Stranded
Unexpected circumstances lead to unexpecting events. Two, unlikely guys get stranded with no means to return to civilization until help can arrive. Do they have what it takes to survive? This story involves cuddling, M/M
This was it. Months of preparation finally come to fruition. Nervousness crept through Jake as he made his way through the busy city. Everyone here always seemed like they were in a rush to get somewhere, which only made Jake's anxiety worse.
Cold air sent a chill down Jake's spine, he had spent months growing out his fur for this very occasion, but even with his thick fur, and several pieces of clothing on he still felt cold. I knew I should have brought gloves, Jake thought.
"What I wouldn't give to have something to warm up against," Jake sighed.
Wanting to be done, and on his way already, he pulled out the piece of paper again the description read:
Professional Pilot- I fly you buy.
Port Ave. Pier C
1000 AKST don't be late
Anchorage, Alaska
Ask for Koda
Jake looked around, not seeing any markers for Port Ave or Pier C. Frustrated with the vague directions, he decided to do the one thing every guy hated to do. Ask for directions.
"Do you know where I can find Port Ave or Pier C?" He asked inquisitively to an oncoming person.
The black wolf eyed him up and down and looked at him as if he was asked a stupid question. Clearly, in a hurry, he gestured behind himself and made a mumbling sound.
"Uhhh... Thank you?" Jake said questionably.
Heading in the general direction of where he gestured Jake found out he wasn't too far off the beaten trail. As soon as he found out where all the boats were, finding port C was quite easy.
Off in the distance, he could see what he was looking for the entire time, the amphibious aircraft that was going to take him to where he needed to go.
Jake was a grad student, currently working on his thesis for his doctorate in glaciology, and needed to collect data in a remote area of Northern Alaska. The area in question was dangerous and had no nearby civilization for hundreds of miles. However, Jake knew the risk, and if there was one thing he was full of, it was ambition.
Jake could see the aircraft slowly shaking in the water with a thin blue tail shaking out of one of the cockpit doors. Rock music could be heard in the distance, he was clearly dancing.
"E-Excuse me, are you Mr.Koda?"
Music seemed to stop in that instant and out stepped a dragon. However, it wasn't just any type of dragon, but an aquatic one. He was 5'11 and looked to weigh a somewhat slim build of 170 lbs. Blue scales contrasted with his cream-colored underbelly. His head was ordained with aquatic-looking frills you would typically see on a lionfish; his eyes a brighter shade of blue with a yellow ring that wrapped around his pupils. Jake had never seen one in person and it was almost as if-
"Hello, how can I help you?" Koda said, snapping Jake back to reality.
"I have an appointment with you to take me to these coordinates," Jake said, handing Koda a crumpled-up piece of paper.
Koda eyed Jake up and down, he was a hyena with black and grey fur with short stubby ears, and a toft of black hair that sat on top of his head. Trying to look past his multiple layers of clothes, it looked like his fur was intermixed with a collection of stripes and dots. He seemed to be slightly taller, and even with all the extra padding, Koda could tell he was built. However, his most unique feature had to be his eyes. They were a shade of violet, a rarity in this world for sure.
"You're a grad student?"
"Yeah, what else did you think I was?"
Koda seemed to ponder this for a moment, "No one I suppose, I just didn't expect a grad student to have such a healthy demeanor.
Jake blushed and tried to look away, clearly embarrassed by the flattery. Koda realizing he made the situation slightly awkward quickly interjected.
"Nothing wrong with being healthy, go ahead and hop in I'll get you luggage" Koda said warmly.
Excited for his trip to truly begin he quickly got on the plane through the already opened door, rubbing his hands together to try and keep warm. As he looked over he could see Koda slightly struggling to get his suitcase into the storage area of the plane.
"Be careful with that, it's fragile."
"Geez, what do you have in here?"
"My lab," Jake said plainly.
With the suitcase secure in the storage area, Koda made his way around the plane checking various mechanical parts for the trip. As he entered the plane in the driver's seat Jake noticed he was only wearing a t-shirt with some shorts. I wonder why I am just now noticing this.
"Arnt you cold?"
"Huh? Oh no, my species is really good at regulating their body temperature, see feel."
Koda grabbed Jake's hand and put it on his chest, the warmth crawled up his hand sending a shiver throughout his body like electricity.
