The campfire (Accalia)

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Jacob didn't know it but he the way he was sitting made it seem like he was staring straight at the campfire. It wasn't that hard. He could feel the intensity of the heat, even from where he was. He was starting to doubt a lot of the things going on around him. He was slowly becoming pessimistic. The sad thing was...He had good reason, or at least in his mind he did. A sigh escaped him as he lightly slid his hand across the fur of his small dog, boots, his breathing still hoarse.

Jacob had gotten a little better at his powers so he was circulating the air to help the little dog breathe. If he could he would use his powers to keep that up until the small dog came out of it, but he didn't have the energy available. He had come to doubt that he ever would. Which meant that boots chances of survival still had not changed. But the fresh air and the familiar light of the campfire did him good. Because of his position as cabin leader and because of his eyes he had a group of people helping him from giving up. Mainly one person though. Taking a pause to breath he joined in on singing the song that everyone had been nearly screaming out. From what he could tell, boots wasn't minding the noise in the least. It seemed the dog had gotten used to it.

[Accalia Phillips]

Accalia wasn't really in the mood for singing. Her sister Harper had stopped by that morning just to tell her and Dawn that she was leaving. For good. It really hadn't been a good start to the day for Accalia. She decided to spend the day avoiding people and going on several walks with her dog. Basically it was just one long walk the entire day along the whole of camp for several hours. She decided not to get Jacob too worried by telling him what was going on. He had his own things to worry about.

As everyone started singing happily around the fire Accalia found herself brooding in the corner with Frederick at her side. Jacob probably didn't even know that she was around. He was too surrounded to notice her presence, she was sure. She took a deep breath. Time to cheer up and face him. He stood up and pushed through the loud people to her boyfriends side. She sat next to him, Frederick next to boots. "Sorry i've been MIA today." She started, softly.

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Even though there was a group of people around him Jacob had made sure to leave an empty space in case Accalia showed up. He was use to some attention since he was blind but whenever boots was in the infirmary it seemed to increase greatly. He didn't know why and he figured it didn't really matter. He had other things to worry about. Though there were some things that were off this time. He couldn't hear Harper singing or even that weird Dawn girl...In fact he couldn't hear any of the Demeters.

As the singing paused for a second he let out another sigh before taking a deep breath so he could sing again he heard some footsteps. At first he figured they were leaving to take a break. Some people had started doing so with the fight between the Primordials going on and such but after a couple seconds he realized they were moving towards him. He lifted his head in the direction of the footsteps, his eyes still seeing nothing. He was curious to who it was, his hopes lifting as he hoped for his girlfriend to appear. A small smile appearing on his face as he heard Fredericks paws hitting the ground. Using the wind to find her he leaned closer to her and left a small kiss on her shoulder. "It's fine...It's good to know you're still here." He spoke, oblivious to Harpers disappearance at the moment. Normally he might have been able to hear the tone of her voice or even any change in her breathing. But the blind man couldn't really hear that well or listen to his instincts with the singing going on and his worry focused on his cabin leader duties and Boots. "Where you been?" He asked her, his curiosity spiking slightly.

[Accalia Phillips]

Jacob always had a way of surprising her, even by doing his signature move of kissing her shoulder. It was something that Accalia loved. It was very sweet and somewhat protective. Her mind wandered for a moment back to the time when they first met, got to know each other and started to be interested. That was a really fun time in her life, and being his girlfriend has been one of the best times she's ever had. The only problem was that so much drama had been going on in each of their lives that they barely had any time for each other lately. Accalia sighed, "Yeah, i'm here. I'm fine. I've missed you today." She tried to get some emotion back into her voice but it was hard considering the days information. But she tried. "I've been walking. Frederick and I just needed some air today. We've been walking around camp, thinking." She frowned. Everyone was singing so loudly and she wished she could focus but there was a lot going on. "Let's sit down, sing a little?" Her voice revealed some hint of happiness in that moment. A moment of relaxation.

[Deleted]

Jacob couldn't help but smile when she spoke again. Something was nagging at him in the back of his mind but he couldn't notice it. He may have been blind but part of his powers insisted of pure air pressure. Which meant he was one of the vital ones to knock back waves of the Primordials and help with camp repair, for the parts that were too big and heavy to lift up without the help of Ares kids, and they were all wounded. He was tired. But so was everyone else. Somehow he didn't feel tired though, not at the moment at least. Worrying about camp, boots and being happy to see Accalia had pushed his sleepiness to the side. "I've missed you too." He sat still for a second as she spoke and listened.

