The Formed Friendship and the Broken Curse [p r i v a t e--To Rachie]

The Formed Friendship and the Broken Curse [p r i v a t e--To Rachie] Angel2

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It was very early in the morning when Olivia woke up to train. However, she was so determined to be rid of her uncontrollable ability that some days she spent all night training in the arena. Last night was one of those nights. Olivia arrive at the Arena the day before at around 7pm and now, at 5am, she was still there, training as diligently as ever. Over the past three years, after learning of her ability and what it was, she was completely unable to learn how to control it. Because of this power, she couldn't touch any living thing for more than three seconds before they began to freeze from the inside out. Despite daily training, research, and help from other campers, the cabin leader could still feel the poisonous ice coursing through her veins. Scowling, Olivia threw an icicle at one of the snow dummies she had made earlier. Before the icicle hit the dummy, Olivia lifted her hand, causing a shield of snow to form in front of the snow man. With another wave of her hand, the icicle split into five small daggers and broke down the shield. With a sigh of exhaustion, Olivia collapsed tot he ground.
'This training doesn't seem to be doing any good...' Blanca, her arctic fox companion, said to her through their telepathy link. Olivia turned to face her companion, who was the one living creature who was somehow blessed with the ability to be immune to her touch.
Olivia shook her head and pointed up above her head. "No, it's working," she said. She was out of breath from her training and she calmed her heartbeat down before she continued. "The snowstorm that I used to have around me all the time is hardly anything. Now the air around me is just cold. No clouds, no mist, no snow in summer. I'm just cold, and I can live with that. But this ice...I think it's the next thing that's going to be broken, but it's going to take a while," the daughter of Khione mused.
Blanca let out a yip of agreement before she replied. 'What does the curse need to be broken for? You have me, you couldn't need anything more,' the fox replied with an arrogant swish of her white, fluffy tail.
Olivia chuckled and rolled her eyes before she stood up, brushed the dust off of her clothes, and began her training again. Deciding this time to work on changing states, Olivia grabbed her bottle of water. She unscrewed the cap, took a sip and then slashed the top of the bottle off with her knife and tossed the bottle away from her. The water, before it hit the floor, was turned into snow. Olivia concentrated so hard that sweat began to bead on her forehead. Snow was hard to control because it was so unstable in its form. But Olivia found her grip on the cool, white powder and shaped it into a sphere, flattened it to the ground, and then clenched her open hands and condensed the snow to ice. Now having ice, Olivia released her clenched fists and let the now melted ice soak into the ground once more.

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The Formed Friendship and the Broken Curse [p r i v a t e--To Rachie] Tumblr_m015ipSavW1qbkillo1_500

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis walked to the arena, he had no idea why. He never comes down here, unless he's trying to train for his own good or to come to think. I guess today was a thinking day. When he stepped foot inside, he saw a dark haired girl who looked very icy. She looked familiar. Intrigued, he tilted his head to the side. Then he remembered. She was the Khione cabin leader. He didn't know her name, although. Travis decided to watch her train a few moments more. When she collapsed to the ground, Travis began making his way toward her. He heard her speaking to her pet. An arctic fox, to be exact.
Making his way towards her, he watched as she controlled the snow. She handled it very well, like an expert. "That was quite fabulous, if you ask me." Travis spoke, his voice smooth and full of nervousness, trying to be covered. It was true, Travis wasn't the social butterfly. but he tried making conversations as much as possible. "I've never seen someone control snow that well. Oh, where are my manners? Travis Sykes. Athena. I know you're the Khione cabin leader, but I'm afraid I don't know your name." He said, tilting his head to the side once more, with a playful, yet small smile.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia spun around in surprise when she heard a voice sneak up behind her. She had a surprised expression on her face but, quickly finding her composure, Olivia cleared her throat and spoke. "Oh, well thank you," she said, offering a small, shy smile.
"Oh by the way, there's someone else here,' Blanca said. A fox-like grin spread across her long, narrow maw and the small, white fluffball let out a few yips that sounded like laughter. Olivia rolled her icy blue eyes and turned to face Blanca. 'Yeah I got that, thanks,' she replied silently.
Olivia's icy gaze returned to the boy who, once again, complimented her snow control and introduce himself as Travis Sykes. A small, yet subtly proud smile flashed across her face. Olivia had yet to meet this fellow camper, which made her feel slightly guilty for only really knowing the people in her own cabin. Snapping out of her own thoughts, Olivia spoke. "Again, thank you. I suppose training really does pay off. And I'm Olivia Frost, as you said before, daughter of Khione. It's good to meet you," she replied. A soft cough sounded in her head and Olivia turned to the source, rolling her eyes. "And this is Blanca. She's sassy, ignore her," Olivia added. Blanca let out an irritated yip, which only made Olivia smile.

