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@KazAlkemi@Achronum@kittyluna45@Morose@Trainerblue192

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“There is some paper in the office. Just get me the lists at dinner. If you want a broom, there should be one somewhere around here. If not, I’ll pick one up. I am definitely not getting you one that is gold-plated or whatever. You’ll get a normal broom from the general store. If whatever you want is specialized enough, I might not be able to bring it with me tomorrow.” Dobbs was looking irritated, and went back to focusing on his food. He did snort at the water sports comment, which Em noticed and raised an eyebrow about, but she didn’t call attention to it.

Em then gestured to the middle of the table, where the paper and pencil she had placed there earlier still sat. So far is a short list of trail markers and coffee.

"Aster, my friend, I know it is but a lowly piece of paper, but I have started a list.” She turned her attention to Demi. Em didn’t know him except for the bit of time they spent learning how to use the radio. "If we are going for gods, I claim Dionysus.” Em sipped her water. She saw how Nancy recoiled at the water sports comments. "He does not mean that literally... Well, Aster doesn’t. I don’t know if he does or not.”

Dobbs finished his breakfast, cleared his place, and waved to the group as he left the building, back out to the roof of one of the cabins. As soon as Dobbs was gone, Em shifted and sat up a little more; she had been leaning into Marco.

"I’ve got a bit of my homemade wine with me. If anyone is interested, tonight after he leaves. I don’t have enough for too many nights, so we have to be frugal if we want to have some after the kids show up. I also doubt I’d have enough to share with other people more than our little group. Anyone down?”

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Zeke frowned at Demi’s idea of a joke. ”Oh, ha ha, very funny.” Zeke rolled his eyes and turned back to his bacon. He glanced over at Aster after he confirmed he had found cleaning supplies. ”Alright, do you want to divide and conquer or split up cleaning duties as we go from room to room?” Depending on how much they had for cleaning supplies, they would probably have to tag-team it.

Zeke was completely unaware of the sexual jokes and comments floating around the table. He was starved, and when Nancy declared she was no longer hungry, he eyed her plate like he was Captain Jack Sparrow looking at the last bottle of rum. He glanced at Nancy as he slowly pulled her plate closer to him.

”Do you want to go see if they have anything for archery after this? I can come with you,” he offered, piling the remnants of Nancy’s food onto his own.

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Aster finished the food on his plate neatly, laying his fork across it and dabbing away any potential mess from his mouth with their crude paper napkins. He decided not to engage with Dobbs’s clear and obvious lack of style and flair as the man walked out. “Yes, thank you for pointing that out, Em. Please add 6 pints of muphy's oil soap, 3 pints of janitor in a drum, 3 bottles of Ajax, cleaning towels, two new brooms and dustpans, two new mops and two mop buckets with three mop heads not just two, and the last two weeks newspapers. That should get us started nicely, if our favorite errand boy can get us the name brand. Generic just won't cut it for a problem this difficult.” Aster drank down his drinks and considered Zeke's question, flipping open the compact he kept on himself and taking the time to appreciate how even after crying, he still looked so good. How others went through their days, Aster would never know - how could they not be crushed by how pretty he was?

“We have a decent supply to start with. I'd say we focus on the cabin we're sleeping in and then we can come do this as Dobbs makes the other cabins livable. We'll have to share some supplies so I think you hit the higher spaces and I'll start on beds and frames and then we can tackle windows, walls, and floors together.” Aster snapped the compact shut, tucking it away and picking up his dishes. “Marco, lovely as always. Zeke, don't enjoy his cooking too long; otherwise, you may have to nap instead of working and I won't permit your food coma to interfere with our task. And those of you braving the wilds, please do not bring a bear back to camp. I will scream and a startled bear is a violent bear.” Aster dropped his dishes off at the kitchen, grabbed the cleaning supplies he'd salvaged, and popped his head back into the dining area.

“Em, mark me down this evening. I doubt I won't need a nightcap to feel someone settled about the bugs in this place.” Aster called before heading out towards the cabin.

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Demi shrugged at Em's comment about whether or not he'd meant the sexual acts. He would neither confirm nor deny his involvement in all that. He did however raise an eyebrow at Em's confession about having some bootleg wine with her. He looked back towards where Dobbs had left to ensure he was gone and away from earshot before speaking. ”And here I thought I'd be the only fun one around here. Stole a few beers before gettin’ here. Drank one on the ride here but I still have enough to share a bit. I am all for a bit of late night debauchery.” He elbowed Zeke's arm before placing it around him and pulling him in a bit. ”Archery huh? That's that one dude, Apollo right? Guess that makes you sunshine and rainbows.” Demi joked.

”I'm fine helping where it's needed…or doing nothing at all. Though if I had to choose one of these godly beings I suppose…Hermes? Big fan of running. Pretty sure he's like a fast dude of travel so yeah?” Demi finished off his plate, snagging a piece of bacon off of Zeke's now secondary plate that he'd stolen from Nancy. ”So sundown party then? Marco, you wanna whip us up some late night snacks to eat while we party it up? Since we ‘should stay inside’ and all that. I mean really, a supernatural killer? Then again…not sure I want to take my chances and see if its real.”

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"We claiming Greek gods? I dunno if I want to claim the god of cooking. I'd rather be Aphrodite~ God of Love, because well... I do love my lady~" Marco chuckled a bit at quite a few of them declaring themselves gods at that point. He leaned over to peck Em on the cheek and chuckled a bit as she brought up the wine she had brought with her. He had known about it, but was surprised that she was offering it up to everyone else there.

"Aster means sports you do on the water. Like swimming, diving and the like." Marco was sorry that Nancy had already been put off her food by that point, but it seemed everyone had taken what Aster and the others had said more sexually. However that topic seemed to be brushed away quickly by talk of cleaning and setting up the camp. He already knew what he was doing, and he was happy with his plans.

"I can do some midnight snacks for tonight. Probably something crunchy and crispy. And deep fried if possible. Oooh maybe some fries. Fries are always amazing while drinking." Marco chuckled a bit at that as he put his final bite of quiche into his mouth and sighed a bit. He still needed to come up with a list of food he needed, and any other supplies.

"If anyone has requests for meals, do let me know sooner rather than later. I'm not going to spoil anyone else but us." Marco chuckled softly, relaxing more as he sipped his water. He really was excited for that night, as it seemed they were all excited to celebrate together and get to know one another better. That was a good sign in his mind. A good start to the summer.

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@KazAlkemi@Achronum@kittyluna45@Morose@Trainerblue192

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“Beer sounds good too. Yeah, after Dobbs leaves,” she told Demi. And so breakfast ended. Em rolled her eyes, and wrote down what Aster had requested. She did not mark it down as exactly as he would have liked, but she got everything. She leaned into Marco and kissed him back.

“I’ll help with dishes,” Em said. She stood up and gathered the dishes, though these plates were all paper and would just get tossed, the flatware would be washed, and Marco had mentioned that the plates needed some scrubbing. She could at least help with the dishes made for making breakfast. “Mmm, fries are good, but usually only when fresh. I’ll dig around the kitchen a bit with you if you want and help make some meal plans,” she offered. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and there is makings for smores.”

