(Nvm I’ve got time)
Dove sat a ways away from her siblings, suppressing a yawn. She seemed to be the only Apollo kid who wasn’t joining in the fun. They all knew to leave her alone in the mornings.
She couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Ash the previous day, despite her tiredness. She tried not to cry as she chewed her scrambled eggs. As her eyes wandered, they met Wendi’s.
Catina giggled. It further enhanced her innocent appearance, making people at ease, despite her father. “I’m Catina.” She smiled warmly. Don’t blow this, she warned herself. “And I’ll stop. I’m just surprised to see a spirit here.”
Now that she looked closer, she realized that the spirit was none other than Lyssa, a rogue insanity spirit. “It’s nice to meet you two.”
Malcom smiled wide. "It's nice to meet you too, Lyssie just get's annoyed easily-"
"I DO NOT!" Malcom winced as he got an earful of screaming spirit in his brain. "She says she doesn't but it's real obvious she does. She's not gonna say it, but she's sorry for complaining about you."
(Lyssa won't make herself hearable unless she wants to, so Catina wouldn't hear her.)
Wendi flashed a smile at Dove. She could easily move from the Hecate table over to the Apollo table, and given the look Dove had, she decided to do just that. Taking her food with her she walked over to the noisy table and sat by her friend, "What's up?"
Nick sat by himself at the Nemesis table. There weren't too many children of hers, just a few. He sat down towards the end of the table. His siblings knew not to bug him. He looked around at the tired campers, easdropping on some conversations
(Okee!)
Catina smiled slightly at his wince. “She’s probably not saying anything I haven’t heard. Spirits complain a lot, don’t they?”
There was an awkward pause, where she wondered if she should say anything or not.
Dove gave a strained smile. Wendi was too good of a friend.
“Um, it’s…” Nothing, she would’ve said, if she hadn’t known that Wendi would see through that in half a second. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like she was overreacting. She sighed. “Ash talked to me after dinner last night. He… he said he had to leave. To Pennsylvania? They said they found some half-bloods there. He was assigned to be their protector. He looked… so excited.”
She couldn’t see the satyr anywhere. Dove didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.
Leon sat at the Appolo table. He was one of the latest people at the table. He yawned;he had gotten no sleep the night before. He searched his head and looked up. There were a few people who were talking but he wasn't the most chattyest. He staired blankly at all the other campers then stood up and went to lean on a tree, next to the tables.
(Okee!)
Catina smiled slightly at his wince. “She’s probably not saying anything I haven’t heard. Spirits complain a lot, don’t they?”
There was an awkward pause, where she wondered if she should say anything or not.
"WHY YOU LITTLE-" Lyssa was cut off by Malcom frowning at her. "Lyssie that's not nice, she just hasn't gotten to know you yet. You shouldn't be mean just because she can't hear you." He turned to Catina again, face apologetic. "Sorry about that, she's not the nicest sometimes, but a bird can't fly with it's wings broken so it'll be fine!" Gods damnit, he couldn't hold a normal conversation for five minutes before he said something weird.
"Well that's great for him!" Wendi commented. She didn't know Ash as well as Dove did, but she understood they were good friends. And that this was probably the first time Dove and Ash may be apart. Having spent so long at camp was both a blessing and a curse. At least she hadn't been made head of the Hecate cabin yet, "But you're worried cause he's leaving you behind right?"
Catina stared at him for a moment. “… What?” She looked confused and amused at the same time. “How didn’t you meet her?” She asked after a moment.
Malcom laughed sheepishly. "Oh I lived in the labyrinth for a bit and Lyssa kept hearing about people finding their way out of the labyrinth almost completely insane. So she got curious and hunted me down, turns out it was my powers, so she decided to teach me how to control them better. I think she got lonely, cause she hasn't left yet."
“Yeah…” Dove murmured. “I’m happy for him, but at the same time, yeah, it feels like he’s leaving me.” She drummed her fingers on the table for a few moments, then stopped. “And there’s the possibility that he… might not come back.”
"Anytime anyone leaves the camp there's a possibility they may not come back," Wendi replied watching Dove. She was never really great at the whole comfort thing, but she had been getting better, "But I think Ash will come back. He came back with you after traveling across almost the entire country. A trip to Pennsylvania won't be that bad."
“That’s true,” Dove smiled, probably for the first time that day. Then it dropped. “I’m not… overreacting, am I?”
