Het bos.

He tried to convince her and even though it was extremely sweet of him to do so. 'Well, if someone stopped the time before I could do anything to them, or simply burned me, I don't think your logic works there,' she said smiling, a bit amused. He continued saying that the people were also afraid of her because they didn't know them all. 'That's probably true,' she said, sighing slightly. 'I just... I don't know how to get them to know us. They aren't all as open-minded as you are.' With him it had been easy but there had been no one since who had reacted the same way when they saw her. She understood that people wouldn't just walk up to her, she didn't expect them to be, but she still hoped that people wouldn't stare at her every time she came out of the house to take a walk or something. Her eyes met his again and she smiled when he offered her his sweater again. 'No, really. I don't need another sweater. It's fine,' she said.

She talked about the two gifts she already told about. He wondered what more of those things there were en why everyone had another one. Maybe it was the thing that fitted best with their personality. Maybe the person with the time was very patient, and the person with the fire had an explosive personality, and maybe.. Maybe Emma had a very great imagination, which was probably true. He also sighed, because he knew what the best way was for her to be liked by other people. 'I don't like to say this, but I think the only way people will like you is when you perfectly fit in. When you become invisible like all the others.' She said again it was fine and she did not need a sweater and he nodded while he threw another branch in the fire, so at least the fire still kept them warm.

She nodded when he answered. 'That's what I thought,' she replied, 'but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.' She shook her head, took a deep breath and tried to stop thinking of it because it surely didn't make her feel any better. 'I'm sure it'll be fine, somehow,' she continued, smiling at him reassuringly. She didn't want him to worry about her too much, though she knew he probably would anyway and it would be hard to stop him from doing that. She couldn't read his thoughts, after all. 'Let's not talk about this,' she said, staring at the flames. She didn't want to ruin the evening by making them both think about things like these too much. It would just spoil what had been an amazing night up until then and she wanted this to stay a great memory, not something that started out great and ended cold and dark.

She was more haunted by it than he first expected her to be. The smile she had wasn't totally true, her eyes weren't smiling to and normally they always did. He didn't know what he could say or do to make her feel better, he wasn't in her situation. Although he was watched when he walked in the streets of Amon, everyone already knew he was the person that talked to the crazy victim of the accident, but it was totally different from her situation. Once he was even spoken to by a woman, asking him what was wrong with him and they should lock those victims away for ever, that was something he would never say to Emma, she already felt bad enough. He nodded when she said they should talk about something else. 'That is fine. But if there's something wrong or you don't feel so well, you can always talk to me,' he said while his hand carefully took hers.

He was being stared at, too, whenever he walked through the streets, just because he was seen with her. She also knew he did not mind as much as she did about that. The day she met him, she recalled, a woman had been staring at them while he was guiding her through the busy streets filled with people, and he stood up for her, asking the woman what she had been staring at. He took her hand, carefully, and she looked up from the flames, as her fingers intertwined with his. 'I know,' she said, 'but I'm good. I just get... a bit lost in my thoughts, sometimes.' She let her head rest on his shoulder, showing him she was okay, it was okay. Her fingers started playing with his, almost without her thinking about it. It seemed almost natural, trailing with her fingertips across his hands and wrists, as she looked into the fire. Red flames, yellow flames, sometimes even blue, they helped her mind let go of all those raging thoughts.

It took a few seconds before she answered him, saying she was sometimes lost in her thoughts. He smiled. 'With a mind like yours, I would be lost in there too.' He was trying to be funny, pointing out the gift she had, he didn't know if she would understand all of it because something like humor was a new thing for Emma, although she was also funny sometimes. He couldn't resist a smile when he felt her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling against his neck. He looked at the trees behind the fire, they seemed dark and dangerous compared to the warm fire right in front of them and he wondered if there were animals right now watching them, looking at the fire and not knowing what that light was. He looked at the sky and saw the moon was at a very high point, which showed him it was probably very late now. 'Aren't you tired?' he asked, knowing this must not be easy for her, the first time being up so late.

She knew he had meant it as a joke, but she did feel lost in all her thoughts sometimes. There were just so many of them, whirling around in there. Despite the seriousness, she smiled. Sitting there so comfortable, warmth surrounding her, she felt her eyelids getting heavy. Just before she felt she was actually dozing off, his voice pulled her back and she opened her eyes unwillingly. 'Well,' a yawn escaped her mouth before she could continue and she chuckled, 'sort of, yeah.' She realized it was the first time she'd been up this late and seeing the moon and stars rise above them. Usually they all just went to be around the same time. At a certain point in the evening, there was just very little to do except for watching some television, but sometimes even that wasn't an option, since they didn't understand half of the channels. Some were in a different language, some were simply about things they didn't get. But this, this was way better than awkward silences and staring at ceilings in the dark.
-
HET SPIJT ME ZO ERG DAT IK ZO LANG NIET HEB GEREAGEERD! I missed all of them a lot! And I've missed you!

