come_sailaway | JUNE EVENT: CAMP

JUNE EVENT: CAMP

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!

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( palate giving a halfhearted cleanse, now clarke's got a vicelike grip on the water bottle and takes a few tentative, shaky sips. nothing too fast, her stomach is still in knots and threatening immediate eviction of any new tenants. but the water seems likely to stay down for now, and the world doesn't spin too horrifically when she nods in acknowledgement. )

It's nice to meet you, Fio. ( it isn't, but that's not anything personal. it's never nice meeting new people currently pressed beneath the captain's thumb, and even more upsetting when it's a literal child, but. ) I'm Clarke.

And I'll be honest, I don't feel great. Avoid the beef tacos — ( ugh, even the mention of food is rough. ) — if you can.

[ Avoid the beef tacos, duly noted. As well as a little disappointed that she has to steer clear of it. She wanted to know what a taco tastes like! She'll just have to see if she can prepare something easy for herself in the kitchens later. ]

I'll try.

[ Despite how frightening it can be, being a passenger of the Eterna, most people don't know it's surprisingly better for Fio to be here than back home.

She tries to think of how else she can help Clarke... ]

It's nice to meet you too. I'm sorry you don't feel well. I'll keep you company for as long as I can, until you feel better.

( that's one of the worst sort of suffering sometimes: self restraint. resisting something that looks and smells and would undoubtedly feel good, just because it'd hurt at some later point. clarke gets it, she comes from a childhood of tasteless nutritional packs, maybe a rare actual meal, and then a self-imposed hunger strike on the serena eterna as ghosts passed plates of steak, grilled chicken, osso bucco, garden fresh salads, and cake directly in front of her face. the world she hails from is a wasteland compared to the luxuries on board the ship, but. she's the product of said wasteland, and isn't completely drawn in by the creature comforts of a bed, running water, food, new clothes, and ample, replenishing medical supplies.

given the chance to return to her friends and family — or the oblivion of death she'd chosen to save them — clarke wouldn't hesitate.

yet here she is, stomach racked with painful contractions and mouth burning with the aftertaste of bile. being offered comfort by a small child and... is this what it's like? is this what the 45+ year olds she'd commanded felt like when it'd been an 18 year old deciding their fate? or is she assigning too much weight to a relatively mild, but exorbitantly kind, gesture? )

You don't have to do that, Fio. I'll be fine. ( clarke forces her best mask of a reassuring smile, and gives a small nod. ) I think I can make it back to my cabin soon, I'm just going to finish this water before I give it a try.

[ If she got Fio poisoned, the upper class of her world would likely tell her that she deserved it. Resisting the amenities on the Serena Eterna was mostly out of fear at first, because she believed she was the lowest of the low. Nowadays, she's a little less on her toes when it comes to cruise ship's indulgences, obviously. But if another passenger tells her not to trust something, like the beef tacos, she will obediently heed their warning in most cases. ]

I'll walk with you!

[ As she volunteers herself, there's a brightness in Fio's tone, to show how eager and willing she is. Really, she doesn't mind. Back when she still went to school, her teacher once praised her over the care that she showed to her fellow classmates. It's similar here. Clarke is a much bigger "kid" compared to her former classmates. ]

( oh no she's so cute.

and clarke's an emotional mess that balks at unfettered kindness. )

No, it's okay — ( this is the sudden and immediate rejection. resistance. something like alarm passes over her pallid features because what if she's not actually fine, and walks a few paces just to spectacularly hurl into the grass again. fio shouldn't have to witness that. of all the people she feels the need to act tough in front of, somehow this trait comes most aggressively to the front of clarke's person in front of a seven year old.

it's only 6 months past her canon point that she adopts an eight year old wildchild and goes from warmonger to warmom, don't tempt fate here fio.

almost immediately though, clarke tries to soften. she hadn't meant to be so abrupt, and tempers with a pained half smile. )

You really, really don't have to do that.

It's okay! I don't mind at all!

[ She tries not to let her voice waver, despite witnessing another display of Clarke puking into the grass. If anything, she does flinch a little. But after a pause, she keeps tagging along after the older girl, also while keeping a decent breadth away in case she might need to dodge another influx of vomit. Keeping her sickly companion within eyesight and close enough so she doesn't need to raise her voice enough for a proper conversation.

Clearly it doesn't look like this little girl intends on leaving any moment, until she can make certain that Clarke reaches her cabin safely and is in the company of other people that are better suited to help. ]

I don't want you to feel lonely.

