The river wasn't wild, exactly, but it certainly wasn't forgiving. Blue felt his heart begin to race in his chest as Eivind approached the ugly, dilapidated bridge. There were loose boards hanging from the cables in some places, and in others they were missing completely, forcing whoever was crossing to hobble along the cables like a tightrope walker, clutching the upper lines with white knuckles, desperately hoping they wouldn't fall and be swept away by the rushing waters and sliced up by the sharp, jagged rocks that hid below the surface. Eivind navigated the bridge deftly, taking careful, calculated steps and managing to make his way across the river without issue. When it was Blue's turn, the boy took in a ragged breath and stepped onto the first plank, first aid bag slung over one shoulder and hands trembling as he took hold of the cables.<br/><br/>Eivind's voice called to him from across the river, but even with his strong, powerful bellowing it was sometimes still difficult to hear him over the sound of the water and his own nervous pants. Blue tried to follow all of Eivind's instructions, stepping on boards that Eivind knew to be safe, avoiding ones that were already in the process of rotting away and shimmying along the cables instead. He was halfway across when his heel slipped on a rotting board and he fell into the gap between planks, his hands slipping from the top cables, first aid bag falling from his shoulder and catching on one of the slate-colored rocks that jutted up from the surface. Blue's hand caught the bottom cable and he held onto it as he stretched for the bag that contained all their medical supplies. Eivind was yelling for him to leave it, but Blue refused to give up, stretching his fingers so far they started to ache. Eventually he managed to grasp onto the bag and pull it up. It was soaked through, and some of the items inside of it might have been ruined, but Blue was relieved he hadn't lost it. He wrapped the bag around his shoulders and moved through the water to the next plank, holding onto the cables for support. When he reached it, he managed to pull himself up and drag his body out of the water. The rest of the trek across the bridge was more successful, and before he even reached the end Eivind was coming to him and wrapping him up in his arms, holding him close.<br/><br/>"No more risk? Are you sure? I was thinking of going another round," Blue said breathlessly, a cheeky smile on his face. He could feel Eivind's heart pounding in his chest, and Blue knew he had been worried for him. He leaned forward and gave Eivind a quick kiss on the lips before they continued on their journey.<br/><br/>They walked for a long while still, and by the time Eivind discovered the mossy entrance to what was going to be their safe haven, the clouds had darkened, hiding away the setting sun. Blue could feel raindrops on his face as he looked up to admire the dark charcoal clouds. "Just in time," he said softly, following his smiling wolf through the covered entrance and into the warm cave.<br/><br/>It was dark, but not too dark. Were the sun not covered by heavy clouds Blue was sure some amount of light would be able to leak through the hidden entrance. Eivind looked at fire pit and was poking around while Blue ran his hands along the smooth, dry rock. Spending the night in here was going to be like staying in a hotel compared to the amount of effort they had to put forth that first night they were together in the woods. "Makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed here during that last storm." He turned back toward Eivind and stepped forward as the wolf set down the parcel that had been left. "What's that?"<br/><br/>Eivind waved his hand at the note and Blue bent down to pick it up, his eyes straining to read the scribbled words in the dim light.<br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Bad Script', 'cursive'"><span style="font-size: 18px">Friend,<br/>
<br/>
I leave here some items and notes for your journey. If you are a traveler, like me, I hope something here will be of great use to you. If you are just passing through, still feel free to take what you need! Hopefully this cave will serve you as nicely as it has me. <br/>
<br/>
We will meet soon.<br/>
<br/>
Sincerely,<br/>
Sig</span></span><br/><br/>On the opposite side of the paper was a list of the parcel's contents. A variety of medicinal herbs, aloe vera leaves and gel, a list of safe-to-eat berries and roots and their physical descriptions, notes on the nearby forest and animal species he had encountered, anatomy of the winding river within a five mile radius, among other useful tidbits for anyone trying to find their way. There was even a perhaps too-nicely worded warning to not venture too far east, as there were unpleasant strangers who roamed those parts.<br/><br/>"Wow, he thought of everything. I honestly wouldn't have expected that from him," Blue said, sifting through the parcel momentarily before returning the note and setting the contents to the side. "If we ever do see him again, we'll<i>really</i>have to thank him."<br/><br/>He dropped the first aid bag next to Sig's gift and walked over to Eivind, who was already lounging about on the ground. Blue smiled at him and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess it was worth it," he replied playfully. "The whole almost getting killed by a moose part kinda sucked. And I wasn't too hot on falling into that river. But other than that, this whole trip was a pretty pleasant stroll." He giggled slightly, but the laugh was stopped when he was reminded of his wet pants and how heavy they felt on his legs. "Excuse me for a second. I'm going to have to pretend to be a werewolf for a little bit. I hate wet clothes."<br/><br/>The soaked jeans made an unpleasant sound as Blue began to remove them, but he didn't mind as much as he normally would have. He pushed everything down, including his underwear, and set his clothing down by the fire pit to dry. Eventually he and Eivind would need to get some flames going if they were going to stay warm throughout the night. He removed his shirt and set that down as well, even though only the bottom of it was wet, and stretched out his long, naked body before returning to Eivind.<br/><br/>"So, you're the expert here," he said, sitting down next to Eivind with his legs crossed in front of him. "What does a mountain man do when he's in a cave? Do you expect me to do some bad ass cave drawings for people to find thousands of years from now? Because I could definitely make that work. Just need something to draw with. I don't think Sig left any paints. Guess he<i>didn't</i>think of everything. How disappointing."