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Grian slams his car door shut with a loud sigh, taking in the lively noises of families, friends and animals alike. Why did he decide to go to such a loud campsite, anyway? He should know better! The Hermit’s campsite is known as the biggest, most lively in the area, anyway- with its own wildlife, farms and even nature left to live. He knows even a group of people attend every year- his own friend being one of them.
Is this a bad idea?
He shakes his head- this place looks amazing, and it even has areas designated to activities he knows he’ll enjoy. Could he really trust the word of the people, though? For all he knows, this place could just look good- and be really boring! It reminds him of a summer camp, to be honest, the one parents would enrol their kid in for a bit of alone time.
Grian sighs, glancing over at his tent- the cabins fill up quick, so he really had no choice but to go all original camping- it’s gotten him excited, to be honest! The only issue, will be seeing so many people - he doesn’t want a hand to touch his wrist, only for him to not know who did it- especially with the whole, stupid soul-bound thing. His last soul family did not end well, and he’d rather go back to them and find another, which isn’t exactly the best idea. He doesn’t want another bright blue handprint on his cheek- no-sire-ee!
Grian pulls out his car keys from his pocket, making sure his belongings were safely locked inside before looking around for the event sign-up sheets. While this camp is for adults and older teenagers, he has seen on their website that they have all these games he can’t wait to have a shot at! Though, things such as rock climbing will be packed from the moment he signs, until the moment he leaves next week. Well, at least everyone has a limit of a one-week stay, so there’s that!
Grian shakes his head, he’s getting distracted again! Screams and excited yells of groups of people reach his ears, and so he tried his best to ignore his surroundings, though the ringing definitely won’t go away for a while. His eyes track over to a tall noticeboard only a feet away- being at the front of the site has its perks, huh? He smirks, putting his open hands into his pockets as he starts walking over. His scene distantly reminds him of all those times he was dragged into extracurricular back in Highschool. He inhales with a small frown. He really needs to get away from all those memories- if he wants to forget about soulbounds, he needs to forget about Highschool!
Grian tilts his head in confusion as he walks up to the noticeboard, reading through the many, many activities. Why do all the counsellors have such odd names? Well, atleast the activities look like a lot of fun, even though he’s scared of the Xisuma Void guy who’s going to be hosting bungee jumping of all things. It doesn’t sound very reliable, does it? He hums, looking through the currently open activities for today- wow, there are so many names up there. Grian hums, putting a hand to his chin. Canoeing maybe? Wait, no that’s all booked out. Grian groans, trying to find a slot where he can put his name down for an activity.
“Fishing, kayaking, scavenger hunt,” Grian mutters under his breath.
“I recommend the third rotation,”
“AAHHH-!” Grian jumps back with a screech… a loud one. His neck snaps towards the source of the voice. Sweat drips down his forehead as he tries to catch his breath.
“Oh my goodness! I am so sorry, there,” Grian stares over at the brunette he found himself next to- must’ve been snuck up on. “I am so, so sorry for scarin’ you like that,” the man laughs. Grian looks over the man’s scarred face, the lips of the man perked up in a small grin. “I’m Scar, the counsellor for the third rotation- Geocaching is first, it’s real fun with me,” Scar puts his hand out for the blonde to shake. “I’m the only one not booked out, at the moment, everyone checked in and got their name down with all the Hermits they like- but I’m new! So, not many people, you know?” Grian stays quiet as the man rambles, keeping his hand to himself.
“Oh, sorry, I don’t touch people,”
“That’s okay!” Scar puts his hand back where it came from, happening to be right behind his back.
“Anyway, yeah, I’m Scar GoodTimes!” Grian just nods. “What's your name?”
“Grian- Grian Xelqua,” he answers, glancing back over at the board. “What kind of things does your group do?” he asks, looking through for Scar’s name.
“Mostly Outdoor Recreational Sports!” Scar answers happily. “We do a lot of swimming and scavenger-based activities throughout the day- the best group, if you ask me!” Grian laughs, amused by this man’s cheerful personality. “The best thing is, you get to hang out with me!” Grian laughs.
“Sounds fun,” he takes his hands out of his pockets, crossing his arms. “What’s first, again?” he asks.
