2020-07-01 - Golden Days

The weather is gorgeous out. A warm, summer sun blazes in the sky. Small patches of fluffy white clouds scurry across the expansive blue. Of course in the woods you don't see as much of the sky, but the sunshine still filters in. Shafts of shimmering light piercing the cool dark below. Kailey has a backpack on and a small basket over one arm. A few chantrelle, early and a little small, rest in her basket. Despite being extremely round about the middle, she is moving well enough. Climbing over logs and the like as she hunts down mushrooms. And all the while she has been humming happily to herself.

Dubious. That's what Everett is. With a sly, knowing smirk he follows along. His large hands tucked into his back pockets unless he needs them to help climb, or more than likely, help Kailey. Which he's quick to offer. He didn't believe her. Not even after the first couple were plucked, that much is obvious and though the doubt has ebbed, it's still there. Taking someone to the woods means something else to him; to the world he's trying to leave behind.

Still, bending over a broken tree, resting his bare elbows on foamy green moss, Everett watches after as his chin rests in his fists from his back pockets. His leather jacket staple having made its way around his waist and tied poorly that he's had to adjust it, as he does soon after leaning on the tree. "So," rumbles his deep voice. "Is this where you'll shoot me and leave my body? 'Cuz the view, well. The view sucks."

Smack. He slaps his right forearm with a scowl.

Kailey's head comes up from where she is poking around at the base of a large pine. One brow is raised and she's giving him a smirk. "What? No!" She says with a shake of her head. Pigtails swaying and brushing her shoulders with the movement. Then she is turning to move along towards the next tree. "I really -did- wanna go mushroom hunting!" She calls back over her shoulder, stepping over a fallen log. Suddenly she gives a soft cry and for s econd it could be something of fear or pain. But then she is squatting with her basket and reaching to start pulling mushrooms off a trunk. An odd yellow and orange shelf-like fungus. "I told you to put on bug spray," She chides when she hears the slap. "Look! Chicken of the Woods!" She points at the mushroom she is picking.

"Little fucker," he murmurs under his breath as he pulls his hand back to peek at the crooked corpse attached to his arm. Turning his hand over, he flicks the carcass to fuel the next growth. His attention returns in her direction with the frown he saved for the biting bug still on his visage. "I'm pretty sure," he starts to say, his expression mellowing out as he up nods his head to indicate the area to their left, "that's the spot in 'Once Upon a Time in America' where the guy gets shot. Just sayin'."

With the cry, then continued conversation, Everett adjusts the leather arms of his jacket around his hips before vaulting, not particularly gracefully, over the lumber he had leaned on for a moment. While there's a little bit of concern in his tone, it isn't overbearing. "You ok? One of these blood-suckers get you? They're horse needles with wings," he adds, focusing his attention upwards into the air and swiping his palm to wave the Pacific North West national native bird flock away. He's not particularly in a hurry to approach; her hunting hasn't been all that fast. "Besides, I don't like the way that goop smells," he says, and then quickly adds, "Uh, except on you," and beams. Proud of his smooth move.

Kailey rolls her eyes. "I use essential oils, not that toxic stuff. But I think you just don't like the smell of eucalyptus and citronella," She says with warm amusement. "The chemical stuff always gave me heacaches anyway. Oils smell -way- better, that's why you like how it smells on me." Picking the delicacy off the oak tree and slipping it into her basket. "Wow...I didn't think I'd find any of this." She adds to herself, smiling just a little more as she breaks off a biggish piece and turns it over in her hands. "Have you ever had this?" She asks, glancing up and waving the fan-like fungi at him. Before it is tucked back into her basket with the rest. Up in a tree a white crows caws loudly. It's red eyes staring at the two people below.

"I'll use your essential oils," he murmurs out of the corner of his mouth, and adds without a pause, "and don't call me chicken." This he accents with a proud to Kailey's left hip with a forefinger. As his hands go back to adjusting his jacket once again, he peers into the basket and smirks. There's thought there, forming, being made polite for her. "You know. You could probably get all this in the store."

SLAP!

