Welcome to Gaia! ::

The blast from the microphone seemed to shake some life back into 'Emily's group, and as she waved at them and headed for where all the counselors were gathering, one or two even gave her a grateful smile. She was certain this was their way of saying thank you for the trip, instead of something ridiculous like them being glad she had left. It was relaxing to be undercover, she thought, as she jogged up to the stage. She could run around, jump, and literally let her hair down without having to worry about what people would think. Maybe she could even try out some of this modern slang that kids her age were always spouting.

Taking her turn to step on stage, she gripped the clipboard and waved it above her head energetically to get people's attention.

"Hello! My name is Emily, and I'm delighted to be one of your junior counselors! I'm going to be supervising the Azalea Cabin, so I look forward to meeting all the girls there, I'm sure we'll get along splendidly! Apart from there, I'm always around the camp so if you need help with anything do let me know. I'm going to be working in the arts and crafts tent, where we'll be offering all kinds of activities. Larkspur is overflowing with absolutely breathtaking flowers, as I'm sure some of you have noticed by now. I'll be running flower pressing groups, so you can bring home a little slice of Larkspur for your family! Also, I'll be supervising morning jump-rope. You can come and join in whenever you like, we'll be learning all sorts of fun moves!"

"Oh, umm..."

Should he tell Lily who? He couldn't really think of much of a reason not to, unless she started acting weird around Chris because she knew Paris was hiding a secret from him, but she was a fellow dancer and part of dancing was acting, so she should be able to hide it just fine. He hoped...

Why he was doing it was another thing entirely. He couldn't just say 'oh, he's cute and he's fun to be around and it's great that he has money and can take me out to nice places' without it seeming extremely douchey.

And the more he thought about things that way, the more he realized he was a horrible person.

"It's Chris. Up there," he said, as the young man in question stepped off of the stage and another counselor went to take his place in the introductions. "We've sort of been hanging out for the last month and a half, and I guess it's kind of like dating, only not. He assumes that I'm a girl and I haven't really gotten to the point where I've figured out how to tell him the truth," he explained, even if that wasn't entirely it. He didn't particularly want to tell him the truth, at least not until he was done having his fun. "It's complicated. But I'll tell him one day," he reassured her. "Soon. I think. Maybe. It depends on how things go from here. I'd just rather other people not do the outing for me."

That was good enough, wasn't it? It sort of made the whole thing seem a little more innocent than it really was, at least as far as his part in it was concerned, like Chris was making an easy mistake and Paris was too invested to say anything for fear of ruining things.

"If you could help with the cabin thing, that would be fantastic," he continued, a little excited that he may have himself an accomplice. "I figured getting up before everyone else and going to sleep after them was my best option, or I could get my hands on Chris's keys and sleep in his car..." As uncomfortable as that would be, he had considered it.

Lily blinked when Paris said it was Chris and the only response she could give was, "Legs?" It was probably an odd statement, but she knew a few of the girls at the animal shelter called him that. She doubted Chris was unware, though she wasn't certain.

She gave a laugh, but nodded none the less, "He volunteers at the animal shelter, really nice kind of silly. I cannot believe you are sort of dating Legs. I'm sorry Paris, but I have to say that is strange." Lily was grinning, "I think you should tell him, but don't worry you secret is safe with me. I won't tell."

She shook her head and put a hand on Paris shoulder, "oh no, we can't have you sleeping in cars. No we will have to speak to Gently and tell her their was a mistake on your form. We can say a friend of ours though it would be funny to change the gender box on our form. I caught it on mine, but apparently you missed it on yours. Simple enough, huh?"

"Now how about we say hi to Chris, huh."

Wait. "What happened to the snacks I gave you?" Ridley whispered into the bag while the counselors began their introductions. She had made her way well into the crowd by now but had stopped short from ********* declaration.

Though there wasn't as much room in the bag because of ********* presence, Ridley had made sure to include at least enough snacks for two people - or at least as much as she normally had for snacks multiplied by two. Had ********* eaten all of it? The look on Ridley's face was filled with horror. If... the small manx could eat that much ... would the camp have any food left if ********* got into the mess hall?

For a moment the kitty frowned in a nearly embarrassed manner.

"...it was a long ride and I got hungry..." Her paws pushed against her tummy again, though now a casual observer would have to wonder if the tummy ache was due to hunger or just flat out overeating.

"...I'm sorry..." ********* attempted a smile, but it still seemed rather embarrassed.

There were so many people around, and even though most of the them were shorter and younger it was still doing a good deal of blocking her path and view of the going ons.

When the introductions began Aitana regarded them with mild interest, more interested in the activities then the actual names. In her mind she made a list of activities.
Arts and crafts - maybe
Flower pressing.. eh
Jump roping - that could be fun
Hikes and nature walks - also acceptable
Wilderness survival - BADASS

And then a very familar face appeared. Castille! Her volleyball teammate was one of them? Surely she'd have some interesting stuff to run. Aitana's nerves settled, growing more excited and less nervous over a summer of dulllll.

Soft clicks caught her attention and her eyes shifted, spotting Peter in his 'game' of rock throwing. Aitana dipped, picking up a small stone of her own before she clipped it at his ankle. Fun game!

Lily grinned and moved closer to the stage with Paris giving a wave to Chris before it seemed to be her turn, how did that happen, to get up on stage and introduce herself. She wanted to have a nickname like Moose and Kookaburra, so she gave herself a the last minute nickname Nightingale versus Blossom for Lily blossom and smiled at the campers.

"Hey campers," she called in a sing songy voice, "I'm Nightingale and this is my first year as a camp counselor, although I have been a camper here before. You can look forward to campfire songs and some dances classes with my and a few of my friends."

With that she hopped off the stage to hang with Paris and Chris.

Genevieve, relieved that Istas would be okay with her friend and the other councilors watching out for her patted the girl on the head and smiled. "My name is Jen," she introduced herself gently. "If you need anything come find me, alright?" Then she was off towards the stage, even as Gently was making her way up there. Jen, though she despised the nickname, smiled as her friend loudly made herself known. Even if there weren't any other plans for the campers it made her extremely happy that she'd at least get time with her existing friends and making new ones.

---

As several other staff members made themselves known, Genevieve looked over her clipboard and list of campers and whom she'd be sharing cabin duties with. Talia- Hmm, it was a name she wasn't particularly familiar with. They'd been introduced the last few days of course but they hadn't really actually talked to one another.
As the mic was clear of other councilors for a rare moment, 'Jen Willis' took her chance and dashed upwards with a ginormous smile plastered to her face. A genuine smile. Waving to Gently and some of the more exuberant kids off of her bus quickly she cleared her voice to speak.

"Helloooo~ Camp Larkspur! My name is Jennifer Willis and I'm a Junior Councilor! Are we going to have fun this summer?!" She looked like a complete dweeb and didn't notice a bit. "For those of you in Cabin Oleander I will be watching over you with Moose, and I'll be in charge of a super neat activity! If you're at all interested in learning how to make your own ice cream or apple crisp in a campfire I'm the gal to find!" Striking a "victory pose" she scanned her list again and nodded. "As a quick note- would Coralie, Aitana, Lydia, and Gigi please find either myself or Moose as soon as you've found your belongings, we want to get the party started as quickly as possible!"