Leaderboard

It was funny. Even after learning about Tempest’s tragic past, Beatrix couldn’t bring herself to see the girl as anything but a radiant powerhouse. She didn’t look at her and feel sorry: she looked at her and felt… something else. Damaged goods. Trix nodded at that phrase, almost subconsciously. It fit more comfortably than any clothes she owned, any title she bore. Something about the way Tempest spoke sounded like she was processing in real-time, having thoughts that were new to her. “If it makes you feel any better, Tem, you hide your demons pretty damn well. I never would’ve guessed,” Bea spoke out towards the stands, still avoiding eye contact with the brunette. Her red hair shone under the moonlight, the brisk air creating little clouds in the shape of her words. All amorphous blobs twisting into the sky, dissipating slowly. Despite the tumultuous events of the past hour or so, Trix grinned. Lost, chaos, mess. She’d never known how alike they really were; each broken and unwilling to show it. They both wore masks. Finally, she found the confidence to turn back towards the girl. “Fix you!” she let out a bark of laughter at the prospect. “I wouldn’t dare, babe. But, maybe… we can be broken together,” She rushed a few steps forward with that and, on tip-toe, kissed Tempest’s cheek. It was cold and smooth like porcelain. The gesture wasn’t explicitly romantic, but it held passion and tension yet unexpressed. Even after revealing her darkest secret, Trix was still hiding so much. Tempest, outlined in moonlight, looked like a sad, resigned angel. She acted like one too: all that power, but contained to a single path. One day, Trix wanted to make her stray from that path.

Contrary to popular belief, Asher was not a fan of confrontation. She enjoyed when things ran smoothly and when there was harmony in her surroundings. She didn't like to get into arguments and she didn't like calling people's attention. She preferred tranquility but her job rarely led her to sit back and allow others to make the touch calls so she often made a choice. She would deal with her responsibilities and her obligations and leave the feelings and sentiments she had for her personal life aside. She wouldn't admit that she ran from confrontation in her personal life but it was true. So naturally, the last place Asher wanted to be at, was that moment. She was uncomfortable but she had taken a deep breath and just wanted to get it over with. "Complicated doesn't begin to describe it," she said. "They got messy. They got dirty. I know you have a past but I don't want your past wrapping itself around your body as though it is the present. I like you, Theo. That night was special to me and it was honest. But I don't want to be with someone that surprises me and keeps me wondering at what point their dirty laundry is going to sneak up on me. So why don't you start from the beginning and tell me everything about you. We can start there, can't we?"

Arsen chuckled. He looked at Theo with obvious intrigue and amusement. He had to hand it to him. He didn't back out easily but Arsen was a man on experience and he knew that the only reason that Theo had gone to him was because he could give him what he wanted. Arsen could cash in on that later. He was never in a rush to get what he wanted. He preferred waiting until the moment was opportune. Besides, Arsen could do with going out for more than a few hours. He was starting to get a little stir crazy in the stability of camp. "Alright. Let's go forward with this but know that later on, if there is anything I need, I won't hesitate to go to you." He smirked that trademark smirk that had made him popular with the female demographic. "But before we go, do you even know anything about this place? How did you even hear about it?"

Tempest's gaze lingered on Trix, watching as she grappled with the weight of her confession. The revelation of Trix's past, laden with guilt and sorrow, struck a chord within Tempest, resonating with the darker facets of her own life. "We're both damaged goods, aren't we?" she murmured, more to herself than to Trix. The admission didn't come easy; acknowledging their shared brokenness felt like a surrender to vulnerability she had long resisted. There was a rawness in the air, a tension that stemmed from the unveiling of deep, personal wounds. Tempest could feel the walls she had so carefully erected around her heart, trembling under the weight of this newfound understanding. As Tempest processed Trix's story, a wave of unexpected empathy washed over her. The realization that they were both haunted by past actions, by the ghosts of decisions made in moments of intense emotion, was sobering. "We all have our demons, Trix. Some of us are just better at hiding them," her voice a low hum, tinged with a sadness she rarely allowed others to witness. The confession hung heavily between them, a bridge and a barrier all at once. Tempest couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of kinship with Trix. They were both survivors in their own right, navigating a world that seemed intent on breaking them. "You're not the only one who feels... lost," she confessed, her gaze drifting away, lost in thought. "Sometimes, I wonder if anyone can really understand the chaos inside us." In this shared moment of vulnerability, Tempest realized that perhaps their rivalry, their constant clashing, was just another way to mask the pain they both carried. "We might not be able to fix each other," she said, turning back to face Trix, "but maybe we don't have to be alone in our mess."

