#Gaycation (Porter/Teddy/Sandra)

POV: Alka Banicki
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    Alka wrestled with two large, vintage looking books as she tried to shove them into her flimsy messenger bag while standing on the silver porch of the Artemis cabin. The daughter of Hecate had planned to spend this lovely early spring day sitting in one of her favourite trees at camp and doing some "light" reading. Once the books were securely resting in her bag, Alka exhaled shortly in satisfaction, adjusting the black, wide brimmed hat atop her head. It was moments like these she wished that the books were small enough to fit in her hat. It would be less weight on her shoulders, and less of a struggle to pack. 
"You should consider gettin' yourself a bigger bag, Miss,"  a familiar voice chimed in her head. Alka cast her brown eyed gaze down towards the russet coloured fox who sat with his bushy tail covering his dark paws, amber eyes meeting hers, a hint of amusement dancing in them. 
"If I got a bigger bag you'd just use it for your own benefit, you lazy furball," Alka replied, tugging at her green army jacket briefly before beginning her walk. Sebastienne lifted himself from the ground and padded to the edge of the porch, leaping forward and gracefully landing on Alka's shoulder as her brown and worn combat boots hit the dusty ground.
"I'm not lazy! I'm simply an opportunist," the fox argued. Alka sighed, but couldn't help the grin that spread across her fair face. 
"Purse dog," Alka muttered jokingly, earning her an offended look in Sebastiennes mischievous eyes. 

    Alka walked towards the invisible border around the camp, taking in the energy around her as she did. Now that spring was coming, she could feel her own energy recharging, as well as the camps. People began breaking free from the sluggishness that winter could fill them with. Campers all around her seemed to be enjoying the cool spring weather with their friends and siblings. It was as if the camp were coming alive again. It wouldn't be long before the summer only children would come back, and camp would be at its full capacity again. Spring also meant that Alka's magic would be more powerful. As nature died around her during winter, it felt as if her magic followed suit. Although she was still able to manipulate the mist and levitate objects as usual, her elemental magic and potions crafting always seemed to be a little weaker than usual during the long, frigid months. soon, she would be able to collect fresh supplies, and reconnect with the elements of earth and water.  

    It wasn't long before Alka found herself at the border, but she had not anticipated what she was greeted with. Usually, the area around the tree she sat in was pretty vacant, but this time around, Alka witnessed a girl pull out a weapon and point it at another camper right in front of the large oak. Alka rushed forward to aid the camper, until she noticed the threat was nothing but another girl. Alka stopped dead in her tracks, relaxing her muscles and willing away the hunting knife that had appeared in her hand on command.  
"Who're they?" Sebastienne questioned suspiciously. The fox was notorious for his lack of trust in others, but Alka didn't answer. She looked on at the two girls, noticing their pretty features. Soft eyes, dark hair, lovely faces, and toned bodies... With head tilted to the side slightly in a curious fashion, Alka didn't realize she had begun walking closer until she once again heard Sebastienne speak. 
"Miss? What're ya' doin'?" Alka stopped, but she knew she was too close now to turn back without this exchange becoming even more awkward than it was going to be. Instead, she began playing with the thinning material of her black arm warmers under her green coat as she spoke. 
"Uh, hey, is everything alright?" Alka asked shyly before regarding one of the girls. She was tanned, with sunglasses sat onto of her head, pushing dark hair, waving and windswept out of her face to reveal dark brown eyes and a freckle-less face. Suddenly, Alka felt a little intimidated, was that the word?
"I- um... Saw you take out your weapon and I thought you might be in trouble." Alka turned her gaze on the other girl, she held a paler complexion than the other, which almost seemed stark against the dark hair that fell to her shoulders in, yet again, a windswept fashion. Her features were soft, and pretty, her eyes, also brown, and outlined with long dark eyelashes revealed a comforting light that seemed to draw a certain calm in Alka's otherwise buzzing chest. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by her also. Was it even intimidation? Alka couldn't pinpoint the true feeling that churned in her stomach. 
"But I guess there was no danger," Alka continued shyly before bringing her attention to both of the girls. She couldn't decide whether to leave the two alone or introduce herself, but something about them both made her comfortable enough to stay a little while longer. 
"I'm Alka... Alka Banicki," she said, a short smile playing along her lips. From her shoulder, Sebastienne shifted his weight. His ears lay back on his head slightly, his tail swishing from side to side as his golden eyes swept over each of the girls. The russet coloured fox slipped off of Alka's shoulder and landed on the ground with a solid thud before he stalked forward, head down, to sniff the feet of the girls before him. 
"And, uh, that's Sebastienne. He won't bite," she reassured. 
"No promises," the fox muttered in her mind. 
"He won't," Alka said firmly, casting a hard glance towards her familiar, which earned her a hesitant bow of his head in obedience. 
        

