#backpacking peru

[cuscojourneys]

The fairytale-like Uros Islands are made entirely from totora reeds; the lives of the inhabitants of these artificial islands are entirely dependent upon the reed beds they live among.

[wrldsnwunders]

[travel-with-kat]

Chirikyaku, Peru

[josavd]

De noche cada cosa asume formas más leves, más matizadas, casi mágicas 🇵🇪📸 como en la Plaza Mayor de Ayacucho. #life #igers #peru #tour #travel #alldaytravel #amoviajar #aroundtheworldpix #awesome_earth #awesome_earthpix #awesome_globepix #awesomeearth #backpackers #backpacking #happy #ayacucho #love #photography #night #park #paisaje #igtravel #insidertravel #instagood #patrimonio (en Ayacucho) https://www.instagram.com/p/CntIv3xsF0F/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perusummit]

We have just finished one more Ausangate Trek with our friends from the 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 and 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 "Peru Summit are an elite outfit and offered timely communication, top quality gear and a highly capable hiking crew (guide, chef and horsemen). An impressive, truly local business that is growing." —Matt #perusummittravelers Follow @perusummitadventures #trekking #peru #cusco #machupicchu #incatrail #ausangatetrek #rainbowmountain #perusummit #backpacking #followme #trends #trending #travel #mountainscape #yolo #wilderness #tour #adventure (en Nevado Ausangate - Ocongate - Cusco) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjT01cHsuMj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[katietrekks]

August 6, 2021

Salkantay Trail Day 5 Augas Calientes -> Machu Picchu Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru 1.39 miles 490 ft. Elevation Gain

Today was the day I have been waiting for this whole trip, the day I get to lay my eyes on Machu Picchu! I was supposed to get up at the crack of dawn to hike up to the Ancient Incan city, but unfortunately my left knee was in so much pain and it kept me up all night, I just decided to bus up to the site instead of risking an injury. I'm so glad I did because the ride even getting to the top was straight up. After getting off the bus, you walk up a few flights of stone stairs and then you see it in the valley, the old stone structures that have been sitting there for over 500 years. We walked around and even saw some Llamas and wild chinchillas! Sadly, this was my last day of the hike in Peru. I want to make a shot out to our guide Wayna, who was so positive and encouraging the whole way, and knew the answers to any questions about the history of the area, which mountain was which, etc. And he was super fun to hang out with at camp! This was the most cultural experience I have ever had in my life so far, I am so grateful to be able to do this. Now it's back to the states where I can finally fulfill my craving for a bagel with cream cheese!

[alpacaexpeditions]

The Best 5 Day Backpacking Trips: Discovering Nature's Wonders 

Embarking on a backpacking trip is a fantastic way to reconnect with nature, challenge yourself, and experience the great outdoors in a truly immersive way. For those looking to make the most of a short but impactful adventure, here are the best 5-day backpacking trips that will leave you with unforgettable memories. 

1. Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru 

One of the world's most iconic treks, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu offers a perfect blend of historical intrigue and stunning scenery. Over the course of five days, you'll traverse ancient paths, encounter archaeological sites, and witness breathtaking views of the Andes. The trail culminates at the magnificent Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage site that never fails to amaze. We provide guided tours that ensure you experience the trail's full beauty, with knowledgeable guides and well-planned itineraries. 

2. John Muir Trail, California, USA 

The John Muir Trail, named after the famous naturalist, takes you through some of California's most beautiful wilderness areas, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. This 5-day segment of the trail offers a challenging yet rewarding adventure, with stunning vistas, alpine lakes, and diverse wildlife. It's an ideal choice for those seeking solitude and a deep connection with nature. Be sure to prepare for high-altitude hiking and bring all necessary gear. 

3. Torres del Paine W Trek, Chile 

The Torres del Paine W Trek in Patagonia is a must for any backpacking enthusiast. This 5-day trek takes you through the heart of Torres del Paine National Park, offering dramatic landscapes featuring granite towers, turquoise lakes, and sprawling glaciers. The trail's name comes from the "W" shape formed by the route, which allows you to explore the park's main valleys. We can arrange logistics and support to help you navigate this remote and rugged terrain. 