Trix let out a deep breath, unhooking her finger from Tempest's. Turning away from the girl, she faced the seating of the amphitheatre; confessing to a chorus of ghosts was somehow easier than looking at the brunette. "Here goes nothing. Before I was sent away to boarding school, I had a big fight with my Grandma… it was pretty brutal. She said she wished I’d never been born, she reckoned I was evil. Like spawn of the devil evil. I was so angry I just—I delved into her mind, and I made her confront her biggest fear. I guess her heart couldn’t take it. She got sick; it was pretty bad. I was sent away, and when I tried to contact her again… she was dead. I killed her, Tem.” The words hung in the air, feeling solid and tangible somehow. Trix wrapped her cardigan around herself, overcome with a sudden chill. Her arms were wrapped around her frame, as though hugging herself would bring about some comfort. It was the first time she’d recounted the memory aloud, and the tears that pricked her eyes felt like tiny needles. The knowledge that she’d been responsible for the death of such a good woman kept her up at night. It was the root of her own biggest fear, however much she tried to ignore it: Trix felt that she didn’t deserve love. She felt evil, just like her Grandma had said. Maybe that was why Tempest's sudden ghosting had stung so much. It confirmed what she already knew. Sniffing, Bea pushed all of those feelings away and turned back towards Tempest. “As for the kiss… I’ve had better,” she lied. “I just missed having you around. You’re wicked fun to rile up.”

Asher would never admit that there had never been a time before in her life when she had been as humiliated as she had been that day with Theo and Evelyn. She had hid it well, concealed her emotions with expertise, but that did nothing to soothe the feeling in her stomach that she had been taken for a fool and had paid for the consequences. She was angry but more than that, she was hurt and being hurt was an emotion that she was unfamiliar with. After all, people like her didn't get hurt. No one could touch her. She always kept her feelings and emotions close to her chest. She was incomparable when it came to matters of the heart. She could be cold and hard to read and her entire life, that had been the subject of most of her praise. She was calculating, brilliant and focused. There was no time for emotions. But Theo had waltzed in with his charming smile and his relaxed demeanor and challenged all of that. Now she found herself second guessing her thoughts and her feelings and worst of all, her actions. She didn't regret what she had told Evelyn but she would have preferred never to have had the encounter to begin with. There was a small bit of shame that lingered and while that was hard to shake, it wasn't enough to make her feel regret. After everything was said and done, Asher had told Theo where they stood. If he wanted to change things, the ball was in his court. And if he didn't, she could walk away, and walking away was something she excelled at. No one had ever accused her of being sentimental after all. But here she was, willing to at least hear him out though she was unsure what was to come out of it. When she spotted him by the lake, she felt a heaviness in her chest that was more apparent with every step she took. This was not something she was going to find pleasant but she walked anyway, When she reached him, she stood by her side and turned to face him only slightly. "Hey."

It was a well known fact that Arsen was easy to manipulate, especially if one was willing to sweet talk him and kiss his ass. There was nothing he liked more than when people praised him and established the fact that he was a man of importance. Anyone could get far with him simply by stroking his ego. So when Theo said all the right words, it was only natural that Arsen would be appeased. He was the who in this situation, that was for sure. As one of the oldest campers, he was looked up to as a man of wordly knowledge. Theo had peaked his interest but as easy as it was to manipulate Arsen, he was not stupid and he was curious as to what was in store for Theo. It was also true that Theo, was the type of person to have a hidden agenda. His sister had told him so the first time they met, so as interested in the situation as Arsen was, he wanted to know what the angle was. "Okay, let's say I am interested. What is in it for me?"

Arsen was the kind of guy that liked to keep an air of mystery around him. No one really knew what he was up to half the time and it was true that nobody really bothered to ask him. He liked it that way. That meant that no one was truly in his business and he was free to come and go and do whatever he wanted without being bothered. That being said though, there were always exceptions. But tonight was not one of them and Arsen was doing what he did on a regular basis in the privacy of his room at camp. He was starting to grow bored of camp and he was due to go back to the city at any moment. But he was avoiding Celeste and he wasn't sure that being back in the city didn't mean running into her more than he wanted. Oh Celeste. He kept thinking about her and her little hold on him and it made him wonder if the reason he kept going back to her was simply because he liked her or there was something else lingering there. She was going to be the death of him though. That much was certain. As he was lost in mid thought, he heard his name being called out and he looked up, wondering who was calling and why. It wasn't like most people sought him out with frequency so he got up, walked over to the main entrance for Cabin 20 and was surprised to see Theo at the entrance. Arsen knew about Theo and how he managed to get involved with his sister. She had spared him the details but Arsen had been able to put two and two together. "Why do you ask?" Arsen said, intrigued and without bothering to greet him. "It is not hard to find, but I am curious as to why, you haven't found it on your own?" You had to be invited, of course and Arsen, naturally, had been. So it came to his surprise that Theo, being who he was, was reaching out to him for help, rather than using those thievery fingers of his to find the answers.

Looking around at the party for people he knew whether it was siblings, Abby, Cora or someone else he knew at least a little bit. He was holding his ears plugging them a little because the music was so loud and bumping. He preferred really old rock like 40-80s. He loved some old Dion and other Rock. The beat was good though and easy to dance to. When a girl would walk up to him. She was younger then him and obviously recognized him even if he had no idea who she was but he had planned to try to hide it. “Hi there, I am not saying it isnt fun i am saying i have a lot of work to do to get caught up. I am working on a lot of stuff.” he would say trying to hide it and move quickly on looking at her puzzled “I do not know if i know you? Did i make you a weapon or armor? With how brazen you are you are obviously an ares. Maybe a sword I dont know. And if we have met i am sorry i am terrible with names.”