The storm clouds kept getting darker and more menancing as the day advanced, making it seem much later in the hour of day than what it was in truth.
Drusus - for indeed that was his name- One that gave a certain menancing idea to his character when it was not so in the least. He was hyperactive and quite talkative, always eager for new things and adventures that he would later enjoy telling friends with a cold beer in his hand as he hosted a barbecue at their back patio.Drusus was determined that they should reach the hill he had predistened for the camping that weekned, he was an avid hiker and explorer and thought there was nothing best for them to celebrate their anniversary that to enjoy one of the places he found more delight in the whole world. He knew the place like the back of his hand - or so he thought- as the bad weather had forced them to search for another path a few miles from the main hiking roads as those had become too slippery to thread along. He paused a moment, his clothes and raven locks were damped with sweat, and took out his compass to make sure they were going in the right direction, to his horror he found they had come too far to the east, there was something making the compass act out as the arrow moved again , he could feel his boyfriend´s eyes on him demanding to know what was wrong "I think we deviated a bit too much from our path..." he said trying to not alarm him. Soon cold, fat drops began to fall over them as the strom broke over them and Drusus cursed as he had thought they at least had another hour and half to arrive to their shelter.
Tobias didn't mind hiking, but he didn't enjoy it quite as much as his boyfriend did. Regardless of how he felt, he enjoyed seeing the man so happy. The weather was worrying, but he was optimistic. Adjusting his pack as their path diverted from the main one, he stayed close to Drusus as they pressed on. He huffed a bit, not fond of climbing up hills, but knew it was all worth it.
His long thick hair was pulled back, showing his warm tanned skin and intense ice blue eyes. Hat sitting on his head to block most of the rain as it began falling. "Shit....weather isn't cooperating today" he said, adjusting his hat and giving Drusus a frown. He looked around quickly, spotting a large hollow under an old tree nearby. "Come on. The rain might let up. We can wait it out." He said, motioning for him to follow.
Once at the tree, he fished a flashlight out and ducked under the exposed roots, waiting for his boyfriend before moving further. He held the light up, looking around. "Looks like we aren't the first to hide here....someone dug this out pretty far." He said, tilting his head. It even seemed like some of the roots had been bent to form chairs...and a table was made from some rocks. Tobias sighed and sat down, taking off his pack and wiping his brow. "At least it's dry." He said, giving a warm smile.
Drusus had been of a mind to protest and try to cohert his boyfriend to keep going, it was only a bit of rain... He looked up as the heavy rain fell on him zit was very cold water, Drusus felt it went all the way into his bones to chill him "But we are so close... of we just..." he tried yet Tobias was already going his own way and trying to keep his temper down, he knew his boyfriend was right, he was so mist times... Drusus was just too stubborn and had a knack of thinking too much of himself.
He paused at the entrance of the cave, yet it gave more of the feeling of it being a burrow to the young man. He was drenched and felt colder here in a refuge than outside. "I feel like a mole in here..." he said as he catched up with Tobias ad left his backpack down "But you're right... of course" he said as his ears took a red tint "Perhaps we should have... done your idea, I ruined it didn't I?" he asked as he was now entering a rather brooding mood.
Tobias watched Drusus as he followed, giving him a smile before motioning for him to sit beside him. "Don't let this ruin our day. It's just some rain." He said, putting an arm around the man. "We can wait it out here. Maybe explore a little. You have that lantern?" He asked, looking curious.
The burrow went deep into the hillside, Tobias could see the rocky walls of a cave. He got up and pulled his bag over, pulling a dry shirt out before tugging his jacket and soaked shirt off. He had a slim runner's build, lean and defined. But it was quickly hidden again under the dry shirt.
"That's better. You wanna change too?" He asked, tugging another shirt out. He was always so practical...packing things 'just in case'. But it had saved them both on many occasions.
"How can you even be so optimistic still as to console me instead of being angry with me?" Drusus asked as he let himself fall next to Tobias like a defeated man that went out to conquer the whole world and returned to his love with bare and empty hands. "Yes, I have it" he said as he went to his bag to get out a rather old fashioned oil lamp, he loved that thing as it was given to him by his grandfather and had been something he had always carried during his camping since he was a small boy.
He lighted the lamp and moved it the direction Tobias wanted to go to take a look "It looks as just more of this..." he said referring to the strange burrow in where branches and wood seemed to have tangled to make an odshift refuge "A creepy farytale lair...." he declared hoping Tobias wouldn´t notice the shiver of unsettlement that ran down his back. He looked back surprised to see him holding out a dry and clean shirt for him "Thanks....I didnt even thought of that" he said blushing at his own stupidity and proceded to discard his wet shirt and put on the clean one.
