[Survey] Arc Survey: 021

Aru let out a big sigh as they sunk down into their bed, stretching out their limbs as much as they could before relaxing. It was great to be back home after what had been a tiring but really great weekend out. It had been in their plans for a while now to go camping in the forest, forgetting about the stress of their job and just experiencing the calming effect of the wind blowing through their fur and the dirt beneath their feet. 

Then it occurred to Aru that while it would be nice to spend a little alone time out by theirself, it would be so much more fun to invite Caelum and Avril to go with him. He remembered that Caelum knew a lot of stories and legends about the constellations, and while the night sky might be quite visible within the city, it would be so much more clearer out in the forest with no buildings and lights on to obstruct the view. 

On the other hand, Avril just enjoyed listening to the birds sing, the blowing and whistling of the wind along with the ringing of the cicadas during the night time, the little music that nature created without thought. With all of this in mind, Aru decided to ask their friends to accompany them, thinking that they both would perhaps enjoy the much needed respite as much as the light colored xero would. 

When Aru brought up the idea, Avril was all for it, not needing much to convince her to go but Caelum was much more hesitant, having taken up some extra work to do for the weekend. After some time though, Aru and Avril managed to convince him that the weekend out would be good for him and that they would help the dark blue xero with some of his pending tasks when they got back from their trip. 

When Caelum finally agreed, Aru and Avril both let out a happy cheer and bear hugged their friend, ecstatic that it would actually be the three of them after what had felt like forever since their last outing. The three agreed to meet in a couple hours, needing to pack their essentials along with any extras they could think of on the spot to make the weekend more enjoyable for everyone. 

When Aru got home around 20 minutes later, they immediately grabbed their camping bag and started gathering everything up, placing a sleeping bag along with blankets at the bottom of the bag, followed by a warm sweater and then some extra essentials like bug repellent and closing up the bag. Before leaving, Aru briefly remembered to also grab their trusty backpack along with an extra pair of glasses since they always seemed to either lose or break their own.

Meeting up with Avril and Caelum an hour later at a coffee shop, they grabbed something for the road and left. When they arrived, they set up camp and went to a lake nearby, where Avril immediately threw their stuff on the ground and cannonballed in, the splash she made reaching the other two, leaving them wet and dripping on the ground before Aru calmly took of their glasses, placed them on the ground and shouted out Avril’s name before tackling her back into the lake while Cealum just sat down with a sigh and amused smile on the lake bank.

When it started getting late, they got out and dried up, heading back towards camp to start out a campfire while talking and laughing all the way. The next few days passed much the same, the carefree atmosphere never receding no matter how late it was or how tired they found themselves at the end of the day. 

Finally, on the last day, they decided to get up before dawn and hike towards the highest point they could find in the forest, wanting to enjoy the beautiful view of the sun rising over the forest. The most spectacular thing they saw while surveying the forest around them was the lake they spent time on the first day though, the surface of the water glittering like jewels and reflecting the pinks and oranges of the sky, the slight movement of the water making it all the more beautiful.