Nyt smirked at Abby. "Teach him what? I don't know what your talking about." She said.
Caleb was bright red as the walked up the hill to calm.
Adar patted Caleb on the head. "Calm down. You're going to go into camp with your face red." He pointed out.
”Uh-huh…” Abby smirked back. ”Just wondering since I told you about it. I'd be surprised if Caleb actually taught him that.” she chuckled.
"What? You don't think that Caleb told him what a kiss means?" Nyt asked.
Caleb managed to calm down his blush by the time they got to the top of the hill that over looked the human camp.
”If he did, I would have liked to have seen that conversation. He’d be so red.” Abby said, holding back laugher at the thought.
Peter looked up as he noticed a lot of people looking at the main entrance to the camp and walked over, smiling when he saw the group. ”Hey, guys!”
Nyt chuckled. "As would I." She said before waving at Peter.
Adar and Caleb both waved at Peter.
Ava looked confused but waved at Peter as well, because everyone else was doing it.
Abby smiled at Nyt before waving at Peter. ”Hey! I didn't know you had sentry duty over here today.”
Peter shrugged as they got closer. ”Ehh… not really. Technically, I’m still supposed to be resting but I won't get in trouble this time.” he smiled. ”So, who’s your new friend?” he asked nodding at Ava.
Ava stuck out her hand. "I'm Ava Smyth, a human enthusiast." She introduced, cringing as she realized that may of not been the best way to introduce herself.
Nyt laughed and put a hand on Ava's shoulder. "She's here to meet more humans. We though it wouldn't be too bad if you brought one more Sylvian along." She explained.
Peter chuckled slightly, raising a brow at Ava. ”Well, that's a new phrase.” he commented as he shook her hand. ”No, it's fine having another Sylvian visit the camp.” he smiled before looking at Abby. ”Does that mean what I think it does?”
Abby laughed a little and nodded. ”Ava is one of Sylvian's who never thought that humans were wiped out.” she clarified.
(Hi. Sorry I haven't been on. I've been busy and pretty stressed at the moment. Give me a few days and I'll be back up and playing in no time.)
(Oh, sure! Take care of yourself and come back when you can. Mental health first.)
"I was the first one who come up with the idea that humans weren't wiped out." Ava explained. "So, I guess you can blame all this on me." She laughed.
Peter shook his head with a chuckle. “Maybe only half the blame.” he teased, smirking at the rest of the group. ”You may have had that idea and influenced Nyt, but you didn't put Abby in her shed.”
”Very funny, Peter.” Abby rolled her eyes, blushing a little.
(Hello?)
(Shadow? Are you ok?)
Peter shook his head with a chuckle. “Maybe only half the blame.” he teased, smirking at the rest of the group. ”You may have had that idea and influenced Nyt, but you didn't put Abby in her shed.”
”Very funny, Peter.” Abby rolled her eyes, blushing a little.
"He is right you know." Nyt said with a smile. "Ava's theory did impact a lot of collectors like Adar and myself though. While not many people believed the theory, it did spark an interest about humans. Most just settled on being collectors instead of conspiracy theorists like Ava though."
Ava smiled and shook her head. "Even though it may have been a risky decision at the time, I'm glad Abby did decide to hideout in her shed."
(😃 Welcome back!)
“Hey, I’m not complaining.” Abby smirked, bumping against Nyt. “Her theory and you being a collector just meant that I was safe when we first met.”
Peter just shook his head and chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that it was more than just that.”
(Hello! It been awhile.)
"Thankfully it did." Nyt said as she bummed Abby's shoulder back. "We're almost to camp, Ava. Try not to ask them a billion questions at once, got it?"
Ava nodded as she flipped to a new page in her notebook. "Is their anything else I should know before we get there? Cultural differences? Warning of difficult people? Names of friends?" She asked, looking to Abby.
(Yes, it has. It's good to see you again.)
Abby laughed a little at Nyt bumping back into her and shrugged at Ava’s questions. “I don't think so. Umm, we already talked about most of the important cultural stuff. And most of my friends are here, except for my uncle Toby and Peter’s friend Mark.” she explained.
