2019-06-15 - A Walk In The Woods

Despite the sun not having set yet it's dim beneath the canopy and with the grey skies above. It's raining lightly, but very few of the drops actually make it down to the forest floor. It smells good - everything is fresh and with a certain dampness that screams out 'spring time!'. The forest is dense, and while the trail was easily visible when Eli and Genevieve had first entered the woods it vanished several times along the way, only to reappear underfoot. No doubt it would be easy to get lost in here if one didn't know exactly where they were going.

That said, Eli has spent as much time in these woods as anyone. He's in no rush, but he moves confidently along the path. It's clear he's more comfortable here. He was reserved once again when he and Genevieve made their way here, but with the familiar surroundings the tension had faded. He even has a bit of a bounce to his steps. "If you see something you want to dig at just tell me to stop. Most of the plat life looks about the same to me."

Hiking boots. Check. Mace? Hidden in the back pocket of her jeans, just in case. She has a spade on her belt as well, a small one, in case she finds something she wants to keep. "No problem." Genevieve murmurs, her eyes scanning the forest floor as they hike. She is dressed in a loose sweatshirt and a pair of dark denim jeans, her long brown hair tired back into a pony tail. "How often do you come walking out here?" She asks, pushing a branch out of the way before it can slap her in the face.

In the distance something moves in the greenery, probably a deer or some other harmless wild animal, but if it's a bear, she has mace. Make it angrier, that's the ticket. Every so often she pauses to kneel and check out a flower in greater detail, once or twice she snaps a picture with her cell phone.

"It depends. More often in the nicer weather. A couple times a month at worst. Sometimes a couple times a week." Eli says, pausing and leaning against a tree when Genevieve stops to consider some of the plant life. "I used to come out here all the time when I was younger. Sometimes every day. Despite my mother telling me no end of horrible stories about things that had happened out here. It used to be called Hangman Woods and had a pretty sketchy reputation. Can't say I've ever run into monsters or murderers out here." He unsnaps a water canteen that he has clipped to his belt and takes a drink. He dressed for the event too - sturdy boots and well worn blue jeans as well as a hooded sweater.

"I'm always walking somewhere. I find it helps me think. I like it out here, but plenty of other places around town to wander as well."

Genevieve slants a wary look up at Eli. "Hangman woods? Oh, ça n'a pas l'air effrayant du tout." She snaps another picture of the plant, pushing to her feet. "Maybe the monsters and murderers were more afraid of you." She posits, aiming a smile in Eli's direction as she drifts closer to him. She shoves her phone back into her pocket and nods. "It's a lot quieter out here than it is in town, but part of the reason that it's quiet is because people think bad things happen."

She steps around him, offering a brief grin as she picks up the trail, walking slowly with her eyes on the various mosses and mushrooms on the ground. "One of my favorite places in town so far is the book store, I may need to stop back there soon."

"I like the bookstore myself. And the library. I've loved stories my entire life. I must admit that sometimes I wander through these woods and just get lost in another time and place, become someone else entirely. I've never viewed myself as much of an intrepid adventurer, but I can't get enough of living it through the eyes of others." Eli says, his voice quiet, but it carries easily in the woods. Everything is muffled from the canopy above and the deadfall on the ground beneath them.

"It gets busier out here in the summer. It's big enough that you don't really notice, but occasionally you'll run into someone else. Every year people get lost out here as well, but they're usually found before long. Some people don't practice the buddy system."

"Losing yourself in a story doesn't seem so bad." Genevieve says, turning to give Eli a look, smirking as she shrugs a shoulder. "I don't know if I'd phrase it like that, people might talk." She looks like she wants to laugh, but manages to keep a straight face. "Have you ever considered cosplay as an outlet? You might look okay dressed for adventure." She pauses near some mushrooms, kneeling down next to them. "These are morel mushrooms." A smile lights up her face, as she picks two, placing them in a small linen sack. "They're very good in a few recipes." She ties the sack to her belt loop, turning to join Eli again.

"When the tourists pour in, I'll find something else to do instead of stumbling around out here." She says, pushing aside another branch. "More people should be a proponent to the buddy system, so far it hasn't been that bad." She gestures for Eli to go ahead. "Ever seen any bears out here?"

"Hadn't really considered it. A lot of those thematic outfits are a lot tighter than what I wear on the day to day. I might start getting different kinds of attention." Eli says, tucking a glance over his shoulder toward Genevieve and accenting it with a quick grin. Then he pushes onwards. "It has been quite awhile since I walked with anyone else out here. I have to admit that I wasn't certain about the buddy idea when it first was discussed yesterday afternoon, but it's really growing on me. I guess the trick is having the right buddy." He slows when she discovers the mushroom, nodding to her explanation, watching her. "No bears. I try not to be too quiet when I walk - if they're out here they're likely long gone before I get anywhere close. They mostly want nothing to do with us unless you catch them at a bad time. You do much of this back home? I don't know how Georgia is for nature hikes."