“Geocaching! Basically a scavenger hunt, but instead of keeping the items, the person to log the most gets rewards,” Scar answers, explaining before the blonde can ask what “Geocaching” is. “Well, I added the rewards part- not many people want to hunt for stuff they can’t keep, you know?” Grian hums, nodding his head. He finally finds Scar’s name, and so he grabs a pen and writes his name down under the rotation. Scar grins widely.
“Lookin’ forward to seeing you in my group!”
___
Grian could only roll his eyes as he tries to navigate around the tsunami of campers pushing around to find their counsellor. While everybody else was looking for the place on their map, Grian knew exactly where to go- to wherever he sees Scar, of course! Grian wouldn’t say he likes Scar too much, though, that might be his trust problems arising as they always do. Can you really blame him, though? After one of his last soul-bonds manipulated him? Of course not!
Grian groans, pulling his gloves on more securely, making sure that no skin was visible besides his face- wearing a turtle-neck sweater really does help keep you contained! Grian faintly notes how many colours he sees on other people’s hands, yet he just tries to ignore it the best he can. They look like they have the hands of the Grianch! Can you really say you’d like brightly coloured hands? No? Exactly!
“Rotation Three!” He faintly hears being called. Grian looks up, spotting Scar at the very front of a small group, yelling to those who have no idea of where to head to. “Rotation Three with Scar GoodTimes!” he yells out, heard over the crowd of bustling, giddy campers excited for their first day of activity. It faintly reminds Grian of School Camp, yet again, from when he was younger. He inhales loudly, slowly walking towards the direction he knows Scar is in. Well, at least he knows who his counsellor is before he even started the activities earlier. Grian finds a place behind a small group of people, trying to keep to himself. He’s not gonna let a group of strangers get anywhere near him!
He lightly glares at a women stepping back, almost stepping right into him. How annoying. Okay, maybe that was an accident, he shouldn’t be mean for an accident. Grian ignores her, instead paying attention to the man at the very front of the group. He should loosen up and just calm down- not everybody is out to get him, or at least he hopes that’s the case.
“Well hello there, campers!” Scar greets, waving his hand High towards the group. “I’m Scar, and I’ll be your counsellor for this week- My courses will cover scavenger activities and water activities- it’s outdoor rec!” Scar explains, yelling over the talking of other people. “Today we are doing a scavenger activity in partners- set up by yours truly! Partners will be necessary due to the environment we are exploring, so please, do not complain!” A few people audibly groan, definitely wanting to do activities mainly by themselves, or at least not in pairs . “There are twenty-three of you, so partner up!”
Grian feels like his heart is ready to drop. Of course there needs to be an odd number of people in this group. Knowing his luck, he’ll be stuck with somebody who he does not like, and they won’t respect his aversion to touch, either. Damn this! He tries his best to not groan or complain, instead just looking around cluelessly, trying his best to look approachable. He glances around, though, there are loads of pairs already made up.
“Once you have your pairs, come grab your geocache log,”
Groups of people start to line up in front of Scar, chatting with him for a split moment before taking their book and turning back, waiting to the side of the area. Grian could only feel uneasy as the amount of available people decreases, and by the last pair, he obviously knows he’s going to be the one, sad guy alone. Scar looks over at him with a friendly smile. Grian doesn’t trust it. Why should he? There are eleven teams already, yes, but why couldn’t he just upgrade it to, like, five people a group? Wait, there could still be someone left out- damn.
“Heyy!” Scar greets, walking up to the blonde instead. “You’re the lucky one with me today,” he holds out a small notebook- presumably the logbook he had mentioned just before. Grian takes it with a suspicious stare. Scar just laughs. “What’s your name again?” Scar asks.
“Grian,”
“Well, Grian, you’re lucky I wasn’t the one who hid the geocaches- so I can actually be your teammate today!” Scar exclaims happily. Grian just nods, staying quiet. Does he really want to be paired up with the counsellor, of all people? Well, not really, but at least this guy would know the area like the back of his hand.