Everyone had the tasks they wanted to do, or help with. It was likely three of the guys would be dedicated to cleaning. They had a week, that was plenty of time to get a lot done if they divided and conquered where it made sense, and helped each other where needed. With Dobbs on the more technical and manual side of labor, he was in charge of making sure all that was taken care of. If it fell short no one could blame them. She looked at the list and wondered if he’d let them add alcohol to the secret list.

Dishes gathered from anyone done eating, Em dumped the plates in the trash and the flatware into the sink and started to help clean up after the breakfast that had been lovingly made by her favorite person.

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Marco had been glad that Em was helping him with cleaning up. Sure, the plates they had been eating on were paper and were going to go in the trash, but all the utensils, pans, and the flat top still needed to be cleaned. Not to mention the piles of those awful plastic plates and bowls that were going to be for use for the camp that clearly hadn’t been cleaned up after being hauled up in whatever vehicle Dobbs drove.

”So, what’s your assessment on the three we don’t know so far? Aster told me his earlier, and well… you know how he is. I want your opinion, the one I really trust.” He looked over to Em, offering her a smile as they both stood there with their elbows in soapy water.

Em hummed thinking about the question. “Well, I only have an opinion on two of them so far. First, Demi, he seems to be head over heels for the other guy, Zeke right. He was diligent about taking notes and asking questions during the training on the radio. I was impressed. He is a bit of a joker. Probably not the most serious person in the lot, that’s for sure. Seems harmless.” She shrugged slightly at the last part of her assessment about Demi. “Nancy, I like her. She’s got a bit of a dark humor going. Willing to do some dumb and dangerous things, I think. Though she seems a bit fragile about other things. Definitely do not talk to her about sex. She’s very anti the whole thing. She wants nothing to do with it, which I guess more power to her. But she seems attached as hell to her brother. They got caught with a B&E to make a music video.”

”I knew asking you would be a better result. Aster couldn’t even get Nancy’s name right. Love him, but…” Marco sighed as he thought for a moment. ”Aster did say he helped get Demi and Zeke together, and I had noticed that Demi is very… kinky. As for Nancy, I’ll keep what you said in mind. No sex talk around her. I did notice that with breakfast. Poor girl. I’ll try to have some snacks ready in case she gets hungry.”

Marco fished out some utensils and set them to the side and thought. ”You think we can survive a whole week before everyone else gets here?”

Em snorted at the comment about Aster. That guy was as self centered as they came. But he was nice to Marco, which was the only reason she had ever given him a chance. If he had been rude to Marco, especially if he had been even the slightest bit racist she would have decked him.

“At least Aster is predictable,” she said with a slight shrug. “Oh, is he? I noticed the hanky, but you know the code better than me. Is he into water sports?” Em did not like water sports herself. That was definitely not one of her kinks. She was happy to share Marco, and happy with their little things, but that one was gross. Unhygienic.

“As for surviving the week, probably. I don’t think Dobbs was serious. I think he was just telling us an old story. I don’t believe in ghosts. As for us as a group, I think tonight will be the judge of it. If we can survive tonight we’ll be fine.”

”Oh, he’s not into that. Thank goodness. Neither am I, for the record, Em. But apparently, he’s as good as hiding some things as I am~” Marco leaned over to whisper to her and then nipped her ear teasingly.

”Ah, I more meant do you think that the six of us will get along. I don’t believe in the ghost stories either. Though I’m pretty sure grammy would be upset to hear that. She believed in all that hoodoo voodoo stuff. Dad didn’t have the patience for it, so we didn’t keep any of the stuff she sent. Of course she wasn’t a huge fan of me… y’know the whole out of wedlock thing.” Marco rolled his eyes a bit at that as he fished out the spatula he had been using and set it aside.

Em giggled a little at the ear nip, leaning into Marco. She wrinkled her nose at the mention of Marco’s gran. ”Her loss,” she sniffed. “Oh, I think we should be fine. The camp is big enough that if we need space from each other we can. It is only a week anyway.” She rinsed off her hands from the soapy water and started pulling down the plastic plates that needed attention. She carefully inspected them. “Are we sure these aren’t a lost cause? This feels kind of gross and sticky.” She held the plate out to Marco.

Marco picked up the plate and then narrowed his eyes a bit. He ran his hand over them and frowned. ”...Fuck.” He knew the feeling well. Growing up poor and using things for eons until they fell apart had taught him this feeling well. ”They’re shot. We need to put them on the list, because there is no way we’re feeding the kids on these once they get here. And no way there’s a budget for paper plates for that long.”

“I’ll add it to the list.” She gave Marco a quick kiss on his cheek and went back into the dining area. As she walked she wiped her hands off on her pants so they were dry. At the table she took the paper and pen she had left on the table and wrote down “plates and -”

“Wait, how’s the flatware? Is it sticky too? Should I add it to the list?” She hollered over her shoulder into the kitchen.

”The flatware was fine. They apparently did buy that in metal… but anything plastic I would probably throw out. Ugh…” Marco went to check on the cooking utensils. He pulled out some plastic spatulas as well as some whisks and tossed them in the bins.

”Please add cooking utensils to the list. Fucking hell… too much of this shit was plastic.” Marco groaned as he finished chucking the wasted things in the bins.

“Got it!” She wrote down several specific things she knew Marco liked to have in his kitchen, and then added a generic ‘cookware’ line. After that she rejoined Marco back in the kitchen.

“That bad?” She went over to him and wrapped her arms around him, and rubbed him gently. “Are you good to make it through the day at least?”

”There are enough metal tools for just me, but if there are a few of us cooking, there’s going to need to be more. I just… ugh… there are no good whisks. I might have to wait to make gumbo. Might do that mac and cheese, if there’s good cheese in there. Ugh.” Marco nuzzled in close and kissed her on top of her head.

“You'll figure it out.” Em smiled, pressing into the nuzzle and kiss. “You're a brilliant chef. I'm sure whatever you make will be amazing even if you have to use a fork to wisk.” She pulled back from the embrace and stood up taller to kiss him.

“Now, chef, what's next, or should I call you Aphrodite?” The smile on her face was that of the cat with the canary.

”Mmmm call me that when we’re alone~” He grinned and tugged her in close and kissed her back lovingly and lifted her up a bit and put her on the counter. ”For now, I think I should try to clean more of the pots and pans before lunch. Care to help me or do you want to run off?”

“Which one? Or both?” And we are currently alone.” Em grinned, her tone teasing. “I can stay a bit longer. But I don't wanna put off clearing some of those trails too long. It'll be tough work.” On the counter she kicked her feet a little before wrapping them around Marco.

”Aphrodite, my love~ And thank you. Pots and pans are no joke.” He chuckled as he leaned in to kiss her once more. He was of two minds, one telling him to just sneak in some alone time with his beloved before that night, but the other reminded him that the kitchen probably really hadn’t been cleaned in so long, so, that one won out. ”Does mean we’ll have to let go of one another and go back to cleaning.”

Em nodded, she was happy to call him Aphrodite if that made him happy. She did stick out her lower lip in disappointment at having to let go and continue cleaning. She kissed him one more time, lingering, and biting his lip gently. “Alright, very well.”

He shivered a bit as she bit his lip, almost changing his mind but once more remembering that this camp had last been used well before he had been born. He nuzzled Em, and then gently helped her off the counter. ”So do you want to clean, or do you want to collect?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Collect.” Cleaning was fine, but the elbow grease this place needed was more than she wanted to do. She wanted to save that energy for the work outside.

