Bea sat at the front desk of the Ol'Pickaxe as she logged the current inventory from the end of the day before. This afternoon was quiet, unusually quiet, and boring.

There was a ding from the shop door opening. She lifted her head up expecting to see a red-eyed feline coming through. No, she was hoping to see the Mae. To take her away from the stress of work, even if for only a moment. "Afternoon," approached a robin. He wore a checker patterned red jacket and took out a small wire-bound notebook.

"Need something?" Bea asked, a little disappointed that it was simply another customer.

"Yeah, uhm. You sell paint, like the type you'd use for wall painting? I need 3 gallons of carmine and 2 gallons of peach. Oh, I also need a new paint roller." The bird requested. Bea went into the back and went through their paint supply. It wasn't a grandiose collection of colors There were simply 3 different shades for each of the primary and secondary colors as well as 5 shades from black to white. She took a few trips grabbed the cans and bringing them to the front desk and setting them next to the register, finishing off with getting a paint roller.

"That'll be $67.53." The robin nodded and pulled out and took a moment to count up a cash equivalent. Bea's eye flicked over to the window and was caught a little off guard by what she saw.

"Here you go," the robin said, setting the cash on the counter and left the store towards his car with paint buckets in hand.

Once Bea finished checking the amount and stashing the many away in the register she walked towards the front of the shop and opened the door. "Mae? What are you doing?" She asked as the blue cat pushed the snow built up on the sidewalk to the side. Upon hearing her name she took a moment to rest and catch her breath.

"Oh, hey Bea! I'm shoveling the sidewalks."

"I can see that, but what I want to know is why?"

"I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart! To serve the community in whatever way possible!" Mae proclaimed loudly, earning an unconvinced raised eyebrow from her scaley friend. "I signed up to do snow removal yesterday."

"Really? Huh, I never thought I'd see the day you actually started working."

"Hey! I'm not that useless, I spent like, 35 hours shoveling snow yesterday" Mae huffed.

"Mae there aren't even that many hours in a day."

"Okay, but it was still a long time. I had to go all the way from the memorial to the bridge and then back!"

"Holy shit. That's gotta be like 12 to 16 hours with how much snow was covering the place."

"Yeah, today has been a bit easier, not as much snow as yesterday, but I get super cold and wet. And for what a couple of dollars?"

"I'm pretty sure it's more like $15 an hour."

"Wait really? The Garlands ripped me off!"

"Garlands? You mean the old couple that lived on Buttercup Boulevard 8 years ago?"

"They paid me 5 dollars for 2 hours of work."

"Wait, didn't you build a giant snowman that took up half of their driveway?"

"I called him sniffles! He was a masterpiece! I should have been given a bonus." Mae threw out both of her arms into the air to place emphasis on her statement.

"My god Mae… That's not how that works I'm surprised you got paid at all. Well, I should probably get back to work. You should too before the snow builds back up."

"Maybe we could hang out once are both done? Please?" Mae pleaded, giving her the big kitty eye look.

"Fiiiine."

"Yeah! Let's meet up at 4:00."

"Make that 5:30, once Creek comes back from fixing Miranda's furnace again I can switch out with him."

"If he comes back, hehe."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he got locked in the basement again. It would serve him right for always trying to hit on me." Bea shuttered, she didn't trust the guy at all, but he always got the job done and was reliable.

"Why don't you fire him if he does that all the time?"

"Well, one I am not the owner as I explained before. Even if I was though, there are only 4 of us working at the Ol'Pickaxe, well 3 now since Danny decided he'd rather work as a Sandwich Man in front of Taco Buck, not to mention that Creek is the only other person who knows how to perform repairs besides myself. Germ is good with organization, the files and supplies have never been easier to navigate."

"Maybe I could help!" Mae offered

"That's nice of you, but I feel like you'd just end up bashing something up. Again. Well I need to get back to work, bye Mae."

"Bye!" Mae picked back up her shovel and started to plow through the snow with a bit more energy than before as Bea went back to her position behind the counter. There was less people during the winter season since they were preparing for the Longest Night. The hardware store was not exactly a prime place for families to buy gifts.

