I think Julia and Clay.  I think you shouldn’t ship everyone, then you run the risk of romance taking over.  Unless that’s what you want, I get the feeling this isn’t a romance novel.  This is just my oppinion and I don’t mean to be critical or anything like that.  It’s a great story and I really like it. Please keep posting it!

“Where did you get those?!” Corliss smiled, clearly proud of herself. 

“When I was little, I used to take my doll out to a tree near our house, I would sit with her and sew her dresses. As I got older, I stopped playing with dolls, but I still went to the tree to do my sewing. On the day that the raiders came I was embroidering this handkerchief.” She motioned to the somewhat soiled handkerchief in her hand, and Julia saw that there were some partly finished roses on it. “When I heard the raiders, I dropped my work and ran to the house, and I forgot about this stuff. When you were talking about sewing, I remembered.” A shadow passed over her face and Julia took her hand.

“I miss my family to.” She said, a tear rolling down her face. Corliss began to cry too, and for a few minutes they just sat there, crying. Finally, Corliss sniffed and blinked away her tears.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry I’ve been so hard to be around lately, it’s just that I really miss my parents, and, well, somehow I feel guilty, like I should be with them, like It’s all my fault. I know it isn’t, and that my being with them wouldn’t help, but still…” Julia nodded,

“I understand, I fell the same way.” They shared a look of understanding, wordlessly vowing that they would be friends from that time on. Corliss sniffed and then gave Julia a mischievous grin.

“Sooo… you like Clay huh?” Julia blushed.

“It isn’t anything official, but… yes, and he likes me.” She looked at the ground, then suddenly looked up again, her eyes wide.

“I didn’t mean it like, well I mean, I-I know you like him and.” She paused, flustered. Corliss laughed.

“That’s ok, it was just a crush, I mean, I still like him but… I think you guys are great together.” Julia smiled.

“That means a lot to me, thanks.” Corliss nodded then got up, offering Julia a hand.

“Let’s go see what the boys are doing.” She said. Julia took her hand and stood up.

“Let’s.”

It’s getting so good!  I actually like Corliss, I think she’s nice.

They found three proud boys and a snare waiting for them. Alder explained how the snare worked and said he would check it in the morning. In the meanwhile, everyone was getting hungry and they headed back to the cave.

Dinner was served and eaten, then everyone sat around the fire and talked.

Alder leaned back with a yawn. “Well, I’ve got to say, Corliss is actually a really good cook.” Everyone nodded in agreement, but Corliss shook her head.

“Julia helped, and she knew all the right seasonings to put in.” Clay smiled at Julia, clearly proud. Julia looked at Corliss and shook her head. 

“You give me to much credit, but thanks.” Alder glanced at them with a knowing look in his eyes. 

“So, you’re friends now?” They nodded, then showed everyone what Corliss had brought back with her. After they had all stopped exclaiming over the find. Clay cleared his throat and looked at Julia.

“Well, it’s getting late we should all go to bed.” Everyone nodded and got up, but clay stopped Julia. 

“I need to talk to you.” She nodded, her face growing serious.

“What’s wrong?” He smiled.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just need to talk to you quick.” They sat down and Clay looked Julia in the eye.

“Julia, we’ve known each other since we were kids, and, well, we’ve always been good friends. I know that you like me, and I like you too, a lot, just, as a friend. I’ve been thinking a lot and I don’t know about you, but I think we should just be friends.” Julia stared into the fire, not sure whether she was happy or sad, but she did know one thing, she agreed.

“Clay, as hard as this is, I think your right.” He nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

“Friends?” He asked, holding out his hand. Julia nodded and took it.

“Friends.”

They went to bed, and Julia felt a weight lift off her mind. She slept well that night.

Surprise twist!  I didn’t expect it at all.  But I like it.  Please keep posting!

It was a bit of an awkward morning, but once breakfast was eaten Julia and Corliss were able to slip away and talk.

“So, did something happen last night with you and Clay?” Julia sighed.

“Yeah, we decided to just be friends.” Corliss gave Julia a sympathetic look and put her arm around her shoulder.

“That must be hard.” 

“It is, but I think it was the right choice, were better as friends.” Corliss nodded.

“Well, I don’t mean to seem insensitive, but I can’t help feeling kind of happy this happened.” Julia laughed.

“You guys would be perfect together, and truth be told I’m kind of happy about this too.” Corliss frowned. 

“Why?” Julia blushed and looked at the ground.

“Well, to be honest, I kind of like Alder.” Corliss’s eyes got big, and she shook her head.

