Eternal Flame

~12~

"Hugo," Trevor said as he approached the camp site.

"Hmm?" Hugo looked up from the small book he'd been reading and snapped it shut as Trevor walked up to him. 

"Did you know a river troll lives in the woods?"

A wide smile spread Hugo's lips. "Ah, Edgar. I assume you've had the pleasure of meeting him?"

"I wouldn't call it a pleasure, but yes, I met him earlier." 

"I thought he wouldn't come out, given how secretive river trolls, or any trolls, are. But he must've seen you with me, so he assumed you were safe."

"Why are trolls so secretive?"

Hugo shrugged. "It's just in their nature. No one really knows why."

"Has he been here long?"

"A very long time. Way before Lupe's mother blessed this waterfall."

"How long?"

"Probably about four hundred years."

Trevor's mouth fell open. "Four hundred?"

Hugo chuckled.

Trevor slowly shook his head. "I read a little about river trolls, but I don't remember them being immortal."

"They're not immortal. They will eventually die like us, but they can live for a very, very long time."

Trevor whistled softly. "Apparently." 

Hugo clapped him on the shoulder. "Edgar is a good person. He may be a bit eccentric and sometimes overbearing, but he's someone you can trust and will want on your side."

He changed topics. "The others are already back, so let's go ahead and eat breakfast."

Trevor sat beside Tara as they ate. They all talked amongst themselves as they ate, laughing and teasing each other. He felt himself beginning to relax around Kat, Lupe, and Savannah. Now that Lupe was acting normal and not sleepwalking and sending him through the air, he liked to be around her with her bubbly personality.

He noticed that he kept looking over at Savannah. He looked away quickly each time, and a few times they briefly made eye contact. He mentally kicked himself, knowing she must think he was a creep. He kept telling himself not to so much as glance in her direction, but his eyes kept going back to her.

He glanced over at her again. She looked over at him and they made eye contact. This time, he couldn't look away. He gazed into her eyes, deep pools of gray that lulled him into a trance. He felt a pull to her, something telling him to walk over to her, to be near her.

He actually felt himself start to lean in her direction when Lupe said Savannah's name, causing her to look over at her sister, breaking eye contact. The sudden trance gone, Trevor shook his head slightly, berating himself for being such an idiot. Damn, but there was something about Savannah that intrigued him. He couldn't deny it. 

But he also couldn't deny he hadn't known the she-wolf for very long, that this was not the time nor the place to start anything, and it would be wildly inappropriate if anything were to start. No, it'd be too weird for everyone. Survival should be his top priority, not the she-wolf, no matter how gorgeous she was.

Trevor was helping the others put out the fire when Kat said, "Hey, Hugo, do you remember that one time you brought us here, how we went swimming in the pond?"