An Impossible Task- TAL

[Devin Sampat]

Lately, the Demeter Cabin Leader had displayed a penchant for assigning impossible tasks. And that was how Devin found himself with an assignment that required him to find large wooden supports, butcher paper, and a cotton candy maker. And somehow, Devin was supposed to get the items by tomorrow at exactly 10:46 PM. Why exactly had he agreed to this? He wasn’t too sure. Sometimes, as eccentric as Hinata had been, Devin wished he had never disappeared. The new Cabin Leader, Jane Faulkner, was so much more uptight and oddly reminded Devin of his father. And like his father, Jane Faulkner could be downright annoying. Not that he’d ever admit it, of course.

Sighing, Devin wandered into the Big House, intent on entering the attic. Another camper had told him that the place was known for containing odds and ends from around Camp. As a summer camper who never had a motive to explore the place, he still wasn’t sure where the attic was. In fact, the Big House was probably the place he knew least about. Devin could count on one hand the amount of times he had entered the place.

Easing open the door, Devin glanced around, a bit surprised at how quiet it was. Well, not that quiet. Off in the distance, he could hear Mr. D and Chiron arguing, probably over another pinnoche game. Devin wandered down the hallway before suddenly realizing that he had absolutely no idea what he was looking for. An attic ladder? An out of the way closet? Having grown up in an apartment, Devin was pretty sure he had never been in an attic before.

As he turned to check another hallway, he spotted a flash of dark hair from the corner. “Excuse me!” he called after the stranger. Devin quickened his pace, trying to catch up before he lost the person in this maze-like place. “Excuse me!” Another turn, another hallway. Devin veered sharply to the left and finally caught up. It was then that he noticed that the girl looked oddly familiar…

Word Count: 343
Notes: The thread's in the Attic b/c that's where they're going to go eventually... maybe... I'll move it if they go somewhere else. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SUCK. Oh, and I win for most uncreative title ever.

[Talia Winchell]

Perhaps the reason she wasn't rushing to leave this place was because her lack of sleep was slowing her down considerably. Every few steps, Tal had to stop and rub the tiredness out of her eyes; all she really wanted was to return to the Hermes cabin and perhaps retire early, but something kept stopping her. Perhaps she just wanted to see Uriel again; they had parted ways early that morning, after eating breakfast at three in the morning. There was something magical about that time of day that made it more special than other times; maybe it was the fact that it was yours. Nobody else was around you, ordinarily, and something about that natural privacy made everything that occurred then just a little more perfect than it already was.

Lifting her hand up to her mouth to stifle yet another yawn, Tal was about to enter Chiron's office to get the cabin schedule for the following week when a slightly familiar voice echoed from behind her. "Excuse me!" Though she did register the fact that somebody had spoken behind her, she wasn't quite sure if they had been directing their words to her particularly. And so she kept going, for she wasn't keen on socializing with anybody regardless; however, the voice persisted and when she turned around she finally realized who it was. She had made Devin Sampat's acquaintance a week or maybe several back. From what she had gathered, the son of Demeter was polite and didn't mind as much as others when she didn't talk, a quality that she appreciated more than she probably should have.

"Devin," Tal said simply, stopping as she spoke. "Hi..."


/ooc: crappiest. post. ever. i'm so sorry.

[Devin Sampat]

Devin was on the verge of giving up. The girl was probably in a hurry. She certainly hadn't acted like she wanted to stop and talk to anyone. The son of Demeter frowned, deciding that if she didn't turn around, he would just give up and try to find someone else in this seemingly empty building. Well, there was always Mr. D or Chiron, but he would rather not interrupt the two. Especially not Mr. D.

The girl suddenly stopped and spoke. Finally hearing her voice, Devin realized why she had seemed so familiar. "Hello, Tal." He quickly took a few steps forward so that he was facing her. It was disconcerting trying to hold a conversation with someone who was facing away. Devin didn't know how some people managed it.

"I need help with something." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "It should not take too long. Could you please direct me to the attic? I can't seem to find it. Then again, I've never really had any reason to visit this place until now," he added, shrugging. "Oh, and do you have any idea where I could find scrap wood, a cotton candy maker, or--" he paused briefly, trying to remember the last item on his list. Jane would kill him if he forgot. His eyes flickered up as if the answer was written on the ceiling, "--a cotton candy maker?"

Suddenly stopping, Devin peered at Tal concernedly. "I'm not bothering you terribly, am I? I can find someone else if you're busy."

[Talia Winchell]

Tal nodded slowly when he asked her if she could help him find the attic, still slightly distracted by the haze that surrounded anyone when they missed too much sleep. "Um, come on," she said quietly, prepared to direct him to the appropriate spot before she realized that he was not yet done issuing his request. Scrap wood. A cotton candy maker. Aaand a cotton candy maker. "For wood, um, maybe the forge or something?" As soon as she heard the words aloud, she realized how stupid they were. Well, how stupid she was. "I mean... no, but... they make stuff there, so maybe?" Why did people ever think that she could inform them appropriately, when all that she really did was just muck up her sentences? "Sorry... cotton candy maker, uh, sorry, I don't know."

"You're not bothering me... it's okay... sorry I can't really help, uh..." The attic. "Okay, um, the attic, right? Follow me..." Finally, one thing she could do right for once. The floorboards creaked as she followed the invisible path, and finally, she halted and turned to look at Devin once again. "Um, here..." She paused slightly once again. "Why do you need to go to the attic?" Perhaps it was a stupid question, and Devin probably already thought she was an idiot, but for some reason she was curious.


/ooc: i lied. this is the crappiest post ever.
my muse for this thread is way too stubborn. ;c

[Devin Sampat]

Devin nodded in affirmation. "Yes, they make stuff there... I'll check the forges later." He decided it was best to not mention the fact that the campers at the forges mostly dealt with metal, not wood. Still, he might as well check if all else failed.

At her next comment, Devin smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry for... I would've been surprised if you knew where I could find a cotton candy maker. I doubt even Chiron would know." Still, he wasn't looking forward to telling Jane that he had failed. Not only was failure something he had been taught to despise, but he had a feeling that Jane would not accept "no" for an answer. The only option left was to buy one, and he had a feeling that the money would not be coming from Jane's pocket.

The son of Demeter followed Tal as she went deeper and deeper into the maze-like house. Only the sound of the creaking floorboards could be heard, but Devin didn't mind. He didn't find silence awkward; in fact, he rather enjoyed it.

Finally, they arrived at the attic, and Devin moved to enter it. "Thank you." Instantly, a blast of dank air hit him, causing him to frown and wrinkle his nose. However, the sound of Tal's voice stopped him from going any farther. "I was hoping that I could find the items in here... Someone told me that this was the best place to find all sorts of random bits and pieces." He surveyed the room, which had a wealth of strange items piled into precarious heaps. "It looks like they were right."

He probably should've begun his search immediately if he hoped to finish before nightfall, but he still had one last question for Tal. "Your turn... Why were you in the Big House?"