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Shadows Over Camp Darkness

Fantasy

After the Maelstrom and fall of the Punt at Camp Darkness, the entire facility has to be restructured from the bottom up. Despite having faced the very real possibility of her death, Gideon the Fury has returned as a House Counsillor to help those t...

Lines in the Sand

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The females this intake looked like they were going to be the real problem makers. The Siren was still muzzled, and didn’t look at all bothered to have the restriction in place. From the sallow look to her skin, the urge to Sing was probably growing and Gideon knew she’d have to take the girl out into the woods tonight to let her waste her Song. The High Elf was the one just oozing disdain and boredom and strangling the room with her haughtiness. It made the Fury smirk and Gideon felt her darker aspects stir at the chance to put a little fear into the mix-breed.  But it was the Nightmare that made every internal alarm Gideon had ring out. She just stared at Gideon with a look of undeniable, unmistakable hatred.

“As you now know, you’re in a behavioural rehabilitation center for the next foreseeable future. As I said before, I’m Councillor Gideon, and you can call me either Councillor or Gideon. For now, I’ll be addressing you all by your last names, at least until I decide you’ve earned your first name. I’m going to take you on a tour of the facilities now, so save your questions, there’s a whole speech you’ll be getting that pretty much answers them all anyways.”

“But what if we don’t know why we’re here?” Angelspawn asked, sounding pitifully lost.

“You’re here for a reason, and even if nothing else makes sense to you right now, just trust me when I say that things will get figured out alright? Now as I said, keep your questions, let’s go.” Gideon turned and walked out, knowing that they would follow. They always did. Every now and again some would try to sneak off or wander out but the Punt would always bounce them back to where they needed to be. Gideon knew that this new, modified Punt was even more complex than the last one had been so it would be entertaining as all seven hells to see what exactly it would do to the wanderers.

Gideon used to give a speech as she walked with them, telling them that if they worked with her they would get rewards and letting them know that she was there to help. It was still in her memory and she knew the words but she stayed silent as she walked, feeling them following in her wake. She’d tell them the six rules she was going to teach them when they were settled into the Intake House. It would just be easier to do it all at once, and it would help her settle back into the role as Councillor. Who knew a single year off to recover from her injuries would cause such a shift in her?

She led the kids around the newly laid out Camp grounds, having memorized the layout herself only a few days ago. Strategically it made sense. The Intake Houses were no longer scattered in the edge of the woods, instead they were lined up near each other in a militaristic style barracks scheme. The Mess and Meet was close by as well, although there were several other buildings still peppered throughout the woods like mushrooms after the rain. And then there was the lake in there as well. It was a great place to get up to mischief and Gideon knew that it was where most of these trouble makers would try to sneak off to whenever they felt rebellious.

Intake House One was the first building she led them to, allowing them the chance to drop off their bags and luggage. They all had some, though the Siren really had the least, basically only the bare necessities that the Camp had given to her as she’d had nothing upon arrival. Eventually Gideon would go through their bags and confiscate the items that they really shouldn’t have anyways.

“Okay Intake One. This is your home for the next six weeks or so. Keep it tidy, keep to your side as assigned by gender preference and please for the love of all the wiggly worms in the ground don’t set this place on fire. It’s a pain to get the scorch smells out.” Gideon informed them as they all awkwardly lingered around the main sitting area. Like the old Intake Houses, there was a fireplace for winter warmth, banked right now during the day and locked off from Intake access, though Gideon had the key. There was a T.V, similarly locked to their access and a huge, hideous couch and chairs that matched nothing but ugly.

“I’m going to drop some knowledge on you over the next while, in the various forms of survival skills and six easy rules to make your own. This week, week one is matched to rule one: Don’t lie to yourself. You’re going to lie, some of you will never stop lying and some of you are really bad at it. Good for you. But don’t waste your time lying to yourself. It’s just plain stupid and irritating.” Gideon didn’t sugar coat it for them, and she saw the surprise in their eyes at being plainly addressed.

A lot of people thought that Camp Darkness was like a summer camp for delinquents. In a way it was, but it was first and foremost a rehabilitation center. Gideon wasn’t going to treat these kids as anything other than what they were; people who needed help. Maybe not in the way that their parents assumed either. But the Doctor had accepted all of them and that meant that he knew they could all be helped. If they were willing to accept that help was entirely up to them though.

Before any of the freaky little darlings could get mouthy or ask redundant questions, Gideon pressed on, knowing that there was actually a timeline she had to keep track of. “I’m going to take you to the Main Hall now. It’s called the Mess and Meet because that’s where we eat and where we go in big groups. I’ll drag you all out into the woods whenever I need to, but the Mess and Meet is the main place to go. Also, so you know, at any time you can go to another Councillor or Head Councillor for help. They might not be your main Intake Councillor and that doesn’t matter. If you need them, they are there. So let’s go meet the rest of the Camp shall we?”  Once again she headed out without waiting for them to say anything and she took them to get speeched at by the Dragon. It was strange to get back into the swing of things, but Gideon figured that it would settle back down, eventually

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