A Tobelaide tale!

Serenade

Soon they were beginning to hike through the forest. Surprisingly, it was Adelaide who was infront this time.
Their feet crunched through leaves, snapped sticks and dented the ground as they gained distance from their original camping spot.

Adelaide watched the scenery pass by as she walked.
Toby, however, watched Adelaide as they walked.
Or rather the back of her.
Just the way she was so carefree, the way she walked and giggled and jumped about at lively intervals.
He had to admit it, any one would be a fool not to love her.

As they tread on, further into the darker parts of the forest they began to tilt more towards the ground as they went more uphill.
Adelaide chatted away to Toby the whole way, only stopping to turn around to see him trudging along so far behind her.

They walked passed many lagoons and puddles, remembering both of them of earlier that morning.
Adelaide didn't really know what to think of it; Toby had always been a friend to her, a best friend.
She slowly began to get quieter as she walked.
Soon it was only the rustling leaves and snapping sticks who were talking.

"Hey Adelaide."
Toby shouted up to her from the bottom of the ditch he was trying to climb which Adelaide had just jumped across.
"Yeah?" She turned around, giggling when his foot slipped and he fell in the bottom of the ditch again.
"Could use,"
he paused, bending over to catch his breath.
"A little help."

Adelaide rolled her eyes and then threw her rucksack on the floor to get the rope out.
She secured it around a nearby rock and then threw it down to Toby.
It was ridiculous really; the ditch was only 1 or 2 metres below ground and he could not even climb out of it.
He was probably even as Tall as the ditch or could at least grab the edge of it with his hands if he stretched.

Toby held onto the rope and began to scale the clump of mud before him, putting his feet on various protruding tree roots and pushing himself up.
When he got to the top he was completely out of breath.
Adelaide was just sitting there cross legged laughing at him and eating an apple.
"Did you have fun there?"
Adelaide asked, mocking him and seeing him hanging over the edge, panting.
She threw all these random things back in her bag, tightening the cord around the bag.

"Yeah, just mastering my climbing talents."
Toby replied sarcastically, heaving his body over the edge and collapsing on the floor beside Adelaide.
Adelaide brought out her speaker and put 'thinking out loud by Ed Sheeran' on.
"Of course."
Adelaide replied after shoving her bag back on her back.
Toby stared up at the sky, completely breathless and exhausted.

It was getting dark..

They settled down by the river as night settled across the forest.
Birds began to stop tweeting and owls began hooting.
Adelaide piled up a bunch of sticks surrounded by stones and added a few small sticks in between the larger ones to make a fire.
Toby tackled the challenge of putting the tents up; he had told Adelaide he could do this easily but of course he couldn't.

He was currently sitting under the large tent, the shape of his body just appearing in a silhouette of tent material.
He had instructions where he sat, wrapped up in what was meant to look something like a small room.
He'd been sitting there for quite a while and the sad truth was: he hadn't been sitting there studying the instructions, but trying and failing to find his way out..

"Toby?"
Adelaide asked from outside the tent, trying not to laugh too hysterically.
"Yeah?" His muffled reply came from within his 'nest'.
"Are you stuck?" Adelaide asked awkwardly, being careful  not to hurt Toby's pride.
"Stuck? Me? Pffftt... Noooo..." He said in denial, giving up and sitting cross legged in the centre of the mess he'd created.
There was silence and the rustling from Adelaide in reply.