1924

18/05/1924

It was around noon the next day when Jim stepped through the overlapping branches and out onto the river bank. The day was at it's peak, and the sun sat as a fiery hierarchy in the sky - shining down and filtering beams through the gaps in the leaves, and leaving the stream glittering and flowing like the finest silk.

Jim's gaze ran up the river in search of a familiar stranger - gaze flitting over the pebbles and fish of the lake and the vibrant shades of the grass and flowers, and grinning as he spotted him. The boy was laying down on the grass with his hands behind his head as he squinted up at the sky, and with a shake of his head and the rod the smaller boy was designated to bring slung over his shoulder - bait tied to the end with a handkerchief, Jim headed over to where Sebastian lay, dropping it all onto the floor by his head.

"Afternoon"

The dark haired boy stood over Sebastian, looking down at him and raising a brow at the seemingly sleeping boy - long eyelashes fluttering and spanning across his cheek as a stray wisp of blonde lay in the centre of his forehead, and just passing the bridge of his nose. With the greeting, Sebastian popped an eye open to look up at him, and his face spread into a wide grin - Jim obscuring his view from the sun and casting a shadow over him and allowing him to see again without having to squint.

"Hello again, Jimmy"

Jim rolled his eyes at the nickname, looking down at Sebastian with a raised brow; stretched across the plain of healthy and dewy green grass and wearing similar attire to what he was wearing the previous afternoon.

"I brought a rod"

The blonde gave a disinterested nod and a hum, too relaxed by the atmosphere to respond properly, and Jim promptly plopped himself down on the bank beside him, leaning back on his hands with his legs stretched out in front of him. With a contented sigh, he took in the view of the river for all it was worth, gaze running across the stream as well as around it. It cut like a blade through the grass in the centre of the woods, a sharp and jarring, gorgeous blue like a glittering gem, and contrasted to the deep chestnut and mahogany browns of the trees; dull greys of the rocks; and the bright and vibrant greens of the grass and the leaves which fluttered down to blend into it; land as a camouflage on the large, jutting rocks, and form a fractured layer over the stream, which carried the delicate leaves down deeper into the woods. It painted the scene in the kind of romanticism only an artist could create - like oil paints or watercolour on a large canvas right in front of him. Not only that, but the quiet rushing and soft pattering and splashing of the stream in front of him; the gentle rustling of the leaves and shrubs in the breeze; as well as the chirping of birds and crickets, gave it an almost musical aspect - harmonising to form a natural composition this deep into these beautful woods.

"A picnic would be nice here"

Sebastian muttered, eyes still closed and in the same position as he was before Jim had become entranced by the scenery, and snapping the dark-haired boy out of his reverie. He blinked, and his head whipped down to him, taking in the sight of him in surprise and seeming to have forgotten he was there, before he gave a slow nod, humming in agreement.

"It would...wouldn't it?"

The blonde grinned wide at Jim's confirming words, close-lipped, before shooting up, looking at Jim with an excitable glint in his eyes. Jim was wide-eyed in surprise at the sudden movement, his gaze piercing into Sebastians eyes when he was leaning this close, and he noticed the speckles of green flecks swirling among the blue, a flop of hair dangling over the half of one from shooting up so fast.

"Luckily, we have a bet, and I gathered lots of firewood before you got here"

With that, he jumped up; trousers already rolled up to his knees and his feet bare as he splashed into the shallow stream, droplets of clear water plonking into the stream in small ripples at the disruption and fish wriggling away as he shouted behind his shoulder.