Aru Shah and the Soul Trident

Welcome to Awkwardness with Aru and Aiden

Leaves crunched under Aru's shoes as she trudged forward. The sky had turned a shade of pink and orange, and Aru still felt like she had just jumped into a pool and immediately gotten out and didn't have a towel with her. She shivered despite the warm weather. Her shirt had mostly dried out, but her jeans and underwear still felt wet. Aru had let her hair out of her braid, in an effort for it to dry faster. It hung down her face in wet strands that stuck to her face, not to mention, she had lost her hair tie somewhere in the path. And none of the other members had an extra. Surprisingly, not even Aiden. She groaned and put her hands on her knees, coming to a halt.

"Can we take a break?" She asked the rest of them. Rudy, who looked like he had aged ten years during their small hike, nodded frantically.

"Yes, pleeeease!" He moaned, and flopped to the ground. Mini nodded as well. "I didn't even have time to pack my inhaler!" She gasped loudly and flung her hand to her mouth. "What if I get an asthma attack! Then, I could lose my breath, stop breathing, and-"

"Die?" The rest of the Potatoes said simultaneously. Mini crossed her arms and sniffed. "It's not a joke! It really could happen!"

Aiden snapped a picture of the evening sky, and said, "I guess we should camp out here for the night." Aru agreed. They had stumbled upon a small clearing in the woods. Leafy trees surrounded them, casting shadows on the ground as the sun went down. Birds cooed and fluttered off to their nests, and crickets began to chirp. Aiden stepped forward and pulled out a couple coins and tossed them on the forest floor. Three tents popped up, and Aru recognized them from the time they got stranded on the Smoky Mountains.

"You still have those?" Aru asked him, and he turned away before nodding. Aru was low-key annoyed. Alright, she got that it's all awkward and everything, but Aiden was getting a little irritating. The least he could do was at least face her while talking to her! It's basic human decency, she thought to herself angrily. And besides, he was the one who kissed her first, not the other way around! 

She sighed loudly and held her stomach as it grumbled. Brynne rubbed her stomach as well.

"Is there anything to eat?" Brynne eyed a squirrel that chittered and ran away in fear.

Aiden dug into his satchel and pulled out a couple of snacks- a few bags of chips, popcorn (yay!), a container of fruit, water, granola bars, and bags of...marshmallows?

"Marshmallows?" Mini asked in confusion. "Why marshmallows?" Aiden shrugged.

"I was in a rush, so I just grabbed whatever I could find. I didn't think about it too much." Then, he glanced around. "Maybe we could find some firewood? We could have toasted marshmallows, and that way, Shah could dry off as well."

Aru nodded eagerly, and they split into pairs. Mini and Brynne were in charge of setting everything up, Rudy was to stand guard (though he was forced to because he lost against Mini in a game of 'nose goes'), and Aru and Aiden had to find some wood for the fire. As Mini dragged Rudy to the edge of the clearing to stay guard, Brynne hummed while she tried to get rid of the leaves on the ground for the make-shift fire pit. Aru and Aiden, however, were standing off awkwardly to the side. Brynne looked up and wiped her sweat off her brow.

"What are you two doing?" She yelled at the two of them.

"Nothing," Aru called back. "Don't worry, we're about to leave!"

"So," Aiden turned to her and scratched the back of his neck. "Shall we go?"

"We shall," Aru said with a grin, and snickered. Aiden smacked his forehead and followed her out of the clearing and into the deeper woods.