She’s still a little wet from the hug Beau’s engulfed her in, but Jester’s attention is instantly drawn to the great, orange shark that flops onto the sandy beach. Even without the change in color she instantly knows it’s Caleb, how could she not?
The six months they’ve spent apart instantly feel like the blink of an eye, even if they’ve felt nothing like that while passing, the moment she takes a step forward and into his direction.
“Caleb shark!” She exclaims, thinking back to all the great times they’ve had together like this, changing their forms to fit whatever they’ve needed to achieve, though Jester remembers the fun ones most.
Being an eagle to carry her friends in the dead of night, chasing an enemy, comes in handy, but it’s the times they’ve had the most fun she remembers, like becoming giant dinosaurs or spiders that scale along the walls, yelling at each other with high pitches voices.
It instantly settles a spark of warmth within her chest as she watches him transform back into the man she knows, dripping wet, but still handsome with his hair just a little longer and pulled into the familiar ponytail, and the same, kind expression on his face.
“You’re...okay, there you are!” She laughs, freely and happy for what feels like the first time in months and doesn’t hesitate to throw her arms around him, catching the brief glimpse of his face illuminated by the campfire and the tail end of a string of words that ends in “...hello.”
It feels good to have them all back together, it makes Jester feel less alone as Caleb’s arms come to wrap around her and the familiar warmth spreads from her chest to every inch of her body, making her nearly bounce with excitement.
We’re going to be okay, she thinks, and the icy coldness that had gripped her heart over these past few hours ( months, really ) slowly melts away as she pulls back to look at Caleb.
The moment passes, swept away in conversations and hellos, but it leaves the familiar warmth behind and Jester smiles as she steps back, a little less terrified than before.
