Debra called for their journey to begin and Felix nearly jumped out of his skin with excitement. It was finally time to ‘save’ Madcat, or at least that’s what they all had assumed. He felt as though the idea that he was being held captive was a bit extreme somehow, but who was he to crush their dreams? Everyone was ready to go, the air buzzed around him with anticipation. Felix enjoyed being outside, in the woods, in nature, in the city there was too much noise. Too much violence and acts of wrongdoing, to the point it made him agitated enough to lash out. But in nature, there was only the chirping of birds, rustles of creatures who knew not the difference between right and wrong, only acting on instinct alone. A small part of Felix envied that about animals, there was no sense of right and wrong only living and death. He was a smart enough boy to know that, he understood that very well. It was all the more reason he enjoyed being around Eliza so much. She was innocent, pure, being around her made him feel like humanity wasn’t completely soiled.
They walked further into the woods, his hand in Eliza’s so that she wouldn’t get lost, though he knew it was useless though. He could only try and contain her for so long before she got bored of walking and began to inspect everything in close detail. All the people around him walked around, looking at all that these woods had to offer. Debra was at the front pointing out markers to the group, indicating they were going the right direction. Trees lumbering over their heads, causing him to tug at Eliza’s and point out interesting things he noticed that she might like. Phoebe was strumming on her guitar only adding to the majestic atmosphere of the enchanting woods. He almost wished that the fort they had built had been through these woods, it would have been the perfect place to play. But as he saw there was signs of people who wandered through here seeking adventures such as they all did, causing it to be a bit harder to be secluded. For almost an instant he wished to run ahead of the group and see what else the woods had to offer but he knew better than that. He would only cause trouble off by himself without Debra telling him where to go. Letting out a small sigh he walked contently with the rest of the group.
As the time passed, the sun only got hotter, and though the shade of the trees provided some sort of protection the heat was steadily rising as well. The sound of water rushing in the distance though made him hopeful that they might to take a moments rest to cool off. To his absolute horror, it was a river with a rushing current and deeper than he had expected. Debra let out another declaration that they were headed in the right direction, which caused him to gulp. She then began to explain that it was completely safe to cross over the very UNSAFE looking tree bridge. By the fidgets and looks given around him, he knew that he wasn’t the only one nervous. Looking around he then saw a little ways down was a rope swing which looked even more unsafe than the tree bridge. At least with the tree bridge, they would for sure make it across if they went one at a time.
Phoebe spoke up "I don't know, Debs,I think we can swim for it-" Felix felt his jaw slack for a moment as she finished. "-who wants to swim for it?!" Turning to her he spoke up,
”Swim for it?! I hope you’re kidding. You’re strong but Noah and Val are right, this is way too strong for even you. N-not that I am saying that you couldn’t do it, but even pros would struggle. We should think carefully about how we are going to cross this.” Letting out a long sigh, he saw Cecil drop his bike and announce he would be the first to cross over. Then proceeded to call them all pansies which got under Felix’s skin a bit, but knew better than to pick a fight with the boy.
Cecil, despite being a bit reckless, was very careful in his movements, pressing with each step to ensure that it would hold his weight. Felix watched his feet rather than his upper body, knowing that one wrong step could cause him to slip and fall. Finally he made it over and didn’t stop once, continuing forward to look through the woods ahead. Once again, reckless. Giving a shaky breath he grabbed both of Eliza’s hands and held them, looking straight at her.
”I am going to cross next, okay? When I am half way across, you hop on and I will tell you where to put your feet. No running off by yourself and don’t do anything crazy.” Felix flashed a confident smile and then moved swiftly over the bike.
”Sorry, Cecil. I won’t be the one to bring your bike over! Giving a short snicker he made his way over to the edge of the log before turning around once more.
”I will go next then. Once I am over, I will help guide anyone who wants my help.” Taking another long breath he made his first step on the log, staring directly at his feet. He needed to memorize the perfect places to put them so that no one would get hurt. Gliding his sneakers atop the surface of the bark, he pressed down with each step, copying Cecil’s technique with expertise. One step after the other, he was about a third of the way over now. The water rushed beneath him, but it didn’t break the absolute focus he had not even when it made an abrupt splash over his shoes. His balance was very fickle, there were times he could climb over fences and up trees while landing perfectly and others he would trip over nothing. He prayed his balance would hold up a short while longer.
