Arlo maintained a generous distance between him and Gideon. But made sure that he could at least see him as they walked along. Arlo wasn’t big on trusting. He mostly liked to keep everything at an arm’s length. Especially a random and particularly peculiar individual that he had just met. But he felt differently about this Gideon for some reason. And while he really hadn’t had any originally, he now had questions. Along with wondering if Gideon had any questions for him. Like what his name was or where he had come from. Or what brought him into the forest to begin with. Because thus far, Gideon didn’t seem to be interested in any of it. He really didn’t seem to be interested in anything. During the time that they had been walking, he hadn’t turned around once to see if Arlo was even following him. He hadn’t sped up or slowed down, stumbled or tripped. His hands hadn’t even left his pockets. While the pathway they were following was beginning to blend in with the forest floor around them. Arlo was busy looking at all of the leafless branches that extended in seemingly infinite directions. Wondering how much farther they were going to go. Because it felt like they had walking for the better part the day. Most of which was slightly uphill. And since the forest had become much more dense, it made it harder to see where the sun was. Causing him to all but lose his sense of time and direction. Through heavy breathing, Arlo asked if they were going to take a break and rest soon. Gideon didn’t respond, he just continued on with his quiet humming, while sporadically turning left here and right there. Arlo was starting to really believe that Gideon had no idea that he was even following him. Or maybe he was just hard of hearing. Nonetheless, Arlo wasn’t going to turn around or stop now. He hadn’t walked all this way for nothing; he wanted to see where Gideon was going. He could tell that this part of the forest was much older than where he had been. There was also less things that moved around; less things that were green. Then, unexpectedly, something caught his eye. Arlo saw a strange marking on a tree nearby. Unable to clearly make out what it was, he just continued on. Mainly out of fear that he would be left out here. Because based on his assessment throughout the day. Gideon didn’t seem like he was going to stop, nevertheless wait. Not to long after that, he saw another one, then another. Soon, they were everywhere. Almost on every single tree that he passed. Arlo, looking around at all of them, could finally see what they were. They were names, and initials, that had been carved into the trees. Some even had vague dates next them. Some of that were quiet specific. Gideon, breaking the silence. Told Arlo that if he was still following him, that they were almost there. That he would be able to see it when they reached the top of the hill. Arlo flinched at the sound of his voice, but then he began moving briskly to catch up to Gideon. Excited to see what it was that awaited them.