4. Laugavegur Trail, Iceland 

Iceland's Laugavegur Trail is famous for its otherworldly landscapes, from vibrant geothermal areas to vast glaciers and colorful rhyolite mountains. This 5-day trek offers a unique experience of Iceland's natural beauty, including the hot springs of Landmannalaugar, the black sand deserts of Mælifellssandur, and the lush Thórsmörk valley. Each day brings new and strikingly different scenery, making this one of the best 5-day backpacking trips for adventurers seeking a truly varied landscape. 

5. West Highland Way, Scotland 

Scotland's West Highland Way offers a captivating journey through the Highlands, from the outskirts of Glasgow to the town of Fort William. This 5-day trek features picturesque lochs, rolling hills, and the majestic Ben Nevis, the UK's highest peak. Along the way, you'll encounter charming villages and historic sites, providing a rich cultural experience alongside the natural beauty. The trail is well-marked and suitable for hikers of all levels. 

Conclusion 

These best 5-day backpacking trips offer something for everyone, from the lush valleys of Iceland to the ancient paths of the Inca Trail. Each of these trails provides a unique adventure, ensuring that you'll return home with a renewed spirit and a sense of accomplishment. Whether you're a seasoned hiker or a novice explorer, these trips are sure to inspire and challenge you. 

For those looking to make their journey even more seamless, Alpaca Expeditions offers expert guidance and support on several of these trails, ensuring you have a safe and memorable experience. So, pack your gear, lace up your boots, and get ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime! 

[prisioneira-de-si-mesma]

Peru 🌎💙🏔

[welcometoayacucho]

De noche cada cosa asume formas más leves, más matizadas, casi mágicas 🇵🇪📸 como en la Plaza Mayor de Ayacucho. #life #igers #peru #tour #travel #alldaytravel #amoviajar #aroundtheworldpix #awesome_earth #awesome_earthpix #awesome_globepix #awesomeearth #backpackers #backpacking #happy #ayacucho #love #photography #night #park #paisaje #igtravel #insidertravel #instagood #patrimonio (en Ayacucho) https://www.instagram.com/p/CntIncOs-hq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[reasonsforhope]

Life is hard for neurodivergent people in Peru. Now a grassroots uprising of people with bipolar disorder, ADHD and autism – organised through picnics in the park – is pushing for change at the heart of government.

On a bright summer afternoon in Lima, the capital of Peru, Carolina Díaz Pimentel takes some red and green tape out of her backpack. She’s in a park waiting for people to arrive at a picnic she and her friends are hosting. Guests know that they don’t have to be on time, don’t have to make eye contact, and can leave at any time if they feel overwhelmed. No one will question them.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable. At least this afternoon we want to take a break from the rules that are imposed on neurodivergent people every day to fit in,” says Díaz Pimentel, a journalist and a co-founder of the Peruvian Neurodivergent Coalition (CNP), who is herself autistic and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Hence the coloured tapes. Each attendee will choose one to express their “social battery”. If they choose the green tape, it’s because they want to participate in the activities. Red signals they prefer not to be approached. Everyone wants company, that’s why they are here, but in different ways. And that’s OK. People start to arrive. Several choose red.

CNP is a social initiative that first kicked off in March 2023. It is the alliance of five neurodivergent women who were already making waves by posting openly about their conditions on social media, but who longed to make real-world change. “I used to see this kind of gathering in countries like Mexico and Argentina and was sad to be so far away, until I saw the announcement of a picnic in Peru. Before joining the coalition, I didn’t really relate to anyone. I had good friends, people that care about me, but I knew I wasn’t like them,” says Mayra Orellano, another of the directors, an interior designer with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Today [in March 2024] is the coalition’s fifth gathering. A picnic may not sound like fertile ground for a burgeoning social movement, but behind the bags of cookies and crisps, that is what CNP is doing – campaigning for the rights of neurodivergent Peruvians to be understood and accepted, and to live free from stigma and abuse.

The birth of the neurodiversity movement

The concept of neurodiversity has been around for almost 30 years after first being coined in 1997 in an undergraduate thesis by Judy Singer. Singer, an Australian who is now an eminent sociologist, argued that conditions such as autism, dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are all simply part of the myriad ways in which human brains are wired. It proposed a new way to think about human difference and provided a name for a burgeoning movement. In Peru, however, it remains a concept that few have heard of.

