what's nicer than a walk in the woods?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

What's nicer than a pleasant walk in the woods? Zoe's answer would be a walk in the woods while holding a camera, and she'd all but given that. She actually wanted the time to herself, just wandering about and enjoying things, pretending for a few moments that her life wasn't hopelessly complicated, what with her relationship and SPECTRE and mutant things. Actually, SPECTRE felt like it lived up to its name quite well: a shadowy figure that worked more like a boogeyman than a real threat. Zoe had heard something about some people vanishing, but they were apparently the type of people to do so. None of her friends had disappeared, and she hadn't heard of anybody seeing anyone unusual about. As far as Zoe was concerned, a walk in the woods would be perfectly safe. Technically these woods were even on Academy owned land, since the Academy had wisely purchased large tracts of land about their location, no doubt thinking ahead to the type of room some mutants would need. Zoe didn't care about the details: she cared about the picture potentials.

In particular, Zoe wanted to take a picture of a truly massive tree she'd encountered deep within the forest. She'd been there before and could more or less remember the path to get there. She'd seen what she'd honestly thought was an angel there, though she'd discovered him to be a student. strangely though, she hadn't seen him since, so she brushed it off. She hadn't gotten very many good pictures of the tree though, so that was her hope now.

Unfortunately, Zoe wasn't allowed outside of the school proper (and even on the ground for the most part) without an escort. Fortunately, Zoe had gotten a hold of a very particular escort, one who made her feel quite safe with her situation. Mr. Slade Konrad had agreed to take Zoe in the forest; in fact, Zoe thought he'd mentioned something about having some interesting things to show her, something about a cabin or something in the woods. Zoe didn't really care overmuch what they saw: simply being out would be enough for her. She'd dressed for the occasion, of course, with her well-constructed but still cute boots, the long-skirt she had for riding, a long-sleeved shirt made of billowy yet tough material, tough leather gloves, and, in her one concession toward fashion over functionality, her bowler hat. Of course, Zoe's camera hung on her chest, looking as though it would topple the frail girl over at any moment. She shuffled her feet nervously, standing at the edge of the forest, waiting for Mr. Konrad to show up to escort her deeper into the quiet sanctuary of the woods.

[Slade Konrad]

In spite of his massive bulk, the big man moved through the forest with alarming ease. Even though he hadn't spent much time operating in wooded areas wilderness survival played a prominent role in the intense training he'd undergone prior to becoming a teacher. It was this transition that almost made Slade laugh out loud as he steadily trod along the well-worn trail cutting through the forest. Had it really been over a year since he'd turned in the last of his issued gear and left North Carolina for the last time? It may have well been a lifetime ago.

Naturally, Slade had ventured out into the woods well before he and Zoe were set to meet. Mostly it was to check on the small hunting cabin buried beneath the trees. It was a couple miles out, deep within the wilderness, but still on Academy land. He'd found it while hiking one day shortly after he'd started and was given permission to fix it up and keep it. He didn't legally lay claim to it but the few people within the Academy that knew of it probably would've had no use for it anyway.

Emerging from the treeline he spotted the slender girl nervously fidgeting about. An smile instinctively touched the large man's lips as he drew closer. At first he went to make a joke about how when he'd told Zoe she could call him anytime, that he'd hoped she would have done it during a school day so he could get out of teaching and not on his day off but quickly thought better of it. Given the girl's sensitive nature he didn't want her to think there was any substance to the comment, lest she forgo contacting him again.

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" Slade finally settled on a fairly generic, yet accurate greeting once he'd gotten close enough to speak without raising his voice much. His attire was a stark contrast to the billowy lines of his young charge. A simple tan t-shirt had been pulled over his broad, defined torso and tucked into a baggy pair of camouflage cargo pants while a hefty, 'multi-cam' patterned backpack hung on his shoulders.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The noise caused Zoe to jump, even if it was Mr. Konrad's rumbling voice. She flushed a little at her own skittishness, turning to look at the teacher. "Yes! Yes it is! A lovely day for a walk. that's one thing that's nice about this area: the weather and all," she said, gesturing in a sort of general sense all about her. She could still remember London and its usual dreary, maudlin cheer. Montana was worlds away, though it was a world that Zoe had since grown used to, even in her relatively short time being here.

