Into the Woods (Liam)

[Camila Reyes]

Camila had a very bad habit of internalizing everything. Sure, she did not really care about what other people said about her, but that did not mean that she did not take the criticisms to heart. Added onto that was the fact that she felt responsible for what went wrong, especially if it involved any of her friends. Normally, she just forced herself to smile (or scowl, depending on her mood of the day) and pretended that nothing was wrong. She was good at ignoring her feelings, and that was an advantage, considering that the past few months had been nothing but an emotional mess for her. Between her growing frustration with her lack of sleep and a splintering of a very dear friendship, which nearly literally ended with the building in flames, the stress was just too much for her. She had snapped in class more times than she could count and the teacher had been so concerned that he had sent her to talk to someone. Of course, that had hardly helped, because she was a very private person to begin with. The end of the school year brought more schoolwork to her, which only spiked her stress level more. The coping methods she had been using were not working anymore, and she did the only thing she could think of: run.

After changing into an outfit more suited for the environment she was heading to, Camila headed out to the forest. As she wandered through the woods, she wondered how this was even going to work. Sure, people would know she was missing, but they would soon forget about her. They had done the same for others, too. She shook her head a little; she was not leaving this plane of existence, just trying to hide from her problems. She knew it was childish and stupid, but it was better than keeping up the facade that she had been keeping up for far too long. After a certain point in time, it was best to give up the act, and, as much as she did not want to, she had to, for she was too exhausted to continue. She let out a soft sigh and paused to lean against a tree. It was really hot that day, and she could feel the sweat rolling down her face and the back of her neck. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and stood still for a few moments, observing the plant life around her. The colors around here are nice this time of year, she mused to herself, leaning over to pick a small, yellow dandelion from the thick, green grass around her. She knew the plant was a mere weed, but the color was so bright in the gray world of her mind that it made her smile, just a little bit. The yellow reminded her that, even when things seemed bleak and desolate, that there was always a bit of hope. She always seemed to find something in nature that would reassure her, even if it only soothed her for a few moments.

She started walking again after a few minutes of standing around. For some time, the only sound she could hear was the wind rustling the leaves of the trees. She could almost feel everything that she had been obsessively thinking about leave her mind as she took in the peaceful calm that surrounded her. Maybe a walk in the woods would not be a bad idea on a daily basis. Of course, she would have to be careful, because she knew the prefects covered that area on their patrol route, but no one could blame her if she walked after school, right? She would just be a “good student” and go inside by 9 o’clock, despite the fact that where she went was not where she was supposed to go. This school can kiss my tersero, she thought to herself while she searched for a nice place to sit down for a while. It was only when she decided on a place to sit that she heard a rustling nearby. Immediately, she jumped to her feet and her senses were on high alert as she looked around, trying to determine where the sound was coming from. She could feel her heart accelerate in her chest and, in response, a dim, yellow light started to glow around the fingers of her right hand. She stepped forward, slipping the bag she had been carrying off her shoulder and letting it fall into the grass with a dull thud. The more logical side of her assured her that she was just paranoid, but the more primal, emotional side of her was wary as ever, considering that some students had disappeared and then re-appeared in recent months. She kept her right foot forward and raised her hand slowly, the yellow light still swirling around it.

“Alright. Sergei, if that’s you, I’ll kick your a**. If it’s not, I have no idea who you are, and you better show yourself now, or I will attack. I really don’t want to; I came here to relax, not fight.”

Usually, her voice would have been louder and sounded much more threatening. Her current exhaustive state had drained pretty much all of the bite she normally had in her, though. She just wanted to know who was following her and why so that she could just go back to being in her own little world. She wondered for a moment if it was Carter, but she figured the older young woman had too much on her plate to worry about her roommate, no matter how close they were. Maybe the other person just happened to be walking through the same area and startled her. Whatever the reason, though, she just wanted to be sure so that she could just sit against a tree and maybe even read the book that she had brought with her. After all, she had not had much time or energy to do many of the things she enjoyed. For that moment, though, she had to figure out who was also with her and whether or not the other person was dangerous. She hoped that she would not have to fight, because she was really not in the mood for doing so.

