The Campfire Song [pg13] [event]

[ωΘĿƒ]

The raw, black barked trees raked at the pure blue of the sky so ominously. They had done so for all of winter, but but it had been pretty then. The constant blanket of snow had given the strange, naked trees a mysterious look, like crackling thorns breaking up the flawless white plane that was the flat forest. Now though, it was just ugly. There was slush and mud everywhere, and the dead grass made a slick brown coating on the ground where there had once been sparkling crystals. Still, spring was already taking hold of the forest, as it did exceptionally early every year. The bright green sprouts were everywhere, speckling the slick brown grass and dotting the black trunked trees. It was the centaurs that did it. They liked things to be green. They did need something to hide in. So, they made spring come early, and leave late. Not too hard to accomplish if you've got natural magic helping you. The ents might have even helped with this spring. The deeper you got into the forest, the greener it was. In fact, in Centaur's Woods, it was always spring at the heart of the forest. The trick was getting to the heart. Crane hoped to reach there by the end of the day...

"Daniel! A little help!"

Mike was behind Crane, dragging bags of camping gear through the mud. Crane had been staring off silently at the very tips of the trees, right where they mingled with the pure blue sky. He didn't answer Mike at first, and the spider had to come up and touch him lightly on the shoulder to get him to snap out of it.

Crane blinked, an airy look on his face.

"Yes? I'm listening. What is it, Mike?"

"You weren't, Daniel," the spider grumbled, "else you would have known I need your assistance. The bags are heavy for an old spider, not for some young whippersnapper with a mind in the clouds."

"But there aren't any clouds, Mike." Crane mentioned.

The spider crunched his mandibles together and pointed to the bags. A tentacle curled around them, sliding them easily up the hill and right at the foot of the foreboding stretch of bare trees. The tentacle receded, and Crane continued to stare at the sky.

There was nothing like the color of a blue sky...

[Oren]

Kendryek enjoyed the outdoors, he really did. He didn't spend a tremendous amount of time in the elements, but he when he was out he was out for hours at a time, enjoying everything he saw. The green sprouts jutting out of the dark mud made the beautiful contrasting tell-tale signs of spring and the standing water in places told of the rain storm that had bombarded the area only a few knights ago. Most of the water was now dry, but it was still soggy in a few places. Hopefully they wouldn't have to wade through any large puddles or have to ford any rivers. That could get messy with all the things to carry and all the silly students caring about nothing but their appearance. This was camping, for crying out loud! Yes, it was mandatory camping, and there were bound to be a lot of people who didn't like the outdoors, but still. They should, and could, just suck it up and deal with it! What harm could a little dirt, water, and sweat do? They wouldn't kill you, that was for sure!

Hefting his bad a little higher on his back, he set out to catch up to Professor Crane and Mike. They were... well, Mike was carrying quite a bit of the school-provided camping gear. Crane wasn't doing much, just looking up at the sky lost in a trance-like state. It was a reasonable thing to be doing on such a nice day, but... Mike was struggling a little. After a little prodding, Crane helped out, but he only stayed in this world for a second. Immediately he continued to stare up into space.

Walking up next to the professor, he joined him in looking up into the blue. "Such a nice day..." Kendryek spoke softly. It was a nice day, but there were things to be done. There wouldn't be much time to just stare at the sky and laze around once they actually started the hiking.

Though Crane would probably find time. He never really concerned himself with much of what happened around the school. He had his fun every now and again, but he tended to keep to his own things. That was sort of like what Kendryek did. He and Crane definitely had their similarities, but they were still very different people. Proof of this came in all sorts of ways, but why go into that now? Today was supposed to be fun! There was no reason to get into theology and personalities today. It was a day about nature, at least for Kendryek it was.

.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.

Yama stretched and yawned. This was it! Today was the day that the students of the school were going on a camping trip! That meant little girls lost in the woods. Little girls that weren't so little would also be lost. That left them... open...

A disgusted shiver ran down his spine. He wasn't looking forward to that part, but he knew Hendrix was. It made him almost sick seeing his appetite for killing girls. It was appalling and appealing at the same time. It was odd, it was, but it was what it was, and who was he to question what was?

This was the first time they were going on a 'trip' together since first meeting Areyna. He still couldn't believe the mess he had gotten himself in over a girl. Doing that for a boy he might have been able to understand, but a girl?! Something had been messing with his brain that night! There was no doubt!

But if that was true... why was he looking forward to seeing her again? She was going on the trip; he knew from the sign up on the school board. It was so easy to sneak into that place, even in broad daylight. Being invisible had such nice advantages. No one could see him when his molecules were spread like that. Yes they could smell him, but it wasn't that strong of a scent, and it wasn't like they would think he was an intruder. It was a school packed with mythical creatures.

What did it matter now, though? They were out in the middle of nowhere, secretly watching as the students 'gathered' around the chimera who seemed to be in charge and a very large spider-type creature. It was so easy to hide, oh so easy! Scent wasn't a problem either. Too many mythicals were here to really distinguish between who was supposed to be there and who wasn't. Hendrix would probably be easier to sniff out, but Yama smelled like an ordinary cat. He wasn't sure how many were here, but he was sure there was at least one, and one would be enough.

Drifting slowly from tree to tree, he watched the students, waiting for Areyna to penetrate his vision. Some part of him was saying it was a bad idea to do this, but the majority was quite excited at seeing her again. He didn't really know why and for the moment he didn't care; he'd address the issue later. For now he would simply wait. She was worth at least a little bit of patience.

[areyna]

Skyler held Areyna’s hand with his while she used his arm for support from the uneven ground. She watched her white sneakers, not really the best color to use on a camping trip, move in front of each other in a careful pattern. She would of fallen moment ago if Skyler hadn’t been present to save her. As if her own thoughts provoked the action, again, her foot landed improperly on the dirt twisting beneath her. Skyler’s free arm shot around her waist standing her up correctly. He pushed stray strands of silky straight hair from her face once again giving her a clear view of the world.

