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[indent][indent] [color=#667c0c]"Woah. Ok, breathe,"[/color][color=#ffffff] Wes said, his voice calm as he placed a reassuring hand on Rae’s shoulder, gently halting her rising panic. Rae startled slightly at the contact but did as instructed. Inhale for four, hold for two, exhale for six. Once. Twice. The frantic buzzing in her chest gradually eased from a wildfire to a more manageable simmer.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Okay. Breathing,”[/color][color=#ffffff] she said, her cheeks still flushed with lingering embarrassment. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“Sorry. New place and all….”[/color][color=#ffffff] If she had been alone—just her and her squeaky-wheeled suitcase, and the folded map tucked in her pocket—Rae likely would have been fine. Maybe even excited. She had prepared herself for “new” the moment she decided to come to Camp Athens. So, she would have handled it the way she always did: quietly, systematically, breaking everything down into solvable problems.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]But then Wes appeared. And suddenly, it wasn’t just new: it was the old crashing headlong into the new. Old that came in the form of that familiar, lopsided grin and the guiding hand on her shoulder, just like back in high school when everything was a maze only he knew how to navigate. It made her chest tighten in ways she hadn’t braced for. Seeing him here, in this impossible place, meant she couldn’t neatly compartmentalize. She couldn’t pretend she was a blank slate walking into camp without history or baggage.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]With Wes around, she wasn’t just “Rae the unflappable engineering student.” She was also “Rae who set off a smoke bomb because he dared her to” and “Rae who maybe liked him a little too much,” all possibly tangled up in some divine allure she still didn’t fully understand.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]It was strange, overwhelming, and utterly [/color][color=#ffffff][i]distracting[/i][/color][color=#ffffff].[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Regardless, Wes laughed and rolled his eyes. [/color][color=#667c0c]"Alright, if it’ll help you not freak out, I’ll help you guys find your cabins. Camp really isn’t that complicated," [/color][color=#ffffff]he assured them. His eyes drifted toward Idris. [/color][color=#667c0c]"The cabins are all furnished. Weird camp magic I can’t explain, but they’re always outfitted to suit their owner. Everything you would want should be inside… Unless the Gods are being dicks or something. It’s possible."[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Everything I would want?”[/color][color=#ffffff] Rae repeated quietly, her brow furrowing as the idea took root. She pictured typical summer camp cabins from brochures with their cramped bunk beds, wobbly chairs, maybe a battered desk shoved in a corner. But Wes made it sound like the cabins were personalized. Tailored. That changed everything.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Her mind, against her will, flashed to her various makeshift workshops over the years: cluttered basements, borrowed garages, university lab corners. Her tools organized how she liked. The scent of solder and machine oil in the air. A workbench marked with burns and coffee stains, chaotic yet perfectly functional. Those were the places where she felt most like herself.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Would the magic actually give her that? A place where the world’s noise dimmed down enough that she could breathe and build and tinker until her brain untangled itself? Or would it give her something ridiculous, like an over-the-top forge with lava rivers because Hephaestus’s kids were “supposed” to be born hammer-in-hand, ready to blacksmith a suit of armour at five years old? She wasn’t that girl. She didn’t want to be. Rae wanted a space where she could strip down an old appliance for parts and not feel like someone was watching over her shoulder, waiting for something more….grand. Even if she could easily go through with whatever task she was given. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Catching herself nervously chewing her lip, she straightened her posture. She was getting ahead of herself, building expectations she knew could easily disappoint. Whatever awaited her, it had to be better than the cramped apartment she’d shared with her mom, surely. [/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Guess we’ll see what camp thinks I want,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Rae said finally, a nervous laugh slipping out as she looked between Wes and Idris. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“If it knows me at all, it’ll probably just be a mini-fridge that actually keeps ice cream frozen. Anything more is just wishful thinking.” [/color][color=#ffffff]She meant it as a joke, but her heart beat a little faster at the thought of stepping into Cabin 36 and discovering what the magic believed she deserved.[/color]

[color=#667c0c]"Um."[/color][color=#ffffff] Wes studied the map again, then gestured toward a path leading south. [/color][color=#667c0c]"Your cabin is pretty close," [/color][color=#ffffff]he told Idris with a faint smile. [/color][color=#667c0c]"Rae, yours isn’t far down that path," [/color][color=#ffffff]he added, pointing toward a path branching beside Idris’s cabin.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]With a soft sigh, Wes leaned over and picked up Rae’s bag. [/color][color=#667c0c]"Alright, Lewski. Lead the way."[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Idris sighed as he looked at Wes and then back to Rae.  [/color][color=#d87093]“You said the cabins come complete with everything we want.  I know I would want a full kitchen to cook in, and food to cook,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Idris paused briefly before continuing, [/color][color=#d87093]“if I have the food, I have to offer you something to eat to thank both of you properly for helping.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Rae blinked, caught off guard by Wes’s casual order and Idris’s generous offer.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“Food bribes already? Guess camp etiquette’s not so different from college,” [/color][color=#ffffff]she replied lightly. Under normal circumstances, accepting a dinner invitation from a near-stranger might have felt awkward, but Idris’s sincerity made it seem natural. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but she believed she could trust him.[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“I’m not gonna say no to a kitchen,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Rae admitted.[/color][color=#3b9ae1] “Half the reason I survived finals was because my roommate knew how to cook. But maybe we should see what our cabins actually look like before planning anything. For all I know, mine really will be that mini-fridge full of ice cream… and some leftover pizza at best.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]She tossed her curls as she glanced from Wes to Idris. [/color][color=#3b9ae1]“Since yours is closer, why don’t we check yours out first?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Assuming both were in agreement, she took a small but confident step toward the path leading to Idris’s cabin. She glanced over her shoulder, curiosity lighting her expression as she asked the question Idris’s offer had naturally brought to mind:[/color]

[color=#3b9ae1]“So… you’ve got a lot of experience in the kitchen, I take it?”[/color]

[/indent][/indent][hr]Location: Near Camp Entrance  
Interactions: Wes ([@Mjolnir]), Idris ([@NoriWasHere]) 
Mentions: N/A