[Liam Dalton]

❝

in the latest midnight hours when the world has gone to sleep, you've gotta get up. when doubts begin to rise and the world is at your feet, you've gotta get up. reach, it's not as bad as it seems. i cleanse in the river for somebody else, for anyone but myself. i'm not a selfless man, i'm not a man of wealth.

❞

It felt like it had only been a couple of hours since Liam first stepped off of the boat, and became integrated into the school. He still felt like he had just picked up his class schedule, left alone to navigate through the castle for each period. It certainly didn't feel like the first day had passed - let alone the week that actually did. He had spent his morning staring at his phone's scene for a good twenty minutes. Trying to wrap his head around the idea that five days had passed so quickly. It was kinda mind-blowing. Although, it was kinda relieving in a way. Sure, time had flown by faster than a clock on speed, but that just meant he made it to his first Saturday without a hitch. 

Left with the entire weekend to himself the new Prefect needed to think of a way to make the most of it. Setting his phone on the table next to him, he reached up, and started to scratch the back of his head with his index finger in thought. "Well, I guess I can try to familiar myself with the school." He muttered under his breath. Truth be had, Liam had just barely been able to navigate through the halls to find his classes. So, it was safe to say that anything else was a complete mystery to the young man. Nodding his head. He jumped up, and quickly at dressed. Slipping into a black t-shirt with a large red heart design, white cargo shorts, and some chucks.

A few hours later, the multicolored-hair teen found himself roaming the forest. His eyes widened a bit as he traversed through the trees, and other plant life. It really shouldn't be anything special, but having spent his entire life being a medical research guinea pig, Liam couldn't help himself. He almost wanted to stop in his tracks, lean up against on of the trees, and crack open a good book. Actually, that didn't sound like a bad idea at all. He still had move then enough time to check out the castle. A dorkish grin grew on his lips, as he started to dig through his bag for a paperback when a voice suddenly cut through the silence. 

Attack? Sergei? Oh this wasn't going to end well. Gulping down a small portion of fear, he waited a few seconds before stepping forward. Both of his hands raised in the air with his book held in his left. "I'm deeply sorry miss if I scared you! I was only looking for a place to read." He said with a polite smile, as he came to a soft stop, leaving a good distance between them. His switched between her, the strange light surrounding her hand, and back to her. It was probably for the best that he kept his distance. He wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing whatever that energy could do. 

489 words ● Camila Reyes ● Let's get the ball rolling!

deltra of gangnam style

[Camila Reyes]

Camila knew very well that the woods were a public space, at least, in terms of the school. It was not as though a single person (well, besides the governments of the world) had control over them. Still, the rustling startled her a little. Most of her teammates and the few friends she had knew not to sneak up behind her, because she had a tendency to throw a punch wherever her arm happened to be, or, if the person was farther away, she would launch a yellow aura sphere at the person out of habit. Being in a place that was meant to be a death trap for a year and a half had certainly made her paranoid and, honestly, she had no idea how people like Calista and Meredith had survived so long without going completely insane. She had been told time and time again that she had come at a time of peace, and that, even at that time, there was a lull in the bloodshed. Of course, she remembered that nasty battle like it was yesterday, and maybe that was one of the reasons she had taken refuge in the green foliage. Images still haunted her nightmares; ghosts that refused to leave her, even though she had begged for forgiveness over and over again. Those that were close to her reassured her time and time again that the events of that day were hardly her fault and that things were supposed to happen for a reason. She wanted to believe what they said, she really did, and, in some ways, she agreed. However, no one had really taken responsibility for what had happened, so maybe, inside her own mind, she took the blame herself so she had a reason to hate herself for not being strong enough. The more she thought about it, the stupider it sounded, so she shook off the thought, straightening out the blanket she had brought with her. She just needed to relax and little and recharge away from people. Besides, she had been looking forward to reading the book she had snuck back onto the island after taking a rather exciting trip to the mall. Well, that was, if someone had not startled the ever loving crap out of her.