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We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis smiled, very intrigued now. "Nice to meet you, Olivia. Beautiful nkame, by the way." He flashed a smile. A pretty name with a pretty face.. iIs whathe wanted to say, but figured it would be too soon, and would make things extremely awkward already. He turned toward Blanca, and offered a slight nod of his head. "How do you do, Miss Blanca?" He smiled, also giving her a slight bow.
He turned to Olivia again and asked. "DO you two have an empathy link? I saw you two converse while making my way here.." He asked, walking around, admiring Blanca. She was a beautiful fox, yes. An elegant one. Travis looked back again to Olivia. "So. do you come to train often? You're doing a wonderful job, by the way." He smiled.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Blanca let out a happy, yet somewhat indignant sounding yip. 'This guy is so polite. He's like one of those butlers or something," Blanca said. The fox jumped from her spot on the bench and padded over to Travis. Her steps were silent, but they left small indents in the dirt floor. Her nose twitched with Travis' scent and the skin of her muzzle wrinkled as she recoiled. "He smells strange...Like old paper," the fox added. She pawed at her nose, as if attempting to get the smell out.
Olivia attempted to stifle a small giggle. Once she had composed herself, she looked up at Travis with a smile. "She says it's nice to meet you too," she lied, deciding to leave out Blanca's colorful commentary. When asked about the empathy link, Olivia looked up and nodded her head. "Yes, but with our's you are not required to be at a distance. People say it's because the creature you share the link with is blessed by your godly parent, but whether or not that's true, I don't know. Either way, she's the only living thing that tends to stay around me," Olivia explained.
'You know people would if-" Blanca's reassuring thoughts were cut off by Olivia when she nodded and responded silently. 'Yeah, I know..'
When Travis spoke, she responded by pulling herself away from hr own mind and concentrating on the son of Athena. "Yeah I tend to spend most of my free time here. I spent all night here, by accident, but..." her voice trailed off and she looked off to the distance. She let out a delicate sigh before shaking her head. "Just never seems to be enough," she added. Realizing she had just thrown her own problems on the boy she had just met, Olivia shook her head. She scurried off towards her things and slipped her training knives into their cases. She cleared her throat before she spoke again. "S-Sorry. Personal problems. Nothing you'd want to hear about. So, um, what about you? Do you train often? Or are you more of a behind the scenes sort of person?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder while she spoke and packed her things.
Distracting herself by looking at Travis, her fingers fumbled and she felt a sharp pain in her hand. "Ack!" she muttered, turning to face her sliced hand. Blood trickled out of the wound and Olivia hastily tried to riffle through her bags for a bandage.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis smiled, having a feeling that Blanca didn't like something about Travis from her expression. The backpack he had on his shoulders began to slide off. With a swift motion, he put it back in place. Travis just let a small smile show, the kind that showed he was amused, but still happy. Hearing about the empathy link they share, he let out another smile. "That's quite extraordinary, if you ask me." He spoke with a smile. He looked at Olivia, studying her as she spoke. She seemed very thin from the outside, not carrying around much muscle. But Travis knew that she was most likely stronger than she looked.
Travis tilted his head at her last remark. Only thing staying around her? What? The thought was quickly thrown from his mind as he smiled again. "Well I think the training you're doing is helping you quite well. You've obviously are doing something right if you have the will to keep going with training, and not just quitting. You don't strike me as a quitting type, Olivia." He smiled, adjusting the small gray beanie that sat on his head. Beginning to open his mouth to reassure her about her personal problems, he quickly reached in the pack that he carried around his shoulders and pulled out a bandage. He gently grabbed her hand and began to wrap up her palm. "Never know when you come across an injured camper.." his voice shook, being nervous from being well prepared.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

