JUNE EVENT: CAMP

[sailmods]

early on June 10th, Friday's morning announcements end with a request for everyone going on the latest excursion to meet her in the atrium. she seems in noticeably better spirits than she had been last time, and she leads them cheerfully to the tender. once they are all aboard, and the door is securely shut, the interior fills with gas, and, perhaps, their last thought before they slip into unconsciousness is "oh shit, not again."

passengers wake up on a rickety old school bus, driving down a dirt road surrounded by woods. what is it that they notice first? that, no matter what they were wearing before, they are now wearing a camp t-shirt and legitimately horrifyingly short shorts? the overstuffed backpack between their knees? the words "take one down and pass it around" dying on their lips? the fact that Friday is absolutely driving the bus?

or, maybe the fact that it's already slowing down, pulling up in front of a massive wooden sign, saying:

 

 

 

 

 

CAMP AION

when they get out of the bus, Friday is the one to divide them up into their cabin groups, and she is the one to give the counselors their very official-looking clipboards and whistles. she explains that they are in charge, and that she will be back to pick them up in a week, and... very little else. she responds to nothing outside of whatever is on her unseen little script, and she gets back on the bus shortly after, leaving them there.

welcome to camp. let's make some summer memories!

Comments

[decohere]

"I won't force you back," Ava says softly, because it seems he hadn't gone far at all. "But it might be nice to at least try to be a group again. I know I messed that up."

She turns the pinecone over again, hates that it feels real enough but just... doesn't quite. It's hard to ignore the fakeness of everything now that she's aware of it. "It's not like I think any of you are creeps."

[iattractmushi]

"Well. I like to sleep indoors, too. When I can." He shifts position carefully, so he can lean back on his braced arms and look at the perfectly blue summer(?) sky. It's a little tricky with the roof angle but he counterbalances with his legs easily enough. "If you really don't mind."

Sleeping on the roof is fine. He was telling her the truth, both about that and that he really does consider it a safe place to sleep. But inside four walls would be even safer... and the longer they're here, the more the lack of animals is freaking him the hell out. Not that he's about to show any sign of that or admit it unless asked a point blank question he can't deflect.

Ginko smiles back at her again at the last thing. "Well, I'm sure you had your reasons, but I'm glad to hear that." He's had enough people decide they don't like him for any number of reasons in his life. It's nice to hear she isn't one of them.

[decohere]

"It's probably more comfortable," Ava admits, "And maybe I'd prefer it. Knowing where you all are. Rather than keeping myself up all night worrying..." especially after Steven, who seems so incapable of watching after himself.

She passes Ginko the pinecone, without much explanation or real purpose in doing so. Just an expectation that he take it.

"It's a rather dumb reason, actually. If you can keep a secret."

[iattractmushi]

He hums a little at that--not because he doesn't believe her, exactly, but someone worrying about him is...

Well. He just hadn't expected that.

He'll accept the pinecone without hesitation. "I'm actually very good at keeping secrets, as it happens. And I promise not to judge you." Since she seems to need that reassurance.

[decohere]

Well she does somewhat think of them as her responsibility despite the assignments seeming arbitrary, and she is the one that chased them off to begin with. Of course she worries that she put them in extra danger by doing so.

She nods at the reassurance, still a bit hesitant. And then all at once she mumbles, "Istartedmyperiodanditwasembarrassing." Because it's not like they had bathrooms attached to the cabin. Ava groans and puts her face in her hands.

[iattractmushi]

For a moment he just. Stares down at the pinecone, as his brain works out exactly what she means by 'I started my period'. But he gets there in the end.

Eye going slightly wide, he says, "Oh!" a little too loudly, immediately covering his mouth and flushing slightly.

"Ah... sorry. People don't call it that where I'm from so I didn't realize..." he clears his throat, looking away. He hadn't meant to make a big thing about it. "I'd offer you something for the cramping, if I had my things with me."

[decohere]

At least they can both be equally embarrassed about it.

"There was just... blood, and I didn't want everyone to... freak out, because of the whole... potential psycho killer situation, but... ugh, it's so stupid and..." Ava finally peeks out from between her fingers.

"What sort of things? You're a doctor?"