Tobias gave a small chuckle, shaking his head. "You didn't make it rain. And the weather forecast isn't always right." He said, giving a small shrug. He quietly watched the other pull out that old lamp, often wondering why he risked breaking it by bringing it with him. But he couldn't deny that it proved useful right now.
He nodded at Drusus' observation, shouldering his bag again and heading deeper into the burrow. "It leads to a stone cave." He said, looking back. He couldn't help the smile crossing his face when he noticed his boyfriend's blush, but he knew better than to point it out.
He just turned and pointed the beam of his flashlight into the cave, seeing a fairly clear path that seemed to widen further in. He took it slow, staying within the glow cast by the old oil lamp while using his flashlight to see ahead and above them. "This seems almost carved out." He mused, looking at marks in the stone wall. He didn't even think that something was compelling them to explore deeper.
Drusus had to take a moment to admire his boyfriend as he declared how their anniversary fiasco was not his fault. He was starring with awe and thoughtfulness but soon realized what he was doing and looked away. Yes he liked Tobias a lot, more than a lot...(his words were staying short once again...) but he was not one that knew how to express himself and felt like an idiot when he tried, so he abstained of all the feelings topic.
He could only hear Tobia´s voice comenting as he lead the way , it was strange to let him do so when he was the adventurer of the two, yet he couldn´t shake off the feeling that they would be doing much better out in the storm searching for the hill he had intended as their camping site. His boots crushed the trail of dead leaves and small twigs that covered the floor like a carpet of bad taste "Someone must have been pretty bored to carve this out..." he called clearly uncomfortable yet too proud to really admit it. He felt a shift in temperature, very slightly, as if something had brushed past him, a small flutter....like a humming bird gracing him with his presence just but a fraction of a moment, yet unlike the pleasant feeling such an event would cause, at that moment Drusus felt more unsettled and he began to have the strange notion that someone was watching them.
Tobias understood how his boyfriend was with expressing his feelings. He knew just from the way the man looked at him how he felt. It made him happy, even if Drusus wouldn't admit it.
He nodded at the other's comment, looking around with his flashlight. He couldn't explain why he was drawn further in, but he didn't think much of it. He paused as the tunnel started to widen, cautiously moving forward only to find it was a dead end. An average sized room seemed to have been carved from the stone and lived in. He looked around, then back to Drusus. "Guess this is it. We could camp here tonight. Its not too cold and its dry." He said, looking confident as he set his bag down and started to unpack his sleeping bag.
Drusus could hear the storm still ranging outside , it seemed as if the world was falling over their heads, yet the hiker couldnt help but look back, for some reason he still felt more comforatable with the idea of being out in the cold storm that right here in the warm burrow. Reluctantly he followed his boyfriend and placed his bag down.
"At least we can be sure its not a bear that lives here" he said grimly , letting Tobias take care of their sleeping arrangements "Ill go get some wood, to make a fire" he said as they would need one, for the tempeture would drop at night, without further ado, he made his way back out into the storm to collect anything he would be able to find that would feed a fire.
It took him quite a while to find what he was looking for, for all the branches and twigs he could find were too wet to be of any use to them, yet he sometimes managed and went back to their shelter and built them a fire. "You need to warm up ...." he said to his boyfriend even if he was the one that had gotten wet all over again.
Tobias wasn't fond of sleeping in a tent in a storm. The burrow seemed like a much better idea, considering the circumstances. So he set about setting up an area to sleep.
He looked up when Drusus mentioned a fire, about to advise against it but he had gone already. He sighed, setting up a tarp and laying their sleeping bags out on it. He sat down, looking up at the ceiling. He noticed the scorch marks left by a previous fire, then what looked like a vent carved into the rock. Whoever made this burrow clearly knew what they were doing.
He helped Drusus set up the fire under the vent, looking up at him and smiling. "You got your dry clothes all wet. C'mere." He said, getting up and tugging his boyfriend's shirt off. He laid it out on a rock to dry, motioning to his pants as well. "Can't have you sleeping in those. You'll get sick." he said, showing his natural mothering instinct.
"I'll be fine..." Drusus said rather annoyed as Tobias began to take off his clothes, he didn't minded being naked, but he was generally thick headed "I'm fine I won't..." but his protests were of no use as he soon found himself only on his boxers that hung snugly around his hips.
"Who you think bothered to do all this? "he asked looking around and the smoke that now raised up 5hr vent" It must have taken a lot of time... surely that kind of energy and work would have been better used on building a cabin don't you think? "he asked and looked back at Tobias as he felt a gently cold air brush his half naked body and he gave his boyfriend a half glazed look.
Tobias smirked, seeing his boyfriend stripped to his shorts. He patted a spot by the fire, wanting him to warm up a bit.
"No idea. But it's easier to hide than a cabin. And I'd guess it keeps a pretty even temperature." He said, shrugging. "But whoever they were, they haven't been here in a long time." He said, covering his mouth with a long yawn.