Finally she admitted she was tired, it probably wasn't easy for her because it was one of the first times she was up this late. It felt so good, her leaning against him while she was slipping away to the wonderful world of dreams. 'Maybe we should go asleep than,' he suggested quietly, not wanting to scare her. The fire was getting smaller and he knew it would go out by itself like always. 'I just need the sleepingbags,' he said more to himself while he reached out to the backpack, hoping Emma wouldn't fall by his movement. He pressed a kiss against her forehead before he stood up to put them in the tent. He looked at Emma and smiled. 'We can go to sleep, I suggest you keep on all the things you are wearing now, except your shoes ofcourse, because it will be cold tonight without the fire. You can have my jacket if you want to, because I don't like to sleep with that on.' He smiled and took off the jacket. He was still wearing a sweater, which was probably warm enough for him.
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Het geeft niet, begrijpelijk dat je het wat drukker hebt. I've missed you too dear! Sorry als het niet zo goed is, ik moet er terug even inkomen haha.

She nodded as he suggested they might better be off to sleep, then, repressing another yawn. He stood up, but not before he pressed his lips against her forehead for a second. She smiled, looking at him as he put the sleeping bags into the tent and told her it would be best if she just kept all her clothes on, since it would probably be quite cold. Even with the fire, she'd been shivering from time to time, so when he offered her his jacket she repressed the urge to tell him she didn't need it and took it, pulling it on over the cardigan she was wearing. It was too big for her, but it felt quite cosy, being wrapped into all that warmth. 'Thanks,' she said, as she got on her feet as well, walking towards the tent. 'Don't we need to put out the fire? Won't it burn the trees if we don't look out?' She was used to the fire of the guy whose gift it was, the fire that burned everything it came close to if you weren't careful.

He nodded when she accepted and thanked him for the jacket he was wearing without refusing, which she normally did when he offered something. It was quite funny to see how big it looked on her and he couldn't resist smiling. 'It fits perfectly,' he said, still with a smile around his lips. She asked if they didn't need to put out the fire and he shook his head. 'It is not necessary. The soil is very humid, so if the fire would try to spread, it would not stand a chance,' he explained, 'And it is so small it will extinguish itself.' He crawled into the tent and took place on the thinnest sleepingbag, the one he always used to sleep in. 'But if you feel better when I put it out, is it fine by me.' He patted on the sleepingbag next to him, the one for Emma. He could not deny he was a bit nervous to sleep next to her tonight. He didn't know if she would know this, but sleeping next to someone you like was a big deal, even if it was innocent.

'Perfectly,' she repeated smiling as she wrapped his coat a bit tighter around her. The arms almost entirely covered her hands, but she had to admit that it kept her quite warm. 'Oh, no, it's fine,' she assured him quickly when he said he'd gladly put out the fire if she wanted him to, and after a last glance at the fire she followed him into the tent. It was not very big, but that actually made it cosy. Further away from the fire, she noticed it had indeed started to become more chilly and she was glad she was wearing so many layers. 'Are you sure you're not going to be cold?' she asked him while taking place on the thicker sleeping bag. She turned so that she could face him, and looked closely at him for a couple of seconds. 'What's wrong?' she asked softly, a light frown on her face. 'You seem a bit nervous.' Her hand reached out, rested on his knee, her eyes still searching for an answer as to why he seemed a little on edge.

She crawled into the tent and he closed the zipper, it kept the cold a little bit more away. He nodded when she asked if he was sure he wasn't going to be cold tonight. 'I'm sure. You are not the only one with gifts here. I am really good at being warm all the time.' She looked at him, with the frown she always had when she was concentrating, which made him even more nervous. He smiled again at her, knowing she would not understand if he didn't explain. 'Well, it is kind of a big deal to sleep with someone else,' he said, 'someone you like.' He put his hand over hers when she reached out. 'Mostly, coupl-' He was silent, looking for better words. He didn't want to give her pressure by saying big words like that. 'people who like each other wait a few months with camping together and things like that.' He looked at her. 'So, how crazy do I look for being nervous for something zo small?' he said, trying to make a joke.