She went on a walk? Makes sense. Had it been a cabin wide thing? Probably a good idea. Might help some of the other gods kids relax a bit before the next dramatic thing comes. Then he registered what she said and his worries about the camp and the other gods kids were pushed from his mind almost instantly. "Did it help?" He didn't bother going overboard with the questions. He knew what it was like to need a walk...He took nearly every day and bombarding Jacob with questions never helped him. Taking a deep breath to lower his worry he nodded with a small smile and sat down. Then he managed to hear it. A different tone in her voice. No. Not a time for more questions. Turning slightly, he leaned backwards and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaving another small kiss on her shoulder again. The campfire songs had become more frequent to calm the campers nerves.

[Accalia Phillips]

Although Accalia was having trouble noticing much of anything, she could tell that Jacob seemed very focused, and not on her tone of voice. He would move his hand slightly every once in a while. He must have been doing something important, or he was just thinking too hard. After she had explained herself, even if it wasn't that elaborate, the first thing he asked was if it had helped her at all. She felt herself smile even more. She was starting to cheer up, "It did. it did help. I know.... I know I should have invited you along." She said with a slight guilty tone in cooperated in her voice.

They sat down, like she suggested, and she happily accepted his arms being wrapped around her waist. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. The off-key singing of the VERY stressed out camp singers was almost soothing. Knowing that they were all doing their best to cheer each other up and be happy. Everyone was a team again, well, minus the betrayers. Betrayers. Her heart stopped for a moment as she realized her own sister would be on that list. She took in another deep breath, hoping she wouldn't start crying. "How was your day?" She muttered quietly, she knew he'd hear.

[Deleted]

He looked over at her when she told him that she should have brought him along and he shook his head persistently before speaking. "No...you needed some time to yourself. If I had been there it's possible that it wouldn't have helped. I don't want to get in the way of that." He smiled as she sat down with him and he leaned his head back after a couple seconds. Truthfully...He would not mind sleeping in that spot. Get a pillow and a blanket and he was good.

It was possible he could relax with the soft sounds of the fire cracking and the warmth from Accalia he felt like he could take a moment to breath. It was definitely relaxing, to the point he closed his eyes simply to sit there and enjoy the music. Suddenly he heard Accalias voice again and he opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly. Her voice wavered slightly. Possibly just from the actual breather moment. Possibly. Giving her a small smile, even if she saw it or not. "Stressful, tiring, sad...Having my therapist moments for some of the campers...Basically a cabin leadery day." He gave a small laugh as he tried to sum it up with the fake variation of one of his words. Her waver made him worry slightly so he gave her a small squeeze and leaned his head against hers to try and let her know he was right there if she did want to say anything or even if it was just a moment of sadness or relief.

[Accalia Phillips]

Of course, he gave a well worded response. It's true, she was better off walking with just her and Frederick. Having Jacob along would have been nice but she wouldn't have been able to release what was really bothering her. Her sister. "Well, thank you for understanding. Maybe soon we can go on a walk, okay?" She stated her question happily. She was grateful for her lone walk today, but maybe the two of them getting some space from camp would be good too.

Accalia nodded, even though she was still leaning on him, and sighed, "Yeah, cabin leaders can get pretty busy. Is everyone okay, though?" She asked. She really did care about the other kids in the minor cabins, she just didn't know them very well. Not too mention, her own cabin leader was gone. Who was supposed to give the Demeter kids therapy? Suddenly she sat up a little, realizing that someone had to take Harpers place. Then Jacob pulled her in tighter and leaned his head against hers. She let herself not be as tense and leaned into him.

It seemed like a really long time, just sitting there, listening. The other campers started to leave and go to bed. Accalia saw Dawn get up, make eye contact, and give a cheery wave before heading back to the Demeter cabin. Accalia figured she was either going to cry or bury herself in some crazy project. When there were only a few people left, forlorn and sad looking campers, worn out from battle, Accalia spoke up. "Harpers gone." she muttered.

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Jacob smiled lightly. Something in her voice had changed when she spoke. It sounded a lot better than how sad she seemed earlier. His smile quickly faded as he suddenly felt annoyed with himself for not noticing it till now. How could he have been so stupid? Push it to the side, Jacob. He told himself. There were a lot better things he could be thinking about other than blaming himself for not noticing. Slowly he nodded remembering her question. "Alright." A walk was definitely a good idea. He would have enjoyed a walk by himself but he wasn't having much luck when he tried to by himself. Without Boots it was basically impossible.

