The afternoon dragged on without structure. After their fishing disaster, they'd taken over a corner table in the main lodge with a deck of cards missing the seven of clubs.
"Eight of diamonds is wild because this deck sucks," Nina dealt the cards with quick snaps. "Everyone got it?"
The game fell apart immediately. Jake kept asking for cards he didn't need, Ruby played with quiet efficiency that made everyone nervous, and Kofi just tried to follow Nina's made-up rules.
Thea sat next to Kofi with her sketchbook open, drawing the hawk from memory, the one she'd seen on the trail. Her pencil moved steadily, filling in the spread wings.
"Got any threes?" Jake stared at his cards like they held secrets.
Ruby checked her hand. "No. Go fish."
Jake groaned and drew from the pile. "This is such bullshit."
Nina glanced at Thea's drawing. "That's really good. The feathers look perfect."
Thea's hand stopped. Pink touched her cheeks but she kept drawing, adding shadows under the wings.
