A Hike

Sunday dawned with glorious sunshine as John rode the bus towards the outskirts of town. He yawned as they rumbled over a bump in the road; he’d not slept well the previous night between anticipation at seeing Matilda again and dread at trying to explain what’d happened between him and Rebecca. Not mentioning it at all didn’t cross his mind - he wasn’t exactly the best at hiding his emotions, and he was pretty sure Matilda would notice something was wrong.

It didn’t help that he wasn’t entirely sure of how he was going to handle things with Rebecca either. They both attended Ashcroft, were both Abyssals, shared classes… there was no way he could just ignore the entire situation there, right? Sooner or later, he’d have to have a conversation with her about the blessing he’d used and its impact.

Shaking his head, John stared out the window as the bus pulled out of town. Everything had gotten so complicated all of a sudden, and he was rather worried that if he didn’t find a solution he’d end up back at square one as far as his chances of completing his Quest were concerned. If Matilda was hurt by what had happened, and Rebecca decided to take the news that his blessing was at least partially responsible for the aftermath… John groaned and slumped forward in his seat. Leaving aside his personal feelings about the matter, the thought of what the whole thing might do to the ladies left him feeling sick.

So lost in his gloom was he that he almost missed the stop. Only glancing up and spotting Matilda’s waiting form dragged him out of his downward spiral enough to scramble to the front of the bus in time. Swallowing hard, he put on his best face as the bus slowed - regardless of anything else, he didn’t want to start today off with gloom. This was a date, and he desperately wanted the woman waiting for him to believe him when he honestly told her that he cared for her, despite everything that had happened the day before.

Matilda was nervous as she led John along the footpath. She’d planned this route out rather carefully the previous day, double checking all her notes on where she’d found things previously to hopefully ensure they’d find enough edible things that she could cook him something when they got back to her cottage. John himself had seemed quiet when he’d climbed off the bus, but then this was outside his comfort zone - she was sure he wasn’t exactly used to hikes in the wilds around town.

The route they were taking was mostly uphill as well, which was unfortunately not that great for talking, but once they got to the top of the rise, it’d be downhill in the sunlight for the rest of the places she wanted to spend time gathering produce in. And, if they were lucky, there’d be something special near the hilltop.

John was thoroughly out of breath, all thoughts of talking about what had happened yesterday gone from his head in favour of just trying to **** air into his lungs by the time they got to the clearing at the top of the hill that Matilda had marked on her plan as the first stopping point for them to forage. Despite all his recent activity, his low physical Stats were clearly in evidence as he leaned against a tree panting, while Matilda set down the rucksack she’d been carrying and started rummaging inside.

“So, there should be some wild garlic not that far from here, and there’s some greens but I’ll grab those, a fair few things aren’t that good and it’s a little hard to identify for newbies…” she said, lost in her own little world as she pulled out a pair of bags and a trowel. Standing back upright, she glanced around before crossing and stuffing her rucksack into a nearby bush. “No point lugging that around while we’re gathering. You okay to continue, John?”

Nodding, he reluctantly left the tree he’d been leaning against, taking the trowel when she offered it to him. “What’s first?” he asked, glancing around at the sunlit hilltop. Matilda frowned, then beckoned for him to follow her towards where she could just make out the thin blade-like leaves of garlic growing in the shade at the far side of the clearing.

Kneeling, the pair began to work their way across the patch. John marvelled at Matilda’s ability to ferret the plants intact from the ground. His own attempts (even aided by the trowel) still ended in the slender cloves being broken apart, while his date dug her fingers into the damp earth and retrieved entire bunches without so much as a scratch.

Pausing, trowel in hand, he sighed. His concentration was off. He needed to talk to her - to clear his thoughts if nothing else. “Matilda?” he began, heart thumping as she glanced up to look at him. “I… I kinda need to talk to you about something that happened yesterday.”

Matilda set the bag of foraged garlic down and turned to fully face him, listening first with interest, then concern, then with an unreadable expression as John stumbled his way through trying to explain what had happened. He had to cover up quite a lot of things and skim over some of the details - he couldn’t exactly say that they’d fought monsters, so instead made out that he’d been chased by a group of bullies when he’d run into Rebecca. He skimmed over the fight - while it was possible he could have made something up, the risk of Matilda querying the other woman about it wasn’t worth flexing his storytelling muscles. And then he got to the aftermath. Eventually, he sat back and sighed.

Frowning, the brunette bent and picked up the bag. “It’s… it’s fine, John,” she said after a pause. Smiling at him with more enthusiasm than she felt, she glanced back the way they’d come. “I… We… We’re not together yet, right? We didn’t officially do more than go out for a walk on Friday, and…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Umm… Can we keep foraging while I sort my thoughts out?”

John’s heart sank at her expression, but he nodded. “Of course.”

Walking back towards where she’d left her pack in a circuitous route under the shade of the trees, Matilda was lost in thought. Eventually, about halfway around the clearing, she paused and turned to him. “So… John… umm,” she began, then hesitated, partially from his expression and partially because she’d just noticed something on the ground. Her thoughts on John’s dalliance with Rebecca slid from her mind as she smiled and gestured. “Look, a fairy ring!”

John blinked, turning to look at the circle of mushrooms off to one side as Matilda strode towards it, all thoughts of serious discussion on her part suddenly suppressed by her special interest coming to the fore. “These aren’t edible, unfortunately,” she muttered over her shoulder, adding, “but they’re so cool to spot regardless. I didn’t think we’d see any, this late in the day. It’s usually something I only find when I’m out foraging really early.”

Pausing on the edge of the ring, she spun back around to him, her eyes flickering with emotions. “Do… do you want us to just go back to being friends so you can follow up on whatever happened between you and Rebecca? I… I’d understand, she’s closer to your age and blonde and I don’t totally buy the horniness after a fight business, so if you’d rather I, umm…”

The tonal whiplash shocked John out of his self pity. “No! I mean… I don’t even know how I ended up in that situation. Honestly, I’d been walking through the park thinking about today and you before those thugs even started chasing me, and there really was a massive fight and… No, Matilda. I wouldn’t have gone on this date with you if I didn’t want to… you know, be with you?” He scratched the back of his head, an embarrassed flush tinting his cheeks. “Honestly, I was expecting you to slap me and leave me to find my own way out of the woods, but if you forgive me for… everything that happened, then I’d like to see where the future takes us.”

Matilda’s answering smile made his heart soar. The brunette had been toying with her hands, but now she beamed at him. “You’re sure? Alright then! Well, just as long as you don’t start touching up other women again when we’re officially dating, at least without me there at any rate, then we’ll consider the matter just a bad fluke of timing. Just this once.” Seeing John’s expression, she let out a giggle. “I did mention on our first date that I find women attractive, John. I don’t mind sharing, as long as we’re sharing together.” As she spoke, she spun around, casting her arms wide. “Life is too short to not explore. So, if we’re okay, shall we continue foraging?”

John was about to reply, somewhat stunned by the implications of Matilda’s comments, but before he could do so, two things happened that made his blood run cold. The first, Matilda’s spinning dance crossed over the circle of mushrooms. The instant that her foot touched the ground, she vanished. And the second, the now-familiar chime of a Quest appearing.