My face went red as soon as called me pretty. My eyes darted back to her rainbow wristband in, curiousity? ... Hopefulness?
Before I could clear my head, she started talking again and all I could hear was something about Dean and 'I can take my shirt off'. That's about when my mind felt like it turned to mush. I tried to open my mouth to say something intelligent like 'no thank you, that's fine', but I ended up just making a dumb 'uhhhhh' noise.
Unfortunately, er... fortunately-- she was interrupted by another voice, and I snapped out of my trance of shock and embarrassment.

I rushed my hand to my medical tool when another girl approached, a literal fox clinging onto her shoulders and a knife in her hands. I could feel my sheathed daggers pressing between the side of my hip and my hand, ready to be mediocrely used. Why was it with everyone wanting to kill me today? Even when she had realized that the other girl wasn't in danger and had magically willed her knife away, I couldn't help but stay tense. From a glance, she looked harmless. A sweet face, complete with a cute set of dimples, a fashionable wide-brimmed hat and a, uh, very short stature made for the picturesque innocent girl. Still, it wasn't hard to recognize the silver aura that seemed to glow around her.
A hunter of Artemis.
I've never actually talked to one of them, but I had done my research. I admit, I had considered joining them for a few years as soon as I heard about them, but that idea has been slowly dwindling away in my mind as I found a home in Camp. What I did learn in the meantime though included their powerful skills that matched their deadly temperament. I wasn't about to underestimate one of them. Even if she was almost a solid foot shorter than me and had the softest voice I've heard when she tentatively spoke. There was a reason they played against the whole camp during Capture the Flag when they were here.
Still. She was being so uncharacteristically sweet compared to her hunter friends.
"Nope, no danger here." I assured her, my eyes beginning to warily look at her fox.
Well.. at least from me.
The girl introduced herself as Alka and assured us that her fox wasn't going to bite, but the fact that she had to tell it again in a stern voice wasn't, well, reassuring.

Thank the gods, the first girl eased the tension by finally sheathing her sword. In a stroke of its blade it transformed into a thermos. And, nevermind, the tension in my body returned once again as the Spanish girl bent over to place it in her bag. Against her high waisted shorts, I could make out the curves of her, uhm. Nevermind. I managed to pry myself away with what little willpower I could muster after a few slow seconds, just to look up at Alka who was staring in the same direction I was. She caught my eye and her face went thirty different shades of red. I didn't need to look at myself to know I wasn't looking any better. I could just feel the heat against my cheeks. We both simultaneously looked down at our feet, she probably shared in my embarassment of being caught staring at another girl's derriere. Amidst this very powerful emotion, I could feel something else rising, it felt almost like excitement? Whatever it was, it was keeping my heart nervously hammering against my chest.
The girl finally did the both of us a favour and leaned back up, introducing herself as Xanthe. My mind wasn't coping any better, though. Bite. People. Consent. That godsdamn smirk.
Miel.
"R-Roxy." I stuttered out, rubbing my hand against my opposite arm. "Roxy Torres." I added, realizing everyone was using their full names.
I was seriously considering finding an excuse to leave, I didn't think I could handle any more conversation. Still.
Something inside me knew better. I didn't want to leave.
Unfortunately I realized that too late and my mind had already raced through a list of things I had to do.
Fletch's cat.
While my half-brother was out on a quest he had entrusted me to take care of his cat. Now, while I wasn't experienced in taking care of animals, I was probably more legible to take care of his pet than some of our other friends. I shivered thinking about Fi$h with Quintyn or Kaiser.
Although come to think of it, it seemed like these two girls could actually talk to animals. Maybe I wasn't as qualified as I thought.
"Hey, actually, I remembered something else I had to do." I found myself speaking out loud. "Do the two of you mind coming with me while I check up on my half-brother's cat? I'm, uh, taking care of him while he's away and I figured I could figure out if I was doing an okay job if I was with people that talked to animals."
I mentally kicked myself for saying that. What was I thinking? Inviting strangers over to my room? I mean it's an a cabin shared with a bunch of other people but still. I managed to keep my corner of the area pretty private. I enjoyed my solitarity.