Last edited by Angel on Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:20 pm; edited 3 times in total

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Olivia felt his touch on her hand and she relaxed for a second, just a second. Then she realized it. Her eyes grew wide and she ripped her hand out of his grasp. "What are you doing?!" she hollered. Her heart began pounding in her chest and her breathing became heavy. 'Maybe the fabric kept our skin apart? No, he had to grab my hand. I felt his touch. Maybe it wasn't more than three seconds. No it had to be more, I had enough time to relax. Maybe it's not more...no it has to be,' as she continued to argue with herself, Olivia glanced down at her wounded hand. Her blood was smeared. He had touched her and her blood.
Olivia turned to Travis with a dark expression. Her eyes were filled with worry and a seething anger that was almost scary. Though she was angry at herself, not him. "How many seconds were you touching me?" she asked. Her tone was calm, but dark and grave. "Olivia, we have to get him somewhere warm." Blanca interjected. But Olivia was too far gone to snap out of it this quickly.
"HOW MANY SECOND?!" she bellowed. "Olivia! We have to get him to the armory!" Blanca screamed in her head. Olivia took in a sharp breath and nodded her head. "We...we have to g-get you somewhere warm. W-We need to go to the armory. Fast," she said. Not bothering to grab her things, Olivia frantically ran to the door. Looking over her shoulder back at Travis with tears in her eyes, she spoke. "Travis please, he have to move fast! We have to warm you up! Now let's go!" she pleaded.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis felt her yank her hand away suddenly. Travis thought he had hurt her at first, so he opened his mouth to apologize when he suddenly felt a cold sensation in his chest. Ignoring it, he looked up at Olivia who looked absolutely terrified and bewildered. "Olivi-" He began to speak when she began screaming.Taken aback, Travis was completely speechless. He's never seen anyone like this before, especially not someone as calm as Olivia. He was trying to open his mouth to ask her what in the world was she freaking out about, when the realization hit him. She can;t touch anyone. Something happens. Like something was happening to him. Travis's teeth began to chatter, he was freezing at the moment. He just gave a quick nod of his head, signaling Olivia that he gave her his trust and followed quickly behind Olivia.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia could hear his teeth chattering as she ran and her heart pounded in her chest. This was happening fast. Usually, for humans, it took about a day to begin to really see affects. It was like the ice was anxious. Anxious to take its next body after not having the satisfaction for years. And perhaps the open wound had something to do with it.
Within a minute they arrived at the armory. It was amazing how fast your feet could take you if there was an urgent need to be swift. Olivia burst open the doors. Thankfully, because it was so early, no one was there. She found one of the furnaces, which, thank Zeus, was running. She could visibly see the heat waves here. Olivia grabbed a chair and sat it directly in front of the furnace, even leaving the door open for good measure. "Sit down," she ordered in a commanding tone. "Blanca, sit in his lap, share your body heat," she added. The fox did as she was told and curled up into Travis' lap. Olivia grabbed fabric that was covering cars, jackets left here, towels that she soaked in scorching hot water, anything she could find that she could wrap around Travis. The daughter of Khione began to layer Travis in hot towels, fabric, jackets, and anything else that she could locate that might keep him warm. She used a nearby sword and cut up a towel into strips. She wet those strips in hot water and placed them on the entry site, Travis's forehead, his feet, and across his abdomen.
Her icy gaze locked with his. Her expression was serious, yet unreadable. "No matter what, no matter how hot you get. No matter how much it feels like you're going to catch fire, you are not to remove any of this. If the towels feel like they're cooling down, tell me right away. Don't wait and I'll replace them." Olivia went and got buckets of hot water. "The ice hasn't reached your feet yet, so this is going to burn. But we'll treat you for those later, once we know you're going to live," she said. Olivia slipped his feet into the buckets of water and, finding that there was nothing else she could do but wait, she took the seat across from him. This much heat made her uncomfortable and sick to her stomach, but she had to stay. "We got here fast, but the affects also came on fast because you came into direct contact with my blood. This should be enough to sweat the ice out of your system, hopefully," she said. Her voice was now starting to shake with worry, but she tried to stay strong.