"W-wow, that feels really nice, must come quite in handy out here."
Koda smirked, "you have no idea."
Even though the plane ride was a little bumpy Jake couldn't help but be amazed at how beautiful the landscape was.
Vast forested areas as far as the eye could see. Chains upon chains of mountain ranges covered in an assortment of rivers, lakes, and ponds. Everything here seemed so untouched, so clean.
"So, what brings a handsome Hyena like yourself so far up north."
Handsome? Jake wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious but decided to disregard it for now.
" I am working on my thesis for my Ph.D. in glaciology, which is the study of-."
" The study of internal dynamics and effects of glaciers as they interact with the environment," Koda quickly responded.
"Y-yes, I am surprised not many people know that," Jake said with a questionable look.
"You'll find I am a man of many surprises."
The conversation carried on for a couple of hours. Jake found out he had a lot in common with Koda, who knew a pilot would share so many of his enthusiasms. Soon, Jake dozed off fatigued from all the traveling he had to do to get to this point.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Jake woke up instantly feeling like his heart was going to leap out of his chest.
"Is everything ok?" Jake said with worry in his voice.
Koda seemed to act like nothing bad was happening, but still kept a stern serious face " yeah just a minor setback."
The plane started to shake violently, Jake looked out the window seeing that they were at a low altitude. The wind was rocking the plane quite violently he wondered wh-.
Boom! Black smoke erupted from the front propeller. The control panel let up like a Christmas tree.
"Ok, major setback, strap in!"
Koda was toggling and flipping an assortment of switches and knobs trying to stabilize the plane to the best of his ability.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is flight 951 currently at coordinates 69° N, 143° W. My main engine is out and I am going to make an emergency landing."
Static could be heard on the other end of the line, until miraculously someone responded.
"Roger, flight 951 are you able to safely land anywhere?
Koda looked around his surroundings taking in everything before attempting to land. He saw a small opening in the trees a mile out. To his right off in the distance, he could see a log cabin. Hope this works.
"I am going to make a landing in a clearing ahead. We will try to hunker down until help arrives."
"Read you loud and clear, flight 951 help is on its way."
Pure adrenaline was coursing through Jake, this was it, he was going to die like some frozen popsicle in the middle of nowhere. There were still so many things he still wanted to try, and do. Why did I have to do my thesis out in the middle of nowhere?
Koda was slowly gliding the plane down to the opening, trying his best to keep it steady through the heavy winds. Warning pull up, pull up. Annoyed with the computer badgering him he quickly muted the console. Soon, the plane was low enough to start grazing some of the pine trees.
"Hold on! This is going to be close!"
One of the wings smacked one of the pine trees sending pine needles and branches everywhere. The plane continued to shake violently until they made it into the small clearing in the trees. Koda dipped the nose down and then leveled out the plane attempting to land in the thick untouched snow. Soon, the land became closer and closer, then everything faded to black in an instant.
Jake was the first to wake up, the smell of smoke and burning rubber filling his nose. He looked over to see Koda, passed out with a small cut on the side of his head. In front of him the controls were making a variety of sparking sounds, Jake could see small flames begin to crawl up the edges of the console. Reacting quickly he unbuckled himself and Koda and attempted to force the door open. Refusing to budge he started to put his weight into the door, and with a sudden woosh, it swung open. Jake landed face-first into the powdery snow, a rush of cold air and snow momentarily blinding him. As soon as he regained his vision he reached back into the plane to fish out Koda. After laying him down flat on the snow he checked his pulse and made sure he was still breathing. Luckily, everything seemed to be ok, but how was he going to snap him awake? Not knowing what to do in a scenario like this he took both paws and placed them on his shoulders.
Jake began to rock Koda back and forth "waaaaake uppp!"
In an instant, Koda lurched up gasping for air, a confused expression on his face. He looked around until he met the gaze of Jake, his violet eyes full of worry and compassion.
"Are you ok?" Jake said.
"Fine, other than my head feels like it wants to explode. Seems like you made it out in one piece."
"Yeah, good on your part given the circumstances, what happened?"
Koda seemed to ponder this for a second putting his hand up to the small cut on his head. He was finding it harder and harder to think properly.
"In layman's terms, there was a mechanical failure in the main engine which caused us to lose all our speed."
