Moonstone Crystal has always had her life figured out. A loving family, wonderful friends, and a well-trod, well-loved path into her future. But when her beloved Saffron flees a heartless home, jealousy and anger lead to all of her plans vanishing along with her sight, and she must find a new way to live.
Saffron: Well…they…kind of keep forgetting?
River: Does this have anything to do with them leaving you behind a few times?
Saffron: Uh….
Saffron: …maybe?
River: Oh, Saffron…honey, if there’s something wrong at home, you can tell me.
Saffron: It’s nothing. They’re just busy, that’s all. Citrus is there. I’m okay.
Saffron: Could she–
River: She isn’t old enough. I’m sorry, Saffron, but if your parents don’t sign…
Saffron: Right…thank you, Miss River.
River: Of course. …Saffron, honey, if there’s anything you need to talk about…
Saffron: I’m okay. Happy Winterfest, Miss River.
Moonstone: Ugh…it’s winter…why is it still so hot?
Horizon: Because this is Sugar Springs. Hot’s all we get.
Luna: We got snow last week…
Horizon: Yeah, and it melted before it hit the ground. Hot’s all we get.
Moonstone: And it sucks–Saf!
Moonstone: Everything okay?
Saffron: …I’m not going. Nobody signed the forms.
Moonstone: Saf?
Saffron: …I’m going home.
Luna: How could they forget to sign the forms? Mama had those signed weeks ago!
Horizon: Her parents are always arguing. Mom forgets things when she’s arguing with the computer–hi, Granny!
Aurora: Welcome home, girls. How was school?
Moonstone: Fine. Where’s Mama?
Aurora: She’s outside. Everything okay?
Moonstone: Uh…maybe.
-
Moonstone: Hi, Gramma.
Opal: Hi, honey. Good day?
Moonstone: Maybe.
Moonstone: Mama?
Firefly: Here, darling. How was–oh dear. What has happened?
Moonstone: Uhm…you know the camping trip next year, right?
Firefly: Yes. Did we forget to sign a form?
Moonstone: No, no! It’s just. Uh. Saf’s parents still haven’t signed and she wants to go so….
Moonstone: I was wondering if you could talk to her parents and get them to sign the forms or something and–
Firefly: Moonstone, darling, take a breath!
Moonstone: *deep breath* Sorry. Could you please talk to her parents?
Firefly: Of course. I cannot make any promises, but I will speak with them.
Moonstone: Thank you, Mama–Mama! *laugh*
Firefly: It is very sweet of you to think of your friend. Now, go start your homework. I will let you know how it went soon.
*knock on door*
Nectar: Just a second!
Nectar: So, what’s really going on? The baby okay?
Firefly: Oh, yes, she is fine. This is actually about yours.
Nectar: …What?
Firefly: The Sugar Scouts camp is next summer, and Saffron would truly like to go. However, she needs her forms signed and…
Nectar: Forms…oh, shiitake. The paperwork–dammit, I knew I’d forgotten something.
Firefly: Nectar, is everything alright?
Nectar: Urgh…marital problems. How do you and Spinel do it? Three kids, fourth on the way…I’ve never seen you argue.
Nectar: How do you stay so…happy?
Firefly: We speak often and well. Open communication.
Nectar: Ha. No wonder…I haven’t spoken to Sunshine like that since Citrus was born.
Firefly: What if you did so now?
Nectar: How?
Firefly: Just try. Citrus has friends in the city, yes? She can spend the holidays with them, and my family would be happy to take Saffron for the break. You two will have time to yourselves.
Nectar: You’d do that?
Firefly: Of course! The girls adore one another. Saffron is one of us. She is more than welcome.
Nectar: Thank you. Let me sign the papers before I forget again.
Nectar: How did you even know about this?
Firefly: Moonstone.
Nectar: That girl…she’s a good egg, Firefly. You should be proud.
Firefly: I am. We all are.
Firefly: Moon–ah. There you are.
Moonstone: …Well?
Firefly: The forms are signed and Saffron will be joining you at camp. She will also be spending the break with us.
Moonstone: ! Thank you, Mama!
Firefly: You are very welcome. Now, help me get that tree down.
Winterfest Bresk….
Firefly: There we are. Do you have everything you need, Saffron?
Saffron: Yep! Thanks, Auntie.
Firefly: Of course. Now, do not stay up too late waiting for Father Winter, girls. Get some rest.
Saffron: We will!
Moonstone: Night, Mama!
*door closes*
Saffron: …thanks for having me over, Moony…not sure I could deal with them fighting….
Moonstone: Saf…we should tell someone…
Saffron: What? My parents yell at each other a lot? They want to break up? They’re not hurting me, or Citrus, or each other…
Saffron: They just…yell a lot. That’s…that’s all…
Moonstone: Saf…
Saffron: My parents are splitting up…
Moonstone: Saf…I’m sorry, Saf…
Saffron: Promise you won’t leave me?