Marco nodded and then went to start filling up the sink once more with clean soapy water. ”Alright then. Sounds good to me. Thank you love.”

“Of course.” She hopped off the counter and started gathering things for Marco to wash.

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Zeke inhaled the rest of his food, minus one piece of bacon, and waved Aster’s concern off. He was a growing boy, and if he was expected to do manual labour all afternoon, he needed the carb and protein load. Zeke finished off his meal by drinking his entire glass of juice. He sighed and wiped his mouth off on his sleeve.

”Fantastic meal, Marco,” he said, thanking him again before he glanced at Demi. ”Iris is rainbows. Apollo is sunshine, medicine, and music. I think there’s something with cows, too.” Zeke shrugged it off. ”But I got his sun tattooed on my arm and then the moon on my other. His twin is Artemis, and the moon is her symbol,” Zeke said, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt to showcase the two tattoos to Demi. He looked over at Nancy and smiled, remembering the day he got them.

”Anyways. We should get going,” he said and stood, looking at Demi and Nancy to see if Nancy wanted Zeke to join her, and then to see where Demi was going.

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Did it help to hear from Em and Marco that the boys - that Aster - didn't literally mean water sports? Yes. She didn't know what those were, but she knew enough to feel uncomfortable. As for Demi... she was fairly certain he meant what he said. So as Zeke started tugging her plate towards him, she didn't protest. She didn't begrudge people wanting to talk about these sort of things - they were adults, it was a common interest, she understood. She just didn't want to be part of it herself. And didn't want to think about the things her brother was part of.

She wasn't really one for drinking, either. Her doctor had told her not to have more than a few drinks at a time, if she ever did partake, due to interactions with her seizure medication. But even if she hadn't had the medical excuse, she still just didn't find it interesting. She didn't like having her mind clouded, her senses hazed. And it wasn't lost on her either that the others probably thought she was some sort of boring, stuck up prude. But that was fine. She wasn't here to make friends. She tended to either keep people at arm's length or feel about them intensely and fiercely.

As for the topic of Greek gods and camp names... Nancy shrugged slightly. "I've always liked the Roman gods a little more. Call me whatever you want." She'd always found camp names silly at camps she'd gone to as kids - she remembered a counselor she'd had at one point named Tigger, and another named Pooh. She'd been eight, and even then, it'd felt like a bit much. At Zeke's invitation to go check out the archery range, she nodded, a smile ghosting her lips. She could easily spend hours in the range, getting everything mended and in proper condition - but given the way things were going at camp, they'd be lucky if any of the equipment had simply been stored properly. But passing the hours, mending arrows... she could think of worse things to do.

"Mm, yeah, let's motor," she agreed. "Thanks again, Marco." The food had been good - really good. She didn't doubt either that her brother would be more than ready to have seconds. "Are you coming with us? Have you ever been to a range before?" she asked Demi, crossing her arms. A series of images flashed through her eyes as she left the cabin, the ground crunching under her feet as she headed outside. Demi goofing off, putting an apple on his head, and standing by the targets. Demi putting a blindfold on himself and letting arrows fly. Demi screaming DON'T SHOOT seconds before Zeke was about to loose an arrow, startling him. "If you're coming, you have to stay behind the line. And you can't do anything stupid."

”Nah, you two got the range covered. I'll see if the camp diva needs any help with the water area. Gotta always remember the buddy system amiright? Maybe later you two can show me the range.” Demi gave the pair a quick peace sign before running off after Aster, looking for his twink ass before finally calling out to him. ”Oye, wait up mate.”

Aster paused just past the threshold of the main building, the door still propped open, and gave Demi a confused look. “Not the one I expected, but very well. We have plenty of work to do. Shocking you'd volunteer. I expected your more energetic half.” Aster waited a beat for Demi to get closer before shoving the door all the way open and stepping out. “Glad to see you aren't hissing and spitting at me now that you realize I'm not interested in the retriever.”

Demi puppeted along with his hand as Aster spoke. ”Be glad anyone's helping at all. Everyone seems to have their own thing to do at camp, I'm just here to avoid jail so I don't really care what I'm doing. He is a bit like a golden retriever though isn't he?” Demi looked behind him over his shoulder at where Zeke had been, imagining him with floppy golden puppy ears before following along behind Aster.

Aster mimed gagging as Demi stared with heart eyes back towards his dearly beloved. “Obviously, in much the same way you're as friendly as a stray cat.” Aster sighed, steering them towards the cabins. “We're all here to avoid jail time, since Dobbs is ready to slap cuffs on us at the drop of a hat and all that. I'd only expect someone to help with the elbow grease bits of this - no one wants to sleep on the filth they left us; otherwise, we may as well go to jail. It'd be the same thing.”

”Certainly not the same. You'd be well loved in jail.” Demi patted Aster's back before entering the cabins. He expected the worst, filth as far as the eye could see and cobwebs galore from the way Aster went on about this place. But when he opened it it seemed…normal. Abandoned sure, maybe a bit dusty, but definitely didn't seem like a monumental task. Thank fuck.

“I am beloved everywhere I go. It just comes with being the best.” Aster corrected Demi, handing him the duster and glass cleaner. “Since you can actually reach the ceiling and I cannot, I will be starting with these beds, you'll be starting with the cobwebs and dust, and then we'll meet in the middle for the walls and floors.” Aster directed, grabbing rags and chemicals and all but attacking the filthy mattresses.

”Aye aye your twinkness. I'll go high you go low.” Demi offered Aster a faux salute before grabbing the duster and beginning to detangle and remove the cobwebs from up high. If this was all he had to do this would be a piece of cake.

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The morning hours started to shift closer to the noon hours. It warmed up, the sun getting higher into the sky, and reflecting off the lake. Birds sang, and insects made their noises. It was a lovely summer day. The only noise that didn’t belong was the sound of hammering from Dobbs on the roof of a cabin. He was sweating, but work was getting done, and that was important to him.

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Emily left the kitchen, giving Marco a goodbye kiss, and headed out to the shed near the water, where there were supposedly rakes, shovels, and implements of destruction. She took a deep breath of air, looking out at the lake. Em smiled. It was beautiful. Yeah, it sucked why they were there. But as far as she was concerned, this was the life. She could do this all summer. She probably was alone in that opinion, at least compared to the others.

Inside the shed, she found some old rusty tools. There were various gardening and general forest maintenance tools, which were perfect. The tools themselves weren’t in the best shape. For example, the pruning shears were rusted so badly that she couldn’t open them. She grabbed a bow rake, a shovel, a tree trimmer, the saw type. She put all of that in the wheelbarrow, which thankfully had a solid rubber tire and didn’t require air; if it did, it probably would have been flat, and headed back out toward the trails to start cleaning up.

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Marco watched as Emily headed off, waving to her lovingly as she did so. He had been thankful for her company, as it had made cleaning up the breakfast mess and taking care of some of the cleaning pretty easy. However, he was pissed at the prospect of having to go without proper plates for a few more meals, as well as having to replace a few other pieces of proper cookware. Had no one done a real look around or inventory of the place before they arrived, or was it expected to be all on them? Typical. Make the 'delinquents' do all the dirty work.

He hated that he still stung from that remark. In the eyes of the law he was. To everyone that didn't really knew him, he was. But god, it hurt. His father had looked so... broken when he had posted bail for Marco, having hoped that being in Canada would have been better than being in the States.

