Conner dropped his stuff in Cabin 5, and made his way to the conference hall. On the way, he waved frantically to Alonzo, who was also in the same cabin. This was going to be a good time. Once inside, the whole thing started, and some sciencey people started to talk about the reason for the conference. Conner ignored most of it. They had superpowers for crying out loud. This was going to be awesome.

After the boring stuff was over, they all had to get into a group with the others in their cabin, and get to know each other. Alonzo, and another dude in his cabin went first, and Conner was next to speak. “Yo! I’m Conner Waters! I’m from Miami.” He grinned and made a hang loose gesture with his hands. “My last name fits in more ways than one. I’m a surfer, and a swimmer. I love the water basically. Which is good, because I have an essence too. I have water powers! Oh, and one more thing… I’m gay. That’s the least interesting thing about me, but some peeps have problems with that for some reason, so if that’s you, I think you should find a new cabin.”

@LostButterfly92

As Mara stepped into the vast hall, the air conditioning provided some relief. Hot weather didn't do much for an already irritable mood. Just as she'd expected, though, a volunteer explained that the test for refund eligibility wasn't possible just yet. Mara resisted the urge to huff. Of course. There'd probably be some excuse later on too.

Taking one of the few empty seats at the back, she read over the itinerary and frowned. Either it was full of misprints, or someone had gone and put different activities in the same timeslots. Activities that looked rather less than helpful, to boot. Water balloon fight? She gave a hollow laugh. While Conner would undoubtedly love it, it was safe to say that was out of the question for her. Which left the panel discussion. She could only hope it wouldn't be as condescending as she suspected.

It wasn't long before the conference started. A generic pseudo-inspirational speech, a rundown of self-evident rules... Well, so far it was meeting her expectations. Good thing she kept those expectations low. What she hadn't been prepared for, however, was the group activity.

Stifling a groan, she traipsed towards the "2" sign, beside which a small group gathered. Public speaking was not her forte. Putting up with people who jumped at the chance to talk about themselves, even less so. Her gaze drifted to her scuffed boots, and she shuffled back from the group for their own safety as her heart began to thud. Right now she felt like that awkward kid in school again, with nothing interesting to say.

Someone else piped up - Dani, even less at ease by the look of it. The nervousness, and the longing for an essence, were things Mara could relate to all too well. As people scoffed at Dani's words, Mara found herself glaring at them. Yeah it was none of her business, and she knew she was likely asking for trouble, but for some reason she couldn't help it.

One by one, Dani's family went next, Abby having the right idea. Once her 'speech' was over, Mara breathed deeply and looked up. The longer she waited, the tauter her nerves stretched, and that wouldn't be good for anyone. Best to get this over with. Plus, she'd freaked Dani out earlier. The least she could do was help make her more comfortable.

"Mara. Lived in Florida my entire life. Plant essence, namely lemon..." God it sounded even weirded spoken out loud. "In other words, electricity. Don't ask. As for fun facts, I, uh..." Scrambling for a remotely interesting fact, she struggled to keep looking at the crowd and not at the floor. No, she was NOT going to act like that insecure kid she'd once been. She had to keep her defenses up. "Does not really being one for fun facts count? But if it's a must, I've always liked lemon flavoured stuff... I guess this explains it."

Whew, just like that it was done. Now able to relax somewhat, Mara waited for the next person to speak up.

@Crimson Flame @GreysonEA
Next to Conner in the Cabin 5 group stood a young woman with loosely waved red hair pulled up in a casual ponytail. With a large, broad frame adorned with equal parts fat and muscle, she wouldn't look too out of place wrestling a bear. She seemed to pay more attention to the two men with plant essences.

"Uhh, hah," the woman drawled, shifting a little uncomfortably as her turn came. "Ah'm Natalie Jackson, but most folks call me NatJack. Ah live in Mississipi, but ah have an aunt around here so it wasn't too hard ta get here. Uh... Ah think Ah have a soybean essence? Well, Ah had the wahld dream lahk they say the essenced folks do, an' Ah ain't never had any'a that soy stuff before, so whah would mah brain think'a that on its own? But Ah don't know what mah powers are yet."

NatJack took a breath like she was about to add something else, but a hesitant expression came to her face and she paused for a couple seconds before continuing.

