Sir Hikes A Lot (945 views)

Cliff’s Pants || Cliff’s Boots

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Cliff went to bed reasonably early, and woke up to his alarm blaring at 5 AM that morning. It was still dark out, and he stretched his arms up over his head before he glanced down at his phone. Right, he was going to go hiking today. And he’d promised to show someone the trail he’d cultivated himself. Today wasn’t going to be difficult and he already knew that he was going to take it slow with her. As eager as Cleo had seemed, he didn’t want to rush her into his usual hiking pace. She didn’t hike often and it would be nice to slow it down some, he thought, and actually appreciate the view and the trail like he usually just brushed it off.

He got up and dressed himself in a tee shirt, some pants that had a zipper around the knee – they transformed into shorts, for if it got hot during the day and cold at night – and a light sweatshirt. He took with him his light backpack and packed some trail mix and water bottles, taking extra just in case Cleo happened to forget anything. He wouldn’t be mad if she did, he was the one with experience after all, he just hoped that she was awake.

He laced his shoes up, grabbed his bow and arrow (just in case – he rarely liked to go into the woods without them) and sent a text Cleo’s way, telling her he was walking to her house. He positioned his bow on the little pocket of his back built for it, and the arrows were contained inside of the bag. He glanced over Cleo’s address in that chat log and went over the way he’d looked up on google maps in his head. He was the first one up in his house, to no surprise, and he locked the door behind him. He put the key back into his bag, and began to walk off of campus. It was eerily quiet on a Saturday morning, with no one wandering from class to class. He passed one or two souls near the parking lot, on their way to work, but he didn’t stop and say hi. The neighborhoods were fuller of tired people and he turned onto Cleo’s street, only to see a girl standing on one of the porches. He blinked in surprise, before his lips turned up into a grin.

”Hey. I don’t get to hold me being bludgeoned with a newspaper over your head? Lame.” He joked, coming to a stop at the sidewalk in front of her. He looked at her outfit. For a simple day of hiking, she looked well-equipped, and he was glad she had actual hiking boots rather than sneakers. He looked back up to meet her eyes. ”Ready to go?”

Cliff grinned up at Cleo, and his grin didn’t go away when she came down from her porch to get ready to go. He glanced at her door, wondering if her family was actually up, before he turned to look at her again.

”Proud?! I’m shocked! You said you were an early riser but I usually beat everyone, even so-called ‘morning risers’.” He said, leading the way back towards campus. It was still dark, but there was a hue on the horizon of the sun, just beginning to poke its head over the rooftops and trees. This was definitely Cliff’s favorite time of the day, and he took in the sight of dawn just barely poking its head. ”I didn’t necessarily want to go through with the beating, but if I did, you would owe me, and I’m a pretty fierce debt collector.” He joked.

”Hmm... I got up at about 5. I take it you beat me, huh? Maybe next time I’ll have to wake up at 3 AM.” He said. You know, that also assumed there would be a next time but Cliff didn’t really think there wouldn’t be. Cleo was really cool so far and if she had any interest in nature like she seemed to be she’d be enraptured by the nature trails. Besides, even if you went every day, there was still something new to discover! That was why Cliff liked going out there so much.

She could also keep up with him, which was good. Sometimes when he walked side-by-side with people (not that it happened often) they tended to lag behind just because Cliff was so fast paced. His legs were also very strong from constant use, and he tended to like to do things at his own pace so he left people behind sometimes. Still, this was no final testament – the true test would be when they were up on the trail. Of course he wouldn’t mind slowing it down for her. This wasn’t a really hard trip, after all, or a requirement for a class.

”Hey! I was looking forward to holding it over your head not the actual beating itself! But could you even hurt me with those arms?” Cliff asked, taunted almost, as Metric’s gates gleamed in the sunlight just ahead. Her comments about harming people made his mouth twitch up into a dimpled smile. ”Yeah. I get that. Deliberately hurting people isn’t good but sometimes you just don’t agree on stuff. Or like... sometimes your happiness makes other people unhappy. So sometimes the hurt might not even be intentional. It’s more convenient to just forget about all of that and go on a hiking trip to enjoy nature, isn’t it?”

