Hopeful (Open.)

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow absolutely loved nature, and was truly looking forward to the school’s annual student retreat. She hadn’t brought much, seeing as the school would be feeding them. Actually, she packed a lot lighter than she normally would for a camping trip. She didn’t need much more than toiletries and some clothing. There were cabins and everything. Honestly, she thought she would be spoiling herself after this trip when she would have to go back to tenting it. The cabins would be a nice change though.

After leaving her stuff her respective cabin, Will decided to go for a walk. The trees were lovely, especially when they were changing colors. She had with her a water bottle and the latest edition of Time magazine tucked into her sweater pocket. Just a bit of light reading in case she felt like keeping her mind preoccupied. For now, she let her fingertips caress the bark of each passing tree, letting the feeling seep into her skin until it stopped altogether, and she had to press harder.

Her eyes set upon a particular tree she thought she would be able to climb. Putting her water bottle down, Willow began the ascent. Her sharp eyes had missed a small bird’s nest in the crook of one of the many branches, and she winced as she heard something crack. Her head snapped down to see the damage she had done. “Oh no...” She said to herself, gripping the tree tightly. What had she done? This trip was meant to be fun... Were the eggs okay?

[Jez Steele]

Jez was sitting in the forest, somewhere. She was sure that if she needed to find her way back, okay when she needed to find her way back she would let her instincts lead the way. Jez had easily climbed one of the trees and was lounging in it with her music playing before she looked over and saw another girl climbing a neighboring tree. When she saw the girls face she put her earphones in her pocket and jumped from her branch to that of the tree next to her, a little above the girl. She was still afraid of falling but she was learning to trust her cat-like reflex's more. Jez hung down on the branch to look at the girl upside down, "Hey, you okay hun?"

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow's breath caught, and she glanced up at the girl in the tree. "I'm alright," she gestured at the bird's nest lying helplessly by the tree. She was so afraid that she had hurt them, and she didn't want to check to see if she had. She wasn't sure she'd be able to live to with what if felt like to kill unhatched eggs. "I don't know if they are though," she said softly, tears beginning to form in her eyes. And even if they were, would the momma bird still want to take care of them? Wasn't there something about birds not wanting the eggs anymore if they smelt like human?

Ugh, what a mess.

[Jez Steele]

Jez looked at the nest closer than she had before. It looked like it had more than two eggs in it, "No sweetie, you're fine. As long as you leave soon, the mom should be back soon to start incubating the eggs herself. If there were only one or two then she would leave them alone but if we just let them be right now she'll come back and take care of them. She's probably staying away because we're here."

Jez didn't want to get any closer to the nest because she smelled too much like a feline, always had that's why her da's dogs didn't like her, at all, but Angus' cats had. She was one of them, even when she didn't know it right away.

[Willow Birdsong]

Nodding a couple times, Willow was glad someone else was brave enough to take a look. The younger girl took a few steps back from the tree until she was a few feet away from it. She assumed the other girl would do the same.

"What were you doing up in the tree...?" She asked, not sure who this girl was or what her name could be. If Willow could guess, she would call her Angel. She was pretty like one, friendly too. Why couldn't she be friendlier?

[Jez Steele]

Jez jumped back to her first tree before climbing down, if she got any closer to the nest the mother would surely not come back. She hopped from the branch which was a good eight feet in the air before she landed in a crouch and stood up, she smiled as she walked towards the girl, "I was reading. When I get the chance I like to be high above the world," she wiggled her eyebrows before holding out her hand, "my name's Jez by the way. Nice to meet you."

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow watched Jez with interest. The girl was so quick, and agile, it was impressive to say the least. “What were you reading?” Willow asked curiously, her hand subconsciously coiling over her Times magazine. “I’m Willow,” she said with a sort of smile, sort of grimace. Willow wasn’t someone who smiled a lot. “I like climbing trees, but I wasn’t trying to knock the nest over...” her voice trailed off. She still felt bad for what she’d done.

[Jez Steele]

Jez smiled and looked down at her book, "A Kiss of Shadows, it's a book about faeries. Laurell K. Hamilton has an amazing imagination."

She kinda glanced over at the magazine in Willow's hand, "What are you reading?"

She loved to learn about new things to read, really she did.

[Willow Birdsong]

Willow smiled and gave a small nod. "I agree." Willy was an avid reader, but she was getting bored with novels and wanted to try on a new media for size. She lifted the magazine in the air and gave it a single wave. "Times Magazine," she said, letting her arm drop back down to her side.

"Are you enjoying the retreat so far?" Willow asked, trying her best to be friendly, like her sister, or any of the other people she'd met here at Hammel. Why was everyone so willing? And why was it so hard to utter words from her mouth?

[Jez Steele]

Jez smiled slightly at her reading choice, this girl seemed like a dork, perfect. Jez thought about her next question and shrugged slightly, "It's better than being in the city, at least that's my opinion. Of course I grew up in Scotland, where the biggest city is Dublin and it's steeped with history."

[Willow Birdsong]

"Oh I'm not from here either," she offered, "but you're from Scotland? That's so interesting." Willow knew she knew that accent for some reason. And now, she wouldn't forget. "History is also interesting, why didn't you like it there?" She asked, truly curious now. "I like the country too, camping is my favorite. Nature."

[Jez Steele]

Jez shrugged slightly, "I love it there, while I live in America, Scotland will always be my home. My mom lived here and I got enrolled in Hammel and I've just lived here ever since."

Jez was trying to place Willow's accent, everyone had one, "Where are you from by the way?"

[Willow Birdsong]

"Will you go back some day?" Willow asked. She'd always wanted to visit Scotland. The pictures of everything outside looked amazing. It was something she'd gladly experience and always remember.

"Eugene, Oregon." Willow stated it like she was announcing the passing of a fish. "But it's boring compared to Scotland," she insisted.

[Jez Steele]

Jez instantly smiled, "Aye. There's no way that I can ever stay away from home. It's engrained in my blood."

She cocked her head to the side curiously, "You're from a town named after a woman???"

[Willow Birdsong]

Willy smiled slightly. "I've always seen Eugene as a male name." But that was debatable across countries and cultures. Willow fidgeted on the spot and looked at the ground. "I'm going to head back to the cabins..." She announced, before taking a few tentative steps away from Jez and towards the camp. Maybe she looked rude, but really, she was quite nervous. Now that she knew the birds were alright, she could go back to doing something she loved doing - getting her hands on things and learning.