"Come on now, you wouldn't like that kind of attention?" Genevieve looks a little skeptical, eyebrows raised as a stifled grin attempts to quirk the corners of her lips. "Well the buddy system keeps us both safe, even if you do this all the time, it only takes that one time for something bad to happen." She does smile though, stepping over a rock to get back on the trail. "We take trips every so often, when we were up near Atlanta we stopped at Stone Mountain to go hiking. There are a lot of places where you can learn about the Civil War there." She wrinkles her nose and shrugs. "I think you can find a decent hike anywhere if you try hard enough, just depends on if you want trees or not." She furrows her brow, slowing down to walk beside Eli. "What are some of the best stories you've heard about these woods?"

"I just don't want everyone to be distracted. I want them to like me for who I am, not how I look in tights." Eli delivers this with a perfectly straight face, the only indication of his amusement is in his eyes - they almost seem to be laughing while the rest of his expression is still. A decent sized branch has fallen across the path ahead and he takes a couple steps forward and starts to drag it off to the side, glancing back toward Genevieve. "You want to hear spooky stories while you're out here in they middle of the woods? I've heard so many and I'm sure some of them have some basis in fact, but most of it is just bullshit."

"There is a big tree. We'll likely walk by it. And if you look at it right it looks like it has a bit of a face on the trunk. My mother told me the story of a boy who came out here and got himself lost. He wandered for days and was hungry and out of water. He collapsed against the tree and he was approached by a woman. He could hardly look at her she was so bright and he shielded his eyes, kneeling down to beg her for help. She wrapped him in her arms and he cried - 'I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Please. I don't want to die.' She bright woman soothed him and he calmed. She asked the boy if he desired her help, if he desired to live now and for hundreds of years beyond. 'Yes, yes, I want to live!' And so she lifted him from the ground and kissed him on both cheeks and then pushed him backwards. Well, he had time to realize what was happening as the bark of the tree began to wrap around him and surrounds his arms and legs and he screamed." Eli returns to the path once the branch is gone and continues leading the way again. "Still screaming, my mother said. You can see it in the way the 'face' is set in the tree. He's still there. He'll outlive us all."

Genevieve moves to help Eli with the large branch, lifting the lighter end to help him cart it off the path. "I can completely understand that. It's always nice when someone values you for the things that matter. Looks fade eventually." She laughs and nods at him. "What is the worst that could happen? If you tell me the story here, it'll give a bit of a thrill to the walk, won't it?" She glances at Eli, trying hard not to grin. "Something comes for us, I only have to run faster than you do."

She listens to the story, pausing once to step off the path and gather a handful of berries. A frown is on her face when he finishes the story. "Be careful what you ask for. Be careful what you beg for, Il va revenir et te mordre le cul." She holds out her hand, a few berries loose in her palm. "Want one?" There is a bit of berry staining her lip, how ladylike.

"Truth was likely a lot less dramatic. A boy did get lost in the woods a few years before and they didn't find him. Some decent ravines deeper in the woods that can sneak up on you. More likely he fell down into one and no one ever found him." Eli adds, his lips pushing into a quick grin at Genevieve's assessment of the story. He watches while she picks up the berries, nodding at her offer and reaching out a hand to take a few from her palm. His eyes are on the stained lips and he actually reaches out his other hand toward her face, but stops shy of touching - likely wouldn't get that off with just a thumb anyway. "Ah, you're a bit blue in the face." He informs her, before dropping his share of the berries into his own mouth.

"The truth is always less dramatic. That's why it's the truth and not a story." Genevieve rolls her eyes at Eli, taking a step closer when he agrees to some berries. She is about to drop them in his palm when her reaches out for them, so it's lucky that they don't end up on the forest floor. She glances up, making eye contact with him as he reaches out toward her face. She doesn't move, her eyes going slightly crossed as the hand gets closer, a wry grin on her lips. "Oh uh.. thanks." She frowns, this isn't exactly the kind of trip you bring napkins on, settling for opening her water bottle and pouring some on her thumb so she can scrub at her bottom lip. "So, you still want to help me clean and unpack some boxes in the shop?"