Bea checked the clock on her computer frequently as it drew closer and closer to 5:30 and Creek was no where to be seen. She checked her messages to make sure that he didn't get locked in the basement again when the door of the shop opened with a ding. In came a pickle-green Crocodile wearing a blue denim shirt and brown pants. "Hey Babea." He said far too smoothly making Bea shutter.

"Don't, just don't."

"Come on Bea, if you let me we could have a good time."

"Okay, I'm heading out, you're taking over till closing time." She said and set the store keys on the counter. "Lock up and drop the keys off at my house when your done," she explained and tried to make a hasty exit. However she felt something firmly grab her wrist and pull her back.

"Aw, not even a kiss goodbye?" He asked as he pinned her hand up against the wall, his knee pressed up against her groin. She began to feel a little scared at this put. She didn't think he would actually try anything, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Take. Your. Hands. Off. Me." She growled behind gritted teeth, hoping he didn't notice the trembling in her voice. She used her free hand and shoved away and yanked her hand from his grip and ran out the door not turning back. "Goddamn him." She growled and put her hands around herself. She's never felt so defenseless and she hated. Once safely outside the shop, she she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette pack and a later. She let out a sigh and twirled wrapped up nicotine in her fingers before bringing it up sticking the end in her mouth and lighting it. She inhaled, letting the smoke soothe her nerves.

"Beabea you ready to hang out!?" The enthusiastically loud cat asked as she walked up to her. "Bea… I thought you said you were trying to stop…" The ming blue crocodile let out a sigh, causing smoke to puff out from her lungs.

"I just needed to calm my nerves."

"Haven't you been using the dummy one?"

"That's mostly for getting rid of the habit. Doesn't have the same affect. Sorry, I'll try and avoid it." She said and took the cigarette out of her mouth and extinguished it in the snow. It was a shame, but probably for the best. "So, where we doing this?"

"I was thinking about about trying out the Taco Buck, since they sell taco's for a buck it wouldn't be to expensive, and then maybe we could go up to Possum Jump."

"Possum Jump? Isn't that the place you and Angus went when *ghost* hunting? Why did you want to go there?"

"Yeah, its really nice up there. I didn't really get to have a good look around it the first time we went up, I wanted to do a bit of exploring since its a part of Possum Springs I never got to see much of."

"So a picnic at Possum Jump. It's gonna be cold you know."

"We could start a fire."

"I am pretty sure they don't allow you to just go and start camp fires."

"Angus said that there was a scout camp around there. I don't think anyone else would be using it in the winter. There's bound to be a couple fire pits we could use."

"I suppose you have a point. Alright, let's go." The two of them went towards the newly opened Taco Buck. Mae had a big grin plastered on her face as they got up to the building. She had received payement for the firstday and she was going to buy all the taco's she wanted.

Walking into the fast-food building she reached into her pocket, already preparing to whip out her newly earned allowance. The business was surprisingly full at the moment. Seems it opening attracted quite a few customers. They got into a line as people made their orders. Once it was their turn, Mae slapped her a twenty on the top of hand guard and shouted "20 chicken tacos togo!" This attracted the eyes of both all the patrons and the employees. Bea buried face in her hands, trying to hide from the attention of her friends embarrassing actions. "My god Mae."

"U-uhm, miss could you please keep it down? There are other customer's hear and its distracting to the employees if you yell like that." A duck asked politely from behind the counter. "Also payments are made at the register." Mae's cheeks flushed and she hastely retrieved the money she had so eagerly through at them.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"We'll get to work on your order, it will take us a while since its a bit larger than our usual orders. Could I have a name for the order?"

"Uhm… how about Munches-Alot?"

"Mae they mean your name." Bea whispered to her.

"Oh, its Mae Borowski."

"Alright Mae Borowski, we'll call you up when your order is done, feel free to wait wherever to wait at the bench." The duck said as she pointed to a cushioned bench by the wall. Both Mae and Bea went over to the bench as most of the customers went back to their conversations with those that they had come with.

"Mae, what the hell was that?"

"That's how Gregg did it," she explained.

"Gregg is a terrible example, have you never ordered anything before? How'd you get through 2 years of college without starving to death?"

"M-my roommate did all the shopping."

"Also… Twenty!? What do we need twenty tacos for?"