“Neurodiversity is not a medical diagnosis, it’s a political movement that brings us together to defend our rights,” says Díaz Pimentel. When she first started posting about her bipolar disorder on social media in 2017, it was taboo: very few talked about their diagnosis in public. Bipolar disorder remains a stigmatised condition in Peru...

Diaz Pimentel’s commitment is stronger than prejudice, she says. Two years ago, when she received her autism diagnosis, she posted a photo of herself holding a rainbow cake with the words ‘Congrats on the autism’ spelled out in white icing. She wanted to celebrate with her community because she considered it a rebirth: at the age of 29, some of the puzzles of her childhood finally made sense...

From picnics to influencing policy

Neurodivergence is a huge umbrella that describes people with very different conditions. In Peru, this causes confusion and a lack of accurate data. Even in the case of autism, the best recognised of the neurodivergent conditions, the National Registry of Citizens with Disabilities lists some 15,000 people on the spectrum. But according to international statistics on the worldwide prevalence of autism, there are likely more than 200,000 people with the condition in the country. 

María Coronel, the psychologist in charge of the ministry of health’s child and adolescent mental health department, says that clarifying this data is one of the institution’s priorities. She acknowledges that initiatives such as CNP’s can help educate people: “These organisations add to our efforts to detect people on the autistic spectrum and give them the help they need. They have a great ability to reach others because they are telling their own experiences.”

Although CNP has only existed for a year, the group is already influencing government policy. Two congressmen have asked for members’ feedback on bills to protect the rights of autistic people. The state agency in charge of integrating people with disabilities into society consulted them on the appropriate terms with which to refer to neurodevelopmental conditions. And the ombudsman’s office made a video with them to warn about gender bias in autism early detection. (In Peru, 81% of people receiving treatment are male.) ...

Creating a more sensitive society

The CNP community says its work has changed their own lives, but Díaz Pimentel recognises that it isn’t enough. Some experts agree – that the problems are as much structural as they are societal. “In Peru we have a gap in specialised human resources. We need more psychiatrists and neuro-paediatricians. We need more young people to choose these careers,” says Coronel...

[Natalie] Espinoza is also a CNP founder and the only founder who is a mother. She has a five-year-old autistic daughter. Finding a pre-school that would accept her was very difficult. Espinoza is familiar with that kind of rejection. At a former job, she was fired when they found out she has bipolar. She had always performed well, she says, but she was told that a person “on that kind of medication” could not work with them.

“When I found out that my daughter was autistic, there was no mourning or denial, just a desire to hug her tightly because I felt very afraid of what society might do to her. I would like her to grow up in a more sensitive place,” says Espinoza. Dedicating time to the coalition’s work is her way of contributing to that change. Currently its communications reach more than 12,000 people and it has 15 WhatsApp groups. Messages whizzing back and forth help their community in everything from getting diagnoses to finding places to sleep in the event of being evicted from their homes.

So what does the coalition want next? “We want it all,” says Lú Herrera, a lawyer with BPD and the fifth co-founder. They would love to create, for example, a “neurodivergent house”, a place where they can offer shelter to victims of violence, run educational workshops, organise neurodiverse entrepreneurship fairs and provide legal advice on inclusion rights.  “Everything we already do but in a place of our own. 

“You know what else we want to do in that house?” asks Herrera as if reminding herself. “We want to have mindfulness sessions, dance lessons, pottery classes. Activities that will ground us. We neurodivergents struggle so much every day that it would be nice to have a place to rest.”

For now, the picnics are opportunities to recharge, ready for the next conversation-shifting step.

-via Positive.News, March 13, 2024

[seaslugfanclub]

Hi! How you doin? I saw that Clayton and Alameda fell under the "Crush/Romantic feelings" category in one of your previous posts and was wondering if I could request some separate imagines on them? Since there's not much mention of them in your other works (especially Clayton), just to get an idea of what they're like with (Y/N). Please and thank you!

Sure!! I’d love to write more about Clayton, he’s so underrated 😭 Enjoy!

—————————————

Clayton

He’s one of the more… aloof villains of the park. Unlike the others who parade around the park giving backhanded compliments and insulting the elderly, Clayton tends to stay more on the sidelines.

I mean… the only thing he really liked to do was hunt, and he can’t exactly skewer any living creatures at the “happiest place on earth”

Though what he wouldn’t give to make a new coat out of that sardonically scarred lion…

With our beloved park attendant (Y/N), they found a couple ways to get along with him.