Thankfully, the person that showed himself seemed to be rather unintimidating, or, at least, from a distance. Camila could only make out the form of a person and, consequently, she stepped forward to get a closer look. He was dressed rather casually, much like herself, though, so she felt herself relax a little. Clearly, this young man was not a prefect, or at least, not one that was on duty. Granted, she had no knowledge of that information, but, in all honesty, it was not important to her. After getting to know a few prefects during her time at Ashford, she had decided they were not bad as a group, overall, though there were some members that she was not particularly fond of. A small scowl crossed her lips at the thought, but she shrugged it off, turning her attention back to the young man that was standing before her. Her sapphire gaze was drawn to his hair, which was multiple colors, oddly enough. The last person she remembered seeing that on was Isabelle, and even then, it had been a long time ago. Speaking of Isabelle, I haven’t seen her in a long time. I hope she’s still alive, she thought to herself, willing the thought to dissipate as quickly as it came. The last thing she wanted to think about was death and people going missing. It was only when his soft voice drifted to her ears that she was able to bring herself back to the present. She noticed that he had his hands up in a gesture that was akin to surrender. Almost immediately, the yellow energy swirling around her pale fingers seemed to vanish, and her shoulders, which had tensed, unbeknownst to her, relaxed a little.

“Oh, thank gawd. And here I thought I was going to have to defend myself.”

With that, she sat down on the blanket she had spread out earlier. She then reached over to rifle through the bag she brought with her and extracted a book of her own. It was mostly unmarked, because she had taken the dust jacket off of it while she had been in her room. She placed the object on her legs, which were criss-crossed, one tucked under the other. She opened the book and skimmed through a few pages before looking at the young man from under her eyelashes. She had almost forgotten that he had addressed her. As much as she wanted to be surly and slightly rude, like she normally was, she did not really have the energy to be either of those things. However, her sense of sarcasm was still intact, so she decided to make a small, joking jab at him.

“Really? You don’t say? And here, I thought you were here to deliver some food to your sick granny who lives in a tree in this here forest.”

She snickered a little to herself, finding the joke rather funny herself. Then again, she always laughed or smirked at her own jokes, because other people did not normally do that. Once the moment passed, she smiled at the young man, though it was rather weak and hollow. Normally, her genuine smiles made her sapphire eyes shine, but that day they were dull and tired. She gestured to the area around them, indicating that there were plenty of trees to lean against and read a book. She found the thought kind of ironic, in a way, but she had not heard any bulldozers recently, so there was no way they were harvesting the forest on the island to make any paper, for books or otherwise. That would mean that we would be allowed to leave. Heaven forbid that happens, she thought with a shake of her head. She glanced over to the young man, addressing him before turning her eyes back to the book resting her lap.

“Pop a squat anywhere you’d like. Sorry for flippin’ out at ya’. Being here for a while makes ya’ a little paranoid. The name’s Camila, by the way. Camila Reyes. And you are…?

[Liam Dalton]

With the small branches, and leafs crunching under his classic black-and-white converses Liam navigated through the vast forest. Maneuvering himself around trees, the multi-colored hair boy stared in wonderment as his chocolate hues absorbed as much of the world around him as possible. His hands grasping the strap of his book bag. His fingers curled around the leather so tightly that his knuckles turned bone-white. All signs that was he completely entrapped with his surroundings. The singing of the birds, the chirp of a cricket, and other noises of nature whispering in his ear. Along with the beautiful view of the golden streams of sunlight shinning through the crack in the leafs. To the young man it simply reminded him of all the fairy tales he read as a child.  Stories of beautiful princesses, young mermaids, and far-away lands leaping to memory as he became at a lost for words. Unable to properly describe how he was feeling.

