Yellow Pages out of the blue

It had been a while since he last spoke to a certain fox so he would received this message without any context.

Any good hike spots we haven't gone to yet?

Misha

The text was…very unexpected.

It had him freezing during his walk outside to shake off any lingering energy at the thought of meeting with Dottie next. There still hadn’t been the disconnect with Henry yet, but he tried not to linger on it. The message sent his way from Misha was another opportunity for distraction.

Unless, well, Misha asked for hike recommendations so he could go with someone else, cause, of course, his brain offered that up.

There was a faint twinge of something that couldn’t be quite pinpointed outside of it being disappointment. Silly, stupid brain! >:(( Misha could do what he wanted with whoever he wanted, and he would supply what he knew because it was Misha.

It’d be half an hour before he managed a reply, settling himself in the nook between two trees.

Anyway, there were a few places they still could visit, even if he thought Pine Peak didn’t want to risk a greater chance of running into an animal that didn't care for vampires. Hmm.

There’s a place in the southern part of Alder’s Fringes that is a hidden gem on an off-beaten path.

There was also a spot in Opal that had incredible scenery, but given that he was making his way on foot toward Valencia to talk to the remaining foxes, it would take him off his path. He wasn’t traveling alone and could have gathered Loki’s input, but he was sure the ocelot probably wanted to do his own thing for a bit.

There are also a few trails in Opal and others scattered through the Fringes. This county has a lot of trails that still need to be discovered.

He managed to respond and sound more normal than he felt. He didn’t even ask who he had planned to take with him or even asked why he wanted to know! He truly was trying to work on not jumping to conclusions even with his brain working against him.

Informative as always.

Maybe we could do the Alder one after the new moon, to celebrate the arrival of fall.

It wasn't New Year's, but still, some sort of semi-holiday.

Unless you're out of the country right now?

Misha

He had half expected to get a picture of the boreal forest as reply.

The celebration of fall…with him?

Waylin tilted his head at his phone, a motion often associated with something that perplexed him. They barely went to phone calls and video chats a few weeks ago, so why did Misha want to hang out? Did something happen?

No, he was sure Misha would mention it if there had been an ulterior motive, like a need for a distraction.

Hopefully.

I…never got a chance to leave, so a hike after the new moon would be great, actually.

It was as if he hadn’t been taking a continuous long hike with Loki, as he weaved their paths through the different cities while slowly making his way towards Valencia. This would be different because it was a linear path with Misha rather than wherever his feet carried him with Loki.

Mild frown. That sounded... serious? He would put a thumbs up on that message and ask a follow-up question.

Want to talk about it?

Misha

It was an opening to talk to someone who had inadvertently been more aware of the scenario than Loki.

Yet…

If only you have the capacity for it. I wouldn’t want to impose.

Misha had been the one to offer, but Waylin didn’t want to immediately snatch it up if this was merely the vampire being cordial. If they went ahead with it and got all the heavy group talk out of the way, their planned hike together might stay peaceful.