“Alright!” Scar claps loudly, drawing attention to him. “With your book, you are provided with a map, which includes locations of the geocaches, a compass, pencil and you are permitted to bring a provided backpack for food and water,” Scar explains. He motions his hand towards a small pile of backpacks, each with water bottles and snacks pouring out of them. “If you have allergies, we permit you to bring your own snacks, but they need to be run by me,” he adds. Grian just stares at him, soon only taking his eyes away to take a look into the book he was provided. Scar keeps talking, taking another few minutes to go over safety precautions, rules, and more that Grian can not be bothered listening to.
That’s how Grian found himself, map in hands, leading a chatty brunette around the nearby forest. His logbook was bare, well, mostly, with only three of the lines filled out with the Geocaches the pair had found.
“Yeah, i've been attending here for a few years- I’m still stoked I am actually a camp counsellor- I always loved the activities I did before i started working here,” Scar says enthusiastically. “You know, I actually found my soul-brother here- his name is Cub, and he’s also a counsellor- we are the best of friends, you know?” Grian can’t stand this. Well, yeah, it’s endearing, but he went past that, and now it’s just downright annoying.
“Scar, please, I just want to do the activity,”
“The reward is just a coupon for the cafe twenty minutes down, calm down,”
“Scar!”
“What?” Scar says with a grin.
“Am I supposed to know that?”
“Well, not really, no, but still! Don’t stress!”
“I’ll keep stressing if you don’t help me out!”
“Okay, okay,”
The two men continue to bicker as Grian leads them through the forest, constantly looking up from the map to try and recognise the place that they are at. Scar continues to chat his ear off in parts through their small argument, if it could even be called that. Grian blocks him out soon enough, instead only paying attention to the map in his hands. And he was supposed to be happy about being partners with Scar? Damn.
A hand is placed on his shoulder. Grian jumps back out of habit and surprise.
“Don’t do that!” He squeaks out, pushing the limb off his shoulder.
“Sorry!”
________
“Yeah, I have seven soulbounds!”
“Woah!”
“No way,”
“Yes way,”
Grian rolls his eyes, listening out as a small group beside him continue chatting. He doesn’t understand why people are so obsessed with having multiple soulbounds. Trust him, it’s not fun! It just means more of a hassle to deal with- Dom taught him that part.
“This happens every year- just ignore it,”
Grian glances beside him, spotting Scar peacefully sitting on a foldable chair. Grian rolls his eyes, leaning back on his own.
“There’s always someone who considers themselves so much better because they’ve got handprints or something all over their arms and face- I don’t even have two, so I don’t see the point, really,” Scar admits. “What about you?” He asks with a small grin.
Grian shrugs.
“Don’t have any, anymore, and I don’t care for looking for the others,” he responds. “All mine did was bring me a lot of crimes to my criminal record,” he partly jokes. Scar laughs.
“Sounds about right- not a lot of people have a perfect soul family, whether they admit it or not,” Grian nods.
“Yeah- One time I met someone who had ten- double the average!” He exclaims. “I do not know how they function, dealing with so many of them.” Scar laughs.
“Xisuma has almost fifteen- mostly camp counsellors,” Grian stares over at him with wide eyes. “Yeah- that's why he’s always wearing something that covers all that- too many people have the same reaction, you know?” Grian nods.
“That is an absurd amount,”
“I know!”
Grian thinks back to when he had a purple handprint wrapped around his wrist- the mark from the one and only Dom! Not to mention the paw print around his neck by the boy he knows as Samuel. He puts his hand to his collar, pulling up the fabric to cover where the mark would be out of habit.
“How many did you have?”
Grian thinks for a moment, deciding whether or not he should disclose this.
“Four- Sam, Taurtis, Dom and Ellen- they are all gone now, though,” he says. “I’m supposed to earn more, but I only found them.” He says. “I don’t want to find more, that’s why I wear so many layers- there’s less of a chance my skin feels it,” Scar nods in understanding.
“Yeah, makes sense- I have a habit of just touching people and I hate it,” he admits.
Grian nods wearily.
“Hey, there will be a campfire after dinner tomorrow, want to tag along with me?”
“Sure.”