Moonstone: Promise. I’ll always be with you.
Summer…
Opal: Bag packed, uniform on?
Moonstone: Gramma!
Opal: Just checking!
Opal: You be good. And remember to have fun, okay?
Moonstone: We’ll be fine, Gramma.
Horizon: Mom, you’re squeezing too hard.
Spinel: Sorry, sorry. Be good, okay?
Horizon: It’s just camp!
Luna: We can’t get in that much trouble at camp, you know.
Firefly: Ha. You are Crystals, you will find trouble.
Aurora: And lose these.
Moonstone: Our hats! Thanks, Granny.
*bus honks*
Horizon: Oh! We gotta go!
Spinel: Stay safe!
Firefly: They will be fine, love. They have one another.
Spinel: That’s what worries me. I got in enough trouble on my own. Three of them, together, plus Saffron?
Firefly: …I will go and redo the spell of protection.
Nectar: Well if you hadn’t–
Sunshine: If I hadn’t? You’re the one who–
Citrus: Ugh! Will you two just stop already?! …Screw this, I’m out.
Saffron: Citrus?
Sunshine: You’re the one who–
Citrus: Sorry, kiddo. I’m leaving.
Saffron: What?
Saffron: Citrus! Hang on–you can’t leave me!
Citrus: Bag, clothes, ID…phone, where’s my phone…
Saffron: Citrus–Ci, did I do something wrong?
Citrus: What–oh, Saf…no. No, kiddo, you didn’t.
Saffron: Mom and Dad are always fighting, though…
Citrus: That’s got nothing to do with you. Or even with me. They’re just really unhappy all the time.
Saffron: Why, though?
Citrus: …Mom and Dad…our Grampas arranged for them to get married when they didn’t love each other. They were barely even friends, so it just doesn’t work.
Saffron: Then…why did they even have us?
Citrus: They had to. Oh, Saf…grownups are stupid sometimes. It’s got nothing to do with you, okay?
Saffron: You leaving does.
Citrus: No, kiddo, it doesn’t. I’m leaving because I can’t stand the fighting anymore.
Saffron: So–take me with you! We can–
Citrus: Saf.
Citrus: I don’t know where I’m going, or what’s going to happen. I couldn’t do that to you.
Saffron: So you’ll just leave me here?
Citrus: It’s safe here. They fight, but they won’t hurt you. And you have Moonstone!
Citrus: I’ll write you a whole bunch, and when you’re older and I’m settled you can come and stay with me, but for now it’s better if you stay here. Besides–you don’t want to miss camp, do you?
Saffron: No, but…I’ll miss you…
Citrus: Me too, kiddo.
Citrus: Be good. And if you can’t be good, don’t get caught.
Saffron: …okay.
Citrus: Come on. I’ll walk you to the bus.
Citrus: Try and have fun. We’ll see each other again.
Saffron: Kay. Love you.
Citrus: Love you too, sis.
Granola Falls
Cricket: Alright, settle down everyone. I’m Ranger Cricket, and I’ll be your Scout Lead for the summer. If there’s any questions, ask them now.
Nebula: How big is the forest?
Saffron: Are there really bears out here?
Cricket: The forest itself is about three hundred square miles, all of which is nationally protected forest. And yes, there are bears out there, along with all kinds of wildlife. But so long as you stay within the designated areas of camp, you’ll be perfectly safe.
Saffron: Oh. Okay, great.
Cerise: Don’t do anything dumb, Cinder.
Moonstone: Shh!
Cricket: Alright! If there’s no other questions, everyone follow me to your cabins.
Cricket: And here we are! This is where you’ll all be staying for the summer.
Saffron: Oh, wow…
Saffron: It’s so pretty…
Moonstone: How big is the camp, Ranger Cricket?
Cricket: Roughly ten square miles. Trust me, there’s plenty of space to run around and have fun out here.
Moonstone: Yeah…there really is.
Nebula: Watch Saffron run off in a minute.
Cricket: Now, the rules are simple. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. Make sure all your trash is in the bins, not the bushes, and unless you’re going to the bathroom, stay with your group. No wandering off into the woods alone, especially at night.
Cricket: We clear, Sugar Scouts?
All: Yes, Ranger Cricket!
Cricket: Good! Now, boys, you’ll be in Cabin 3. Cerise, you’re in Cabin 2. Triplets and Saffron, you’re here in Cabin 1. No squabbling over the top bunk.
Horizon/Saffron: Dibs!
Luna: Hey!
Nebula: Last one there’s a rotten egg!
Cerise: Peace and quiet.
-
Saffron: I have got to get one of these back home.
Horizon: You’ll fall off, Saf.