ooc: I accidentally just edited the post above, but it's okay. xD We know what happened.

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We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis pretty much ran in the Armory. He did as he was told, quickly taking his seat. Travis was shivering uncontrollably, not being able to control any of his body anymore. As Travis was layered with the towels, jackets and what not, he started feeling a little warmer, but it wasn't doing much at the moment. As Blanca curled in his lap, he offered a small smile to her. It was obvious he was scared, but trying his hardest not to show it, because Olivia looked extremely frightened as well. Travis believed in her, though. After all, she was trying to save him. While everything was happening around him, he was thinking intensely, and it showed. Now, what in the world could have happened? Travis knows that earlier that Olivia said that Blanca was the only living thing to stay around her. But why? Olivia seemed like a great person. But when he had touched her, came in contact with her blood, he began to become cold from the inside.. Is... is she... cursed of some sort..? He questioned himself. He let out a loud groan when feeling the scorching towel on his feet, which felt completely normal. Then, locking eyes with Olivia he asked quite boldly, "Olivia... do you happen to be... cursed.. of some sort?

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia changed out some of his towels with new, hot ones. She could feel her own cheeks burning up, but she endured it. Her cut had stopped bleeding now, but she bandaged it up anyway while she waited. "I can feel him excreting body heat again, that's a good sign. But he's going to need to sweat it all out completely," Blanca said. Olivia nodded her head at Blanca and decided to share the news with Travis. "Blanca says that she can feel you sending off some of your own body heat. That's a good sign. But you're going to have to sweat this out of your system. You're going to have to get so unbearably warm that the ice is sweat out of your skin," she said. Olivia poured more hot water into the buckets to replenish what was in there and let the excess just soak onto the floor and trickle down the drains. She'd remember to apologize to the Hephaestus kids and thank them later. When Travis spoke, her gaze locked with his and her expression grew dark. "...Yes. Yes I am," she replied. Deciding to explain, Olivia sighed. "It all started when I was around ten. My mom, well step-mom, hugged me before she went out into the mountains. She and my dad were geologists that specialized in snow and snowy weather. We were based in Switzerland at the time. Well, I felt strange. It was like I felt this pressure building in my fingertips. And when they touched her skin, after a few seconds, it was like the pressure released. It was very strange, and I suddenly felt colder than I normally did. But I didn't think anything of it at the time. That was until she froze to death out in the field. Somehow I knew that I was the one that caused it. I didn't know why, but I knew I was dangerous. After I got here, I told Chiron what had happened to me. He explained that I have ice in my blood stream. That icy particles are attached to a third of my red blood cells and that they are what keeps me so cold. But this ice is like a leech. It wants warmth to feed off of. It doesn't affect me, because I have a naturally low body temperature, you know, Khione. Well, when I come into contact with someone for more than what seems like an average of three seconds, the ice seeps through my skin and into their blood stream. It begins to freeze them from the inside out. With small creatures, animals, birds, it only takes about an hour. But with humans, because they're larger, the ice takes about a day to kill. Unless you sweat it out. I learned that the ice can be excreted from your body with heat because it follows the sweat out of your skin. That's why I train so much, because I want to learn if it's an ability that I can control. But so far, it's done no good..." she explained.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis listened to her story, becoming saddened. He looked in the fire that burned in front of him, thinking. Trying to think of a way to reverse the curse. Travis's eyes seemed duller, more distant than they were before. As she spoke earlier, he felt himself becoming warm again. He felt as if his skin was burning off, but better to be safe than sorry. I don't see how she could of contracted the curse... It's weird. Just all of a sudden at ten years old, becoming the holder of such a deadly, powerful weapon, but also encouraging loneliness. The pieces just don't seem to fit.. He felt the urge to get up and pace, but figured it would be best if he stayed down. He began pacing in his mind. If he wanted to help fix this, he had to know what caused it. But all he knows is that one day something felt different and the voila, her step-mother was dead. It didn't make sense! He groaned in aggravation, making his hands into fists. He looked at Olivia once more, asking "Do you know of anything that could of brought on this curse? I'm trying to think this through but I'm going nowhere because I don't know where to start.." He asked, his voice trailing off after the last few words.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia could feel the memories flooding her brain now. The realization that, at ten years old, she had murdered her mother. That she was deadly and dangerous. She learned to block herself from people and to keep away as much as possible. And she left. She left her family, left her little brother, just left. To keep them safe, but she hardly doubted that they knew her reasoning.