Xanthe had taken a glance at the girl’s after she had leaned up. Oh it was absolutely incredible. She felt a smug smirk come onto her face. They were totally at least somewhat affected. Whether it be them being avoiding an awkward situation, or if the favors were with Xanthe, something else entirely. The blushing faces and eyes casted downwards were cute. She was going to have fun seeing how many times she could make it happen again.

As Roxy introduced herself, Alka beat her to what she was going to comment on. But she didn’t care, as long as it was said. Beautiful names belong to beautiful faces. And both had beautiful names. And quite certainly had beautiful faces. And perhaps had beautiful personalities. Actually, they were beautiful all over.

Xanthe noticed Alka inch forward a bit so she sent a warm smile her way. Alka seemed a bit shy or even the slightest bit cautios. Another thing she noticed was that the girl was also short, but it was cute in a way. She also had amazing hair and she seemed to flourish of simple greatness and grace to Xanthe. As always she began to think of a nickname for the shorter girl. Glancing down at Alka’s fox, she let a smile grow.

It grew even more when Roxy brought up that she needed help with a cat in her cabin. Oh this would be fun.Then, in all of Xanthe’s glory, she had to comment on this. If not now, she would miss her chance. What could she say, Roxy said her 4 favourite words. Cat, coming, with and me. It was true, Xanthe loved certain words that could easily mean other things.

“Inviting us back to your place so soon miel? You sure do move fast, but hey some of us like it like that.” As she said it, she sent a wink towards the slightly taller girl. Oh, she really was going to have fun with both girls. She would soon find a way to lightly tease the shorter girl, needing to fit in her nickname at the right time.

Said shorter girl began to talk about how she would love to help, even though her fox thought otherwise. The girl got a bit excited and Xanthe could already tell she loved the idea of helping the animal. It was adorable. And then Alka sent her this little smile that made her want to just fall to her knees. Oh she was a sucker for innocent things like that. So Xanthe nodded.

“Of course I’ll help. I love any animal, and if it’s putting up a hassle, I can always just lull it to sleep. However, I am sorry miel, I don’t speak gato. I can only understand animals of the forest. But perhaps dama astuta over here can?” She said as she gestured towards the now nicknamed Alka. She smiled at the shorter girl once more, in hopes Alka could indeed understand the meow of the felines.

Translations - Gato - cat
Dama astuta - foxy lady

Alka's thoughts were on Roxy as she followed the much taller girl towards the Apollo cabin. Maybe it was the way she fell over her words as she spoke, or the flustered expression that seemed perpetually etched into her features that caused the Huntress to relax. There was something comforting in being around another person who seemed as unsure of themselves as Alka truly was. Xanthe, on the other hand, was more like what Alka was used to being around. She held herself  high with confidence, cool and smooth in the way she interacted with the two girls that accompanied her. Comfortable in her skin. There was a familiar cloud of envy that weaved its way through Alka's chest, a feeling she had grown accustomed to around her usual company in The Hunt. 

