Evolving

[Kotorikun]

"Are we going skinny dipping or what?"

Declyn dipped one of his bare feet into the water, focusing hard on his balance and the presence of it to begin with. The rain had stopped by now and the three of them had managed to walk through the woods without any big issues but also with no Amelia, no Cecil, no Cam, no Diego, no friends in sight.

[Declyn Grayson-Anthis continued from Everlasting]

Noises, strange sounds, yes, Declyn was also sure he had caught a glimpse of someone but before he could have done anything about it they were already gone. Through the woods and around their original destination, the waterfall, down to the lake.

Behind him lay his bag with a bunch of selected blossoms and leaves on top of it. For further testing at a later time.

Eyes half closed, his knee bent with the cuffs of his jeans rolled up, he let himself lower to the ground, sitting down. His other foot joined the other.

Dare to breach the surface and be pulled in.

[Primrosette]

"A-Are you sure that this is a good i...idea, Declyn?"

((Drew Woods continued from Everlasting))

Drew was a bit further way from Declyn and he was feeling a bit more sickly than normal. He wondered if he was looking more terrible to the others and the thought of trying to pretend that he was not getting worse was starting to sink in more. He knew that he should be at a hospital as soon as possible and he had to maybe, just maybe have his arm amputated. But that was not going to happen here and he just had to accept that he would have to embrace death sooner or later. Maybe sooner.

"...It would be n-nice to have a splash a...about...." Drew's voice was getting more hoarse and dry as time was getting on and he just want to have Declyn and Theo happier. Even in a life and death situation. "Uh.... I...I have never done skinny dipping before, to be f-fair."

He coughed weakly into his hand and he slowly sit down beside Declyn, keeping his legs crossed. He really needed to be careful with his arm and it was just starting to irritate him more and more.

[Kotorikun]

Declyn's gaze shifted from the deep teal of the water to the light of Drew's eyes. He studied him for longer than intended, his feet movements increasingly restless under the surface which caused small waves to ripple.

High up, the vast sky was getting darker. For a moment, it seemed like the whole world was in a sick condition and everyone infected, against their will, even if they thought they were whole in soul and body. He let out a very soft puff of air.

“If you’re shy you can leave your underwear on, I guess.” He rolled his eyes in a playful way and manoeuvred his arm around Drew’s waist. After a moment he spoke again.

“..... Can I just say how strong you are?..... I don’t want you to let it slip away. That strength.”

[Primrosette]

Drew felt like he could have melted in Declyn's arms just then and he felt like he was going to start crying, feeling himself wanting to let everything go. He was getting more and more tired lately and his arm was starting to get harder to move. He felt like his arm was getting number and number and it was hard to not think about it now. He was completely scared. He wasn't strong at all and he felt a little better to hear it from Declyn's mouth.

I don't understand why Declyn always has to make me feel better. I wish that I could do the same for him.

"Haha, I'm not a wild guy like you, Declyn. I'm not strong..." Drew admitted honestly and he was shaking against Declyn's side, clearing his throat to cover up a sad sob. "It's getting harder to have hope here, Declyn. But with you.... I felt like everything going to be okay for a while."

He wanted to tell Declyn so badly about some personal stuff but he wasn't sure if this was the right time and he was getting more worried about making Declyn feel down and sad. He felt his good arm slowly wrap around Declyn's waist in return and he felt himself trying to avoid eye contact with him, feeling himself thinking about Declyn and Cecil. He still felt like he had reacted the wrong way to the news about them and now he.... he....

He didn't know what to say.

"M-Maybe I can dip my toes in...?" He suggested with a weak-sounding chuckle.

[Jan de Witt]

(Theophilus "Theo" Walterson continued from Everlasting)

Theo had been sitting by the lakeside when all this had been happening: he felt exhausted by the constant traveling they had been doing, especially in the forest, and was glad to have been given a moment's rest. It was funny, if he was being entirely honest with himself, that despite all of the death that abounded in this place, the island never really stopped being beautiful. His thoughts were interrupted by Declyn's offer of swimming: watching as Declyn invited Drew into the lake with him, saying encouraging words all the while. He considered joining them, but he felt almost like an intruder in this scene, joining in something which he really wasn't supposed to. The minor matter of being seen immodestly nude probably played a part as well.

Finally jolting himself out of his inaction, he walked over to them and made his excuses. "Well, you can swim, but I don't think it's really that safe for all three of us to be swimming at the same time. I'll stay on watch and guard our things?" He did not wait for a response, instead gathering up the bags and looked for a place to watch over the rest of the lake.