'I admire that very much,' she replied smiling, as he told her about his gift. He seemed to have some difficulty explaining what it was he was nervous about, but when he finally told her, she only partly felt as if she understood what he was talking about. She'd had this feeling before when talking to other people; they would tell her something but it seemed as if there was some kind of hidden message underneath what they said that she should know about but didn't. On the other hand - she was quite nervous as well, spending so much time with Aiden was as much a blessing as it was a nerve-wrecker. She was sure to ask someone at home about all of this tomorrow, so she wouldn't be left doubting the next time. For now, she didn't want to ruin anything with stupid questions. 'I don't think your crazy,' she said, smiling some more as she felt his hand wrap around hers, making her heart jump. 'I get nervous all the time for all sorts of things.'

He could see the relief in her eyes, probably happy that someone explained this to her. It was silent and he knew she was thinking, she was trying to figure out what it means and maybe there would be more questions, why it was a big deal or why he should be nervous. She softly said that she didn't think he was crazy and she was nervous all the time. He smiled, feeling a lot better know. 'I'll tell you secret,' he said mysteriously. 'I only get nervous around you.' He looked at their hands on his knee, her hand felt a bit cooler than normal. 'Are you cold?' he asked. 'Wait, I'll show you how the sleepingbag works.' He opened the side of his sleepingbag and closed it again when he was laying down like it should be in those things. 'It is like a bed you can carry around,' he explained enthusiast.

Emma bowed towards him a bit when he said he'd tell her a secret and smiled when she heard what it was. On the one hand, she was the most comfortable when she was with Aiden and on the other hand she still got nervous every time she was close to him. 'Only a little,' she replied. He showed her how to properly get in the sleeping bag and she zipped the zipper up to the top again, with only her head and arms out of the warm sleeping bag wrapped all around her. 'It's awesome,' she said when she heard his enthusiasm. It actually was genius that people thought of things like these, and that they were actually just as warm as her blanket at home. After that, she just looked at him for a while. It was dark and only the light from the fire and from the moon that shone through the canvas of the tent. Parts of his face were lit up, others were dark with shadows. 'It's a good kind of nervous though, right?' she asked softly.

It made him happy to see how his stupid comments always could make her smile. She seemed to learn quickly and soon she was laying down just like him on a natural way as if she did this all the time. 'You are a very quick learner.' he said with a smile. She admitted it was awesome to be in the sleepingbag. 'Are you sure? Are you warm enough like that? Is it soft enough?' he asked, wanting her to sleep perfectly tonight without any problems. It was darker and he could only see parts of Emma looking at him. He looked back and smiled at her. Her eyes were lit up, it was so beautiful. She carefully asked if it was the good kind of being nervous, it almost looked like she was concerned. 'Yes, it is the good kind. Is it with you also the good kind?' he asked back, also softly.

'I learn from the best,' she said, hiding a yawn behind her hand. He seemed to be very worried about how she was feeling, trying to make everything perfect. 'Aiden, I'm fine,' she said, smiling. 'Really, I'm not cold anymore.' He continued by assuring her that it was a good kind of nervous. 'Yeah, for me it is, too.' She was silent for a little while, laying on her back, staring at the canvas, before looking at him again. 'I just want to warn you,' she started out, before interrupting herself, 'it's nothing bad, really and I really don't want you worry because you don't have to, but sometimes I wake up at night. My heart will be beating like I've been running, I'll feel... frightened, sometimes. They say I have bad dreams, but I never remember them. Anyway, if it happens and you notice, just know that I'm okay, it just takes a while to calm down and go back to sleep.' She smiled softly, as a way of reassuring him.

He nodded when she said she was fine like that and she was not cold anymore. There was a silence between them and now he also felt the tiredness, he would probably fall asleep soon. She said something about warning him and he couldn't resist to smile. 'What? Are you changing into a werewolf tonight?' he said, laughing with his joke. He stopped smiling when she talked and it seemed serious. 'And you never remember those dreams?' he asked. 'But maybe it's your gift that shows you stuff, I would be frightened to. It is very realistic.' He was silent for a few seconds before he continued. 'If that happens and I'm not awake, wake me up okay? I don't want you to be frightened and scared while I'm sleeping.'

He confused her there, talking about something she didn't know. 'What's a werewolf?' she asked, frowning. She knew wolves, but this was apparently a kind she had not heard of before. He stopped laughing when she went on. 'Never,' she replied, shaking her head, 'I just feel scared, disorientated. It takes me a little while to ground again, realize everything is okay.' She knew by telling him she might have made him worry about nothing, but on the other hand, if she'd woken up tonight and he didn't know that nothing bad was happening it probably would have made him even more worried. 'Okay,' she murmured, yawning again. She wasn't actually sure she would wake him up. He meant what he said, of course he would want to be there with her if anything happened. But if she could fix it herself, that would be better. Besides, she made it through the nights at home alone, no problem, so why not here as well.

