[center][hr][hr] [h2]Andrew[/h2] Son of Demeter[/center] [hr][hr] [right][b][i]...r e c e n t l y…[/i][/b][/right] Things had just started to be good. Or mostly, anyways, with his dad. And with Jenna too, even if she was getting a little pushy about them getting an apartment, in town somewhere. He hadn’t really wanted to do that, he liked his greenhouse, the farm, the space. He liked it even if the rest of it with his step-mom and half-siblings was kind of awful. But he loved her, so he said yes. Leaving his home was hard, but he made it easier by waiting until everyone else had gone to bed. Andrew hadn’t packed much, a few sets of clothes, his favorite books, seed sachets, and Minthe - a favorite of his potted plants. He wrote a note in his rough handwriting, several words scratched out with fits and starts of what he wanted to say before he decided to toss that and just text before take off. Less chance of anyone trying to talk him out of it or ask him to stay, even if he did think that was unlikely. Night crept to morning as he drove down mostly empty country roads. It gave him time to think, his fingers drumming lightly against the steering wheel then gripping it tightly when a wave of anxiety hit him. Every time his mind drifted to thoughts of just turning around and going home, a worse anxiety hit. What would Demeter do if he did that? Andrew didn’t really want to find out, or see what happened if divine anger was turned against him. So he drove on, civilization increasing with the coming daylight. At the airport, he parked in long-term parking, a wistful hope that his dad would come retrieve the thing before it needed to be towed. He slung the half-filled duffel bag over one shoulder, realization sinking in that there was no way they were going to let him take a live plant to another country. He rested his hands above the passenger door, lips pressed in thought. He couldn’t leave Minthe behind. Andrew’s hands dropped and he ducked inside the passenger door. The pot was heavy, he struggled to pull it from the seat where he’d strapped it in for safety on the long drive. With it safely on the ground, he knelt beside it and softly ran his fingers through the tender leaves. [color=98FB98]“It’s ok, you’re coming with me, you just have to shrink a little.”[/color] As he whispered, the bushy plant seemed to un-grow. Leaves curled in on themselves, stems withdrew back towards the buried roots, runners and new shoots disappeared. A few seconds later and Andrew was able to smoothly pluck the plant from the soil. It was barely larger than his thumb then. He fished out a small glass vial from his duffel bag and secured Minthe inside it. He cleared security without issue after that. He waited until he had boarded and settled into his economy seat before he pulled out his phone. He should do it before he left, much longer and maybe people would actually do something like check with the police. The first message went to his dad. Andrew checked the time first and breathed a sigh of relief. It was 11:13, his dad would be in county meetings for the rest of the afternoon, and he was a stickler for devices not interfering with his meetings. Probably wouldn’t even see it for another two hours at least, when he’d finally relent and let people order in lunch. [i]Hey…so, she showed up and said I had to go to this camp for people like me. Idk how long, but I’m on my way already. The car’s parked in R18, if you want it back. I’ll try to let you know what’s going on when I can. Sorry, love you.[/i] He shifted in his seat, wondering if he should send anything separately to his siblings, but quickly decided against it. They wouldn't care or would make his dad aware of it too soon. Not worth it. Just Jenna then. His stomach turned and twisted, sweat beaded on his forehead. He wiped it away, his fingers leaving a trail as they swiped across his screen. [i]I’m going away on a trip…for a while. I understand if that makes things difficult[/i] -Send- [i]I love you[/i] -Send- [i]Sorry[/i] Andrew’s eyes went wide when he saw the three moving dots appear. He quickly powered down the phone rather than change it to airplane mode. The pit of anxiety grew at wondering whatever it was she had said, but pressed against the others in his row, that anxiety turned instead to the discomfort of long haul flights. His long frame scrunched itself in a futile attempt at comfort and he dozed, off and on, for the long journey. [hr][hr] The island he eventually made his way to had it’s own store of unwanted adventure. It was a different kind of chill than he had grown up with, but even as it bit at him, he had pushed on. His anxiety had grown considerably over the past day and a half. He had about a dozen unread messages and emails, the preview showing him glances of the hell that waited for him when he finally would sit down and swallow the frog. But not yet, he kept it all at bay by pushing the task away until he was in camp. That’s what he told himself, over and over. His hand kept reaching into the thick felt pocket he had stashed Minthe in, fingers brushing against it as a reminder that she was still there. Andrew looked forward to getting something appropriate to replant her into. Task number one, and then he would finally read what his father, girlfriend, and stepmother had sent him. All the footprints at the entrance told him there was in fact life here, though he hadn’t seen a soul since he began his hike many hours prior. It was still early, though he had always been an early bird; a blessing, maybe a curse, of growing up on a farm. The fingerprint reader was easily found, as Demeter had said it would be. He hesitated, though. His posture bent in on himself with one last attempt at deciding if this was really what he was going to do. Andrew pressed his thumb to the reader and trudged through the gate as it opened to him. Returning home would mean his mother’s anger for sure, and that continued to worry him more than anything else. His eyes went wide as he realized just how much there was here. He had expected to see some cabins, not what appeared to be a giant arena in the distance. Or the massive buildings to his right and left. The din of people gathering became readily apparent the closer he drew, a scattering of people milled about. His throat bobbed and he slouched more, an instinctual response. Andrew forged ahead, his head down, eyes in front of him as he sought out the warmth of the building ahead. Much as he had his entire life before, he avoided making eye contact with anyone as heat pleasantly blasted away the deep chill he had acquired on his journey. It was louder, but he was greeted too with the aroma of a hot meal. He licked his lips, chapped and rough.Minthe had to come first, even if the smell brought with it the best kind of homesickness. He scanned the buffet line for what he had in mind. Perfect. He loped off quickly towards what seemed to be a juice bar and grabbed a glass tumbler. A few moments later he was trotting back outside and clearing snow away to get to the cold ground beneath. Placing the glass gently to the side, he dug his fingers in, past the grass and frozen top layer to scoop out a bit of good soil. It was good soil, he knew it, could tell the same way he could smell how good breakfast was. It was rich and it would nurture Minthe back to what she was before their travels. He pressed it lightly into the glass and wiped his hand quickly against his jacket and pants. Back inside, even with the tantalizing smell of breakfast, he distractedly picked out an empty end of a long table and sat, his pack sliding off his shoulder to the ground with a slight thud. Andrew set the now soil filled glass on the table in front of him and carefully fished the vial from his pocket. He delicately plucked the thin plant with one hand and set a small indentation into the soil with his other. With little urging on his part, the roots sought out the soil and helped it along the rest of the way until it had secured itself. He could do more with nurturing her later, but fow now, she had what she needed. He smiled to himself, a small thing that pulled at both corners of his lips. A quick sigh of contentment before everything else came back on what he needed to do. He looked around the hall again quickly, wondering if anyone had noticed what he had done. Would it be weird here too? His phone buzzed in his pocket and his spirits sank again. Right, time to get it over with, before he ate. No more pushing it off. Andrew unlocked the device and opened his texts. It was a dozen from Jenna alone. Increasingly frantic messages until the last one, sent a few hours ago. It was full of misspellings and words he struggled to piece together. She’d been drunk. [i]Donut ducking matter were done[/i] Oh. Right, well that was probably fair. He felt himself contract anyways, his heart heavy and stomach sick. He could read the rest later. He saw the notifications for the message with his dad, the emails that raged in his unread notifications. Maybe they’d all be over it by the time he went home. Whenever that was. He slumped down onto one elbow, the coat uncomfortably warm already, but his previous hunger gone. Instead his fingers danced over the small leaves that responded to each movement, unfurling and growing little by little with each ministration.