(Y/N) asked him about his hunting expeditions and his time in Victorian England

As much as (Y/N) hates the idea of killing for the sake of killing, Clayton can tell one hell of a story. He becomes super animated, hands waving around and voice super loud. He even got Gaston’s attention.

Other villains walked in on both (Y/N) and Gaston sitting crisscross applesauce on the floor as Clayton relayed the tale of his expedition in Peru like it was story time

He LOVES showing off his skills and strength, and what can I say, (Y/N) loves a show

As for the romantic aspect of Clayton and (Y/N)’s relationship, I believe Clayton fell first

Clayton was a man from Victorian England, where it was risqué for a women to show her ankles

Now imagine Clayton seeing (Y/N) in small summer wear attire, it is Florida/California after all…

During one of Clayton’s tantrums, he ended up screaming in (Y/N)’s face. And what did they do? They slapped him across the face, shocking him to silence

No one has ever dared lay a finger on him, and as (Y/N) immediately apologized to him he could only think one thing; “that was hot”

Clayton isn’t used to someone being genuinely interested in his past, and the way that (Y/N) looks at him when he retails his adventures keeps the Englishman up at night

It’s weird, but (Y/N) loves how big Clayton’s hands are, like they take one of his hands and covers their entire face with it, much to Clayton’s embarrassment

(Y/N) is now Clayton’s official backpack, they cling to this man as he walks around the park. Clayton loves showing off his strength and (Y/N) loves being carried

—————————————

Alameda Slim

Cowboy time baby

Alameda is one of the most unknown villains, like no one cares

But (Y/N) does, (Y/N) always tries to get Alameda included with the Villains and park activities

Whenever there’s a big crowd, Alameda always gravitates to (Y/N)

The size difference between them omg

(Y/N) brings Alameda old country music records, he now has a whole milk crate filled with albums

Gives (Y/N) mini concerts, yodeling along to the records

They have movie nights together in the common area watching old westerns! Alameda always interrupts the movie pointing out all the inaccuracies

One time Alameda tried to show (Y/N) how to square dance, and accidentally made them go airborne when he tried to spin them around

(Y/N)’s super curious about Alamedas yodeling, does it only affect cows? They decided to experiment on a bunch of different animals around the park, much to the park goers dismay

Turned out the only other animal effected by yodeling is… pigeons

Alameda ended up running for his life, a horde of hypnotized pigeons chasing after him

(Y/N) ended up having to convince Alameda it was safe to go outside again, after he barricaded himself in his room

Alameda likes to plop his cowboy hat on (Y/N)s head when it gets to hot outside

[hyperfixatedimagines]

And they were Roommates- Cassie Webb x f!Reader

Summary: Dating- or trying to at least- Cassie Webb has never been easy. She dislikes almost everything and everyone, but the week after she has a near death experience really tests your devotion to your ice princess of a roommate/girlfriend.

A/N: I just saw this camp masterpiece and had to write a little something for it. Let me know your thoughts!

A frantic call from your roommate/girlfriend asking you to purchase a plane ticket to Peru and drive to a motel on the outskirts of the city was truly the cherry on top of the crazy sundae that life alongside Cassandra Webb had been that week.

Of course you bought the ticket and of course you drove out to the sketchy motel because it was Cassie, your Cassie.

You pulled into the parking lot just as Cassie and three girls came down the motel stairs.

"What the hell is going on Cass," you asked as you got out of the car.

Cassie approached you. "I don't have time to go over it again (y/n). Did you get what I asked for?"

You nodded and handed her a printed out plane ticket.

"One ticket to the Peruvian amazon," you said as you handed it to her.

"Can you just keep them out of sight and safe until I'm back. It shouldn't be more than a day or two," Cassie said as she stuffed the ticket into her backpack.

You looked over at the three young girls. They looked a mixture of scared and bored.

Then you turned back to Cassie.

"Of course I just- Cass I'm worried about you. You've been acting really strange this week I-," you started but Cassie cut you off.

"There's a lot going on (y/n). I promise I'll tell you all about it but later. Right now I need to go." Cassie interrupted then she turned to the three girls behind her. "This is Julia, Mattie, and Anya. Girls, this is (y/n), you'll stay with her while I go to Peru and find answers to what's been going on."

