Ryder looked at the glass pen in his hand. "Hey, Aaron?" He asked. The other boy, who had been content watching a darkling beetle, looked up and grunted in acknowledgment. "Ash told me something before we left. She said that she wanted to be known as a warrior, strong and valiant. She was worried though. She said she knew she would never be as strong as a boy, and was worried that maybe because of her lack of strength she would be ignored. I wanted to tell her something, but I wasn't sure what." "Are you asking me what you should say?" He asked, almost with a hint of hostility. He was jealous. Ash was a wonderful person, but he was beginning to dislike how often Ryder thought about her and ignored him. He was his best friend! He was sure he had every right to be upset that Ash was taking Ryder from him. He looked at Ryder, his brown hair and tanned skin gave him a sense of being grounded, and hard working. His blue eye that remained glittering like a sapphire was something even Beau would envy to have. His cheeks, perfectly and handsomely sunken by years of hunger, made him look so much more mature and wise. His black eye patch made him look tough and rugged at the same time. "You're a precious thing to lose..." He murmured under his breath. "I'll think of something. Now, I need to go find some food. I'll hunt if you think can handle finding berries," Ryder said, standing up. /I wish I had a body as lean and as tall as his/ came a random thought in Aaron's mind. /Shut up. Quit. Stop it. You're weird if you keep getting jealous of how hot he is. At least though you can make fun of Beau for having a rival in looks,/ he thought to himself blissfully, /that will be fun!/ "Hah! I'll do anything to get you away from me," Aaron replied. Ryder glared at him, and Aaron did in return, but they finally broke out in laughter after a moment. They both went opposite ways, Ryder into the woods and Aaron into the meadows. Aaron began snapping wild strawberries from their stems, musing over the bond between him and Ryder. "Ryder laughed with me, and he doesn't laugh much. That must mean he is still comfortable with me. Hopefully I can maybe pull some little prank on him sometime. He loves it when I do that." When they met up at their camp at sunset, Aaron saw Ryder carrying some fish along with quail. "Finally! You learned how to get something besides rabbit!" Ryder chuckled, and said, "Did you really think I would put us through gut aches like the ones we had, again? I never want to see a rabbit as long as I live." "Except for the cottontails. Those are cute." "Yeah, except for those one." Ryder smirked at Aaron and told him, "You're in charge of cleaning the quail." "Aw, why is it always me who has to clean the birds!" "Just joking. I'll take care of the quail. You can have a break for once." They exchanged smiles, and began their work.
