Dan glanced at Nina's bunny sweater, and then some flirting began. And a spring.
While they enjoyed their snacks, they let silence settle in. Nina thought about how great it was to have met Dan. She realized he wasn't just a skilled hiker but also a pleasant person to be around. And she couldn't help but smile inwardly when she thought about how good-looking he was too.
Dan ate his almonds and raisins while thinking the same thing, how good it had felt to have company along the way. Nina seemed confident and brave, which impressed him. Her presence also gave him a sense of allegiance and and perhaps security.
After munching for a while, Dan broke the silence.
"This is truly a wonderful spot for a break. I'm glad we decided to stop here."
Nina nodded and smiled.
"Absolutely, it feels like a perfect spot. It's amazing to enjoy nature and your company."
Dan gestured toward the trail.
"I'm looking forward to what awaits us."
Nina raised her water bottle in a toast and laughed.
"To new adventures and new places."
After resting for a while, they continued on the trail.
Nina was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a rabbit and the text "I'm cute" underneath. The rabbit image was undeniably adorable. However, the shirt had become a bit too snug for her; it clung to her body, emphasizing her recent growth, particularly in her chest. As a result, the text ended up folded beneath her breasts, making it difficult to read. He couldn't help but sneak discreet glances at Nina's shirt, appreciating its charm. He didn't want his gaze to be misconstrued as staring at her breasts, though he suspected he might be doing just that, ever so slightly. Eventually, he couldn't resist asking,
"What does it say beneath the picture?"
Nina smiled and giggled softly.
"'I'm cute,' but unfortunately, the shirt has become a bit too tight, so the text ends up folded. It's been my favorite shirt for a long time, but I've grown quite a bit in recent years."
She tugged at the bottom of her shirt to make the text more visible, a move that didn't escape Dan's notice. It accentuated the tightness of the shirt around her chest, and he discreetly took a deep breath to conceal any sign of his excitement.
"You're cute," Dan said with a brave smile, both because he read the text and because he genuinely thought so.
When Dan complimented her shirt and playfully called her cute, Nina felt her heart quicken its pace. She experienced a fluttering sensation in her stomach that was hard to deny. His compliment seemed to have unveiled something she hadn't expected – her own feelings toward Dan. He really is cute, she thought to herself, and she felt a bit frustrated by how strongly she was reacting.
To mask her own confusion and the sudden increase in her heartbeats, Nina decided to play it off casually. With a wide smile on her lips and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, she teasingly raised her fist and lightly punched Dan's arm. It was a playful punch, a gesture she'd seen guys use when joking around or trying to be friendly.
"You're not too shabby yourself," she said, laughing a bit. Her voice a playful and joyful tone.
Dan chuckled and lightly rubbed his arm where she had punched him.
"Ouch, I'll take that as a compliment."
Nina felt it was only fair for her to enjoy looking at Dan and his physique now that he was looking at her. She let her gaze travel over his broad shoulders, strong arms, and flat stomach. She relished in secretly admiring him, which made her feel good and a bit aroused.
As they continued, Nina mentioned that she was a Scout.
"Be Prepared," she said proudly, "that's the Scout motto," but she didn't finish the sentence. Then she thought of something else and blushed. Dan noticed her ears turning red. What's on her mind? he wondered.
"Are you always prepared?" he asked.
"It's not what you think," she replied bashfully.
"That you're always ready?" he asked teasingly and flirtatiously, without really knowing where he was going with it.
"Sure, I mean, I'm always ready for ADVENTURE," she clarifies, realizing it didn't make things any clearer.
"What kind of adventures are you always ready for?" he wonders, looking curiously at her. She pauses in frustration and excitement.
"I don't mean that I'm always ready for sex, that's not what I meant," she says, although then she thinks that was exactly what she was thinking, which is why she got embarrassed.
"Just stop now," Nina exclaims. "Let's continue," she adds, and they move on.
After a while, he says cheerfully and a bit flirtatiously, "You're very cute when you're upset."
"You're also very cute when I'm upset," Nina replies, looking at him with a smile. "But come on, get it together! I can't walk when you're making me blush," she says.
The heat lay like a blanket over the landscape as Dan and Nina continued their hike along the trail. The sun's rays were relentless, and soon both of them were drenched in sweat.
They had encountered the first major challenge of their journey - a scorching hot summer day that made the hike tougher than they had anticipated.
"Wow, it's really hot today," Dan remarks, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, indeed," agrees Nina, unable to resist wiping a droplet of sweat from her cheek. "We really need to find some shade soon."
The surroundings are dry and dusty, with no signs of a stream or any other water source in sight. The tractor path they are on appears increasingly less traveled, with the grass growing taller in the middle of the parallel tracks. They are getting closer to the outskirts of civilization.
"I really hope we find something soon," says Dan with a strained expression. "I've already drunk all my water bottles!"
"Really? Good thing we're not in a desert," Nina remarks, also feeling thirsty, but Dan had more water with him from the start. Dan feels a bit embarrassed about his lack of conservation; the gurgling sound from his stomach makes him slightly queasy.
Nina felt how thirsty she was as well. Their backpacks began to feel heavier, and their steps slowed down. But instead of letting frustration take over, they looked at each other and smiled. They knew they were in this together.
In front of them lies a dense forested area, which immediately provides a temperature contrast as they enter its shade. While it offers protection from the sun, it's still warm here, although not as stifling.