"Fucker. Without the bugs." Another flick, another corpse, his attention returns down to her. "I like the way you smell just fine." He pauses a second to think about that and then opens his mouth to draw a long breath and pauses a tic more. "That sounded wrong. You know what I mean, Jellybean." When she turns the fungi over in her hands to show him, he purses his lips and nods his head to the affirmitive, "Oh sure. I've had mushrooms on pizza plenty."

Kailey pauses and gives Everett one of those long, semi-incredulous looks. One brow quirks and after a second she says, "Yeah...you might find chantrelle's, but not so much morels or chicken of the woods." She starts out sounding a little annoyed. But then she sighs and stands, her collection from the tree done. "And wild found are always tastier. And not the kind you usually put on pizza," She adds.

From her pocket she draws a small glass spray bottle. It's label hand-written to say Bug Spray (eucalyptus, citronella, and lemongrass oils). This she holds out to him after taking off the top and reapplying it to her own kneck and body. It suddenly smells like citrus and eucalyptus. "Make sure you apply it on your clothes too." Another loud series of caws comes from the crow.

"Stop calling me a chicken," he replies. Again. Albeit this time with more of a wider smirk than before. "Tastier. Deadlier. I'm sure you know what you're doing, but I couldn't mushroom my way out of a brown paper bag. With mushrooms in it. But Lillian's busy, and the Ian doesn't need me at the store, and there's nothing good on television. So, of course, I would want to do nothing more than to go into haunted forest with animated trees and pick mold off tree bark with you." Everett smacks his lips a couple of times, to poorly cover his attempt at being silly while he looks down and flicks a blood-sucker from his green t-shirt before she finds a place thin enough on the too tight cover to penetrate and get his sweet, sweet Floridian blood.

Lifting his focus back down to Kailey, his brows have risen. "Are these magic mushrooms?" he asks with wonderment, stealing another peek into her basket, reassessing his enthusiasm. "I mean. Of course I wanted to be here to spend time with you. And carry heavy things; the only reasons you keep me around," he says while she replies her spray and he watches. The right corner of his mouth tugs with a light smile, "You sure I can't just rub myself on you and get it by transfer?" He holds out his hand for the bottle, and follows the instructions as given, with an extra spray in the middle to disburse a cloud in mid-aid, before he looks up, rather than mention the lack of machismo for out lasting tiny bugs. "Stupid bird. Eat more bugs!" he shouts, before offering the bottle back. "Here, thanks."

Kailey glances up at the bird and frowns ever so faintly. When he looks back at Everett it hasn't really faded either. "We can do if ya want..." She says as she takes back the bottle. Looking down as she caps it and slips it back into her bag. "Magic mushrooms? No. Just edible ones. Though...probably psyilocybin around here too," Kailey glances down at the ground, scanning it thoughtfully. Then she begins to walk off towards another oak tree. "Seriously, though, if you're not having fun we can go. I just wanted to get out and walk for awhile mainly. And it's been too long since I did any wild foraging."

"Oo. Far OUT, man!"
Campy, Everett drawls the often said phrase like he's trying to be a hippy, in answer to there being some trippy shrooms around. It makes him look around a little, but only a casual look. Greens, browns. Yeah, they're outdoors still, check. When she walks off for the next hunt, Everett's a moment behind, spent checking the arms of his leather jacket to make sure it's still poorly secured around his hips before he stops behind her and turns his attention down to his arms, tracing his left forefinger over his right muscular forearm, playing with the oil.

As he turns his hands to look at how they shine in the tree-covered sun, he shakes his head softly so as not to disturb his long hair. "Naw," is said genuinely. "Part of loving someone is loving the things they like to do." His hands come down for his thumbs to he hooked at his hemline while he eyes her pack, "Or faking it. Or letting them do it alone. Besides. This is more about being with you, then being with you outdoors getting burned alive, eaten alive, exsanguinated, dehydrated, and hunted by wild animals."

He can't hold back his teasing smile anymore.
"At least I get to do it with you."

Kailey comes to kneel and is brushing some leaf and forest detritus away from the ground around an oak tree. She shoots Evereet a 'look' and snorts at his 'hippy' interpretation. Quickly she turns back to what she was doing. Which is gathering up three yellow-white chantrelles. She glances up at his words and her smile flutters back slightly. "Okay...if you're sure," She says and then the smiles grows when his teasing breaks. "Jerk," It is said fondly and she turns back to plucking a few more small mushrooms.

