Journey Of Fate ~ mayakuro

•Expect the Unexpected•

When they finally made it to the park, Claudine was eager to get out of the car and stretch her legs. While it hadn't been as long as the drive from New York to Chicago, it was still an unpleasant amount of time to be cooped up in a tiny Toyota Corolla with a barely functioning heater. They had both had the unpleasant realization of that when the car refused to get any warmer after sitting out in the freezing Chicago wind all night. The first hour of the drive was not exactly the most pleasant experience. The vehicle did eventually warm up after a few hours, but it was definitely something that they needed to fix at the soonest opportunity. Claudine wasn't going to sit for several hours in an ice-box if she could help it. Unfortunately, it was still winter, so the outside the car was still colder than inside. At least the park was less windy than it was in Chicago.

The park was strikingly beautiful despite it being the dead of winter. The trees were bare, causing the environment to be a palette of whites, browns, and grays. Without the leaves of the trees to block the sun, the light shone down on the two of them, which was a welcomed occurrence to help combat some of the cold.

"Ready to go?" Claudine asked as Maya emerged from the vehicle.

"Yep," said the brunette as she looked up at the naked trees before striding forward towards the trail that lead into the forest. As Claudine followed her, her eyes trailed to the brunette's blue clad hands. Maya had, at some point before Claudine had awoken, gone out and bought her some gloves. While she did adore the orange wool mittens she'd been given, their warmth didn't quite compare to the warmth she felt when holding Maya's hand, but she wasn't going to ask to hold hands now with no excuse, especially after what had transpired last night. She didn't want to give away her feelings just yet, at least not in this way. As she followed Maya into the park, she picked up one of the map pamphlets that was sitting in a holder on the big sign displaying all the park had to offer.

"So, where should we go first?" The French woman asked. Maya stopped to look at the sign.

"Hmm, how about the... Ice Cave?"

"What's with you and ice?" Claudine asked, frowning. "Wasn't your experience in Lake Michigan enough?"

"Mmmm," hummed Maya, "Well, judging by how you were looking at me, I'd say that you also enjoy going on icy adventures with me." Claudine choked. She should've known better than to bring up the stupid lake, but she hadn't been thinking about the aftermath in that moment.

"Whatever," she huffed as she followed Maya's lead down the boardwalk that lead into the winter forest. "We can go to your stupid Ice Cave if you're so insistent. Y'know, I bet this is... a ploy for you to get to hold my hand again. You were the one who suggested doing that in the first place. Now that I have gloves, you are making us go to the especially cold cave so you can!" She needed a comeback, some way to get back at Maya for embarrassing her, and this seemed like it was a good one. After all, Maya had no idea that she secretly liked holding her hand! For all she knew, it was just for warmth!

"You say all this, but let me ask you this, ma Claudine," Maya tilted her head back to catch the blonde's eyes. "Why'd I buy you gloves if I wanted to hold your hand so badly?" Claudine scowled. Damn it, it kinda hurts. There was no way to respond to that one.

"Urgh, fine. You win this time, but I'm sure that there is some kind of secret motive..."

"Whatever you say, ma cherie." Claudine flushed. Damn Maya with her terms of endearment. Did she want to give her a heart attack? It was certainly working considering her heart rate had skyrocketed.

As the two continued into the forest, the boardwalk eventually ended, shifting over to a gravel pathway that weaved between the hardwood trees. More and more trees popped up as they traversed deeper in, but that was to be expected. What was somewhat surprising, however, was how well the barren trees were able to block out the sunlight. Without their leaves, Claudine figured that most of the sunlight should be able to get through and warm them, but this wasn't the case. The further they went, the darker it got. She chalked it up to the increasing number of trees, but there was still something a little unnerving about it. Even stranger was the sudden pick-up of the wind. When they were in the parking lot, there was not a single gust, which was greatly welcomed considering how damn cold it was. Now, however, the wind was continuously blowing. While the trees blocked most of it from hitting them dead-on, she could still hear it whistling through them above her. Perhaps the wind randomly decided to start blowing now, but Claudine still felt a bit on edge.