________
“Today’s activity is survival based!” Scar announces, standing in front of his group with a grin. “Very simple- there is an obstacle course with things you need to complete to move forward, such as lighting a campfire,” he explains. Grian groans. “The course runs through a circle in the forest, and you do it in your pairs- though, I will not be physically there, there are cameras where I will mentor your progress from,” Grian feels sweat build up on his temple, being nervous. “This course will last you two hours, and you are given a limited amount of snacks, a survival book and one bottle of water each.” Grian looks over at Scar with wide eyes. “The first group out wins!”
The chatter starts, the pairs already starting to plan their tactic as Scar turns towards the bench behind him.
“Grian, you will be helping me monitor them, since I am your partner, after all,” Grian breathes out a sigh of relief, earning an amused chuckle by the brunette next to him. “We just need to set up their bags and then set them off- I have tablets as well for the cameras,” Grian looks back at the group of backpacks behind him, noting that they are the same as the last challenge.
“What do we need to put in them?” He asks.
“Exactly what I said! Nothing more, nothing less,” Scar answers, grabbing out a basket of snacks from underneath the table. “There are only a few snacks, so we need to give equal amounts out- one of the challenges includes getting their own food and water in the course, so they will be fine,” he adds. “If they cheat or don’t complete something, then they don’t count and you tell me,” Grian nods once more.
“Are all the activities going to be like this?”
“Nope! I’m taking requests for tomorrow’s.” Grian thinks for a moment, starting to divide the supplies evenly.
“What’s your stance on arts and crafts?”
_______
“And BigB spikes the ball!” Scar calls out fiercely. “Jimmy stumbles! And that’s a score for the Cookie team!”
Grian cheers, clapping loudly with the rest of the small crowd surrounding the Volleyball courts. He can’t say he likes Volleyball too much, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing to watch played! Even when commented as if it were a game of Basketball.
“Come on Toys! That’s ten!”
Grian jumps back as Scar’s arm almost comes into contact with his head, of course by accident- everyone knows Scar wouldn’t hurt a fly… or would he? Grian laughs. So far the ball has been thrown out of the court about five times, almost hitting a few bystanders just there to watch the game!
“Lizzy jumps up! Will she hit the ball?”
Grian stares up at the pink-haired woman, positioning herself to whack the ball to the other side. He watches intently, paying his full attention to the game at hand.
“Fantastic block by Ren! Come on Toys! Step your game up!”
Jimmy laughs loudly, hitting the ball up for another player to direct to the other side of the court. Joel jumps up, slapping the ball to the opposing area.
“And that’s the sixth point for the Toys!” Scar calls out. “Any new players entering the game?” He asks the crowd, finding only two hands up. “Alright teams! Elect a tag-off,” he commands, leaning back in his seat for the few minutes of break.
“Okay, so,” Scar turns over to Grian with a smile. “We sorted out the arts and crafts- it’s going to be on later on today, just right before the last mealtime, okay?” He informs. Grian nods.
“That sounds good,”
WHACK !
“Sorry!”
Scar looks down at the blonde in surprise, finding that a stray volleyball had been sent straight towards Grian’s head. Grian falls forward, leaning on the arm of his chair. What happened here? Scar hums, digging around his pocket for gloves to put on before he’d even think about moving the man. He pulls them on, sending a light glare to the group of Volleyball players.
“Be careful! What was that for?” He yells out.
“We were seeing if they could spike!”
“We’ll do it towards an empty spot next time!”
“Okay!”
Scar gently moves the blonde, grabbing his chin to make sure the man wasn’t out cold… unfortunately for him, Grian was knocked out by the sheer force of that spike. He hums, checking the spot on Grian’s head where he saw the ball hit.
“Do you need bandages or something?” Jimmy asks from the other side of the court.
“Just an ice pack, please,” Scar answers. “Go up to the counsellor’s office, we have them there,” he watches as one of the players jogs over to the direction of the office. He knows this is going to bruise- with the volume of the ball hitting the skin being loud .
He pulls Grian to a laying position, waiting for the ice pack to be delivered. He should be fine.
_________
“I can’t believe they knocked me out cold,” Grian groans. “That is so embarrassing,” Scar just laughs, waving it off.
“No! It’s not,” Scar responds. “It’s happened before,” he says. He presses the ice pack against Geian’s head, despite the protests that he can do it himself. “You need another pack soon,” he mutters. “Once another counsellor knocked me out with a baseball bat,” he admits with a small laugh. Grian smiles uneasily. “If you start to feel unwell, go to the medical area, okay?” Grian hums.