"Ten each…"

"Mae, I don't share as much enthusiasm for tacos as you do. I'd get sick."

"More for me then."

"That is an unnecessary amount. You need to learn restraint and moderation. Do you have anything that you plan to save your money for?"

"I don't really know what I'd save up for, I haven't really thought about that before."

"There's insurance, there's getting a car - well for you it would be getting a lisence and then getting a car. I am setting money aside in a savings for our Road Trip. Is there something you want to save up for?"

"I don't really know." Mea's ears flattened as she fiddled with the bottom of her shirt.

"Well, until you figure out what you want to do with your money, maybe from now on start saving it. So that when you do figure it out you have the means to get it."

"Okay, thanks Bea.

"Mae Borowski?" Called one of the employees.

"Guess that's me." Mae said and went up to the register to pay for her order, this time a bit more polite about it. "Have a nice night." She said and started walking back towards Beatrice, carying 2 bags of tacos in each hand. Bea stood up and walked with Mae outside. The nights were coming earlier as they got further into winter and it was already becoming dark out. They walked to Bea's car which was located back infront of the Ol'Pickaxe.

Mae set the bags on the back seat and put her seat belt on as Bea turned the car on and hurriedly pulled out of the parking space next to the hardware store. "Did you get a chance to dry your change your clothes after you finished?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well it's getting dark, wouldn't want you getting hypothermia because you were still wearing wet clothes."

"Awww, Beabea you really care."

"Of course I do you dumbass. I wouldn't have tried walking you through how to manage your money properly if I didn't." Mae smiled at this and stared out the window as they drove out of the town, resting her head on her hand. The drive was about 30 minutes, it took a bit longer because they had to go a bit slower with the ice on the road. Bea had to remind Mae to wait to eat the taco's a couple times because she didn't want her to end up making a mess in the car.

Once they got into the parking lot Mae grabbed the bags and hopped out of the car once Bea found a spot to park. Both of them shivered once they got out of the heated car. The air was frigid, but it wasn't snowing anymore. The night sky was clear though their vision was obscured by the surrounding trees. Mae walked around a bit trudging through the snow before she found a spot that wasn't too deep. "Hey bea, I think I found a trail."

"Huh, I figured it'd be all covered up by now."

"It is, but its not as deep so I think this is it." Mae started trudging the not so deep snow which went into an incline up the hill. "H-hehe, I can't believe its already almost been a week since Angus and I went up here. God when that cultist showed up Angus and I bolted pased him. When I came running down the hill I was going so fast I ran straight into this lime… furnace thing." She said, pointing at one of the lime furnaces that sat on the hill. "We were so scared haha."

"Jeez, I just think back to when were in the graveyard. My reasoning was that it was the grave digger. After all of the stuff in the mines, I just realize that we could have actually been killed by him."

"See? Now you know I am not crazy."

"Well… it wasn't a ghost."

"You sure about that?"

"... Not really, but if you say you do see something like that again I'll promise not to wave it off like your going crazy."

"Thanks Beabea."

"Do you realize how worried you made me when you ran off on your own like that? I was so afraid of losing you." Mae's ears flattened a bit. "You've been the closest person to me since my mother passed away." Mae looked up at Bea, stopping in her tracks.

"You… really mean that? What about your dad? What about… Jackie." The goat's name left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"I love my dad… but for a long time now he just hasn't been there. He's shut out the world. The only thing he's been around for is writing the checks."

"Jeez Bea, I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize…"

"And with Jackie, yeah they gave me some opportunities to pretend that my life wasn't a complete wreck, but you, you are there for me all of the time, you helped me come to terms with my situation. Plus when I am with you my day is never a drag."

"Seems like life really sucks if I'm the best thing in it," Mae said, semisarcastically.

"It's like you said, we are friends by proximity."

"Hehe, well speaking of… nothing I guess, do you have a plan?" Mae asked and resumed walking again.

"A plan?"

"Like Gregg and Angus. Moving to Bright Harbor, that kind of thing."

"Right. Yeah I've begun planning, I'm not entirely sure when I'll enact on it. I've been saving up to go to engineering school, learning online has not been ideal for me, but I don't want to just up and leave my dad. He's not in a state to take care of himself, I'm not sure if he ever will be."

