full bottle of water she had gathered earlier. Mumei had already discovered her own at some point, happily munching away as her hair is detangled. A particularly stubborn knot draws the gold of her gaze away from Kronii’s blue, brows furrowed as both hands come up to work gently at the entwined strands of hair. She would not send her little bird into the world with anything less than perfect plumage. “We have to break camp soon. It got colder last night.”
Tired grumbles are the only verbal response she gets. Fauna doesn’t mind. It will take Kronii a few more minutes to fully wake up, and by that time Mumei’s hair will be free of tangles and she’ll be ready to start packing up their dwindling supplies. There’s a blood-red leaf fluttering down from a nearby tree, eager to distract her from the simple intimacy that comes from their morning routine. It takes more effort than she’d like to admit to turn away and resume her task.
It’s quiet- peaceful.
The sound of bird calls mixed with a crunching Kronii and humming Mumei sums up Fauna’s state of mind. She found that waking up with a racing heart and gasping breaths during the beginning of it all was rather exhausting. Finding her two best friends huddled away safe and sound did wonders for her anxiety levels. People used to say it only took twenty-one days to latch onto a habit, but it took even less than that for the trio to adapt to the world they found themselves in.
Mumei finishes her breakfast, tipping the discolored wrapper back against her mouth to eagerly lick up remaining crumbs. Fauna is familiar with the guilt that presses against her skin, wishing she had more to offer her girls. Breakfast bars and water could only hold them over for so long, and their supply had been dangerously low for weeks. She doesn’t know how long they can get by on miniscule meals. There’s a town nearby, one that they don’t think has been wiped clean yet. Kronii had ushered them away from it with a set brow, and Fauna’s stomach had churned uncomfortably at what that meant.
It was rare to scare the taller girl, especially when she was wielding the axe they found a few months prior. When she told them it was better to avoid an area, the brown and green pair agreed without hesitation.
Kronii is tucking her head beneath Fauna’s chin before Mumei has even fully vacated her spot.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” The nervous creature in her belly morphs into thousands of butterflies, beating their blue tinted wings against the walls of her insides. Fauna doesn’t know if she can make her voice any softer, but damn if she won’t try. “Did you sleep okay?”
A grumble is all that Kronii grants her. Fauna’s butterflies are intent on clambering their way out of her throat, the force of her affections making it close up. Mumei is darting from place to place behind them, stopping her packing every once in a while to press needy hands against their bare skin. Every touch sends a shiver down her spine. Golden eyes dart deeper into the woods that they claim as theirs, gaze settling on something that moves with too little life to grant her comfort.
There is no weapon for her to reach for, not one that feels comfortable beneath her hands the way that Kronii and Mumei do. Fauna presses a gentle kiss to a waiting forehead, hoping that whatever it is will pass them by. She doesn’t think that her girls have very much fight in them today.
A bundle of blue shifts in her grip, sitting up to rub at tired eyes. “Mhm,” she hums, the simple answer to Fauna’s question coming even though a handful of minutes have passed. “Dreamt about before.”
“Oh?” It’s rare for Kronii to share her dreams, lips zipped tight in an effort to be strong in face of their reality. “Do tell.”
It isn’t a command, Kronii knows this, but Fauna presses her fingers into the knots of the taller girl’s back anyways. Quiet apologies are worth far less than soothed muscles. The little space between them melts away as they entwine their limbs. Mumei’s jealous huff makes them giggle.
Kronii is tilting her head, angling it closer to her ears. “Wasn’t bad,” she reassures, fists tightening in the soft yellows of her seat’s jacket. Fauna doesn’t let the lie go, digging her fingers into muscled shoulders a little harder. The body beneath her hands jolts, and there’s an apologetic kiss placed beneath her jaw. “Sorry. Just sorta sad. Mumei woke me up. I forgot for a second.”
She doesn’t need to push. Fauna knows what it’s like to forget.
To wake up entangled in the arms of her best friends, wondering which one of them will break their cocoon to leave for home first. To wonder why she can’t hear scrabbling claws against Mumei’s wooden floors. To walk through Kronii’s apartment with intimate familiarity. To pretend that rising from bed is a blessing.
“I’m sorry,” Fauna offers. Kronii nods from beneath her chin before Mumei is returning to their sides. It’s easy to let her steal their attention away from darkening thoughts.