He wanted to take just a moment longer to truly inhaled what was around him before diving into the world of his books. However, that plan was cut short whenever Liam heard a voice cut through the trees. Winching a little bit at the sudden shout, he thought over what the stranger was screaming about. Then deciding to reveal himself, gulped down whatever remaining fear he had, and stepped into the open. With his novel in his left, he raised both of his hands, and started to speak. Hoping that his casual choice of clothing, gentle persona, and the book would make him appear like the little nerd that he was. It seemed to have had worked as the girl's shoulders loosen up, and the ball of energy dissipated. Letting out a sigh of relief, he smiled awkwardly at the girl's first choice of words. "I'm terribly sorry about that." The Prefect said in a soft voice. 

After that, she seemed to have forgotten about Liam. Seeing by the way she just kinda plopped down on the ground, and started reading. An action that caused a curious reaction out of the young man. A slim brow raising up behind his messy bangs, as all he would do was watch the girl. He was a little hurt that he had been that forgettable. After all, they had just met within an enchanted forest, and she was incredibly beautiful. This literally screamed Fairy Tale! Then she looked up at him through those lashes, and he suddenly tensed. A very faint blush coloring his cheeks as he held in his breath. Only for him to slump over whenever she gave her witty sarcastic remark. A nervous laugh escaping his lips as he scratched the back of his head. "Would that make the big bad wolf mam?" He said with a light chuckle. "I'm afraid you'll be howling. I seem to only have these books. No treats." Lefts his hands up into the air, his palms pointing upwards as he shrugs his shoulders. 

However, the hollow look in the girl's eyes didn't go unnoticed by him. Even within this dimly lit forest, it was easy for the Prefect to spot the black hole within the girl. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable by noting it, or refusing her offer, he moved over to a large root that stuck out of the ground, and sat on top of it. Pulling out his book, and cracking it open as he looked down at the first paged. "My name is Liam." A pause. "And it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Reyes. "

[Camila Reyes]

The until crunching and other sounds had been too far for Camila to hear. However, as the young man neared her location, it was louder. In all honesty, he was about as sneaky as a herd of stampeding elephants. Then again, she figured that whoever it was probably new, considering the fact that those who had been at the school for a little while had learned to, at the very least, walk softly. Still, she was not sure how dangerous this other person was. For all she knew, he or she could be some kind of cannibal, out prowling for his or her next meal. This thought did not scare her as much as cause her adrenaline to surge.

Thankfully,it was not needed, and she relaxed a little bit. She observed the young man carefully, keeping her distance. His hair was certainly different; colored an inky black contrasted by a snowy white. She could have sworn she saw some grey, but his soft and gentle facial features revealed no sign of stress. As a matter of fact, he still had a bit of a boyish face, so she figured he had to be younger than she was. Then again, she had often been confused for a 14 year old despite being nearly 18, so she really had no room to talk. She brushed the thought aside and continued to survey him, taking in little details. His eyes were only a shade or two lighter than her hair color, which she found rather interesting. His body language and quiet tone of speech revealed that he was rather timid, which made her chuckle to herself. Talking with him would certainly be interesting, considering her own personality. She waved her hand at his words and settled down on the blanket, getting comfortable in her spot.

"You're fine. Like I said, after a while, paranoia sets in."

Camila started to read the book she has carried with her; a withering copy of Hamlet . She had been tempted to pick up her copy of Macbeth from under her bed, but, whenever she looked at it, she saw fire. Of course, said fire was strictly figurative, considering that she had no fire power to speak of. The point was that there were some bad memories attached to that particular copy of that play; mainly the fact that the last person who read it had been an a** to her and looking at it reminded her of the whole situation. Her hands tightened on the book she was currently holding, her knuckles blanching from the sudden pressure. She noticed the blush on his face and raised a thin eyebrow; what was that reacton for? The sheepish laughter that escaped from him made her shake her head, but his response made her chuckle.

"Maybe. Don't worry, though. I won't eat 'cha."

