Ben nodded. "Yeah, sure." He agreed, standing up and stretching. He pulled his backpack up onto his shoulder as Manami got up as well, and he waited for the two to follow him to get ready for the campfire.
...
Umiko nodded, neatly pulling off his shoes and placing them next to each other on the sand. "Just tell me if you change your mind." Were the only words that came out of his mouth before he took off his shirt, diving into the water gracefully. He didn't care that he was in normal shorts, they'd dry out anyways. He swam to the surface, treading water and looking at Alex. "I haven't swam in a week." For most people, that wouldn't be a big deal. It was a different story for Umiko, though.
Alex took a few steps into the water after him, but not enough so that his pants would get wet. He smiled as he heard Umiko say that, though he also couldn't help but laugh. "And that's reason enough to go swimming in your shorts?" he teased lightly, then turned his attention to the sun that was about to finish setting. It threw nice hues of orange across the large body of water, and Alex just felt like appreciating the view for now. He'd really have to go here with Asher at one point.
Umiko nodded, dunking his head underwater for a moment before bringing himself back up again, turning to see the sunset. "There's always a reason to swim." He told Alex, sounding like he'd never been so sure of himself in his life. The sky was looking nice as ever while the sun went down, and Umiko always found himself going underwater to see it from below the surface. He wondered briefly if Manami had swam here yet. "Have you met a girl named Manami?"
I don't remember whether they've talked about Manami yet or not, so sorry if they already have xD )) Citrine
"I can't remember hearing her name before," Alex said, watching Umiko swim for a moment. A few moments later, a bright smile suddenly overtook his face. "There's always a reason to swim, huh?" he murmured to himself, then took a few more steps forward, stepping into the water with his pants. Taking a deep breath, he took off his shirt, throwing it back to the beach, then took a large step, submerging in the water for a moment before surfacing again, giggling. He pushed some of his wet hair out of his face. "I guess I'll take the risk of swimming today, if you take the risk of opening up to me, perhaps."
Umiko almost smiled, the start of one playing up the corners of his lips. "She's my little sister." He explained, an image of her smiling from earlier that day popping up in his mind. "Haven't seen her in a few years, had no idea she'd be at camp when I got here today." He cupped his hands, pouring some water onto his hair, feeling the cold drops fall from his hair and slide down his face. "Was just wondering if you knew who she was, wanted to see how she was doing." His explanation was rather quick, but considering how much Umiko usually talked, it was impressive to get that much out of him in the first place.
"I see. I'm sure your sister will be glad to see you again. My older sister's the Apollo counselor," he explained with a smile. He kept himself up on the surface just by moving his feet underwater. Alex could swim, his technique was just a bit off when he actually swam. Still, he felt like opening up a bit right now, too. At least with the basics. "My boyfriend, as you recognized, is Asher, not sure if you ever had his name mentioned today while you were looking around, but he's also an Apollo camper. I've been here since I was ten, and let me tell you, you'll love this place."
He smiled at Umiko, squinting a bit as a ray of the dying sun hit him in the face. Then, moments later, he slammed his hands down into the water, splashing Umiko with a bright laugh.
Umiko almost squeaked, dunking himself under the water before coming up again, splashing Alex as well. "It seems like the kind of place I'd enjoy. As long as I get to swim." He said, except for the slight grin behind his voice. Then, he had an idea that would hopefully help him dominate the splash battle they seemed to have started. He dove back under, into the darkness, giving it a few seconds before swimming and popping up right in front of Alex, about two feet away, splashing lightly in case the boy was too surprised.
Alex had been about to reply, but then Umiko went underwater and Alex raised an eyebrow, looking around, but not seeing anything. He could imagine what Umiko was planning, but he was still a little surprised when he surfaced only a bit away from him, and then the water already rained down upon him as he got splashed. With a laugh, he wiped it out of his eyes, water dropping off his nose as well.
With a grin, he splashed Umiko once again, swimming a little bit backwards to put distance between them afterwards. All of it really made him forget about the new camper acting a bit too friendly with Asher.
Umiko gave Alex a look, a mock serious one, and said suddenly, "Are you really winning? Think about how much I love water. Do I mind getting splashed?" It was clear he was just messing with Alex,and he had to go back under the water to prevent himself from smiling before breaking the surface, splashing Alex again, using most of his strength now since there was more distance between them. Honestly, he was all for being competitive, even if he really didn't mind being splashed. It was ridiculous how happy he was to be in the water again, especially with somebody he maybe could consider his friend, although he'd never admit it out loud.
