[quote=@Tackytaff]Behind the forced smile, Makenna’s eye twitched. God the girl really was a hopeless. [color=BC8F8F]“No need to be so modest,”[/color] She encouraged, pulling out her phone and taking a step back to leave the group as quickly as she’d joined it [color=BC8F8F]“There was all that unstoppable stuff too, right? Plus you’re from the area and been camping before, you’ve got to have all kind of tips for us.”[/color]

From inside its pocket, her phone was already lighting up from tapping. [color=BC8F8F]“We’re all here to bond after all- I just need to check one thing, then I’ll catch you all for dinner yeah?”[/color] With a wave, she turned and left the group to give her undivided attention to her phone.[/quote]

[quote=@webboysurf]Rory gave a polite nod to Trevor, holding up a single finger to indicate he needed a moment. [/quote]

[quote=@Jarl Coolgruuf][color=008000]"Hi Luce! Not dying is pretty cool. Lots of people aren't too jazzed about the whole dying thing. I know I'd prefer not to."[/color]

The topic of Hyperhuman abilities gave him pause, however, as he tried thinking of a way to explain his ability without making himself out to be the world's most off-putting Mr. Potato Head. Thankfully, he was given a bit of respite, but not so thankfully because of the escalating argument between several of his teammates. As much as he didn't want to interrupt making a new friend, this seemed more than a little serious.

[color=008000]"Really great to meet you, Luce. I promise I'll be right back. I feel like I gotta go y'know—"[/color] he made a broad gestured at the growing crowd of arguing students [color=008000]"—help stop that."[/color][/quote]

[CENTER][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1070792705547980842/1079900445021057155/Lucille_Banner.png[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=SILVER][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Southern Plateau[/I] - [I]Dundas Island [/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=SILVER][b]The Homecoming Trials #1.64:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Never Panic On An Empty Stomach[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][color=SILVER][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]N/A[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=SILVER][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5441328][I]If You Show Me Yours[/I][/url][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT]And just like that, Luce had been dragged toward social interaction she was ill-prepared for, before being utterly abandoned by both those who she had been thrust toward, and those that had thrusted her forwards in the first place. She couldn't get a grip on Mackenna; she seemed at one moment spritely and encouraging, and the next aloof and disconnected from proceedings. Luce wasn't sure if her initial friendliness was sincere, or if it was merely surface-level platitudes intending for playing the part of an attentive student. It seemed the [i]real[/i] Mackenna was the one buried beneath her phone screen. Perhaps Luce had been chosen because she required the least amount of engagement, and Mackenna could retreat to her texts without protest. 

Luce was anxious. She could tell she was anxious, because she was getting nasty. Nasty towards others, nasty towards herself. She was hungry, too, which compounded the problem; hanger mixed with unease and from it bloomed nausea and spite in her stomach. 

Rory had disappeared without a word, merely one finger held aloft, like Luce could be simply paused until it became more convenient for him to address her; at least Trevor delivered the courtesy of saying hello before politely excusing himself and scurrying off to the brewing fracas that was spilling over and threatening to involve [i]every[/i] member of Blackjack. It seemed only herself and Cass were unaffiliated; [i]all's the better[/i], Luce thought. She'd barely had an opportunity to begin forming opinions about her erstwhile team members, but this social ugliness was a poor first impression.

She stood, alone, watching the argument ebb and flow from afar, awash with turbulent emotions. A peculiar mix bubbled away within her, simultaneously disheartened that the team's first opportunity for creating camaraderie had devolved into petty in-fighting, but also somehow jealous that she'd not been dragged in. Again, she had been left on the fringes, abandoned and unappealing. Flashes of quiet recesses spent with a sandwich and no company on a bench or in the cafeteria corner flew past her; suddenly she felt 10 inches tall and invisible, reduced again to the lonely child abandoned by her peers and elder brothers. Her eyes stung and she swallowed hard, self-loathing-fuelled nausea burning in her belly. 

In the distance, the quarrel was nearly quelled - where was Jim, or Tad, or any responsible adult to put a definitive end to the skirmish? - but suddenly Trace reared their head, and with it came a pointless, acerbic assault, seemingly for no reason other than to re-ignite tensions. Banjo, true to form, launched back with equal vitriol, and Luce felt everything crashing down around the group; despite best intentions of those who had sought to ease the fight, it appeared goodwill had no place here. P.R.C.U. and its promises of fresh starts felt hollow and foolish. Luce felt sick, and then, in the midst of despair and panic, with only a xanax and half a bottle of water in her stomach, the last straw settled on the proverbial camel's back.
[/INDENT][/INDENT]
[quote=@Hound55]He made his way over to the nervous blonde girl.  Daring to hope that Calliope might still follow.[/quote]
[indent]Banjo rounded on Luce, storming towards her with heat still coming from atop his head and a face like thunder, humiliated by Trace's barrage and freshly riled. She had seen this scenario many times before; a shamed and emasculated adolescent seeking to deflect onto an easier target. She couldn't believe it was happening again - but at the same time, it felt inevitable, unavoidable. This was just how it went for Luce.

The panic reached a boiling point and her stomach turned; desperately, she fumbled herself away from the vicinity of the tent and towards the edge of the pitching area, clutching a hand over her mouth. 
She made it twenty or so paces before collapsing to her knees in the most unkempt patch of grass in proximity - and then, in a most ungracious manner, spewing up her guts.
[/indent]