Dove gratefully squeezed Wendi’s hand as she was lead along. When they approached the Aphrodite girl and the boy from earlier, she had to do a double take.
“Oh, hi again,” she said awkwardly. “You were chosen too?” She glanced between him and Wendi. “Um, that’s Wynn by the way.”
He gaze drifted away from the discomfort and uncertainty of the moment and down to the map in Wendi’s hand, curious to analyze its contents.
Wynn moved to turn so that he was facing them while hugging Amelia close, he looked at ameila with a concerned glance before looking up at the two and offering a slight smile.
"I already know dove, well somewhat. We had a friendly encounter earlier. It's nice to meet you Wendi. I'm Wynn, from the Hephaestus Cabin." He nodded to Wendi, as he stayed seated and holding Amelia close to his chest, suffocation in it's sheath over his shoulder.
Wendi gave him a hesitant smile. She thought for a moment before glancing around seeing campers still looking at the four, "Think that's everyone? Cause if so we can probably get away from everyone to calm down? Not necessarily calm down, but figure everything out at least."
(Our kiddos are all so cute together. Eek I love it.)
Amelia turned her attention to Dove. Now she remembered. Wynn had talked to her earlier that day. For a child of Hephaestus, he seemed to be a little bit more of a social butterfly than you'd expect. It was kind of cute. But she forced that thought from her head. They needed to focus right now. A god had called upon them to do a quest.
“We should probably talk to Chiron… might have some insights…” Dove suggested quietly. She was starting to retreat back into a more asocial state, unprepared with the idea of going on a quest with a whole bunch of other kids. It reminded her of the group projects she did before she came to camp. Everyone would be talking and collaborating, but Dove was always left out, and she couldn’t make herself participate in the discussion. They were never really fun experiences, and this? With the possibility of their lives on the line? She could just feel herself internally shutting down.
"I think maybe get away from the situation and try and figure some things out and then talk to Chiron after a little bit, when things are more settled down. We don't want to overwhelm him, what with the whole two new campers happening." He spoke firmly but not seriously.
He looked up at Dove and smiled up at her. "what if we voted for a team name?" He joked, trying to lighten up the mood a Little bit.
"because I vote the best friend squad." He joked.
Amelia turned her head to Wynn. "We should probably go to the big house," she said quietly. "It'll be someplace quiet we can discuss…this. And Chiron will know where to find us." She tilted her head down to her lap, continuing to pick at her nails.
"I agree with you, let's go to the Big House," Wendi nodded slowly letting herself sink away from the leader role hoping someone else would take it up. She looked over at Wynn, "And best friend squad? More like the unluckies. At least for right now."
Dove nodded in vague agreement. She met Wynn’s eyes, appreciating the smile, but she immediately looked away. Their exchange made her realize she was in a less-than-good mood, and she didn’t want to make anybody sick, it would be the worst time to be ill. She squeezed Wendi’s hand and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
Wendi squeezed Dove's hand in return attempting to calm her down ever so slightly. She knew that Dove was worried about affecting others because she was stressed, but Wendi knew that Dove would be able to work ot out herself.
Wynn moved to get up, picking up Amelia and holding her as he stood up, he passed a glance over at Dove as she immediately looked away after they made eye contact, the weird feeling from earlier returned.
Only this time he felt naesous, he swallowed. Wondering if he was sick because he hadn't eaten anything during the mess hall earlier, and all he'd drank was the sweet tea.
He really didn't want to loose his sweet tea, he looked a little green in the face though, making the attempt to keep it down.
"im- I'm sure we aren't the unluckies." He swallowed again, forcing a smile.
Rushing to the scene, Ashby saw a group of people gathering and speaking, some of which, she had seen earlier in the day. Gathering courage, they came up to them and asked "So, what exactly went down here?"
Amelia made a soft noise as she was suddenly picked up. She wasn't expecting that. She gripped Wynn a little tighter, a small smile forming. That was until she noticed he didn't look well. She wiggled out of his arms, her face scrunched in concern. "Wynn? Are you alright?" She asked.
Adin, well he was immediately on the defensive while hiding from whoever was behind the black smoke, he had noticed them try and come over and talk to him but he figured there wasn't any time to talk to them as it happened, but it seemed as soon as if happened it was over.
He moved to follow Ashby, also wondering but at the same time knowing what was happening.