He shook his head as he looked around the kitchen and then started to look through the cabinets, fridges, and storage. He was happy to find a lot of shelf stable things, pasta, beans, ect... and some stuff in the fridge. There was enough there to make homemade mac and cheese, so that was lunch settled. He'd get that started up before diving into cleaning up more of the area. What did make him sad was the lack of spices. What was it with white people and spices! Tons of salt and pepper, but nothing else. Where was the cumin? The cayenne? Where was the goddamn red pepper flakes! No spice at all. What a goddamn shame. He was going to have to make gumbo another night.

He walked over to where the list was and started furiously putting down all the spices he wanted and needed to make any sort of proper meal. He would make do for the day, but it was a shame that everything was going to be so bland unless he added Tabasco sauce to everything. He soon finished adding spices, and a few other food items he knew he wanted to the list and turned back to the kitchen. It was time to start up lunch, and keep on cleaning.

It felt endless. Every mattress needed detailed and thorough attention, every edge with what he hoped was only mildew and not mold, every bed frame showing signs of around the edges and along the bottoms, and weeds poking up through the floorboards. Aster never sweated so much in his life; he could hear his pores suffocating, he could feel his skin shriveling, he could see the nauseating mix of bleach and grime on his hands seeping into fingernails and it took everything in him not to vomit. He gagged a few times but managed to keep the contents of his stomach exactly where they should be, rather than adding to the mess he had to clean up. It was about halfway through the mess and Aster wiped the sweat from his forehead and stared forlornly at the remaining mattresses. “None of us could have done anything serious enough to deserve this torture. I’ll need to spend a month at the spa to recover from this.” Aster whined, for once glad nothing reflective was around. He probably looked terrible, or at least as terrible as perfect could get.

Demi on the other hand wasn't having a half bad time. Having pulled out his hanky and wrapped it around his face to help keep the dust and cobwebs from falling on his nose and mouth, his sunglasses providing the eye protection in lieu of anything else. ”Wouldn’t you prune up if you spent a whole month in a spa? I feel like that's worse than a little sweat…” Demi looked over at Aster, clearing his throat. ”A lot of sweat. Is this like your first time doing manual labor?”

“Do I look like someone who engages in manual labor? No, I don’t. I don’t surround myself with misery and disappointment on the daily either and yet here I am.” Aster waved at the mostly functional cabin. “There are people meant for this work and are happy to receive payment for it and I am more than happy to offer such compensation so I can focus on the more important things in life, like myself.” Aster scoffed, returning to scrub at the side of the mattress he was working on. He wasn’t even certain if he was actually cleaning it so much as just moving the dirt around considering how quickly the cleaning rags went from white to black, but it still made him feel better.

“And I certainly wouldn’t prune. I know how to manage my skin. Have you never had a long stay at a spa resort? They are divine places, let me tell you. Once we’re out of this, you and your golden retriever boyfriend ought to find some time to enjoy one.”

”Can't say that I have. Rents aren't the kind of people who exactly give their only son a spa day. I mean really man, do I look like the kind of person who's had a spa day? Closest I got was a cold bag of frozen peas over my eye to treat a bruise.” Demi leaned against the wall, fiddling with the duster in his hand as he shook the contents outside of a window. ”Don't even think I could afford one.”

“Your parents clearly don’t love you.” Aster plopped the mattress he was working on halfway off the frame, scrubbing down the metal and sneezing as dust and gods knew what else came off. “I suppose I’ll bring you along on a trip. You can learn how people ought to be treated and aspire to my heights one day.”

Demi wasn't sure how to take Aster's first comment. Was it simply an observation or was he merely rubbing it in? He got the same tinge of sadness that was usually reserved for coming home to an empty house with a singular note on the fridge for him. ”Your treat I hope. You could show me all the wonders of a cucumber on my eyelids or whatever they do there.” He was about to close up the window when he realized they may need to air out the cabin. Not only from all the dust they were kicking up but the stale air from being closed for so long.

“Obviously. They’re excellent for your eyelids. Such an overlooked portion of the body - keeps my gorgeous eyes well maintained so they deserve a delightful treat as much as anything else. Then, a lovely deep tissue massage - may hurt a little at first but the relaxation after is well worth a little pain in the meantime. You certainly seem like someone who could benefit from that.” Aster laughed before sighing. “I would kill to go lounge at a pool right now; a drink in hand, a book in the other, letting the masses enjoy the blessing that is me in the sun.”

”There's a lake here, probably great for you skin given we're at a Volcanic site. All those minerals probably soaked into the water or something. We could always take a small break and go for a swim, relax in the waters a bit.”

Aster rolled his eyes. “Half of what the experience is showing off, silly boy. Such a small audience and all scattered about like ants! Though, I suppose gazing on me would be refreshing for you all…” Aster considered, trailing off as he flipped the idea around in his head.

Demi didn't need more of a response than that. Bandana already taken off his face as he tied it around his forehead and placed his sunglasses atop of it. He took his shirt off and hung it off a bed post that had already been cleaned. ”Then why not go get the others? I think we could all use a little cool off before we continue, and it's been long enough since breakfast that we won't get cramps.”

Aster sighed forlornly. “If only. Our warden would certainly demand us return to work or send us to prison. And I can't risk denying the world my visage for as long as they want me locked away.” Aster gave Demi a calculating look as he removed his shirt. “Hm, 53 out of 100 I suppose.”

”Suit yourself. I'm gonna go find Marco and Zeke and see if they want to go swim instead. I've got your high spots so you can handle micromamaging the scum in the seams if you'd like.” Demi shrugged as he made his way towards the cabin door. ”Also a 53? Really?”

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Zeke stood on the porch with his sister after eating way too much for breakfast. However, that meant he had energy to work. Zeke clapped his hands and rubbed them together. ”Okay, Nanc. Where to first?”

"Aren’t we going to the range? Unless you had something else in mind?” Nancy asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. "So far all of Dobbs’ legends are a bust. The only thing Em and I found when we went looking earlier was overgrowth. So if you wanted to go find some dead cultists or something, we’re out of luck. I am itching to use my cards, though. Maybe they’ll point us in the right direction and this place is something more than just another rundown summer camp waiting to finally be consumed by the woods.”

”Yes…I just have no idea where that is. I was wondering if we should bring supplies with us if the targets need revamping. I wonder if there is a lawnmower or something, if everything is overgrown,” Zeke said, looking for a garden shed of some kind. ”Why don’t you go get your cards? We could do a pull once we are there. Set the right intention or whatever it is. Maybe find some ghosts while we’re at it,” Zeke said, joking along with his sister.

She laughed a bit, nodding. She didn’t really know where the range was either. And as her brother knew, she could be a bit directionally challenged - there was a reason she didn’t navigate for them on road trips. "Oh, I am fully assuming the worst,” Nancy admitted. "If we can even find the range, I doubt much of it is salvageable. If there’s a single bow that doesn’t need restringing and even just one quiver’s worth of arrows, I’ll be thrilled.” At the suggestion to grab her cards, though, Nancy smiled mischeviously, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the thin, well-worn and well-loved deck. "Got ‘em already. Kinda wanna ask about the newbies with us. Em told me some stuff, but I wanna know what the spirits have to say. Maybe we can ask about Dobbs and if he used to be fun, or if his joy was murdered along with the previous campers.”