Koda looked back at the plane, it was a mangled mess. Its tail end was missing and one of the wings was snapped in half. The cockpit was slightly breached with a noticeable gash protruding on the side. Small bouts of flames could be seen climbing up the center console.
"What are we going to do?" Worry sank into Jake's voice.
Without saying a word Koda quickly jumped back in the plane and was rummaging around for something while trying to disregard the flames. He quickly exited with a small black bag and a rifle.
Seeing this, Jake was reminded of the suitcase he brought "my lab!"
Frantically trying to reach the storage area in which it was held, his heart sank.
"Uhh, where is the storage compartment?"
Koda seemed to look around as his gaze matched back up with Jake, Koda seemed to have a cringed facial expression.
"Yeah, so you know how the tail of the plane is missing?"
"Yeah?" Jake says with great concern
"That's where the storage department is held."
His lab was gone. All of his lab equipment, and back up provisions were probably scattered all around who knows where. A sense of hopelessness loomed over Jake.
Jake let out a long drawn-out sigh, the cold air biting his lungs. Fortunately, like any good grad student, his thesis work was saved on a cloud. He didn't blame Koda for any of this, he just hated the circumstances.
"So what do we do?" A hint of hopelessness in Jake's voice.
Koda reached into the black sack and pulled out a compass quickly getting his bearings. "Fortunately for us, there is a log cabin NE from here. I noticed it when we were about to land. Help is on its way but it could be days or even weeks before they could get to us."
"Weeks! How are we going to survive out here with no food?"
Koda reached back into is a black sack and pulled out some MREs. Jake seemed to shiver at the thought of eating those.
The wind howled off in the distance sending a freezing chill down Jake. Wherever they were it was much colder than the city.
Koda smirked, he swung the rifle strap over his shoulder and held open his arms, "come here, I'll keep us warm."
Without giving it any thought he ducked his head into Koda's chest warmth instantly surrounding Jake. In that instant, he seemed to forget about the crash, he felt so light, so safe.
Koda was taken aback a bit by the enthusiastic response. He wrapped one of his arms around Jake and held him close, noticing his soft thick fur. "Goodness, I don't know how a fluffy boy like you even gets cold up here."
"Are you kidding me, where l live it doesn't get below 50 degrees. T-thank you for being so considerate though."
"Well, you are still my passenger until we make it back so I aim to take care of you."
Jake's stomach began to growl. I knew I should have eaten something before the trip. "Does this mean I still get my free inflight meal?"
Koda was reaching in his sack to hand him an MRE when Jake interjected.
"Do you have anything that isn't an MRE? I was flying first class, you know."
Koda was a little dumbfounded by this comment and started laughing hysterically, "I suppose you've been a good boy this whole trip so I don't see why I can't bust out the good stuff."
Oh my God, he can't call me that. Jake's short stubby tail started to betray him, battering Koda's leg like a brush. Stop damn you, you are not going to embarrass me today.
Koda smirked and reached into his shorts and pulled out a bag of smoked salmon. "Here I caught and smoked this salmon myself."
Jake wasn't the biggest fan of fish or smoked salmon in this matter, but like anyone says literally anything is better than a MRE.
As they were making their way toward the cabin Jake was loving this feeling of closeness. He had almost forgotten about the simple pleasures in life. The truth of the matter was he had little time to enjoy such things given his commitment to the school. He craved this feeling, and couldn't get enough of it, without thinking he wrapped his other arm around Koda and squeezed firmly.
"Air! Air!" Koda tried to blurt out.
Jake snapped back to reality and instantly loosened his grip around Koda's waist, "Sorry, sorry I don't know what came over me there."
Taking a gasp of air to regain himself Koda took a step back and looked directly at Jake for a moment.
"I know this isn't the best time for this, but can I be blunt with you?"
Shit. Now I made it awkward. Maybe he's going to say he finds me weird. Maybe he hates me. Say something you fool he's staring at me.
"Y-yes?" Jake said nervously.
"When this is all over do you maybe want to go out sometime, maybe go watch a movie or get some pizza?"
Jake froze in place, at this point he wasn't sure if it was the cold or the comment.
"L-like a date or hanging out?"
Koda paused for a second not really knowing how to respond. "Uhh, what do you want it to be?"
Jake merely smiled "if we make it out of here alive you can take me wherever you want."
"Fair enough," Koda held open his arms again for Jake to rejoin him, "try not to squeeze too hard this time."