"I was hoping we could go into the fore--but you know that," said Zoe. She'd started to point toward the forest, then realized that she was essentially reiterating what they'd already discussed. She flushed yet again, looking down. This gave her a good view of Mr. Konrad's outfit and such, and she wasn't at all surprised to see that he looked even more prepared than she was. Zoe wondered if she should've packed a satchel or something. She'd had the good sense to grab her phone and load it up with a GPS program if necessary... oh, and her camera bag! She'd nearly forgotten it (read: Fate had forgotten that Zoe would obviously have a very obvious accessory for this trip)! It had several rolls of film as well as a water bottle and a granola bar tucked into pockets. So not horribly prepared, but at least better off than she could've been.

"So, um, should we go?" she asked, gesturing toward the forest. "if that's okay with you, of course," she said, practically mumbling. She was tempted to ask about where they'd head first, between the tree she wanted to see and the cabin that Mr. Konrad had mentioned, but Zoe figured that Mr. Konrad would like to take the lead. He was certainly the more leaderly type of the two of them.

[Slade Konrad]

With a smile that belied the intimidating frame of the man, Slade nodded and gestured for Zoe to follow as he turned and started back for the treeline. He remembered very fondly the first time he'd met the timid girl with her words on her natural penchant for being overly non confrontational rang especially true. He wouldn't call her on questioning whether or not he wished to return to the woods, even though he'd just emerged from the trees and that was their entire reason for being out here on a brisk Saturday morning. He simply accepted this was how Zoe was and wouldn't do anything to make her feel more awkward for it.

"Is there anything you wanted to see?" The big man asked, purposely keeping his long stride in check to Zoe could keep up with ease. He wasn't the tour guide and they weren't out here for his benefit. He'd be happy to escort her to any of the landmarks he'd found during his many hours spent wandering the woods alone. "The cabin's not much to look at. At least not worth the entire day." Slade chuckled faintly, his ice blue eyes looking to Zoe.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe felt her spirits lift just from Mr. Konrad heading into the woods. Of course he'd want to head back there, seeing as he'd just come from there. He'd agreed to this in the first place, and clearly he was at least comfortable in the woods, if not outright enjoying them. Generally people didn't have cabins in the woods if they wanted to avoid the place. Zoe actually let out a slightly nervous laugh as she hurried along, managing to keep up with Mr. Konrad thanks to his easy pace.

"Yes, actually!" she said, sounding bright and chipper, clearly more comfortable. She adjusted her various straps for a bit, tapping her camera. "There's actually this impressive tree in the woods a little ways," she nodded in the direction they were heading. "It looks like something out of a picture book, quite impressive,' she gestured. "But I didn't get pictures of it last time, and, well, things... happened," she chewed her lip, the memory of everything that happened to her lately. She tried to let it all roll off, the arguments with Devyn, the Lesbian Pikachu teasing, SPECTRE, just being a teenager.

"I am looking forward to the cabin though. It might not be much to you, but I might be able to find different ways of looking at it, or perhaps it would inspire me to write poetry--oh!" she dug into her bag, suddenly remembering, falling silent while she worked at it.

[Slade Konrad]

A thin smile touched the big man's lips as Zoe walked alongside him. It was rare, even as a teacher, that he was afforded the opportunity to assist someone with something so simple, so innocent, as a walk in the woods. He was well aware of the situation, that the girl who strode along next to him was deemed a threat to others and had attracted a great deal of unwanted attention, but felt fairly comfortable in being her escort whenever possible.

Heading back along the trail in which he'd came, Slade nodded. "I think I know the tree you're talking about." Although he wouldn't dare question what had happened that prevented the girl from taking pictures last time she was there. He knew how quickly situations could spiral out of hand even as a regular teenager, adding mutant powers made as volatile mix as one could think of. There was no point in allowing Zoe to dredge up bad memories. "It's just a little further out than the cabin, we can stop there, first, maybe grab a bite to eat, then hit the tree you want to see."

