Jöstr had always been the reader of the group. The apartment was lined with bookshelves that Zander completely ignored and Tösk only flipped through out of curiosity before returning to his circuits. Mostly mythology, ancient history, and northern legends.
One book in particular had caught his attention more than any other.
It told the story of a raccoon warrior. It also spoke of a small white squirrel with markings that glowed. There was mention of a hidden cave in the northern mountains that no one had ever truly found. Jöstr closed the book, looked at Zander in front of his computer and Tösk jumping between platforms, and thought how strange it was that a squirrel and a raccoon had ended up together. And with a rabbit right in the middle to make it weirder.
He brought it up in March with the energy of someone who already had the flights half-booked.
“Summer vacation,” he said. “Mountains. Snow. Adventure. And maybe… just maybe that legendary cave.”
Tösk agreed before he even finished the sentence, already bouncing on the couch with excitement.
Zander took two whole weeks to give in, and only because Tösk spent those two weeks looking at him with that face. Everyone knew how those battles ended.
At the airport, with Tösk sitting on his shoulders like it was the most normal thing in the world and Jöstr taking a selfie with a massive grin, Zander grumbled about vacations, the cold, and his already freezing feet.
“C’mon, Zan! Enjoy the vacation!” Tösk yelled from above, at full volume as always.
Zander grunted.
“Stop being grumpy and smile!”
Zander didn’t smile. But he didn’t push Tösk off either.
![[C] - Ragdel Refsheet](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/6003/6003139_ZanderTheRaccoon_ragdel_reference_wm.jpg "[C] - Ragdel Refsheet")