He chuckled before asking, “Are you alright? That’s the second time within the past ten minutes.”

He smiled and Areyna smiled back reassuringly taking hold of his arm once more. She stared further on at the trail they followed her mind more so focused on her feet than before. Nami, who of course was practically thirty feet ahead, sprinted toward them curious about the hold up.

“Just Areyna being Areyna.” Skyler replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Nami shook her head back and forth. “Go figure. Are you sure it was a safe idea to her along on this camping trip? The rocky earth is a hazard to poor Areyna’s clumsiness!”

Skyler shrugged but Areyna sincerely protested, “I’ll be fine! I’ll be fine! I’ll stop falling!”

Nami stepped closer grabbing hold of her flustered friend in a friendly hug. “Hahaha! Oh Areyna! I’m only kidding! You’re just so cute!! “

She reversed her step analyzing the surrounding trees for her disappearing boyfriend whom hidden himself the second they began the hike. She spotted him about five or so meters behind. Lacking a second thought she strolled to him cheerfully arriving under shade formed by an umbrella of leaves above. “My word! Even on a beautiful, sunny perfected weathered nice day for camping you still manage to find a gloomy little area! You are unbelievable.” Areon merely looked to the side ignoring her, though he she seized him by the arm dragging him into sunlight. Areon squinted while his eyes adjusted to the invading sun rays. She continued to tug him over till he stood a foot beyond his brother.

“Hello.” Skyler said humorously.

Areon’s mouth twitched restraining an unsatisfied pout; he was enjoying himself engulfed with isolation, as usual.

“No more hiding in the trees, what are you a vampire! Stop being such a rain cloud and stay with us! You’re such-” Nami complained.

“And what exactly gives you the right to tell me what I can and can’t do?” Areon interrupted. “I’m here aren’t I? I don’t want to be here but I came so I shall do whatever it is I want to Nami.” He smiled in victory once he caught the defeated look on Nami’s face.

Nami glared at him spinning around where her back faced him, arms crossed. “I don’t care what you say! You stay here!”

“Oh really?” Areon challenged.

Nami made another one eighty almost stumbling from the weight of her back pack! “Yes really!”

Skyler and Areyna looked at each other, bursting into a short period of laughter. The pointless matters his brother and Nami quarreled about humored him. One might think they were more as siblings than love birds, strangest love birds he’ll agree with. But as quickly as the argument started it ended with Nami’s mirth.

“Come on guys! We are almost to the front! I see a teacher!” she yelled, again without asking taking Areon forward pulling along forward in a sprint. Within a matter of seconds they reached Mr. Crane up front, noticing the poor struggling spider, accompanied with a student recognizing him instantly. Nami nudged her elbow into Areon’s stomach demanding his attention.

“Hey, look! Isn’t that your martial arts buddy!” She asked, Areon saying nothing though his emotionless expression motivated her enough. She waned her hand frantically in the air. “Hi Kendryek! Nice to see you here! Look I brought Areon!” Another giggle slipped but Areon simply rolled his eyes.

Skyler glanced at Areyna after staying behind a few moments longer, his expression asking the question “Would you like to run as well?” She nodded and off they went catching up with the others. She loosened her squeeze on Skyler’s arm, not even realizing how tightly she was gripping. At least she hadn’t tripped, three times is plainly uncanny even for her ungainly reputation. She watched as Nami already found a friend, well she would have sooner or later. Areyna slightly grinned though it suddenly fell, what was that? Her stomach felt uneasy, but why? Today is supposed to be meant as a day full of excitement and adventure yet the sick feeling in her gut proved otherwise; a sensation of being followed filled her conscious. She felt a horrible sense of de javu glancing uneasily at path and trees behind her breathing in a deep shaky breath. Hopefully, all this was just in her paranoid head.

<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>

How much father? This hike is taking forever! Kevin grumbled to himself watching the trail sluggishly ride forwards underneath his feet. He was bored and restless. When was the fun going to start on this darn trip! Walking, at least to him revealed no hint of amusement! Well, most of the time……ok not all the time, Kevin reconsidered, but this time it was! He sighed, sighed for the tenth time, maybe more, each sighing contain enough complaints to last 24-48 hours. At least he wasn’t alone, he’d probably go insane if no one offered their presence to talk to him. He keeping quiet? Ha! A task quite close to impossible! His friend trudging beside him would most likely agree as well. She was the only pal he had at the moment, he’s only been attending Chimera Academy for about three days and he knew her since kindergarden. He opened his mouth ready to share a sentence but his friend raised her hand shoving the sentence back in his throat.
“
If it’s a complaint I don’t want to hear it.” She said “Suck it up Kevin, a little walk won’t kill you. Enjoy nature my lazy child.” She swished his bangs with her finger pocking his forehead. “Turn that frown upside down, there are worst things in life than mere exercise.” She smiled at his further frowning face. “And besides,” she resumed planning to convince him more deeply. “you’ve never been camping before, take this as a new experience.”

“Well this experience stinks, my legs hurt, can I go home?”
His friend gave him a look, that familiar teacher glare he hated. He couldn’t go a single school day without receiving one. He whined childishly again, he obviously wasn’t getting anywhere with her so he continued watching the changing pattern of the trail, bestowing his attention to the little creatures crawling about.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Le Cyll strolled up, not terribly apathetic as he might otherwise be by this pointless gathering of souls.

