~Ad Lunam~ (Feat. Andronic & Sonora)

[Sonora]

~Ad Lunam~
Feat. Andronic & Sonora​

Emily Allen​

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Centuries old, the North Cascades rose above the Washington landscape like slumbering giants, each ridged and pock-marked mountain face bearded by a great forest of subalpine firs. Overhead, the clear, blue sky seemed impossibly vast—a veritable ocean of nothingness painted blue by the refraction of the sun's rays through the Earth's protective atmosphere—whilst below, four young hikers began a leisurely, summer day's hike through the untamed wilderness. They wore light clothes so as not to melt away in the summer sun, which would grow hot approaching midday, and between them carried two tents, rolled up, and a single hammock, carried by the youngest of the group.​

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At twenty-one, Emily Allen's first trip to the U.S. had come at an age where she was only just of age to drink in bars, a luxury that had been afforded to her for the previous three at home in the south of England. Her brother, Edgar, had made sure that they made the most of it, though they hadn't gone so crazy the prior night as to be unable to rouse themselves this morning in time to hit the mountain early. The weather forecast had predicted temperatures in the high twenties (what that equated to in Fahrenheit, Emily had no idea), so the more ground they made before it reached its daily maximum, the better. It is well documented that British people do not fare well in the sun, and the Allens' fair complexion ensured that the threat of sunburn was real. Each of the siblings wore a healthy application of sunscreen, which would no doubt need to be reapplied a number of times before they reached camp.​

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"You smell like a Bounty," Edgar teased, deadpan, walking side-by-side with his sister. Tall and lean, he had an overly youthful complexion not helped by his clean-shaven visage, and his short, neatly-cropped hair was of the same chocolate brown hue as Emily's. It didn't take much to peg them as siblings, despite the seven extra years he had on her.​

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"So do you," she replied, scrunching her nose up at him and then smirking humorously. "Do they even have those over here?"​

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"Yeah, but they call them Mounds."​

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Emily cocked an eyebrow, and a mischievous half-smile tugged on one corner of her narrow lips. Edgar rolled his eyes, then snickered.​

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"Mum would be proud," he said, sardonically, then glanced over his shoulder to where his girlfriend, a Seattle native named Jenny, was walking with his best friend on this side of the Atlantic, Charles. "What are you two talking about back there?"​

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"Oh, nothing," Jenny replied with a wave of her hand and playful smirk, her short, dyed hair a brilliant electric blue in the morning light. "I was just saying how much funnier your sister is than you!"​

 

[Andronic]

Charles got out of his car when he reached the area, he wore hiking shoes with long black socks, simple shorts and a loose white t-shirt. As he stepped out, the crunch of the gravel beneath his feet felt like a reawakening of his soul, and he looked out to the dirt hiking trail as he inhaled a deep breath. The crisp air filling his lungs. He had not carpooled with them because he had some things to take care of at work before they set off, so this had worked out.

Charles walked with Jenny while the siblings caught up, theytalked about nothing in particular as he admired the girls hips swaying, who knew that Edgar had such a pretty sister. Oh, but that was not something a man did with his best friends sister, best push the thought away. And when Jenny teased Edgar he grinned.

“Aye, and how much better looking I am. I bet Emily there agrees!” He grinned.”Em, when I come visit across the pond, you got a cot for a fella to crash on?” He caught up to her as Edgar growled playfully and hugged his girlfriend.”your brother is too much of a boar, he hogs an entire bed, and his farts are ghastly.” He grinned. His green eyes seeming to catch the sun and show off a ring of gold around the iris as he watched her reaction.

“hey! That is so not true! You’re the boar!”That caused Charles to laugh.”whatever you say English.” He tossed his nickname his way.

 

[Sonora]

Emily raised an eyebrow but said nothing until Charles caught up with her, though she did flash a small, close-lipped smile when the American asked about a cot to crash on. She chuckled softly beneath her breath at her brother's playful growl, thus drawing the smile a little more broadly across her lips. Mention of his farts caused the smile to disappear beneath a frown.​

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"You're both bores," Jenny remarked, punctuating her pun with a dramatic yawn that led a grinning Edgar to briefly tickle her. Her shriek rang through the otherwise placid surroundings, and Emily glanced over her shoulder to see the woman who might one day be her sister-in-law grin and backhand her boyfriend across the midriff.​

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"Jerk," she quipped.​

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Smiling to herself, Emily turned back to the path ahead and continued to trudge, glancing up at Charles out of the corner of one eye. He was remarkably attractive, though, having seen pictures of him with her brother, she had previously inquired about him and learned that he was something of a playboy—neither her type, nor the type that often pursued her.​

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"How long will it take to get to camp?" she asked as ahead of them, a well-worn dirt trail led towards the tree line, some one hundred yards ahead. Beyond that they would be in and out of the sun, climbing not to the summit, but to Charles' secret place.​

 

[Andronic]

Charles stopped short as she asked about how long. “Hmmmm,” Tapping his chin with his index finger, he seemed to be doing some sort of mental calculation.”How fast are we going? How many bathroom breaks? Lots of factors.” He grinned and flipped off Jenny for the ‘bores’ comment.