Zeke snorted. ”Of course you have them.” Zeke picked a direction and started walking, hoping they would come along the range, or at least something they could turn into a range. ”I mean, if you had to deal with teenagers all the time, I’d probably have the joy sucked out of me, too.” Especially if they were all like this group. There were some pretty intense personalities.

Zeke grew silent as they walked. ”Do you think they would have any, I dunno, relationship advice?”

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "You and Demi having problems already? It’s been, what - six minutes? Do I need to kill him?”

Zeke laughed and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. ”No, no. Save the killing for another day. It's just… I dunno the first guy I'm dating where everyone knows. I don't want to mess it up, I guess.”

Nancy knew all about Zeke's past relationships. The public ones with girls and the not so public ones with the guys. Always on their end and never on his. She was his sounding board and personal counselor. Much like he always tried to be for her.

She studied her brother for a good, long moment. Truthfully, she didn’t know how this was going to go - he’d found a safe little bubble for now, but eventually the world would come as the campers arrived. "I don’t think you need to worry about messing it up just yet. Maybe try to be happy for a little bit first,” she said. "Besides, Demi’s the one liable to mess things up. He’s a walking disaster,” she added with a smirk.

It wasn’t long until they stumbled upon the archery range. It was overgrown, littered with gopher holes. The small supply shed wasn’t as underwhelming as Nancy expected - there were bows, at least, but all of them would need to be restrung. And there weren’t any usable targets, not that the range itself was even in good shape for shooting. She sighed slightly. "Maybe we should’ve gone to prison instead.”

Zeke grinned at his sister. She always knew the right thing to say. Once they reached the range Zeke looked around, feeling slightly disheartened. He picked up a stick and tossed it away.

”Hmm. Maybe. Either way I would end up someone's bitch,” Zeke said and laughed before he looked in the storage shed. ”Looks like they have one of those push grass mowers. Do you want to get started on fixing the bows and I'll mow? I think we could gather the grass and fill a couple garbage bags to make targets,” Zeke suggested.

Nancy rolled her eyes. She wasn’t shocked to hear that confirmed by her brother, as much as she didn’t really want to think about it. "Oh boy, garbage bags as targets. That’ll inspire the youth of today. Yeah, sure. I’ll do my best to salvage this.”

Zeke stuck his tongue out at Nancy. ”I can ask Dobbs for something more exciting. I could also build some out of any spare wood around here,” Zeke said, pulling out the mower.

"Pfft, what do you think Dobb’s idea of exciting would be?” she shook her head, as she started pulling bows out of the shed, and grabbing fresh string to repair them with. She didn’t want to do it inside of the shack - she’d breathe in a decade’s worth of dust and mold if she did. "Maybe he’ll get us some Christmas standees on deep discount.”

”Mmm, a tree with a spraypaint target? But the kids can't get the arrows to stick,” Zeke said. He maneuvered the mower and frowned at the gopher halls. ”We'll have to level the ground as best we can, too,” he said before he started pushing the mowing through the overgrown grass. Once he got a path established, it was easier to cut the grass in small chunks, but it took some time.

Nancy sighed slightly. “Can’t we make the kids level the ground? Manual labor builds character - and will get out some of their energy.” Of course, she really didn’t need to be complaining - her brother was working on getting the ground in order, while her main task was restringing bows, something she had done at summer camp herself a thousand times before. The work was practically second nature, not requiring too much focus. “They’d appreciate the range more, too.”

Zeke wiped the sweat that was slowly building off his forehead. ”Do you think?” Zeke didn’t mind leaving the holes for the children or teenagers to take care of.

“It’d be good for them - and for your back.”

”Are you calling me old?”

“Maybe.”

”But I'm younger than you!”

Nancy shrugged. “Tell that to your back.”

Zeke rolled his shoulders and stretched his back. ”My back is fine,” he grumbled. Zeke continued to work, mowing the whole range before he took a break. At some point he had stripped his shirt off to prevent it from getting completely soaked in sweat. He didn't know what the laundry situation was here.

Once that was done, he made a few garbage bag targets for the time being. He'd have to talk to Dobbs. ”How are the bows and arrows looking, Nanc? Time for a break yet?”

Nancy was not having fun with the bows. They were ancient and barely cooperated, the strings coming undone before she could even secure them. She’d cursed up a storm, using every word she could think of and even inventing a few new ones, before she’d finally had enough and she’d thrown half of the bows back into the shed, not bothering to store them properly. “Just fucking great!” she growled out, putting the restrung bows up outside the shed with a little more force than she meant. “Stupid grody ass low budget pig camp,” she muttered.

Zeke watched his sister assault the bows and nodded. ”Yup. Time for a break. Come along dear sister.” Zeke said and offered his arm to her should she want to take it.

She rolled her eyes, but accepted his arm regardless. “I’m fine, but if you need one, we can take one,” Nancy grumbled.

”I do. I need hydration for one, and I think we should check out the lake.”

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@KazAlkemi@Achronum@kittyluna45@Morose@Trainerblue192

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Noon came without much fanfare. The sun reached toward the zenith of its path. Bugs zipped about. The creatures of the forest followed their instincts.

The lake reflected the sunlight, but stayed cool despite the summer heat. It was tempting. It was not yet the hottest part of the day. That was still a couple of hours away, but it didn’t make it more bearable to know that.

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Emily worked hard. She was good with her hands and had long cared for nature. She knew what could be touched without gloves, and what she needed to use tools to deal with. She carefully worked on making the first trail. It wasn’t until her thirst and some hunger started to pick at the edges of her awareness that she even bothered to pay much heed to anything but the work she was doing.

She gathered up the tools she had been using. A lot of debris had been put into the wheelbarrow. It was almost overflowing, so she used the rake and other things to keep it all inside the wheelbarrow as she went back toward the shed. Em noticed the others heading toward the lake. She smiled. A bit of time in the water would be really nice right about now.

Em wondered if maybe whatever Marco had cooked up for lunch could be used for a picnic. There was a set of tables half hidden in shade near the lake that would be perfect, provided they weren’t falling apart just like everything else at this damn camp.

As the pair began to make their way towards the Lake, Zeke noticed his shirt was no longer in his back pocket. A sigh of resignation as he realized he now had to double back to figure out where it fell from along the trail from the range to where he now stood. Nancy went on ahead, parting from her twin as he turned back to search the area. Demi was now nearing the Archery Range, having found Zeke's shirt laying on the floor but no actual boyfriend in sight. ”The hell Kel? Is he just leaving clothes lying around now?” Not that Demi had much room to talk, his shirt was long since abandoned back at the Cabin he had helped spruce up, hanging off the bedpost.

Zeke was a little annoyed that he ended up having to jog all the way back to the range before locating his shirt. However, it seemed someone else had found it as well.

”You can't keep that. I have a limited number of shirts,” Zeke declared as he slowed to a walk. Zeke noted Demetri was also shirtless and eyed his boyfriend with curiosity. ”Should I be worried you are out here shirtless after working with Aster?”

Demetri was a little bit startled when he heard Zeke's voice from behind him. Jumping a little before turning around half frustrated. It all melted away at the sight of a shirtless Zeke however, his eyes very clearly objectifying his boyfriend. ”Should I be worried that your's was off with your sister? This ain't the states mate.” He considered tossing it back, his hand moving to do so, before deciding to hold onto it instead. ”But no. I wanted to go for a swim at the lake, wanted to see if you and Marco wanted to join up. Weathers great for it and Aster is a party pooper. Though chances are he may not know how to swim and is hiding the fact, who knows.”