Slade paused, though, as Zoe began digging into her bag. Walking while distracted wasn't the smartest thing to do in the woods, even along a well worn path. The big man had seen many a rolled ankles over the years and, while he could with little effort, he would prefer to not have to carry the girl to the nurse's office. Still, he couldn't help but be curious as to what the girl was so intent on digging for. His head tilted to one side as he patiently waited.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded, glad, and not surprised, that Slade knew of the tree in question. How could he not, if he spent as much time in the woods as Slade and not have noticed it. That it proved to be fairly close to the cabin was simply an added blessing in Zoe's eyes: that meant that they wouldn't have to go all that terribly far overall. Plus, she might be able to leave her bag at the cabin, go to the tree, and then come back to get it, since she could always make sure everything was in place before she headed out to explore.

But they weren't there yet, so all Zoe could do for now was nod and smile, obviously pleased and obviously distracted. She soon found what she was looking for, carefully tugging it out from a sheath within the bag. She held it carefully, taking a good look, then nodded. It was a picture of Slade, the burly man holding various horse gear and standing next to the horse Zoe had wrote. Written in black marker along the side, in space occupied by neither horse nor man, was a scrawled poem,

the modern knight
guards the shy princess
his sternness is his armor
his steel he wears inside
he looms like a bear
but if he is a bear, it is a papa bear
a bear that growls
a bear that guards
a bear in armor.

"Sorry, it's kind of cheesy, but it's what I thought of when I saw you," she said, extending it to him. "It's yours if you want it; I've already got a copy and, well,' she bit her lip, "I thought I should at least give you something..."

[Slade Konrad]

It was that moment the slender, waifish girl conquered the terrible beast. Stunned into silence, Slade looked over the picture, studying every feature of the image. Once he'd focused on the poem written in the blank area he couldn't help but read it over and over. As a man who cherished every medal, commendation, ribbon, and award presented to him throughout a decorated military career, a simple photo jumped to the top of his list of most prized.

Finally his ice blue eyes lifted from the picture and went to Zoe. "Zoe, I..." He was still at a loss for words. It was possible the girl would never know what the photo meant to the military veteran. Coming from a dark place to teach at the Academy had been a major step, one Slade had never been sure about taking. He was a man bred to maim, trained to kill. He was an artist who's canvas was death. And he'd painted many masterpieces in his time. In one fell swoop Zoe set aside the horrors of mankind Slade had become all to familiar with and gave the big man something he'd hadn't had in years. Hope.

Smiling broadly Slade handed the picture back to Zoe. "It'll get ruined in my pack." He explained. "You hold onto it until we get back, alright?" The thought of framing the picture had already flashed in Slade's mind. It was strange, even to him, that such a simple gesture had carried so much weight. Had her powers not been a factor, Slade would've hugged the girl in appreciation. "Thank you." He said. "It's beautiful. I love it."

As much as Slade could've lingered around on the trail, they had a place to be. Clearing his throat he gestured down the path, giving Zoe time to gather herself if need be. "Uh, we should get going though. The first three quarters of the walk is boring, just trees, but once you get into the hills a little it opens up and it's gorgeous. Once we get through, you'll find plenty of picture opportunities and we've got all day."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

[it's technically a photograph from when she saw him, but no big deal ^.^ ]

Zoe stared at Slade, wondering why he seemed to have paused. Surely he'd seen a picture of himself before. In fact, Zoe didn't think it was the best possible picture she could have taken. The light had been slightly off and she'd been all shaky and hurrying to put her camera up and had only just barely remembered to take it in time. She also didn't think the poem was one of her best either, though she'd tried to edit it since she'd initially thought of it. Nothing had really come to mind though, so she'd mostly gone with what she'd originally come up with, and that certainly didn't feel like her bets work ever.

Slade smiled though, and Zoe beamed in return. Ruined in his pack, well, Zoe supposed that made sense. Her bag was designed to protect photographs and the like after all. SO she took the photograph back from Slade, nodding her acceptance of his terms, and carefully slid it back into its slot. She gave it a few pats just to make sure, then looked back up at Slade. He'd cleared his throat and all, but had also clearly waited for her. She flushed, her lips moving to apologize before she realized that doing so would be doing exactly what Slade had asked her not to do time and time again.

"Well, it's not that boring," said Zoe, taking a few steps closer, "you just have to take it all in, know what to look for and such," she nodded, then folded her arms behind her before strolling forward. She knew that there were trees and stuff for a while, and she knew more or less where to go for the tree. She did slow after a bit, falling in beside Slade, wanting him to get into the right position and set their pace. She fully believed that he'd set a pace she could match.