He forgot all the time she didn't knew easy things like that. 'A werewolf is a magical creature. It is a human that changes into a wolf when there is a full moon outside.' He wanted to say those werewolves also bite or even eat people but he knew it was now not the right time and the right place for that. 'Maybe it will be even worse now, because it is the first time you are not sleeping at home, that's a bit disorientating.' He laughed when he heared her. 'Okay that's fine,' he said smiling. 'I think we really should go to sleep now. You sound very tired.' He looked at the dark figure of Emma laying next to him and he could not resist to smile. He was so happy she was here with him, doing one of the things he really liked to do.

He explained to her what a werewolf was, and though she did not quite understand what she should envision, she understood where he was going. 'I am quite tired,' she admitted. 'But I had a really great evening.' She turned on her side, looking at him with a smile on her face. Soon after she closed her eyes, she was off. When her eyes shot open again, her heart rate was faster than it should be for someone just laying down. Outside it was pitch dark, darker that it usually was. She pushed herself up on her elbows, sitting up straight, trying to make out anything, anything at all, but all around her she was surrounded by darkness. She did not realize she was panting, cold shivers down her spine, trembling all over. It took a while for her to remember where she was, but still everything inside her seemed to be going crazy and she tried to calm herself down so she wouldn't wake up Aiden, but the pressure that put on her only made it harder to think straight and to try to breath regularly.

Aiden couldn't resist looking at her while she closed her eyes and fell asleep very soon. She was so beautiful, and he was so lucky he was here with her. He hoped she would keep her promise, and would wake him up when something was wrong, but he knew her. He knew that she wouldn't wake him up even if some animal was eating her, that was just who she was, always placing others before herself. After a few seconds he also felt his eyes were closing and it didn't took him long to also fall asleep, he always slept very soon when he was in this tent, he felt so safe here. He didn't wake up when she was but he felt something far away in his suconsciousness and mumbled something she couldn't understand as an answer to the movement she had just made next to him. He turned to his side, unaware of her nightmares haunting her.

She clenched her fists, closed her eyes and breathed. Tried to, at least. It was fine, she told herself time after time, nothing was happening, Aiden was right there next to her and she was fine. Next to her, Aiden moved, turning around and for a second she thought about waking him up. She stopped herself, though, realizing it would probably only make her feel pressured to be okay even more. She did not want to freak him out, make him worry about how she was feeling as she knew he would. Slowly, now that her eyes could make out shapes in the dark and not all was pitch black, she relaxed a bit. She was not sure of how long she had been awake again, time always seemed to pass by strangely, either extremely fast or extremely slow. The tension flowed out her shoulders, her hands, her head, her heart rate slowed down, her breathing relaxed. It took her a minute before she went laying down again, looking at Aiden. She could see his features only partly, but she heard his breathing, she could see his chest raising and lowering calmly. Finally, or so it seemed, she fell asleep again.

As soon as the light came trough the canvas of the tent, Aiden noticed and woke up. He looked around for a few seconds, desoriëntated and saw Emma still sleeping next to him. She looked so peaceful, with no worries he almost saw all the time on her face. He could understand it, she had a lot to worry about. He would not be able to handle it when he would be in her place. But it made him happy to see her like this, to know she would not be on her own, because she had him to help her learn everything there was to learn. He quietly crawled out his sleepingbag and opened the tent. The cold breeze from outside immediatly woke him up even more. He fastly closed the tent, hoping he had not wake her up. The trees all had a magical view like this, with the little fog you always had in the morning between them. It remembered him of Emma's gift, when she showed him all the Emma's standing around him, or the snow that wasn't real. It was so impressive. There were almost no sounds here, which was very calming.
-
Sorry als er nog fouten instaan, je mag t gerust zeggen ofzo, want ik heb het gevoel dat ik dingen fout doe zo in het Engels

When Emma woke up, she saw the empty spot next to her. Aiden must have woken up earlier and gone outside already. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, staring at the canvas of the tent for a while. She knew he would probably ask her about how she had slept and she also knew she would most probably lie. She did not want to, but at the same time she knew it would only make him feel worse if he knew that she did not wake him up. She got up, opened the tent and crawled out. The bright sun greeted her as she zipped up the tent behind her and stood up, stretching her limbs. It was way colder outside, morning dew on the leaves and on the tent shimmered in the light of the sun that shone through the trees. 'Goodmorning,' she said, turning around to face Aiden. She slowly started walking towards him, a smile spreading across her face. 'Have you been up long?'
-
Je Engels is goed, hoor! Het enige was dat je dit "with no worries he almost saw all the time on her face" beter zo kan zeggen: "without the worries he usually saw there/saw there almost all the time". Maar het is echt goed, maak je geen zorgen!

