Artenah

I - A Walk In the Woods

He walks through the quiet streets of his hometown. It's been a few years since he met Liam in that house, and after realizing the other wasn't a threat, they became friends. 

Justin thought it was crazy another kid had almost the same home life as he did in this town. It was a rare occurrence to find not one but two runaway kids together on the streets of some small Oregon town. They'd planned on meeting up that night, but neither had specified a time, so Justin assumed dusk. 

So there he was, on his way to the house on 5th. This time, though, instead of the usual I'm-going-to-just-sneak-out-tonight night, Justin and his aunt had gotten into a fight. He couldn't remember what it was about, but he didn't care-- in a fit of rage he had left the house, not caring about whether he slammed the door or not. He couldn't remember if he'd shut it at all. 

He didn't grab anything before leaving, either. 

He didn't know whether or not they'd sent a search party out yet or not. He didn't want to risk it, so he cut through the woods in order to get to his destination. All he had for light was the setting sun, and after half an hour, he'd be in total darkness. He hoped he knew the woods well enough, the paranoia of finding someone other than Liam terrified him. 

Walking through dense woods with nothing to protect him... it was odd. He was more on edge than he'd ever been, but oddly felt more connected with nature than ever. He wanted to stop and look around, to admire the ecosystem, but he knew he was in a time crunch and couldn't. He told himself he'd do it in the morning. Justin tried to catch his breath, but he was still a bit pissed-- he just couldn't. He kept his head up and looked ahead, hoping he was moving in the right direction. 

He walks until he sees the familiar trees that surround his home. 

He noticed Liam at the back of the house and waved at him, getting a small wave back. Justin walked a bit faster toward him, the sun was over the horizon and dusk was just seconds from turning into night. At least Liam had resources they could use. 

"What's got you here so winded... and with literally nothing?" Liam asked when Justin finally caught his breath. 

"Got into a fight and just left." 

Liam nodded, understanding. He knew of his friend's home life and anger issues and how he could sometimes act without thinking. 

"It's nice tonight. Do you want to stargaze later?" Justin asked. 

"Sure. Let's see if they've got anything new on that planet. They're starting to update weekly so it's getting more and more interesting!"

Justin smiled. "Awesome. How long have you been here, by the way?"

"Not that long. Like, 10 minutes I think." 

"Okay. I hate to keep you waiting." He chuckled nervously. He'd finally calmed down from that fight and was more relaxed now, like he usually was with Liam. 

"Nah, you're good. I made a friend. A little squirrel came up to me, so I gave it a few nuts and it left. I was surprised it wasn't scared, it showed no signs at all. Guess I'm not a threat to nature, huh?" Liam rambled. Justin liked to hear Liam talk, he didn't know why-- maybe all those years of self-isolation, then meeting Liam, who was way more social than he was. 

The sun was long set now and the stars lit up the sky. The two made their way up to the flat part of the roof of their home; Liam set up the telescope he kept hidden there. Justin pointed out constellations. 

Eventually, the two laid on their backs, looking up at the stars. They talked quietly, as if their voices would disturb the beauty of the night sky. Eventually, they both drifted to sleep. 

When Justin woke, he noticed Liam already took the telescope down and hid it again. He was climbing back onto the roof to put his bag inside, and stopped when he saw Justin awake. 

"Ah... did I wake you?" 

"No, no... inner clock did. It's what, 7:30?" 

"Close enough, honestly." Liam grabbed his bag and started for the ground again. "Come on, you're drenched with dew." 

Justin looked at himself, seeing and feeling his soaked clothes. "Oh- okay. Awesome..." 

He didn't really want to go back to his house to change, so he decided he'd just leave it. It was uncomfortable, but less uncomfortable than showing up out of the blue and just leaving again. He got up, shook his head, and called it good. 

"I was thinking about walking the trail today." Justin said when he got inside the house. 

"Heyyy, great minds think alike! I was about to ask you the same thing." 

Justin grinned. 

oOo

He traced the moss with his hands carefully while Liam watched the wildlife. He looked up and down the tree, seeing the dewdrops in their full, it was a beautiful sight. Small mushrooms grew from the ground and bark. He took all of it in. The two continued to venture, taking both mental and written notes of the woods. 

Liam hoisted his small bag off his shoulder, digging through it and pulling out a reference book. "I forgot I had this. Coincidence, or maybe fate knew we'd be out in the forest today." He said, looking at Justin. 

Justin smiled. "Guess so. Is that for all plants or just flowers?" 

"It's for most plants. There are poisonous ones, totally harmless ones, common ones, and even some rare plants in here." Liam beamed. He was always so proud to have books that give information, even if no one needed it. Most honestly didn't care, but he didn't really mind being called 'nerd'.

They kept going forward, admiring the beauty on the trail. Then Justin heard something he couldn't pinpoint. 

"What was that?" 

"What was what?" 

"That noise. I heard something..." His voice trailed off. He heard that sound again. He went toward it, to figure out whether or not it was safe, and found... flowers. 

Nothing but carnations out in the wild. 

Liam tilted his head. "Maybe you were hearing some bird." 

"Did you hear it?" Justin asked, looking back at his friend. 

"No, no I didn't. Wait, Justin-- it's not safe out in the woods at any time of day. We shouldn't go off the trail without protection." 

"We'll be fine. If there's a bear, you know the rules." He turned back to the flowers, walking toward them. "Besides, we wont be going too far off. Just a detour." 

Liam sighed, his friend was stubborn. Quickly, he caught up with Justin. "Okay, but don't cry to me if you get hurt." 

Justin giggled, "We wont get hurt, I know what I'm doing. I don't know how I know what I'm doing, but I do. Follow me." 

Liam obliged, following Justin through the unfamiliar parts of the woods. To both of their surprise, Justin seemed to know exactly where he was going, even though he'd never been in this part before. 

Justin heard the sound again; this time it was closer. He continued to carefully make his way through the dense trees, eventually coming across a pond. The pond wasn't too small, and there were lily pads and lotus flowers and all sorts of insects and reptiles residing there. Another pretty sight-- perfect for painting, Justin thought. 

"Woah..." Liam was in awe of the area, the green grass and the crystal clear water; the way no animals seemed to be started nor the wildlife disturbed. It was almost high noon, with the clouds perfectly stationary-- the wind was soft, and Liam thought that if you'd listen hard enough you'd be able to hear a song. 

Justin was equally amazed. He had no idea how he'd found this-- he'd just let his intuition take over, allowing his gut to lead him through the forest. He sat down on the grass, taking it all in. Liam sat next to him, setting his bag down in-between them. 

"I wish I could take a picture." Justin said softly. 

"Me too..." Liam agreed, looking at the pond. The woods were always full of wonder, but no one had ever spoken of a refuge almost a mile into the woods. Had anyone dared to venture this far?