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It was so silent. Jamie crept along the tree line, feet barley an imprint in the damp earth. He kept his back to the trees, pressing up against them to wait and listen for a moment before continuing. He smelt the rain, felt it collecting in the sky and the clouds kept him covered in needed shade.
Somewhere far from eye's reach, something disturbed the foliage in a rush. It was too clumsy to be anything but an animal, but he kept still. He waited, crouched low with his knees skimming the bushes as his eyes looked carefully out from his hiding place. It was when he felt the first drops of rain atop the crown of his head, that he moved slowly on.
The droplets slipped down his neck to wet the collar of his shirt, flattening it to his skin and dampening his back. His hair lay flat against his scalp and he could feel it becoming heavy with water, running a hand over it to keep it away from his sight. The rainfall made it harder to hear, ears prickling as he darted silently over a thin, overflowing stream.
He was quick but not as fast as he could be, keeping a sharp glance around before he came upon the roots of a craggy slope. The rock face was smooth and mossy, and it was one he recognised. He sniffed the air and slowed again, wary with his next steps. It was when a blonde tangle of hair fell into his eyes, clear raindrop clinging to the end of it, that Jamie finally pulled back to himself.
He was sitting balanced on the thick arm of a tree, his back to the bark and sopping wet with rain. He moved in an instant, leaping down from his perch and hitting the earth running. He sprinted through the forest and was soon following the trail he had spied through different eyes, vaulting over the same stream with footfalls as light as the ones he hunted.
Jamie passed the familiar, mossy rock face and was upon Carlisle's heels at a bend in the natural path. They raced, Jamie trying to get close enough to trip him while Carlisle pulled tricks to keep ahead. The rain lashed against their faces, blinding Jamie as he followed Carlisle up the beginnings of a steep hill.
The air was knocked from his lungs as Carlisle barrelled into him. He hadn't seen him turn around, the weather used against him and when they fell to the earth, he was instantly pinned into place. The body above him shielded him from the downpour, so he could look up to see Carlisle with a small, teasing grin of triumph on his face.
They were chest to chest, soaking each other's already dripping clothes. Jamie tried to kick Carlisle off, writhing in the dirt but Carlisle kept an iron hold on him. He soon relented, yielding with an irritated twist of the lips. Carlisle laughed, lifting himself up to his feet and standing with his back to the rain. "You're getting much better," he appraised as he held out a hand to Jamie, hauling him up from the ground. "You found me in quicker time than usual."