There are three packed bags on the ground by their feet, each one having seen better days. Scotch tape is keeping pockets sealed shut and fabric from splitting, dull gray to match their moods. It was never fun to see what was left of their lives reduced to mere bags.
Kronii moves to stand, accepting Mumei’s outstretched hand to haul herself onto her feet with a grunt. Their fingers remain entwined, swaying back and forth between their bodies. “Thanks. How’s it looking?”
Mumei shrugs, the early morning sun catching against her hair to paint it a bright yellow. Her eyes are even brighter, liquid amber beneath the sky’s affections. “Okay. There were a few stragglers to the west, but nothing too scary.”
Fauna wonders how they manage to look so beautiful even in a rapidly dying world.
She rises last, wiping dirt off of the jeans she found a few towns over, before shouldering the heaviest pack. Kronii and Mumei look like they want to argue, but Fauna only smiles. “Is south still our plan?” She likes the way that word makes her feel, giddy despite the circumstances.
It’s a reminder that she isn’t alone, that they aren’t either, that they all have each other. ‘Our’ and ’we‘ tickle the base of her heart much better than ‘I’ and ’me’ ever could.
One of her girls says yes, it doesn’t matter who, and Fauna is nodding firmly before kicking dirt over the cinders of the early morning fire. It doesn’t take much to put out, one of them could have coughed on it and gotten similar results, but the action is soothing. It reminds her of camping trips from years ago, back when the world still held some semblance of order.
There are no traces of them left behind, dirt turned over to hide bits of burnt plastic and charred pieces of wood. Fauna is diligent with her work while Mumei pours over an old map with Kronii, arguing over which route will lead them to the nearest bit of civilization while not being ‘a waste of time’. It always takes them a while to come to a compromise, so Fauna looks around to appreciate the surroundings they are abandoning.
Long-lived trees and bushes are a mix of colors, greens and golds and tans and reds all pressed together in a beautiful bouquet of season brought death. Fauna would say that she pities the greenery, but they have it better in this new world than the rest of them do. Plants don’t need to fight for resources or duck away from things that go bump in the night. Life is easier when you don’t realize you’re living it, in her opinion.
Spring was the calmest, clean water falling into their laps and soothing their throats. Fauna spent a majority of her time coaxing edible plants from the earth, tucking them away into a bag for her girls to eat later. Kronii and Mumei hadn’t been all too thrilled at being reduced to temporary vegetarians, but they dutifully ate whatever she put in front of them and thanked her with warm kisses pressed against her skin.
One day she managed to hold in her disgust and messily skin a rabbit that Mumei had caught. Basking in the girl’s quiet affections as she showed her how to hold her knife and where to strip flesh from bone eased the pain- but only slightly. Fauna’s hands were shaking beneath the shorter girl’s hold, letting the appreciative coos rush over her burning skin like a soothing balm. The meat had painfully been cooked to the best of her ability (which is to say not very well) but the light in Kronii’s eyes when she walked back into camp was worth the lingering blood and fur beneath her nails.
“We’re ready now,” Mumei chirps, drawing Fauna’s attention away from the ladybug she was watching crawl along her fingers. She blows lightly against the insect, watching it hurriedly spread its wings before taking flight. Rising to her feet with Kronii’s help, she moves between the pair to peer down at their map. Neat lines over forgotten roads show where they’ve been, and slender fingers point along those they’ve yet to travel. “Sorry for the wait!”
“I still don’t think we should rely so heavily on the woods,” Kronii grumbles, placing her hands on her hips. Mumei yawns, over exaggerated and teasing. Fauna giggles at the frustration painting the oldest girl’s face. “I’m serious! We have cover, but so does anything else out here.”
“I want to take the scenic route,” Mumei shoots back, a charming smile dancing over her lips. Kronii pretends to remain unphased, but her own mouth twitches in response. Fauna’s heart quivers in her chest. “Plus, anything will see us coming out there. What’s the point in being sneaky all these months?”