The company of three reached the steps of the Apollo cabin. Gold and glittering in the sun, a great homage to the young God. Alka had interacted with Roxy's father many times when he'd come to visit his sister, Alka's patron Goddess, Artemis. Not many of the Huntresses liked his presence around camp, and for Alka's taste, he was a bit brash, but nonetheless she couldn't help find amusement in the way the Sun God put her sisters on edge so easily. She wouldn't have been surprised if he'd thought the same way. There wasn't a cabin more perfectly fit to his personality than the one that stood before her. 
Roxy held the door for her companions, muttering a welcome as if she were embarrassed at how in-your-face her cabin was. If she were being honest, Alka couldn't blame her. Stepping over the threshold before Xanthe, Alka gave a respective bow of her head and a small smile in a polite and silent thank you. 
Sebastienne trailed behind her, but she noticed the russet furred animal flatten his ears along his head, lowering to the ground, as if he were suspicious. 
"... Seb?" Alka muttered quietly, under her breath as Roxy began looking for her brothers cat. 
"Somethin's not right 'ere, Miss," He answered, the voice in her head coated in caution. Roxy called out the cats name. Fish. What an odd name for a cat. 
Sebastienne's fur raised along his back as he took a defensive stance. Alka stared at the hunting fox questioningly. 
"What's up?" Alka kneeled lower to the ground beside Sebastienne, keeping her voice low and scanning the room for the danger her Familiar seemed to sense to strongly. 
"Smells like death, Miss... No. Smells like the undead. This ain't no normal cat I can tell ya' that..."  Alka knit her dark eyebrows together, casting her gaze to Roxy as her voice suddenly rang through the cabin. 
"Uh, Fletch said he'd be back in the cabin by now. I mean he usually just roams about when he's not here, but... should be here... anytime now..."
The daughter of Apollo dropped to the floor to peer under the bunk bed she stood beside. Alka's eyes widened as she found herself staring at the girl, her mouth once again parted slightly. It were as if the breath had been knocked out of her. 
"This ain't no time for sightseeing, Miss,"  Sebastienne chided in her mind, his tone hinted annoyance that his master had been so easily taken by the distraction. A hot flush ran through Alka's cheeks, but thankfully Roxy was too preoccupied with finding the animal to notice. Alka averted her eyes quickly, untucking a piece of dark brown hair from behind her ear to hid her face for a moment. 
Suddenly, the sound of soft mewling could be heard from just outside the cabin, an answer to Roxy's call. 
Roxy called again, and this time the sound returned sent a chill through Alka's spine. The loud roar vibrated through the walls, Sebastienne curled his body and gekkered shortly, baring sharp teeth. Roxy's hand lifted to her tool belt. Alka took her own defensive stance, summoning her silver hunting bow and quiver, as well as her sharpened hunting knives. 
"Roxy," Alka spoke quietly as she looked to the tall girl ahead of her. "What did Fletch tell you about his cat?" 
"Feed him in the morning after breakfast, in the evening after dinner and make sure he's not being an asshole throughout the day," Roxy recited, a quaver in her voice. The poor dog lover was surely not prepared for whatever faced her. Alka chewed on her bottom lip, not sure if even she was ready to face whatever was waiting for the three of them outside the cabin.
"Sebastienne has told me that this isn't any normal cat," Alka informed, earning her a desperate expression circling Roxy's hazel eyes.
"Uh, that is..." The huntress explained. "He smells the undead." This wasn't helping Roxy  understand anymore. 
"This is a creature from the underworld," Sebastienne informed. 
"It looks like Fletch has adopted a creature from the underworld," Alka translated. Roxy's eyes were wide for a moment, before her expression flattened. 
"Of course he did," she muttered. 
Suddenly, there was more mewling heard outside the door of the cabin. 
"I'm coming in!" a voice rang in Alka's head. She knew it wasn't Sebastienne's. "Stupid birds... Just wanted a little taste and what do I get? Can barely even walk on my own paw." Suddenly, through the back window of the cabin, lept a fiery ginger cat. It's long hair casting the illusion of it's huge size. Two strikingly blue eyes peered into it's home. Amongst the animals distinctive features were two long front teeth, overgrown and poking downwards sharply. At first, Alka thought it must have a drastic overbite, until she realized that the teeth were simply long, as if it were a direct descendant of an animal that should have been extinct millions of years ago. It's right paw raised, the menacing red hue of blood staining the white sock markings.
"Good Gods," Sebastienne spat. "This cat in't anything I've smelled before." A throaty growl escaped Sebastienne's throat. The cat that sat in the window snapped its attention to the fox curled into an offensive fighting stance. The ginger ears atop the felines head flattened against his cranium as he bared his teeth in a menacing hiss. 
"What the Hades is all this? Who in the Hades are these two? And why is there a wild animal in my den?" The cat asked, to no one in particular, as I'm sure he didn't expect any of the humans to understand. He jumped down from the window, long orange fur raised in a similar fashion to Sebastienne's. The two animals threatened each other with body language and their most menacing noises. Fish continued hissing, but soon the sounds melted into low growls you would hear from a lion or possibly a tiger. Despite his injured paw, the cat seemed set on defending his territory. With my eyes wide, I  watched as the cat grew in size, and shape, taking the form of a Sabre Toothed Tiger cat. 
Sebastienne lost his courage immediately, as did the rest of us. The fox backed away, inching closer to me, keeping his head down and body low. 
Fish peered around the room, blue eyes falling on each of the bodies, his gaze lingering on the strangers standing in his territory. Xanthe, Sebastienne and myself. The large cat let another throaty growl escape it's parted mouth, teeth grown to exasperating sizes flashed themselves through bared lips. The cat seemed to be putting himself between the three of us and Roxy, as if he were protecting her. He knew she belonged there. We didn't.
I took a risk, and willed my weapons to disappear. Instantly, the bow, quiver and knives evaporated into nothing. I kept my hands down at my sides, not wanting to scare Fish, not wanting to challenge him.
"Hi, Fish," I spoke softly. The large cat growled in response.
"Who are you?" He questioned.
"I'm Alka," I answered. "This is Xanthe, and this is Sebastienne." I motioned towards my company, stuck on the side of the cabin opposite Roxy, between she and a giant Sabre Toothed Tiger. The animal faltered for a moment, confused that I'd answered him. "We're friends," I pushed, but the large animal remained distrusting, keeping his large head low, and his shoulders squared to attack at any moment. 