☿
A very short time after Eliza and her friend arrived, Debra had told everyone that they were to begin heading into the woods. Eliza’s mood hadn’t really changed, though. Her excitement was not hidden behind a facade of calm and cool like it may have been for many others. Entering the forest, Eliza was difficult to keep still. Despite a heavy focus on her from Felix, she still found herself weaving in and out of the tall trees, completely disregarding the others’ wishes to walk on the trails. Distracting herself with thoughts of adventure combined with a search for all sorts of cool animals and formations in nature had Eliza pretty busy, which was not a common occurrence. This left Felix to his own thoughts rather than having to occupy the mind of his ever energetic friend. They only stopped a few times, and it was rather surprising that Eliza was not one of the reasons the group did so. Often times she would have already been tired and bored by now, but instead she was raring to move onwards. Even for most of their lunch break Eliza found herself exploring the immediate area around them. At times she would lose sight of the group, no doubt causing worry in Felix, but she always found her way back before he got too panicked. As the sun grew higher in the sky, the heat started to warm the damp and cool forest through its heavy canopy. It wasn’t long before the group found their way to a bit of a sunny clearing at the side of a river.
”Our first trial…” Her voice was quiet, as if she was subtly narrating the adventure in a more played up and dramatic manner. The river was quite aggressive, and would have no problem sweeping Eliza to her doom and ending the adventure, but despite that, she sure did have to hold herself back from charging head on. Luckily it was the words of Noah and Val that managed to dissuade her. While Felix was busy trying to do the same, Eliza was instead deep in thought. She watched as Cecil took one for the team, crossing first while still in her contemplative move. It wasn’t often that she went silent like this, but whenever it happened, something insane usually followed, and this time was no exception. Felix was likely talking to her about how the two were going to cross, or at least assuming she’d cross after him normally and per usual, she was not opposed whatsoever to Felix’s plans.
Eliza hurried her way up to the log, hopping lightly atop it. She showed very little care or fear in her movements other than gently reaching her hands out to either side to balance herself.
”It would have been cooler if it was a really deep canyon, though...” Dejectedly, she set her gaze upon her feet as if the log walk wasn’t as entertaining as she had expected. Of course, Eliza wasn’t satisfied with no adventure at all. She neared the opposite end of the makeshift bridge with ease. She weighed very little after all, but it was then she took into a cautious few running steps to jump towards the other side of the river, cutting the corner of the log. It was at that
adventurous and ironic moment where one of Eliza’s feet gave out. She successfully left the log, but successfully making it to the shore was another question. Eliza gave a short
”Woah!” as her feet splashed down in the river. She could feel the current immediately start tugging her downstream, causing her to lose all semblance of balance. In a panic, she reached out towards the shore making sure to keep one hand on her helmet which nearly fell off in the short fall in attempts to make any sort of contact with a root or something that could stop her before she fell and was dragged off into the river. It was much of an unconscious and automated body movement, reaching for nothing, but much to her surprise, her hand connected with something. She was hefted ashore only a moment later, exhaling heavily. It was no big mishap. She was close enough to the shore that really only her shoes and the skirt of her dress got wet. It was nothing that wouldn’t dry in a few minutes.
Reaching the middle of the log he called out
”Eliza! It’s okay for you to get on! Step first with your right foot in the centre of the edge.” Shifting his body around he stood there waiting for Eliza to step on the log. Once she hopped on, Felix called out where she was to put her feet. Though he soon realized she wasn’t listening to him and made her way across with ease. Swiftly he finished crossing himself landing gracefully, watching Eliza carefully. She had a small pout on her face, unsatisfied with the lack of adventure but he was not to complain. The less chance of injury the better, a first aid kit couldn’t save someone who had drown. Just as she was going to bounce off next to him, his heart sank as he saw Eliza’s feet miss and slide down the shore. Panic coursed through his veins, her arms were outstretched and he threw caution to the wind, grabbing her wrists and yanking her into his arms. Felix’s heart rammed in his chest and momentary adrenaline pumped through his whole body, his worst fear almost became a reality. Though he was thankful for how light she was, carrying her around made him much stronger than his height and build would give off. Breathing heavily, Felix gripped her tighter.
”Oh god… Eliza please don’t do something like that again. You really scared me, what if I wasn’t there in time to catch you???” Wiping the tears that built up in his eyes, he still kept a firm hold on her arms, looking her over. She wasn’t hurt at all, only a bit wet and some minor scratches from the slip. He let out a long sigh of relief and waved his hand to the other side.
”We’re fine! Please try not to fall because I don’t think I could do something that cool again!” A nervous laugh left his throat as his heart settled in his chest.