The girls each nodded then turned to you. Mattie looked you up and down.

"How do we know we can trust her? Who is she," asked Mattie.

"Her girlfri-," you replied mindlessly. "My roommate-," Cassie interjected.

You turned to her, "Seriously?"

"Girlfriend? Like friend that's a girl?" Julia asked, head slightly tilted.

"I think she meant girlfriend as in the lesbian kind," Anya replied.

The girls looked at each other then turned to Cassie.

Cassie looked between you and the three girls. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"That's irrelevant as this is a life or death moment. So please just stay out of trouble while I try to find the answers we need," Cassie replied with an exasperated breath.

The girls said goodbye to Cassie then piled into the back seat of your car.

Cassie walked over to a busted yellow taxi cab and threw her backpack into the back seat.

You walked over to her. "Cass, are you sure about this? On the phone, you sounded kinda..."

"Crazy," Cassie interjected.

"No, I wouldn't ever call you that. I'm just concerned. This week has been a lot for you and I worry," you confessed.

Cassie stepped closer towards you. You longed to reach out and wrap your arms around her but you knew she didn't feel comfortable with such open displays of affection.

"I really appreciate everything you've done for me (y/n). I know you didn't sign up for any of this when we- when you-."

"When I said yes to living with you? Dating you?" You asked with a smile tugging at your lips.

You noticed the light blush that bloomed across Cassie's face.

"Yeah," she replied and sheepishly looked away.

You softened. "I trust you, that's why I bought you the plane ticket. Whatever answers you need I hope you find them."

You reached out and grabbed Cassie's hand. She let you, so you knew it was okay to lace your fingers with hers and give her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Just promise me you'll be safe," you said, your voice thick with worry.

Cassie nodded. "Of course I will."

You sighed and let go of Cassie's hand. You stepped back.

"Okay, you can go."

Cassie smiled then turned and opened the cab door.

You turned around and started to walk back to your car.

But you didn't get more than a few steps away before someone grabbed your hand and spun you around.

Before you could say anything you felt lips crash against yours- familiar lips with a familiar cherry lip balm.

Cassie let go of your hand and wrapped an arm around your waist. You reached up and cupped her face with your hands.

A whistle from behind made you pull apart.

You felt your face get red hot.

The girls giggled from inside the car.

"For the road," Cassie said as she tried to catch her breath.

"Kissing me in public? Now I'm really concerned," you joked.

Cassie shook her head and let you go. Then she walked back to the taxi cab and got inside.

You stood there and waved as you watched the cab pull out of the motel parking lot and drive off.

You sighed then walked to the driver's side of your car and got inside.

The second you sat down the girls leaned forward in their seats.

"We have so many questions," Mattie said.

The other two girls nodded.

You let out a laugh. "I'm sure you do, but first- we eat pie."

Mattie smiled. "Already you're my favorite."

You smiled and put the car in drive. You didn't have a clue what was going on or what Cassie was up to but you knew you'd always be there for her. Even when that meant playing babysitter to a couple of nosy- but well meaning teen girls.

[travel-with-kat]

La Catedral

Parque Reserva Nacional de Paracas

Peru

[manessha545]

Ollentaytambo, Perú's Sacred Valley, Peru: Ollantaytambo is the last stop on the Perú Rail line before the Machu Picchu station in Aguascalientes. It’s also a popular stopover for the many backpackers who pick up a connection to the last leg of the  Inca Trail just a few miles down the track. Those hikers not staying in any of the town’s hostels or lodges cluster around the wi-fi cafes, lounging on their packs and checking email on their iPhones.

[putaposyinyourhair]

Slowly but Also Like All at Once

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7

noah diaz x mirage (they’re… y’know 💅)

warnings: mirage keeps flirting like an asshole and noah’s still in his feels but it gets tender

arcee shows up (and you know she should come with her own caution label)

“So, um…” Noah pauses for a second, to think on his words before he says them aloud. “You look good.”

He physically flinches away from his own words— from his own stupidity— and squeezes his eyes shut, not able to stop himself from reaching up with both hands to dig his knuckles into his eye sockets.

Fuckin’ idiot.

But Mirage just chuckles at his expense and Noah forces the embarrassment away with a deep breath.

“I meant like— you look… new,” he tries to correct, even though it still sounds wrong. “How’d that happen?”