"Yep," Prue said in response as she did hear the helicopter which was strange for the camp as most of the campers ran out to see what it was and she was tempted to go see for herself too, "You can sit at your cabin's table or at your friend's table with them, so anywhere really." She couldn't tell if she was more curious about seeing what the commotion was about or if her stomach would get the better of her and demand food.
Nathan followed after the Zeus camper to see what it was about as he heard murmurs about her being either rich or being a aphodrite camper who the new girl currently had her arms around Asher and looked like she was 'in love' or something, "Well this will be fun." He said sarcastically outloud to himself, "I guess I'll handle this...." He added before walking towards the two of them as since he was the Aphodrite Counselor it was probably best if he showed her the pink cabin and he knew fully well that Jarvis Hso swan was still ontop on the roof.
Chevy was currently walking though the camp's entrance as she couldn't wait to see everyone again since she didn't come last year because her grandfather was sick and her stubbornness to put parties on hold and dramatics aside did shock the mortal-people she knew, she had noticed the helicopter which made her frown since she didn't like rich snobs but they did throw good parties but still; Queen Chevy of Drama was back and she wasn't going to let anything spoil her mood plus she wanted to finally be able to whack monsters with her mallet or challenge poor campers into fighting her.
"Hmm...my favorite memory? I have too many to count,but i guess, it would be the memory of meeting all you and making friends here on the forums. :3" ”One day I’m going to sit down and make a list of all the books that I finished reading....” “It's going to be a long list...”
Lucia bit her lip, then held Nathan back by his arm. "I think the damage is already done - they're heading to the dining pavilion from the little bit I've heard," she said. "You could show her the cabin later? In the meantime, we should probably get that swan of yours down from the cabin so that it won't attack people." While that was easily said, Lucia had no idea how to go about that, so she ended up laughing a little. "Any idea how we can do that?"
"Probably not, but it's still fun," Alex retorted, only to squeak when the water rained down upon him again. He spat some out, then shook his head much like a wet dog. "I'll get you back for that," he promised teasingly, splashing him back. He hadn't even noticed the sun completely going down by now.
Umiko scoffed, because there was no way he was letting Alex win this. He was usually completely introverted, but when there was some competition, he couldn't help but come out of his shell just a bit. "No way." He said, a happy spark in his eyes. He dove under the water once again, but realized that the sun had completely gone down when he opened them, and all he saw was blackness. He swam up, telling Alex, "Actually, it's dark. It's not as safe now. Should we settle this another time?" He asked, looking up at the sky.
Nathan stopped when he was held back as he nodded, "Already got an idea, I can give him his collar back and he'll be content." He said awhile taking out a golden chain collar that did look like it belonged to a dog which was the only way to have the bird stay on land and Jarvis might be a swan but he's the weirdest one ever. "Don't ask, he loves this thing more then what's in his mouth...."
"A-Awesome!" Chevy squealed awhile seeing a horse with a skull tattoo on its shoulder blade but she didn't ft closer since it looked mad about the flying device which made her wonder if the mare had been asleep and was startled, "Don't worry missy! I hate it too~" she giggled before skipping more into camp with her backpack hanging limp from her shoulder and she was carrying a pen in hand like it was the best thing in the world which happened to be a giant mallet which she used to play whack-a-mole with monsters.
"Hmm...my favorite memory? I have too many to count,but i guess, it would be the memory of meeting all you and making friends here on the forums. :3" ”One day I’m going to sit down and make a list of all the books that I finished reading....” “It's going to be a long list...”
Alex looked around as well, realizing that it had indeed gotten darker now. He smiled, nodding. "Yeah, let's settle this tomorrow~" he beamed before swimming back towards the shore a bit clumsily. He laughed a bit at his soaked pants, but then shook his head. "I feel like we should get new clothes from our cabins before heading anywhere else," he suggested, water dripping off his hair and onto the sand.
Lucia raised an eyebrow, then giggled at the situation. It just seemed too hilarious. "Well, whatever you say. Will he just come down here, or do we have to make him come down?" she asked, twirling a strand of her blonde hair absentmindedly