Usually he detested such large comin- together's; and usually they served little to no purpose other than to provide a meaningless sense of "fun" and "togetherness." This event though, it was special. The mode of transportation was walking, and the medium of transportation was the Mother Forest. This the wolf could handle. He had grown up in the forest. Not to think about these filthy creatures defiling his beautiful refuge, Le Cyll instead had a more optimistic point of view on the matter. He saw this as an opportunity to evalaute his classmates.

How nice it would be, to see who can survive on a friendly camping trip and who gets left behind... What fun. He could hardly wait.

But, being the patient creature that he was, he in fact could wait. Stifling though the primitive impulse of excitement was, he could manage.

He had managed all his life.

So he walked up casually to the site of meeting; he nodded his head at some of the campers. Nami, Skyler, Areyna, and his personal favorite - Areon.

Oh... and there was Kendryek and the wonderfully mysterious Crane. The wolf instinctively lowered his head, as if in acknowledgment of the headmaster's superiority.

Despite the naive Areon and the fun Kendryek being here, it seems he must behave himself. He wouldn't want to upset the Alpha, now would he?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Z tumbled up, late as usual. He had packed so many things in his bright red bag that he could hardly carry it.

In human form, of course. He wasn't stupid! He'd be in the woods with a bunch of other mythicals, and that meant a nice easy trek for him with a light pack to carry. Good thing too, that little stab wound White had given him wasn't fully healed yet. He could still feel that small crick in his back, and it got painful from time to time. Still, he was off the meds, so at least there was an upside.

No more seizures either. He was good to go.

...and of course he brought water machine guns to have a little fun while he walked. No need for boredom, after all!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Crane saw Coyle approaching out of the corner of his eye.

Really, it was more like a sense. His eyes were never on people. Too complicated. He liked the sky better. So much potential. Such simple mechanics.

Blue. Neverending blue.

Coyle joined the ranks of the crowd without a word of trouble. Maybe he sensed what Crane had in mind while on this trip? The beast was good. Very good at telling when Crane was going to do something.

He heard the sound of a familiar voice and turned.

"Why hello there." He greeted the dragon - Kendryek - warmly. As he recalled, Kendryek had some trouble with those two sociopaths again. More of a reason to go camping, Crane thought. Nothing like the fresh air to calm everyone down.

Hadn't Kendryek almost been killed?

"Thank you for watching the school while I was on the winter trip," Crane smiled, though he was already drifting off somewhere else. "Did they give you any trouble you couldn't handle?"

What a good question. He wondered if Kendryek had been bothered with all the responsibility? Kids could be a handful. As he recalled, that Illia girl still wanted to know what was happening.

Oh right... that. Hmmm. Best not to think about that.


Over in the corner, Mike was already rounding up groups to leave. Partners would be assigned, but not yet. A few were missing still.

[Iƪƪia]

Illia trailed at the very back of the group, arms crossed and scowling at the ground. She wasn't a fan of camping. No, camping involved menial labor, not to mention having to be outside in such horrid weather! Unfortunately, the chances of a good snowfall were slim at best. Well, perhaps she could make her own snow? Oh, why bother! She was going to be too busy sulking.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed another, younger girl darting around in between the trees. She stumbled a few times - quite a few, actually - but that never seemed to squash her enthusiasm. How much fun could she really be having by just running around the trees? She was such an annoying freak, and Illia had to give it her best to suppress the urge to walk over to her and knock her out.

Oh, right... There was another reason she didn't want to come on this trip: She didn't like many people.

Oh, just kill me now...

***

Glancing back, Ivan simply had to smile at the tortured face that the chimera was making. While he did share some of her feelings, as he wasn't terribly fond of such trips either, he did find them a lovely opportunity to get to know one's contemporaries a bit better. Not necessarily by speaking to them, but simply by observing them. Though it wasn't really useful to know that the chimeress didn't care for hard work or above-freezing temperatures, that was only the tip of the iceberg. And one never knows: it might actually come in handy later on.

Looking up at the sky, he sighed deeply. Well, at least he thought it was a nice day. While there was a subtle beauty in a white, frozen landscape, the bareness of it all could be a bit depressing at times. But it was strange that he should think so... Perhaps it just brings up too many bad memories. Whatever the reason, he preferred his surroundings to be much more colorful, quite like they were right now. That was something that he was certain his traveling companion agreed on, as he gave her a quick, sideways glance. Though she had changed quite a bit since he first met her, he still made sure not to give her an abundance of attention. Or eye contact. The poor girl really must break out of her shell some day.

"Lovely day," He said quietly in an attempt to have her speak.

Then, quite suddenly, his relaxed demeanor slipped away as he put all of his senses on an even higher alert. But.... What exactly was he waiting for? There was something out there, to be sure. Something that shouldn't be there. Well, there was that fellow drifting about the trees, but that wasn't who he was sensing. This was different, very different. Something was quite close to them all and he didn't know what it was, and that bothered him.

He looked toward the ground suspiciously before he forced himself to appear as relaxed as possible again. It wouldn't do to worry the others needlessly. Well, it probably wasn't needless, but still. He had more important things to worry about. There was a reason he was here, and he wouldn't let some phantom distract him from it.

***

Ah, was there ever such a perfect day for a camping trip? So many students out walking around the forest on this beautiful day... Maybe there'd be a few rebel chicks who decide to leave the group and go off on their own... Or a young girl, unable to keep up with the rest, falling behind and getting lost... Well, that's why he was here! To do something about those poor girls who get separated from the group... Or he might just get bored and decide to forcibly separate them.

Though unseen, Hendrix had been strolling right alongside the group. Unfortunately, he was also unable to tell just who the group consisted of. He was only able to watch their shadows moving about on the ground which was forever bathed in an eerie, golden light. Despite his inability to see anything beyond their shadows, he did have a bit of experience in this and he was able to tell which ones were the girls... Or they could be really feminine guys. Either way, he gave each of those shadows special attention, counting how many others surrounded them so he knew just how many he would have to compete with. Well, maybe compete was the wrong word, after all, it was never much of a competition for Hendrix.