”Hey! It’s not my fault you decided to be an overachiever. That’s not fair.” He said. He shook his head in disbelief at her laughter, though he knew she was only teasing him. Still! That didn’t mean he wouldn’t make this a contest! Pretty soon he might start going to bed at 6 PM just so that he could wake up at 1 AM and really rub it in her face! Though he wasn’t entirely sure how that would work out during the day, because he’d get tired sooner.

He rose his brows when she mentioned making a poodle skirt – immediately he thought of a little poodle in a skirt – and then glanced at her arms. He didn’t know what went into sewing, but he was pretty sure that required fingers and hands, not arms! ”I’m sure your poodle noodle arms are very strong. But I don’t think you’d put as big a dent in me as you think you would!”

They were now approaching the neighborhoods of houses, and the sun was shining on the tops of the trees in the distance. He knew where the entrance to his path was, and he led the way towards it. ”I’m kind of a fast walker, by the way, so if I go too fast feel free to just slow me down.”

”I don’t know, I don’t really quake in my boots at the idea of poodle noodles having it out for me. It kind of makes me think of pool noodles too – which your arms definitely remind me of.” He said, shaking his head as they walked off of the path and onto the green grass. The houses were now a few feet behind them and ahead of them lied dirt, trotted on to create a path that curved well into the trees. The light was filtering in through the trees, creating a beautiful dance of shadows on the ground when the wind moved.

He lingered back just slightly when he saw Cleo lag behind, worried for a second she thought they were moving too fast, but then she acknowledged his bow and he grinned.

”My dad taught me how to shoot when I was six. Not with this bow, though. This was always my dad’s.” He said, pulling the bow out of his bag. He admired it for a second as he came to a stop by the entrance of the woods. At her question he thought there was more to it – bringing the bow and arrow was like having his father with him – but he didn’t want to get on a discussion about that at the moment, so he decided to agree with her. ”Yeah, I feel safer with it. I also like to practice on trees when I’m bored, and sometimes, I’ll shoot an arrow really far ahead and then make it a game to go and grab it before a certain time. I usually use the timer on my phone. Hey, maybe we could race, if your feet are up to it,” he said with a grin. ”I have a really good shot, so I can get the arrow out really far if I want.”

Cliff rose his brows at her aggressive reaction but definitely didn’t feel threatened! Cleo was tiny and cute and definitely not fear-inducing in the slightest! In fact, the way that she flopped her arms out to her side made him want to laugh and tease her more. She reminded him a lot of Pippa, he expected that they would probably be good friends if they ever met up, or, if they hadn’t already, anyway.

”I don’t know, you could just be a mini-pool arm dancer thingie. I did just meet you. You might be one in disguise.” He pointed out. He pulled out an arrow out of his bag and hooked it into the bow, holding it down at his waist as he grinned over at her. ”All right. You’re so on, then! Stand back, I’ll make it easy the first shot. Promise.”

Cliff took a few steps ahead and raised his bow, taking aim at the tree far ahead of them, right at the little curve in the trail before it headed off into the deeper part of the woods. He took a deep breath as he positioned his shot and let the wind blow through, rustling his hair. He waited for it to die down before he let the arrow fly and it dug into the tree feet away from them, landing right where he’d aimed. He grinned and put his bow back into the safe slot on his back. ”Okay. Arrow is in position. You wanna count down till we run for it, Cleo?”

Satisfied with his shot, Cliff leaned back and readied himself to run as Cleo began to count down from ten. He was very confident that he’d win this. His competitive spirit flared as he locked his target on the arrow, and remembered the curves of the trail. When they got deeper into the woods towards the other clearings he’d have to slow down, because he knew there were roots in the trail, but right here it was a realitively clean shot. They could speed all they wanted and Cliff definitely wanted to show off!

When she finished the last number, she took off earlier than he thought she would! ”No fair!” He shouted but, then, he had an advantage with his legs so accustomed to long distances. In a burst of speed he headed towards the arrow in the tree, his target getting closer and closer with every second that past. And then, boom, he was there, at the tree! He grinned to himself so hard his cheeks hurt and turned around to see Cleo. ”I’m the winner, even if you cheated a little bit! You have to wait until you finish saying one before you run! That’s one of the rules of racing, duuuuh.”

