As weeks passed by and summer slowly faded into autumn, the Monkees found themselves wondering if they would be able to afford to go home to their families for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was hard for the trio to find gigs. Everyone was so use to them being a quartet. Micky slowly became the undesignated leader of the group. He had also went out and got a job on an assembly line. Davy became a waiter, and Peter worked at a gas station. Though they all had dealt with their grieving over Mike, they began to argue a lot. Davy thought it would be best to audition some people to replace Mike, and Micky though it best to just stay a trio. While Peter saw both sides of the coin, he really didn't like the idea of someone taking Mike's place.
Mike and Lily though, were learning quite alot from their newfound friends. Miha had brought some homemade pottery to Lily, and Miha's daughter, Kiki, had taught Lily how to make soap by boiling down certain plants and saps together. Shatzu helped Mike to carve out a spear with the knife he had given him. Mike suddenly found it much easier to fish. Shatzu also taught him how to hunt other things and helped him distigush between safe and poisonous plants. Though Mike and Shatzu couldn't understand each other, they found ways to communicate through symbolism. If something was dangerous, Shatzu would cross his arms over his chest and shake his head no. If Mike didn't understand and reached out for the item, Shatzu would pull him back.
The tribal men had also helped Mike to build a hut. Since their summer was approaching, they knew their visitors would need a place of shade and shelter. Tropical rains would be a problem too, depending on how long they would be there. Mike couldn't get the tribe to understand that he and Lily weren't married, so Mike built a partition in the middle of the hut, and then spent several days constructing one by himself from memory. Mike decided Lily should have the tribe constructed hut, while he took the one he built, just in case he had done something improperly.
One day while Mike was out gathering twigs, he spied Lily sitting on the beach with her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn't look too happy. Mike laid the sticks down and went to find out what was wrong.
"What's the matter, Lily?" Mike asked as he rubbed her shoulders. "It's my birthday and I'm stuck on this island. At least I think today is my birthday. I haven't seen a calendar in so long," she replied.
"Well happy birthday!" Mike said cheerfully.
"Yeah, big deal. I have no party, no presents, no cake. I may never have a normal birthday celebration again," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Well, I'll see ya later," Mike said turning to leave.
"Hey, where are you going?" Lily asked.
"Gonna go hunting with Shatzu," Mike said as he picked up his spear and took off into the jungle.
"Fine! Leave me on my birthday! See if I care!" Lily shouted.
Once Mike got to the village, he went to find Shatzu. Shatzu was skinning a boar, but quickly went and got his spear when he saw Mike. He said a few words to Miha and took off into the jungle with Mike.
They had been hunting for a couple of hours, only finding a couple of small tree snakes. Mike thought about killing a boar, but they were way on the other side of the island. Besides, he was afraid to kill a huge boar with just a spear. Suddenly, Mike spotted a huge snake slithering along the ground. Though it didn't sound appetizing, he knew Lily had to be as sick of fish as he was. He took his spear and began to aim.
"Alright you snake in the grass, you're gonna be dinner," Mike said. Suddenly, Shatzu jumped in front of Mike. He took a knife and severed the snake's head from it's body. Shatzu made his symbol for danger.
"Poisonous, huh?" Mike asked. Shatzu nodded. Shatzu then spotted another snake coming along. He pointed to it and nodded in approval. This time, Mike aimed carefully and slammed the spear down into the snake's body, just below the head.
When they were done hunting, they went back to the village. Mike had caught two snakes and Shatzu caught one. Mike offered one of the snakes to Miha in exchange for a beaded necklace she had made. Mike then went back to the lagoon with his snake and beads.