"Of course. I wouldn't offer one day and change my mind the next." Eli says, taking a few steps away to let Genevieve scrub her face without him staring directly at her. "Besides, I've been thinking about eating pizza since last night. This is a pretty good excuse to do just that." He looks up into the canopy, trying to see the sky beyond to get a feel for how dark it is getting. "We should likely start to weave our way back. I was going to take you down to the saw mill, but likely best not to go there in the dark. Besides being haunted it's rough terrain and I didn't bring a flash light. I'll just have to convince you to come out here with me another day?"

"You seem unsure sometimes about having company. I wanted to give you the opportunity to back out, without making you feel bad about it." Genevieve didn't get the juice off, but it's lighter when she moves to follow Eli. "I'm craving a nice big pie with pepperoni, sausage and green peppers." She hops a few times, bouncing happily before she starts walking like a normal grown woman again. Her eyebrows raise at the mention of the saw mill. "I've heard some stories, yes, I don't think it's a good idea in the dark. Let's make sure when we come it's bright outside, and we bring flashlights anyway." She bumps her shoulder against him as they walk along the trail, laughing merrily. "See, here I am giving you an out, and there you are offering me one too. Aren't we a pair? We both think we're gonna not want each others company." She clears her throat, attempting to dampen the smile on her face. "What do you like on your pizza?"

"I am unsure. But, I don't want to back out. I think that would be about the worst thing I could do." Eli seems like he might say more on that line of thinking, but then perhaps decides better of it. He purposefully chooses a trail - not turning around from where they had come from, but he seems to know where he is going. "You've heard stories about the saw mill? It seems to have hundreds of tales and the old ones get weirder every year. I don't go there all that often, but you can't really live here without visiting it. Type of place that just gives you goosebumps just being there."

The path is broad enough here that they can walk side by side, so Eli eases back to take that place beside his companion. "Your selection sounds good. Mushroom I like. Onion. Pretty much any meat you want to put on there. Put me in the camp that doesn't appreciate fruit on my pizza, though. No pineapple for this one."

"The worst thing you could do?" Genevieve looks intrigued by this, her blue eyes shifting up to Eli's face. "I don't know you well, so I'm unsure too, but after last evening.." She sighs and rolls her shoulders as she shrugs. "..it's hard to imagine you being a bad person." She keeps her stride equal with him, even going so far as to dart ahead a little to pirouette around him with a laugh. "I heard stories about it the last time I was in town, and again when I returned. It's a bad place, a place with.. something heavy hanging around it. I've been tempted to visit it a few times, but it never felt right. Perhaps it will be better with company?"

"I like mushrooms in very selective environments, pizza isn't one of them. Onion I can handle, maybe we can get half and half, decorate your side with fungus." She pats the bag on her belt loop. "These will go with a nice thick steak and a baked potato. If you've never had morel, you're going to have to come over when I use it, because it's pretty amazing if done right." She snickers softly, nodding her agreement on the pineapple issue. "It ruins the taste. Nope. Not something I like either."

"I don't think I'm a bad person. I likely have some distance to go to be a good one, however. Usually we're hardest on ourselves, though. I don't often let people in close enough to pass judgement, but I'm willing to try." Eli smiles when Genevieve dances around, shaking his head. "I just think about things too much, you know? Sometimes it's just better to feel your way through a situation and instead I'm holding myself back and asking too many questions. I do plan to help you with your unpacking and we'll arrange to go see the mill soon. Maybe between all of that I can take you to dinner somewhere in town. And until you tell me otherwise I'll stop trying to convince myself that you'd rather be anywhere else."

He lets out a slow breath, as if that was all a challenge to get out. But, he looks lighter for doing it. "And I don't need mushrooms, your combination sounded pretty good to me. Let's go fungus free tonight and I'll hold off for steak night to get my mushroom fix. Speaking of which - how is it you got so into plants? Something you studied?"

"So you mean that you're human?" Genevieve says quietly, quirking a brow as she glances aside at Eli. "If you're extending that invitation to me, I might have to do the same in return. It would be rude otherwise, wouldn't it?" She brushes some loose curls behind her ears, kicking at a stone as the edge of the forest comes into sight. "If you get into the habit of overthinking, it's hard to get out of it. Caution has probably saved you a lot of headaches over the years. I know it's saved me a lot." She folds her arms loosely over her chest, aiming a smile toward Eli. "Are you asking me out on a date?" She asks, holding out a hand to stop him from walking further. It seems she wants to look at him when he answers this question. "It's a very long story, I'll tell you over the pizza, now answer my question." Bossy little thing sometimes.

Eli has a very strong 'deer in the headlights' expression on his face when Genevieve holds up her hand to halt him and asks him that question. It takes a few seconds before he remembers to breath again and tries to let his body relax. Remember, Eli - more feel, less think. "Yes. Yes, I am." He finally replies after much too long. At least the words are certain when he does, no half measures with that particular reply. Blue eyes search her face to see what she takes from that reply. "Would you be interested in going on a date?" He appends, making the request a bit more formal than a casually dropped dinner invitation. He's tense, as though he's ready to bolt at any moment.

