Let's be friends.

[Savanna Lewis]

The day seemed to drag on forever for the young girl. Anna had been trying to hid the yawns that came from her mouth most the day. To be the child of sleep sure had its advantages but you would think that she would be able to sleep but that wasn't the case last night. She had some kind of trouble, she hadn't asked her siblings to help her out or anything so that didn't help, even being in the comfy blanket didn't help. She sighed a little and shook her head. Some of her brown hair coming out of hairbow and getting into her face. 

At the moment she was by herself practicing archery. She had taken a liking to it. She wasn't the best at it but she was starting to hit the spots around the bulls eye. Which was progress. She pulled the arrow with the string to her face and took a deep breath trying to steady herself. She wanted to make a bulls eyes, so she could gloat a little to her siblings, but she as let go of the arrow she felt something off and watched it hit the white area. She pouted a little and dropped the bow to her side. "Well, a couple more tries wont hurt right." She told herself. 

 

@ Axel Gauthier

[Axel Gauthier]

Another day, another combat practice. Sometimes Axel wondered if that was all people did around here. Of course, that was the main objective of the camp - to train the children to survive the monsters that would likely hunt them all their lives. Honestly though, the eager boy didn't mind. Anything beat going back home. And the practices themselves were varied enough that monotony had yet to completely take over. What's more, the Nike child had found that he was quite good at it. It was a well-known fact around camp that his cabin had the most combat prowess. With a lot of extra trainings, he hoped to make himself known even among them. He'd been working hard to master the shortsword, the javelin, and today... the bow.

When he arrived at the archery range, he was surprised to see that he was not alone. He usually had the place to himself when there weren't official practices. Occasionally a group of older campers would come by, but this girl looked to be about his own age. The boy did not recognize her - unsurprising as he had yet to really make any connections here. He did want to though. Everyone here was special, one might even say weird just like him. If only he weren't so damn awkward he could probably form some closer bonds than any he'd had with peers in the outside world. Perhaps he ought to try talking to her. Yeah... that seemed like a good first step.

Axel grabbed a bow and quiver from rack and headed over to the firing lane next to hers. She wasn't acknowledging his approach - focused on her task it seemed. Though he could tell she didn't have proper form. He gave her a small wave and called out "You're doing it wrong. Want help?" That... probably wasn't the best opener. He hoped it wouldn't be taken too badly.

[Savanna Lewis]

She couldn't help but bit her lower lip as she thought about what she could do better when she heard another voice that came from next to her. She blinked a little and turned to look at him. Giving him a funny look only because she didn't realize that he had been there watching her. "Oh?" She glanced down at the bow in her hand and then over to the targets that she had hit with the arrows. "I mean... I'm hitting the target though." She told him as she blinked back at him, though she ended up yawning once again. She covered her mouth quickly so she wouldn't get the boy sleepy. It was something that she and her sibling were able to do and she wanted not to do that at the moment. "Sorry about that." She told him hoping that he didn't yawn himself. He posed another question and she couldn't help but glance at him. "Help me?" She blinked a little and glanced back to the target once again. She wasn't doing bad but she honestly wasn't doing well either. She turned back to the boy and smiled at him curiously. "Sure. I can only get better right?" She giggled as she gestured for him to go ahead and show her what she was doing wrong. 

As she waited for him to get his stance together she spoke again. "I'm Savanna by the way. Most call me anna or Sav." She told him happily with a smile on her lips. "What should I call you?" She questioned wanting to know who was going to be helping her. She also wanted to make more friends. Kenna was great and all but Savanna wanted tons. Maybe the boy would be able to be her friend as well. 

[Axel Gauthier]

"Axel!' The boy smiled back, glad that his question had not been taken as an insult. Perhaps it was time for a nap... Wait, what?  He blinked, shaking off the feeling. Had he been wearing himself too thin with all those extra practices? He hadn't even taken his first shot yet. Get it together, Axel. "Sav, got it. Nice ta meet ya."

"You're hittin' the target, sure, but if you want the arrow to go exactly where you're lookin' you gotta stand up straight. See?" He nocked his own arrow and pulled back, pausing there to explain his form. "Think like... like there's a line startin from your eye - the open one - all the way down through your back and to your waist. That line's gotta be straight or the arrow wont be. Head lined up with spine, eyes lined up with waist. Your legs can be in a few different stances however you're comfy but your feet gotta be shoulder witdh apart and-" He'd been rambling so much about proper form, he'd forgotten just how much effort it took to keep a bow string drawn. His arms, unattended my his mind for the moment, gave out. The arrow went flying, missing the target by a good foot.