[BlizzardeyeWonder]

[Camilla Bell continued from Sufrace Tension]

It was getting late, and Camilla decided before heading to the woods, she would go to the lake and maybe take a bath. That would be nice. It would take her mind off everything for a little bit except it wouldn't because she would constantly be looking over her shoulder for someone to ambush her.

All the while she walked, she found herself sometimes looking to the sky. Say, who said God lived up above definitively, anyway? It made metaphorical sense, and that's all that mattered with religion she supposed.

She still did not say anything to Him.

The shore of the lake came into view, and she heard people talking- they sounded familiar.

Very familiar.

Could it be...?

She came closer, walking along the shore of the lake, cautious.

Three boys at the shore.

It couldn't be.

She came a bit closer, and waved.

"Hey...!"

[Kotorikun]

"Dip your toes in? Wild," he joked and patted Drew's thigh with the hand that had been on his waist when he pulled his arm back. The bandages that Jonathan had wrapped around his arms were still there even though it wasn't necessary. The fall had just left a few small cuts, and it didn’t hurt, but he wanted to leave them on.

He rubbed his left forearm and looked at Theo.

“Aw, come on.” Declyn moved his hand behind him as if trying to reach out to him but the other was already busy with his bags. “.... Okay, I get it. We could use a lifeguard. Now more than ever,” he added. Well. He wished he didn't have to word it like that and puckered his lips unsurely.

He kept the position for a moment, even more so when he heard a voice that made his heart leap like it had its own mind, holding anyone dear very close. Quickly pulling one of his legs up, he straightened his back.

"Is this......"



He jumped up.

"Cam!!!"

[Primrosette]

Drew was feeling more and more overwhelmed by everything and he felt like his stomach was threatening to throw up bile again. He was just really relieved that he could keep it down and that he wasn't going to ruin Declyn's face with his vomit. That would have been so nasty and gross if he had. His head was starting to pound with an oncoming headache and his smile was slowly starting to weaken while Declyn was talking to Theo. He should really check on the wound, right? He really wished that he hadn't been so foolish with Gervais on the first day and he hated himself for wondering where Ty was. He shouldn't care about him at all. But he couldn't help it; even if he was with his best friend and another friend from the gardening club and now he was selfishly thinking about another boy. He wondered if Erika was-

He suddenly saw Declyn jumping up to his feet and calling out a name that they both knew pretty well. Drew didn't register what had just happened at first and then it took him a few moments after his eyes widened in surprise. That voice.... It was.... No way, no way! It was really her????

"W....Wha.... W-What...?!"

Drew was not as fast as Declyn as he was struggling to get up to his feet because of his stupid arm and he was turning himself towards where the voice had come from. He didn't even realized that he was crying again and he honestly didn't care that he was. He was pretty sure that they were happy tears and not sad tears.

"C-Camilla...? Y-You.... You're really h-here?!"

[Jan de Witt]

As Theo settled into the guard position he had decided on, he kept a close watch on the grassy fields and woods nearby, at least initially. Soon, however, he found himself drifting off, bored by the unchanging landscape, exhausted by his unexpected reunion and repeated, mostly aimless, treks across the island.

Theo was already firmly in the process of dozing off when a shout in the distance called his attention. He only recognized it as familiar at first, but Declyn's cry confirmed his suspicions. Climbing down from his position, he ran over to Camilla, grinning widely at her all the way. As soon as he reached her, all of his sudden, energetic excitement burst into a flurry of questions. "How did you know how to find us, Camilla? Are you still okay? Have you seen anyone else?"

[BlizzardeyeWonder]

As lingering uncertainty in her senses faded, a smile spread across Camilla's face, as one after another each of them stood up and expressed their joy. It was infectious- she broke into a run to reach them.

Theo ran to her as well, and she stopped before they could crash into one another. Almost instantly afterwards, a barrage of questions. They felt unclear and hazy in the heat of the moment, but she could vaguely make them out. She had answers, and she opened her mouth to say them.

But nothing was said.

Instead, her hands reached out and pulled Theo towards her, into a tight embrace. Tears, she could feel them on her face again, but this time they were welcome, even the breathless delirium they brought.

"I missed you!" she cried out. "I missed you all!"

She remembered to draw a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

"I thought I'd never see you again..."

[Kotorikun]

From there, before he knew it, Declyn felt himself blinking some tears back, his brow slightly wrinkled in an attempt to stop himself from fully breaking out into an ugly cry.

He jogged, then ran and threw his arms around Camilla while Theo was still in hers. Exhaling, he let out a soft laughter, his arms around both of them at some point. All she said, he could return the same.

The ground felt muddy beneath his wet bare feet, harsh, but it didn't matter. Not right then.

