Our little camping trip can't be this dangerous [CLOSED]

Melissa looked at the torn clothing with a bit of embarrassment, but cleared her throat and continued, "Wellll.... If things are at their worst, they can't possibly get worse, right? So the only way to go is for it to get better!" She cheered, as convincingly as she could manage, "What I do know, is that crying wont accomplish anything." She added on as an afterthought.

"But it helps." While showing a small increase in hope, it would be miniscule in comparison to the other emotions clouding her mind, a simple, 'Fine. You can do it.' said to Knight as Aoife just keeps hold of Melissa, her grip loosening from that of a bear hug to that of the state she is in: A weakened girl trying to keep hold of something dear to her but lacking the strength to do it tightly.

Feeling Aoife's grip weaken somewhat, Melissa decided to hold onto the girl from her own strength to make up for the loss, hoping it would comfort her, "Only in the short term! I think when you've cried enough that your eyes are all red and you look very tired and thirsty, you've cried enough! Now, come on! This isn't the Aoife I remember!" She said with a cheerful smile on her face.

She looked down at the letter again, but once again decided to let it go, instead focusing her efforts on continuing to comfort Aoife. Hah. Melissa had never thought she would ever have to even think that!

"The Aoife what made Aphelion dump me? I want her to go, I just want Aphelion." Looking incredibly tired from her emotional outburst, her head would roll, Aoife quickly passing out into Melissa's lap, small traces of blood going on her but nothing major or hard to remove.

Melissa sighed, once again not sure what to do now that Aoife had passed out in her lap. She certainly couldn't just get up and leave, now could she? And it would probably be rude to do so anyway. It would probably be best to see that the girl didn't dehydrate herself - if she had been crying that much she likely needed a drink. Shifting herself slightly, she shouted out of the tent, "Katy! Could you bring some drinking water in here?" She asked.

Katy shrugged at Aphelion, obviously relieved that their trek to the waterfall seemed to be postponed for the moment. "I guess we'll have to put off that walk for a little bit," she said, trying to sound apologetic. Getting up, she walked over to her tent and retrieved a canteen from her pack, then walked over to Aoife's tent. Sticking her head in, she held out the canteen, looking confused. "Um. What? What happened?" Hadn't Aoife just been tearing things up in the woods? Did she get hurt or something?

"There's more water in an emergency bottle in the medical bag if you need it." Aphelion added passively as Katy was passing to reach Aoife's tent, though otherwise he continued staring at and prodding the campfire.

Melissa considered telling Katy what had happened with Aoife, but remembered that the two hadn't exactly seemed too friendly lately. Maybe it was still because of what happened in..-

Shaking her head to get the thought out of her mind, she took the canteen of water with a smile before shooing Katy away from the tent with a small gesture, turning back to Aoife once the girl had left, lightly shaking Aoife to try and wake her.

Katy frowned, but backed away from the tent without protest. Walking over to sit by the fire, she looked at Aphelion, quirking an eyebrow. "So? You know her better than I do. Did she hurt herself with all that fighting I heard a few minutes ago? I don't think I've ever seen Aoife in as bad of shape as she seems to be in right now. What's wrong with her?" Maybe Aoife had gotten sick? If Aoife had the flu or something she should probably be taken back to the school immediately. Sleeping outside wouldn't help her get better at all.

"I am nothing much past a herbalist and very basic medic, so I can't say much about her state. What I DO know is that I was once kindly reminded that I never left her alone, so I'm sure she's fine however she is now." Aphelion said loudly, some irritation erupting when he spoke of leaving her alone, "Beyond that, I haven't aproached her tent, as she herself asked, so I won't be doing that either."

Besides, I can't back out now, she'll just hurt me again in the future if I give in now.

Groggily lifting her head with a, "Yes mother, I'll practice extra hard~" She would look up at Melissa and realise who she is talking to, a strong blushing coming through as her mind catches up with what had just happened, though mentally she would be trying to push one thing, or rather person away into a form of quarantine .

Melissa giggled at the girl, motioning for her to open her mouth so she could pour water from the canteen in her hand in. Surely Aoife had to be at least a little bit thirsty.

Indigo plopped down next to the fire, Trying her best to remain as unperturbed as possible by what had just happened. She unstrapped Favonius, setting the gloves beside her. For a while, she just warmed her bare hands by the fire, keeping Katy in the corner of her eye, lest she try anything. Eventually, it occurred to her just how awkward the situation was, and she grasped for an excuse to leave the campsite and Aphelion's vigilance. "I... Just noticed how sweaty I am! Is there a stream or waterfall I can wash up in anywhere near? Maybe it was just the recent explosion still ringing in her ears, but Indigo couldn't hear any water nearby at all. She quickly began formulating new excuses in her head that would demand privacy. 

Aphelion smiled to her, "Actually, Miss. Evans, I was just going to go and show everybody such a place precisely. The only other interested participant went to the tent though..." he stabbed the fire with the stick, "But if you're interested I'm still taking applicants." he glanced between Katy and Indigo, seeing if either are willing to go, "Of course, if you still don't want to go, Katy, you could watch the camp while, you know..." he shook his hand at Aoife's tent dismissively.