Axel's face flushed red at the mistake. "See... ah... just then. I did it wrong. Leaned into the bow and it went wide." The boy let out an awkward laugh. "See, that's what I meant to show ya..." Yep. That was intentional, to show her the wrong way to do it. Definitely not because his arms got tired.

[Savanna Lewis]

Savanna smiled at the boy and nodded. "Axel it is then." She giggled a little as she could make another friend pretty easily. "It's nice to meet you as well. What cabin are you from?" She questioned him a little just wanting to know a little more about him. "I'm a child of Hypnos." She told him as she gave him a small smile. It was hard for her to get any friends since they were always worried that she would put them to sleep. But she would try not to do that with Kenna and him if they were to get that close 

She listened closely to what he was saying and nodded her head. She would have to do everything that he said the next time that she tried to do this. Well, here in a couple of minutes after he showed her that was. She bite her lower lip once again trying to make sure that she was getting everything to memory. He pulled the bow back and soon let go and he ended up shooting the bow a foot away from the target. A hand came to her mouth to stop herself from giggling at the boy however, it didn't stop it. "I'm so sorry." She said between breaths, she didn't want the boy to think that she was making fun of him but it was just funny to her. 

"I see," she told him and smile at him and his laugh. "Go again," she told him. This time with a bigger smile on her lips. 

[Axel Gauthier]

Axel nodded, thankful that she hadn't called him out. Him and his ramblings... He could scarcely believe he'd gone on long enough to wear out his arms like that. Perhaps it was because he wasn't used to talking to other people. It was actually pretty fu though! Savanna seemed very kind and easygoing. What was more, she wasn't taking his blunders as personal attacks like many would. How fortunate he'd run into someone like this! At this rate, he may actually be able to make a friend after all. "Oh, right! Guess I should do it the right way this time! I'm from the Nike cabin. Hypnos, huh? The sleepy guys?" 

The children of Hypnos were known for being notoriously chill. No wonder she was so easy-going! Of course the same could be said for how easily he had taken to combat practice. A product of divine blood... not so much for his awkwardness though. That was all luck and upbringing. Actually, he was quite fascinated with the Hypnos cabin. Rumor had it that they could put other people to sleep, and even that some could read and traverse the world of dreams. It was a fascinating power. He could imagine how useful that would be in a real combat situation. "I hope that didn't sound rude..." he mumbled. "Y'all are pretty cool."

Attempting to recover from yet another social blunder, he turned his attention to the target. Right. No talking this time. The best way to teach proper form had gotta be to show it, right? He trained his eye on the center target and followed his own advice. Strait spine, feet shoulder-width, chin up aaaand... release! Bullseye! He pumped his arm in a celebratory gesture. "Got it!" The boy turned to Savannah, brushing a lock of auburn hair from his face. His forehead had gathered a bit of sweat from the concentration. "Give it a shot! Uh... no pun intended."

[Savanna Lewis]

Savanna couldn't help but giggle a little at his comment about having to do it the right way. "Well of course. You were just showing me what not to do right?" She said with a playful tone. "I believe that you can do it right this next time." she told him with a bright smile on her face. Though when he told her what cabin he was in she understood completely. "I get it now." She told him the smile never leaving her face. She hadn't really got to meet anyone from his cabin so this was pretty cool on her end. He however called her cabin the sleepy guys and she couldn't help but laugh at that as well. He wasn't far off. "I mean you're not wrong. The cabin is known to lure people to sleep." she told him as she nodded her head a little thinking about it. The whole place screamed nap time. She often wondered how many people walked by it and almost passed out?  

She titled her head a little and smiled once again at him. "I don't think anything you said was rude. Informing and true is what I got out of it." She told him honestly. Though if he had been rude she would have called him out on it in a heartbreak but that wasn't something that needed to be done. "Why do you think that you sounded rude?" she questioned him, her head still pretty much titled to the side curious to know why he seemed so down on himself. She waved her hands out in front of her with a blush on her face when he told her that they were pretty cool. "No need to say that." She told him. "We're lazy people." She once again giggled and let her hands drop to her side. "If anything I should say Nike cabin is cool." She told him. 

The boy soon showed her how to shoot the arrow and then bam, bulls eye. Savanna clapped her hand and the same old smile was there. "Congrates." She told him but she knew that it was her turn to shoot the arrow. She took a deep breath and soon done everything that he had done and slowed her breathing a little to try and get everything under control. Then and only then did she let the arrow go and it hit the mark. She stopped for a second and dropped the bow while jumping up and down. "Look Axel I did it!" She said excitedly.