[Primrosette]

Drew was too wrapping up in his own tears as he was watching the others get into a group hug and he felt like a dummy for not moving his butt to join them. Maybe it was still because he couldn't believe that the four of them were really together and that it wasn't some crazy dream that was all in his head. Camilla.... Camilla was really with them. It wasn't some dumb dream and he almost felt his legs giving out under him due to the relief of having a dear friend reunited with them.

Now we just need Diego with us to complete the set. I hope we can find him before things get any worse. I'm worried about him being out there without us.

"C-Camilla...!" He was blabbing her name over and over again in his horrible sobbing noises.

He didn't run over to them with his sluggish body dragging him down a bit and he kind of tried to walk towards the trio of huggers. He felt a warm feeling take over him as he moved beside Declyn and he gently wrapped his good arm around Camilla as well. He never wanted to let any of them go and he wished that this could last forever.

[Jan de Witt]

As he hugged his fellow gardeners with an almost manic joy, Theo felt a sense of euphoria wash over him, chasing away his irritation at the lack of a response. He might have been more exhausted than he had ever been before, but with the help of a few fortunate coincidences, he was more secure than he had ever been before, safe (as much as was possible in this situation) from the perils of isolation.

The moment eventually passed, however, as Theo remembered that at least one person was missing from their group. A serious look crossed his face. "Camilla, is Diego with you?"

Even as he asked the question, he knew what the answer would be. Loosening his embrace slightly to look at the others more directly, he tried to inject a tone of cautious encouragement into his voice. "If not, maybe we should look for him? We shouldn't leave him alone, not here."

[BlizzardeyeWonder]

There was always heat in the air of the island, an uncomfortable amount. But in that moment, as the others joined in on the hug, Camilla felt warm inside, the pleasant kind that evokes the feeling of huddling by the fireplace with a soft blanket and a mug of hot chocolate.

It's a shame it had to end, wasn't it? And the disorienting heat reared its head as Theo pulled away.

So, Diego wasn't with them either...

A worried frown flashed on her face for just an instant. "He isn't," she confirmed.

Diego, she really hoped he found a group he could work with. The thought of him being all alone out there... potentially in danger. Camilla desperately wanted to believe he was somewhere safe, at the very least, except nowhere was safe on this island and maybe like with Bert they just didn't announce-

Camilla didn't want to think of that, but it was still a possibility.

"I just..."

Instinctively, she raised her hand at the ready to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes, pulling away from the group hug more.

"I was so worried about you all, I-"

Where was that poise she had back during their cave trip? Where no worry or panic seemed to reach her, a beacon of stability and calm or so she liked to think. Surely, now of all times was when they needed that the most?

Just focus on answering Theo's questions. Even from before. She needed to keep herself together. First things first- was she okay?

"I'm- I'm okay. Better, now at least." If she touched the part of her face where she was struck, it would still have that dull, sore feeling. But she was better now, mentally at least. And it wasn't like she was seriously hurt to begin with. "And I- I was heading north, and I decide to visit the lake because..."

She found it in her to smile a bit. "Hah... I wanted to take a bath, but well- well, you're here now, and that's better than a..."

"...oh, god, I'm rambling," she muttered, as she scanned the group. She was planning on answering the whole thing about who she saw, because she could say a lot about that, but what she saw...

...Bandages. Blood.

The frown from before slipped back onto her face.

"What happened to... you, guys?"

[Kotorikun]

She looked rough. But who didn’t at this point?

Declyn couldn’t help but lift his hand towards Camilla’s cheek. He brushed it carefully, feeling the wetness of the few tears and helped her dry them before he withdrew his hand, quickly rubbing both of his bandaged arms.

“Don’t worry. This is nothing. Jonathan and I took a little…. well, fall.” He shook his head, narrowing his lips. “It's really nothing.....” He inhaled sharply, then sighed. “I was inside one of the houses with Ivy, Ace, from the football team, and Amelia. And Lori. I wish we could have all stayed together, but Lori.... Can you believe they also handed out drugs? As a weapon?” And he still carried the two bottles in his bag.

The image of Lori doing the karate Slap Chop move when explaining her encounter with Paloma and other weapon suddenly popped into his mind. So that was a lie.

“Just, ridiculous stuff. Really," he added sadly.


Turning his body back towards the lake and indicating that he wanted to move back there with them, he made sure to stay close to Drew. Even though, and he didn't want to say it out loud, it hurt to look at him. He almost didn’t want to. No matter how many times he would tell him how strong he thought he was, it wasn’t going to magically and physically heal him. Declyn knew that he wasn’t. And he himself, too.