[August MP] like we’re in the wild [Isla]

There were times when Camm questioned the Sorting Hat’s decision to put him into Hufflepuff. He had never really identified with being hardworking and ‘unafraid of toil’ when he was still in school, preferring to do just the bare minimum. But he supposed the hat knew better than he did, because he’s working harder than he’d ever worked in his life. Camm signed on to any extra projects he could make time for, in addition to the ones he’d already been assigned to, and stayed late at work almost every day, and sometimes even on weekends too.

It wasn’t that he was devoted to the Daily Prophet, he just needed as much money as he could possibly earn. The sooner he did that, the sooner he could move on from sleeping on his friend’s couch.

The thing is, the ex-Hufflepuff was used to being on his own. He was used to doing things at his own pace, which meant that he could go as fast or slow as he wanted, anytime he wanted. But there was another person in his life now. Not like a friend, a girlfriend and a relationship were things you needed to work for. He was still having trouble wrapping his head around it.

So naturally what Camm did was to take the weekend off to spend some time with Isla. It wasn’t anything fancy; they took a short, day trip to Glencoe, and they managed to catch a friend for a quick lunch in the area, who directed them to pick up something called a geocache rune. He wasn’t great when it came to planning exciting dates, so it didn’t sound like bad way to spend the afternoon. He was also mostly glad that they were in Scotland for this.
   
There would always be a soft spot in him for where he came from, but he didn’t get to visit as much as he liked. He wanted to see his dad more often, but the thought of having to see his mum and Bruce as well was unbearable to him. He wasn’t sure how familiar Isla was with the sprawling hills and mountains of Glencoe, but he still wanted to enjoy this experience right now with her.

“Sorry this isn’t the most exciting date ever, but I hope you like the view. I bet you could make something even more beautiful out of it.” Scotland was as austere as it was beautiful, but the summer months softened the harshness of unforgiving snow-capped peaks. The entire valley seemed to be in full bloom, and the still, mirrored lakes reflected the lush greenery, creating an infinite picture of life. In the distance, green and blue were broken up by fields of purple heather in full bloom. “I could stay here forever.” Camm admitted softly, not wanting to disturb the serenity of the moment. 

@Isla Henderson i tried >>

She hadn't been here before.

Isla was born and raised in Edinburgh. She was a city girl through and through but she had a wild and free heart. The Highlands were often an austere place covered in snow but they were also frighteningly beautiful. Her long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, the tendrils curling around her shoulders as she walked. She inhaled deep lung fulls of the crisp air. It smelt like heather and moss and something she couldn't quite put her finger on but she assumed it was Camm.

The artist extended her hand to Camm, letting him take the strain as she clambered up and over the crest of the hill and her already large eyes grew wider. "Oh wow," she breathed, her pretty lilting accent sounding soft and awestruck. "No, I love it," she replied with a dimpled grin, pink cheeked and slightly out of breath. They were still getting to know one another in a capacity other than friends but she hoped he realised that she wasn't one who liked to be lavished upon.

"Oh I don't know about that," Isla replied lightly, blushing at his compliment. Whatever she managed to paint just would not and could not compare to what lay before them. It was so pure and beautiful and untainted by the savagery of modern life. Beneath her feet, the mossy ground was springy and a little damp despite the summer, sticking to the soles of her hiking boots. Both the sky and the water were crystalline blue and the grass was so vibrant, it was blowing her mind. It was comforting to know that there wasn't anyone else around.

She turned her head towards Camm with a gentle smile. She felt both flattered and fortunate to see him in such an unguarded, peaceful mood. They'd both had one Hell of a year but they'd gotten through it together, somehow.

Isla sighed wistfully. "Wouldn't a cabin here be a dream?" The petite blonde asked. Her overactive imagination kicked into gear. Fresh air, peace and quiet, swimming in the loch, catching fresh salmon in the rivers and witnessing the most mindblowing sunrises and sunsets imaginable. "Gorgeous," she said firmly and with a nod.

"Come on," she said quickly, reaching out for Camm's hand. With ease, she slid her hand into his much larger one as she felt the same zing of pleasure that tingled down her spine every time they touched. With care, she made her way down the scree slope and towards a perfectly still tarn, so clear that it reflected the clouds up above. Stooping, she scooped a handful of small stones, expertly sifting through them to find small, flat ones, that she could skim across the water. "Is this your favourite place?" Isla asked in a small voice. If it was, the fact that he trusted her enough to share something to treasured with her made their bond that much stronger. "Thanks for bringing me," she said with a little smile before pulling back her left hand and launching the stone and sending it spinning, touching the water's surface three times before sinking with a gentle plop!

Every single time Camm spent time with Isla he was reminded of how different she was, compared to other girls. She seemed to need so little, want so little. He wouldn't describe his female friends, and some acquaintances, as high maintenance, but there had always been things they wanted. Isla seemed to be perfectly content with whatever came her way, and she didn't fret like Camm did about her situations. That's why he could only give her a broad grin in return when she seemed to enjoy being out here, surrounded by nature with him.

"You are. Or, you will be." Camm said simply. It was a short, but firm statement because he knew she had it in her. They were alike in that sense; both of them needed a little prodding when their confidence faltered, but her talent was irrefutable. Thinking about her art always reminded him of what happened in the Hufflepuff common room, which was the only downside.

