We set out a little over an hour later, packs full to bursting. Marius had outfitted us with some hunting gear as well, as he said it didn't make sense to bring meat when we could just kill our own.

Archer, Damien and I each carried a long knife in belt holsters. Marius had a bow, and let Lyla carry his second bow, as she was the only one out of all of us that had experience with one.

"I guess you'll have to learn, to live up to that name." She teased Archer as we started to walk through the trees, and he waved her off.

"As if you can hit a moving animal with that thing," he accused, and she punched his arm. "Ugh, so violent!"

"You love it," she smirked, and I rolled my eyes. I thought about catching up with Marius and attempting to make conversation, but my mouth went dry with nervousness at the thought. I was going to have to get over this if we were going to be camping with him for two weeks.

The walk was a very gradual elevation for the first few hours, and I didn't even notice it until my ears popped.

"My GPS isn't working," Damien smacked the small device, apparently having the same thoughts as me and wanting to check on our location.

"Isn't it supposed to work everywhere?" I asked, remember him practically frothing at the mouth when he bought it.

"Piece of shit." He muttered, and slid it back into the leg pocket of his shorts.

We were quiet for most of the walk, taking in the wondrous sounds of the forest. With every rustle of wind through the leaves, every tweettweettweet and flapping of insectile wings, I felt my spirits lift. There was something to be said for leaving the hustle and bustle of city life to reconnect with Mother Earth.

When the sun began to dip over the horizon, Marius halted.

"Just through those trees," he said, motioning ahead. "I've got to piss." He ambled off to the left and I stifled a giggle.

We broke into a clearing of lush grass, the trees almost in a perfect circle around. I gaped at the beauty of it, a green carpet and log walls, topped with fluffy leaves. It almost looked man made.

"It's said that this place was cleared by witches," Marius said as he entered the clearing. "They performed rituals to give offerings to the earth and keep the mountain alive."

"It does look like this place was made by magic," Archer took off his backpack and set it down, taking a seat on top. "Are we going to have a fire? I almost don't want to wreck the grass."

"We can build one in the center," Marius walked to the very middle of the clearing. "I'll come back later and repair it."

"You really take care of this mountain," Lyla smiled.

"It feels like my own," he replied, setting down his pack and pulling out a spade. He gently started to break the earth, lifting patches of the thick grass.

Archer and I wandered off to collect some wood, and I had a skip in my step without the weight of my pack bogging me down.

"You're peppy," he commented, looking amused, as I bounced past him to some fallen branches.

"Nice to run around unencumbered." I poked him with a stick and he grabbed it, yanking me forward. I fell against him and he ran a hand down my hip to cup my behind. "Oh, you're still interested in my ass?" I teased, pecking him on the cheek. "We were taking bets on how long it would be until your wedding to Marius." When the name left my lips I felt a thrill run up my spine, as if the very word were forbidden to say.

"Nah, wouldn't want you guys to be jealous of him," he replied with a smirk, and kissed me gently. I fell into him, branches forgotten, snaking my arms around his waist. Our kiss deepened, his tongue slipping into my mouth, and the hand that was on my ass hiked my thigh up around him.

"Stop fucking around and bring some wood!" Damien's voice echoed through the trees and I covered my face to hide my blush. Archer chuckled against my throat and placed a final kiss there before taking my hand.

We scooped up the discarded branches and ambled back off to the clearing, dumping our spoils next to the pit Marius had dug.

"So, do you get lots of tourists here?" Lyla was asking as he began to build a little cabin out of the sticks.

"Only a few groups a year, if that." He replied, using a knife to shave small thin strips of wood for kindling. "Zigi isn't terribly popular amongst the rest of the mountains around here. People want to climb the tallest, explore the longest."

"Really?" Lyla finished unrolling her sleeping bag next to his and sat on it, crossing her legs. "I picked this one because it had the most diverse terrain. The photos I saw were beautiful, but definitely didn't do it justice."

"They rarely do," Marius said simply, striking a match with concentrated grace. In less than five minutes we had a good fire, sitting in a cozy circle around it. Damien set to making some popcorn over the flames as we chewed on some jerky Archer had brought. Marius was impressed with it, and shared his fresh chopped veggies with us in return.

Archer swiftly rolled up a thick joint from the guide's other side and proudly held it up for approval.

"You always make weird little baseball bats." Lyla laughed.

