May 2021 - National Park Girls Episode 4 Sneak Peek

Hey everyone, Syon here! Been a minute since we had an update for you, and honestly there's not much else to say except that Episode 4's production is coming along reasonably well. All the art is done (save for one minor variation to Yosemite's outfit) and I've been recording with the voice actors and choosing takes. You'll most likely see it released during the summer!

In the meantime, we have an exclusive sneak peek of Episode 4 for you. It doesn't reveal toooo much, but it might give you an idea of what Eve and the girls are in store for this time around. As always when it comes to sneak peeks and the like, the script might not be 100% polished yet just due to the nature of our workflow. Still, I hope you enjoy reading this little glimpse and speculating on just what might be going on.

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Eve “Come… on! You can’t be eating people’s… trash!”

Pup “Mmm… Grrrr…. Mmmm....”

“Gripping the scruff of his neck, I drag Pup onto the cabin porch, his paws scratching and sliding on the wooden planks.”

“He’s growing so fast I don’t even believe it until I try to carry him for myself. There’s an old saying, that if you pick a calf up every day from the time it’s born to the time it’s an adult, you’ll be able to hoist it up when it’s fully grown. Clearly I missed a few days with Pup.”

Pup “Grrrrrrr— YAP!”

“He rolls his head to my arm and nips at my wrist.”

Eve “OW! Why you little…”

“The sharp pain dulls as I check my wrist. No major damage, just a scrape etched down my arm.”

“Pup gallops across the field then spins in circles like he has a chance of finding the end of infinity.”

Eve “I am NOT having this lack of cooperation!”

“He sniffs at a dead bird, so decomposed that its remaining mass has flattened into the ground. Then he rolls around in it.”

Eve “Ugh…”

“It’s not like he ever listened to me to begin with, but lately it’s felt like he’s untamable. He won’t dare nip at Zion, but me, Yosemite, and even Yellowstone have gotten snapped at by him recently. He’s a sweet boy, but it’s almost becoming an issue.”

“I’ll just have to spend more time training him, I guess. Maybe the weekends. Since I’ve started going on regular hikes with Yellowstone and Zion, they’ve begun feeling a little more open. Can’t explain it. It’s like a psychological light switch.”

“But I guess I’m not unhappy to have it flipped on.”

“The sudden crack of shattering glass yelps from inside the cabin.”

“My furrowed brow blocks half of my vision. In less than a second, I’m inside.”

Eve “Somebody better have a replacement!”

“At least a hundred shards of ceramic and glass are scattered at the base of her feet. The tray she was carrying is upside down and several feet away, water sliding behind it.”

“We go through teapots like some families go through sourdough.”

“Yellowstone doesn’t react. Not even as much as a head turn. She stares up at the corner, eyes stretched wide. Mouth open.”

“Leaning forward in her chair, Zion’s jaw is slouched on the table. She’s looking at me, but she’s staring right through me. Maybe through the wall behind me.”

Eve “Uh… can someone say something?”

“A bolt of energy sizzles from the tip of my head to deep into my calves, deadbolting me to the floor. My entire body is held down by the weight. Not because I can’t move, but because I know I shouldn’t.”

“Yosemite is sitting in lotus over on my bed. Don’t know when I gave her permission to do that, but there she is. Her back is turned to me. She faces the window. On the nightstand, a lit candle sways with the breeze that spirals through the cabin. The sweet scent of burning pine is brushed over to me.”

“The candle flickers out.”

Yellowstone “G-G-Girls!”

"The tension in my body lifts and I'm finally allowed to exhale. There's a moment of clarity. Empty stillness. Where all the questions I have right now feel like they have obvious answers. But as I inhale, the fog comes rolling back in, and I'm as confused as ever."

Zion "Yellowstone! I saw it, too!"

Yellowstone "What the Sam Hill was that?"

Eve "I don't know!"

Zion "Did you see the girl?!"

Yellowstone "Yeah! She was kinda hot!"

Zion "Not what I meant but I get what you mea--"

"Zion scrunches up her tiny face. Yellowstone looks at her, and she looks at Yellowstone. They both twist their heads and look at me."

"I've had lots of eyes on me today, but the primal part of my lizard brain is scared enough for me to take a few steps back."

Zion "Ms. Eve...?

Yellowstone "Did you see that vision, too?! Like, in your noggin?"

Eve "Vision? I... No. Nothing like that..."

"The smoke from the incense is thick. It feels tangible. Like I could hop on it and ride it into the aether."

Eve "But as soon as I walked in here, I could feel something."

Zion "Feel something? Like what?"