“And we'll help you out with any difficult people.” Peter added. “I’m assuming Nyt and Abby already warned you about Myers. Oh, and be careful around kids. They tend to be a little grabby.” he warned, referring to the Sylvians tails and ears.
"Oh yes." Nyt said with a chuckle, remembering what happened last time. "The children are quite curious about us. You'll get a lot of questions from them."
Ava quickly jotted down, Children - Clingy, in her notebook. "What do I do if the children try to get clingy?" She asked as the group began to enter the camp.
“Just be gentle with them. They won't hurt you on purpose.” Abby assured her. “And we'll still help if you get overwhelmed.”
Ava nodded as she closed her notebook. "Alright. Thanks. I'm ready to go now!" She said with a smile.
"Alright then! Let's go." Caleb said as he made his way to the front of the group, Adar following close behind. "Mark and Toby can only keep the peace for so long. Everyone's waiting for us."
“Well, let's not keep them waiting.” Abby smiled calmly back at Ava and took Nyt’s hand as the group made its way into the camp.
Peter chuckled a little, walking with the others as he fell into his usual role of a guardsman.
(Do you still want me to control the people of the village?)
(If you want to. I've gotten better at doing multiple characters but not sure about crowds yet… 😅)
(Got it.)
A crowds of people were speckled about before outside and inside the village. Most were just talking amongst themselves, while others were talking to guards or Toby. Children were running about in between the legs of the adults. Unlike last time, almost everyone seemed happy, or at least calmer.
"Oh wow." Ava breathed out as she stared at the group of humans less the 20 feet in front of her. "This…this is amazing."
Abby's smile turned a little nostalgic at the sight of the camp and all the people. She loved spending time with Nyt and her friends but it still felt nice to see humans every once in a while.
Toby seemed busy as he spoke with the people, answering questions as best as he could and offering some advice, but he still managed to catch a glimpse of the oncoming group and smiled at them.
Nyt, Adar, and Caleb all waved at Toby.
"It's them!" Unfortunately it didn't take long for the children to realize that the two Sylvians from last time had showed back up, along with another one. A group of them ran towards the Sylvians, laughing as they tried to make a game out of grabbing their tails.
"You came back! I knew you would! Mr. Myers said you wouldn't and that we wouldn't see Abby again, but you came back!"
"Daddy says I can be around you now!"
"Who's that?"
"Do you want to play hide and seek with us?"
"Can they play too?"
"They can't play hide and seek. They're too big! They wouldn't be able to hide."
"Let us see your tail!"
Toby waved back once the crowd noticed their arrival, following on the outskirts at a slower pace since he didn't want to overwhelm them.
Abby laughed a little at the outpouring of questions, though she hadn't anticipated them being swarmed. “What do you know… You're very popular with the kids.” she teased before moving to stand between the kids and the Sylvians. “Ok, ok. Everyone calm down. And you should know better than to believe everything Mr. Myers says about Sylvians.” she quipped with a playful smile as she ruffled the kid’s hair. “This place is still my home. I may be busy but I come back when I can.”
Peter smirked softly and gestured behind him. “This is our newest friend, Ava. Be nice to her. It's her first time around this many humans.” he pointed out as he introduced her to everyone.
Nyt kept playing with the children, letting them almost grab her tail before pulling it out of reach.
Adar smiled at the kids, not nearly as nervous as before. "We would live to play, but we need to do some things first. Maybe we can do it afterwards." He said as he crouched down to their level.
Some of the more curious kids went up to Ava, not trying to touch her, but instead asking her questions.
"Why weren't you here last time?"
"Were you scared? I get scared around people too sometimes."
"My dad's taller than you."
"Can I touch your tail?"
"How old are you? I'm five!"
Abby beamed at how well Nyt and Adar were getting along with the kids. It was definitely a huge improvement over the last visit, especially for Adar. Not to mention how the kids were acting.
Peter hid a wince as he caught the look Toby was giving him for sneaking out and meeting the others. But, honestly, he wasn't sorry that he did. He was feeling fine… Maybe a little sore but nothing he couldn't handle.