Fast as lightning, his shadow form sped up the makeshift path he was on before stopping near the head of the group to continue his inspection of their shadows where he realized that there were way too many guys. All hope wasn't lost, though. He did recognize that phoenix girl immediately, as he was already familiar with her shadow. Falling into step next to her for awhile, he toyed with the idea of grabbing her and dragging her onto his plane right then. He was getting bored and it had been hours since he'd had any fun! However, he soon decided against it since that would have looked awfully weird. After all, phoenix's don't just disappear... Do they? Then again, why shouldn't he risk it. What were the odds of someone being able to find him?

Ah, well... It was probably best to just be patient for a little longer.

Darting away from the group, he settled on walking amidst the trees and watching their progress from there. On the main plane, the shadows from the trees should help to conceal his own shadow in case someone thought to look down and see a strange shadow, though nothing was casting it. They probably wouldn't notice, and if they did they probably weren't smart enough to put two and two together, but you couldn't be too careful. He still didn't know what some of these mythical freaks were capable of.

Satisfied, he continued on his leisurely stroll, glancing around at the indistinct blur of scenery, whistling a cheerful tune all the while.

[Elle]

Since they had begun this trip, Elle could only stare in dismay at the horribly uneven ground. Though she enjoyed being outside, her and nature never quite "got along." It seemed like there was always some rogue tree root or branch out to get her. Or sometimes she even managed to trip over nothing at all! It was all so embarrasing, and she wasn't looking forward to showing everyone just how uncoordinated she was.

Despite her attempts to keep her footing by going slow, she was still grabbing onto Ivan's arm every 5 minutes for support. It was almost unnatural how patient he was. She knew most people would have left her ro fall behind by now. But with him it was almost like- like he was afraid to let her fall behind. In all honesty, his devotion was kinda strange... but in a good sort of way.

Finally managing to become just a little more stable on her feet, she felt confident to walk on her own as she let go of Ivan and tuck her hands into the pockets on her hoodie. She even felt confident enough to glance up at the lovely, blue sky. It was so beautiful out. She didn't miss that awful winter at all.

"It really is a nice day," She sighed in agreement, "It's been awhile since we've had such good weather."

Soon enough, the inevitable caught up to her and she tripped once again, almost falling to the ground if Ivan hadn't been there to catch her. Blushing, she straightened herself up and decided to keep her hands out from now on.

At that moment, she noticed that Ivan seemed a little... Uneasy? He kept looking at the ground as if he was waiting for something to happen. However, as quickly as she had noticed that, he seemed to be bsck to normal again, which left Elle to wonder if she had just imagined that. Well, it was probably nothing... Right?

[ωΘĿƒ]

Z's nostrils flared. He smelled a smell. A smelly smell that he could smell. And this smelly smell that he could smell was.... smelly.

"Hey! Illia!"

Z trotted up like a true trooper, whale-sized backpack in hand.

"How's it hangin?"

He stopped, clearing his throat.

"Um... I mean, what's up? Ready to go rough it? I brought Belgian marshmallows. And yes, Belgians make marshmallows. Damn good, too! Oh! and I brought Swiss chocolate! and um... this!"

Z pulled out a small jewelry box, inside containing a stunning but slim gem-studded ring. He figured after that last reaction from the necklace.... well, it seemed like a good plan.

Not that Illia needed buying off. He just wanted her to be happy, is all. She was happy around shiny things.

"What'll you say? Be my camping buddy?"

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There he was... the little bugger. The Russian Spy was sitting next to his little girl with the pearl.... Not good. Not good at all.

He'd just have to fix that, now won't he?

But crap.... Crane was up in arms. You couldn't tell by looking at him, but temporal intuition never lies. Crane was one P.O.ed chimera, and he was locking his cross hairs on a few people in particular.

Coyle wasn't one of them, but damn he didn't want to be! He hadn't done anything! Nothing! He'd even tried to help that one girl... Oooh, that sick puppy would get if for that! Hehehe... Fun!

But enough about that. Now was not the time to giggle.

That was when Crane had all his most problematic students out in the middle of the woods alone with him....

What the time was for now! was intimidating. Coyle appeared next to the Russian, making a quick, threatening stare. Then he was gone.

Had he seen it? Just a millisecond.. but enough. He wanted it to be absolutely clear. This was war.

Even if the Russian wasn't aware of what he was getting himself into..

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Quiet down everyone!"

Mike was yelling, and Crane turned his head slightly from the perfect blue sky to see what was happening.

He knew how it worked, but it was nice to watch. Mike was so involved in these school events.

"Now children, we will assign to you today your partners!" Mike called, making his chest puff out mightily as he crunched his mandibles together. Before the chorus of boos started, he quickly started his speech up again.

"This is not a cheerful stroll in the woods, lads and lasses! This is a training exercise for all of you! You will see the importance of this exercise later on, but for now you will simply have to suffer!"

He took out a piece of paper, reading down the list monotonously.

Le Cyll with Kendryek
Coyle with Ivan
Z with Areon Kuria
Illia with Yama
Ailyth with Kevin Thatch
Hendrix with Areyna Tenshi
Nami Kurata with Elle
Skyler Kuria with Aori

Mike rolled up the sheet of paper, and smiled politely as a hundred-eyes spider monster can.

"Have fun, kids. And remember! The woods are dangerous!"

Crane tipped his head back to the clouds, and almost rhythmically, began to move. Mike rushed to keep up with him, waving for all the children to follow.

"Come along now, kids! We are hiking!"