"Ah love grillin' and fishin', and ah've won a couple competitions. For fishin', at least."

---

@LostButterfly92 @LuckyBlackCat

"Hello, everyone," a 40-something woman in the Cabin 2 group said with a dreamy wave. The chunky bracelets on her wrists clinked lightly as she continued gesturing throughout her introduction.

"I'm Dolly. It's so nice to meet you all. I live near Orlando. I have been blessed with the iris essence."

Dolly gestured to a delicate yellow flower in her hair. She pulled back some smooth black strands to show that the flower appeared to be rooted to her scalp.

"I can plant temporary flowers on other people, too. Would anyone like one?"

"Me! Me! I want one!" Destiny cried eagerly, jumping with enthusiasm and clenched fists in anticipation. Fauna chuckled and put her hand on the girl's shoulder to calm her down. "That sounds lovely, dear, but do remember to use your indoor voice and say 'please'," she reminded her daughter quietly, with a smile and a pat. Destiny stopped jumping and raised her hand instead. "Please! Please choose me!" The girl begged, quieter now, but still beaming with excitement.

"Alright," Dolly chuckled. "You may go first, since you asked so politely. Though there's plenty to go around." At this, she glanced toward Mara for a moment before returning her attention to Destiny. "This might itch for just a bit..."

Dolly parted the young girl's hair and touched her scalp near the back of her ear. As advertised, Destiny would feel an itching sensation for a few seconds, almost like ant or mosquito bites. Then, a thin stem emerged and quickly bloomed into a beautiful purple flower. The medium-sized accessory for Dolly looked comically, but cutely, big on a small child.

"Purple stands for wisdom," Dolly addressed Destiny. "You must be pretty wise for your age!"

"I am! I have the best grades in my class," Destiny boasted with a proud grin on her face and her hands on her hips. People in the crowd stared and gasped in awe. Even Abagail raised a brow and looked the girl's way.

"How do I look, Momma?" Destiny asked, scratching a bit at the roots that now covered her head. "You look beautiful, dear. Like a fairytale princess!" Fauna answered enthusiastically.

"Ooh! Thank you, mom. And thank you, miss Dolly!" Destiny said with a grateful curtsey, smile, and bob of her flower before returning to her mother's side.

"You're very welcome," Dolly responded. "It should last for about eight hours. Then it will wilt and fall off painlessly on its own."

Dolly shrugged with a wistful smile.

"It's not a 'save the world' sort of power, but it's a nice opportunity to add a little more beauty to the world."

"Oh dear... I've hogged the spotlight, haven't I? I'll make my fun fact quick. I'm a vegan and an advocate for animal rights. But not like PETA or anything, they're terrible."

@Zanavy @LostButterfly92

As remarkable as some essences were, Mara didn't want to appear too impressed. She wasn't going to give anyone that satisfaction. However, when Dolly spoke up and showed everyone the flower growing from her head, Mara's eyes widened. Not just from fascination, but wariness. Great, so people would be walking around Cabin 2 with large, flammable flowers rooted to their skin. Even more incentive to get these electrical problems under control.

"Gonna have to pass," she replied to Dolly's offer. For all her love of plants and gardening, she'd had to get rid of her houseplants after a few close calls. Having one attached to her skin wouldn't be the smartest idea. "It'd be a shame to fry it." Shuffling back and pulling up her rubber gloves, she watched Dolly demonstrate her essence on Destiny. Petals unfurled behind the child's ear, spreading into a huge purple flower. Apparently the colour wasn't random, as Dolly explained it stood for wisdom.

"Huh... Not bad, I've gotta say," Mara admitted. Sure, it may not be a superhero power, but if the colour thing was accurate, it would be useful for figuring out people's traits and skills. Dolly would make a good teacher or therapist, if she wasn't one already.

It was certainly better than her own essence.

And thankfully, Dolly wasn't the type to go on and on about it, wrapping up her introduction quickly. Considering her and Dani, maybe the people in Cabin 2 wouldn't be so bad after all.

Which still left the issue of the flowers. Arms folded, Mara inched further away from Dolly and Destiny. If it came across as rude, so be it.

Alonzo gave Connor a brief smile before he started speaking. At least he wasn’t going to be alone stuck with complete strangers - although they had only known each other a matter of hours. He half listened as Connor spoke, eyes flicking around the group to gauge the reactions of everyone else as he announced his sexuality to everyone.