Katy waved a hand off toward the woods, only briefly glancing mistrustfully towards Indigo. "You two go ahead," she said, pulling her rifle off her back and sitting with it across her lap. "I'll keep an eye on things here. If anything goes crazy you'll hear if I start shooting, I'm sure." She frowned slightly, tapping her thumb on her gun in thought. "I'll, um.. get directions to there later, or something."

Looking rather awkward, she would slowly comply, opening her mouth rather wide, eyes closing as she makes a, "Ahhhh." Sound, seemingly trying to cheer herself up.

''Alriigh then!'' Aphelion jumped excitedly, grabbing Indigo by the wrist, ''Then let us make haste before night befalls camp.'' with that he pulled her up and ran down the path, disappearing behind the bushes and dragging her after him.

"Eep!" Indigo was dragged behind Aph, tripping and struggling to match his pace with one arm attempting to go ahead without her. "Hey! I can follow just fine on my own you know!" She whipped her wrist out of Aphelion's grasp, beginning to trot at her own pace. "Geez. What are you so excited about for?" Then, Indigo remembered exactly who was taking her. She slapped her forehead. "You... Don't get to... Stick around."

Aphelion slowed down as she pulled her wrist back and stopped at her final words. He looked off to the side and sighed, "I... I know, Miss Evans... Obviously. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could... The situation was really heavy."

He gulped and continued to walk by the cliff face, "I need to get some water for the food so... I'll let you in on a secret. A small climb beyond the waterfall is a hidden cavern, covered by branches. There are some smaller water drops in there so you can wash without me watching."

Formulating a mischievous plan for her own enjoyment, Melissa slowly poured water into Aoife's mouth, until she had drank enough to (probably) sate her thirst. Once done, she gently closed the girl's mouth with one hand, and kept her eyes covered with the other, whispering a "shhh" as she did.

Leaning in close with a quiet giggle, she moved to kiss the girl lightly on the lips... but at the last moment her muscles twitched and she ended up kissing the girl on the cheek instead. Close enough. Obviously divine intervention had stopped her from going for the lips, and who was she to argue with the gods?

"Now get some sleep!" She said, her returning bossiness contrasting sharply with the kind softness she had shown just before. With that done, she lowered Aoife's head to a pillow and left the tent quietly.

Just staying flushed, it would intensify at the kiss with the temperature of her skin rising as well. Eyes bursting open, she would not even be able to formulate even words as her head is lowered. Unable to think or even tell if she should be glad Melissa gave her a kiss or angry that she did that, she would quickly swap her clothing from that of her armour to her elaborate pink nightgown, going under the covers as she leaves her aura active enough to keep walm, dozing off quickly.

Indigo sighed. "Will you quit calling me Miss Evans?" The end was said in an imitation of Aphelion's voice. "Geez, I'm not my mother or your boss, call me Indigo damnit." It occurred to Indigo that, having been rushed to the location, she had never grabbed a towel or toiletries. Though, she came up with the excuse on the fly simply to escape from the drama.  "I really don't want anyone watching me, but thanks anyway." She pauses to question further, but decides against it. She begins her journey to the hidden area mentioned. I really should get washed up anyway, I guess a quick rinse won't hurt.

"Okay, Indigo." Aphelion laughed, before kicking a fallen branch up and catching it, spinning it in his hand, "If you don't want ANYONE watching you the cave is probably the best place-" he said, pausing afterwards. A small smile formed on his face, "Though feel free to call me in any case. Having previous experience in walking in on naked girls and medical experience I try not to be a nuisance."

Katy looked up from the fire, shooting Melissa a curious glance. "So?" she asked, still not having any real idea what was going on. Aphelion's explanation did almost nothing to clarify things. "Is she sick? Should we pack up and start heading for the Academy or what?" Katy didn't particularly mind going back, especially if one of them wasn't feeling well. It would be better to cancel the trip early and try again when everyone was feeling their best.

Melissa shook her head, sitting down next to Katy with a sigh, somewhat tired from dealing with the emotional wreck of a girl. Had she done anything right? She really had no idea! What was the social norm for a situation like that? Should she have raped Aoife or something? Oh well, no point worrying about it now!

"Yup! She's mostly fine, just really tired I guess! So I stroked her hair a bit, gave her some water and then kissed her goodnight and put her to sleep!" Melissa said casually, lying down to gaze up at the sky.

"Oh, well.. as long as she isn't sick," Katy responded, looking back at the fire. Kissed her goodnight?"She'll probably be back out and about after a nice nap then, I guess." Katy waved a hand in the direction Aphelion and Indigo had gone. "The other two went off to that waterfall spot a little while ago," she said. "If you wanted you could probably find them, or track them down or something."

Shrugging, Melissa stayed where she was, in a nice, relaxing, slightly vulnerable position. Comfortable spot, good company, warm fire, what more could one want? A waterfall didn't sound very comforting compared to that, strangely enough.

"Naaahhhh, I'd rather stay here and keep you company!" She said, cheerfully throwing a smile at the girl.