Silence stretched between the two as they realized what was said. Cam's eyes widened, having not intended on saying that out loud. Elli was sure she heard him wrong, but her heart leaped as she considered the words. She was happy he thought her beautiful, a compliment Trent had never given her. She breathed out slowly, unable to thank of anything to say. Cam's mouth opened, but no words came out, and he continued floundering for something to say as he grew more nervous in the silence between them.
"Thank you," she said, unsure of what else she should say. He fiddled with his hat, pulling it down and just nodding once before looking out over the horizon again. His face was bright red, much more than she had ever seen him reveal before. Without saying anything, she slipped her fingers around his, lacing them together. She looked out over the ridge again, feeling his eyes on the side of her face and on their hands, but he didn't say anything, only giving her fingers a light squeeze of recognition. A few more minutes passed in serene contentment before Cam cleared his throat.
"You know, Howard should have lunch ready by now, if you're hungry at all," he said, nodding towards the path back down the mountain. Elli nodded and walked with him side by side, fingers still loosely joined.
"What's on the other side of the mountain?" she asked as they trailed back to Bluebell. Cam looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Konohana is down there, but we don't talk with those folks much. There's an old rivalry, so we only see each other at cooking contests," he explained, never considering how odd it was until Elli gave him an questioning look.
"But why? And how often do you have cooking contests?" she asked, thinking of Mineral Town's once-a-year event, one that was almost always won by Doug, not that Elli really minded. He made his business on his food, after all. Cam considered the rivalry between the two towns. He hadn't considered it before, but he never actually had anything against anyone from Konohana. In fact, he helped Ayame, their doctor, in gathering herbs for her to use in medicine. He didn't respond to Elli as he thought on the question, and found no answer. She didn't press him, only chuckling at his confused face and continuing towards Bluebell.
Ash greeted them as they passed his small ranch, yelling out at them to come over. His flock of sheep were grazing with a couple of cows, an idyllic scene to watch. Ash leaned up on the fence, a pleasant smile on his face. He tipped his hat to Elli in greeting. "Hey there. Are you enjoying Bluebell so far?" he asked, not saying anything about their joined hands, but flashing a look at Cam as Elli nodded enthusiastically.
"Very much. It's so different from Mineral Town, but still so nice. You're lucky to have such a bountiful mountain so close at hand," she said, looking back at the expanse of green hill behind her with an appreciative smile. She wanted to hike that mountain more, and promised herself to come back to see it in another season.
"We do, it's how a lot of us around here get fish to eat, and bugs to sell," Ash agreed, laughing at the face Elli made at the mention of bugs. She had seen them, alright, but tried to ignore their presence when she was walking with Cam. Cam couldn't help but smile as well, keeping her dislike in mind for future use.
"We were just headed back up to the cafe for lunch. See you around," Cam said, and Ash went back to tending to the animals after a goodbye was exchanged. The pair went back in to the cafe and Howard greeted them with happy chatter, only half of which Elli managed to catch. Cam pulled a chair out for Elli before sitting down himself, and Laney brought them a plate of curry rice and radish soup each. Elli thanked them for their generosity, and was pleasantly surprised at how much she liked the radish soup, something she hadn't tried before. It has a nice spicy kick to it that she enjoyed, and wasn't surprised to see Cam had cleared it quickly, recalling his fondness for spice. The meal passed quietly, outside of Howard's occasional comments.
"Thank you very much, Howard. The food was delicious!" Elli said, feeling full. Howard waved away her compliments but still smiled brightly. "Cam told me about your cooking contests. Maybe as thanks I can teach you one of my family recipes? A new dish could earn you a win," she offered, and Howard was immediately pulling her into the kitchen.
"Please do! We've lost the past three and I will NOT lose this week!" he declared, making Elli wonder again at how often they could stand to have a contest. None the less, she looked at the stock of ingredients and grinned as she realized she could make her grandmother's special double chocolate cake. After borrowing an apron, she set about to her first passion: baking.