"Better than your deformed pinners," he shot back with a lopsided grin. He lit the end and tilted the joint back and forth, puffing lightly for an even burn. Damien started to shuffle his popcorn pot back and forth in a steady motion, the swish, swish of the kernels inside. On the exhale, he offered it to Marius. "You partake?"

Swish, swish.

"I partake in anything nature gives me." He smiled, and my heart skipped a beat at the twinkling of his eyes in the firelight.

The back of my neck tingled as I watched his lips form around the joint, the hollow of his throat undulating on the inhale. He held his breath as he passed on to Lyla, and then caught my gaze.

Swish.

It was as if time slowed to a crawl as he exhaled, eyes smoldering like glittering coals. The smoke unfurled in the air lazily, dancing outwards and up, framing his rugged face. My eyelids felt heavy, and I couldn't look away from him.

Then he blinked, and Damien was passing me the joint, and the moment was over. I fought a blush and avoided eye contact with everyone, taking a long haul and holding it in until I saw stars.

Swish, pop, swish.

"So tell us a crazy tourist story." Lyla prompted, leaning back on her hands. Marius looked thoughtful.

Pop pop pop swish, poppity pop swish.

"Three years ago, I had a middle aged couple book a meeting." He finally said, smoke billowing around him. "They didn't want me to take them up here, just to answer a few questions so they could head off together.

"I tried to talk them out of it, but they assured me they were knowledgeable about the mountain and survival techniques. They wanted a romantic getaway, by themselves, in nature, who was I to deny them?

"I loaded them up with some extra food and they set off. A few days later I couldn't stop thinking about them, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to track them from a distance, just to make sure they were okay.

"When I reached this spot, they'd clearly been here. I built a fire in the pit they'd dug. By the time I had a good coal bed to cook the sausages I'd brought, I heard laughter, and there they were.

"They were wearing clothes uncommon for hiking. He had dress shorts and a button up shirt, and she had on a flowery sundress like you'd see at a garden party."

Poppity pop pop swish pop popopopopopop.

Damien removed the pot from the flames and continued to jostle it a bit on the grass.

Poppop.

"They were glowing like newlyweds and danced over to me, joining me at the fire," Marius continued, "thanking me for sending them off on this adventure. I shared my food with them, and offered them a blanket to sleep on, because they didn't have any of their equipment with them.

"They shared an amused look and laughed, then said goodbye and danced off into the trees."

Pop.

"I laid awake for a long time that night, unsure if I'd really seen them or not. It bothered me that they'd had no equipment.

"Eventually I packed up my things and continued to track them through the wee hours of the morning. When the sun was just coming up, I found their equipment leaning against a tree next to an outcropping."

Hisssss, pop.

"I felt cold all over at the sight of it, a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I knew what I was going to see at the bottom of that cliff. I didn't want to look, but I had to.

"Their bodies were mangled from the fall, but they were holding hands, can you believe that?" He laughed humourlessly, and it startled me a little, being reminded of where I was. I'd been so enraptured with his tale that I could see the couple crumpled amongst the rocks, rigor mortis locking their hands together for eternity.

"Weird thing was — and you notice weird things when you're in shock — they were wearing their hiking gear. My mind focused on that detail like an obsession, and I questioned why they'd changed.

"Why had they changed to come see me and then changed back before the sun came up? I tore apart their bags and couldn't find any sign of the clothes they'd worn the night before. I thought I was going crazy."

Pop.

Marius didn't say any more, and we all glanced around at each other, as if nobody wanted to break the silence.

"I found out later," he finally continued, picking up a stick from the pile and sliding it into the fire, "that they were from Connecticut. They had been in a car accident a year prior and lost all three of their children. Naturally they were having a rough time, and the woman's mother bought them a trip thinking it would help them grieve and move on."

"Jesus, they jumped." Lyla blurted, and then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Looked that way." Marius shrugged. "But no way to tell for sure. The hospital flew out to collect them with some coppers in tow and there was never an investigation, so I would assume that's what they concluded."

"So you hung out with ghosts. Right here." Damien motioned to their circle, still wearing his bright green oven mitt from cooking the popcorn. "Are you for real?"

"I suppose I can't prove it." Marius scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile.

"Unless they show up tonight," Archer smirked, and batted the lid off the popcorn pot. The clang caused Damien and I to shriek. The other three had a grand laugh at our expense.

I pouted. "You guys suck ass."