[Iƪƪia]

One advantage to being a shadow and yet truly belonging on neither plane was that you could hear them all, while they couldn't hear you. Hendrix made full use of this fact as he laid on his back amidst the trees, simply listening to the conversations going on just one plane below him. The rather boring conversations at that. He didn't really care about anything that was said. All he was listening for was the frightened whimper of a girl who'd lost her way. At that moment, however, he heard something not so uninteresting.

His name.

He sat up immediately with a look of utter confusion, or at least as confused as a shadow could look. All this time he'd thought that he'd been rather careful about remaining hidden and yet... They knew him by name? And they knew he was here?

His shock was so great that he soon heard several hurried whispers in the back of his mind, and he didn't bother to stop them as they grew louder and clearer.

How do they know we're here?

Trap! It's a ******* trap!

But- But they paired us up with that phoenix girl-

Areyna.

What?

How do they know we're here?!

Her name's Areyna.

Whatever.

Yeah, they did that to lure us out there and into the ******* trap!

But still... The girl.

We're gonna ******* die if we go there.

But! The girl!

How the **** do they know we're here?!

"Shut up!" He growled, silencing them.

Glancing over to the side he watched the phoenix girl's shadow for awhile before jumping to his feet and trotting over to her.

In a fraction of a second he was on the main plane once again, leaning against a tree not two feet from the girl. He smiled slightly before quickly glancing around, looking for any evidence of a trap.

Everything looked okay... Although he did intercept a death glare or two.

Then in two, quick strides he appeared in front of the girl, his smile as charming as ever.

"Well! Fancy meeting you here."

Even if it was a trap, so what? It wasn't like he was in any real danger since he could always just change planes. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to get to know the phoenix a little better.

I hope you ******* die, you sick ****.

***

Holding onto Elle's arm, Ivan once again helped her to regain her balance. Honestly, he was beginning to find her clumsiness almost cute. Then, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Barely noticeable and it didn't even last for a second, but he knew it was there.

Quickly locating the demon near the front of the group he offered a glare of his own in return. It appeared as though the cat had a bit of a vendetta against him now. It made sense. After all, he was preventing him from retrieving his precious orb, wasn't he?

Adding a cruel smile to his glare, he placed his hand upon Elle's shoulder, as if to taunt the demon.

Sensing another, different presence, he looked away, immediately locking eyes with the new arrival and tightening his grip on Elle's shoulder. It was a pity that for a school as fine as this it would be so difficult to keep one girl safe. Well, no matter. He only had to keep her safe for a little while longer.

After hearing the list being read off, he shot another, quick glance toward the demon before looking back at Elle.

"Please... Do try to be careful, dear."

Although something told him that she could try all she wanted and it wouldn't make a difference.

***

Illia had only half-listened to whatever Z was going on about, as she had been far too busy counting how many times she had sighed in the last minute. It was quite exhausting. However, she didn't need to listen to him as he revealed an absolutely gorgeous ring. Then-

"Ohmigawd, I love you!"

With one motion, she swiped the box out of his hands and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck before almost immediately pushing away to inspect each individual gem on the ring.

If she hadn't been so consumed with this task, she might have given more attention to just what she'd said. But, oh, what did it matter? After all, who really took 'I love you' seriously, anyway?

Sliding the ring onto her finger, holding it in front of her and watching the way it caught the sunlight. It was so beautiful... Now all she needed was a matching bracelet. Ooh, and maybe some earrings...

[ωΘĿƒ]

Z couldn't believe his ears.

..had she just said what she sounded like she said?

No. No,no. Really? For real? She had! He'd heard her right! She'd said she loved him!

It all made sense now. For a while, he'd heard so many people tell him that Illia was bad, or she wasn't really in love with him. White had said it. His friends had said it. His classmates had mentioned it, but he didn't believe any of them.

Not at first, he didn't.

Still, he had tried to be optimistic. He was always optimistic, so why not now? Illia loved him. It didn't matter if she was a little shady. So was he! He couldn't blame her for anything that she did. And he wasn't going to try.

Besides, what had she ever done that would make her so bad?

But she said it! She said it! He had been right, and everyone else was wrong! She loved him, and he had always loved her!

Yessssss! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Z cheered silently for himself, and even when the camping groups were called, he simply let his legs take him to his partner.

He didn't care. He was loved by someone now...

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Le Cyll, naturally, was not paying very good attention. There were so many other things that he could be doing. Thinking was one of them, and one should never waste an opportunity such as this to think. Especially when in the midst of company.

Company could be so very noisy.

So that is why he barely heard the sound of the names being called, and even when some part of his conscious mind was aware of it, it took a moment to fully come to the surface. By that point, he was nearly in front of Kendryek.

Wait.... Kendryek?

The wolf stopped midstride, staring at the deceptively young appearance of the Japanese boy. He blinked once, just in case he may be hallucinating, but it didn't seem to help.

Oh no. Who was responsible for this?

Crane....

"Kendryek..." Le Cyll smiled, though even with his astute grasp of acting, the smile looked forced.

In all honesty, he couldn't attempt the effort to make it believable. He was just a little to shocked.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Coyle glared accordingly back at the smug, self righteous mug of the Russian.

Filth. Mortal filth. He'd tear his spine out of his mouth for threatening Coyle's precious freedom....


Holy....WHAT?!?

"CRANE!" The beast snapped, infuriated. "You can't! I'm the CHAPERON!"

Mike looked back at him with a scowl, placing a plated finger to his mandibles.

"Quiet, Coyle! Daniel is aware of your status. He insists on it regardless."

Coyle seethed, not willing to look back at the Russian to give him the pleasure of noticing his outrage.

Right.... Crane was angry. No trouble today. Little mortal... He was playing tricks on everyone...