“Should be there just an hour or so before sunset. Enough time to set up tents with natural light.” He added and looked at her pack.”Where is your tent anyway?” He stopped and walked around her in a circle, maybe he just didn’t see it.

Realizing the woman did not bring a tent he sucked his teeth.”I hope it doesn’t rain.” He looked up at the sky and gave a snort. For some reason, he knew it would. Looking back at the couple that was flirting and sneaking touches here and there, he knew her brother would not want her in the tent with him. They’d work themselves up into a horny frenzy.

Taking a deep breath his heavy chest inflated,exposing his pecs over his shirt even more before he exhaled.”3 to 4 hours.” He finally gave her a straight answer.

 

[Sonora]

Emily frowned at his answer but said nothing, merely evaluated his calculations in silence. She was beginning to see the truth in the playboy tag Edgar had placed on him. It was funny the kind of people one wound up associating with when they left home, she thought, and glanced back at Jenny. Her brother's girlfriend seemed a world apart from Charles. Her short, undercut blue hair and piercings would cause some consternation amongst the more conservative of her relatives if they were to marry, and anyone liable to rile up the Tories was worth keeping around. She was vivaciously outgoing, too, seemingly unabashed and forthright. Now that she thought about it, Jenny wasn't much like Edgar either. It really was funny who you wound up with after leaving home, and the youngster began to wonder where and with whom she would end up with if she moved away from England.​

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Her thoughts turned to Vienna as they strode on, and then Budapest; what better place for an aspiring musician? The U.S. had Berkeley, but Berkeley had neither the history nor the prestige—at least not in so far as classical music went. Behind her, Jenny and Edgar had fallen into jovial, light-hearted conversation, and overhead the sun beamed down upon the world, lending its brightness to the morning. Once beyond the tree line, its heat and light became somewhat diminished, though its presence could still be felt in the ever-warming air, and seen all around as its rays pierced the canopy of overhead leaves. The firs were not too tightly knit, and the foot-worn dirt path on which they walked was wide enough at points for all four to walk abreast.​

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"So what are plans now that you've graduated?" Jenny asked, playfully shouldering her way between Emily and Charles, and giving the latter a knowing smirk. The girl shrugged her lips and nonchalantly tilted her head to one side.​

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"I don't know yet," she replied. "I've applied to a few conservatories already... hoping to travel and get citizenship somewhere else before I wind up eating Spam for every meal."​

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"Brexit," Edgar clarified, when his girlfriend gave her a nonplussed look.​

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"Ah! Yeah, you should! Besides, it'd be great to travel around and take in lots of different cultures. Your brother still hasn't brought me to Europe yet."​

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"Yeah, and she's been very patient about that," Edgar smirked, leading to another exchange of playful petulance between the couple.​

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"Leave him here," Emily teased. "You can come visit me when I move to Vienna."​

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"Fucking sold," grinned the blue-haired Seattleite, dropping back to playfully bump shoulders with her boyfriend.​

 

[Andronic]

Charles listened to everyone as he walked, he didn’t know if the girl didn’t like him, or something Edgar had said. Men did that often, when they wanted ladies to stay away from some sort of man, or a specific man, they badmouthed them. Even if they loved them. Charles figured Edgar was no different, and he didn’t blame him. If he had a sister he was sure he wouldn’t want Edgar inside her.

“I’m sure you’ll still get some sort of deliveries from around the kingdom, after all, the sun rises and sets on the British empire.” Charles made the joke with a smirk. He was not a nationalist, but he was a proud American, sometimes that rubbed people the wrong way.

“Or is it now the American? I forget the sayings.” He teased the Brits, Edgar flipped him off.”Shut it before we burn the White House down again.”

Charles could only grin and begin to laugh. “We will be there before long, any of you need a pit stop? A snack or anything? I got some bars and stuff if you’re Hungry.” He looked to their youngest party member. Some would call him a fuck boy, but he thought he was just a man who enjoyed sex, and the company of women.