As the sound of birds woke Aiden up from his sleep,he groaned in pain.
Sleeping on the ground,even in a tent,always hurt his back.
He sat up,yawning and opening his tent.
The morning was beautiful,the hot summer sun shining through the leafs of the trees that towered above the campsite.
It seemed that everyone was still asleep.
What could he do,Aiden thought. He could make breakfast, get more fire wood,or he could just explore a little to see where would they have to hike later.
Aiden may struggle waking up, but he's always been a morning person at heart, no matter how many nights he stayed up till the pigeons start to coo. Dragging himself up at 5am and making coffee with sleep in his eyes was *entirely* worth the morning walk to his smoke spot.
He stretched, looking around the campsite with arms in the air.
Hmm...
Aiden picked up a bundle of extra kindling from his tent, enjoying the birdsong and warm breeze on his face. He felt the grass fold beneath his steps, the last of the morning's dew painting wet stripes on his boots. By the time he paid proper attention to what he was doing again, he'd found a coffee pot in his hand and a gently crackling fire. He did wonder if the smell and the snapping of sticks would wake the others, internally hoping for a little more time by himself. He enjoyed it.
He wondered what would they do today.
Thank god that Izzy had agreed to camp in an official spot. Hopefully she wouldn't run away again.
An hour into his relaxing morning routine,Aiden heard the others move. Well,mainly Izzy.
As her curly,raven coloured hair popped out of the tent opening,he smiled.
"Morning." He spoke quietly,giving Izzy a small wave and picking up a full coffee cup to call her over.
Izzy yawned and nodded,tucking her head back inside the tent to get changed.
It was very dry and warm in her tent. She yawned,rushing to change into day clothes before others woke up.
The others were cool,sure,but this was for her and Aiden. Might as well use the alone time they have to bond.
Once she stepped out,a loud deer cry echoed through the forest,making both Izzy and Aiden turn towards the tree line . Izzy shuddered,remembering last night's story.
The woman looked at Aiden,smiling awkwardly and sitting down.
"Good morning." - Izzy spoke, looking for her cup to pour the hot,freshly made coffee into. She brushed her fingers through her curly black hair,thinking for a moment. This was a public camp,and yesterday,the other two were so nice. Frankly,from the looks of their bags, they looked experienced in camping.
She shook the thoughts of worry away from her head,sighing.
'It's too early for that,' - She thought.
"Anyway," Izzy chuckled, a little more awake now, "Those two seem okay. This forest makes me kind of nostalgic."
Being in these woods, especially. In fact, if she walked northeast of here, then turned east at That Rock, give it 10 minutes and she'd be at her old place.
"For the woods, sure, but... I dunno, it's kinda weird now I'm saying it out loud. It makes me think about all the disappearances, and that's what I couldn't stop hearing about as a kid."
She took a sip of her coffee, sighing contentedly.
Aiden's caffeine addiction had become an art.
"Does that make sense?"
"Yeah,but it's just a story..right?" Aiden smiled widely,fixing his glasses and humming along with the bird song all around them. A little fox ran up to the campsite,searching for food.
The ginger hushed Izzy,pointing to the small orange fox that was sniffing around the campsite.
As they watched,Alina's tent opened,and she stuck out her green head and a hand to feed the little fox.
Jacob was smiling,in Alina's tent for some reason,taking a Polaroid picture.
After feeding the fox,Alina got out of the tent. She was wearing a yellow cami top and her trusty black jeans with chains on the belt. Her green hair was tied in a ponytail,away from her pale face.
Alina waved at the other two and stretched,yawning.
Grabbing her cup,the girl hurried to Izzy and Aiden,plopping down on the ground next to them,pouring herself a coffee.
"So how was the first night of your camping adventure?" Alina asked,smiling towards them before taking a small sip of her coffee.
Woah,this was good.
Jacob followed her shortly,stepping out of the tent with his big jacket and metal clad boots. He grabbed his own mug and poured something in it from a bottle,sitting down and sipping it.
He seemed to have heard Alina's question,and was now listening intently.
Like he was on edge.
"Oh,it was okay! Heard a few sounds outside,but y'know,forests." Izzy smiled,watching Jacob get up and walk back to his and Alina's bags,digging through them like he was searching for something.
He then stood up,walking up to the group calmly and sighed.
"Where is it?"
"Where's what?" Izzy responded,a tinge of intrigue in her questioning voice. What the hell was Jacob talking about?
"My knife. Who used it and where did you last put it?"
Jacob tried his best to sound calm and polite,but it was increasingly obvious the blonde was stressed,if not angry.
"I dunno." Izzy shrugged,genuine confusion running through her.
"We can help you look?"
"Or you could just ask him."
Izzy followed Jacob's angry gaze,watching it land on none other than Aiden.
Woah,wait.
Did he think that Aiden... took something from him? Come on now,this guy would never...
"Fuck no! I'd never do that!" Aiden jumped to defend himself,standing up.
'Sit down,dumbass...' Izzy bit her bottom lip,sharing worried looks with Alina.
"You'd better sit down,ginge." Jacob walked closer to Aiden,towering above him.
Aiden stood up a little too quick, the spinning head adding to his sudden shock and confusion. For some reason, embarrassment too? This weird little stranger was on a knife hunt, with him as suspect number one, and yet as he stood with his chest puffing in front of him? He couldn't help but feel his face warm.
"S-uh, fuck-" he stammered, faltering as he tried to step back.
He took a breath, holding his hands out in a defensive confusion.
"You-you- what makes you think I took it?!" Aiden finally managed to muster out a sentence in defence.
He was kinda scared,but had to defend himself.
"You're the last fucking dude to go to sleep last night!" Jacob grit his teeth,fist clenched. He was trying really hard not to lose it in front of Alina.
"Baik!" (Stop!)
Alina stood between Jacob and Aiden,muttering something to her blonde friend.
Jacob sighed, taking a step back.
"Sorry,man." He lifted his hands up and turned around,marching off to disassemble his and Alina's tents.
"...what's going on?" Izzy spoke up,confused by everything that just transpired before her eyes.
Aiden just sat down and sighed,his hand on his forehead. What the fuck...
Was this his fault? Did he actually do it? Or?
Sigh...
Alina sat back down with the two and smiled awkwardly.
"Hey,sorry about him... he's got bad trust issues. He probably just lost it."
She sighed.
"It was nice to meet you,but now it's best we split up. We're hiking anyway."
