It was almost dusk, so the trio chose a tree to sleep under. Danielle, Melissa and Deviant the gecko...
Deviant had never gotten along with Melissa, but for some reason he was now always climbing on Daniel's shoulders. He did not mind, but mostly because of his strange taste for the flesh of larger animals rather than insects. He even thought about cutting it up, but he wouldn't know what to do with that information, because if this gecko was the only one with such a peculiarity, it would just be an entry in his diary, so he decided to just watch it, so he wouldn't blame himself for his hasty actions.
He had chosen a tree to sleep in that wasn't too high, but not too low either, so as not to disturb the other inhabitants who lived near the lake. The view from this tree, however, was of the lake and its surroundings for about 3 kilometres. Both hikers were happy with this choice, and the gecko was happy anywhere, especially near Daniel.
Melissa chose a spot where the crowns of the trees themselves made a soft bed, as if they had grown for their stay in the forest. They were about five metres apart, and this time Daniel was able to get a good night's sleep, but he didn't want to let his guard down, lest he become fodder for animals in unexpected circumstances.
"Hey, what are these skins?" Melissa looked at the three pieces of leather and fur in Daniel's hands with some interest.
"You asked for a pillow yourself..." Daniel replied tiredly, rubbing the back of her head lightly with one hand and handing her two pieces of fur with the other, one of which was smaller and looked more like a roll, while he continued, "I could only make one pillow, but it can't even be called a pillow, because I didn't have any down or feathers on hand, and then I thought the woods might get cold at night near the water, so it's still not possible to sleep on the crown here without waking up from the cold."
Melissa just stared at him. She was dumbfounded that he remembered her request for a pillow, which she'd said just to say it, because she herself realised that it wasn't his fault that they were living in such conditions.
"Thank you..." she said in a quiet, soft voice, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Don't cry, it's the best I can do, but if you don't like it, I can take it away," the boy said, stretching his hand towards the furry bedclothes.
"I won't give it back!" said Melissa, sniffing her nose, and then there was no trace of her tears except for a slight reddening of her eyes, and she responded to his outburst with a clear and measured "I like everything," and continued in her head, "but sometimes you're just unbearable..."
"That's better, I'm going to bed now, so you go to bed too and we'll think about what to do in the morning."
Melissa didn't answer, but went to bed anyway.
A few moments later, Daniel fell asleep on his side, tucking under his head a piece of fur that he had deliberately made longer because of his size, and which he had originally thought would partially replace his pillow. Deviant fell asleep, too, but he chose the end of the man's tucked arm to put under his head because it was cozier and warmer.
But Melissa, even with the comfort of the pillow and blanket, could not fall asleep, and just looked out at the lake where all the animals were slowly leaving for their homes.