He had more nerve than Alonzo did.

His eyes drifted to the young woman next in the circle, who seemed to be paying the pair of them more attention than anyone else in the cabin. He offered her a hesitant, but genuine, smile. Alonzo wasn’t about to admit that he was slightly intimidated; Natalie, as she introduced herself, was only slightly taller than he was but looked as though she could snap him like a twig without a second thought.

”Soybeans?” He murmured, trying to rack his brain for anything related to soybeans but all he could think of was soy milk - and he had no idea how that could translate itself into a power.

”Maybe your dream had some sort of clue as to what your powers could be? Or maybe even how to kickstart them?” He asked; his curiosity piqued.

Felicia's face scrunched up in her sleep as her dreamscape transitioned to that familiar scene with the snakes nipping at her arms and hands. At least now she knew what this was really all about, and forced herself to remain calm as the wisps of cold air from a nearby A/C vent translated into the sensation of snakes slithering across her bare skin. She'd simply thrown her sheets off while tossing and turning in her sleep, that's all—and as long as she remained calm, the thorns would stay... uh, in her arms? Where they belonged?

The strangeness of the thought brought her to a state of semi-awareness. However, she couldn't move her body, and could still feel the slithering of snakes. They were all over her, now, not just crawling up and down her arms. She forced herself to keep her eyes closed and her breathing steady. Unlike her mother, who would have surely called an exorcist by now, Felicia was rational. This was sleep paralysis. The snakes weren't real. None of this was real... except the part where she was becoming some kind of circus freak. That part was real.

Eventually, the slithering sensation faded away, and Felicia opened her eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. It took her a moment, but she remembered why she was here. A friend of one of her clients, an elderly woman who lived alone, had sworn up and down that someone was trying to break into her home at night—the police, never finding any evidence to back her claims, now refused to take her seriously. Felicia, having a bit of a mother bear instinct for her senior clients, offered to let that friend stay in her own house, while she would stay in the friend's home for a few nights. Also Felicia, being a night owl, was currently trying to sleep during the day, and not having much success during the current heat wave. How can it be so hot up here in the mountains... she thought, annoyed as she slowly rose from the couch she'd turned 180 degrees to face the A/C unit in the window—which she suspected might be the cause of her would-be burglar's sudden interest in the house. Not so much "gathering" as "peeling" up the layer of sweat-soaked towels laid across the couch, she wrapped one around her waist and threw the rest in the washer, in a nearby hallway, before shambling over to the kitchen, walking off the stiffness resulting from her interrupted sleep. Now that she was having night terrors, it was pointless to try any more.

Time for some coffee, she decided, taking up her cell phone and swiping through her news feed.



Intrigued, Felicia forgot all about her coffee, though her free hand continued going through the motions of making it. A little skeptical despite her own experience with the thorns, which she for some reason still associated with snakes, she skimmed through the generic PR language and half-baked sensationalist keywords of the article and skipped straight to the reader comments—



Faustina 9 hours ago

Nobody:

American Liberals: "Meat is Murder 2: Electric Boogaloo"



—a decision which resulted in hot coffee entering Felicia's sinuses. After a brief coughing fit, she continued reading, but the rest of the comments were really just similar memes with the occasionally toxic comment that was hidden, but she still ended up clicking the un-hide button and reading anyway. For the most part, it seemed that people weren't taking this seriously, at least not publicly. As she continued researching, she managed to find a transcript of part of the segment. What is he, a coffee bean? she thought, bemused. If he drinks coffee, does that make him a cannibal? she imagined somebody posting in the comments, snickering in spite of herself.

But, really... it was the first interesting thing that had happened in the news in a while, that didn't make her want to go out and deck somebody. It would also, she realized, only take one text to give her an excuse to be in Florida during the time of the summit. One of her uncle's relatives had passed away recently, and he was going there to wrap up some loose ends that nobody else in the extended family could be bothered to deal with after realizing that their names weren't in the will. As she realized her desperation for any kind of information, she sighed, pushed aside the nagging guilt creeping in from taking two vacations nearly back-to-back, and sent the text.



I'm going camping in Florida as part of a business venture.
Pack some outdoor clothes and come pick me up.

