Aloe got into their treehouse and immediately started tending to her friend. It wasn’t too bad. Chico was just in shock. Aloe gently pet him as they continued to tend to his small wound. “It’s ok…it’s ok. You’re ok.” They started crying, remembering the horrors they had seen when younger. After they were done bandaging up the rodent, they gently picked him up and sat down on a little chair they had gotten.
The treehouse was unique indeed. It was a huge, old tree. Somehow still alive. If only slightly. The truck had been hallowed out slightly, while other parts of the trunk had grown around the interior to create a well sized kitchen/dining room/living room. There were only small appliances. A mini fridge only slightly bigger than Aloe, a small ‘cooker’ as Aloe called it. It was a mix of a very small oven, and a heating tray as a stovetop. There was a faucet that their father had made. The water came from the river close to the treehouse. The water was clean enough to use. All Aloe had to do was put the water into a water bottle with a built in filter that their father gave them, and squeeze. The water would come out perfectly clean.
The faucet had originally been there to clean off their feet or hands, since they always got dirty one way or another and didn’t want to track dirt and mud into their beloved treehouse. Aloe was a peculiar child…and they liked it that way.
The kitchen would instantly transition into the living room/dining room. There was a little beanbag chair beside a foldable chair they used for a table. The rest of the place held small homemade book shelves filled with trinkets, books and DVDs. Most they had gotten from their home, other stolen. By the beanbag was a small pillow for Chico to rest on.
They sniffle slightly as they try to calm themself. Chico was obviously fine now, just a little slower than usual. But he would be back to normal by dinner tomorrow. Chico looked up at Aloe and curled up into their arms, making little clicking noises as the two cuddled. Aloe couldn’t help but cry from the horrifying images they were witnessing. So much death…blood. Aloe shook their head and curled up around Chico. They were too upset to eat…so they just offered Chico an acorn, taking a shaky breath.
Chico happily took the snack, cracking it open and munching on the inside. Aloe gently pet him as he ate, slowly calming down after a while. They then pulled out a little battery powered DVD player with a small screen. It was slightly cracked on a corner, but it still worked. They put some stollen batteries they had snatched from campers into the device and put on their favorite movie. Pocahontas. Aloe smiled as they watched their movie, reciting every word said. After a while, they finally got hungry and took out their little basket with the food they’ve collected. They took out a few blackberries and started munching on them. They didn’t feel like actually making anything now…do berries and water would do.
Aloe then offered Chico a few berries, continuing their movie. Once their belly was full, they slowly got up and brought their DVD player upstairs to their little bedroom. They looked around at the decorations in their room as they climbed the ladder. More trinkets in wooden boxes, crystals on little shelves, several blankets spread around the room, pillows, chip bags, candy boxes…
The outside of the treehouse was completely covered in green and orange leaves, leaving only a sliver of sunlight to shine into the little window in the mornings. The window was made of a durable plastic that could be opened if needed. But Aloe never really bothered opening it.
Then then crawled over to their bed. They had gotten a little too tall to stand in the small house on top of the tree, so they just crawled where they needed to go. The bed was an inflatable mattress for pools covered in blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. They sigh as they gently set Chico on his own little pillow bed and gently pet him. They then looked at the little fairy lights hanging from the ceiling. The power here was solar powered. Their father was a genius for making it that way. There was a very small emergency generator on the other side of their room that they could turn on in case the power stopped working.
Aloe then flopped back and snuggled up in their little nest as they continued their movie. They hugged their stuffed animal with one hand, while petting Chico with the other. They let the little DVD player set on their stomach as they slowly drifted off into a restless sleep. They just hoped that man wouldn’t find this haven…