But as the crow caws again Kailey whinces and puts a hand on the side of her belly. The last few days had seen moments of what the midwife had called 'prodermal labor'. Also sometimes called bracton hicks contractions. Either way they came suddenly and had been surprising Kailey more and more. Like now. And she shoots a glare at the bird that keeps up its noisy cry. "Ev, can you help me up please?" She asks with faint strain in her voice, reaching her hand out to him for help up.

Being called his secret middle name only makes Everett beam, "Yeah, I am. And you love it." He waits until she stands before laying a kiss on her forehead, then nudges her with his elbow. "And I'm sure," he looks up after her before looking back down to Kailey, "if I didn't want to be here with you, you'd know it. Besides," he wiggles his brows, "if I'm a good boy, I know what I'm going to get."

Following her gaze, Everett glaces at the white crow fixing it a long look of assessment before looking down to her, "Are you going to check Tom Crow if he's a fun guy too?" His gaze is drawn to the way she holds her belly with concern while he continues, "Because I'm pretty sure you aren't going to find anything on it." First his right and then his left hands are offered one after the other, in case she has a perference, him upnodding down at her, "Is she kicking or is it more of the same?"

Kailey climbs to her feet with Everett's help. And once there leans in and up to press a quick kiss to his chin. "More of the same," She says with a strained smile, rubbing at the side slowly. The water bottle she has taken to keeping around is plucked from it's cute little holder on her hip and she takes a couple sips. Holding it out to Everett she starts to say something, but the crows caws again and instead, "Will you go away already?" And a finger comes up and for a moment sparks flicker across the extended digit aimed at the albino bird.

"CAW-nie! CAW-nie!" The crow cries back and that makes Kailey's hand fall. The scowl turning to surprise and uncertainty.

"Uhhh...that bird did -not- just speak did it?" Kailey asks of Everett, taking a step back and into him and turning to glance back and up.

With a soft, sympathetic smile, Everett murmurs, "Sorry," his brows raised. Because he is. He did this to her; his green eyes sliding down from her visage to her stomach again.
Each pain that's inflicted hurts him a little too, but in a different way. Holding up his right hand to refuse the offered water bottle, Everett follows Kailey's glance again, back to look at the sparks form, then once more to the bird, waiting for it to explode in a puff of feathers. Any moment now.

He blinks and cants his head, blinking rapidly in surprise for a reaction. "No. I mean, yeah, I heard it too." He halts for a second, looking up at the bird. And then offers, "That's what you get for using your mind-fu," he adds, lifting his right hand to wiggle his fingers around his shoulder's height. "It's prolly a demon bird or something. You know a Conney?"

"Once..." Kailey's response is pensive as is her expression. And she stays pressed back against Everett as she watches the white crow. "CAWNIE CAWNIE!" It shrieks again. There isn't any real hesitation at that point. Kailey slips her hand into Everett's and begins leaving the area. Tugging on him at any resistance.

"Yeah...okay. We can go now...go to the beach instead," Kailey's mood has swiftly changed. Though she hasn't been spooked enough to leave her basket of wild mushrooms behind. "I'll tell you about Connie, but let's ditch the bird." Maybe Everett was right. Maybe they did find their way to a haunted part of the park. Or it is just more weird shit following them around. Who knows these days. Her hand squeezes his and the bird doesn't seem included to follow the pair. Though it continues to cry after them till they are out of sight.

While she isn't, he's a little hesitant. Not just in part because his leather jacket is threatening to slip off his hips still, but also because his attention is transfixed on the albino bird cawing above them. Hesitant, but not immobile, it's like she has unearthly stretch, tugging him against his attention, with one hand in hers and the other holding his jacket. "Why?" he asks after being pulled a good five feet and over the sound of the annoyed cawing. "I mean," he goes on as he gets his own feet under him, making her have to pull him less if not at all. The hand squeeze is returned before he sways the hand, then nods his head towards his right shoulder, "It's just a bird,"
It's not just a bird.

"It's not like it can hurt us,"
It could probably hurt them.