Fauna looks back and forth between blue and amber, blinking when she realizes that they are looking to her for support. She rolls her eyes fondly, holding a hand out for the ratty map they had been sharing for the better part of two seasons. It doesn’t take her long to see what the girls mean, their obvious choices between cutting through a forest or walking along a highway. Her initial instincts say to stick close to what little cover they could find for multiple reasons. There’s shade, natural wind blocks, and enough kindling to last them years. The roads would mean looting opportunities, a quicker route, and less options for Mumei to twist her ankle again. All of this is without poking at the cons for each area, which she knows Kronii would happily list for hours if given the opportunity.
She furrows her brows, contemplative, as she tries to find a path that will appease Kronii and Mumei both. Any other routes on the map elongate their journey to the next town by days at the very least, which is something they can’t afford with how quickly the temperatures have been dropping at night. Fauna sets her backpack on the floor, rooting around in one of the tiny pockets.
“Fauna,” Kronii sighs. “If we wanted someone to flip a coin, we could have done that ourselves.”
“Then why didn’t you?” She teases, reveling in Mumei’s giggle as she finds an American quarter. Fauna holds it out for both parties to see, tossing it into the air with a deft flick of her thumb. “Call it.”
“Heads!”
“Tails, then.”
Fauna snatches the shining metal out of the air before a bird can swoop down and steal it from them, slapping it onto the back of her hand. She looks between the girls expectantly, already knowing that she will see the beginnings of their competitive spirits shining within their eyes.
Kronii is tapping her foot impatiently. Mumei is staring daggers at her hand. Fauna decides they can wait a little longer. Humming tunelessly, she smiles sweetly at both of her girls. “Any last words, dying requests?”
Mumei laughs brightly, absolutely delighted at Fauna’s morose words, before striking a pose. The back of a gloved hand presses against her forehead, eyelashes fluttering in mimicry of a distress from the movies of their youth. “Oh, how I wish a fair maiden would press a tender kiss upon my lips!” She puckers them immediately after speaking, peering at Kronii as she tries not to laugh. Fauna isn’t far behind her.
“My request is that you move your hand so we can get a move on already.”
Fauna can’t hold in her laughter any longer at that, scaring away a few nearby birds with the force of it. Kronii looks particularly pleased if the flush high on her cheeks is any indication. Mumei pouts, jutting her lip out in a manner that’s almost comical paired with the circumstances. “Oh, boo, Kronii. You’re no fun.”
She loves when they are like this, easygoing and soft. Fauna prefers to see them in this light over any other. It was hard to catch both of them on good days, had been ever since the world tilted on its axis. But she is selfish, holding each instance close to her heart as each morning was more of a struggle than the one before. Kronii and Mumei mean so much to her- always have.They are her reason to hold knives against trembling throats and press teeth against flushed skin, to do anything and everything that they could think of in efforts to ensure their hearts remained steady within their chests.
With a careful hand, she shows the quarter’s face.
“Looks like Mumei gets her kiss,” Fauna says, a smile spreading wide across her face as the girl in question begins to hoot and holler at her petty victory. Kronii doesn’t even bother hiding her scowl, but her eyes are gentle as she follows the rambunctious actions of their youngest. “Pucker up, buttercup.”
Mumei doesn’t give either of them time to react before she’s flinging herself against Kronii’s chest, delighted giggles spilling from her lips. There is only a small amount of jealousy gnawing at her chest as she watches Kronii cup the brunette’s cheeks like she’s worth the world. Which she is, don’t get her wrong, but that doesn’t stop her from longing to be in either girl’s place. Knowing that her turn will come soon enough eases the green monster huffing at the back of her mind, although only slightly. She must be staring a little too hard, because attentive gazes meet hers before much time can pass.
“Give Fauna a kiss too,” Mumei urges, fingers curling lightly along the harsh edge of Kronii’s jaw. Honeyed eyes light up, teasing, as she gently coaxes the taller girl’s head to turn in her direction. “You know I like to watch.”
Fauna is practically vibrating as Kronii’s cheeks erupt in a blush, grumbling something beneath her breath about how Mumei needed to choose her words better. They all know she doesn’t really mind, and the gentle nip against her bottom lip upon their embrace does more than prove it. It’s hard not to collapse into Kronii’s hold, fingers tangling within dark locks. Hands pull her closer by the waist and Fauna swoons, dimly aware of Mumei stepping closer to have her turn. She is so overwhelmingly fond of these moments in between, where they get to pretend that nothing is wrong and that they are simply three girls in love with each other.
