6

A couple of days later, Valeria is sitting beside Stella with Nicholas seated in front of them on the ground, his arms crossed over his knees, his legs folded up to his chest. The group of three sit snacking on crackers and chips, pitching away the time as they wait for Keithia's return, along with the serving of freshly picked fruits she's promised them.

"It feels good out here, doesn't it?" asks Stella as she stretches out her arms back and over her head, a lazy smile gracing her lips. "The lot of us herded around a fire, out in the wilderness, waiting for food. A group of friends together in the mountains, having the time of their lives."

Frowning with a hint of amusement in his features, Nick says, "Correction: There isn't a fire here, Ella."

"Oh sod off, you. Spoil sport," Stella replies, playfully glaring at Nick. "Be imaginative! Imagine there's a fire here, kindling in front of us."

"But," Val raises her voice to emphasise her point, grinning, "We don't have to play pretend for the having fun bit."

Looking up, Valeria finds Nick smiling a small smile at her in encouragement and agreement — though it's just an upside turn of his lips from the corners, a barely there purse, it still fills her with an indefinable form of glee, knowing that he's begun to have fun, that he's finally begun to feel comfortable.

Having found out in the previous days and nights that he isn't as indifferent and reserved as he'd come off to be earlier on, rather just a tad bit timid around new people, Valeria now finds her spirits renewed, her plans to make a proper friend out of him further strengthened.

And so she grins back at him, the energy ten-folds, causing his smile to widen, too.

"Look who's come back," Stella announces, pointedly looking over at where Richard has just come around.

The brunet holds a tin in his hand, one of the few he and Keithia had taken with themselves before leaving, filled to the brim with magenta coloured berries. He waves at them excitedly, simultaneously stuffing his face with a handful of the picked fruits.

"Sure you should be eating those, mate?" asks Nicholas, his tone depicting half parts concern, half parts mirth.

"Yeah, Rich," Stella jumps in immediately. "We wouldn't want you to die before you've become a successful architect, now would we?"

"No guys, these aren't poisonous. Keithia picked them out, see?" Richard comes to stand directly in front of them, holding out the tin to his friends.

A nudge to Nicholas' foot delivered from Stella portrays what Valeria is already finding herself to be thinking then — Richard has gotten so caught up in all things Keithia that he's lost whatever strands of sarcasm he had in him to begin with. He really may be falling too deep, too fast, Val realises, recalling how Nick's observation is actually ringing true.

Valeria frowns to herself for a split second, not quite sure as to how she feels about Nick's observations being so spot on: perturbed or fascinated, or something entirely different and somewhere in-between that scale.

"Rest your worries, lovelies. No one's dying tonight," announces Keithia chirpily, coming into the group's circle now, an almost skip in her step. "At least not yet, not on my watch."

She comes to rest beside Richard, laying down her hand on his shoulder as he's sitting, gazing down at his grinning face, beaming herself.

Directing her gaze to each of the remaining three, she smiles encouragingly at them. With the sun behind her head, she seems to be glowing more than usual, presenting a somewhat intimidating sight. "I've basically grown up in these parts, so I know all there is to know about the flora and fauna existing here," says Keithia. "So don't you all fret, these berries are perfectly safe." With this she plucks a single berry with her slender fingers, dropping it into her mouth with a definitively pleased sigh.

A moment later Stella follows suit, snatching the tin held in Richard's hands. "Well then don't keep the treats to yourself only," she says, biting into a perfectly round and glossy berry. "These are delicious!" she exclaims a heartbeat later, beaming at Keithia.

Needing no further validation, Valeria, too, stuffs her hand into the tin, gathering up a few berries before chewing them, one right after the other; humming her approval at the amazing taste.

"So," Richard turns his head to look at Keithia, shielding his eyes against the sun with one hand, "Will you be taking us to your place then?" A moment later his eyes widen a fraction with the realisation of how brash his question must have sounded. "I mean uh...," he searches for his words, "You said you've lived your whole life in these parts, yeah? So you can show us around... or something?"

He looks at his friends, eyes pleading for someone to help him. "I-I'm sure all of us would be delighted to come visit you... If you'll have us that is."

"Um," Keithia clears her throat. And instantly Valeria finds herself internally cringing. Oh, poor Rich, she thinks.

"Well I'm sure you'll love to come and I'd love to have you all over," Keithia says brightly. "But uh-you, you see, my parents, they're kind of strict?"

Valeria watches as Richard's face falls, and so does Keithia's hand from his shoulder.

"And also it's just a wee little cabin deep in the woods, you know. You'll be bothered there." Keithia stops with a sudden catch, coughing to clear her throat, one hand reaching up to play with strands of loose hair from her braid.

"Yeah," Richard says after a beat, sighing quietly before gathering a smile on his face again. "Yes. You're... right, of course." He shrugs nonchalantly. "It was just a stupid idea, no worries."

Keithia nods, her lips twisting into a forced smile, the first of its kind Valeria notices. She then turns around and leaves, and Val feels her heart falling a little at seeing Richard sitting still, not going after her.

Turning her head, Val catches Nicholas' eye, the green in his irises bright with concern for his friend. She then lifts her shoulders and lets them fall back down with a quiet sigh — slotting away the first dismal memory in the treasury for this trip.