Still in the middle of editing . <3
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Nova ducked under a tangle of vines, gasping for air as the humid jungle wrapped her like a wet, suffocating blanket. Sweat poured down her spine, soaking the back of her tunic and gluing stray curls to her forehead. Every breath came with a wheeze, and her legs—her poor legs—felt like waterlogged driftwood.
Ahead, Aiyana didn't even look winded.
"Keep up," she called over her shoulder, grinning like a wolf.
"This is your idea of a girly day?" Nova huffed, stumbling over a root. "I thought we were going to braid hair or… I don't know, pick flowers."
Aiyana laughed, wild and unbothered. She was a blur of sun-browned limbs and dark hair as she darted through the underbrush, leaping over fallen branches and slashing away hanging leaves with her knife.
"I'm not one of your city friends, little moon," Aiyana replied. "This is how island girls bond."
"By killing me with cardio?!"
"Exactly."