After all, Zoe trusted Slade Konrad fully.

[Slade Konrad]

With his mind still occasionally drifting to the photo and the poem, Slade started along the path once more. "Yeah, you're right." He said with a nod. "The entire forest is great to look at but there are different levels of it. Once the trees open up a little you get the sky, horizon, everything." He waved a hand a bit to sort of make his point.

Naturally, Slade kept his stride in check. His tall frame would quickly outpace the much smaller girl in just a few steps making the adjustment necessary. He tended to do this in wooded areas anyway, kept him more stable and balanced in case something unexpected were to happen with his footing. As the delved into the treeline, making their way along the well traveled path leading further from the Academy campus proper, Slade visibly relaxed even more. There was something comforting about the peace and serenity of being so far from civilization.

"Have they told you how much longer you'll need an escort?" Slade asked the girl, glancing down to her as they walked. Slade didn't mind one bit handling the job whenever he was able. In fact, he had grown quite fond of Zoe during their initial encounter and had been looking forward to their excursion into the Montana wilderness. So much so, he'd hoped their brief encounters wouldn't end with the assignment. He saw a great deal of good in the small girl beside him that threatened to tear down the walls every teachers needs between themselves and their students. Slade saw Zoe as more of than a student. Her kindness and relentlessly sweet demeanor had already made Slade begin thinking of her as a friend.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe's head actually swiveled with the hand wave, but soon enough she was nodding. "People don't like to stop and take a look at things around them, all those fleeting instances in time that will never be repeated again. That's part of why I love photography so much. Like the picture I took of you: we'll never have that exact moment again, but we'll always have the photograph," Zoe nodded, again smiling and looking around, clearly quite comfortable with just observing the natural world around them.

In fact, Zoe got so wrapped up in strolling and sight-seeing that she nearly missed it when Slade asked her a question. Nearly meant that she heard though, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to. Zoe let out a little sigh, chewing at her lip a little. "Well, it's likely to be a while longer. Someone nominated me from Prom Queen, which has a few people riled up again. Hopefully this whole thing dies down soon, then we can just associate without having to be all official. Oh," she flinched a little, turning to look at Slade while still walking, "that is if you want to, of course. I mean, I enjoy spending time with you; you sort of remind me of an uncle I had, well, step-uncle, though he wasn't as big as you..." she trailed off, flushing, realizing what she's said. Zoe soon shook her head, turning to face forward, ready to simply just start moving forward toward the cabin. She did want to see what it looked like, after all, and she couldn't help but wonder if it matched the mental pictures she was already creating.

[Slade Konrad]

Amazingly deep words from the teen girl. Slade nodded faintly. She was right and the eloquent way in which she spoke would have surprise the big man if he hadn't already been aware of Zoe's penchant for letting lose such poignant words of wisdom when the opportunity arose. He offered her a smile as, even though she was right, he couldn't help thinking it was good that some moments would never be recreated. He would relish the day when many of his own memories began to fade.

There was no use in running the risk of bringing down the moment. This was her day, one of the rare moments she was able to escape the realities that came with her situation. He considered telling Zoe she'd always be more than welcome to bring a friend along with her one of these times. He couldn't leave them completely alone, or anything, but he knew more than one way to still be around while also affording privacy.

As she was prone to doing, Zoe had rendered Slade thoughtful and contemplative with her way of looking at things. When she mentioned prom, though, his attention snapped back to the girl beside him. "Wait, what? Why?" His brow furrowed curiously. "I think you would make a beautiful prom queen." With each exchange between himself and Zoe Slade began to feel more and more protective of the girl. Much like the bear she made him out to be in her poem protecting its young. "And there's no reason that would rile anybody up." Of course, Slade understood Zoe's apprehension. That her tryst with the other girl had not just ended poorly, but found its way onto the public forum of the internet had caused quite an uproar. But Slade, perhaps in a rare moment of naivety, chose to give the majority of the students the benefit of the doubt. They should understand what it was like to be in Zoe's situation and not judge.

