Ladybug chased Morningstar around the pile of lumber, the two monsters waddling about as fast as they could manage without resorting to jumping or taking more agile movements. He seemed to be winning at whatever game the two were playing, at least until he clipped one of the logs on his way past and was sent into a wider spiral, entirely off course. Ladybug capitalised on the mistake with a trill, waddling past as Morningstar let out a high-pitched protest.

“Unlucky,” August said, amused. “Quick—you might be able to catch up.”

Morningstar set off in pursuit, but he was already in danger of being lapped, and August shifted on the stump he was sitting on, adjusting his leg to provide more surface area as he cut the palm leaf into the correct shape. He glanced up from his place for what might have been the hundredth time in the last fifteen minutes, checking on the group of Voithos sitting beneath the half-covered ceiling. The row of palm leaves that Rittan had managed to string up left them with a singular, thick strip of shade to sit within as they ate their way through the newly refreshed stack of Sad Apples.

August had excused himself the moment he’d realised that the newest arrival was naked and that he hadn’t prepared anything for her to wear. Somehow it had slipped his mind entirely, but still, the process wasn’t difficult or particularly long now that he’d already done it a few times, and the set of [Leafy Pants] and [Leafy Shirt] was coming along. August threaded the twine through the holes of the vest, crossing them over one another to keep them in place before moving onto the back of it. He was almost done with it when he caught sight of Melon pointing in his general direction from her place amongst the group—but it wasn’t the first time she’d done it either.

August did feel a little bit guilty about leaving the process of explaining the entire situation to the others, but they seemed to be willing to step up and take care of it without complaint. He placed the completed vest down and returned to the pants, beginning to thread the twine between the different sheets of palm leaf—his own pants were starting to look a bit worn now that he thought about it. Maybe he could work on some kind of twine-based clothing and figure out how to weave it together into something simple, like a knee-length skirt or maybe some kind of poncho. It would likely last longer than the sheets of palm leaves.

“Upgrade our clothing,” August murmured, “Guess I’ll put that on the list of things to do.”

It shouldn’t be too hard, but he’d need to make another stack of twine—something that really was turning into a full-time job, given how much of it they needed for everything. He tied the knot at the front of the pants, moving it around to make sure it could be adjusted at a later time. He messed around with it for a bit longer, not quite ready to approach the entire group on his own, but eventually, he caught sight of the unfinished workbench, and with that, he recalled his desire to finish something today. August laid the vest on top of the pants, and then stood up, vanishing the rest of the unused twine into his inventory as he went—the motion caused just about everyone in the group to look at him, and for a moment he considered turning around completely. Instead, he forced himself to keep going, weathering the attention as best he could before approaching.

“Ah,” Haiko said, “I was just telling our dear Melon about how your species is entirely comprised of tentacles.”

Melon watched him from her place sandwiched between Rittan and Haiko—he did his best to keep his eyes above the neckline, but it was a close thing.

“I haven’t seen them yet,” Boko added, looking amused. “But he told me he keeps them on the inside—I’m sure they’ll show up eventually.”

“I made a joke about having tentacles once, but I don’t actually have any,” August said with a sigh. “I know these aren’t anything amazing as far as clothes go, but this is the best we can really make right now, so it will have to do.”

August held out the set of clothing for her to take, and Melon stared at him like he was handing her a pile of leaves and twine before turning to look at Rittan—at which point the Voithos came to her rescue by moving to take it in her stead.

“Thank you, I am certain that she is very grateful for the gift,” Rittan said, voice pitched in apology. “Will you be joining us?”

“I haven’t really finished anything I’ve started today, so I want to keep working,” August admitted, taking the opportunity to escape the awkwardness. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”

August offered a wave before heading back the way he’d come—as far as initial reactions to him went, Melons was unlike any of the others. For one thing, she had yet to speak up in his presence after she’d first noticed him and visibly sought out guidance from the others whenever he made an attempt to speak directly to her. August wasn’t really sure how to react to it other than to let the others explain everything to her. She certainly seemed talkative—from a distance—because he could see her speaking right now, she just wasn’t willing to do it in his presence, apparently.

In an attempt to get his mind off of it, he turned his eyes to the log he still needed to cut through for the bench seats—maybe he should start with an axe this time and then trim the rough edges down with the saw. He’d try that for the second piece after he finally managed to get the first one finished. August resorted to driving a wedge between the top of the partially cut piece, widening the gap enough to get the saw all the way in, and then managed to get the rest of the way through it. He rolled the slice of log he’d taken over to his stump, sat down, pinned it in place with his feet, and then started to saw straight down the middle of it.

He was most of the way through—arm burning from the repetitive motion—when Kalter joined him again, at which point he found himself staring at Kalter’s outstretched hand.

“I’ll do it,” Kalter said.