Cabin leaders can get pretty busy. He nodded again at the sound of those words and his blind eyes stared blankly down. The son of Ouranos wet his lips as he listened to her question and lifted his head slightly at the words. Was everyone okay? His thoughts instantly drifted to the previous moments that day and he let out a small sigh before shaking his head. "Okay? No...Not completely...Will they make it through it?" His head lifted, the wind moving a couple locks of his hair as he enjoyed the feeling of the air. "Yes...From what I've seen they're stronger than they think." He spoke theoretically.

Suddenly he felt her move and he finally managed to listen to what his instincts were saying. Something was definitely off. He bit his tongue and held himself back from asking her. She would tell him if she wanted to. Then it happened. His head lifted, somewhat surprised as his nose caught the faint scent of Dawn and he heard her footsteps. He felt Accalia move slightly and now his instincts were screaming at him. Something had happened in the Demeter cabin. Something serious. Goosebumps moved across his skin and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. It explained why they were quiet all this time. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her shoulder again, not pulling back this time, being afraid of the worst and that another had died. Then she told him what was wrong and he pulled his lips away and his jaw clenched. He lifted his head and the same look appeared on his face that seemed to tell the new people in the other gods cabin that he was the leader. Not that he was a good when it came to decisions or even leading but he would take the weight of any problem if need be. It was why no one challenged him for the position. "If you would like me to, I'll tell the cabin leaders later tonight when we meet." He hoped that their cabin knew he would be there if they wanted any help, even if there were some things he couldn't help with.

[Accalia Phillips]

Accalia new how great of a cabin leader Jacob was, and she wished her cabin leader was still around to support as well. Either way, there wasn't much should could do about the situation. She tried her best to focus on the conversation at hand, and listen to Jacob note of admiration in his fellow cabiners. She smiled, "They are lucky to have you, Jacob." She said happily. Trying her best to let him know that she meant it. That he really was a great guy and probably one of the greatest cabin leaders. Dealing with all of their sadness while trying to handle a sick puppy would not have been easy on anyone but Jacob still did it. She was lucky, too. Did she even need Harper? Who cares about her, right? There isn't anything she could do about Harper now. Why dwell on it?

After the silence and Accalias reveal of what was upsetting her Jacob lifted his head and Accalia turned hers slightly to see his jaw clenched. He was now getting serious. The first thing he said was a bit of a shock to Accalia. He didn't ask why or if everyone was alright, he automatically stepped into making the situation right. Into taking action. Accalia felt tears prick her eyes, happy and sad ones. Who else would jump straight into fixing the problem rather than asking loads of unnecessary problems? "Well, maybe I should go and tell them...?" She said as a half statement/half question. She knew she probably wouldn't be allowed but she felt it was her duty to give the news of her own sisters betrayal.

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Jacob couldn't help but smile down at Accalia. He may not have felt it all the time but sometimes his cabin mates told him that they were. Not all of them though. There were a definite couple that really didn't like him in that position because of his impairment. Only one of them didn't consider his vision to be an impairment though. The new kid Matt had challenged him straight out for his position, claiming he couldn't lead correctly and worry about Boots at the same time. Jacob thought he was right and he also knew that the kid would be a good cabin leader too.

The only reason Jacob won was because of how new the kid was and how much Jacob overpowered him. Though he barely did any damage to the boy. It was in the boys blood to be a leader and from what he could tell he would be good at it. He was tempted to give up the position to him. Had he made a decision yet? No. His attention was pulled back to him when she said she would like to be the one to tell them, but...it was more like she asked him then anything. He turned towards her and spoke. "Alright, if you want to." He gave her a small smile and a short nod. Truthfully he didn't want her to see that board that the other cabin leaders had set up with the list of known traitors on it but he wasn't going to stop her if she wanted to be the one to tell the cabin leaders.

[Accalia Phillips]

Accalia nodded, "I would like to I think. Could you announce me as a guest in the meeting or something?" She wasn't sure how these things worked out. She wasn't sure how anything worked out. Even her and Jacob. Part of her wanted to give him space so he could take care of his dog and deal with his cabin problems. What right did she have to get in his way anyway? She sighed and noticed that everyone had gone from the fire besides the two of them. "Well, it's getting late... shouldn't you two be getting to bed?" She said awkwardly to her boyfriend, though she just snuggled closer. She wasn't planning on moving away. She had grown comfortable in their relationship, happy, and maybe even content.