Their moment doesn’t last, the sound of a branch breaking under the weight of something heavy stilling Mumei’s approach. Weapons are drawn in a flash, leaving her to blink at her lack of reflexes. An arrow is notched against the string of her bow and Kronii is gently pushing Fauna behind her with the handle of her axe. She’s reaching for the knife strapped to the side of her backpack, careful.
It doesn’t take long to show itself, lurching from the underbrush on all fours in a skittering motion that is much too reminiscent of bugs. Fauna blanches, watching with morbid fascination as an arrow sprouts from the thing’s shoulder. It must be moving too jerkily for Mumei’s eyes to track if the annoyed click of her tongue is any indication. They don’t get to rest for long. It has picked up its pace, angry. Kronii is imbedding the steel of her axe into the creature’s arm, a gush of black goo bursting from the severed limb.
Mindlessly righting itself with an unstable jerk, the undead greets them with a rattling gasp. Mumei looses an arrow through one of its rotting eyes, but that doesn’t stop it from hopping its way towards them on its remaining limbs. “It’s one of the newer ones,” Fauna warns, her words obvious. She wants to feel like she’s helping them, doing something worthwhile as her knuckles go white around her weapon’s handle. The selfish part of her wishes she had taken to a more useful arms, something long or mid-ranged. Instead she’s stuck with an elongated butcher’s knife she barely knows how to use.
“Mumei.” It’s a warning, one that the brunette heeds as she backs away in time for Kronii to yank her axe free of crumbling bone and decaying muscle after another strike. Dark muck drips lazily from the metal, and Fauna wrinkles her nose. Her pathetic knife has yet to see use, more for show than anything else.
“We’ll have to bust the head.”
She hears the dull sound of a bow being dropped to the ground quickly followed by its quiver. Mumei is grasping a metal pipe now, pulled over her shoulder from the side of her bag. Kronii backs away to Fauna’s side, and the green haired girl knows it's to do something as silly as protect her of all things. Neither of her girls seem bothered to do it, but the guilt that festers beneath her skin for the millionth time this morning is impossible to ignore.
It’s difficult for them to watch. An errant swing from Kronii’s axe could cause more harm than good. Fauna’s limited reach leaves her useless. They hate leaving Mumei to face monsters alone, knowing that they’ll need to wrap her tight within their arms at night to stifle her sobs.
Their girl is strong, taking only a second to wind up before using her weight to slam into a gaping jaw with a sickening CRACK! Mumei winces, eyes slamming shut in response to an unnaturally bent neck and choking gurgle. Her hands are shaking over the metal of her weapon, and Fauna is moving forward to tuck the shorter girl’s head under her neck before she can see the results of her work.
An urge to wretch tickles the back of her throat, but Fauna is whispering sweet nothings in Mumei’s ears as Kronii raises her leg to slam the heel of her boot into what’s left. She raises her voice to drown out the sound, grateful for the tallest girl’s strong stomach.
Quiet lasts for only a heartbeat before Kronii is moving towards them, wrapping the pair in her arms with a shuddering sigh. “It’s gone,” she promises quietly. Mumei shifts deeper into their embrace. Fauna is glad that their youngest has learned when to let down her guard, bathing in the warmth of their love to rid herself of the world’s filth. “I wasn’t paying attention. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Kronii.” Fauna knows that it’s hard to take point, the oldest and wisest of the trio throwing herself into a leadership position that leaves her exhausted on the best of days. Her hands are gentle as they wipe a line of sticky fluid off of Kronii’s shoulder, gentle. “You know we would never blame you.”
They haven’t even gotten to leave camp and Fauna already feels like going to sleep.
“We can go Kronii’s way,” Mumei says. Her voice is quiet. They squeeze her tight one last time before reassembling the supplies on their backs. Fauna is spiteful as she tosses the knife she has yet to use inside of her bag. If only she had looked around before heading out to find the girls all those months ago. She wasn’t thinking, panic piloting her body, as she grabbed whatever she could get her hands on before hopping on her bike to ride through crowded streets.
The pair of them work to attach the nearly forgotten quiver and bow to Mumei’s backpack. Fauna knows better than to coddle, so she slips towards the back of the group to cover their rear. Kronii takes the lead, as usual, and they’re making their way out of the forest and towards the highway.