"Uh, hey? Can we talk?"(O/O) (OPEN)

"Well, that's good… I guess…?" she asked hesitantly.

"You're supposed to laugh," he replied halfly.

"Oh," she said, laughing genuinely. "S-Sorry."

He shrugged. "Can we go explore, then?"

"S-Sure," she said shyly.

(… Letter of the day: S)

Lmao )

He slung a backpack over his shoulders, and they were off.

She followed him quickly.

Atlas trekked down a softly steeping hill, feet crunching the dry leaf layer.

Kallie hurried after him so she didn't get lost.

Atlas pushed his feet past swaying stalks of umbrella-like mayapples, oaks and birch trees creating their shade cover.

Every so often, Mariah would reach out and tickle Kallie's ear, but it was quiet and still other than that.

Atlas reached the edge of a steep dropoff, that sloped down into cleavaged creeks and watery ditches. "Ah.." He breathed out slowly. She could tell this place was his escape. Places like these: the woods.

She looked down and took slow steps away from the edge. "It's beautiful…"

"Mhm.." He breathed in deep.

She did her best to not look down and savor what he saw.

"Vamonos?"

She looked over at him. "Okay."

He pulled off his backpack, and fished out a rope.

"Fishing?" she asked curiously.

"This is how we're gonna scale this hill," he replied, tying one end around a strong tree.

(Oh God I read that wrong, I'm so tired…)

"Oh…" she said quietly.

"Nervous?"

"A little," she admitted quietly. Mariah blew the hair off the back of her neck.

"It's nothing dangerous. Do you want gloves so you dont get rope burn?"

"Yes, please," she said.

He handed the backpack to her.

She took it and looked through. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Mhm," he grunted back.

"I'm ready now, I think," she said, gripping the rope with her gloved hands.

Atlas went down first, palms gripping the rope. She saw his muscles flex with every grasp and shuffle down, and every backwards glance to make sure she was fine.