Zoe's reference to him reminding her of an uncle made the big man smile down to her. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. It's okay." Slade would have to admit to enjoying the time spent with the girl as well. In a way it was as if she represented a faint, shimmering beacon shining through the haze of an uncertain future for them all. And, also, in a way, he found her sweet, endearing and just simply pleasant to talk to. "When this all blows over anytime you want to go for a hike or ride, let me know." He said with a nod.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe smiled at the mention of her as prom queen. Sure, part of her wanted to be the beautiful royal or whatever, and there was certainly something to be said for ending up prom queen. But, well, she just didn't feel like it would be worth all the attention. People already had more than enough reasons to go after Zoe without adding another one. Plus, she'd heard good things about some of the people running for the position. Her smile turned a little sadder as Slade insisted that her nomination wouldn't be enough to get people worked up. Clearly it had been some time since the burly man had been in a high school, if he really thought that was the case.

Fortunately, the subject turned quite quickly to livelier topics. Slade agreed to escorting Zoe, or perhaps to just "hanging out" with the girl, and the offer was met with a smile from the poetic girl. She nodded, accepting it, obviously too shy to say or do anything else. "I will," she did eventually say, though it took a few moments. Zoe kept walking, moving forward one step at a time.

She recognized the areas they were entering now. The woods got a little denser, the path a little more rugged, and they drew further from the school. That least relieved Zoe a good deal, as she nearly felt all the stress and worry melting from her shoulders. She actually paused as they neared a clearing, taking a deep breath, her eyes closed, simply basking in the natural splendor around her. No stress, no prom, no blog declaring her to be evil. Just a nice moment in time with a protective bear who would rise up and help her at the slightest need. The only way this moment could've been better was if Devyn rode out of the woods on a white horse. "Are we getting close?" Zoe asked, turning toward Slade, her eyes opening. After all, she still wasn't positive where precisely the cabin was.

[Slade Konrad]

"Yeah, we are." Slade confirmed with a nod and a short wave to the left as the trail forked off in different directions. He was only partially lying when he implied they had almost reached the cabin. To him, a couple kilometers further into the woods barely registered. To Zoe, that may have been a different story.

Finally, at long last, the dense, wooded trail opened up into a large clearing on the side of a hill. The cabin itself was, as Slade would call it, unimpressive. He had put a great deal of time and a hefty chunk of a couple month's worth of his meager salary into its restoration and is showed. While hardly a marvel of architecture it did have a cozy feel even from the outside. Slade had, for the most part, rebuilt the structure from the ground up. There was a permanent fire pit nearby and a set of small steps leading up to the cabin door.

"There it is." Slade said with a hint of pride touching his voice. It wasn't uncommon for him to spend Friday and sometimes Saturday nights out here in the wilderness. Most times he wouldn't even go hunting. He just preferred the cabin to the stuffy staff dorm shared with his co-workers. With a wary eye he spied the small woodpile he'd stacked on the side of the cabin had been tipped over. It could've been a combination of wind and his not stacking it properly last time. He had been in a hurry to get back to the Academy. "Why don't you go on and check out the inside." He said, starting toward the scattered logs. "I'm just going to clean this up real quick."

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

A few kilometers was, in fact, a bit much for Zoe. She was healthy enough, since she spent quite a bit of her time walking about and taking pictures and whatnot. In fact, Zoe did often take ambles in the woods, so as long as they didn't set too hearty of a pace, she would be quite fine. She spent most of her time looking about her, casually enjoying everything that they came across and just sort of soaking it all in. Finally though, they'd arrive. It didn't look too grand, but that was the point. A cabin shouldn't be an impressive structure. She raised her camera and angled it to take a good, focused picture of it, smiling as she lowered the camera, nodding a time or two.

"it looks cozy," Zoe said, meaning it to be a compliment, she favored the large man with a smile as well. Zoe nodded her acceptance of his suggestion/command and started toward the cabin, moving at a decent clip despite being somewhat tired. She reached the cabin and paused, again moving slowly around it. There was just so much to take in here, such a good scene and all.

Zoe walked about the cabin, taking it in, raising her camera and taking a few snapshots here and there. As she rounded one corner, one fairly close to the woods proper, she thought that she heard something rustling in the woods. When she turned to look, however, Zoe didn't see anything, so she put it out of her mind. Zoe eventually located the door, moving to open it and peer inside. She did want to shift to adjust though, her camera already coming up again, more than ready to document the cabin from the doorway, with natural light illuminating it as best was possible.