"I say screw'em."

"What the hell Mae?"

"S-sorry, I guess I don't really know what it's like to go through what you are going through, I just don't think its fair that you have to take care of him and fix him when he doesn't make the effort to fix himself. You are smart, a-and you have this goal in place that you can't reach because we're holding you back."

"We're not just talking about just my dad are we?" Bea questioned. Mae puffed out her cheeks and was quiet for a bit. She brushed snow off of the log bench that lay next to the cliff of Possum Jump.

"You have got this whole thing ready. Every one of our friends has a plan. I thought by getting a job I'd be able to keep up with you, but I needed you to walk me through how I should be using my money. When I think I've gotten ahead, I end up taking two steps back." She said and plunged her hand into one of the paper bags and pulled out taco started eating, she scooted the bag over to Bea so she could get one as well. "Sorry…"

"Mae I'm not about to walk out on you."

"That's part of problem!" You won't leave. "I'm stuck Bea!" Stay with me! "I-I can't figure out what to do." Help me! "I don't want you to be stuck because like me. I want you to find your future." I want to give you your future! "I want you t-to find someone that can give the love someone like you deserves." I love you. Mae's thoughts and words fought for dominance in her head. Leaving her feeling dizzy. She shoved more food into her mouth, hoping that could shove back down the bubbling emotions she had been swallowing back into her stomache. "The last thing I want to do is give you a reason NOT to do something better with your life."

"Mae slowdown you're gonna make yourself…"

"Damn it! Stop trying to help me!" What are you doing. "I don't need you to walk me through my mistakes." Shut up! Shut up! "I don't need you!" Stop it! Mae's stomache tightened up, she wanted to throw up.

Bea stood up silently and started walking away. "I'll go warm up the car," was the last thing Mae heard her say. Once her footsteps were to far away to hear. Mae buried her face in her hands and started to feel herself break.

You idiot! She dug her foot into one of the sacks, sending it flying off the cliff side. She didn't want to go down. She didn't want to break things more. She sat and sobbed, feeling the knots in her stomache continue to ache until eventually her tears had run dry.

She heard footsteps come up from behind her. She realized that she had probably sat here for a long time. "S-sorry, I-I'm coming-"

"Just… shut up." Bea said sternly.

"Wha-"

"Ah ah ah, shut up."

"B-"

"No talking." Mae looked up Bea confused now. "You can't make a good night last whenever you start talking, and I don't feel like driving back home like this. Just follow me." Bea instructed her, grabbing a hold of her hand. The simple action cause the confused feline's face to turn a shade redder as she was dragged across the hill. They walked through some sage and trees before coming into a small clearing with a little fire pit in the middle. The snow seemed to have been cleared out from the pit and there were some dry logs inside of it. "Hand me one of the empty bags." She told her.

Mae looked around for a moment before realizing she meant the food bag. She handed her one of the bags she had ended up completely emptying with her binge eating. Bea got down on her knees and tucked the tinder under the logs and pulling out her lighter and catching one of the pieces of paper on fire before it all went ablaze. "Where'd you get the firewood?"

"Found it, and what did I say about being quiet?"

"Right sorry." She watched the fire silently. There was a bit of shuffling beside her and she looked down to see that bea had cleared a spot for them to sit. Mae joined her, keeping a comfortable 1 foot distance between them. She looked up at the sky, vaguely recalled the constellations she and Angus spotted. It was during this memory that something clicked. "OH MY GOD. You stole-" Mae grunted and groaned in pain, wrapping her arms around her stomache after having been elbowed in the gut.

"You shall never mention this to anyone you understand? Otherwise there will be another one where that came from." Bea warned.

"I would never rat out my partner in crime," Mae coughed as she recovered from the impact.

"You're asking for it." This caused Mae to go silent once again.

It won't last. One of the negative thoughts told her. A cold wind blew over them causing Mae to shiver. However as soon as the cold went, it vanished, as did the distance between them. Bea wrapped her arm around Mae and scooted her closer. Mae looked up at her at Bea who had also been looking up at the stars. She leaned her head against Bea's shoulder and and let out a comforted sigh. This is our night in the woods, I'll make it last.