Zeke raised an eyebrow when Demetri refused to hand over his shirt. Rude.

”Actually, Nancy and I were headed that way before I realized I forgot that,” Zeke said, pointing at his shirt.

”You look better with it off.” Demi closed the gap between them, Zeke's shirt firmly grasped in his hands as he placed them behind his back. He smiled, one hand coming forth as he hooked a finger into the belt loop of Zeke's pants and tugged him forward. ”How's a little alone time before we get the others?”

Zeke grinned, his eyes appreciating the shirtless form of his boyfriend. ”Mmm, alright. But not too long,” Zeke said, uncomfortable with the idea of leaving his sister alone.

Demi leaned in, pressing a single soft kiss against Zeke's lips before he pulled away slowly. ”Not too short either. Don't want the first thing we do to be a quickie. Find any good spots around the range where we could hide away and have a bit of fun? Last thing we need is Dobbs coming around and seeing one of us with a hog in our mouth.”

”You are so vulgar,” Zeke said, shaking his head. He slipped his hand into Demi's and rugged him along. ”I'm also not particularly fond of our first time being at a summer camp my sister is also attending.” Zeke hoped they could do a little better than that when the time came.

”I think the summer camp thing is kinda hot. Barring the fact that your sister is here, or that there's a supernatural killer who only comes out at night. But hey, that's why we're doing this during the day. Only danger here is if we get caught.” Demi followed along behind Zeke, he wasn't exactly expecting them to go all the way, he'd reserve that for when this excursion into the woods was over. His house was almost always empty anyways.

”Ya, maybe don't talk about the killer in the woods.” Zeke led Demi over to the shed, walking around behind it when he noticed a path in the trees. Curious, Zeke tugged Demetri along until the path opened up to a wide, empty field. It was more like a meadow with its springy grass and colourful flowers.

”Well, isn't this nice.”

”Please, I doubt it matters much in the day –” Demi was pulled away from his words as the scenery unfolded before them. The field of flowers outlining Zeke in a brilliant way that made Demi's heart flutter. He melted at the sight, almost swooning as he answered. ”Yeah…it's, beautiful.”

Zeke looked back at Demi. He smiled and rugged on Demi's hand, so he could put his arm around him. ”Careful. Someone's gonna think you sound gay,” he joked.

Demi narrowed his eyes at Zeke. ”Ha ha. Though I suppose while I'm at it saying gay things, I may as wel…” He slid his hand down Zeke's pants, groping at what was beneath.

Zeke grunted and grabbed Demi's wrist to stop him. ”You really don't beat around the bush do you?” Zeke intertwined his fingers with Demi's and kissed the back of Demi's hand. ”How many times have you done this?” Zeke asked curiously, moving Demi's hand to rest on the back of Zeke's neck.

”What? Hook-up with my boyfriend in a gorgeous meadow behind a shed on the grounds of a preternatural killer? Haven't yet. You?” Nerves wracked Demi, his voice, his hands, his lips. It was clear he wasn't as cool and collected as he liked to present himself, wasn't as broken in.

Zeke laughed. ”Okay, you really have to stop mentioning the whole killer thing.” Zeke rested his forehead against Demi's and shut his eyes. ”Lay down with me.” Zeke pecked Demi's lips before pulling back.

”Here I thought that it added a sense of danger and mystique to this little rendez-vous.” Demi pecked Zeke back before he followed the motion, being pulled towards Zeke before finally laying down onto the bed of wildflowers. He swallowed, his eyes admiring Zeke's face.

Zeke ran his hand along Demi's back, laying on his side so he could face his boyfriend. ”I think the danger more is Dobbs or someone else coming to look for us, but I'd also rather not think about them.” Zeke said and closed the small distance to kiss Demi.

Demi smiled, melting into the small touches that Zeke did. He scooted even closer towards him. ”Yeah? What do you want to think about then?”

”Mmm, you, this…us.” Zeke placed kisses over Demi's face, feeling far more affectionate with him than he had with anyone before.

Demi wrapped his arms around Zeke's waist, tugging at it slowly as he began to turn onto his back so that Zeke would lay atop of him. Kissing him all the while. [Color=6666FF]”Then this was all worth it. One bad skate turning into one great boyfriend.”[color]

”Mmm, maybe you can actually be in the music video this time. We still have to reshoot it,” Zeke said, kissing along Demi's neck.

”Could do some B-roll of me skating for it too, not exactly sure what the video entails but I got many talents. Some just for you to see.”

”Good. I like the idea of being the only one allowed to see some of your talents.”

”Then maybe this time, don't stop me.” Demi's hand slipped from around Zeke's waist, sliding down in-between them as he deftly undid Zeke's pants button. He kissed down his neck and his hand searched for its prize beneath it all.

”I won't. I just wanted to lay down first,” Zeke declared. He nuzzled Demi's neck, looking for a spot to leave a mark on while Demi's hand explored.

The afternoon was spent in each other's embrace, exploring what had up until then only been a fantasy within the boys minds. Imagination turned into reality and before long the pair were on their backs, shallow breathes, and entangled by their legs as their hands were laced together.

”Hell of a mouth on you Kel. Though the others may be wondering where all we fucked off to.”

Zeke blinked up at the sky lazily, one arm thrown over his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun. ”Thank you, Howell. You're going to have to teach me that thing you did with you tongue.” Zeke turned his head to look at Demi, grinning lazily.

As the haze of euphoria slowly wore off, the rest of Demi's words sunk in. ”Shit. Nancy's going to lose her mind.” He rolled and kissed Demi's cheek before sitting up. As much as Zeke wanted to remain in this meadow with Demi, they had responsibilities to get back to.

Demi sighed, sitting up far slower than Zeke had as he lazily took the shirt he’d found and placed it over himself. ”Yeah yeah, I’m sure she’s ever so worried as to where you went off to. Either way I did want to gather up the others and see about having a little lakeside fun to help cool off from all the tiring activities we were tasked with today. Seeing as how we can't exactly go out at night for a little after dark swim.”

Zeke stood, putting himself back together. He looked around for his shirt when he discovered Demi was already wearing it. Something warm bloomed inside Zeke at seeing his boyfriend wearing his clothes.

”Ya, Nancy was headed that way. Let's go round everyone up quickly. I shouldn't have left Nancy alone this long.” Zeke looked back towards the shed and the lake beyond. His fingers started to twitch at his side.

“He is insufferable!” Aster threw open the door to the kitchen dramatically, savoring the bang as it hit the wall. “I gave him a 53. A 53, can you believe it?! Because I was trying to be nice. To be reasonable. To make someone happy that a person such as myself even bothered to spare the energy to inflate their score! And then he just dusted. He didn't even care where the dust went! Windows? Who cares. Floor boards? May as well be dirt. What does the golden retriever see in him?!”

Marco looked up from griddle, where he had been working on cleaning some stubborn stains, and up to Aster as he burst in. He sighed softly and then thought through whom Aster could be talking about, and then landed on Demi. ”Good to see you again so soon, Aster. And really? Is he insufferable, or is it that he just doesn’t come from the same circle as you?” He set down the scraper he had been using, and leaned up against the counter. He was thankful the mac and cheese was in the oven, as he was sure his friend might be a little hungry.