Giddy with excitement Jake rejoined Koda's embrace and they continued on towards the cabin.
The wind started to pick up substantially even with all the trees acting as windbreakers.
"I think a blizzard is about to roll in. We better high tail it to the cabin." Koda said with worry.
The pine trees around them all seemed to rattle, throwing powdery snow in every direction. It was getting harder and harder to see in front of yourself.
"Straight ahead I see it!" Jake said with excitement.
Looking ahead Koda could see a small silhouette of what looked like to be a cabin past the clearing of pine trees. Koda picked up the pace making sure to hold Jake close to him, so as to make sure to not lose him in the growing blizzard.
As they got closer and closer the silhouette became more of a solid object; it was definitely the cabin, and just in the nick of time.
Jake could barely contain his excitement, finally some place to be out of this frigid weather. "I'll race yeah," Jake broke out of Koda's embrace and was running as fast as he could towards the cabin.
"Wait! We need to stick together." It was no use, the howling wind seemed to drown out any sound Koda tried to make.
Jake was laughing like a madman, "salvation at last" about to make it to the cabin he felt something crack under his feet. Jake paused, not sure what to think about the weird sensation he just felt. Suddenly, he heard the sound of hundreds of shattering steel cables, and then darkness.
He tried to scream out, but no sound would come out. He felt numb, and worst of all he couldn't see. Did I die? Trying his best to move anything seemed to have a delayed response. Why did death have to be like this? So dark and alone. Before all hope was lost Jake felt his arms stretch above him. In slow constant strokes, he felt his arms being yanked up and up, and not long after he could see light again.
Jake gasped for air, he didn't care that the air was cold he needed to breathe. Was I brought back to life? Still not sure of what even happened he felt himself being dragged. He could barely feel his body anymore; the only thing that anchored his existence was his labored breathing.
Koda was using all his might to drag Jake to the cabin as fast as possible. Unfortunately, Jake's thick fur had acted as a sponge when he fell into the water and was completely soaked. He had to hurry before hypothermia set in if it hadn't already. If this door is locked, we are so screwed. Fortunately, when he made it to the door it slammed open, with the wind sending powdery snow in every direction around the inside. Once Jake was set far enough in, Koda used all his might to shut the door. Once shut, he looked over to see Jake shaking violently in the middle of the floor curled up into a ball.
"Don't worry, I'm coming."
Koda immediately took in the surroundings of the interior of the cabin. It had a modest setup of a cast iron wood stove, a bed, and a small table. Finding the quickest way to get Jake dry he grabbed some of the blankets from the bed. Koda started to get a majority of Jake's wet clothes off and threw the blankets on top of him.
Koda rubbed furiously trying to get him as dry as possible. Jake continued to shake while being dried. Once Koda felt like he did an adequate enough job of drying him he picked him up and placed him gently in the bed using the remaining blanket to cover him.
Koda's hands started to feel numb, even if his species did well in the cold he had his limits. Desperate to get some heat going he wandered over to the wood stove. To Koda's surprise, it still had a little fuel in it. He wandered over to his black bag and pulled out a box of matches. Striking the matchbox he threw in one of the matches and ignited the wood inside. An orange glow filled the otherwise dark cabin.
Koda laid down on the ground next to the bed staring at the ceiling.
After a short while, Jake's shaking seemed to come to a slow crawl "T-thank you."
"For what?" Koda said dumbfounded.
"For saving me."
"No need to thank me. You are my responsibility until we make it out of here."
"Why are you on the floor?"
The sound of crackling firewood could be heard throughout the room, after a long pause Koda answered.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Mhmm."
"Have you ever met someone so amazing, smart, and interesting, but couldn't tell them how you felt because it wouldn't be professional?"
"Yes," Jake said plainly.
Koda stood upright and made eye contact with Jake, his violet eyes giving off a red tint from the orange glow. "R-really who?"
"You," Jake said with a warm smile.
Koda's tail started to thump against the hard floor. He is just so adorable I can't stand him.
"Can I ask you something?" Jake asked.
"Uhhh, sure."
"Is there any way you can hop in here with me and maybe we can warm each other up?"
"You mean like cuddling together?"
Jake nodded his head excitingly
He certainly knows how to encourage. "Ok, but I get to be the big spoon."
