Young Writers Society

“We’re done, let’s go.” Lucius turned around and managed one step before Wila grabbed his collar and jerked him backwards. He gave a strangled yelp and his hands flew up to his throat, both to rub it in comfort and to pry her fingers off of his coat. “Wha-

“It can’t have been more than five minutes. Come on, Luc!” Wila said, rolling her eyes. She prodded him in the shoulder, frowning when he flinched away, and kicked a nearby tree. There was a resounding thump and while the tree remained still, specks of bark flaked off. “If you really hate sticking around me, climb a tree with Mikhail and look around there.”

Lucius looked upwards, taking in the round, frail-looking branches and the wispy formation of the leaves. It wouldn’t support his weight for a second. His response to Wila was a withering glance and he grabbed a low branch, twisting the soft wood off with no problem. He tossed it at her and crossed his arms. “I can’t climb, anyways.”

“You can’t climb.” Wila plucked the branch off of where it had stuck to her chest and let it fall to the grass. “Dude, anyone can climb. You mean that you suck at it?”

“Specifics,” he said with a shrug. Compared to the overbearing sun in the beach, the forest area was cold and the sunlight, a musty yellow-green with the leaves acting as stained glass, provided no compensation. He wrapped his overcoat a little tighter and wished that it still had buttons to hold it together. Lucius stole a look in the direction of the plains, remembering its placid temperature.

Wila gave him a little push and retracted her hands fast enough that Lucius couldn’t smack her away. He did try, though, and Wila sighed at his failed attempt at rejection. It was the thought that counted, and Lucius’s wariness seemed to disappoint her. “Oh, come on, Luc.”

“You have knives. Please don’t touch me.” Lucius edged away, forcing his tone into a casual one like he wasn't genuinely scared of Wila killing him anytime.  He wetted his lips and considered the grooves on a nearby tree. He could figure out a way to scale it. Eventually. “If I climb this, can I be sure you won’t stab me?”

“You don’t just ask those things,” Wila giggled, before sobering up, “and while I’m going to say that I promise to not do so, you probably won’t believe me anyways.”

“Bingo.” Lucius tested a protrusion near the base of the trunk, and was pleased to see that he could push against it without his foot slipping. “Mikhail?” he called out, hoping to get some tips from the albino. The boy didn’t appear, and Lucius realized with a scowl that he would have to do this alone. The closest branch was a foot or so above his head, and Lucius gripped it with his hands. There was no way he would be able to pull himself onto it, so he spared himself the embarrassment and placed his right foot onto the bump he had tried out earlier. It was then that he understood that he really didn’t know how to climb a tree and he spent several awkward seconds contemplating what step to take next. Lucius shifted his right foot a little higher, before taking it back down and switching it with his left foot. No height was gained. “… Ah, darn it.”

Wila unfortunately noticed his troubles and floated over, grinning. “Looks like you’re having a problem.”

“Go away,” Lucius grumbled, keeping his eyes trained on the tree. Why did it have to be so vertical? “Mikhail!” he shouted, and felt some perverse satisfaction when Wila stumbled back with her hands over her ears.

“Yes?” Mikhail was standing on a thick but round branch, one foot nestled in the fork of two leafy extensions and the other pressed against the trunk. Although admirably high up, he was within full view and Lucius wondered how he hadn’t seen the boy before. On the same train of thought, it was also a mystery that Mikhail had not heard Lucius’s earlier call.

“How did you get up there?” Lucius complained, releasing the branch he was holding and rubbing his palms together to get rid of the scratchiness. “I can’t even get off the ground.”

“You can jump,” Wila hissed, but Mikhail couldn’t hear and Lucius ignored her.

Mikhail hesitated, mumbling something. He bent an invasive branch away from him and inched closer to the trunk. He said something again, louder but still too quiet to make out.

“I can’t hear you!” Lucius exclaimed, cupping his hands around his mouth.

The boy frowned and bent down, slipping onto a lower branch. His hands remained attached to the higher branch until both feet were planted on the wood, which was considerably thinner than the one he had been standing on. “Um, you find some crevices or bumps to hold onto, a-and then you slowly pull yourself up to a branch… Yeah.”

“Wow, thanks,” Lucius flatly said. “Now I can climb this no problem.”

Mikhail grimaced and remained silent as he made his way lower. Now, he was only a couple feet above Lucius’s head and talking no longer required shouting. “I never said I was good at explanations…”

Lucius pieced together Mikhail’s pseudo-mumbles with some effort. “Mikhail, either speak louder or get off the tree. I can’t imagine dealing with this on a daily basis…” He added the last part to himself, but Mikhail’s hearing must’ve been better than his speech, because the boy heard him.

“That’s w-what my sister always said, but she did anyways,” Mikhail replied, shrugging. “I guess you will too.”