Page 3 of Emerald Moon
“I did the same thing!Mine were pretty boring, though.They’re mostly all about camping and being outside, except for the things I prepared to ask about you.When in doubt, get people talking about themselves.It’s so much easier than filling the space with words from my dumb mouth.”
Cass grinned.“Only I wasn’t really giving you much to work with.”
Jo waved a dismissive hand.“Not a problem.You’re nervous.I’m nervous.We’re all good.It’s all out in the open now and, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling better already.”
“I’m actually feeling a bit better now, too.”
“Great!So maybe we go back and forth and ask each other things that we had prepared?Don’t want all that work to go to waste.Oh, and I’m nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, by the way.Seems like a good thing to toss in there since we’re getting to know one another.”
“I use she/her.I’ll remember yours.I promise.”
“If you don’t, it’s fine.People get it wrong all the time.I know how I look and how I present myself, that I’m not perfectly androgynous — whatever that means anyway — but I know who I am and what I’m about, so it doesn’t bother me that much.”
“I’ll still do my absolute best,” Cass promised, sounding much too serious for the conversation.
Jo laughed and thanked her, feeling even better about this trip.
Through the friendly, but still choppy and a bit awkward, conversation that followed, Jo learned that Cass is short for Cassandra, that she grew up near Hickorywood, and that she had been with the Crooked Creek Pack for about fifteen years.She had a twin brother who was also in the pack, named Alexander — not Alex, never call him Alex, apparently.She’d originally gone to college for biology, but was back in school focusing on zoology, in between working at the Crooked Creek Pack butcher shop and a fellow packmate’s flower shop.She also went birding whenever she could and collected bird shirts, which explained a lot.
Jo shared that they grew up about a six hour drive from Hickorywood in a much bigger city, that they had one sister, and that they’d been with the Pitch Mountain Pack for a little over a year.They felt boring in comparison to Cass — they only worked at Violet Moon, the pack bakery, and had an unfinished degree in literature that they only ever used to read tons of fanfiction, manga, and fiction, though they were picky about their fiction books.
They also shared that Jo was short for Jolene.“You know, like the potential homewrecker in the Dolly Parton song.”
“I don’t think I know that song,” Cass said.
“Really?I got to play it for you!I bet you’ll recognize it once you hear it.”Jo reached for the cable that would allow them to play the song in the car, but paused, remembering that manners existed.“Do you mind if I play it?”
“Go ahead.”
“Awesome.Thanks.And if you’ve truly never heard it before, you’re in for a treat.”
As the song played, Jo tapped and hummed along, trying their hardest not to belt out the lyrics at the top of their lungs.If Krista was here, they’d be singing no problem, but, even while things were better with Cass now, they still weren’t comfortable enough to let loose their off-key voice.
They’d been singing along to Dolly’s songs for years.She was their favorite — a standout amongst all the other emo and metal music they enjoyed.There was just something perfect about Dolly Parton that resonated in Jo’s soul.They even named the stray cat they took care of outside of Violet Moon after her.
When it finished playing, Jo looked expectantly at Cass.
“I liked it.Her voice is powerful.”
“Right?Powerful but smooth, like a really good honey.”
“But something puzzles me.Your parents named you after the villain in the song?”
Jo laughed.“They don’t always make the best choices.My mom would be better suited to having a villain’s name and my dad, he — when he was alive, he was made of fun and laughs.He probably just thought the name was pretty.”Jo’s chest constricted and they changed topics.“My sister’s name is June after June Carter Cash.Big country music family.”
“Can you play more of her songs?”
“Oh my god, absolutely.This car ride just became a Dolly Parton road trip!”
As Cass bopped her head along to the songs, Jo wondered if this was the beginning of another friend crush.They had this habit of getting crushes on their friends when they first met them and Cass, after their awkward first attempt at a conversation got better, was a prime candidate.She was interesting, smart, and, most importantly, had something she was super into — birds.
Jo liked anyone who was head over heels in love with something, whatever it was.Getting lost in an interest meant they were a cool person, and Jo always had friend crushes on the cool people in their life before they eventually settled into a true friendship.While they sounded harmless, friend crushes were something to be avoided at all costs.They made Jo act all awkward and be a bit too clingy, so they always wished they could skip straight to the friend part where they could just be themselves.Maybe this time, they could.
two
Theyhadtwooptionsfor the hike to the campground.The first went straight there.The other led to a waterfall first before making its way there.Jo was delighted when Cass suggested the waterfall route, but that delight quickly faded as they realized the pace with which Cass took on a trail.She kept pausing when she noticed birds and taking notes in a small notebook she carried with her.
Jo was used to seeing how quickly they could reach the destination.They could go slow on a trail, but only if the conversation was good and, since the car, they hadn’t done much of that.Cass was absorbed in her task.Also, the slower they walked, the more Jo was being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
