Despite the quarantine and lockdown, Avalon continued to walk through the forest, not a care in the world. The orders were to stay inside unless it was absolutely necessary to go out. Those orders, however, were only really in place for public areas like stores or parks. But what about the wide-open wilderness? What about a secluded forest where there was nobody else for miles? How was that for social distancing? Avalon had gotten sick of being cooped up anyway. Now at last, Avalon had broken, deciding to go out for a nature walk and it was a literal breath of fresh air.
"Besides, who wouldn't want to be out on a day like this?" Avalon asked themself as they continued to walk the earthy forest trails, trees surrounding them on all sides and stretching up into the azure sky. Beautiful beams of white sunlight poked through the emerald leaves, illuminating the ground and making the leaves almost seem to glow in certain lights. It was just so lively! As much fun as it was indoors, being outside like this reminded Avalon why they had broken quarantine at all. This was just too lovely a day to waste indoors. The weather was warm and sunny, but not too hot, despite it being the middle of summer. The air was clear, but not too dry. There was a gentle breeze to keep them cool as they walked along. It really was a picture-perfect day in the middle of a picture-perfect forest.
Avalon crossed little creeks and crunched through old leaves and branches. They climbed over, under and across fallen trees. They posed dramatically upon every large boulder they came across. Perhaps it was a little lonely, talking this walk without a companion, but it was just so liberating and relaxing to be outside again that Avalon did not care at all. Instead, they reveled in the freedom and silence of isolation. It was much better than the isolation before, the isolation of the inside. Even though, in both cases, Avalon had needed to stay alone, this outdoor isolation just felt so much happier than the indoor isolation and they almost never wanted it to end.
Avalon knew their name had come from an ancient legend. The real Avalon was supposedly a paradisiacal island where a once-noble king took refuge after his final battle left him mortally wounded. It was said to be a wonderful and heavenly place, a true arcadia. A land of plenty, a land of beauty, a land of peace. And because it was an island that only this king and several others had ever gone to, one could assume it was uninhabited. There would've been no civilizations on Avalon. It would've been a lot like this forest, Avalon wagered. That was what had gotten them thinking about the legend. Although they, of course, had no idea what the real Avalon looked like, they still couldn't help but compare it to this forest.
"I'm sure whatever Avalon really exists out there, if it exists at all, couldn't be any nicer than this place!" they smiled up and closed their eyes, standing still for a moment just to listen to the sounds of nature. Chirping birds, scuttling creatures, rustling leaves, running water. It was all very cliché stuff, but it really did sound so harmonious and perfect in this moment. Not for the first time did Avalon congratulate themself on the good idea of coming out here. Even though it wasn't an essential trip outside, it was still wonderful. And again, since it was so very far away from any town or city, it wasn't like the odds of spreading the dreaded Corona virus was going to be that bad here.
"Besides, even if it would be considered nonessential by our health departments, it certainly was essential for the soul!" Avalon laughed. They were not sure if they believed in the concept of a soul, but they could still vaguely grasp the idea. There were certain things a human needed that went beyond the physical or bodily. Of course Avalon cared deeply about the health and welfare of the world, that was why they wore masks all the time and why they'd chosen to take a nature walk in a secluded place rather than a public. At the same time, though, Avalon did truly believe that as important as bodily health was (especially during this chaotic dumpsterfire of a year that they called 2020), there were certain things that the soul needed rather than the body, and this walk outside was a perfect example.
This sort of activity was not listed as essential by anyone, but man did it feel good! It really was so relaxing and liberating to be outdoors again, and to just roam through nature without a care in the world. Avalon was by no means a nature freak, but even they could appreciate times like this when it was just the self and the world. No problems, no people, nothing but silence and summer and sun. Even if souls were not real, whatever part of a human that this sort of activity touched, that was what Avalon cared about.
After a while, they found themselves standing beside a large river that stretched out in either direction as far as the eye could see. It was a lovely sight, long and silver and winding, but the real fun was yet to come…
Avalon first sat down on the rocky shore to eat some of the lunch they'd brought along. Just admiring the water and whatever darted around in it, Avalon did no more than munch idly on various snacks they had packed away for this occasion. It was nice to just sit and stare at the water, unseeing and unthinking. It was like going on autopilot, but even though they weren't consciously thinking of anything, their senses were still being bathed in the warm and gentle touch of mother nature herself.
But after Avalon had eaten their fill, it was time for the real fun to start! Activating their Gift, they dipped a foot into the warm water. Only a few seconds later, that water began to get colder and colder. After about half a minute, a small sheen of ice began to form, starting at their foot and spreading out across the gentle waves. Smiling, Avalon put their other foot in the water as well. Now there were two waves of ice rippling out across the river's running surface. It was a bit trickier to freeze a river than a creek or a lake, but it was still doable. Avalon had been practicing their Gift for a couple years now. Even though it was still in the early stages of its development, creating a bit of ice here and there was elementary stuff.
They continued to stand in the water, willing the ice to strengthen and spread. It was slow going, but it was just so cool (pun intended) to watch. Slowly but surely, this warm, running water became colder and slower as a sheet of ice continued to spread across it. And that ice got thicker and thicker the longer Avalon stood there and focused. Then at last, they raised a foot to try stepping on the ice sheet that they had created. They could feel at once that it was still very weak and fragile, but it wouldn't take more than another minute or so to make it more solid and secure…
Sure enough, a minute later, the ice had hardened into a small but sturdy square large and stable enough for him to stand on. For a time, Avalon created an icy trail through the middle of the river that they walked down. It was actually really fun to be able to strut through the river like that, practically walking on water and pretending it was some sort of fashion show with the runaway being surrounded by water. There was no finer or fancier entrance than that! Avalon even began to do a runway strut as they walked down the ice trail they had created, pretending to perform in a drag show. Unfortunately, all of that year's local drag shows had been canceled due to Corona, but even though Pride events were no longer possible, the people of the town and still found plenty of ways to celebrate Pride.
"But I bet none of them can celebrate quite like I can!" Avalon laughed to themself as they finally stomped a foot on the ground, breaking off the chunk of ice at the end of the "runway". Now it was functioning like a surfboard of sorts and Avalon was going sailing down the river.
"Wheee!" they laughed. Leaving the runaway to melt behind them, Avalon strengthened the sheet of ice they were standing on and let the river carry it along. It really was just like surfing, and because Avalon was the one who had created the ice, there was no danger of it melting away. Any time they sensed it starting to weaken, it wouldn't take more than a few seconds of focus to harden it up again (ha ha).
It really was quite a sight, one young adult surfing down a lonely river in an empty forest, using a block of ice as a board, but in a year as weird as 2020, that was hardly the worst thing one could've stumbled upon, and the surfer in particular was having an absolute blast, and that was the most important part of all.
AN: Here's just a random "feel good" "story" inspired off a camping trip I went on just a few weeks back. I did actually stumble upon a large river and I did indeed splash around in it for a while (it was too shallow to swim in, sadly) and it was quite fun!
Stay safe and stay sane everyone. If you need to go outside, do it. Avoid public places if possible, of course, but every human needs a bit of nature sometimes. Grab it where you can. If you're far enough away (from civilization), you should be ok!
Now, if only I had the power to create ice with just a thought. You better believe I would've been sailing down that river on an ice boat, Avalon style!