“Oh, you mean how’d they get humpty dumpty back together again?” Mirage drawls.

Noah shifts in the sand, pulling away from Mirage’s side— where he’s been resting for a while now— and turns to sit cross-legged in the sand, staring up at the bot.

Mirage is looking up at the sky. The stars are starting to disappear behind dark clouds but the moon is still shining brightly over the water, its light reflecting off of Mirage’s silver face plating.

“Yeah,” Noah alludes, curiously.

Mirage glances down at him, frowning softly for a moment— such a quick little moment that Noah barely catches it— before he shrugs.

“OP spent like ten weeks in the Mojave looking for one of our medics who crash-landed there,” the mech reveals. “Ratchet. Dude’s usually such a buzzkill but… he’s good at what he does. I’ll give him that.”

Noah’s brows arch.

A medic? A new autobot?

“How many of you are there?” he asks before he can stop himself. “On Earth, I mean.”

One side of Mirage’s mouth tugs up into a sly smirk and Noah rolls his eyes before the bot can even reply.

“I told you already, boo, there’s none like me,” he declares pompously.

Noah reaches out and attempts to shove at Mirage’s thigh guard, uselessly because it does absolutely nothing.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Noah tells him. “You’re one of a kind.”

Mirage sits up, grinning.

“You better recognize!”

Noah barks out a short laugh.

“You a one of a kind dumbass,” he snickers softly.

Mirage reaches out to poke at his chest playfully and Noah tries to bat the digit away fruitlessly.

“Yeah, but you missed me,” the mech teases. “You already admitted it. No take backs.”

Noah doesn’t know why the words pull such a visceral reaction out of him, but they do. The happy smile drops from his face and he swallows drily.

“I did, man,” he concedes, fisting the material of his jeans in his hands. “I really fuckin’ did.”

Mirage moves so fast, it almost scares the shit out of Noah. The mech reaches out and suddenly Noah finds himself settled on top of the bot’s lap, pressed against his chest plates with one of Mirage’s servos cradling his back— well, the backpack strapped to his back anyway— whilst the other gently presses Noah’s face into the junction between his helm and his shoulderpad.

They’re… hugging?

Noah feels kind of frozen solid for a minute, unsure of what to do in this strange new situation. Sure, he’s been… inside— for lack of a better word— of Mirage before, in different modes of him too. And Noah doesn’t think either of them are strangers to physical proximity, after all they’d stuck pretty close to each other the whole time in Peru.

But this is something else. Something… more.

It’s nice though. Really nice.

So he relaxes into it.

It’s warm. And he can feel that same hum emanating from underneath the bot’s plating, like a low-frequency vibration that seems to soothe and calm something deep inside of Noah— he’s almost tempted to call it his soul, as corny as that fucking sounds.

Noah’s face feels more heated than usual.

“You a hugger, huh?” he mumbles, reaching up to run a few fingers against the glossy metal edge of that baseball cap-esque piece that rounds the back of Mirage’s helm.

This close, Mirage smells faintly of motor oil and something else Noah suspects must be alien in origin because he decides there’s no earthly scent he can compare it to. Not any that do it justice anyway.

Mirage’s digits move against the back of his head, digging into his curls as the mech’s chest plate’s rise and fall with a small stutter.

“For you?” he sighs. “Always.”

Noah’s eyes widen, his jaw clenching.

And his heart is fucking… fluttering. He really hopes his friend can’t feel it.

Something’s wrong. With him. Or with Mirage.

Noah doesn’t know what it is. But this is…

It is weird. Or, maybe not weird. Weird isn’t the right word for it.

“Mirage.”

Noah pulls away from the mech so fast, a yelp bursting out of him as he nearly tumbles off of the bot’s lap— he’s sure he would’ve gone sprawling into the sand between his friends’ outstretched legs had it not been for Mirage’s servos keeping him upright. He reaches out and grabs onto one of the bot’s gauntlets.

And before he can look away— to locate the source of the newcomer’s voice, a newcomer Noah is pretty sure is Arcee— he looks up at Mirage.

Oh.

Mirage’s face is doing… something. The mech’s optics are darker than usual— not glowing as bright a blue— and the silver metal just beneath his optics is tinged with a bluish hue, something Noah’s never seen it do before.