[Axel Gauthier]

Something about this girl put him at ease. Perhaps it was her chill nature, or the fact that she seemed to know his intentions regardless of how bad he was at expressing them. "Well... uh... I guess I'm just no good at talkin', y'know? I get worked up and say the wrong stuff. Or it comes out in ways I don't mean it to. And then people get mad and wanna fight me. I guess it's always been like that..." He cracked a smile, scarcely realizing this was the first time he'd spoken of his social issues aloud. "I usually win though. The fights, I mean." The boy laughed. It was a genuine laugh though, not his usual awkward chuckle. Was it the blood of Hypnos that mad Savannah so easygoing and amicable? Maybe. If it was, he thought that was even cooler than the whole sleep thing.

"Nike's alright I guess," he replied to her second statement. "We don't get any cool powers or anything. My brothers and sisters are good with weapons though. But I'll be better. I'll practice and practice until I'm the best in the whole camp!" It might have been an arrogant statement, but the fire behind his eyes showed he truly believed it. Still, it would take all the effort he could give to keep up with the literal superpowers of the other cabins. "I'm serious though, think about it! Like, you could put an enemy to sleep and sneak up on them in battle, or... is it true you guys can read people's dreams? You could get SO much useful info with that! I'd definitely want you on my side in a fight!" He'd meant of course that a child of Hypnos would be useful, but accidental compliments were better than accidental insults.

"Heck yeah you did!" He couldn't help but share in his new acquaintance's enthusiasm. He was thrilled that not only had she not balked at his blunt offer of help, but she had picked up the advice so quickly. Even if he wasn't always the best at explaining things. He held out his hand for a high-five. A simple, common gesture, but one he realized he hadn't done in years.

[Savanna Lewis]

Savanna couldn't help but shake her head a little. "No need to worry. I don't think any of us are really good at talking to new people." she told him hoping that he would get that she understood where he was coming from. "I normally don't talk to people either. They are put off by me or I make them fall asleep." She said rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish smile. She giggled a little at the thought of him always winning the fights. "Well I would expect nothing less from a Nike child." She told him with a cheesy smile. 

She listened and tilted her head at the thought of them not getting any special powers. "Oh but I think you do." She told him. So she was able to get into peoples dreams and things like that. It was cool but a little strange. "You're one of the strongest cabin in camp." she told him with a smile on her lips this time she wasn't laughing, she was trying to make him feel better about his cabin. "I cant just pick up a sword or anything and know what to do with it." She told him. "But you it come as a second nature and practicing like you said only makes you better with it. For me it would take months. You maybe a couple days." she said as she shrugged. "It's cool, don't think less of yourself because you don't have silly little powers." She winked at him and giggled some this time. He began telling her how she could work her abilities on the battle field and she couldn't help but laugh a little more at him. "Well if you put it that way. Maybe."

She jumped up and down a little when he commented back to her. She turned to him and went to hug him but stopped for a moment. "ugh.. Sorry." She told him as she blushed from embarrassment. "I get overly excited. She rubbed the back of her head again. She gave him a cheeky smile and sighed. "Wanna go again?" she asked him.  

[Axel Gauthier]

"Put off? But you're so... nice. And easy to talk to." The look on Axel's face was one of genuine confusion. He couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't get along with someone like Savannah. Someone who hadn't judged him, who had accepted his blunt advice without a second thought. Then again, he didn't really understand the social world himself. Maybe making them fall asleep scared them or something. But considering his brain was always running a mile a minute, there was nothing wrong with the occasional nap. "So yer kinda an outcast too, huh? I mean..." he hoped once more that he hadn't insulted her. "Well maybe be can be outcasts together then."

"I... I guess maybe you're right." Axel blushed a little. He wasn't used to compliments. He hadn't thought of his inherent combat talents as abilities, especially when compared to things like dreamwalking or raising the dead. But he did seem to pick things up faster than the other kids during training. And - he noticed - she hadn't even blinked twice when he'd told her he planned to be the best at camp. Most people would've laughed at him for saying things like that, but the way she spoke of his abilities made him more convinced he could actually pull it off. Maybe he was a bit too down on himself. He'd always been a strange little bundle of insecurity and competitiveness.

When she went to hug him, he instinctively pulled back a bit. He knew she meant him no harm, but his body still moved like she was coming in to attack him. Sav looked embarrassed and stopped, and he realized his reaction may have given her pause. "Nah, I'm sorry," he insisted. "Nothin wrong with celebrating a victory. Guess I just forgot what hugs looked like." He joked, but there was some truth behind it. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd hugged someone.

"Uh... sure!" Moving away from the awkward subject of physical contact, he picked up his bow and fired off another shot.