Genevieve is reaching to reassure him before he responds to her question, a slender hand gently rubbing on his arm to calm him. When he answers, a bright smile lights up her features, and she visibly perks up. She keeps eye contact with him, even as she answers. "I would like to go on a date with you very much." She responds, and then she leans in, adding quietly. "Take a deep breath, Eli. Then maybe take another one, okay?" She considers that standing here, facing each other might be contributing to some of the nerves, so she loops an arm around his and starts to lead him down the remainder of the trail, stepping out into the remainder of daylight. "I'm glad that you did that, because I would have absolutely tripped over my words, or a rock on the ground and where would we be then?"

He does breath and much of the tension escapes him when Genevieve moves to his side. Eli certainly doesn't seem to mind the arm looped into his and he tugs her an inch in his direction to make the pose a little easier while they walk, bodies bumping together occasionally as they do when you're looped arm and arm and looking for excuses to be close. "I was pretty sure you'd agree, because you wouldn't have asked it that way had you not been agreeable, but ... " He trails off, perhaps realizing that analyzing it out loud isn't really a thing that one does. Instead he just squeezes her arm again and continues back toward the city.

Quiet laughter escapes Genevieve as Eli tugs her closer. ".. but you were still nervous." She finishes that sentence for him, patting his arm with her free hand. Lightning bugs start to come alive around them, the near dark drawing them out from wherever they're hiding during the day. "It would have taken me weeks to manage what you did today, we both overanalyze things, and I'm probably more of a coward than you are." She squints up at the sky as it starts to spit down at them. "You know, this weather is wonderful for planting. Not quite for walking when you're not in a dense forest. We're probably going to be a little damp once we get to my place. Good news? It will make the pizza taste twice as good, and that is a scientific fact."

"I find that hard to believe, Genevieve. Maybe you overanalyze things, but you still seem decisive. I feel like if you wanted something you'd manage a way to get it. And you're confident in what you say. At least outwardly. And I mean that in a good way - if it was too much I think you would have bowled me over, but quietly confident." It sounds like all of this had been bouncing around in Eli's head and now it's all coming out as words that more or less make sense. He turns his face up to allow some of the drops to fall square onto his skin, smiling at her words. "When you live here you get used to being a little bit damp a lot of the time. I can't be bothered to always carry an umbrella, so this is often the result. It's not so bad. And the pizza will taste very good - nice after the exercise and warm against the damp. Science is seldom wrong."

"Well, with you.. a lot of it is this.." Genevieve taps her temple, smiling up at Eli's face. "I'm not imposing or anything, but you wear your heart on your sleeve, even when you're overthinking." She averts her eyes then, sticking her tongue out so she can taste the light drizzle falling from the sky. They're moving toward Elm now, and she winces as she looks around. "Oh.." She pulls her phone from her pocket, tapping on the screen to pull up the number to the pizza place. She taps the screen and bumps Eli before she holds it up to her ear. "Yeah, I'd like to order a pizza for pick up please? Yeah. Pepperoni, sausage and green pepper. Sure, yeah. Okay. Mhmm. Thanks!" She taps the screen with her thumb and shove it back into her pocket. "Hope you like iced tea and lemonade, apparently that's a thing, and I ordered some to drink with the pizza."

"I don't mind it." Eli admits, having turned to his own thoughts for a time while Genevieve dealt with ordering the pizza. "You know how you were saying yesterday that the sun has to break through the darkness sometimes? It really feels that way today. I don't think I realized quite how much I needed a little light. It's like the frog who doesn't hop out of the slowly heating water. It gets a little darker and a little more and you don't so much notice that you're entirely surrounded by it." He muses, keeping an easy pace as they return to civilization. "What are you planning to call your weed wagon?" He asks, that sharp grin of his turned toward her for a moment.

"I'm glad you don't mind it, it's comforting knowing you're there, at least for me." Genevieve pulls Eli down the side alley, nearing the old building where her apartment and shop are. "I was hoping you might start thinking that way when I offered you my hand, I don't think it's a bad thing to need someone. We all need people." She unlocks the front door, pushing it open so that Eli can walk in before her. "Bud and Buds. I'll have weed here, but there will also be plants that people can purchase. Succulents like aloe for burns and things, other medicinal plants that people can use in tea and the like." She meets that grin, her gaze resting on his face. "I'm glad you're stepping out of the dark, Eli. I think the light is a lot better for you."