10-4



Felicia laughed audibly as her uncle agreed to this selfish proposition with no context whatsoever. He knew her well.

Her laughter was interrupted suddenly with a cracking sound coming from the A/C unit. Looking up from her phone, she suddenly realized that night had fallen in the time it had taken her to do all that research and reach a decision. Discretely opening the video recording app for evidence, she walked over to the window and tore the curtains aside, giving the would-be burglar a Really? kind of look. But, seeing Felicia's scant clothing and nobody else in the house, the intruder only continued his work of attempting to remove the A/C with a crowbar. So, she grabbed the shotgun propped up in the corner next to the window and racked it with one arm, trying to keep her phone steady with the other. "Say cheese!" she said ominously, capturing the masked intruder's widened eyes on video before he scrambled away into the night. Turning the phone to face herself, Felicia gave the camera the same Really? look. Putting the shotgun down, she put on her sassiest voice.

"This is why you LIS-TEN to your elders, Mr. Sheriff!" she chastised, snapping her fingers at the camera before shutting the video off.

---

Felicia was awoken from her nap, not by snakes nor an alarm clock, but by the doorbell. Immediately, she knew who it was.

In the military, if you're not 15 minutes early, you're late, her uncle Jacques, 45 and a former Green Beret, would say.

The gruff military man, a Hulk Hogan-looking fellow clothed in a blue denim jacket and jeans stained with motor oil, was met first with the smell of bug spray, then the sight of his niece in combat boots, black denim hot pants, and a sleeveless black leather jacket and tank top. With a fist bump for a greeting, and a single suitcase wheeled over and stowed away in the back of the forest-green SUV, Felicia was riding shotgun without a single word exchanged between the two. Jacques turned the key in the ignition, and music began politely blaring at just below conversation-level.

"Need a beer?" Jacques asked rhetorically, handing Felicia a can. "Beer" was an energy drink, on this side of the family.

She took it gratefully, without looking at him. "I've got plant essence," she says simply, preempting his next question.

Jacques frowned, nodding slowly. Felicia didn't make things up for a laugh. "Well, what do you know about it?"

"Not much, but get a load of this," she said, making a fist with her free hand. Thorns emerged from the sides of her knuckles, like some gnarly-looking set of brass knuckle knives. Then, with a flick of the thumb on her other hand, she quickly punctured the can and shotgunned it. Jacques didn't even see the thorn that did it; it was there and gone in a flash. Just as her uncle is exhaling dramatically at the sight of this, Felicia crushes the empty can against the side of her face, causing it to take on the texture of bark, as though she were some kind of magical tree creature straight out of a CGI fantasy flick.

There was a reason Jacques jokingly called Felicia's energy drinks "beer." He'd been a sober man for nearly 20 years, and this was beyond anything he could dream up while intoxicated. Yet, Felicia either didn't notice that the side of her face now matched the camping gear, or she was so used to it by now that it was no longer of much concern. Oddly, the thing he decided to take issue with was her hand, reaching for another "beer."

"Well shit, Felicia, it's only seven hours to Florida from here, how many times you wanna stop?" he asked as he buckled his seat belt.

"We can be there in six hours, if you drive like me," his niece joked back.

"Not if you keep drinking like a fish, we ain't."

---

The flat roads of Florida had given Felicia a nice, smooth ride to nap through, after giving up trying to stay awake—but the smooth paved roads eventually gave way to gravel. Rousing slowly, Felicia felt oddly refreshed, and the sun oddly pleasant. Grabbing another "beer," she took hold of the passenger side door handle, and promptly tore it out of its socket.

"Uhh..." Felicia sat there, dumbfounded, staring at the mess of broken plastic and metal in her hand.

"Well, that was gonna happen eventually in a 20-year old car. Hold on," Jacques said as he walked around the back of the SUV to her side to let her out. In her current getup, now complete with biker gloves and sunglasses, she looked about as approachable as a barbed-wire fence, especially standing next to Jacques, who had gone very out of his way to open her door for her. She snickered a little, thinking that she might look like a VIP with a bodyguard, if she'd come wearing a suit.

"What are you smirking about?" Jacques interrupted, as though reading her mind. "Let's go see what all the fuss is about."

