#5 - Bees and Such

Being 'outdoorsy' wasn't something William cared for, beyond classes and what he was required to do for school. He heard the buzzing and followed it, glancing up at the tree where the hive was built.

"Brilliant..." William sighed after speaking, studying the height and location of the hive carefully. He couldn't recall having ever climbed a tree before in his life -- unless he was mistaken and it was buried deep inside.

The childhood knowledge of how to... No, he doubted that.

Well, he didn't want to remove his rain cloak and wondered if it would snag on anything on the way up. With a crease to his brows, he reached for the lowest branch but couldn't quite make it.

He would have to, with much regret and horror, jump for it. William squared his shoulders, the dull ache from using the bat was present but easy to ignore and shoved the glass jar into his pocket. He could do this.

After all, he was a Doren and they didn't give up. His mind quickly added, rather helpfully, that a Doren probably had someone else to do their dirty work for them. William looked at his soft palms and nodded.

There was no one else here to get the honey for him, he'd have to buck up and go for it.

"Climbing a tree should not be too difficult." He said out loud, to bolster his confidence and it helped in a way. William jumped for the low branch and his brain had two seconds to be mildly alarmed when his hands didn't grab anything.

Instead, he fell flat on his face onto the muddy ground.

William laid very still while he tried to process what had happened and how much dirt was currently in contact with his clothes and body. A tiny shiver ran down the length of him as he whispered, "Gross, gross, gross..."

With a hurried shove, William got himself upright again and searched in his pockets for a handkerchief. Finding one, he wiped his face and hands clean and swallowed the lump in his throat. It had been brilliant white and now it was brown, stained and dirty. He would need to add it to his laundry pile.

Along with everything else he was wearing.

He hadn't heard anything break so he assumed he was fine -- though, he was not a professional healer and perhaps a cautionary trip to the Hospital Wing after this would be sensible. William did like being sensible and loathed the idea that falling face-first into mud was quite the opposite.

"Pull yourself together, Doren. You can do this." Yes, he even referred to himself by his last name when speaking aloud.

This time he was determined to do the job right. William eyed the distance between himself and the branch and made sure not to look away this time. He leapt once and then twice, but kept missing.

Was he simply too short?

He looked around for something suitable to stand on and there was the faintest hint of a smile when he saw a moss covered log. William went over and grabbed one end, ignoring how the bark and moss felt against his hands and gave it a heave.

It shifted a few inches each time he pulled and the progress was slow. In the back of his mind he was aware he was wasting precious time but having the boost up would be most helpful so that silenced the nay-saying voice in his head.

For now.

Once the log was moved into place, William gingerly put a foot on it. It didn't seem to move much, aside from a slight wobble, so he stepped on and hoped for the best. He held his arms out to balance himself and found that if he spread his legs apart just so, he seemed to make the act of standing on top of the log a lot easier.

He glanced at the branch which was significantly closer and didn't require a jump to grab it now and simply reached for it.

William made sure he had a tight grip on the branch and heaved. He had never pulled himself up like this before (that he could recall at this moment) and his body was at quite a loss for what he was doing.

He wasn't heavy or chubby but certainly wasn't in shape either. It wasn't like he had the strong muscles of a childhood spent exploring and adventuring. His muscles were more suited to sitting, pondering, studying and researching.

Still, with some leg flailing and wheezing, he managed to get up on the first branch.

"Gosh, that took ages." He tried, in vain, to clean off his hands (his handkerchief looked very sad now) and studied where he was.

The hive still buzzed above him so William go to work. His movements were careful and rather slow but he really didn't want to fall out of a tree while alone. Not to mention it was still raining. He moved from branch to branch and it probably took him close to twenty minutes to make it to where he could reach the hive.

Going back down again was something he didn't want to think about just now.

William reached into his pocket and was glad to feel that the jar was still intact after his earlier misadventure. He hadn't thought to check before now and mentally scolded himself for such an oversight.

With his body pressed up against the tree trunk, William steadily undid the lid of the jar and then scooped it into the honey. The amber liquid smelt divine but he resisted the urge to try some.

There was no knowing what kind of effect this honey could have on him since it wasn't properly labelled and wot-not. When his jar was full, William screwed the lid back on and, with some regret, put it back into his pocket.

The outside of the jar was also covered in honey and William let out a soft groan at what the inside of his pocket was going to be like later. He attempted to use his dirty handkerchief for the honey on his hand but he was making a right mess of things.

Best to leave it alone and deal with it later.

It was then he made the mistake of looking down, "Oh dear."

He had come rather a long way up, hadn't he? William quickly looked ahead and took a deep breath. He just had to retrace his steps back down and everything would be fine.

If going up had been slow-going, well... Going back down was at a snail's pace. A really ancient, decrepit, probably held together by dust and hopes kind of snail. The kind that would be spotted on the garden path and three weeks later was still in the same spot.

By the time he made it back to the bottom branch, William had lost track of how long he had been up the tree. He felt a little light-headed from the effort and resoundingly promised himself he'd never get up a tree again with, "Never again!"

William took a few moments and then slid, rather ungracefully, from the lowest branch and along the tree trunk. It was a good thing he was alone because he looked quite stupid doing it. But, he didn't care because he was alone.

When he was back in his dormitory later, he could recall the moment with horror. Right now, he had to get out of here.

Unless something was watching from the forest but that was far from his worries for now.

When his feet touched the ground -- sweet, solid ground -- he hurried to snatch up his school bag and shove the honey into the potions kit. Without looking back, he did a quick stepping walk towards the path again. Safety.

And he was free to go back to the castle. William felt relief lift a weight off his shoulders and he finally looked back. He couldn't see the tree from there so he just looked in the general direction.

He, William Doren, had climbed a tree.

Whatever would his parents think? There was a dull ache in his chest when he thought of them and William put his head down. He headed back towards the castle for a well deserved shower and a fresh change of clothes.

[OOC: Exit]