#idk how old juno is exactly or if she and duck are the same age or what

[whatamirolling]

forest ranger

Juno Devine is in sixth grade, and she doesn’t have many friends. Usually she doesn’t mind all that much; she’s never liked many of the same things as her classmates. She would rather go on nature hikes than stay inside watching television, but she’s only twelve and her mother won’t let her go too far into the Monongahela Forest without an adult yet, and she knows there’s so much more beyond the marked trails just behind her house or the back of the property of Pocahontas Middle School.

The hike that day in the woods is fun, and Mr. Thacker is nice and knows a lot about the woods, but Juno isn’t enjoying it as much as she thought she might. She’s been trying to make more friends lately, but no one seems interested in talking about all the interesting birds and plants in the forest, and Duck is sick today, so he’s not here. About halfway through the tour, Juno stops to sketch a flower she’s only seen a few times before, and Bobby Fletcher and Jacob Wilson grab her sketchbook and throw it into the creek and laugh as they walk away.

Juno can’t quite keep herself from crying. She steps into the creek (It’s not high at all, barely even ankle-deep) and grabs her book. The cover isn’t too wet, but some of the drawings in the middle are ruined. Juno sits on the trunk of a fallen tree and shakes the sketchbook, trying in vain to dry the pages.

“Young lady! What in the world are you thinkin’?”

Juno hurriedly wipes the tears from her face and turns to see Mr. Thacker standing a few feet behind her, a concerned look on his face. At first he seems mad, but then he’s not anymore, and then he says her drawings are really good, and Juno decides she would like to spend more time with Mr. Thacker. He’s one of the nicest grown-ups she’s ever met, and he loves the forest, too.

Juno visits KepEx a few days later, that Saturday. She’s worried that Mr. Thacker won’t remember her, but he does, and he offers to let her tag along on another tour he’s giving in a few hours, free of charge. Juno agrees happily. This tour turns out to be much more fun than the one she took with her classmates. There’s more time to stop and sketch; grown-ups are much more patient and appreciative of nature than kids are. She also asks more questions than she did around her classmates; they weren’t so keen on her being so curious about the forest, but these grown-ups don’t seem to mind, and Mr. Thacker seems more than happy to provide answers.

When Juno grows up, she wants to work in the forest. She’s in high school now, a freshman, and school is alright, but she would much rather be outside, cataloging the wildlife and seeing what new things she could find. So Juno spends a lot of time staring out the window, not listening to her teachers, getting in trouble for not listening to her teachers, and then repeating everything over again. Juno tries to pay more attention in class, if only it would get her fewer detentions so she could get out of school and into the woods sooner, but it’s just so hard not to stare out the window some more and plan her next hike, instead. She still visits Mr. Thacker sometimes, and it’s always fun to tag along on his tours, too. Juno’s gone rafting and spelunking many times now, and sometimes she even convinces Duck to go with her (he’s never been one for danger or adventure).

Duck is one of Juno’s best friends. He likes the forest, too--more so because it’s a quiet place he can go and smoke, but still--and he doesn’t talk a lot, and he actually seems to like listening to Juno while she rambles on about the latest bird she sketched. They hang out a lot, taking hikes through the woods or just sitting high in the branches of the tallest tree in Juno’s backyard, passing a joint back and forth. Sometimes they talk about what they want to do in the future. Juno thinks she knows; she wants to ask Mr. Thacker if he would consider hiring her part-time, so she can get more experience navigating the forest and educating people on its importance. Duck doesn’t know what he wants to do; he’s never been particularly motivated to try anything new. Juno asks him if he wants to see if Mr. Thacker will give him a job, too. Duck says he’ll think about it.

Juno is out of high school now, and she knows what she wants to do. She attends college just outside of Kepler, pursuing a degree in forestry, and she has to say she’s absolutely ecstatic when Duck decides to come with her. They have most of the same classes, aside from some core, and hang out even more than they did in high school. Four years seem to fly by, and before Juno knows it, she and Duck are graduating and beginning training for the U.S. Forest Service.

Juno and Duck have worked in the Monongahela National Forest as rangers for more than twenty years now, and Juno wouldn’t trade that time for anything in the world. Sometimes, she’s still a little in awe of how her life has turned out; she’s doing something she loves every single day and getting paid for it, and isn’t that the dream? And there are still undiscovered secrets everywhere she turns, waiting to be found.

The FBI is here, and they’re taking over the forest, taping off enormous sections and trampling everywhere in their stupid FBI regulation shoes, and Juno is pissed. But there’s not much she can do about it. Sure, things have turned a little upside down since the top of Mount Kepler flew off and destroyed half the town, but that doesn’t make Juno any less mad. This is bullshit. And then Mr. Arlo fucking Thacker walks into the ranger station after six or so years of being missing, tells her about his travels on another planet, and asks if she’ll help him and his motley crew commit a federal crime.

And Juno says yes.