[Elle]

Elle frowned as she heard the list being read off. Great. She still didn't like having to talk to different people. But she knew she'd have to force herself to get over that.

Reaching into her pocket, she held tightly onto that small orb. She'd still managed to hang onto it and she still wasn't planning on letting it go. For some reason, she felt safe as long as she had it. It wasn't like that little sphere could really protect her, but she still felt better when she had iw with her.

She nodded, giving Ivan a shy smile before walking away. She knew who that girl was from school and everything, but she'd never really talked to her before. Well, apparently, she was going to have to now.

"Um... Hi," She muttered, stopping next to Nami.

Still holding onto the orb, she glanced around at the group nervously. Actually... Since she'd come to this school, whenever there was a big gathering of mythicals, something bad would happen. And her pessimistic side told her that it was only a matter of time...

[Oren]

Kendryek smiled at the professor. Watching over the school hadn’t been too hard. Seth and Le Cyll had kept him busy, and kept him from classes for a few days afterwards, but that wasn’t too bad. It had ended up being a pretty fair fight… well, as fair as two against one could get… two against a stronger one… but that didn’t matter now. That was past, and none of them were dead, so everything was good.

“Nothing I couldn’t deal with or settle with a small… argument.” He chose his words carefully. Of course Crane knew of what had occurred that day, but there was no reason to let the other students know too. A fight between the temporary leader and two students wasn’t something that should just be leaked about. There were bound to be a few that knew because of their connections within the school, but that couldn’t be helped and therefore shouldn’t be worried about.

Someone called his name and he was pulled away from the professor before any more words could pass between them. He smiled at the girl: Nami… and surprisingly Areon. “Yes, I see,” he told her. Giving her a quick thumbs up, he said, “Keep up the good work!” Areon wasn’t pleased, but that was alright. He really wasn’t as upset as he looked, which was good. If that teen was always as mad as he looked the whole school would be in some deep trouble! Then again, Crane was very capable. He was also lenient, which could be counted as good or bad, depending on the situation.

More students kept arriving, and since Kendryek didn’t really know any of them, he simply watched as they interacted with each other. He saw the scowls and threats that passed between two boys, apparently over the girl that was hanging on to the one. He saw the little gift exchange between to ‘lovers’, but, to him, it was obvious the girl couldn’t care less what she was saying or whom she was saying it to. He leaned his head against the tree, smiling bitterly to the sky at how hopeless that poor boy was.

After a few more minutes, Mike yelled for everyone to quiet down. He made a little speech that was of no consequence. It wasn’t like he was dumb enough to get killed on a trip like this, nor bad enough to do anything that would break the rules. Though, judging from how short the ‘speech’ was, if it could even be called that, there weren’t too many ‘rules’ nor things to be said. That was sometimes good. He hoped now was one of those times.

As the list of partners was read out, he heard Le Cyll’s name first and almost jumped from surprise when his name followed. He and Le Cyll were partnered together? That was… strange. Crane knew of the incident, yet still put them together… It wasn’t like it was all that bad since Kendryek really actually kind of liked Le Cyll, but he knew the wolf would be enraged. Yet, that was only if the surprise didn’t overcome the rage.

The list went on until the group was fully addressed. Crane sure had a sense of humor! He put people who wouldn’t get along in the same group. To Kendryek, that was quite funny, and he didn’t mind his own pairing. That helped. Though… who were those other two that had been called? Hendrix and Yama, was it? They weren’t enrolled in the school. They were here, though? Odd. He hadn’t been paying too much attention to his surroundings, and it didn’t really involve him anyway. They weren’t paired with someone important, were they? Yama wasn’t. He could barely care less about what happened to that preppy slut. But Hendrix… he was with Areyna. Now that he would have to pay more attention to. It wasn’t necessarily that he cared for Areyna, but she was important to Areon, and that was enough reason to protect her. Besides, Hendrix looked… dangerous and slightly, if not completely, deranged. He wasn’t really showing it, but the insanity alarm was going off in Kendryek head. This was going to be an interesting trip…

Le Cyll’s words, or word, snapped him out of his thoughts. Oh right. He’d almost forgotten. How unusual of him! How could he have done that? The wolf meant quite a bit to him, although he’d almost been killed, but he still held a place in the dragon’s heart. Whether that place was the same as that of a lost puppy in need of some love and a little training (and discipline), or an actual person he wanted to get to know… come to think of it, the wolf held both, as strange as that was.

“Le Cyll,” he responded. Yeah, the wolf wasn’t please and extremely shocked, but any more words would be… presumptuous of him. This would be a good time to get to know Le Cyll better, and hopefully convince him that he wouldn’t hurt him unless he verbally asked for it.

.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.'.~.

Yama floated about, watching Areyna as she ‘interacted’ with two or three friends. He didn’t really care how many there were exactly. There weren’t that many, and that’s all that counted. That one though… the one she was holding on to… what was she to him? What was he to her? Wait… why did he care? She was girl!! Why couldn’t that simple fact stay put in his mind!?

He floated right around her, maybe a few feet from her. The boy she was hanging on to wasn’t named, but… what did that matter? She was hanging on to him. That made him and Yama rivals. Wait…

WHAT?!

Rivals? Where had that come from? He was simply spying on her. There wasn’t any… attraction... was there? Yama wasn’t quite sure anymore. She was different than most girls, granted, and something about her sparked his interest. What kind of interest he didn’t know, but she was captivating. She was also boring at times, but that was to be expected of everyone. No one was amusing twenty-four-seven!

All the students turned their attention to the large spider at the head of the group. If it hadn’t been for the Chimera standing beside him, he would have looked like the one in charge, but that Chimera… he seemed to be in complete control of all his surroundings. He was definitely the leader here. Being the leader meant having power. That meant it was probably good to stay clear of him.