---

After taking some time in the restroom to re-apply sunblock and other things, Felicia entered the conference room just in time to know that she hadn't missed anything of value. A lot of words like "unity" were used, and Felicia imagined the speech writers, no doubt sitting in the front row, smiling and congratulating themselves. Bunch of schlock. Keep using those Pavlovian words. Tells me whose opinion matters here, Felicia thought bitterly, walking to join the others of the Cabin 2 group.

She began aggressively brushing dandelion seeds out of her hair as she stood against a nearby wall, as though she were too important for the others. But... God, my legs are stiff as boards, but of course, the only empty seats are next to small children, she thought, considering that she might scare them and have to deal with the mom. She'd resigned herself to standing for now, as she listened to the other introductions. Well... life gave her lemons, alright, she thought, smirking just a little bit at Mara's "Lemon Essence." Suddenly, having her hands covered in puncture wounds didn't seem so bad by comparison. But next, to her horror, her uncle was about to introduce himself.

"You said it," Jacques interjected, acknowledging Dolly and her comment about PETA. "Name's Jacques, I'm from Oklahoma, former Green Beret. Miss Hot Topic over there, with axle grease in her hair—and daggers in her eyes—" he adds, as Felicia glares over the rim of her sunglasses at him, eyes rolled up into her brow in that Really? look. "—that's my niece."

"Felicia," she relents, still not sitting down. "From New York," she added, not exactly lying.

"Essence of tobacco," Jacques finishes, making the "embarrassing uncle" face and earning a few chuckles.

"I'm a landlord, here to learn about how best to serve clients with plant essence," she lied, trying to sound as boring and generic as the speech they'd all just sat through. Now that I think of it, that's actually a good question...

---

Ryker smiled at the interaction with Destiny and Sascha. But he didnt say anything when Fauna spoke up again, mentioning she had her children young. Which he gathered already but he nodded and smiled back at her.

When Dani shook her head he nodded. “Alright, if you change your mind dont be afraid to ask.” he said softly.

After the running man passed them, she offered for Ryker to sit with them. The younger ones chiming in with their approval. ”I would be honored.” he said with a smile, as they made their way to the conference.

As they sat down, Ryker felt a vibration. Glancing at his phone he frowned slightly as he noticed it was work. Looking to the others he said quickly. ”Sorry, excuse me for a moment.” He said indicating the phone. Looking at sascha he added. ”Sitta, stanna kavar. “ he said pointing next to Destiny. He smiled and walked just outside of the hall.

He took his phone call, which took much longer than he expected. Despite him being on ‘vacation’ it didn’t mean much if you were in charge of active cases. Most of it was being updated on some major breakthroughs. While the rest of it was him delegating orders, having uniforms go back and search some areas, and getting paperwork pushed forward.

When he finished he received another phone call from Everly. Asking for permission to go to a water park with her friend and her family she was staying with while he was up here. He agreed, feeling relieved she sounded relatively happy.

The conference broke out, and he switched to talking to Everly to her friends parents. Confirming and asking a few questions before ending the phone call. He turned back to see everyone gone, except sascha who was still sitting where he told her to stay. ”Komma!” He called out, seeing her zip around the chairs and bolt towards him.

He then found someone from the staff to explain what was happening, explaining he had to step out. Soon he was led to his group, ‘2’. He arrived just after Destiny apparently grew a flower on her head. Was that her? Or someone else? He noticed the girl who shocked him accidentally was in the group. He actually didn’t catch her name. But with her and Fauna and two other beautiful women in the group, it looks like he hit the jackpot.

He came to a stop near the only woman standing in the group, just as a large man who clearly was a veteren spoke up. He decided to wait till he was done before taking a seat. He wasn’t surprised at the mentioning of his Green Beret background. He smirked slightly at the uncle embarrassing his niece. He guessed he could forgive him for being a Green Beret as he liked him so far, and honestly would have done the same thing if Everly was here.

Clearly his niece Felicia didn’t want to sit near the kids if she had enough time to sit already. He made his way to the open seat next to Fauna’s kids. Everyone looked to him as he realized this probably meant they thought it was his turn. He smiled and turned around to everyone once reaching his seat. ”Oh, excuse me. My Name Is Ryker Burke, Pleasure to meet you all.” Noticing sascha was near Felicia sniffing her with a curious look on her face.