Snapping out of her thoughts by Travis' voice, she turned to face him. "No, it just sort of appeared. Chiron thinks it came on because my demigod abilities were beginning to form. Which is what made me believe that it's actually a power, but no matter how hard I train, no matter how strong I get, I can't control it..." her voice trailed off and she let out a soft sigh. Shaking her head, Olivia switched out a few more of Travis' towels silently. "How warm do you feel right now?" she asked, hoping that he would say something like "I'm scorching," or "I feel like I'm on fire" because that would mean that the ice is trying to stay in the system but is getting pulled back out, which is what is causing the extreme burning, because your body temperature is fighting extreme cold with extreme heat. It's like when you get into a hot shower when your feet are cold and it burns. But the heat, thank the gods, eventually wins.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis raised his hand to his chin, thinking hard. What could of brought this on? How could have it just appeared one day, without any notice whatsoever? Maybe... maybe it was an..exchange type of thing? No, how? It took her step-mother all of a sudden and stayed with her, it wouldn't seem fair if she had to exchange something once more. Hearing her, he spoke "I honestly feel as if my skin is melting off of my bones.." He managed to say with a laugh. He quickly jumped back to his thought. Maybe, just maybe, it was worth mentioning. Here goes nothing.. "I've been thinking, and come up with a theory. An unlikely theory, but a theory." He spoke, removing his hand from his chin and placing both hands beside Blanca. "Maybe, Khione wants an exchange from you of some sort. I don't know why it could be that way, but it's just my idea. It's the only one I can come up with without needing to know how you got your icy power in the first place. The theory doesn't make much sense to me either," He sighed, using his hand to rub his temples, "But it's all I got. Comments?" He asked, stressing out about trying to help her. Hey, it's not like he had to, he wanted to.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia shook her head and gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Look, Travis. It's really nice that you want to help me, but let's worry about getting you better before you try and think of something that would work. I'm never alone, Blanca is with me. For some reason I'm able to touch her and she doesn't die. It's like she's just not supposed to leave me. Like she's my company. Which I'm okay with," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
She could feel the heat radiating off of him and see the sweat on his skin. Lifting the towel to the entry site, Olivia examined it. There was a pool of sizzling liquid seeping out of his skin where it had entered. When it had finished exiting, Olivia wiped it away with the towel. Suddenly everything seemed much warmer. The ice was out of Travis' system. "Let's get you out of this stuff before you have a heat stroke," she mumbled as she began to strip Travis of the excess clothing, cloth, fabric and towels. Olivia looked at the towel that contained the melted, poisonous ice and threw it into the open flames of the furnace. It sizzled and crackled and steam rose from the entrance before the towel crumbled into ashes. Olivia watched it burn before she turned to Travis with a nod. "You're fine. Just don't touch me again," she said, offering a relieved smile.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis went to open his mouth to object, but ended up keeping quiet. He sat quietly until Olivia began to strip him of the towels and fabric. Travis, relieved to be alive, stood up and started walking around, pacing around the room. It was the best he could do to help dry his sweat drenched clothes. Note to self, take a shower later.. He told himself, wiping his hair that was wet from his forehead. He wanted to hug Olivia, to thank her, but instead gave a simple nod and a "Thank you." He wanted her to know how baldy he was thankful, but couldn't do so without touching her. He returned to his pacing, trying to help her out again. After all, he was taken care of. He began to think maybe it had something to do with Blanca, because she's the only being that Olivia can touch without freezing her. It was a possible breakthrough, but he couldn't get the heart to say it. After all, Blanca was Olivia's only company. What if he was wrong, anyway? They would have exchanged Blanca for zip, and Olivia would hate him forever. That thought made him shudder. He tried pushing it out of his mind and pacing again.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia tried her best to straighten everything she had skewed in the armory. She placed the fabric, which was not drenched, back over what it was covering and tried to make it look like no one had been in here. "Close enough," Blanca commented with a dismissive swish of her tail. Olivia smiled and rolled her eyes. She bent down and scooped the small fox up in her arms. She was soaked with sweat as well as water from the towels. 'Remind me to bathe you later,' Olivia thought. Blanca let out a soft growl. "I'm perfectly capable of bating myself, thank you," the fox retorted.
