fate//false

Perhaps it was a little too early to start preparing for pumpkin carving, but Min knew very well that they would not rest in ease until they’ve got everything in their to-do list well done and crossed out–a habit they seemed to inherit from their mom. They usually considered it a practical and helpful trait. And it would’ve been perfect if Min wasn’t attached to the routine to the point of being shambles if anything goes slightly wrong.

Thus their perfect plan: start work early, finish work early. That way, they’ll have enough time to fix anything that could go wrong before the event’s start and therefore avoiding any possible nervous breakdowns. So far, it’s been going very smoothly. They’ve cleared up the area and made sure all materials were present, but still had to move in more chairs to accommodate the bigger number of kids attending the arts and crafts building today.

Moving a stack of chairs was certainly not impossible, but when it was to be followed by many other stacks it wasn’t exactly a very easy feat either. Considering they’ve been up pretty early, there wasn’t much people around to help, so by their fourth trip Min has forsaken any hope of being relieved of some of their load. That is, until they spotted anothercamper they couldn’t clearly recognize through their peripheral vision. Legs slightly trembling under the weight, their steps hesitated as they considered calling out for help, then finally deciding against it as that person had no reason to help them. They’d rather save themself the embarrassment of asking. “Oh, this is very much fine, A few more and we’re done,” Min mumbled to themself–another one of their habits though it was one of coping rather than being inherited.

mari didn’t like waking up early. her sleep was holy. but since she never really got to experience halloween as a kid, she now felt she had to make up for lost time. and sacrificing a little sleep for that... well that was worth it. even if it just meant she was helping out.

she wasn’t in full costume yet, just the outfit, but she hadn’t had the time yet to do her makeup and hair. it wasn’t too uncomfortable though, she could do quite a lot in heels, a talent she liked attribute to practice, but probably also had something to do with her mother. either way, carrying tables and chairs and boxes of candles, basically arranging the arts and crafts building in such a way that a bunch of younger campers could safely carve some vegetables, wasn’t too bad so far.

that couldn’t be said for all campers who were helping out though. she saw some tremble under the weight of the objects they were carrying. she didn’t really bat an eye. if anyone needed help, they needed to speak up and ask. mari couldn’t smell when someone needed assistance. however, she turned around to grab some more candles to distribute along the tables, and almost bumped into a camper who was audibly mumbling... to themselves? for a moment mari had thought it was to her, but they didn’t even look at her. she did feel the need to reply though. “a few more.. and then we have to carry in the pumpkins. remember? big, orange, round vegetables?”

♡ —— MARI CHOI :: SANDY OLSSON / GREASE

mari loves classics, she used to watch them with her nanny as a kid. they remind her of happy times. grease is one of her favourites. until she came to camp she never really celebrated halloween. as the daughter of a rich diplomat it was deemed ‘too dangerous’ to go out and go trick or treating. her dad also never saw the point in dressing up, so she never was allowed to buy costumes, or even make some.

Celina smiled at her sister’s offer, a little friendly competition could be what she needed. Only five years ago, she never would have imagined having a family she actually cared about, it was amazing what time could do. Pulling out another arrow from her quiver, she chuckled as she turned to her sister. “Deal, but I know for a fact you have much more skill than I do. All your training clearly pays off.” 

Turning back towards the target, Celina positioned herself and let the arrow fly, and sighed when it landed just outside the bullseye. “I don’t think I was really made for physical battle,” she shrugged. “But if warfare still included a lot of deception, maybe I’d have a better chance at that,” she joked. After all, she was better with words and a pokerface than with weapons.

mari scoffed at her sister’s words. “don’t be silly. i’m good at throwing knives and punches. not shooting arrows. i’m... decent at that, at most.” okay maybe she was downplaying her skills just a little. but really, she was way better at hand to hand combat than this.

Celina wasn’t much of a fighter, not unless it was in self-defense. But she knew when she got here five years ago that she would need to at least learn to use one weapon. The bow and arrow always seemed like the best option, she had great aim and she had no desire to get her hands dirty. She was spending her afternoon practicing when she noticed someone else at the archery range. “I’ll be done in a minute, if you wanted the place to yourself,” she stated, letting an arrow go as it found its target.

mari had picked up a bow again for her weekly target practise. only a few days ago a young camper had asked her if she never got tired or bored of her strict training schedule. her answer had been a hard no, followed by a surprised laugh. she knew that not all campers were as focused on training their fighting skills as much as she was, but for mari it was a necessity. it was what kept her sane.

rosie was staring at the floor, her eyes stuck on one spot as if finding it interesting, but on her face was a bit of a bitter expression due to the flashbacks of everything that had happened coming back to her. 

she nodded in response, glancing at the blonde girl before looking away again. “uh… it’s… complicated? in a way? and i wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want anything to do with me after i explain, but…” rosie sighed, mentally bracing herself for what might come after explaining her situation. 

“uh, well… he- he passed away, and i was so pissed because i had no one left in my family, and… i-i… i kinda,” she cleared her throat, trying not to tear up at the memory. “i casted spells on the house and burned it down. our neighbors saw but obviously couldn’t tell what was happening because of the mist, but they knew it was me who did it because i was going hysterical in the garden. they… they basically called the police on me and… long story short after that, i somehow ended up in a mental hospital for pyromania for two years.” 

even though all mari could feel right now was anger and betrayal and.. just this ache in her chest, when rosie suggested she’d never want to have anything to do with her again, mari’s first instinct was to protest. however, she swallowed her words, giving rosie the space she needed to explain.