“Obviously insufferable. Spend an hour cleaning with him and you'll see. Also, pencil in a spa day after this. Apparently, he isn't aware of the spa either. He mocked cucumbers. Cucumbrs! Like my eyes don't deserve pampering as much as the rest of me.” Aster popped back up onto a counter, swinging his feet as he did. “I'm going to go all out on it too. He's going to spa like he's ever spa'd before! And definitely will need massages. Probably two, different focus areas I think. Right? That definitely makes sense.”

”Aster, please remember I didn’t have my first spa day until after we met. Some people really don’t have the same means. But I’ll pencil in a spa day after all this is over, happily.” Marco looked over at Aster and then raised his eyebrow and then snorted a bit. ”It sounds like you actually do like him, because you don’t offer spa days to just anyone.” He knew the teasing might backfire a bit, but his friend was being a bit judgemental.

Aster's jaw dropped. “Like him? Has the outside weather already gotten to you? Are you ill?” Aster hopped off the counter, pressing his hand to Marco's forehead. “No, you seem just as normal as ever. How else was I to educate him? I can't very well just ignore him. We're stuck out in this purgatory for God knows how long and you want me to get on his bad side? Ugh, then the dog boy will bark at me, then that girl that came with him will probably yell at me, you'll say something about making friends and treating people right, and I just can't stomach all that.” Aster sighed.

“And yes while you may have been ignorant before we met, at least you've been willing to see the light. These others seem intent on staying ignorant of the true meaning of life.” Aster paused for a moment as his reflection caught in some metal and he sighed happily.

Marco could only roll his eyes a bit and then snorted softly but covered it up with a cough. ”Willing to see the light, sure. But c’mon Aster, it’s not even been a full day and you’re giving up on them? I’m sure they’ll come around more with time.” He finally looked over at Aster and caught that happy sigh. ”Okay, what was that about?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the view.” Aster turned away from the reflection with difficulty and blinked as he processed Marco's statement. “You know I have no patience for these things but if you think they are worth the effort, then I suppose I ought to extend them a touch more grace than I already have. Perhaps you are right, my friend. Maybe they'll come around - Demi the very least seemed interested in bonding. He seemed adamant that we all go swimming shortly. I doubt he'll remember, but he mentioned he was going to pick up you and the dog.”

”Swimming? Perhaps after lunch. Which is in the oven before you ask. And I think you should extend some grace. Remember, we’re all stuck here together, and we don’t even know what the other counselors or campers are like yet.” Marco wasn’t sure if he quite agreed with Aster’s nicknames just yet, but he hadn’t spent a lot of time with Demi, Zeke and Nancy.

He leaned over to check the oven and smiled a bit as he went to pull out the first pan. ”It’s not quite how I would make it, but thankfully, they had real cheese, not those weird plastic squares they call cheese.”

“Fine. I suppose I will graciously extend some degree of patience and understanding.” It clearly took a lot for Aster to say that and he took a moment to recover, fanning himself with his hand. “And this had better not be because you are interested in getting in their beds. I heard that when we first pulled up.”

Aster frowned at Marco's comment. “What do you mean, plastic squares? Do people eat plastic cheese?” Aster wrinkled his nose in distaste.

”No, no. No interest. If they just started dating I’m not intruding on that. Also you heard that? I had hoped I was being subtle.” Marco hoped that Demi and Zeke hadn’t heard him in that case, because if that was the case that would be super awkward later.

”As for the plastic squares, from what I understand, Americans wrap cheese slices in plastic and it tastes like plastic. According to my dad. Thankfully, I’ve never tried that stuff.” Marco set the pan down and then went to pull out the second pan of mac.

Aster gave Marco the most judgemental look he could muster. “Honey, that was as subtle as an elephant. The fact that they didn't notice is astonishing.” Aster poked his head over towards the mac and cheese, taking a deep breath at the smell. “That does sound atrocious. I'm very glad we don't have to stuff that indignity on top of everything else. Your food smells delicious.”

“But will my pores agree?” Aster fretted, chewing his lip thoughtfully as he imagined all the sticky, cheesy goodness that was probably terrible for his skin.

Marco pouted at Aster’s look and then rolled his eyes. ”As long as you make sure to wash your face tonight, it will be alright. But do understand I’m limited by what’s here, and there’s a lot of preprepared food here, or panty stable food. Stuff that’s going to last. I’ll try to get something better for us during the week, but it might not be better over the summer.” Marco sighed softly as he went to pull out some hot dogs. ”I’m gonna fry these up real quick. Do you want any for your mac and cheese?”

Aster wrinkled his nose at the thought of preprepared. That was poor people's options, like canned soup and salty, freeze dried noodles. Things Aster wouldn't normally touch with a 30ft pole but their tyrants would find any method to demean and undermine them. “I suppose I have no choice in the matter. I'll have to be meticulous with my routine during this trial. Between the sweating I'll have to do and poor food options, no matter how delicious you may make them, I'll survive this. These monsters would see me fail, find any way to put a pimple on my face, but I will not permit them this victory.” Aster tilted his head at the question.

“I don't think I really understand what those are. I know hot dogs are food but I've never had one.”

”...I’ll put down one for you, but if you decide you don’t want it, I’m sure someone else will eat it.” Marco sliced open the package and then put a few of the hot dogs down on the griddle and started to cook. He listened to Astor as he spoke about keeping up his routine, between the food and the sweating. He looked over at his friend and then sighed more.

”If anyone can keep away the pimples, it’s you. But well, you know that the real monsters aren’t here. They’re out there. In the real world.” Marco sighed as he gently rolled the hot dogs around the grill, and sighed a bit more as he cooked.

Aster frowned at the sudden shift in his friend's mood. “How do you suppose? What monsters are you referring to?” Aster wrinkled his nose at the smell of hot dogs. They seemed so… unappealing. This was what the cat wanted in his food? Why yearn for something so… questionable meat shaped rather than a nice cut of brisket? Now that was a delicious combination.

Marco gently pushed the hot dogs around on the grill and then plastered his smile back on his face. ”Forget I said anything Aster. But it seems you’re not a fan of the hot dogs. Someone can eat the one I made for you then. I don’t want to waste food.” He chuckled as he started pulling the cooked hot dogs off the griddle.

Em dusted off her hands and waved at Zeke and Nancy. “Hey how did it go with the archery range? That’s what you were working on right?” Em asked as she got closer. “I’ve got some good wood to use for a fire tonight, and a whole bunch of brush.” By the time she was finished clearing all the trials Em was pretty certain she’d have enough wood and brush for fire for the whole rest of the summer.

Nancy had calmed down a bit on the walk back from the range, but the irritation with its horrible condition was still simmering in her stomach. There was a split second where her muscles started to tingle, and she paused, becoming acutely aware of her body. The sensation passed quickly though, and she put it out of her mind. “Ugh, the range is grody as anything. The ground’s a nightmare, uneven and covered with actual holes - bows are technically viable but you’d be better off stringing them up with floss - and for targets, we have glorified trash bags. The kids are gonna love it.”

“I don’t know a lot about archery, but that sounds miserable. Anything I can help with? I've got a hoe.” She pointed to a tool half in the wheelbarrow. “And a bunch of weeds.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a ho, too,” Nancy shook her head slightly, her thoughts with her brother. “My plan was to make the kids clean it all up. But I think Zeke has decided to throw his back out with it. Maybe we make it a competition, get the boys trying to one-up each other while we do absolutely anything else.”