Cliff grinned even more when he realized he’d left Cleo in the dust completely. Ha! He was the champion, obviously. His ego swelled up more as he pulled the arrow out of the tree, playing with it in his hands for a few minutes. The nickname only did more to fuel his ego. ”You just have to train! That’s how I got this good. I trained.”

And then, of course, she hadn’t remembered water. He expected as much and felt even better about himself as he came to a stop and swung his bag down.

”I figured you might forget, so I packed extra. Here.” He said, tossing a water bottle at Cleo. ”It’s gonna get way hotter towards the afternoon, so you need to keep hydrated. I took about six bottles so that’s three for each of us, and should be enough to last us throughout the day.”

Cliff snorted in response to Cleo and fixed the bag back onto his shoulders.

”I have to be the prepared one here. I’m the one with hiking experience! And in here’s a first aid kit, water, my arrows, and some trial mix. I didn’t bring my big bag – that’s the one I use that has my sleeping bag and tent, and blankets. But this one’s good for just a day of traveling.” He said. Sure, sometimes he liked to wander the trail for an hour or two without anything but the clothes on his back, but an all-day trip with someone else definitely required some prep work! ”And because I’m so nice I’m not even demanding you carry your water bottles.”

He puffed out his chest in satisfaction. ”I’m too strong to be weighed down by anything!”

”Yeah they’re safer with me! Just let me know when you’re finished with that one.” Cliff said, walking along the trail as the morning sunlight crept in between the leaves and glistened on the rocks lining the sides of the path. They rounded the corner where the tree was and the trail became less even and rockier, the trees were thicker, and the sounds of animals waking up and beckoning the morning were more audible.

”I think berries can’t be confused for poison ivy, so we should be all right to collect some of them.” He said, though he wondered what berries were native to these woods. ”You know I’ve never actually made jam before! My dad was never into that stuff. He hunted, and cooked, but he never liked to make jam. It was always store-bought. You should show me how! Do you think they have blackberries out here? I think I would have noticed them... I like blackberries. Maybe we should make a race to get as many berries as we can... when we finish two of the water bottles, we can use them to carry the berries. What do you say to that?”

A whole season’s worth of berries... Cliff’s grin grew at the thought. He thought of the lush trees in Maine, with many berries. He didn’t know if there were as many berries here, but he held Cleo to her word. ”I don’t mind if you use the trail. I say it’s mine but I just kind of paved it. Nature’s the only one who cares and as long as you don’t litter, feel free to come here all you want. And stick to the trail – if you ever get lost, I’ll find you, eventually.”

Cliff laughed at Cleo’s laughter, which was so loud he was pretty sure it scared the birds! He was used to being out here all alone, but this was fine. He liked the sound of laughter, it was loud and happy and just full. While she was laughing Cliff took this opportunity to dig through his bag and pull out his own water bottle. He took a generous sip of it and wiped his mouth. He’d taken off one third of the bottle with just that. He would get an empty bottle in no time! Then he’d fill this thing with all the berries it could hold!

”I’ll try not to lead you into any poison ivy,” he said, though from his tone of voice it wasn’t exactly clear if he actually meant that or if he would actually lead her into poison ivy just to be a butt. Hey, he might do that! Or he might lead her towards it but not actually let her touch it. That sounded more like what he would do. The mention of his father missing out on jam made him a little sad – he wouldn’t ever get to try it – but he knew his father would just tell him to try extra, for his sake. So Cliff grinned and drummed his fingers on his chin.

”Okay, okay. A slower race! How about we make it... whoever gets the most berries when we get back to campus? And I hope we find some berry grove... that sounds exciting.” Cliff took another sip of his water as the path narrowed. He glanced around but didn’t recall seeing any berry groves. He saw, now, a few berry bushes, minding their own business. He wondered what kind they were, but didn’t let his mind debate over it too much. ”And good – only people on Nature’s good side are allowed on this trail! If you make an enemy of nature you make an enemy of me!”