“I never would’ve guessed! And, not give away any secrets or anything, but I think Alder might like you, at least a little.” Julia tried to keep back her smile, but she was clearly quite happy to hear this. 

“Speaking of Alder, here he comes now.” Corliss nodded towards Alder as he came out of the trees. He glanced at them and looked a bit embarrassed.

“I hope I’m not interrupting you, I just wanted to ask if Julia wanted to go check the snare with me.” Corliss grinned and gave Julia a nudge, which got her a quick glare.

“I’d love to, thanks for asking.” Alder nodded and walked in the direction of the trap, Julia following.

When they got there, they found a rabbit in it. Alder smiled triumphantly and slung it over his shoulder. 

“Hey Julia, can you help me reset it?” Julia nodded and he showed her how to. Once his hand brushed hers and they both glanced up, blushes spreading on their cheeks. Their eyes met and then both immediately looked right back down at their work. Once they were finished they headed back to camp to show everyone their prize.

I like this! @Isabel T, you're doing a great job!

Lunch was delicious, and everyone agreed that the rabbit was definitely a much-needed break from fish. Julia and Corliss cleaned the rabbit skin and prepared it to be made into shoes. They all had shoes, but they were wearing out, and new shoes were needed. Corliss turned to Julia, frowning.

“The rabbit skin is nice and all, but at this rate it will take ages to get enough to make everyone shoes, much less new clothes and shawls for the winter!” She said. Julia agreed and both sat, trying to think of a solution. They called the boys over and everyone sat thinking of some way to answer their problem. Aiken shrugged and threw out an idea.

“Well, we could hunt deer.” Clay shook his head and said, frowning,

“We don’t have anything to hunt them with.” Heads went back down and for a few minutes there was silence. Then Alder spoke up.

“I would need some help, but I know how to make a bow and arrows, I could have one made in a week or so, and we could use that to hunt.” Everyone smiled at Alder’s never-ending resourcefulness, and then the group headed into the woods to find supplies.

A week passed, and at the end of it an excellent bow was produced under the skillful eye of Alder. It turned out that Aiken was actually the best marksman, and as soon as it was ready, he took it out, vowing not to return until he was victorious. They had caught one rabbit almost every day that week, and several pairs of moccasins had been made. The little metal needles had proved to be too small and weak to pierce the rabbits hide, and bone needles had been made. 

Life was becoming almost normal in this wood, and they were becoming comfortable in the new life they were leading. So, no one was ready for what came one morning, shortly after the bow had been made.

It was right after breakfast, which was venison and herbs, Aiken having returned with a good-sized buck. They were talking about what they were going to do that day. Alder was in the middle of a sentence when he abruptly paused and looked towards the trees.

“Did you guys here that?” Everyone shook their heads. Alder listened for a while, but hearing nothing, resumed talking. Suddenly the tranquility of the woods was pierced by an ear-splitting shriek. 

A cliffhanger!  Ahg, I want to know what happens next!  Post soon please.  It’s so good.

Everyone leapt to their feet, racing into the woods to see what was going on. Aiken grabbed his bow and knocked an arrow. Clay was the fastest, and he was the first to burst into a small clearing, where a startling sight met their eyes.

A girl was clinging to a tree in terror, and just below her, snarling and swiping at her was a huge male wolf. The girl was slowly slipping down the tree, and the last swipe of the wolf had scratched her ankle, drawing blood. Aiken pulled back his bow and released his arrow. He missed the wolfs heart but hit his right foreleg, causing him to yelp and trot limping into the woods. 

Julia and Corliss rushed over to help the girl down. She appeared to be in her teens, she was tall and skinny, with dark hair and brown eyes. She pushed them away, refusing their help.

“I can do it myself.” She said, glaring at them. Corliss and Julia exchanged confused looks, then Julia spoke up.

“Well, I’m sure you can, but if you want, we can show you the river and you can wash that scratch.” The girl said nothing but followed her to the river. She washed the wound, then tore a strip of cloth from her shirt and bound it tightly around her ankle. When she was done, she stood up and looked at them awkwardly.

“Thanks, I guess, do you have any food?” She asked this abruptly, looking around questioningly. 

“Sure, it’s back at the camp though, are you up for walking over there?” Clay asked, glancing at her ankle.

“It’s just a small scratch, I’ve had worse.” It was true, there was a long scar running down her otherwise smooth cheek. They went back to camp, and the girl ate hungrily, not stopping for twenty minutes. The food seemed to make her mood much better, and she allowed them to question her.