Young Writers Society

Ignoring the most recent question, Dara inched away from the group slightly and moved closer to the river, her frown ever-present. Silently she touched the large obsidian stone on her right middle finger. Its harsh, searching vibration pierced the energy of the area around them; as she thought, there were no illusions here. This – everything – was real. For some reason she couldn't contact her brother with the Herkimer diamond, who also wore the same stone, and that troubled her greatly.

Dara observed her long-hanging black hair in the reflection of the river, how it framed her face in shadows. Where even were they?

The next moment she was passing through the gathered group, her boots tramping up the slope of the riverbank to meet Lex. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" And she gave a wry smile.

Oop, now they were leaving. That was a tad faster than Aegeas was used to.

With everyone distracted by Lex, punching a tree, or the floating objects, the otter quickly darted behind the arch. "Coming with us?" Aegeas said to the hound, who was still clinging onto the arch and crouching down in its shade.

"I'll keep my distance," Kendrik said.

"I don't know how safe it is-" Aegeas began.

The hound let go of the arch to raise a paw. "I ain't gonna change my mind," he said. "I don't like these people, I don't trust them, I'll let ya know if I'm in danger."

"By screaming, that's how," said the otter, but he ran back to the group anyways. As much as he wanted to, Aegeas didn't have the time to argue with Kendrik.

The otter came back just in time for Kiran to mention what sounded like a game. An appropriate game, all things considered. "What's that about?" Aegeas said, catching up to her.

"It's a game meant to be played with large groups of people. Basically, you take an object, like this coin-" she stopped it's bouncing to hold it firmly between her thumb and index finger. Her electricity bussed around it, visibly arcing between points on the edge, "and you pass it around in secret. Someone is then chosen as a 'seeker' of sorts, who has to catch the person with the coin while they have it. The game ends when the object is found, or when whatever time limit is set beforehand runs out."

She shrugged and tossed the coin again, watching the sparks fly thoughtfully, "Though it might be a good idea to get something non-conductive. Just in case this thing stays charged for a little too long after leaving my hands. Oh, and it's also common practice to toss the object around like you're playing catch when the seeker isn't looking. Just passing it quietly like a secret love note all the time is low-key considered an unofficial form of cheating. And it's always fun to try to keep a conversation up while the game is going. Adds some layer of fun."

"That sounds like a game the kids in my hometown would play," Aegeas said with a smile. "Count me in."

Lex hadn't heard of the game before, but it sounded like a fun one.

"I'd like to play it, too," he agreed. If he paid enough attention to the rules, he could tell the others about it the next time they needed to pass the time.

Dae was always up to play a game to pass the time. To be more accurate, he was always up to play a game, no matter what the purpose. The fact that this game was about hiding a small, possibly shiny object was only icing on the cake.

"I'll join," he said

Kiran looked around, "Anyone else?"

"I mean, yeah," Rayden told Kiran. "There's already a majority, so why not?"

Truth was, he'd never palyed a game just for fun. You don't have time for friends or fun when you're Rayden Avenley. Yeah, there'd been some one once - but Rayden didn't think about him anymore. He was forbidden from that particular memory lane.

Koran nodded, “Okay, who wants to be seeker? And does anyone have anything else that we can use as our object? I know that this coin isn’t going to hold a charge very well, but in the few seconds before it looses all of its charge it’ll be a bit too hot not to burn anyone. I was on my way to pick up a new pair of gloves when I got here ‘cause my other ones got a little, erm, shredded, otherwise this wouldn’t be a problem.”

Helenah sighed. "Sure. I'm playing." She looked aroind for Ruby but didn't see any sight of her. She shook her head, her blonde pony tail swishing from side to side. "I don't wanna be seeker though."

"I don't think I'd be a good seeker," Aegeas said, reaching down and picking up a pebble, "But I can be one if nobody else wants to."

"I'll also pass on being the seeker," Lex said. It wasn't that he wouldn't be good at it; he was afraid he would be too good at it. Aleks had given him reflexes he could have once only dreamed of, and it was hard not to tap into them.

Kiran shrugged, “I can always go first. I have no particular preference when my date mate isn’t playing.”

Tossing the pebble in Lex's direction, Aegeas nodded. "Let's get started," the otter said, glancing back at the forest to see if he could catch Kendrik. A couple glances later, Aegeas could see a familiar shadow darting between the trees. At least Kendrik was alright.

Kiran closed her eyes to give them a chance to pass the pebble around a bit so she wouldn’t know where it was.

If Nina was playing she would insist on declining the role of seeker, if only because it was much more fun to play without thick rubber gloves, and she could only really do that safely with Nina.