She laughed a little and winked. She was not being serious, and she tried to make that clear. Some people mistook her jokes for seriousness at times, so she tried to make them more obvious. Her sarcasm, on the other hand, continued to confuse people, since she had a tendency to switch between joking and regular sarcasm. She shrugged a little to herself, watching silently as the young man settled on the root of a nearby tree. She watched him open the book before turning back to her own and continuing where she had left off. His voice pulled her out of the action surrounding the ghost of Hamlet's father. She nodded politely, giving Liam the courtesy of a glance as she replied to him.

"You as well, Liam. If you don't mind my asking, what book do you got there?"

Camila, no matter how her attitude made her seem, was a nerd at heart. It had always been below the surface; it only just happened to show when her interest was piqued by someone or something.

[Liam Dalton]

Liam might not have been trying to conceal his presence, but to be able to sense him simply through sound alone, especially in a forest as heavily dense as this one, It was pretty amazing. The Government had told him that such a skill could only be taught, or earned through experience. And for this girl - Liam had a feeling it was the latter. From what he could tell she wasn't a Prefect, the way she carried herself, and how she eased up when she saw him. However, these reasons, as good as they were, weren't the reason Liam felt this way. He didn't have a logical reason for why, but all he knew was that it felt like something was telling him. Like a quiet voice in the back of his head whispering "Friend...." He quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind however, now wasn't the time to be hearing ghosts. 

As the two of them continued their conversation, Liam couldn't help noticing that the girl seemed to be observing him. Something that suddenly made the teen uneasy as he turned his head away from the girl. Trying to hide his face behind his bangs like a little kid would do when standing on stage. The blush on his face expanding. However, for Liam it made him feel like he was an animal in a cage. Being watched and studied. He took a few shaky breathes to re-steel his nerves. It was okay, it was just some girl. A very beautiful girl, but still just a normal book-loving girl with attitude... "Um, Miss? Would you mind expanding on what you mean by paranoia?" A pause. "you mentioned it before." He asked in a soft voice once he had settled on the root. 

Sitting so that his back was resting against the back of the tree, he let one of his legs hang over the edge while the other was tucked neatly underneath him. Using it to create a makeshift cushion so his bony bottom was pressed against the harden bark of the oak. Once he was settled, his eyes trailed down the book the girl was reading. It was a little strenuous, but he was able to make out the format of the words. He tilted his head slightly. Shakespeare? And given the condition of the book, it was one that she had read a great number of times. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Her knuckles; there were bone white. The boy's eye widen in shock as he opened his mouth to say something, but he slowly closed it. What could he say? "Uh?" Suddenly snapped back into reality. All the teen could do to reply was mumble in confusion. "Oh! Yea! That would be greatly appreciated." He said with a small chuckle. The smile lines in his face shown clearly.  

"Hm? Oh I'm reading an old favorite." He said a small voice as he looked up from his book, and held it up for her to see; it was in great condition like he had been very careful to take care of it. Although it age could still be seen by the yellow pages, showing that it was an original. "The story of King Arthur." A small smile formed on the Prefect face as he lowered the book, placing it back in his lap. A passionate light sparking in his eye as they entered into a conversation about something he was extremely passionate about. 

[Camila Reyes]

