Petal 03 -- Open to Action

[shylyintrepid]

[When the feed starts, Jehan is clearly not in his cabin. He's down by the shore.

And he's been crying. His voice is hoarse and when he speaks, his accent is a bit thicker than usual]

If...if anyone else knew Zane, son of Venus, he...

[He wants to say "died". Died would be so much easier than the truth]

He was a...he was an agent of the Red Room. This entire time. He...he was here to spy on us.

[And he cuts the IM. As he does, you can see him break down yet again. It's going to be a long time before he recovers from this heartbreak]

Comments

[wokethedragon]

[Not many that Dany was particularly close to were taken by the Red Room, but Jehan and Naomi - all three children of the Demeter cabin were some of her favorites at camp, and she'd been paired with their sister Anna to find the stolen summer campers. Especially after Jehan had taken such good care of her dragons - it became personal. She'd gone into the headquarters, hands blazing, her three children flanking her.

She'd known some of his feelings for Zane - knew they were strong, and knew they were of a romantic persuasion, and so she makes her way down to the beach, cradling the green dragon Rhaegal in her arms. He was getting a bit big - soon, she'd not be able to do this sort of thing. Soon, he'd move into a bigger cage, somewhere outside the Hephaestus cabin - but hopefully nowhere near the Big House. She can't set foot in the area anymore, quite literally.

She sets the dragon down on the sand to roam a bit, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.]

Jehan, I am truly sorry.

[shylyintrepid]

[He jumps when she touches him, but he doesn't swing. He's too tired to swing, to hurt. He doesn't want to hurt people anymore right now.

Instead, he just reaches up and holds her hand]

It's not your fault, Dany.

[wokethedragon]

You do not deserve the fate you were assigned to, Jehan. None of the stolen campers deserved that fate.

[She takes his hand in her own, sitting down next to him on the sand. She smooths out her skirts with her other hand.]

I know you were quite fond of him.

[shylyintrepid]

I...I think he might have been my first love.

[Said quietly, like it hurts to say it. (It does hurt, of course.)]

I've had crushes before and some of them don't work out but this hurts, Dany.

[wokethedragon]

[Oh, that stings. Dany knows Jehan's situation all too well - she's been in it herself, recently.

It's not often that the mother of dragons, as she's styled herself, allows herself to be physically affectionate with anyone but her dragons, but to comfort another who is hurting is a completely different story. She puts an arm around Jehan's shoulders, an incredibly maternal gesture of her, and speaks softly.]

I know the feeling well. It is terrible to face alone.

[shylyintrepid]

[He leans against Dany, taking in that maternal air. He needs it. He needs a mother]

...who?

[wokethedragon]

[She pulls him close, doing her best to comfort him.]

I shall tell you, were you to keep it a secret. It is...I do not wish for the entire camp to be known. It would cause many problems.

[Even more problems than she wished to deal with right now.]

[shylyintrepid]

Of course. I'd never tell.

[wokethedragon]

[She speaks quietly - it is a big secret, after all. There are few at camp who know.]

Enjolras.

[shylyintrepid]

[He stares, stunned by that particular revelation. What?]

Have you said anything? If he said something to hurt you, you know he didn't mean it. He's...an ass, when it comes to this sort of thing.

[wokethedragon]

I have. My brother even gave me a sort of...what would you call it? A pep talk.

[But she shakes her head.]

He does not reciprocate, even though...

[She trails off. Aphrodite's festival may have reawakened feelings she had long stuffed down, but for Enjolras, it was only another day where the gods tampered with their lives.

She rubs his shoulder, frowning.]

Forgive me. It's not my place...I am here to comfort you, Jehan.

[shylyintrepid]

No, it's fine.

[He smiles and bumps her shoulder a little]

Distracting talk helps a lot. I need to not think--Mama says if I'm left alone I'll brood and brood and get so lost in my own head that you'll never find me.

[wokethedragon]

[She has to smile a little, leaning back against her friend.]

You've been known to get lost in that notebook of yours much the same way.

[shylyintrepid]

[He blushes]

See? Distractions are good for me. Healthy.

[wokethedragon]

I suppose you are right. But you must not distract yourself so much that you lose touch with reality.

[It's then when Rhaegal wanders over to Jehan, climbing in the boy's lap. He's definitely much heavier than when Jehan last held him.]

[shylyintrepid]

Which is why I like going--oof!

[He looks at Rhaegel, laughing a little and scratching behind his ears]

You're heavy, petit! Has Dany been feeding you donuts?

[wokethedragon]

[She doesn't mean to take it literally, but she does.]

No. I feed him leftover meats from meal times. They have not learned to cook their own food yet.

[Though she has been seeing little sparks coming from their breath...]

[shylyintrepid]

It was rhetorical, Dany. He's getting bigger, that's all. You'll have to tell Chiron soon.

[wokethedragon]

I have.

[It was shortly after they returned from the Red Room. Dany had traveled there with her dragons...it was only right that she finally followed through on her promise to Natalie and Leo and tell him.]

I'm no longer allowed near the Big House. I do not know how it works..but there is a sort of barrier I cannot cross.

[shylyintrepid]

I'm sorry, Dany.

[He squeezes her hand]

It's probably only for regular day things. I'm sure if there's an emergency, he'll let you through.

[wokethedragon]

[She squeezes his hand back, trying to assure him she will be okay.]

If worst comes to worst, I can always ask Leo or Ferb to go to the Big House and speak to Chiron for me when I need it.

[shylyintrepid]

I forget you have brothers here again.

[Mostly because he avoids Leo because crazy and didn't even know about Ferb]

What did they say about the dragons?

[wokethedragon]

I'm very glad for them.

[She nods a little. They're much better to her than Viserys ever was, even if she's not as close to Ferb as she is to Leo.]

I am allowed to keep them, but we will have to move them out of the Hephaestus cabin soon. They are getting to be quite big...and they have learned to breathe fire - though only for seconds.

[shylyintrepid]

...right. That's bad. Where will you keep them?

[wokethedragon]

I believe the Arena, like Hannibal and Mrs. O'Leary, may be better. But a new structure may have to be built...

[She speaks in a hushed tone, almost conspiratorially.]

I've read that some dragons were kept in special chambers called dragonpits.