Jake excitedly moved over to the edge of the bed and unbundled himself from the covers. Cool air wrapped around his back but was quickly replaced by a feeling of warmth and closeness.
Koda couldn't believe he was doing this. It felt so wrong, yet so right. He placed his arm on Jake's chest running it through his thick chest fur.
"You are so soft."
"T-thank you."
As this carried on Jake could feel his breathing become heavier. Was this really happening? Koda's hand would constantly drift around his chest in random circles and lines. The nerd side of him was wondering if he was trying to communicate some subliminal message, trying to write out letters on his chest to spell something out.
Feeling a little bolder, Koda softly spoke into Jake's ear. "Hey Jake, I am going to try something, but let me know if it's too much for you ok?"
Jake's heart instantly sank, what was he going to do? Why couldn't he just tell me? Hopefully, it's nothing bad, Jake slowly nodded his head in approval.
In that instant, he could feel five elongated appendages comb through his head making his eyes roll back. The smallest of noises was forced out of Jake causing Koda to smile. There was a surge of emotion coursing through Jake he had never felt this relaxed in his entire life. Not missing a spot Koda started to scratch behind his ears rewarding him with another quiet moan.
"Sorry if this is a little too much for you, but those sounds you make are so cute."
"Stop, you can't say such things."
"Why is that?"
Jake took a long-drawn-out sigh gathering all the courage he could at that moment. "Because if you keep it up I might do something that will be a little too much for you."
Koda laughed at his remark and returned to wrapping his arms tightly around his chest, his tail coiling around his legs like a snake.
They lay there together on the bed for what felt like an eternity. Jake couldn't believe what a fantasy come true this was for him. Not even having all the data in the world on his thesis project would give him more satisfaction. Koda seemed to be drifting off into sleep his breathing becoming slower and more controlled.
"Hey, Koda?"
"Hmm?"
"D-do you care if I turn around and snuggle you?"
A mischievous smile crawled up Koda's maw.
Jake could feel Koda gripping him tighter around the waist, and inching closer to his ears.
"I don't know Jake. Have you been a good boy?"
A shiver ran Jake's spine. Oh my god. His fur on the back of his neck started to stand upright, after a brief pause he nodded several times.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Jake turned around burying his head into Koda's chest. It was an act so mundane, yet euphoric he hoped he wasn't dreaming.
Koda hummed in contentment enjoying the feeling of closeness just as much as Jake was. They laid there together not saying a single word, there was just the howling of the wind and each other to keep them company.
As Jake lay on Koda's chest he could make out his growing heartbeat Bum-Bum, Bum-Bum, Bum-Bum. Slowly a heavy shroud fell onto Jake, he felt so safe and warm, his eyelids became heavy as he drifted off to sleep.
Koda was the first to awake with the bright light shining through the window. He felt a somewhat heavy weight on his chest, looking down he could see Jake fast asleep on top of him. Koda smiled, he's even cute when he sleeps. I wonder if I should wake him?
Jake awoke with the feeling of something trying to worm away from him. Instinctively, he reached out and hugged whatever was trying to escape him at the moment.
"Five more minutes," Jake rubbed his head against Koda's chest trying to get more heat.
Koda smiled in contentment and wrapped his arms around Jake, "fine, five more minutes."
Time seemed to go at a crawl where the five minutes really felt like an hour. Soon, Jake let go of Koda letting out a loud drawn-out yawn.
"Morning sleepyhead, you sleep ok?"
Jake's eyes were barely open, still trying to focus on everything that was around him.
"I haven't felt this relaxed in a while, thanks for the massage last night."
Koda started to laugh, "that was no massage, maybe if you're a good boy I'll really show you what these hands can do."
Jake smiled at the comment, he is really playing with fire with all this flattery. "So what's the plan today?"
Koda got up and wandered around the cabin grabbing some clothes, Jake watching him attentively. After a short while, he threw a bunch of clothes on top of the bed.
" Get dressed. Today we are going to hunt for some food since someone doesn't like my MREs. Have you been hunting before?"
A stomach growl filled the empty silence of the room.
"Yes, I have once or twice."
Koda grabbed the Remington long rifle that he had salvaged from the crash. "Good, follow me."
Now that the blizzard had passed everything was so calm. A solid white sheet covered the entire area. As Koda stepped forward to see what he could find he noticed Jake just standing at the front door.