( jokes on fio's good intentions, even surrounded by people and stuffed into sleeping quarters with people she'd even consider friends, clarke usually feels very, very alone. but self imposed alienation from the people around her is a personal problem, and not something she's about to argue with a little girl so hellbent on doing a good deed.

instead she swallows, whispers a quiet — ) That's nice of you.

( and they fall right back into pace walking towards aries cabin. silence would be too awkward though, even for this brief stretch of minutes, and despite a resistance to idle small talk, clarke seeks to reverse card the focus of their conversation onto fio. )

So, other than...this exact moment, are you having an okay time at camp?

[ Well, the reverse card is a success! Even if Clarke hadn't played it, Fio isn't the type to allow awkward silence to run for too long. She loves to chat!

After the initial fear subsided that Fio might have accidentally signed herself up into another battle royale, the past several days have been... surprisingly fun for her. Where she comes from, she never had anything like a summer camp. Highly unlikely her school would have been able to organize something like one.

She's excited to talk about how her week has been so far, nearly tempted to start skipping along their route. But she doesn't want to wander too far ahead of Clarke at their leisurely pace. ]

I'm having fun! [ She beams. ] I've been making new friends and learning new things. And I got to pick flowers! It's been so long since I've had a chance to do something like that.

( no fio, you skip to your hearts content. leave clarke in the dust to stare after and wonder exactly what broke inside her that any outward expressions of childhood suddenly started seeming so foreign and uncomfortable.

contrary to making friends or learning new things, clarke's time at the camp has mostly been spent in a state of constant vigilance. getting food poisoning and just splaying out in the grass had been the closest she came to relaxing this entire time, eyes always watching the tree line of the woods and the beach in case something sinister started to crawl out of it. she'd spent the first day doing her best to secure ares cabin, patrolling the area, and sizing up new faces. the second third and fourth day were all spent similarly dutiful, wandering into the forest with the intent to collect flora and fauna samples, not even touching the ropes course. but at some point she had discovered and sat down in — )

What about the arts and crafts hall? Made anything fun there yet?

( given, friendship bracelets had given 'way to making a specialized garroting rope that just happened to be pretty colors. but she'd made a dreamcatcher that reminded her of a rabbit snare too, so. )

Oh, of course! I made some paper flowers and a handmade summer diary...

[ Much like picking flowers, it's another activity that she hadn't done in a long while. The last time she opened her own handmade diary back home, she cried in it. If only she can show off her pride and joy right now, but her crafts are currently tucked away in her cabin at the moment. Including some of the flowers she had picked from the forest, which require a few weeks to dry before she can apply it to any of her crafting activities. She's going to have to save those for her free time on the ship. ]

And... and...

[ Trailing off, Fio tries to put her thoughts together. She stops in her tracks as she thinks on the past few days, only for a moment. Surprisingly, she hadn't put together any bracelets, only due to most of her time preoccupied working on other projects. But she did at least receive one for herself from Darcy. ]

I made a new friend while I was at the hall too! She made this bracelet for me... see, isn't it pretty?

[ Adding a few skips to her steps, she falls back into pace and holds out her hand to show off the friendship bracelet woven in black, white, and gold thread. Clarke, are you looking? Are you looking? Fio's wearing a big hopeful smile. Please look... ]

( rest assured, she's lookin'! it's a surprising burst of energy and excitement, still completely at odds with what clarke's used to — when her friends back home cut loose it was usually with some specific brand of chaos and recklessness included, no one every stopped to fawn over plantlife or grounder accessories anymore — so she has to blink for a second to catch up.

but absolutely looks when fio bids. even reaches out a hand to run a finger over the braiding of the bracelet as they walk, admiring. half a smile even graces the corners of her mouth, instinctual despite the suffocating press of misery hanging over her head on a day to day basis. )

It's very pretty. I like the color scheme. Who's your new friend, I might have to ask them for tips.

[ Her steps slow down as she walks, allowing for a chance for Clarke to touch the bracelet. White, black, and gold— are three of her most favorite colors. Just like the beautiful white roses of her country, gold like the sun, and black... reminds her of a dear friend. And having two of the colors match up with the friendship bracelet that Darcy made for Skulduggery, makes Fio even happier.

She giggles, delighted to hear Clarke approve of her new accessory that she intends on wearing forever. ]

...Her name's Darcy. She's really nice.

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JUNE EVENT: CAMP

CAMP AION

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