Eve "Tension? Fear? I don't know. It just felt... oppressive, I guess."

Yellowstone "Spooky..."

"Zion gasps and jumps out of her seat, hovering there for a moment before floating back down."

Zion "Yosemite! What about you?"

"Yosemite doesn't speak. Yosemite doesn't turn around. Yosemite doesn't do anything."

"She just sits there. Back turned. Legs still crossed. Unflinching. Braving whatever little world she's in all by herself."

Yellowstone "Yo, Slowsemite! You catching some Z's over there or what?"

Zion "Slowsemite..."

"Zion's eyes widen and her mouth stretches into a giant O."

Zion "Oh! I get it! That's very clever, Yellowstone!"

"She claps her hands together to congratulate her friend, but Yellowstone is too busy chewing on her nails to bask in it. Whatever they saw must have shaken her."

"Hard to blame her, though. Whatever it was I felt has me shook, too. It wasn't just a passing feeling, like light-headedness or vertigo. It was something real enough that it could bury itself deep under my skin."

Eve "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you shut up for this long."

Eve "What's the deal?"

"Marching over to my little nook of the cabin, I step between Yosemite and the wall. I stare down at her. For the first time since getting to know each other, I feel like the tall one."

Yosemite "E-Eve?"

"Trembling, Yosemite stares up at me, spots of tears dabbing at the corner of her eyes. Six feet of ego and superiority contorted into a vulnerable ball."

"Before I can even process what she's feeling or how that makes me feel, she pounces off the bed and wraps her long, tree branch arms around me."

Eve "Woooah okay. Forgot you were a hugger, but sure."

"Her weight almost drags us both down onto the bed, but my calves are strong enough to keep us anchored to the floor. She tightly clings to my uniform, stretching the fabric as she does the bare minimum to keep herself held up."

"There's not any sobbing, but the tears are there and I can feel them bleeding through my shirt. The quiet part of me says to push her away and tell her to suck it up. But the louder part of me cuts through all the nastiness and tells me Yosemite is worthy of pity."

"My hand, awkwardly hovering over the back of her head, goes limp. I stroke her hair until I reach her back, then I just ride out the embrace."

Zion "What's wrong with Yosemite?"

Yellowstone "Does she know what that was? 'Cause I don't know jack-diddly! Tell me what the jack is, Yosemite! Tell me about the diddly!"

"The two of them rush over, not giving a single second of extra thought to the idea of crowding a crying girl."

Eve "Oh no you don't."

"Dragging Yosemite's mass with me, I step over to the curtain and slide it closed, cutting off Zion and Yellowstone's stampede."

Yellowstone "Peel back this veil, missy! I need answers!"

Zion "Yes! This is extremely unfair, Ms. Eve!"

"Yellowstone, seemingly unaware that she has the power to 'peel back the veil,' presses herself against the curtain, the outline of her body coming at us through the fabric like bad 3D effects."

Eve "Tough. The adults need to talk."

"Careful to dodge Yosemite, I kick Yellowstone back using the center of my foot. She stumbles back, and although I can't see it, I hear the crash landing."

Zion "We are much older than you, I'll have you know!"

Eve "Whatever you say, squirt. Come back to me once you sprout up a few inches."

Yosemite "Please, you two."

"Yosemite manages to choke back her tears long enough to plead with them between sniffles."

Yosemite "Just a few minutes, okay?"

"The other side of the curtain goes quiet, enough time for Yosemite to take another dance with hysterics as she tries (and fails) to compose herself."

"Zion floats to the top of the curtain rail to peer down at us."

Zion "PpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPp!"

"She blows me a ripe, juicy raspberry, then drops back down with a defiant 'Hmph!"

"With those two out of the way, I tug Yosemite back towards the bed and have to shove her onto it to get her to stop clinging to me."

Eve "Alright, let's take a few seconds to breathe."

"Yosemite nods her head up and down, covering her mouth with her hand, like that'll actually keep me from seeing her tears. Or shame. Whichever makes her the most embarrassed, and I'm positive that one, or the other, or both does."

"I climb into bed and do the criss-cross-applesauce thing, which in these khakis and in this uniform is no easy task."

"The comforter is soft and warm, retaining Yosemite's body heat. We both sink into the bed, the frame struggling beneath our collective weight."

Eve "Alright. Tell me what happened."

"She nods and takes a steadying breath."

Yosemite "Well... It's hard to put into words. Nearly unexplainable."

Eve "Just pretend you're smart and have to dumb everything down for me. Should be easy for you."

CONTINUED IN EPISODE 4