The trail back down was looser than the climb up — less urgency, more stumbling, the kind of walk where nobody's really watching their feet because everyone's too busy talking.
Ishaan was already three steps ahead, still buzzing, retelling the fight to nobody in particular with increasingly exaggerated sound effects.
"—and THEN, right, I went like this—" he demonstrated a kick that nearly sent him sideways off the path.
"Bro, just for once, try to live. I have no intention to be the bearer of bad news to our mom," Aaron said flatly.
"Legends never die, broski."
"You're not a legend, you're just a crazy monkey."
Estella laughed, and Ishaan pointed at her, accusing her of betraying him.
Behind them, Aaron and Isabella walked more slowly. Not deliberately. Just naturally.
The sky had shifted while they weren't paying attention. The blue had gone somewhere, replaced by a low grey that pressed down over the treeline. Aaron glanced up once. Said nothing.
"You went quiet," Isabella noted.
"I'm always quiet."
"Quieter than usual."
He looked up at the sky again. "It's going to rain."
She followed his gaze. "...Yes. Probably."
Neither of them moved any faster.
As they started to walk, a raindrop fell on Ishaan's head
"I think it is about to rain"
It didn't ease in. One second, the air was heavy and still; the next, the sky opened.
The kind of rain that doesn't give you time to think — fat, cold drops that soak through in seconds. Ishaan yelped. Estella made a sound that wasn't quite a word. Aaron grabbed his bag off the ground and had exactly one second to think about the sketchbook before the path turned slick underfoot, and thinking became a luxury nobody could afford.
As the rain continued to pour down the mountain and the mist grew thick, they started looking for a place to take cover.
"Well, there might be an emergency cabin nearby", Isabella shouted as they all moved into the forest cover.
"An emergency cabin?" Ishaan asked as he ran through the forest.
"Cabins made by the rangers for emergency shelters, duh", Estella replied with sarcasm to his question.
"Ya makes sense, as they did walk down this path yesterday; I might have an idea. Let's go" Aaron bolted towards the direction where the rangers appeared to come from yesterday.
After running for a while, Isabella pointed through the trees at a shape in the grey. Small. Wooden.
"There"
They ran.
By the time the door shut behind them, all four were completely soaked. Ishaan stood in the middle of the floor, dripping like he'd been pulled from a river. Estella wrung out her braid with both hands. Aaron pushed wet hair off his forehead and looked down at his bag — sketchbook still dry inside, just barely.
He exhaled.
"Well, it seems we are stuck here for a while, then", Isabella said as she looked outside the window.
"Ya seems so", Aaron said, catching his breath. "Well, let's look around at what all we have to work with here"
All four started to look around the cabin. They found a pile of firewood, towels and jackets.
"And I have some instant coffee with me, so I'll make a warm cup for us to heat up", Isabella said
"Well then, Estella, go and see what food we have. Isabella, you make coffee; I'll start the fire and Ishaan," Aaron looked at him shivering, "Go dry yourself"
"Aye, aye, Captain", Ishaan marched to the bathroom.
After a while, once the matter settled down, Ishaan went into a room which was a bit less damp than the others and sat there, his body shaking.
Isabella came through the door, handing him a cup of warm coffee.
"Ahhhh… here comes my guardian angel with my salvation", Ishaan said, extending his still-shaking hand.
Isabella chuckled under her breath as she handed the cup to Ishaan. "I just realised you are more theatrical than your brother; he always has that calm, composed face, whereas you wear your heart on your sleeve"
Ishaan looked at her for a second, gripping his hands tightly. "Well, someone has to compensate for that art geek's… geekiness". Ishaan gave a sarcastic laugh, but it felt off.
As they chatted away, Estella asked Aaron in a hushed tone.
"You really are something, you know that, brother Aaron, like the way Ishaan is; you still somehow manage to put him to work, and still he never says anything"
"Well, it's all about ego, sister dear; a man's soul is his ego. Just irritate it a little, and he will dance at the palm of your hand", Aaron said this as if he were reciting a magic spell.
"Is that so…. It seems I might have found the perfect tool to control him, hehehe," Estella played along as an evil villain.
"Let it be our little secret, shall it?" Aaron indicated a fist bump as he made coffee for all of them.
"Sure, bro", Estella played along.
After a while, Estella and Ishaan moved to a different room, deciding to play around after Isabella supposedly shooed them because they were nosy.
As they sat still, Ishaan suggested playing truth or dare with a can.
"Truth or dare, Estella?" Ishaan's grin was practically evil in the firelight.
"Truth. I don't trust your dares."
"Coward," Ishaan shot back, but leaned forward anyway. "Okay then. What's one thing you've always hated when people do it to you?"
Estella tapped her chin, pretending to think. Then her grin dimmed just slightly.
"…Sometimes I hate being compared to my sister. Everyone I meet thinks I am happy and well-chaotic and always tries to compare me to her, as you should be like your sister, look how well she studies, or look at Isabella and how quiet she is, and things like that. Even if I do something, I always get shadowed by her."
Then she curled up, and with a sigh of relief, she said, Yet I can't seem to hate her; even if the world compares me to her, she still is the only one who sees me for who I am and always tries ways to cheer me up"
Ishaan blinked, caught off guard. His joking mask slipped. "…Yeah. I get some of that."
She tilted her head. "You? The rowdy hero?"
"Well ya, I guess I have been called a bit rude or cold sometimes, even selfish, for being loud and all, being told, 'Why can't you be a more responsible and mature adult like Aaron' and all?" Ishaan said having a very dim smile over his face.
"Hmmm… well its not i dont get you, almost the same case with me" Estella stopped for a moment reflecting on what he said.
"And still you can't turn to hate your older siblings, huh?" Ishaan said as he looked at Estella.
"True, can't be mad because of who they are", Estella said.
Ishaan turned the can in his hands. "Nope."
"Annoying."
"So annoying."
For a moment, both of them didn't move much, just stayed there looking at the empty can on the floor.
"Anyways, all this sappy stuff is making me go to sleep", Ishaan burst with energy and grabbed the bottle.
"Ya, Ya lets get on with it", Estella pitched in.
But without their knowledge, a third person just so happened to walk past that convo, holding up a smile.
Aaron moved to the living room after he had finished with all the cleanup after the 'two devils'
When he arrived, he saw Isabella just dozing off near the fireplace.
Without much thinking, he just wrapped his shawl over her and sat on the couch near the fireplace and started to draw.
Before she could react, he wrapped his shawl over her. It was a bit old and clearly handmade, and yet she didn't say much; she only calmly lay back and rested.
After a while, when Aaron dozed off for real, she got up and put the shawl over him.
She stood over him for a long while before looking at the sketch he was making; it was her showing him around in the library, but it was different somehow. After looking at that, she looked at him and, in a low voice, just murmured.
"You fool, I just wonder if you will still treat us like this after knowing who we truly are"