Olivia was pulled out of their silent conversation by Travis' voice. She looked up at him and let a small smile stretch across her face. "You're welcome," she muttered. She wanted to touch him again, wanted to hug him or simply let their fingers brush. For just a second. After six years of no human contact, to suddenly have it again was painful. But Olivia now saw Travis as something she had to protect, so she would never fall into her temptations. Clearing her throat, Olivia set Blanca back down on the floor and started out of the armory. "Come on, let's all head somewhere a little cooler. You both must be burning up, I know I'm too warm for my liking," she said. Olivia opened the door and as soon as the cool, crispy morning air nipped at her incredibly warm skin, Olivia let out an audible groan of relief. Warmth really drained her of energy and made her sick to her stomach.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis followed her out of the armory, groaning loudly as he felt the cool air hit his burning skin. He had to resist himself from dropping to the floor and rolling in the dirt, to enjoy the air. But, all he did was outstretch his arms to catch more air. He smiled and closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the full extent of the air. Thinking of how he looked and the position he was in, he laughed and began exclaiming, but still laughing, "I'm flying, Jack! I'm flying!" He ran to a tree stump and stood on top of it. He reenacted the famous Titanic scene, but he couldn't keep his composure, so he ended up sitting on the tree stump. "I'm sorry, that might not of been real funny to you, but I'm amused quite easily because of really doing nothing all of my life." He spoke, looking up at her, locking eyes for a moment. He gave a small smile, wishing that he could touch her again. Then he began to wonder what it was like to spend so many years alone.. He shivered. Then he decided, he would stay, and be her friend. He knew he wanted to be there for her.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia watched him act positively silly and she couldn't help but smile. Her gaze locked with his and she had to forcefully stop herself from reaching out for him again. It was as if he was a drug that she had gotten a quick taste of and was quickly addicted. After going without human contact for so long, when you got it back for a brief time, it was all that would be on your mind. At least that's how it was for Olivia. She silently wondered if every person she came across would give her these temptations, or if it was just him.
Olivia reluctantly pulled her gaze from his and plopped down into the cool grass. She placed her hands, palms down, on the surface and allowed the coolness to soak into her warm skin. "Sometimes those silly things are the best medicine to boredom or loneliness," she pointed out. Flopping down onto the ground, she folded her arms behind her head and looked up at the sky. The clouds were puffy and white, the kind that were perfect for finding shapes in. "Look, that cloud looks like a bunny," she said. Olivia had a smile on her face an a child-like glint in her usually calm, icy blue eyes. This was a rare occasion for her.
"You seem happy all of a sudden," Blanca noted, who was sprawled out beside her. Olivia smiled and nodded her head and craned her neck to face her friend. 'Yeah, I really am. I know I've always had you, but I feel like I have a friend,' she thought, stealing a glance at Travis.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis smiled, knowing that she was right about him being silly. He plopped next to her on the ground, taking the same position she was in. Travis took a quick look at Olivia, and saw her looking up at the clouds. They reflected perfectly off of her irises. Travis couldn't help but let out a smile from how engulfed she was in the clouds. Travis looked up to the sky as well, pointing out the one she had recalled as a bunny. "Hey, it does!" He reacted with a slight giggle in his voice. He searched the clouds for another formation, and immediately let out a full blown smile and a laugh when he spotted it. "Look! Olivia! It's an elephant!" He spoke very child-like and in a series of giggles. He had the biggest grin on his face, his eyes the bluest they have been in years. This is only the second time they've been the brightest, the first was seeing his sister finally after eight, longing years. Sadly, she didn't remember him one bit. While thinking about her, a thought popped in his noggin and he simply smiled. "Hey Olivia, I'd like to introduce to you my sister, one day." Yes, this was very out of the blue, but he knew it's what he wanted to do. He knew that he would spend quite a bit of time with Olivia from now on.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