Someone saying his name caused him to look around cautiously. Who had said it? The spider? Really? The spider had said his name? What for? No one knew they were here. Well, a few maybe, but these groups had been planned ahead of time, and they knew his and Hendrix’s names. How was that possible? There weren’t any other creatures here named ‘Yama’, he knew that, and when Hendrix switched to this plane, he decided to join them as well. If Hendrix was doing it, it shouldn’t be too bad of an idea, right? He just hoped that thinking wouldn’t end up being the death of him. It probably would one day, but he really hoped that day wasn’t today!

Floating down, he appeared amidst the group, keeping Areyna in perfect view. Hendrix was evidently paired with her. But why? Why couldn’t he have been placed by her? That just wasn’t fair! If that Chimera in charge was smart enough to know they were here, and know their names, surely he knew that she didn’t like Hendrix that much! They should have known to pair her with Yama…

Looking at the groups that were being made, he looked for anyone that didn’t have someone to be paired with. There! That… he glared at the girl. First, she was female. That fact right there just might ruin his day. Second, she was staring, mesmerized, at a gem on her finger. Ode to joy, right then and there! She was probably some rich snob who was obsessed with jewelry. This was going to be a very, very long day…

Walking up to her, he said, “I guess we are paired together? I wasn’t really listening.” Of course, his acting skills went into place immediately and he seemed nice and kind of embarrassed at being ‘caught’ in his act of not paying attention. He wasn’t embarrassed, of course, nor was he too nice to people like her, but she wouldn’t hate him, that was for sure. And if she was anything like he was expecting, staying on her nice side could turn out for the better.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Le Cyll continued to smile for about another five seconds. Then it became far too strenuous. He stopped, the smile replaced by a discontented frown almost below contempt.

He.... might be in trouble now.

Not to say he did not adore Kendryek.... He simply could not stand to be next to the scaly lizard. It bothered him, this powerful creature taking such interest in him.

Why him? Why him?! Such thoughts were so disruptive. What had he ever done to be caught in the crosshairs of this creature?

Oh yes... He remembered now...

Still! The fact remained. Crane was obviously behind this, and he intended for something to happen. Everyone seemed similarly discontent or at the level of contempt that he was with Kendryek. Crane had planned this, but why? For a reaction? It was funny, when it wasn't happening to him. Or perhaps it was the opposite?

That thing... The loud one. The one that looked like cat but was not cat. It thought so too. Crane was behind this, but was it for the reaction, or so that all the partners might see what has happened to them, and this be too afraid to react?

Le Cyll was certainly aware of this thought. Crane was watching. Kendryek was standing right next to him. Nothing. He could do nothing. How terrible. He was trapped inside his head again.

Just when he had unpacked and moved out...

He did a few calculations on various temperatures and season lengths just to amuse himself. There. A little better. Maybe he could survive this whole trip without a word of anything to this lizard?

He's watching you... They're all watching you...

"Mon Dieu...." the wolf sighed. He did not like this...

[Iƪƪia]

As Elle walked away, Ivan took the time to inspect the group a little better, placing names to faces and filing them all away. In all honesty, the majority of them appeared rather boring, though there were a few who could prove interesting. What was most interesting, however, were all the glares and awkward glances being shot around the group. It seemed as though more than a few of them had a problem with who they were paired with... That couldn't simply be coincidence.

So what was the good professor planning? He was one of the few people that Ivan simply couldn't read.

Allowing his gaze to drift from the chimera back to the demon, he couldn't help but smile. He anger was all too obvious, as he didn't seem too thrilled about his partner either. A shame... And he had been hoping that they could be good friends.

Turning away, he shot one more glance toward the creature from the shadows. Hendrix, was his name? There was a sort of other-worldly aura about him. He'd be worth keeping an eye on, to be sure. He had never heard anything about this fellow, so whatever he learned would be useful in some way, he was certain. What's more, somehow he had managed to avoid being noticed by him... That was a bad thing. And yet, he had not avoided detection by Crane. Even now, the chimera knew he'd be here. But how? Well, he's spent quite awhile with this school, hadn't he? It made sense for him to be so well-informed then.

One thing still bothered him, though. At a glance Ivan could tell that he was, by no means, a good person. That was even more evident by the way he was lusting over that poor, young phoenix girl. And yet Crane had invited him to join them, right out there in the open. The man was strange, indeed, but he was no fool. He was planning something.

His smile dropped as Ivan contemplated just what that could mean. After all, if he knew already knew about those two stalkers, what else did he know about?

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he simply decided that he'd just have to cross that bridge if and when he came to it. Right now, however, there was something much more important to do.

Replacing his smile, he casually strolled over to the demon, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Hello, there!" He said cheerfully, making it quite obvious how much he enjoyed this, "Oh... Is something the matter... Partner?"

***

Completely focused on her newest gem, Illia had pretty effectively blocked the rest of the world out. It wasn't important, anyway. All that mattered was her. Her and her ever-expanding collection of precious stones. And her collection had increased rather sharply in value recently.

That was thanks to Z, mostly. Man, did she know how to pick them or what?

Despite the fact that she was still caught up in her own, little world, she became vaguely aware of someone speaking to her. Coming back to reality, she glanced up at an unfamiliar face. Indeed, she was quite sure that she hadn't seen him around the school before. Which was too bad. He was quite good-looking.

"Hm..?" Was her response as she began to get a handle on what had just happened, "Oh... I suppose we are."

She smiled slyly as she looked him over a few more times. Actually... He was very good-looking. Perhaps this trip wouldn't be so boring after all.

She quickly glanced around the group, making sure that Z was out of earshot before she spoke. Hey, she still didn't consider the two of them to be together, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe that he felt the same. All that meant was that if getting caught "cheating" could potentially close her jewelry store, she'd just have to keep it all out of reach of Z's naive ears.