Fletch is the type of guy that gets into trouble before he walks into a room.
But accidentally finding and owning an undead, sabre tooth tiger cat? This was impressive, even for him.

I watched in horror as the large beast stepped out in front of me, almost wrapping itself around me as it kept a steady icy gaze on the two girls. I could hear Xanthe speaking in spanish again. She was right, that was not a normal cat, what the fuck.
Fortunately, Alka looked like she'd been through this before, which was kind of strange. I'm pretty sure even the Huntresses of Artemis aren't older than the Ice Age. But I guess animals are animals are animals, even if Fletch's cat is now an extinct predator, it's still a cat. He already proved he could protect humans, Alka must have faith that he can also have a change of heart with her and Xanthe as well.
Disarming herself, Alka began talking to Fi$h. If he was responding, I didn't know, but he stayed cautious, his tail low and swishing. Flashing me a supportive smile, Xanthe went along with her, speaking low and soft. The beast's tail stopped swishing, and his ears twitched, as if considering Alka and Xanthe's words. His big furry head swung around toward me as he began stepping back, widening his field of vision to, presumably, look at me while keeping an eye on the other two.
I kneeled down in front of the cat. Despite my heart hammering in my chest just by being so close to a set of powerful teeth, I knew Fi$h wasn't going to harm me. He still acted like a cat, even in his jumbo form. Pressing himself up to the owner (or I guess, temporary owner) while acting alert and hostile towards new guests. I took a deep breath.
"Fi$h." I cooed to him, pretending he wasn't the size of a moped. "It's okay Fi$h. I just made new friends. I'm fine, see?"
I spread my arms out, trying my best to look calm and natural.
Fi$h shook his head, looking between me and my other companions, unsure of what to do. He let out cautionary roar. Don't mess with me. He stepped backwards even further until his rump hit one of the bunk beds lined up against the wall. Blood trailed in front of him from his right paw. That must be what's putting him on edge. Damnit, I wasn't a vet.
But how hard would patching up an already dead and extinct animal be?
I clenched my jaw, cursing myself for what I was about to do. It felt like every inch of my body was on fire, screaming at me to stay still as I shuffled towards the huge animal, but my brain was already in medic mode. Fi$h's head swung side to side in agitation, as he tried to press himself even further against the bed. I reached out with a hand, not daring to move any further. With a canine-like snarl, his head snapped forward and my heart leaped into my esophagus. My brain was already thinking of ways to amputate my hand after it gets bitten off, before it could even process what had happened. Fi$h's teeth bared, his gaping jaws had stopped inches away from my hand. His growl persisted into a low hum. With all the air that was still in my lungs, I managed an exasperated.
"Fi$h."
The cat finally closed his godsdamn mouth with a final lick of his nose. His growl died out into a whimper as he pushed his muzzle into my palm and looked at me with tired eyes. He almost looked like Fletch with his blue, puppy-dog gaze. I gulped down the rest of the tension in my chest as I sat down in front of him.
"Come on buddy just show me your hand."
With one last glance over at the other two, Fi$h laid down on his side, exposing the pads of his paws. I cautiously took his right paw in my hand and turned it over. A splinter.
A godsdamn splinter. What a drama queen.
With an exasperated sigh, I looked over at Alka and Xanthe.
"Who wants to help me get a splinter out of an over-sized baby?"