Camila never used to observe people so closely. As a matter of fact, she used to flat out ignore them before she came to the school. The more she thought about it, the more she noticed that she had indeed become far more paranoid while at Ashford. Then again, who would not be if a dangerous person could go off the handle at any moment and innocent bystanders could possibly pay the price for it? It seemed that the flood of students arriving were a little more benign than the ones that had been at the school when Camila had first arrived. The previous year had been an ebb and flow; the death of hundreds intermingled with more students coming into the project, for better or for worse. Still, she could not help the strange feeling somewhere inside her that things would soon be thrown into chaos once more. She could almost sense this was the calm before the storm, which could be a horrid disaster. Of course, she had no real proof of this, and she certainly had no ability to see into the future. If there was one thing that she could cite as her proof, though, it would be that human interaction was typically dynamic, but cyclic. It was always changing, but it followed a similar cycle every time. Peace. Built up resentment. Anger. Hatred. Bloodshed. Truce. Peace once more until someone pissed off the wrong person again. She had only seen one complete cycle in her time at the school, sure, but she had seen cyclic interaction patterns throughout her time at her old school, and she knew they existed. The young man’s gentle voice shattered her thought pattern and she blinked a little, refocusing her vision. She must have fallen too deep into her thoughts again. It happened a lot, in all honesty. She got lost in her head sometimes, and the only thing that could snap her out of it was trying to get her attention and change the subject. She pondered his question for a moment, scratching her cheek and looking at him with a puzzled look. She could not tell what the title of his book was from the angle she was located at, but surely someone who read would know the meaning of the word ‘paranoia’, right? Unless maybe he was referring to what she meant by paranoia, meaning the manifestations of such a feeling. Ah, that was very easy for her to explain rather than the concept itself.

“Well, I find myself looking over my shoulder a lot more than I used to. Then again, that might just be because where I used to live, I knew everyone, whether they liked me or not. Here, I know a lot of people, but there are more unfamiliar faces than familiar ones, and I’m not sure who I can trust. As a matter of fact, if I don’t recognize someone, I find myself looking at them more closely. Probably more because I want to gauge whether they’re dangerous or not.”

Her explanation was thoughtful, but slightly detached, as if she did not want to give away her true feelings. It was followed by a simple shrug before she settled down with her book in hand, reading the well-loved copy with a suppressed enthusiasm. It was only when her thoughts drifted to one of the other books under her bed that the small upturns at the corner of her mouth suddenly went in the opposite direction. She idly wondered if the scar tissue on her knuckles blended in with the color they turned when she applied pressure to them. To divert her mind from such thoughts, she split her attention: the first chunk went to the words she was reading and the other kept an ear out for the young man she was semi-conversing with. If conversation could be counted as two people reading and occasionally speaking to each other, that is. His words caused her to look up him with a raised eyebrow. Had this kid even heard of a joke or being facetious in any kind of capacity? She tried to formulate a reply several times before shaking her head and returning her gaze to her book. For some reason, she found it easier to answer him back while she was looking at the pages.

“Dude, I was joking… The only kind of meat I eat usually is of the cow and chicken variety. Even then, I don’t trust the cafeteria that much.”

She chuckled to herself bit before shaking her head a little. If there was one thing she had learned about school lunches early on, it was to never eat the cafeteria food. Things were always one extreme or another; undercooked, raw, and cold or overcooked, dry, and burnt to a crisp. Granted, she was no chef or food connoisseur either, but she knew when something was gross or sucked. The point was that she trusted very few people with the preparation of some kind of meat that needed to be cooked from raw, and the school cafeteria was certainly not on the short list that she had in mind. She turned her attention back to her own book for a few minutes before curiosity seemed to strike her randomly. She wanted to know what the young man was reading, for some reason. This sudden fancy did not seem to bother her much; she was quite the curious person, and, admittedly, she was probably a little nosy as well, but she liked to think her curiosity was more endearing than annoying. She tilted her head slightly when he mentioned the book was an old favorite. She wondered if it was an old favorite of his, or if it was some kind of classic novel. She leaned forward slightly to peer at the cover before he spoke to her again. She had to admit, despite the aging pages, which seemed to be progressing from a fresh white to an aged golden-yellow color, the book was in excellent condition. She looked back at her battered copy of Hamlet in her lap and chuckled to herself. She had a tendency to carry her books a lot of places, so they did get beat up a lot. Then again, she only bought paperback books, mainly because they were cheaper, so of course they were going to get ripped and beat up easier than hardbacks.

“Ah, okay. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Interesting choice, I must admit. Then again, no everyone shares the same taste in books. It’s similar to people’s taste in music; everyone’s different. Fantasy is certainly interesting, but I prefer classic stuff, though I will admit, I am a bit of a sucker for sci-fi too. I mean, come on, we’re practically torn from the pages of a friggin’ sci-fi novel with these powers and whatnot.”

