Simon was accustomed to sneaking out of the shelters under the cover of night. It wasn't difficult to sneak past the slumbering littluns or the usual homebodies, the beach only lit with the dim light of the stars and the labor of the day enough to sink one into a deep sleep the moment they laid upon the hard ground.
But it was hard untangling yourself from the others when the hunters returned from their trek early and lodged in the same hut as you. They rested taking up as much room as possible, sprawling across the floor of whatever shelter they had deemed suitably baren to inhabit. To make matters worse, they often slept restlessly after returning from the woods, still almost frenzied from the hunt, eyes twitching underneath their lids. Simon sat silently, simply watching the stars through the shabby roof, for an impossibly long time before the breaths of the people around him grew slower and deeper. Once all had reached an equilibrium, he decided it was time to move.
After sliding out from his position situated between two of the older hunters (he couldn't quite tell who in the light, and it didn't matter, really,) he walked with hurried gracefulness to the doorway, hoping his urgency would make his absence and inevitable ruckus from movement less obvious. His bare feet pattered on the dirt and made enough noise to warrant an inward flinch and check to see if anyone had heard.
To only his slight surprise, Maurice's head slightly lifted and craned towards his direction, curly hair tangled from both navigating through the brush and laying on the floor. Paint that had grown synonymous with anyone with anything to do with Jack was applied sloppily to his face, a disheveled mask highlighting his features. Simon took an instinctive step back, feeling a bit like a nervous animal under his eyes.
His own figure, blocking light through the doorway, cast a shadow on the older in a way nothing short of ominous. This was the only time he'd ever been caught, he desperately hoped Maurice was the type to completely forget anything that happened when he was tired, what would Simon do if Ralph found out he'd been sneaking off into the woods–?
But Maurice simply raised an eyebrow, threw a tired smile, and flopped back down with more force than actually necessary to be anything but comedic. Roger and Jack, who laid close by, fidgeted at his motion, and he only chuckled lowly in response to their sleep agitation.
Simon took the opportunity presented with Maurice's apparent acception of holding the knowledge of the younger's late night escapades with an immense sense of gratitude. Scampering off into the forest, he made note to thank the older later.
