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Lucien pursed his lips as Summer came back to consciousness. He was as impassive and stoic as always of course, but he was clearly trying very hard not to roll his eyes at the teenager. “I’m glad.” A stick snapped as he stood up, and he brushed the leaves and grass off of his robe. He was almost glaring at Summer as he spoke. “You can’t perform magic on an empty stomach. Remember that and don’t let this happen again- someone won’t always be around to fix you,” he scolded, staring down at Summer with derision. “And don’t thank me. You should be thanking your friend over there- Hana Song, I believe her name is. That heal job really was flawless. Look at your wrist. No scar, hm?” He pointed to Hana, who was starting to make her way across the trail back to the house. “That girl is going places. You should be taking some cues from her, young lady. Now come along. Get going. You’ll certainly want to get your fill before the food is put away for the night, won’t you?” 

With that, he walked off. He gave the wellspring a glance over once more to see if anyone else needed any assistance. Of course, he didn’t find anyone, so he lit his lantern and followed the initiates down the path and to the house. The bright, magically produced light of the lantern lit up the path, providing visibility for anyone standing near him. 

Just a few yards away, Lark was still standing by Maggie and trying to coax the girl out of her panic attack. As soon as Maggie spoke, she smiled, relieved, and squeezed the girl’s shoulder. [color=Plum]“Don’t be sorry, dear,”[/color] she soothed. [color=Plum] “I completely understand. The initiation can be… overwhelming for all of us. Everyone has a different reaction. I’m just happy that you’re okay.”[/color] The woman stood with Maggie and took her hand off of her shoulder. [color=Plum] “If you’re ready, we can go back to the house. Your family is going to be [i]so[/i] proud of you, just you wait. And if you like nature, you have a fun night ahead of you!”[/color] Lark muttered some words and lit her own lantern before gently ushering Maggie along to the path with everybody else.

Soon, the elders had gotten everyone onto the path and walking back to the house. Calypso brought up the rear of the group. She slunk ashamedly behind everyone else, trying to avoid everybody’s gazes as best as she could. Her vomit-stained robe was slung over her shoulder with care not to let the stained part touch her clothes. Out of everyone’s reactions, she thought, [i]hers[/i] had been the most humiliating. Sure, Maggie had had a panic attack and Summer had fainted (the thought of which put a smile on her face) but vomiting? All over herself? Nobody would ever allow her to live it down. The thought of it stressed her out. She would be teased about this for the rest of her life. 

The walk back was as uneventful as the walk there, although it was significantly more mopey than the first one. They emerged back onto the coven property after walking uphill for quite the time. Night had fully descended upon the mountain by now. A wide, vibrant blanket of stars spread over them, and the moon was shining bright and big above them. Calypso in particular stopped for a moment and gazed at the sight, amazed. The bright lights of the city had always drowned out the night sky, and to stand among the bright, plentiful stars of the wilderness gave her a deep-seated, almost magical feeling.

As soon as they came back to the party, the new witches were greeted by almost deafening, excited applause from their new fellows. Parents rushed forward to hug and congratulate their children. Random witches went up to the initiates and congratulated them on their success, seemingly happy just to have new witches in the coven. Everyone seemed glad, in fact.

[@Melissa][@Danvers]

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The celebration went on into the night. As soon as Calypso found an opportunity to, she fled the other initiates. Instead, she hung out with her mom and her friends for the rest of the party. It was stupid, but she still felt the embarrassment heating her cheeks and making her want to curl up under a table. Maybe they’d all forget about it if she just disappeared for a couple of hours. Her mom’s friends were happy to fawn over her, though! They wouldn’t even let her go get her own food- when she said she was hungry, one of the women just stood up and got a plate of food and a glass of ice water for her. It went on much like that for the rest of the night. She stayed by her mom, who was ecstatic to see her and to have the full attention of her daughter.

But eventually, the night had to end. It was around ten or so when the other witches started to trickle out of the property. By midnight, only the elders and some of the parents were left. Once most of her friends were gone, Calypso’s mom stood from her seat and grabbed her purse. She smiled at her daughter, tears forming in her eyes.

[color=#e9dd25]“Mom…”[/color] Calypso started. But before she could finish, her mother wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“I’m just so proud of you.” She let go, but she put a hand on Calypso’s cheek to cradle it. “You have no idea.”

Calypso’s chest tightened. If only her mom knew what a fool her daughter had made of herself. How horribly she had actually done. [color=#e9dd25]“You’re leaving already?”[/color]

A nod made her smile sink. “Yeah. I’m leaving the Jeep with you, and there’s only one car, so I’m going home with Jessica and her family. You know Jessica.” Her mom gestured to a dark-haired woman standing with her husband and a couple kids near the car path up to the coven house. “Now, listen. You’re gonna have so much fun this summer with all the other initiates. I promise. I’ll see you soon.” With that, her mom gave her another big hug and went off to rejoin her friends. Reluctantly, Calypso cast her eyes around, looking for the other initiates. What were they going to do next?

She spotted Lark, trying to gather up the rest of the initiates. Calypso headed over there, trying to cool her own nerves. It was fine. They had probably all forgotten about it by now! Plus, it was too late- everyone was probably too tired to make fun of her. God knows she was. She couldn’t wait to get in a warm, toasty bed, wrapped in blankets… or to get inside at all. Mosquitoes had been eating her alive all night. 

Lark clapped her hands together, getting everyone’s attention. [color=Plum]“Now for the fun part! Tonight, as is tradition, you’ll be sleeping outside in a secluded spot on the property. As witches, we have a deep and sacred connection to nature. So what better to foster that than by sleeping outside?”[/color]

Calypso’s heart sunk. [i]Camping[/i]? This day couldn’t get any worse, really. She didn’t want to camp- she wanted to be inside, in bed. At least she’d be in a tent, away from the mosquitoes, she reasoned. And with a group of people that were (mostly) her friends. When Lark motioned to, Calypso grabbed her pajamas out of her suitcase. Lark started to move away from the picnic tables and the house. With a drag in her step, Calypso followed, face twisted into a sour frown. 

A bit later, they arrived at a copse of trees. The house was in sight, though far off. Calypso’s frown twisted even further as she saw the set-up. A fire was in the middle of the clearing, steadily crackling. Sleeping bags were set in a pile by a twisting maple tree- but there were no tents. She groaned internally. Awesome. Just awesome.

[color=Plum] “Well, I don’t have to tell you how to use sleeping bags,”[/color] Lark quipped. [color=Plum] “I’ll leave you guys here to get some rest. Just shout if you need something. Good night!”[/color] She put a lantern on the ground, and then turned around and went back to the house. Presumably to do some sleeping of her own.

Once she was gone, Calypso groaned very loudly. She looked down at her pajamas and then at the trees. Did she have to change in the [i]woods[/i]? [color=#e9dd25] “I’m gonna go change,”[/color] she said sullenly, and then disappeared into the trees.

A few minutes later, she came out of the trees, blushing. She had forgotten that she had packed [i]these[/i] pajamas. A zip-up [url=https://www.pjsbuy.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1000x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/d/ady1901054.jpg]pig onesie[/url] hugged her body, revealing only her feet, which were bare. She had the hood up and refused to meet anyone’s eyes, instead grabbing a sleeping bag and plopping herself in a corner.

If only this day would end already.


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