[Liam Dalton]

The Prefect's brow furrowed when the girl's words reached his ears, and his eyes shifted downward at the ground. Bring his thumb to his mouth, he lightly bit down on it as he mauled over it. He knew before hand that the School wasn't perfect. However, he still thought that it was a relatively safe place for the gifted students. That fights breaking out were scarce, and any serious injuries were even rarer. But from the way this girl spoke.... Worrying about being randomly attacked was a very real, and constant danger. Probably even more so then he thought - given the way that she was detaching herself the conversation, even though it was about her, and the risks here. That wasn't normal... That was something you had to teach yourself to do. He was taught that it was a coping mechanism. It was a hard pill to swallow all at once. Everything he had learned told that this girl was just unlucky. That she was one of the few victims that had been wronged, but something inside of him told otherwise. He just couldn't put a name to it though....

"You know....." He started before trailing off, taking a moment to carefully consider his words before finishing. He needed to somehow lure her out, and share more with him with revealing to much about himself. "I was told about Ashford before I came here." He had chosen 'came' over a word like 'sent' to try, and let her know that his being on the island was not against his will. "And I was taught to believe that fights, and assaults on the student-body were not commonplace." Liam's eyes widen slightly at what he was saying. He didn't mean to say that, but for some reason he couldn't stop. "But for some reason it's like I know you're telling the truth...." What was he doing!? He needed to stop! "Almost like I've expir-" He cut himself short, his hand slapping over his mouth to silence it. His eyes like saucers as if he was shocked with himself. His blacken nails creating a sharp contrast to his cream colored skin.

He stayed that way for a couple of seconds until he felt like he had gotten a handled over himself. Pulling his hand away just a little bit, he took a couple of deep breath before slowly lowering his hands. His eyes glued to his fingers until they were back on top of the cover of his book. Afterward, he lifted his gaze back to the girl. Giving her a nervous, but polite smile whenever she got onto him for missing her joke, or rather his own poor crack making her think that. However, he didn't want to upset her, and choose to play along. Chuckling awkwardly in response as he scratched the back of his head. Soon after however, he blinked when she started speaking about her choice in stories, and her guilty pleasure in sci-fi novels. " Both of them are excellent choices." He said with a kind smile. Tilting his head to the side as he closed his eyes before looking back down at his own novel. Running his fingers gently a cross the cover. "But yea, King Arthur holds a special place in my heart..." He said as he smiled fondly, but also a tint of sadness in his hues. "He was a great and loving King. He led a legendary country, had a beautiful wife, and plenty of friends. Not mention he was unbeatable in battle thanks to Excalibur...." A pause. "However, even the Great King Arthur fell. His best friend betrayed his trust, his wife cheated on him, Merlin was sealed away, and Arthur...... he died on the battle field...." As he spoke, Liam's tone grew more and more woe. Like he was mourning the lost of something that was once dear to him. 

It was story that Liam strangely connected to. Almost as if he could sympathize with the lost king. Although, he wasn't strong, brave, a leader, or had many friends. He just did. He didn't know why.  
 

[Camila Reyes]

Camila was not entirely sure what kind of lies that the government had spouted to the young man, because he certainly seemed surprised. Then again, she had always been slightly on edge, ready to defend herself a moment’s notice because everything was her fault. She was not as smart as her brother; she had a miserable temper; she was never as nice and polite as he was. What did they expect from her? After basically beating her down for most of her life, they were outraged that she turned out to be a cynical, sarcastic b****. She had tried for the longest time to please them before flat out giving up and being the complete opposite, just out of spite. Sure, in recent times she’d become a little nicer, but the biting edge was still there. She knew better than to let down her defenses; it would only serve to make her miserable. She sighed a little and leaned back, resting her head against the trunk of the tree situated a little bit behind her and to the right. Green leaves fluttered down from the branches, as if the tree were trying to acknowledge or even welcome her presence. She caught one in her hand and placed her book in her lap, twirling the stem between her thumb and index finger, watching as the textured green whizzed quickly back and forth. After a few minutes of playing with the leaf, the brunette glanced over at the young man, who had his thumb in his mouth. She wondered absently if he was biting his nails, or if he was actually determined to tear the flesh off his thumb. She could not tell from her angle that the bite was hardly anything at all. All she saw was a small flash of white clamped down on a very pale shade of peach. She wondered if he had ever even been outside. It would certainly explain the wonder that she noticed glittering in his eyes when he looked around. She let the leaf flutter from her hand and land on the blanket, forgotten in her train of thought.

