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[color=86a8ad][b]#86a8ad[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/ppFTS1k][color=9b9b9b][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [color=9b9b9b][b]beach > center of camp[/b][/color]
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[indent][indent][indent][indent][justify][color=808080]River didn’t really have a goal or destination in mind. He wanted to find his footing at camp and it just felt like the right place to start was figuring out the lay of the land. A map [i]would[/i] have been helpful, but the one they got was with Ocean and there was no way in Hades he was going to ask Andy to conjure one up for him. Call it pride, or maybe just his ego, but it would take more than a map for him to go to her for help. He wouldn’t admit it outloud, but she made him look and feel like an idiot. He wasn’t particularly in the mood to rehash that. 

Too lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear approaching footsteps. He had nearly reached the end of the beach when a voice spoke out to him from behind, taking him by surprise. [color=ffc300]"Acquainting yourself with the area?"[/color] River pivoted on his heels, the snow and sand mixing beneath his soles. She pointed northwest of where they stood, beyond the trees and cabins. [color=ffc300]"The Main Hall’s that way if you want some food, drinks, warm coffee. Just a good area to recoup second to your own cabin."[/color] She inhaled and shrugged, then continued on her path past him. His gaze followed where she pointed and then trailed after her. 

River, with his social ineptitude, stood frozen, far too long, trying to decide what to say or how to respond. His social battery often lived at 20% and whatever happened with Andy had tanked it thoroughly. But he didn’t [i]want[/i] to be rude. He wanted to start his time at camp on the right foot. [i]Go be friendly[/i], he repeated in his mind several times like a mantra before finally getting his feet to move. 

He took off in a light jog, his long stride making it easy to catch up to her just as she turned up the path that branched off the beach. Once in sync with the redhead and with an apologetic half smile he finally spoke, [color=86a8ad]"Sorry. You caught me off guard."[/color] River slid his hands into his pockets, trying his best to regulate his body temperature, not used to colder climates. [color=86a8ad]"This place kinda felt like a ghost town and I just kind of assumed it was."[/color] He shrugged his shoulders. Before her the only other person he had seen was Andy, so it wasn’t an off based assumption. 

[color=86a8ad]"I think I saw that building when I came in. My sister was more interested in snagging a cabin before others arrived, rather than food. You up for some company?"[/color] Who the hell did he think he was? River was the farthest thing from a social butterfly. His social ineptitude was on par with a toddler, blunt and borderline insulting. Why he thought it was a good idea to tag along, he wasn’t sure. On the one hand he [i]was[/i] being friendly… or trying to be. But he also felt insanely out of his element. He wasn’t someone who sought small talk. He kind of hated it, honestly. 

Luckily for him, she didn’t seem too bothered by his presence, one way or the other. So, unless she shooed him away, River kept walking in stride with her, letting her lead in pace and direction. When the silence seemed long and awkward enough, he turned slightly, walking sideways while offering her his right hand. [color=86a8ad]"I’m River, by the way."[/color]

Maybe he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts, or blind… or just oblivious, all of the above possible, but it wasn’t until that moment that River got a proper look at the girl. It’s not that he [i]never[/i] interacted with women his age, but he rarely had time for them. Of course he had [i]seen[/i] attractive women before, but through the TV or from a distance, never next to him and [i]definitely[/i] never talking to them. 

She was [i]stunning[/i]. Her red hair contrasted her pale skin like a flame in a snowstorm. He never really saw himself as someone who had a thing for redheads, but it suited her in a way he couldn’t explain. She was like a statue, cold and alluring. Her features were sharp, angular, and so symmetrical they had to have been chiseled from marble. She was an enigmatic beauty that confused the living shit out of him. He hadn’t the foggiest clue how to talk to a girl, let alone one a fraction as attractive as she was. He was dumbfounded and at a loss for words. Ocean should have prepared him for this… Or maybe she did and he was too thick to care.

[color=86a8ad]"You’re kind of gorgeous, you know?"[/color] River’s brows furrowed as he squinted his eyes. His face scrunched in disbelief of himself. [color=86a8ad]"Sorry, I don’t know why I said that."[/color] He held his hands up innocently and shrugged. [color=86a8ad]"Yeah… So anyway,"[/color] He cleared his throat and turned to face forward with a small swing of his leg. He went from being freezing cold to feeling like he was in a furnace, sweating in the coldest weather he’s ever experienced. Go figure. It was becoming [i]very[/i] obvious that River had no clue how to have a normal conversation. 

They walked in silence for a while. Probably better that way. Having no filter didn’t mean he needed to blurt out everything that crossed his mind. But apparently he was incapable of that distinction. The quiet was good for him to ground himself and get his mind back on track. The main throughway of the camp slowly came into view as they neared a large coliseum-like structure. His mind immediately switched into tactical mode and started taking inventory of the different facilities and the various demigods that wandered about. River was counting, sizing up, and planning. This was why his father sent him there, not to get tongue tied because a pretty girl spoke to him.

[color=86a8ad]"Do you like it here? Because, from what I’ve heard about this place, I don’t know how anyone could [i]like[/i] it here."[/color] River needed another person’s opinion, someone to gauge what it was actually like there. [color=86a8ad]"Andy was [i]very[/i] defensive of this place. But I don’t see the appeal."[/color]

Camp seemed like a breeding ground for petty teenage drama and a severe lack of discipline. He could see why his father sent him there, but he was concerned at how steep this uphill battle was going to be. If the rest of the campers were even a fraction as passionate as Andy was, this wasn’t going to be easy. He wasn’t there to make friends, but he didn’t want to face the road ahead at odds with everyone in camp either. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint his father. Poseidon had told Ocean and himself not to trust anyone and he had every intention of heeding his father’s warning… But would it be so wrong for him to have a friend or two?

River shook his head, trying to get himself out of his own mind. He was there for business, not pleasure. It didn’t matter what he wanted… [i]Right?[/i][/color][/justify][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

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[color=808080][b]interactions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] evelyn [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]mentions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] andy & ocean [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]collabs[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none[/color]
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