"And maybe he knows something about this Connie." Everett purses his lips, looking down at Kailey's retreating form. Then again. "Yeah, you're right. Enough weird shit happens in the city. Last thing we need is to have it happen while picking berries, or whatever this is called. What is looking for magic mushrooms called? Mushrooming? The Great White Shroom Hunt?" He takes an inhale, his mouth opens. This one's going to be very silly, "is there a Moby Dick of the mushroom hunting world, and did we just see it? Big white whale-slash-small white crow."

Kailey pulls and pulls as Everett continues on with his silly blather. Finally, though, she does stop and turns to look at him. A bit hurt and a bit scared and certainly a helping of upset. "Connie is dead. She was another foster kid," Her words are sharp and clipped and then she turns to begin a more sedate pace back to the parking lot. And car. "Shrooming...it's called Shrooming," She says quietly as she picks her way back to the actual trail. And once on an actual trail she sinks onto the nearest bench. Face going into hands as she leans forward and awkwardly props elbows on knees. There she just takes several deep breaths and mutters quiet softly, "Fuck." Did she sniiffle?

The expression on her face when she turns around, causes his own to soften and look apologetic before he vocalizes them, "Aw, honey, I'm sorry. I didn't know." The thick forearm slips over her shoulder, without releasing her hold, to cross her arm over her own chest. All the better to pull her back and against his broad and haed chest where he can use his other arm to hug her lightly, the way he has snce she's started to show. His fragile girl made especially breakable now.

He glaces over his shoulder, looking for the source of white cawing, just to make sure they've not been followed. "I think we left it behind," he offers while she sits and breathes. He lays a hand on her back and strokes slowly, standing, not in front of her, but to the side. Maybe unusual until it's noticed that he's standing to give her shade. Unthrown shade.

Kailey leans into that hand ever so slightly. Taking in deep shakey breaths for a couple of minutes. Quiet and not saying anything at all until, "Sorry," Comes quietly from her lips. A quick rub at her eyes and she looks up with a weak smile. With a grunt she gets back to her feet and slides into Everett's side. "I don't talk about Connie," She says quietly. "Mainly cause...ah...it's complicated. But she was my first girlfriend. But we were also teens living in the same foster place. It didn't...go well," She reaches up to rub at her upper arm with her free hand. Slowly she begins walking again back to the parking lot.

"OooOOooo." He lifts his head slowly and lets it fall down, a slow nod of understanding, slipping his arm around her back when he's side is slid into, and hugs her to him gently for a quick second. "So you're into girls too. I didn't know," yes he does. "That makes you so much hotter. No wonder you're always leering at Lillian," he teases, lifting his brows. His green eyes wide with his mockery. "Peering at her while she's walking around in her robe," he draws a finger down his sternum, but not for long as he uses the same hand to pick the jacket's weight up, to make sure it doesn't fall. With the pantomime, Everett adds, "looking at where her robe opens hoping to get a look at her big boobs."

His eyes narrow while he catches up to her pace, "Mm. Boobs."

"You -did- know, ya big lug," Kailey interjects hotly with a roll of her eyes. There's a soft snort. "I don't leer. That's you baby. I gaze with appreciation." And there's a cute little smile that briefly graces her face. Her wiggling in a proud little manner at that quip. "And here we have a standard male example. Complete with single-minded breasticular focus," She adds with a sideways glance up at him. She looks somewhere between amused and sad. The latter winning as her gaze returns to the trail. They've got a good mile walk still ahead of them through the trees. A quick glance back towards the direction of the raven. "I hope that isn't some sort of weird omen..."

"Leer? Me?" His free hand lifts from once more temporarily securing his leather jacket skirt to touching his wide-spread fingertips to his chest as he gives her his best mustered look of innocence. It wouldn't do, even if they were strangers. And they certainly aren't strangers. His hand and faux offense drop, to be replaced with a devilish grin which is aimed at the trail ground, watching where his feet will fall. "I'm the Leer man. The Leer monster." He pauses, the shifts his gaze across and down to her as his smile widens, "Why, I'm King Leer." Seeing his teasing has distracted her, if only temporarily, he leans mid-step and rubs shoulders with her, sharing the little sign of affection in return to hers. "I wouldn't say it's single-minded. Have you seen your butt in yoga pants?"

With a concerned glance, he follows hers in the direction of the bird before settling it back down on her, "What, that? Nyahhh. Maybe that you're going to get smooched to death."