“I’m a little more on edge than most people. I have friends who were here at the school’s worst. I guess you can say their attitude rubbed off on me a little, heh.”

Images of her Battle Front companions flickered in her mind’s eye and she chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head. Sure, she had not been present for the rampant death and destruction that the older students talked about, but she had witnessed a horrible battle that would probably haunt her dreams forever. She had learned to cope with it all, somehow, after cycling through deep lows of depression and high levels of anxiety that made her snap at anyone around her for no real reason. She brushed the thoughts aside, trying to instead focus on Liam’s words. She shook her head; of course they had told him that fights were not common. It was just like the government to do that, but then again, she might be viewing the situation through a jaded lens, since she knew what really went on. She also noticed his choice of words. Came implied that he had chosen Ashford as an option instead of whatever else there was out there for people like them. I don’t even want to know what the other options are, she thought with a shudder, imagining death by a firing squad or worse. His next words confused her a little bit. Of course, she was telling the truth. If there was one thing Camila Reyes was not, it was a liar. She always told the God-honest truth, even if it was in the rudest manner possible. More often than not, she really did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings; she had no mental filter that prevented her from saying exactly what she was thinking. The young man continued to ramble on, sounding frustrated with the stream of words leaving his mouth. The brunette raised an eyebrow when he finally silenced himself by all but smacking his hand over his mouth. The black nails did certainly not pass unnoticed by the girl with sapphire eyes, but she was more interested in why he seemed so surprised at himself.

“Well, of course I told ya’ the truth. I may be blunt, but I ain’t a liar. Hey, did you paint those yourself? If so, kudos to you. I get so frustrated with those kinds of things. Makeup, nails, hair and that other girly kinda stuff. I don’t have the patience for it.”

She simply looked at him for a few more moments before looking down at her own book. She remembered that he was not really fond of being stared at, so she decided to glance away so as not to make him uncomfortable. She grinned a little when he complimented her taste in books. It was very rare that she talked about such a thing with anyone but Carter and Ash, who both shared her interest in reading and were coincidentally her best friends. She had never struck a chord with a stranger quite like she had with this young man and maybe, she suspected, it had something to do with the fact that she was, more or less, hiding from her problems and finally relaxing. Maybe, all she needed to do was come out to the woods every once in a while to wind down. Either that, or she had known him before and not really remembered him very well. She brushed the thought away; there was no way she knew who this young man was. Something about him told her that he was trustworthy, but she had no idea what it was. It was probably his timid, slightly awkward demeanor. After all, the less a person interacted with others, the less they would probably tell. Then again, with that logic, she would not really be friends with Ash. She brushed the thoughts aside. There was no real reason to get too deep or personal, after all. The brunette glanced up at the young man with multi-colored hair, pushing some of the growing strands out of her sapphire eyes, which were filled with sympathy for the fictional king that he described. She could see a few parallels to her own life within the story. Stephen had betrayed her by leaving. Roman was sealed in a coffin far below the surface of the ocean. Her parents had been murdered by her own brother, who had in turn betrayed her by turning her over to the Ashford project. She let a wry chuckle before speaking.

“Sounds like you sympathize with the guy. I can too, in some ways. I mean, obviously, I’m not dead, and I’ve had no boyfriend to speak of, but the betrayal, the isolation, and death… I can sympathize with that any day…”