Noah doesn’t want to assume but it almost looks like a—

“Aww, Arcee, why you scarin’ my boy like that?” Mirage whines out, throwing his helm back like an unruly child who’s been told he has to eat all the vegetables on his plate. “His heart’s beating so fast!”

Okay, so Mirage can feel his heartbeat when they’re this close.

Wonderful.

Noah huffs— mortified but unwilling to admit it, even though his cheeks feel so flushed he probably looks like he could be doing an impression of a tomato— and reaches back to gently push away the servo Mirage has at his back.

“I wasn’t scared,” he grumbles, grunting as he steps down from Mirage’s lap and back onto the sand. “Jus’ surprised… that’s all.”

Arcee steps closer, smiling softly as she glances between them for a moment.

“Sorry, Noah,” she has the decency to apologize. “I really didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Noah waves her apology off.

“Nah, seriously,” he stresses, reaching up to grab onto the straps of his backpack. “I wasn’t scared or nothin’.”

Yeah, he kind of was. But he was mostly embarrassed.

Was it normal for cybertronians to hug humans? To hold humans the way Mirage was holding him?

Arcee isn’t giving him any indication. So maybe it’s not as big of a deal as it feels to Noah.

The femme fixes her gaze on Mirage, one optical ridge arching as both servos rest at her skirt plates. Her lower body cocking to one side as she watches the blue and silver bot rise off of the ground, raining sand down all over Noah who groans and steps away, reaching up to sweep it off of his head.

He’s definitely going to need a good, long shower later to get all that sand out of his curls.

“I said I’d cover for you for a couple of hours, Mirage,” Arcee points out, then mimics glancing down at a watch on her gauntlet in a very human-like way. “It’s been six.”

Noah’s eyes widen, glancing down at his own watch quickly.

Six hours? Oh, he definitely missed dinner. His ma’s gonna kill him.

It’s nearing sunrise already.

“It’s time,” Arcee emphasizes. "Optimus will not be pleased."

A sharp wave of what can only be panic rushes through Noah. It’s so quick, engulfing him from head to toe. He feels exactly the same way he’d felt when he’d had to stand there and watch Mirage be taken away. He thinks he makes some kind of tiny strangled noise.

The overwhelming sensation leaves him blanched and breathless.

“Arcee!” Mirage chastises, dropping to one knee beside Noah. “You’re not helping.”

Noah feels a couple of his friend’s digits slip underneath his chin and he lets the mech tenderly lift his face so he’s looking up into Mirage’s now bright blue optics.

“W-what is she talkin’ about?” he manages to squeak out, despite the dread that feels like it’s got a physical hold of his heart in his chest.

“It's nothing bad!” Mirage swears, holding his other servo up, palm out. “I promise.”

Noah swallows the lump in his throat and exhales shakily.

“Okay,” he yields. “Okay, sorry.”

He feels kind of stupid about his reaction, childish, and pulls his chin away from the mech's digits. But he doesn’t look away.

Mirage gives him a look that Noah thinks translates as sheepish, before he stands, optics flickering about for a moment like he’s struggling to make himself meet Noah’s unwavering gaze.

“Okay, so, uh,” Mirage stammers, reaching up to rub at the back of his helm with one slightly twitchy servo. “Well, you see, what had happened was—”

Arcee huffs.

“Ratchet has yet to give him the all clear so Optimus expressly forbid him from leaving," she reveals. "So of course he snuck out of the medbay without permission to come see you tonight, Noah.”

Oh. Yeah, sure.

Noah’s heart doesn’t feel like it’s swelling with joy and about to burst out of his chest or anything.

He’s totally like… chill about it.

[katietrekks]

August 5, 2011

Salkantay trail Day 4 Lucmabamba Campsite -> Aguas Calientes Machu Picchu Pueblo, Peru 8.17 miles 1,428 ft Elevation Gain We kind of cheated this morning and instead of hiking to Hydroelectrica, we took a van. Our legs needed a break and the trail from our Campsite to Hydroelectrica was super heard. We instead walked along the train tracks a little over 8 miles to Aguas Calientes which is the town outside and below Machu Picchu. The tracks run through a river valley that was super scenic. At one of the hiker stops I made friends with a tiny puppy! Tomorrow is the big day of climbing Machu Picchu, I hope my legs don't fall off.