"Because it'd ruin the surprise," she said, moving to step off the porch. She paused, looking back at him. "Do you need a coat? I could grab one of my dad's."
She grinned at him, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "Cool. Come on." She stepped off the porch and headed into the woods, her hands in her pockets.
"Only a little ways," she said, looking back at him. She stepped over a root easily, and squinted through the fog. Finally, they came across a lake. The water was silvery and reflected the fog, and the tide gently lapped against the rocky shore. Bright green leaves draped over the water, the vines dipping into the current. It was fairly surreal, with the fog being as dense as it was. It was strangely silent, and it felt as if the rest of the world had fallen at a loss of words.
Poppy, her hands in her pockets and her hair almost red against the white fog, turned to look at him. "Strange?" she asked. "How so?"
"I like it," she said, gazing across the water. She turned, and started to walk along the shore. "But it's not what I wanted to show you. Come on."
"Be patient," she chided playfully. "It's just over here." They came across a large tree with dense foliage. Poppy squinted up at it and paused for a moment. There were webs that laced between the branches, thick, wispy white ones that caught the dew, and there seemed to be movement through the branches that they couldn't quite find the source of. "Are you good at climbing?" she asked.
She grinned and wrapped her arm around the lowest branch, wincing slightly as her fingers brushed against it. She pulled herself up and looked down at him. "Come on, then," she said, climbing up higher.
"I could break both my hands and still be able to climb a tree," she teased. "Don't worry." She ducked under a cobweb as they approached the base of the foliage. "Ready?"
She grinned and poked her head through the foliage. Inside the trees branches was a flock of birds, barely giving any notice to the two of them. They were quiet, picking at the caterpillars that spun the webbing that encased the tree, but their colors were vivid against the green leaves; black heads and bright orange bodies. The caterpillars webbing had collected dew drops that shimmered, and the whole tree, so ominous at first, was teeming with life that was previously undiscovered. Several birds preened while others hopped from branch to branch, chirping lightly. The birds scurried around them, paying no mind to the two humans that observed them. "Aren't they lovely?" Poppy asked quietly, resting on her branch. Spoiler: Birds!