He heard a sound behind him and saw Emma walking towards him. 'Goodmorning,' he answered, smiling. She asked if he was up long and he shook his head. 'Not that long, since the sun came up. I can't sleep when there is light outside,' he explained to her. He always had that problem, when he was younger he always was the first one to be awake at home, which was very annoying for his parents. They tried to darken his room, but that never helped. 'Did you sleep well?' he asked, curious how her first night was in a tent. He hoped she wasn't too scared from all the things she heared outside, or she didn't had the nightmares she told him about yesterday.
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Oh, dat is al een opluchting! Als er zo nog dingen zijn mag je dat altijd zeggen, want ik zou het heel graag net zo goed doen als jij

He explained to her that he couldn't sleep if the sun was out already, and she nodded, even though she did not mind the light. It often happened that there was still someone up when she went asleep and since they shared rooms, it was not unusual for the light to be on somewhere. She nodded when he asked if she had slept well, smiling slightly. 'Yeah, I slept quite good, actually. Surprisingly good. I was afraid the sounds outside would keep me awake, but they didn't. Did you sleep okay?' she returned the question. 'Oh, you must be freezing,' she said, as she realized she was still wearing his coat. She had kept her hands warm in the pockets, shielding them from the cold wind that rose every now and then. 'Wait, here...' she murmured as she took the coat off and handed it back to him. 'Thanks for letting me have it for the night, it really did keep me warm.'

He smiled when she said she slept quite good and he wasn't afraid of the noises outside. 'That is really good. That means you are very cool.' He then realised she probably didn't understand the last word, or not in the way he referred it. 'Yes, I slept very well like always when I am here. The noises outside always make me fall asleep easily.' He never was scared here and knowing what the meaning of most of the sounds was, probably helped a bit. She suddenly said he must be freezing and gave his coat back. It was cold, but he could handle it without his coat. 'Thanks,' he said while he held the coat in his hands. He looked at her, her hair was a bit tousled from sleeping and it didn't seem like she was wearing warm clothes. 'But it is no problem for me if you still wear it, you probably need it more than I do. And that's not a problem,' he answered when she thanked him for the coat.

'Oh, I'm not that cold,' she said, not quite understanding what he had meant with the word "cool", though she assumed he referred to her being chilly so quickly. She was glad to hear that he had slept well, smiling as he told her that the noises outside actually helped him sleep easier than usually. He offered her his coat once again, saying that she probably needed it more than he did. Even though that might just be true, she shook her head, worried that he was just saying he was fine with it. Besides, she was now wearing two coats and that was a little ridiculous. She knew it was getting colder and colder still, so she better get used to it. 'No, no, I'm good,' she told him. Around them, there was a layer of dew everywhere, on the tent, on all the leaves. It looked beautiful in the morning sun. 'It's really beautiful here,' she sighed, repeating her thoughts, though that also made her think of the fact that in not too long they would probably have to head back to town.

He couldn't resist laughing when she seriously said she wasn't cold when he said she was cool. It was so funny how she assumed certain things on a logical and literal way. She shook her head when he offered his coat and told him she was good. He knew she was probably lying for him, but he decided not to say something about it. He put the coat on and looked again to the trees covered in the dew. Emma softly said how beautiful it was here and he nodded. 'That is true,' he answered. He was happy she liked it here, happy that she also thought it was beautiful here, there were other people thinking this wasn't beautiful, but cold and way to early. He loosely layed his arm around her waist while he was looking around him. 'I always hope to see some animals,' he said. 'But sadly they are scared of us.'

She didn't understand why what she said was so funny to him, but it made him laugh, so she knew she had probably misunderstood what he had said. 'What did I say wrong?' she asked. She wasn't hurt by him laughing, she knew he wasn't laughing at her and that what she'd said had probably been very funny, but she did want to know what it had been. If she just let it go every time, she would never learn what was the right thing to say, when she was supposed to take things literally and when not to. He took the coat from her and put it on. After doing that, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She liked it when he did that, and she let her head rest against his shoulder. If she had been chilly before, she surely wasn't any more, with him this close to her. 'Why are they afraid of us?' she wondered. 'We don't want to hurt them, or scare them, right?'