[h2][center][color=00a651]Hiking Trail[/color][/center][/h2]

Mara's 'accident' happened plenty of distance away from the cameras and went unnoticed by most of the crew. The surly thin woman standing behind the cameraman startled a bit as the sparks caught her eye. She looked at Mara with widened eyes for just a second. Then she averted her gaze, acting natural, letting the situation pass without a big hullabaloo.

The cameraman did his work well, following the stream of water as it floated through the air, catching John's amazed expression and Conner's proud one. The reporter's trained smile faltered just a bit as Conner decided to start going all Rebellious Teen on the air. Ever the professional, the cameraman predicted Conner's subsequent gesture and only half a second of the bird appeared in the corner of the screen as the camera panned back to John.

"Well there you have it," John said with a bright smile. "A spirited bunch at the conference. We'll be back with you soon!"

The instant the camera cut, John's plastic smile dropped. He rubbed his eyes as he addressed Conner.

"I guess you're probably not mature enough to care, kid, but this is one of the first impressions the world will have of plant essences. For your own sake, maybe think about not making that impression so... abrasive in the future." 

John rubbed his temples and turned away, looking ten years older without his well-trained TV personality pizazz.

"Candy," he grumbled. "Go get my smokes."

The thin woman in the background took a breath and braced herself.

"You said they were 'only for emergencies,'" Candace replied in a bored tone. "Your future self would not say this is an emergency."

"My future self can kiss my ass this one time," John practically barked. "Go get just one cigarette, Candygirl. I won't. Ask. Again."

Candace fought the urge to roll her eyes. Both of them knew [i]that[/i] statement was a lie.

Before she could reply, a bearded man with a bandaged hand took an exaggerated inhale awkwardly close to the tense conversation.

"You smell delightful," the bearded man addressed Candace with a smile. "I can tell with my dog powers."

Candace froze for a second, pondering.

"Fine, I'll get your smokes," Candace muttered, starting back down the path toward the cabins. At least it would be a nice break from these obnoxious men.

Joseph continued sniffing around, trying to find the source of another delightful smell. He hadn't pinpointed Mara yet but was getting dangerously close.

NatJack continued hovering around the area. She eventually worked up the nerve to reunite with Conner.

"Uh... hah," the redhead spoke. She looked away. All this time working up the nerve to converse with one of the people who had cool functioning powers, and she didn't even know what to say.

"...So, uh, how long'd it take ya to learn howta do that?"

[@LuckyBlackCat] [@Crimson Flame]