Saffron: No I won’t.
Moonstone: Ugh. Can we go exploring a little now, please?
Moonstone: Ten square miles…that’s a lot of trail.
Saffron: And a lot of woods! We could get lost out here…
Luna: Please don’t.
Moonstone: Where on earth do we start…
Horizon: I think there’s a map of the trails over here somewhere…
Horizon: Yep! There it is!
Moonstone: Oh, wow…uhm…where should we start?
Saffron: Somewhere wild.
Luna: Somewhere with bug spray!
Saffron: I said wild, not boring…
Moonstone: Come on, Saf. We’ll be here all summer! We can do wild tomorrow.
Saffron: Ugh, fine…
Moonstone: Haha, yes! Still winning!
Horizon: I’m gonna get you, sis.
Moonstone: OH no you won’t.
Luna: Bet you my pudding tonight that Moony’s gonna win.
Saffron: You’re on.
Horizon: What–oh, come on! Avenge me, Luna!
Moonstone: You can try!
*thunk*
Luna: Oh man…
Moonstone: *laugh*
Moonstone: You guys didn’t even make it hard!
Saffron: How does she do that?
Horizon: I have no clue.
*rain pattering on the roof*
Cricket: The forest needs rain, otherwise it turns into a desert.
Nebula: Like Sugar Springs.
Cerise: So Sugar Springs is a desert because it doesn’t get enough rain?
Cricket: Exactly. It’s so sunny and hot in the desert that rain dries up before it can actually become rain. Only really big storms ever survive, and they can be very dangerous.
Saffron: Because they cause floods, right?
Cricket: Exactly right, Saffron. That’s why when a storm warning goes up, you should always stay inside and in higher areas.
Moonstone: So stay out of the canyons.
Cricket: Absolutely. Besides, there’s much better ways to get a shower.
Horizon: Yeah, like in the real shower.
Cricket: Exactly. But the rain here is perfectly safe. This should pass by tomorrow, so until then just have fun making a mess. …Doing okay out there, Luna?
Luna: Yep!
Luna: Ranger Cricket? Can we have a play about the Bigfooted Monster?
Ranger Cricket: Bigfooted–oh, you mean the local legend. Sure, why not.
Saffron: So is this a real story or…
Moonstone: It’s supposed to be? Kind of a local legend or something.
Saffron: Huh…
Moonstone: I don’t think anyone’s really seen it, though. Probably just a bear or something…right?
Saffron: Oh, sure. Sure.
Cerise: Shh!
Moonstone: Sorry.
Saffron: So there’s something out there for real, then…
Luna: Oh, sure. Bears and raccoons and foxes and–
Moonstone: And big people in furry suits?
Saffron: If its out there, I wanna find it.
Luna: You’re kidding. Saf, you heard Ranger Cricket! This place is huge! You’d never find it!
Horizon: You’d get lost in like, five minutes.
Nebula: And then we’d have to go and get you. No thanks!
Saffron: Oh, don’t be a fraidy-berry!
Saffron: Besides, I wanna see the whole place, see the whole world! I bet there’s ton of stuff to see out here. You’ll come with me, right Moony?
Moonstone: …hmm?
Luna: I think she’s napping.
Horizon: Psst. Moony. Moomoo!
Moonstone: …
Nebula: She is so out.
Saffron: …maybe next time.
the next day…
Cricket: Lake Fiddlehead holds over three hundred species of fish and aquatic plants native to Fiddlehead Forest…
Saffron: I’m gonna go see what’s out there. Cover for me!
Luna: Saf–hey!
Luna: Moony, your biffle’s made a run for it again.
Moonstone: *sigh* I’ll get her. Cover me, Hori?
Horizon: Always.
Horizon: Just hurry.
-
Moonstone: Saf! Saf, wait up!
Saffron: Come on, slow poke!
Moonstone: Saf, Ranger Cricket said we should stay on the path.
Saffron: So? This is a path! Just not her path.
Moonstone: Saf…
Saffron: Come on! Don’t you wanna see what’s out there?
Moonstone: It’s a forest, Saf…*sigh* okay, okay, wait for me.
Moonstone: …Hey, Saf?
Saffron: yeah?
Moonstone: You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?
Saffron: Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.
Moonstone: …is…everything okay?
Saffron: Fine! Why?
Moonstone: Just…just wondering, that’s all.
Moonstone: Mom said your parents were working things out, and I was wondering if–
Saffron: Hey, do you see that? Is that a cave?
Moonstone: Saf…
Saffron: It’s cool. Come on!
Moonstone: You know you can tell me everything, right?
Saffron: I don’t wanna talk about it. Can we go through this thing before Ranger Cricket shows up?
Moonstone: Saf, you can’t keep running away. Mama says–
Cricket: Girls!
Saffron: Drat!
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