[iattractmushi]

He nods, all understanding and sympathy. Blood, no matter the source, is often a difficult thing to deal with, even without the apparent potential for random killers.

"Not exactly--but you learn a lot of things, in my line of work. Certain herbs, soaked in hot water, make a lovely tea that reportedly helps to ease the pain and other issues of a woman's monthlies. It helps with other things, like certain kinds of joint pain." He smiles at her, trying to be reassuring. "Even if it doesn't help you very much, it won't do you any harm to drink it, either."

[decohere]

"What line of work is that?" Ava asks, realizing she doesn't know all that much about her cabin mates. Even Steven, who is from her own world, she barely knows at all.

"I do like tea," she admits with a small smile, it's an easy and familiar enough topic to latch onto. "Especially chamomile. And mint. It's all I really have of my long lost British heritage. But I've gone through a... good number of pain remedies over the years. Not for this, but. It's hard to find something that works well."

[iattractmushi]

"I'm a mushishi." He'd hedge around it more but... well. Either she believes him or she doesn't. The truth will come out eventually, and he's already told Crabb about it anyway.

"Don't worry if you've never heard of it. Most of the people I help haven't, either. We're... you might call us a specific kind of doctor, but we only cure illnesses caused by the mushi." Yet again, the two Japanese words take special care to pronounce properly, but he does. The translations are entirely lacking.

[decohere]

It's not that Ava doesn't believe Ginko, but as he predicted, it's nothing she's ever heard of. Ava can tell it's a Japanese word, which sticks out when everything else tends to translate.

"What is a... mushi?" she repeats back the unknown word, just as carefully.

[iattractmushi]

This is the part she might not believe.

"They're... a little hard to describe. They can look like many things--snakes, flowers, hair, patches of rust, even. Different kinds are able to live different places, so you can find them in nearly any environment.

And while everyone can see the effects they have on the world, very few people can see the creatures themselves. I'm one of those few people."

It's... not exactly something he's proud of or happy about? But it is a fact and he's long since come to terms with it. It helps him help so many people, and he is happy about that.

[decohere]

It sounds unusual, but Ava is aware of plenty of increasingly strange nonsense from her own world. And has heard of even more unbelievable things since arriving here. So she's not going to be overly skeptical as Ginko describes the creatures, as odd as it all sounds. "So they're... Parasites?" she wonders.

"What makes you capable of seeing them, then? Is it an innate ability? Something you developed?"

[iattractmushi]

"Some are parasites, for sure. Others are harmless, or only latch onto the bodies of living things by mistake, or because they have no other food source readily available." He shrugs. "There are a great many different types, so it's hard to put a single label on all of them."

He shrugs again. "I was likely born this way. Most like me are. Very occasionally someone will be so profoundly affected by an encounter they will develop the ability, but that is far more rare."

[decohere]

"I see," Ava finds the idea quite interesting, wishing she could see them to understand better what Ginko was talking about. She wonders if her world has such a thing, just hidden from her view.

"A whole ecosystem of their own, then? Does it feel strange, with them not here?" Ava figures they follow along the same sort of rules with no insects or animals wandering about.

[iattractmushi]

"...yeah, actually. It's kind of... eerie."

He's been trying not to think about it, but he's not upset she brought it up. It's hard to ignore and he probably shouldn't be, really, it's just... he doesn't know how to fix it. There's nothing he can do. So trying to ignore it as best he can is the only option.

"Where I'm from, mushi are quite literally everywhere. There are so many, it's hard to put a number on them. Not seeing them... normally it would be a sign something was very, very wrong, but I haven't been able to see anything obvious yet." There's something else he can try but he's been putting it off for a number of reasons. "They're everywhere life exists. So if they're not here, it kind of implies to me that we shouldn't be, either."

Not that any one of them actually wants to be here in the first place.

[decohere]

She listens thoughtfully, Ginko trying to apply the principles of his own world to this one. "I think it just further proves that this is an artificial environment, right? None of this was created from life. Who knows, maybe we're not really here either." Always on her this is a virtual reality hologram nonsense, sorry. But she's always been able to flit in and out of reality at whim, so it's not like that thought bothers her more than anything else does.

"But I guess ultimately perception is our reality, so we're here and we exist and so does this place and it's real enough that we experience it. Are you familiar with Descartes?"