His smile widened when Isla mentioned a cabin. The thought had crossed his mind before, but it was a lot of work. He was no handyman, for the times he spent loitering about backstage at theatres or helping his dad with computers, and building one would take him ages, maybe some injuries. He definitely wasn't well-off enough financially to buy his own, or even hire someone to build it. "It would be. That'd be something nice to look forward to, don't you think?" He confirmed, accepting her hand in his.

Physical contact was an entirely new territory for Camm, and he wasn't sure how comfortable with it yet. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot as it tended to when he was embarrassed or worked up, even though there was a cool breeze. They were progressing slowly as a couple, carefully. It was comfortable getting to know each other, and he sure as hell couldn't afford to mess up. When her fingers left his, there was the loss of immediate warmth, but it felt as if she passed some of her energy to him. With his other hand, Camm cleared a patch of grass for Isla to sit next to him when she was done with skipping stones, an activity he couldn't really join in because he never picked it up.

Leaning back and resting most of his weight on one shoulder, he paused to give her question some thought. Was this his favourite place? "Sort of." He replied, coming to a conclusion. "My da used to bring me here once in a while, when he had the time to drive over. It's probably strange for you, the idea of not being able to pop over to somewhere real quick." He sat up, moving to sit cross-legged. He took the geocache rune out from his pocket and played with it between his hands, glad that he didn't have to know what was carved on it for once.

"After Glenn and Logan left and it was just us, we came here a lot more during the hols. It's not like Caoimhe was his, you know?"He shrugged. What went on in his family wasn't exactly a secret, at least not to those close to him. "My da tries, but it's nice when it's just the two of us. That's why I wanted to bring you too." This time Camm smiled at the petite girl, even though her attention was still focused elsewhere. He was eager to move onto something else before the conversation dragged. "Want to do something with this rune? If we find the treasure, we get to leave one of ours too."

As the tops of Camm's ears turned pink, the tip of her nose did. She'd always hated the way embarrassment manifested on her face. Isla had always been called cute, never hot, never sexy, always cute and it was dumb little things that her body did like that which further cemented the fact. She didn't respond to his comment. As an avid people watcher, Isla took her social cues from her peers and naturally, she figured it was best to accept it silently.

"One day," she told Camm assertively as she wrapped her fingers around his loosely. Her other hand delicately brushed the rough bits of the heathery moor, her finger tips touching the long grass as the moss squelched under her soles. Every time they touched, Isla felt a zing of electricity shoot up the length of her spine. Camm was the only boy she'd ever been close to and she had no qualms about taking things slow. It was a big change, from friends to lovers but she couldn't think of anyone else she'd rather make that leap with.

After lobbing her rock, she sat down. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the crisp air. She lived in Edinburgh. A lively, beautiful, historic city but it was rather polluted. Here was so clear and so pure and the only noise around was the gentle lap of the lake against the shoreline and the occasional seagull up above. Isla laid down, the dry grass making a pillow as she tilted her unusual face to the sky. Above, clouds were floating by and the one directly ahead looked like a pumpkin.

She smiled. "A bit," she admitted to him. Isla was thrilled Camm mentioned his family. It meant that he trusted her. They were both different and yet similar. Their blood was different, as was their homelife but they were both timid and deep thinkers. "My granddad has a car," she replied as her eyes tracked the cloud as it drifted by. "But he did something wrong and it blew up and singed his eyebrows off." She'd heard of his siblings and met Caoimhe peripherally. She seemed sweet and Camm was fiercely protective of her. Isla said nothing further. To her, his patchwork family seemed exciting and different compared to her rather dull set up.

The petite blonde girl sat up as he spoke, those butterflies fluttering around in her tummy as she blushed at his kind words. Leaning in a little, she rested her chin on Camm's shoulder, her warm nose pressing gently into the side of his neck briefly in a quasi-kiss. She wished she was better at this, better at communicating. She wanted to tell Camm that he was precious and lovely and she appreciated him and she loved this trip and she was wildly flattered by his thoughtfulness. It was also on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she was quite possibly in love with him.

"Yeah!" Isla gushed enthusiastically, her large eyes bright and shining as she looked at the rune. "I love treasure hunts," she admitted with a grin that turned her from merely pretty to downright beautiful. "Let's go!" She exclaimed, hopping to her feet and gently taking the rune from Camm's hands. "It's like a guide?" She assumed as she handled the small object. It felt strangely warm as she rolled it over in her palms and ran her fingers over the dents and scratches.

Internally, she cringed. It seemed like the perfect time to tell Camm that she thought he was her treasure but had those words left her lips, she might have tried to drown herself in the tarn. Isla held it flat in her palm and the run began to quiver. Swiftly, it moved, pointing east like a compass and the tip began to glow. Looking up, she saw it seemed to point them to the other part of the lake. There was a clean path made from grass and heather and it seemed to be a bit of an incline that lead only lead up.

The blonde let out a giggle as she set off at a fast pace, using the rune as a compass as she steadily climbed up. It was a short walk until the pair of teenagers reached a small forest. The sun dappled through the trees and the air smelt like spoil and pine. The floor was uneven and covered in slippery moss and fir needles and someone had used fallen branches and existing tree roots to make some sort of path upwards. "I wonder where it is," she mused, head tilted upwards and distracted by the tall trunks. Isla stopped briefly to thoughtfully stroke the rough bark of a nearby tree.  Maybe there was a particularly old tree or something? Glens and forests and woodland energised her in a way that nothing else could. "What should we leave behind, do you think?" Isla wanted to leave a note or a quick doodle of the glen.