“Yea, alright,” he sighs, reaching up for the ice pack. He hesitantly presses his fingertips on the packet, lightly touching Scar’s covered fingers. Scar hums.
“I still can’t believe they spiked the ball that badly,”
Grian hums.
“They’re going to apologise for it the next time they see you,” Scar warns.
“Well, at least it was funny, you know?” Grian says with an amused smile. “I can’t imagine how everyone else saw that happen,” he laughs. Scar nods.
“I just saw you go limp on your chair,” Scar chuckles. “If you’re still up for it, we could do arts and crafts later on- I don’t think it’ll be in the daylight, though,”
“Yeah that’s fine! I just want to be creative this week, you know?”
“Of course! I love arts and crafts and bein’ creative, too,” Scar cheers happily. Grian laughs, pressing the ice pack more to his skin as Scar removes his hand.
“That’s great. Do you have anything for the crafts set up?”
“Well, not yet, but we could always take a look later.”
Grian nods.
“ That sounds like a great plan,” he agrees.
“I’ll bring some leftovers if you want?” Scar offers. “Being hungry at night is the worst.”
“Ooh, yes please.”
_________
Grian loves the stars.
He can’t explain it, but whenever he’s had an eventful day, he loves just stargazing. May just be from the knockout he experienced today, but it was a good enough excuse!
“Grian!”
Oh, Scar has arrived.
Grian smiles, glancing to his left to meet the eyes of his camp friend
“Scar!” He calls out in return. “You’re late!” Scar just laughs and sits down next to his friend.
“Hey, I brought food, I have a valid reason for being late,” he says, setting down a small basket next to the blonde. “I couldn’t find any supplies we can use in this darkness, but I have a blank book we could try and use,” he adds on, pulling out a small sketchbook from the basket- though, it strongly smelt of food. “What are you looking at?” He asks.
Grian smiles.
“The stars,” he answers. “I love the stars, they are just so pretty and I finally got the chance to go stargazing again,” Scar nods, laying down next to him with a small grunt of discomfort.
“The grass is so uncomfortable as a pillow,” he whines. Grian rolls his eyes, amused.
“Just use me,” he blurts out. Why did he say that? Reminds him of the time this happened with one of his soul-brothers.
“…really?” Scar asks, looking over at the blonde. Grian laughs with a shrug.
“Yeah, sure, just use me as a pillow,”
“But you don’t like touch?”
“No biggie, I know, the grass is sometimes uncomfortable,” Grian holds his arm out, grabbing onto the back of Scar’s shirt before dragging him over. Scar doesn’t refuse, though he still blinks in a confused manner.
“Look, that is the Orion constellation,” Grian says, pointing up high. Scar looks up’ staring up at the stars. He furrows his brow. “Lepus and Taurus are somewhere nearby, they’re supposed to be both in around the same place in the Northern Hemisphere,” he explains. Scar hums, trying to figure out where Grian was pointing to.
“Isn’t that a Harry Potter character?” Grian laughs.
“Well, technically yeah, but there’s a theme around stars there, so,” he shrugs. “You’ve read Harry Potter?”
“No- just used an audiobook,” Scar responds. “What other constellations are there?” He asks.
“Well,” Grian thinks for a moment, staring up into the sky. “There’s the Canis Major- you’ll recognise this part,” Grian says. “It contains Sirius in it- the Dog Star, really,” Scar nods.
“That’s so cool,”
“I know!”
Grian just lays there, noting off any constellations or stars he knows about, of course, he knows many. Not really much else to do but look at random, cool things sometimes, right? Scar listens along intently, even though he obviously does not know where to look- it amuses Grian, to be fair.
“How many stars are there?” Scar groans. Grian smiles.
“Too many.” Scar lightly swipes Grian’s hand.
“Hey! Is that snarky?” Grian looks down at his palm, noting the bright green tint that has suddenly appeared. He just stays quiet. “Heyyy!” Scar glares lightly. Grian just stares down at the colour, eyes wide.
Could he really accept this? He inhales deeply.
Why does the soulmate always need to be someone who cares?