"So, hun... I didn't quite catch your name?" She said, batting her eyelashes at him.

She wasn't going to be too forward, but she'd at least make her intentions known.

[areyna]

Nami returned Kendryek the same thumbs up gesture he gave her in response to her comment. She like the japanese guy, he was pretty cools! Though she wondered where Chasity was searching the perimeter yet no sign of her what so ever. Had she decided not to come, was she alright? Bummer. She took it upon herself to ask Chase’s friend of her presence but interruption caught her first as the list of camping buddies began to emit from the spiders mouth. As she ran back to her friends with Areon easily striding besides her listening for her name among the list. Thus her name was called along with a girl named Elle. Elle. What a familiar name, had she met this Elle before? Nami delved through her memory only for a little while until a girl hesitantly greeted her with a timid hello. Nami couldn’t help but smile wide. So this is the famous Elle! She had, in a matter of fact seen her before! Just never came around to converse with her herself. How excited she was to gain a new fellow friend!

“Hi there!” She said with a pinch to much of enthusiasm than intented. “I’m Nami Kurata and you must be Elle! Nice to meet you Elle!” She stuck her hand out expecting a friendly shake. “This is going to be ubber fun! We are going to be like the best buddies ever!”

Areon sighed at his girlfriend’s unnecessary excitement. “Annoying.” He mumbled to himself. He recalled his name being said attached with the name Z. Z? Who was Z? He was unfamiliar with such a name. He dismissed the curiosity, he will soon find out anyway. A waste of energy to wonder when the answer will voluntarily reveal itself in the near future. His thoughts were distracted by the quiet thumping noise reaching him and the aura of a slight fear making itself known to his emotions. He turned to find Areyna wide eyed clutching onto Skyler’s arm with what seemed like all her might. What happened? What did he miss?

Areyna literally could not believe her ears! Di-did he just say Hendrix!!! As in the Hendrix! The one she met late at night in the town by herself! He was here! But she hadn’t seen him! The feeling! Was he following! Omg Omg Omg! Skyler flexed his squeezed arm gently taking her hand off asking if she was feeling alright. Areyna looked into his comforting smooth silver eyes but what was she to lie. She was nervous, completely nervous, utterly nervous! She only met the guy once! She wasn’t in the least ready to spend every second with the guy! The thought made her ill her heart leaping once a familiar voice filed her ear drums. She glanced up at the face of HIM.

“Uhhhh……..” she was tongue tied.

“Hello there.” Skyler replied in place of Areyna or so it seemed. “Nice to meet you, I’m Skyler.”

Areyna slowly crept behind him, not all the way but enough to cover a shoulder. Areon strode towards his helpless cousin, departing from a preoccupied Nami, giving the newcomer an unhappy glare. Who was he? And why did he make Areyna feel this way?

<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>

Kevin finally hiked his way to a crowed that seemed to have stopped for the time being. FINALLY!!! He arrived just in time to catch the his camping partner.

“Ailyth and Kevin Thatch.” The voice announced.

Ailyth? Who the heck was Ailyth!? He didn’t to stay with some random person he didn’t know! He gave his friend a look which said please-don’t let-them-take-me-away. His friend simply shrugged.

“There’s absolutely nothing I can do Kevs. I don’t make the rules around here.”

Kevin crosses his arms and pouted. Well this seriously stinks; he’d rather stay with his friend.

“Stop the pouting, it’s not like you’re going to stay with her forever.” She continued. “Lighten up and have fun. You’re so uptight today, that’s not my Kevs.” She lightly elbowed him on the arm satisfied with the small smile she won from him.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Z. finally snapping out of his little delusions, noticed the guy pouting in front of him.

Spoil sport. He needed a bit of cheering up, Z style.

"How'dya do, partner?" The dragon said, not too happily, but with an enthusiastic energy that made him extremely easygoing.

Z had always made friends, wherever he went, he was always around others. Still, he had felt alone all his life, surrounded though he was.

Until he'd met Illia, that is. Ignored all his damn life, he had smiled and laughed through it all. Showered money and presents by his rich parents whom just as easily abandoned him in boarding school after boarding school, Z could do nothing more but adapt and make the best of what he got.

What he got was all anyone ever wanted, right? Riches? Friends? Popularity? He did what he wanted, but it never gave him any fulfillment... He did what other people wanted, and still it was torture. He tried and he didn't try. He studied and he flunked. He was smart, then he was stupid. He was cool, then he was that guy you didn't want to mess with.

In the end, he'd just found it easier to be the guy everyone could hang with. Why not? What else was there to do?

But Illia.... She cared. The first person since he was friggen' born that cared anything about him.

Z let his optimistic smile drop just a bit, then he shook off that sad feeling he sometimes got, and continued to smile.

"So, my name's Z. You already got that. And your Areon? Cool. I like it. Very catchy! Dude, do you like water guns? Cause I got an arsenal in here!"

Z patted his precious backpack, filled to the brim with food, blankets, and weaponry.

This. Was. Going. To. Be. Awesome.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Coyle seethed. So much that he thought he'd explode. Damn this guy! What'd he think his game was? What was he doing here? Why was he being so friendly like that? He knew about the whole issue with sweet little Elle. Coyle could sense that from him. He might not know exactly what he was dealing with, but the Russian had some idea...

Coyle smiled his nice, charming shark smile, full of pearly white teeth. No need to be so hostile. The time would come for fighting. The time would come for everything. Right now, crane was on the warpath, and Coyle was not going to be the only one getting crap for being a bad boy. He was sure Ivan had something coming to him as well...

"Shut up and shake my hand," Coyle grinned, ecstatically. "Nothing's wrong with me!"