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Olivia looked over at the elephant and let out a soft, bell-like laugh. How long had it been since she'd laughed? Far too long, that was for sure. "Oh and look! The elephant is chasing a runaway bicycle! Or maybe those are coconuts... it's hard to say.." she said with a grin. Olivia continued to find shapes in the clouds. Some she made up as strange creatures, others she just sort of formed in her head. But her imagination was running wild. When Travis spoke of his sister, Olivia turned to face him. 'One day...That means he'll be sticking around,' she thought. She had to bite her lip to suppress her smile of happiness. "What's she like?" she asked, finding that as she asked memories of her brother began to fill her mind. Deciding it best to ignore the topic that made her so sad.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

Travis smiled, also beginning to debate whether or not those were coconuts or a bicycle. When Olivia asked about his sister, his grin widened again. "I'd love to tell you about her." He smiled. Sitting up, he cleared his throat and began. "Her name is Kennedy Elizabeth Sykes. Her birthday is August 12th. She's fifteen, only 3 years younger than I am. She pretty much looks like the female version of me, her hair is dark brown and wavy, her eyes the same colour as mine. The same skin tone, we could be twins." He smiled at the thought of it. "She's not a book worm like I am, she prefers being around lots of people and having friends, while I prefer the company of my books. Her personality is opposite of mine, but that's okay."
His expression then began to darken. "But she doesn't remember me.. I ran away when I was ten. She was so stricken with grief, she pretty much cried me out of her life. Her memories. When she first arrived at camp... Oh Gods, it was hard for me to hold back from embracing her. When I asked her if she remembered me, she replied with a quick 'no', and I just dropped it. Now, we're getting close, and I want to tell her soon. But, I'm afraid if I do, she won't believe me and she'll run and never talk to me again.." His voice began to crack as tears quickly filled his eyes. He tried blinking them away, but only resulted as a few tears leaking out of his eyes. "I can't lose her again... Olivia. She's the only family I've got..." He spoke, his voice hoarse instead of smooth. He let a few more tears out before wiping them away quickly, trying to compose himself. He let out a large sigh, then laid back down. This was the first time Travis had cried in front of anyone. He always tried to keep his cool, but he just lost it. He tried getting his mind away from the dreaded thought, so he tried pointing out more clouds, only to find none.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Olivia listened to him as he spoke of his sister. Hearing him describe her and seeing how happy it made him caused a smile to stretch across her face. But when he started to sadden, that smile faded. Taking in a deep breath, she could feel her heart begin to break when tears began to stream down his face. She wanted to badly to hug him, comfort him, even hold his hand. But she couldn't. Now realizing she knew why she never allowed herself to grow attached to people, Olivia promised herself that she would find some way to break this curse, whatever it took. 'Blanca, would you mind curling up by him?' she asked her friend. Blanca obliged. She padded over to Travis and curled up in his lap. "I can't comfort you. I can't pat you on the shoulder, or hold your hand... But Blanca can, sort of. If I could, I'd be there. But... for now, Blanca is my comfort for you," she said, offering a small smile.
"But I can relate to your situation... I have a little brother named Tyler.. He's about three years younger than me. And after our step-mom died, his real mom, though, I was kind of the only one there that was a motherly figure. Our dad was always working after we moved to New York. The maids and workers he'd hire to watch us never really spoke English, or if they did they pretended they didn't... I was sort of the only one there for him. But then one day I accidentally brushed up against him. It wasn't too long, so a deadly amount of the ice didn't reach him, but it was enough to land him in the hospital with pneumonia.. I realized that he'd be better off, safer, if I wasn't a threat to his well being. So I left. I've tried contacting him, but he never responds. I haven't spoken to him in years..." her voice trailed off as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, not wishing to join the cry-fest. "He probably hates me for leaving him. He probably doesn't even know why I did it. But it was for his own good."