@marichci

❝ I think I just fell in love with you. ❞

mari’s head snaps to the side to look at isolde. “what now?” she asks, with a surprised expression. her mother being the goddess of love had never really been a benefit or perk in mari’s life. and situations like this one always made her feel very awkward. she wasn’t good with intimacy in a more general sense, let alone when it came to romance. “are.. are you being serious? i can’t tell..”

zara groaned as her head hit against her own arms, lent against as surface as she flopped over herself. she stayed that way for a few seconds before standing up again, the smallest hint of a pout on her lips. “i am so goddamn bored.” she complained, looking at the other beside her. “please save me. i am genuinely begging at this point.”

mari didn’t know why zara was coming to her for this, but she guessed it only showed how desperate the other girl must be. “no need to beg.” she dismissed, a bit distant and a bit confused. “not sure if i have any good options for you though.” mari and zara were pretty damn different. at least, as far as mari knew. which admittedly, wasn’t much. their only connection was rosie. 

“nevermind. that was a stupid thing of me to even say in the first place. you’re right.” she sighed, shaking her head and pushing her messy hair back. rosie should’ve known that everyone would think she’s dead, it yet she somehow wasn’t so surprised that it actually happened. 

rosie was exhausted, and needed to shower and sleep so bad. she probably smelled terrible and looked hideous with her bare face and messy hair. it wasn’t exactly a look she wanted the girl she had feelings for to see her in. “yeah, i wanna get this over with. i don’t want you to be pissed at me for some dumb shit i did.” rosie nodded, and started to continue making her way to the hecate cabin, expecting the blonde girl to be with her. 

as she expected, her room wasn’t there anymore. well, physically, the place was still there, but it was now empty, bare and so dusty. all of rosie’s old things were gone and she felt a pain in her chest over how easily everyone had given up on her. “come in.” she told mari quietly, and closed the door once she was in. the brunette stood there for about two seconds, looking around before finally putting her heavy bag down, and sitting down on the bare mattress. 

“so, uh… my grandpa passed away.” she started quietly, looking over at the window, trying to distract herself from thinking too much about it. she hated everything that has gone down in her life, and she didn’t know if she was ready to talk about it. but she didn’t care; she wanted to let mari know. “and i was in a mental hospital.” 

just rosie saying she didn’t want mari to be mad made everything seem a whole lot less heavy. like maybe they’d be alright. thing would probably never go back to the way they were before, that seemed unlikely. but they weren’t a complete lost cause.

mari trailed after rosie, not really walking together but also not walking alone. things were awkward when you knew you were going to get an explanation which would probably - hopefully - fix a whole lot, but since mari didn’t have that explanation yet, she also did not really have a reason to not be angry. it was weird. and what if rosie gave her a shitty explanation? knowing the other girl it didn’t seem likely, but the thought still popped up.

since rosie had disappeared, mari hadn’t been back to rosie’s room. she hadn’t even helped clean her things out, she’d refused to. not because she had been angry. well, maybe a little, but mostly because she refused to give up on rosie that easily. in hind sight, mari could either explain it as denial or some weird form of sensing rosie was alive. 

seeing the room empty like this was bit of a shock, even though it didn’t look so different from other empty rooms at camp. mari had just been too familiar with how it used to look. she leaned against the now closed door, hesitant to open herself up to rosie too much before the explanation. but as rosie sat down and spoke the first words, she could already feel her walls breaking down despite her best efforts. “i’m so sorry.” she said softly. for someone who knew a lot about losing people, she sure as hades did not know what to say right now. “a mental hospital?” her voice became a bit louder, shocked at what had just been revealed. “what.. why.. how did you end up there?”

a little smile appeared on the younger girl’s face, which was something that sometimes people barely saw. “it works well.” she responded with a nod, her hand softly running through the fur of her dog. “we’re powerful at night, yes.” nova nodded one more time, then patted the empty space beside her. “you can join me if you want.” 

“good for you.” mari breathed, more of an acknowledgement that she heard what the girl said than a real response. she stood still for a moment when the girl patted the ground and asked her to join. mari had been up on her feet all day. just moments ago she had been enraged by her father, but that anger seemed to have seeped away now that she had shifted her attention. though all she’d been able to think for the past hour was that she wanted to crash into her bed and just pass out, maybe it would be good to sit down and just.. socialize.

“jupiter.” she replied simply, pointing at the sky. the planet wasn’t visible without binoculars, but nova knew exactly where it was at this moment, and could easily point it out. she retracted her hand, along with the other one that was holding her star chart, resting above each other against her stomach, just above where he pet was resting on her body. but only a few seconds later, she was using her free hand to shield her eyes from the light coming from the familiar girl’s phone. “can you please move your light? i’m going blind.” she said calmly, never one to get angry or annoyed about anything. 

she could see the girl clearly in the dark, as if it was daytime. she’s seen the blonde girl before, and she was sure she was from the aphrodite cabin. nova was always someone who recognized people by their faces, but never by a name. “the harpies can’t see me.” she responded simply, and as if trying to prove a point, she used the shadows surrounding her to momentarily make herself invisible, along with her things around her, as if she wasn’t there at all, before she reappeared again.