He elbowed her arm gently, totally noticing how fast she drank her water. He took another sip, just to spite her, already draining his bottle halfway. He’d definitely have to pee later, but peeing outside was something Cliff had never had any qualms doing! As long as Cleo kept her distance, which he was 100 percent sure she’d do. At her comment on getting lost, Cliff snorted. ”You could use a whistle. Maybe even a dog one! But if I have to get Elvis out here to find you, you’ll definitely owe me, bigtime!”

Cliff snorted at her little proverb proclamation. ”Well that’s how you learn! You make mistakes! Like trusting bad guides.” He said, narrowing his eyes at her challenge of war over berry picking. Oh, he’d get all of the berries he could! Three whole water bottles... he was going to dominate this race! He was pretty competitive and made stupid bets sometimes – he was surprised he hadn’t made one in the past few minutes, actually. When she elbowed him back he snorted and walked ahead a bit, coming to a fork in the path. He took the left path, the one that had been trodden more, the one that headed towards the clearing he often liked to shoot from.

”Yeah, nature’s not someone I ever wanna be enemies with. But then, it doesn’t really want to be my friend either. It’s just kinda like, I don’t wanna piss it off and I respect it, but there’s a barrier there we can’t really cross.” he said. The wind blew, brushing his hair around, sending the scent of morning into their nostrils.

”Elvis is my pet dog, actually. He’s a hunting dog. He doesn’t get out as much as he used to, but sometimes, I’ll take him out on a trip.” Cliff said, smirking at her last comment. ”That’s a wise strategy! People who owe me stuff always repay me! Eventually...”

Cliff faked offense.

”And why don’t you trust me?” He asked, though, her next comment cleared that right up. He overshowed his confidence, ”Well, you did only just start hiking with me. Wait until we get to the hills – then your rating will probably drop because I’ll start leaving you in the dust if you can’t keep up!”

And he probably would... albeit unintentionally. When she suggested befriending nature Cliff stopped short and held his hand out, as though he was trying to shake nature’s hand. The respond he got was a powerful gust of wind, one that he felt on his cheeks as a contrast to the warm sun. His hair was already a blowy mess and he realized that it was going to be a windy day in California. He figured he wouldn’t even have to unzip the knees of his pants, if this wind kept up! ”It makes sense. Heck, nature shook my hand! Though I think I’m too intimidated with it to ever consider myself equal to it enough to be friends.”

The interest in his dog got Cliff animated again, practically jumping from step to step, maneuvering his way between and over the roots. He took a sip of his water before he answered, wanting it to deplete so he could start collecting berries but not enough to dump it out. It was important to keep plenty of water! ”Elvis is a German Shepard. He’s probably my best friend if we don’t count humans.” He said, ”And no, no. Credit doesn’t work that way. I’m actually very generous, and when people can’t pay up, I find other ways for them to repay me. Favors, you know? A favor can get me pretty far if I need it to. And don’t worry about it – I hate owing people too. It makes me feel like they’re better than me, you know? And no one's better than me!”

”I guess! Nature’s picky with her friends though,” Cliff agreed, the cool morning wind felt nice on his skin. He didn’t notice as Cleo watched his footwork or shivered and in fact didn’t see that she was cold until she took an obnoxiously bright sweater out of her back and put it on. And without being able to stop, he laughed, because she stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the shrubbery and trees! ”I don’t know if nature’s gonna wanna be friends with someone who wears such a bright color! She’ll stain it brown in about ten minutes, maybe even less.”

At the mention of an alpaca, Cliff’s brows rose.

”An alpaca? Really? I want one!” Where was her farm? He didn’t know! He just wanted to meet an alpaca and pet it! He’d only seen a few at the zoo when he was a kid, and then he hadn’t been allowed to pet the creatures. ”You should totally introduce me. Maybe I’ll hit it off with them,” He joked, taking another sip of water.

”A copycat wouldn’t compare to the original, no matter what.” Cliff assured. His water bottle was nearly finished, and he had to stop himself from dumping it down so that he could start hunting for berries!