After continuing to walk for a while, they see a stream, the water is flowing rapidly between the rocks and the sound of the water fills their ears with hope. They decide to temporarily take off their backpacks and continue following the stream upstream, both with a water bottle in hand. Slowly they find a place where the stream widens and forms a narrow and deep small pond. The water is bubbling up from the center of the pond, they have found a water source.
"Water!" Dan exclaimed happily and knelt down to drink. Nina felt a certain skepticism and hesitation.
"Wait, is it safe?" she asked, looking uncertainly at Dan.
Dan paused and smiled at her. "Yes, it's actually a well-known spring in the area. It's marked on the map." He pointed to the map, showing a symbol for water, which might not be entirely clear that it signifies a spring, Nina remarked.
"It's an artesian spring, or bubbling spring, the water comes from underground," says Dan.
"I knew it, you're a nature guide," says Nina. "No, I just watch a lot of TV," protests Dan, adding, "and also, my dad, was a geologist."
"Was?" Nina asks cautiously.
"All springwater here is drinkable, and pretty much all flowing water in this area is drinkable. You just need to be cautious if we see grazing cows nearby. Then the water might be contaminated by their feces." He continues without answering her question.
Nina felt relieved by Dan's explanation. Decides not to ask more questions about his dad. She bends down and drinks cautiously from the spring. The cooling sensation fills her body with relief. Then, they both refill their water bottles. What luck.
"I hope luck like this becomes common on our journey," says Nina with water dripping from her chin.
Nina listens and realizes that there's almost no other sound except for the babbling of the brook, turning this tranquil place into a completely different world from the noisy and bustling city they both come from. The forest was a bit denser here, mostly tall pines, and the filtering sunlight bathed the ground in a golden glow, illuminating the large rocks around the pond. Low-hanging branches from the trees stretched out over the water like a leafy canopy, creating small shady gaps where the stream meandered between the trees. Everything was still, except for the water-loving, long-legged insects dancing on the surface.
Dan knelt down to get a closer look at the water and caught an insect swimming by. Meanwhile, Nina picked some beautiful flowers and placed them in her hair .
Dan raised an eyebrow when he saw Nina with the flowers in her hair. He had never seen her like this before, and he couldn't help but admire her beauty. His gaze was drawn to her hair, where the flowers stuck out in all directions, and he wondered how she had managed to make them stay so nicely.
"Wow, Nina," he said, gaping, "you really look like a forest fairy today."
Nina smiled at him and ran her hand through her hair as if to highlight her flowery hairstyle.
"Thank you, Dan. I thought I'd make myself a little extra pretty now that we're out in the woods and all."
"It looks like you've already done that," Dan replied, nodding toward her hair. "You look fantastic."
Nina blushed slightly at the compliment, but she also seemed to become happier. She leaned forward toward Dan and smiled at him again.
"Thank you, Dan. That was kind of you to say."
Dan smiled shyly in response and changed the subject.
"I picked some watercress, it's quite unusual and only grows where the water is the purest. I took a bit for us to taste; it has a smooth but spicy flavor, a bit like wasabi."
Nina smiled at him and accepted it.
"Watercress? You're truly a bit surprising. Are you aiming to become an exceptional naturalist guide?" She gave Dan a curious look and tasted it cautiously. At first, she felt nothing but a crisp green taste, then a tingling sensation on the tip of her tongue and a scent in her nose like horseradish, not unpleasant or really strong, but flavorful. She lifted her gaze and looked out over the calm water with the barely visible ripples from the underground current, causing the sand at the bottom to dance.
"Naturalist guide? Not really, but I find things you can eat in the forest interesting," Dan replied. "But when it comes to mushrooms, I'm way too scared. I think all mushrooms are devious fly agarics, even button mushrooms."
"How fun!" Nina exclaimed, "Mushrooms are actually my specialty!"
Dan became curious and furrowed his brow. "What? Is that true?" "Absolutely!" Nina said with a smile, "my interest in mushrooms is entirely serious. There's an incredible variety of mushrooms out there in nature, many of them are edible. It might not be mushroom season right now, but they're out there."
Nina was delighted that Dan was so interested and felt eager to share her knowledge. "I could talk about mushrooms forever," she began and then continued, "there are mushrooms you can grill, use to start a fire, and the special ones, Psilocybin," she said mysteriously.
Dan looked up with a twinkle in his eye.
"Psilocybin?" he said, "Oh, you mean mushrooms with... magical properties?"
Nina smiled and nodded,
"Yes, I mean exactly those! I've never tried eating one; they're quite rare and hard to find. I'm not even sure if I'd dare," she continued.
"Do you know about them?" she asked curiously.
"Only from TV, the Nature Channel," he admitted.
She looks at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if there's something else he's not telling her.
Dan on the other hand is watching a rabbit on the other side of the spring, perched on a rock. Its ears stand straight up in a defiant and curious pose, aimed at them. Is it upset or curious? Its little nose sniffs, and its large black eyes silently observe them. But the strangest thing is that the rabbit is completely white. Dan leans toward Nina without taking his eyes off the rabbit.
"Look where I'm looking, do you see what I see?" Then he blinks, and the rabbit is gone.
Nina looks but sees nothing. "Are you kidding me?" she wonders.
"No, seriously, I saw a white rabbit," he protests.
Nina thinks that a white rabbit in the forest is quite unlikely. She believes Dan is teasing her, trying to make their adventure more adventurous.