He nervously looked around acting like the entire ground was made out of thin glass. As his paws sunk into the crunchy snow he felt like he was going to continue to fall through.
"It's ok, I am not going to let that happen again, just don't run off and you'll be fine."
Jake cautiously took another step forward trying his best to mitigate his weight. He continued to tiptoe around until he got to Koda's side and then proceeded to walk casually.
"You're such a dork."
Jake playfully stuck his tongue out at Koda as they made their way into the wilderness.
Finding prey out in the Wilderness wasn't as hard as many would think. They were in an area where there was no nearby civilization so wildlife could flourish. Within minutes of walking away from the cabin, Koda was able to find some fresh tracks.
"Caribou, and it might be close given how fresh these tracks are, we're in luck."
The duo followed the tracks quietly and alert, eventually, the tracks led to a large opening in the maze of pine trees. Off in the distance was a small herd of caribou.
Koda and Jake got low to the ground and assessed the situation.
Koda looked over to Jake, but before he could say anything Jake was doing a lot of different hand gestures. It was almost like watching one of those translators you would see on tv do sign language.
"What?"
Jake sighed and held out his hand gesturing for the rifle. Koda was taken aback that a grad student would even hold a gun.
"We need to get closer."
Jake gestured for the gun again, this time with a more angered expression. Questionably, Koda handed over the rifle still not exactly sure what he was up to.
Jake chambered a round into the bolt action rifle, the motion was so smooth almost if the rifle was an extension of himself.
A small smirk crawled up Jake's maw, "When I land this shot, you have to take me to a nice pizza place."
Jake steadied the rifle on the ground. He took into account the distance along with the wind speed and direction. His breathing came down to a slow crawl and he started to move his shoulders around making sure he had perfect alignment. The world around him seemed to slow down, and in a flash it was all over.
Carrying the caribou back was an easy task with two able-bodied guys to take it back.
"Where did you learn to shoot like that?"
He shrugged "I guess I'm just a man of many surprises," sticking his tongue out at a comment Koda had made yesterday.
Koda looked at him with astonishment "good with a weapon, and a good snuggler you sir are quite the complete package."
As soon as they made it back to the cabin they divided up tasks of gathering up firewood and processing the meat. Koda cooked up the meat using the stove to the best of his ability. When he offered a piece to Jake he shook his head.
"I eat my meat raw."
"Yeah, I bet you do," Koda said underneath his breath.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing."
As soon as the day began it was ending the sun already setting throughout the short day.
Jake looked up with a confused expression. "The suns going down already?"
"Yeah Alaska is weird like that, we get like 6 hours of sunlight in the winter, and like 20 hrs of sunlight in the summer."
"Makes sense."
After their meal, Jake wanted to gather up more firewood since the bulk of it was used on the meat.
Jake spent an inordinate amount of time collecting firewood, after a while he took a moment to look up at the sky. There were more stars than he was used to seeing in the big city. As he made his way back to the cabin he saw something in the corner of his eye. All the firewood he had collected tumbled to the snowy ground.
Koda finally finished some of the tedious tasks around the cabin, improving some of the insulation so it wasn't that cold. Koda looked around realizing he was alone in the cabin. I wonder why Jake isn't back yet? Koda stormed out of the cabin looking for him.
"Jake! Where are you!"
Hearing no response Koda was frantically running around hoping nothing bad happened to him. In that instant, he saw him sitting down in the snow looking up at the sky.
A small green glow reflected off the snow, Jake could see long green streaks race across the sky like snakes. He had never seen the northern lights before.
Jake looked over his shoulder and smiled at Koda, padding the snow, gesturing to him to come join him.
Koda slowly walked over, but as he was going to sit beside him Jake stretched open his legs into a V padding the snow again. Koda took a seat between Jake's legs and leaned back against him looking up at the sky with him.
"Beautiful isn't it," said Jake.
"Yes."
Koda leaned further back against Jake, rubbing the back of his head against his soft fur. Jake used both of his paws to slowly caress Koda's chest.
"I don't know what the future holds, but I am glad to have met you, even if it was under not ideal circumstances."
Jake embraced Koda tighter. "I am glad to have met you too."
They sat there for a while staring up at the sky together enjoying each other's company.
Perhaps these weeks stranded out in the middle of nowhere wouldn't be so bad after all.