Grandma always called her overly sensitive. She’d gotten used to simply saying “Fine,” or “Good,” whenever she asked her how she was doing. Mask her feelings because that’s what made her strong, or so grandma said. Wendi had somehow seen through all that.
"I mean, a little bit," Wendi replied with a slight shrug. She was happy to see her friend smile and that made her smile, "But that's warranted. You haven't been here long and Ash has never left camp to go retrieve anoher camper while you've been here."
“Spirits get lonely?” Catina asked teasingly. “Well, does that mean that they actually have personalities?” She new that they did, but this would probably infuriate the spirit.
And then it hit her. “Oh, so she’s an insanity spirit?”
Malcom laughed, wrapping an arm around Lyssa. (It was actually just holding it in the air since she didn't really want to be physically formed right now.) "Well, she's the goddess of mad rage, fury, all that jazz! She just likes to take the form of a spirit cause it's easier to go unnoticed." At this point Lyssa did decide to talk to Catina could hear her. "I do have a personality, by the way and I didn't get lonely I got curious."
Breakfast came to an end as campers trudged out of the mess hall. Some left for chores, some left lessons, but most left to prepare themselves for the upcoming game of capture the flag. Most campers were extremely competitive, especially with capture the flag as all campers were required to play. There were a few exceptions of course, if you're injured and whatnot. Besides that, everyone played the game.
Nick himself headed to the training grounds. He knew it would be the most crowded but he needed more practice with his swords. He would get them sharpened at the forge later, then perhaps go to the obstacle course. He needed to work on his balance and stealth, but his blades were calling to him. He pulled out his double swords and began sparring with a dummy.
Dove chuckled. “True again. Thanks for letting me know.”
She managed to finish her food. As breakfast ended, the volume in the mess hall gradually grew, especially with her loud siblings next to them. When Dove stood up to leave, she had to raise her voice to be heard.
“I’m supposed to go to the Apollo cabin and clean up,” she told Wendi. “Then I’ll probably be doing some target practice. If you need me, I’ll probably be in one those places.”
She quickly left so she could avoid any potential awkwardness. Once she was outside, she was momentarily stunned by the sun that had risen higher than she thought. Dove pulled out a pair of sunglasses and headed to her cabin, following behind a handful of some other loud Apollo kids.
"I'll see you later then," Wendi replied with a smile before heading back to her own cabin. The Hecate cabin wasn't as into capture the flag as these Ares or Athena cabins were, or at least Wendi wasn't. She was more into the amusing little argument about which team got the Hecate cabin, since it was always a major advantage to have the most skilled mist users on their side. In fact, that was where they were all heading to practice there skills and maybe some of their fighting abilities.
Malcom stood up, smiling widely. "Well, I'm off. I promised dad that I'd go help clean up the infirmary." He walked off, humming a bit. Lyssa didn't follow him, instead slipping into the forest. She didn't really like the infirmary.
(Pwease no let dis die. I be very sad if it does 😞😞)
(Lemme try and save the thread real quick-)
At the cabin, Dove did her best to clean up her space. It was mostly stray clothes and a messy bed, but she could’ve sworn she lost something between the bed and the wall. It bugged her, but she had other things to think about.
After she finished, she and another girl- Madison, was her name?- had to sweep the floors. They each took a side and got to work.
Madison was the yin to Dove’s yang. Everything about her had a dark tone. Except for her expression, which was bright and kind. She was definitely a morning person. Her black braids swayed as she moved, and her lanky arms held her broom with precision. They weren’t friends like Dove and Wendi, but she was familiar and nice enough. They usually didn’t talk much during times like these, except for the occasional small talk, which Madison often initiated.
Dove didn’t feel like talking. They swept in silence. Well, not exactly. The others that that came with them were doing other chores, chatting and humming their favorite tunes. Dove thought she heard Madison whistling occasionally, too.
Eventually, they were finished. Dove grabbed her pair of glasses- she’d need them for practice. As she went toward the door, Madison gave a little wave. Dove nodded in acknowledgment, the headed out.
"I see." Catina smiled slightly at the spirit, whom she could see, but not hear, unless she so chose. "Well then, I look forward to getting to know your personality."
"Alright, then," she said. "I won't keep you here. Have fun cleaning up barf." She laughed slightly, but as soon as Malcolm and Lyssa were out of sight, her smile vanished, and she scowled down at her food.