Nicolas sat back in the dining hall, relaxing, while campers around him were still getting their bearings. He hadn't been picked and was glad for it. Search and rescue wasn't his kind of thing. He watched as everyone that got chosen met with each other and watched the others panic. Finishing his meal, he got up and stalked out of the dining hall. He wondered if there would be any performance at the amphitheater tonight or if they were canceling their nightly activities.
Dove noticed Wynn’s look, and immediately the guilt rushed in before she could stop it. The mantra of it’s your fault, it’s your fault, started playing in her head, and she started to shake slightly. Her breathing became more audible, and she held her head down, avoiding looking at anything except her shoes. She saw them drift toward the exit.
“We should— we should go,” she stuttered.
"It's not you're fault," Wendi told Dove softly as she gently pulled the other towards the exit. It wasn't that she could read Dove's mind, but she had a pretty good idea as to what Dove was thinking. Wendi spoke louder to the other two, "We'll lead the way and you can follow when you feel better alright? Alright."
Amelia nodded her head at Wendi. "Sounds good." She responded. She focused her attention back on Wynn. She bit her lip as she looked at him. "What's going on Wynn? I thought you were feeling okay?"
He cleared his throat, seeing her face looking concerned. "I'm fine-" he put a hand to his mouth, before giving her a thumbs up, and standing up straight. Swallowing intensely as he cleared his throat, "I'm fine. Amelia, I'm- okay." He cleared his throat again, trying to hide the fact that he was feeling extremely nauseous and almost glad he didn't eat something earlier but also annoyed he didn't eat something earlier, he wouldn't be in this mess if he had.
"It's nothing, let's- let's go Ames." He moved to take a few steps towards the others.
If I tell her she will just get mad at me for not eating, I can handle this.
Dove quickly followed, eager to get out of Wynn’s vicinity so she would be less likely to affect him. “But it is. I… don’t know how to control this,” she whispered.
They passed the Apollo table, whispers from her siblings following her. ”Moon child,” and “She got chosen?” Dove avoided looking at them, their faces.
Amelia wasn't very convinced. There was something wrong with him. She could see that much. She grabbed his arm as he started walking away and gently tugged him back to her. "Hey, do you want some water or maybe some crackers to munch on first? They can wait. You need to take care of yourself right now."
The quest wasn't going anywhere. It would still be there in a few minutes. They probably wouldn't be leaving until at least the morning, maybe even later. It depended on what Chiron said she supposed.
"Asking you to control your gift is like asking you to control your emotions, it's just not possible some times," Wendi whispered back gently tugging Dove occasionally as she sent death glares at the kids whispering about Dove. They had no right to whisper about Wendi's friend, "You'll figure out. It just takes time ya know?"
She appreciated her friend’s words, but cringed at the word ‘gift.’ More like a curse to her. “I guess you’re right…”
Not for the first time, she started to hate the fact that she was so emotional. Of course, this was the first time she’d been chosen for a quest, her feelings were justified (or so she tried to tell herself), but if only she could prevent that from affecting others so negatively.
Amelia wasn't very convinced. There was something wrong with him. She could see that much. She grabbed his arm as he started walking away and gently tugged him back to her. "Hey, do you want some water or maybe some crackers to munch on first? They can wait. You need to take care of yourself right now."
The quest wasn't going anywhere. It would still be there in a few minutes. They probably wouldn't be leaving until at least the morning, maybe even later. It depended on what Chiron said she supposed.
"Hey- hey what are you-" he let her puol him back over to her after he had taken a few steps, he stumbled slightly. He swallowed hard, he couldn't tell if it was getting worse or getting better.
"I'm- s-sure- it's nothing. It will just- pas over." He cleared his throat again, moving to offer her a smile.
“I can… try…” he murmured, letting out a small breath. He could understand why she didn’t want to sleep. She was probably afraid of nightmares or being alone. But at the same time, he didn’t want her to get weak or sick. He hadn’t really thought about just using his magic to keep that from happening, but he also wasn’t sure if it was healthy.
“I mean, I could use a little practice with my pipe,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
She just clung to him as he spoke, looking down at her hands, and her single hand entwined with his. She gave it a soft squeeze despite how small her fingers were. She looked up and over at the mess hall, noticing the black plume of smoke.
"is…is that s-supposed to happen..?" She pointed it out with her other hand, so she couldn't catch his attention.
"Do..do you need to go..?"