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We all carry these things
Inside that no one else can see

A small smile spread across Travis's face when Blanca curled in his lap. He wiped his eyes again, then began to gently stroke Blanca's back. "It' fine, Blanca is just as good as giving you a hug." He looked up at Olivia, listening to her story which was almost similar to his. Travis truly felt terrible for her, but was glad he met someone who understood. He had to hold himself back from pulling her in a tight hug. She probably longs for one, after all these years with no human interaction. "Maybe Tyler knew that something was wrong, and you left with good intentions." He spoke, his voice returning smooth as usual. He kept stroking Blanca's back, beginning to enjoy her company. He longed to wipe the tears that tried forming in her eyes, but knew that it would end badly. Besides, he was okay with this. As long as he could even be a part of Olivia's life, he was okay with it. "I really want to help you break your curse. If you want to, we can head over to the library. I'm sure that with me being good with books and all that jazz, we'll find something." He said with a smile, then sat his hand about an inch away from hers on the ground and said "I'm going to help you defeat this. One way or another." Then he gave her a smile that just made you know he meant it.

They hold us down like anchors
They drown us out at sea

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Olivia had to physically stop herself from allowing her fingers to brush his. She had to stop herself from reaching out and just touching his face, just to feel like warmth of his skin, the contours of his hands and fingers, and just for the simplicity of the human touch. She longed to feel the sensation of his skin in her fingertips. She had had urges to do these kind of things before. When you were this forbidden from coming in contact with a living creature, it only made not being able to come in contact harder and harder to resist. But never had she had this strong of a longing for someone else's touch. It's always just been a brief and fleeting thing that she was able to ignore. But this, this was something different entirely. She looked down at his hand and for a brief moment, could feel her brain sending messages through her nerves and to her hand to let their fingertips brush. But she reacted quickly and pulled her hands into her lap.
Her icy gaze flickered over to him and she smiled."..Thank you. For everything, Travis." Her gaze met his and for a breathless moment the only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat. Olivia reluctantly pulled away her gaze and pushed herself to her feet. "Let's head to the library, then. We have a curse to break," she said with a smile.

ooc: ohgodtheemotions. ican'thandlethefeels. So I suppose you can start off with Travis searching through a bunch of books. xD It can just be a long summary.

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» Removing a Curse
» Broken dreams and broken branches... [ private; STEPHY ]
» Unexpected Friendship [ p r i v a t e ]
» Broken leg
» and the friendship starts [ ml & cerys ]