We trudged through the forest. I had been camping before but it had never been like this.

Well ok first of all I guess we were backpacking.

But beyond that I was gross. We hadn’t come across a bathing body of water in a number of days. The river we refilled our skins at Gawain deemed too fast moving to be safe.

My rough cut hair was greasy and I had dirt under my fingernails. The air was neither hot nor cold it just was. I walked in my tunic and boots, my leggings tucked into my pack.

“Trees, trees, and more trees” Alex said.

I nodded.

Shea, hearing talking, bounded back to us. I scratched her behind the ears.

Alex found a stick on the ground “ok go!” He yelled as he threw it.

Shea raced off. Gawain looked back at us, perturbed.

“What! Do you never play with your dog??” Alex asked.

Gawain shook his head. “Dogs are dedicated workers. They don’t need to play.”

I grimaced. “Yikes.” I said.

Alex laughed at my uncomfortable face.

“Dogs are dedicated workers.” Alex said, mimicking Gawain’s deep tone.

I laughed but tried to hide it when I saw Gawain’s shoulders tense.

“Aww bud,” I said, “we’re only playing.”

“Oh wait,” I added, “do HUMANS not do that also??”

Gawain’s mouth twitched and I felt proud. That mfer never smiled so this was very close to a win.

Alex threw the stick for Shea as we continued. I kicked the small pebbles on the path, scattering them along the dusty trail. Very quickly past where the sandy parts ended, the trees grew thick. We pulled off to sleep at night, hidden in the branches. But moving through it on a consistent basis proved too difficult for the ole dainty twins.

When I cried from a thorn scraping my leg in the brush, Gawain had decided that we could risk walking out in the open.

We saw no one, crossed no paths. Just a straight shot to somewhere.

The trees had leaves still here, the usual colors. Some had more of a bluish tinge than I was used to. I mean truly who knew where we were. Gawain told us it was the harvest season which I guess meant fall?? But if the leaves don’t fall what do they call it ya know.

Some trees had berries and like in our world, red meant bad. But the purple berries with the little seed pods were fun to eat. They exploded in your mouth like a Gusher. Without all the stick-on-your-teeth sugary bits.