Three's a crowd {Orion/Naomi}

[Erik Stewart]

Erik was good at skulking around. He utilized the talent now, skirting the crowd the bonfire had attracted. His main objective was to snatch some food, eat, and dissolve somewhere into the dark bustling wood, creaking with insects, on his way back to the cabin; there he would likely retire for the night. He’d curl up somewhere and stay there all night and all morning until most people had left again. So set in his ways was he that he didn’t even try to communicate. With none of his two friends attending the retreat, Erik got by with a few grunts, or nods, or shrugs. Most people got the memo. Don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you: a snake’s number one rule to live by.

That evening wasn’t cold in the least, but the bonfire’s warmth still appealed to him. He liked the crackling of the fire and the orange dancing light; it flickered on DJ’s scales and against the rim of his face and hair. He liked the way it melted his marshmallow, too, though the first few times they came out singed and inedible. Erik didn’t know how long they had to be held in the fire before they were just right. Eventually, he got one that was only covered in a fine hardened crust, instead of the crumbling black.

It was good, he thought. DJ was uninterested.

He was sitting there for a minute or so, chewing, when he sensed movement not far from him. It was a pair. They moved like they belonged in a dance routine, synchronized, each bending their knees to sit at the same time. He felt a familiar twinge of unease and thought silently to himself that they must be Gestalt…not his favorite power about the campus. Something about Gestalt twins weirded him out. Erik scooched to the left, none too subtly.

[Orion & Naomi Stewart]

The twins didn’t know many people at the retreat. And frankly, they didn’t care to get to know them. They had some friends, sure, but generally they were loners and content to be so. They hadn’t done anything bad enough to be left out of the retreat (unfortunately, in Naomi’s opinion) and it was generally assumed that some days outside in the fresh air doing country things would be good for them.

There were a few problems, though. For one, the twins had never been to the retreat before. Generally they misbehaved enough during the year to not be invited. For another, the twins were city slickers. They had never really been outside it, even after all their years of foster care and living here. They didn’t know the first thing about the outdoors. But when was a better time to learn then now? So they strode out into the great big world, unsure of what they’d find.

What they did find was the bonfire. Well, it wasn’t exactly the big bad outdoors but it was something, right? There was a boy there, too. Two sets of hazel eyes rolled as he moved out of the way, but they sat down anyways. There were marshmallows and graham crackers and chocolate. S’mores was a very…country thing to do. Might as well try it. Naomi picked up a marshmallow and examined it.

”So what…exactly..”

”Are you supposed to do with these anyways?”

[Erik Stewart]

He raised a brow. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with Gestalts, but usually the whole synchronized voice thing made him feel weird. Maybe he’d watched The Shining one too many times; he kept expecting them to look over with unblinking eyes and ask him to play with them. Luckily, they only brought up the s’mores…and he caught the both of them staring at a marshmallow like they’d never seen one before. Erik, at first, just let them stare. He wasn’t sure if they were just talking to themselves or musing out loud - but as the silence went on, it became stifling. Plus, who the hell didn’t know what to do with an open fire and a marshmallow? Erik wasn’t even attributing it to his country sense: it was just common knowledge.

“You’re s’posed to toast it,” he said, and gestured. He had one on a stick, where it slowly turned golden from the fire.