Emily laughed at the comment about having a ho. “I would like to see Aster do some yard work, it'll make his hands callous up for the first time. Alright, are you ready for some water and something to eat?”

“What’s his damage, by the way? Besides being a fancy lad,” Nancy asked. She hadn’t eaten much at breakfast earlier, and her brother had split off - probably to go see his boyfriend, she still owed him a tarot reading - so she supposed she couldn’t protest grabbing some food. Water at the very least was needed. Dehydration wasn’t cute. “Sure, we can grab something.”

“Oh, usual rich boy things, he is obsessed more with himself than anything. I don’t think he’s ever looked at another person and not compared how little they are to him. But at least he is a good friend to Marco. I’d think I’d have punched him by now if he weren’t.” Em had punched a lot of people for not being nice to Marco. She had gotten very good at it. Unfortunately she couldn’t punch the entirety of the judiciary.

“Oh, goodie, he’s going to do great with the kids,” Nancy laughed. “At least he’ll be taller than all of them.”

Em winced, and then laughed. “That’s true. It might be a good lesson for him. Not sure what the lesson is, but it’ll be fun to watch.” Em led the way up to the big house. “Probably something about patience.”

“It’ll be better than the lesson so far - that the government can’t fund anything properly. Not only is this place a murder site, but it’s also a death trap staffed by Dobbs - no offense to him, but he’s hardly inspirational - and a bunch of fuck-ups. Great start to a great summer.”

“And Marco.” Em’s voice was light, but the look on her face seemed to imply that if anyone called him a fuck-up she’d fuck them up. There was a pipe on the side of the building near the tree, a brand new looking hose, hooked up to it. Em turned it on, letting the water run till it was cool and clean. She took an experimental sip from it. “Might be lake water, but it tastes clean.” She sipped again, and then splashed some water onto her face. “Want from here, or do you want to go inside and get some from the fridge?” Em didn’t see a difference between the two. They both came from the same source. Unless the water in the fridge had been bottled elsewhere and brought here.

Nancy shook her head. She’d grown up poor. She was fine with drinking water from a hose. It wouldn’t have been the first time. “Nah, this is fine. No point in wasting a glass you’ll just have to clean or toss out,” she shrugged, taking the hose once Emily was done with it and taking a swig. It tasted fine enough - not that she would have been able to taste bacteria or parasites or anything, and maybe it would’ve been smarter to boil it, but her stomach was pretty strong, so she wasn’t too worried.

Once Nancy was done drinking from the hose Emily turned it off. She looked at the tree and frowned a little. “Hmm, you know, oaks aren’t common here. This one is pretty old too.” She leaned over the edge of the deck and looked at where the tree and the earth met. “Weird.” She scrunched her face up. “The tree was planted before the building was built. Why would anyone build this close to a tree like this? Oak’s roots won’t pull down a house like other trees will, but this deck was built with the purpose of protecting it.”

“An oak?” Nancy repeated, looking at the tree a little more closely, her eyes narrowing. Oaks weren’t themselves an issue - they had connections to both life and death, a deep relation to the interplay between those forces. The more troubling part, of course, was that they were also associated with sacrifice. Knowing what had happened here, it sent a chill down Nancy’s spine. “I wouldn’t mess with that tree,” she advised, her tone somewhat ominous. For someone to build a house so close to what was effectively a tie to the Underworld… “Unless you do want to see if you’d make it to the end of a slasher flick.”

Em took a step away from the tree. “Ha, I’m good. I don’t particularly want to test that.” She looked away from the tree and at Nancy. “An oak?”

Nancy nodded. “You’d be surprised,” she answered somewhat cryptically. She studied the tree for another moment. Maybe doing a tarot reading wasn’t such a bad idea - but for something a little broader than her brother’s love life.

Em turned back to the tree looking it up and down. “It looks like something tried to fight the tree.” She gestured to a few marks on the tree. “They are very old. The bark was torn up, but it healed over.”

Nancy grimaced. She didn’t like that one bit. “I don’t blame it, but that’s not going to help the situation. You want to protect yourself against that sort of energy, you gotta burn something. Slashing at it won’t do anything.”

“Burning the tree would burn the house. I can’t tell if the marks are older or younger than the house though.” Em glanced between the main building and the tree a few times trying to determine which might be older. “I like oak trees. They are very drought resistant.”

Nancy’s eyes widened, as she shook her head. “No, not the tree - are you crazy? That thing’s connected to the Underworld, burning the tree is a fantastic way to get cursed. No, there are plants we can burn to cleanse the energy of the space.”

Em blinked, looking at Nancy confused. “What do you mean the tree is connected to the underworld?” She had heard about burning sage and stuff for ghosts, but didn’t quite understand what that had to do with the oak tree, or what the tree had to do with the Underworld.

Nancy studied Em for a moment. Most people were dismissive when it came to Wicca - she probably shouldn’t have said anything, she didn’t have a good sense on whether Em would take her seriously or not if she explained properly. “Oaks used to be called the tree of life - their roots penetrate all the way down to the Underworld. They were sacred to Jupiter.”

Em leaned against the railing of the deck listening to Nancy. “Jupiter, as in Zeus? You know Roman mythology?”

Nancy nodded. “I’m a Hellenistic Wiccan.”

“I know what Wiccan means, not Hellenistic,” Em admitted. “I don’t know a lot about Wiccan, just that people who practice it do... magic. I don’t know if that is the right term.”

Nancy folded her arms across her chest uncomfortably. “It means I, well - when I want to work with deities, I go Roman. I don’t really cast spells or anything, but I read tarot - and I know a bad omen when I see one, and a few ways to try to protect myself when they happen.”

Em made a small humming sound, thinking about what Nancy was saying. “Are you saying this oak tree is a bad omen?”

She nodded. “They’re not just the tree of life… There’s some legends about them being connected to human sacrifice. So like I said - I wouldn’t mess with it.”

Em raised an eyebrow at the human sacrifice comment. Damn. She looked over the tree again, frowning. It didn’t make much sense to her. The damage to the tree wasn’t something she could figure out, it was also old damage. She shivered. “Right, I don’t know if I want to be standing next to the tree anymore. I’m a little wigged out now. Come on, let's get something to eat.”

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@KazAlkemi@Achronum@kittyluna45@Morose@Trainerblue192

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Time marched on. The hour sliding from noon to 1 pm. Lunch was made and ready; anyone could swing by and grab a plate of food.

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The smell of food that Marco was making made Em’s stomach rumble. “Marco, that smells divine!” She grabbed one of the paper plates and a cup of water.

“Aster, how has cleaning going? Can we move our stuff into the cabin yet?” Other than Em’s face and hands, which she had washed while getting water from the hose, she was filthy from working outside. She also had gotten a little pink from sun exposure, but didn’t seem bothered by it.

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Zeke walked into the dining hall with Demi, hand in hand. He inhaled the heavenly smell of food, and his stomach grumbled in response. Zeke had worked up quite the appetite. He released Demi’s hand and dove onto the food.

”Please tell me the kitchen doesn’t have a no shirt, no food policy. I seem to have… misplaced mine,” Zeke said and looked at Demi accusingly, even though he was smirking. Zeke turned back and piled the food high onto his paper plate.