A soft quick whistle got her attention as she moved to sit next to him, slowly wagging her tail with her looking up at him with her brown eyes as if that would make him forget she didn’t stay right by him. ”This here is my Partner Sascha... He said while rubbing her head. ”I am a walking ac unit. For you out of state folk, if you need a respite from the heat...I’m at your service. ” He said with a smile and a wink towards the ladies. Though clearly the only one he knew was out of state was Jacque and Felicia, having missed the others intros.

NatJack perked up a bit at Alonzo’s suggestion.

“…Huh. Ah’ll think on it.”

The redhead closed her eyes in thought for several seconds.

“Ah wish ah could remembah it bettah. Ah just remembah it bein real wahld. It was lahk ah was walkin’ in a forest, but not lahk a real forest, lahk the trees were all… bendy, ya know? An’ they smelled lahk… well, ah don’ rahghtly know how ta describe it. Kinda lahk…”

“Alright,” Dr. Nichols’ microphoned voice cut in, “it looks like we’re all getting off to a good start. We’re running right on time, so we’ll skip the whole group introductions for now, but feel free to continue meeting your fellow conference-goers on your own. We have a fifteen minute break until the next activity. If you take a look at your schedule, you’ll see a choice of two events. If you’re going to…”

There was a brief pause as the researcher realized it might be a good idea to fish his own program out of his back pocket.

“…'The Big Why: Philosophical Explorations on the Origin and Meaning of Essences,' meet right here at 10:45. If you’re going to 'Hiking and Zip Line Excursion,' meet me at the cabins’ central pavilion. And don’t forget! If you show proof of your plant essence to one of the volunteers with the blue nametags, you’ll earn a $100 refund.”

As soon as it was clear Dr. Nichols’ speech was over, people began chattering and milling around. A number of the volunteers strode out of the room quickly, some to reach the pavilion before the conference-goers, some to stand ready to evaluate plant essences.

“Well,” Dolly addressed her cabin, “it looks like I’m already in the right place. Plenty of time to chat, stretch my legs, grow flowers on heads, the usual.”

She let out a light wispy laugh at her own joke.

The rest of the cabin introduced themselves, including a woman that called herself Natjack who apparently had a soybean essence. She didn’t know what kind of powers she had, but she did have dreams about soybeans. Conner knows what powers he has, but wasn’t sure what kind of essence he had. But since Natjack brought it up, he did vaguely remember having dreams of being underwater being surrounded by… seaweed. His power came from seaweed? That sounds so uncool… Eh, it’s not any worse than soybeans… And something cool did come about it.

Then the scientist dude cut in, and said their was a 15 minute break before it was on to the next activity. The choices were either a hike and zip line excursion, or sitting around listening to sciencey people talk… Conner knew which one was the obviously best choice here.

“I know which one of those I’m doing.” He nudged Alonzo with his elbow. “What about you Alonzy? You gonna come hiking with the the cool kids?”

The doctor also said something that he could get a $100 dollar refund if he could show proof of his plant essence. That shouldn’t have been problem. Who wouldn’t pass up getting this experience free if they could. “I just gotta run back to the cabin real quick. See ya in a few!” Then he ran back to the cabin to get a water bottle, and sunglasses, and leave behind his hoodie. Then got into a long line of other people who wanted that refund too.

Alonzo gave NatJack a smile, making a mental note to go and find her later on. He personally couldn’t remember having a dream about his powers - although it could have been something more obscure and less obvious than simply a dream about lavender. He’d have to think a bit more.

He listened as the options were read out over the speaker system, snorting slightly. No way was he going to stay holed up inside when the area was so beautiful and full of inspiration. He cringed a little at the nickname but didn’t say anything - it was hardly the worst one that he’d picked up over the years.

”Of course, you really think I’m gonna sit in here and be bored to tears by these guys? I don’t need to listen to some people with a saviour complex.” He grinned at Conner. ”I need to change though, I’m boiling already. Plus I need to figure out how to prove this essence so I can get the money back.” He hummed, following Conner back through to the cabin.

He swapped his sweatshirt for a loose turquoise button-up shirt and his jeans for a pair of stone coloured shorts - hoping that the trail wouldn’t be too taxing on his trainers since he hadn’t brought any other shoes. He debated for a few minutes before slipping his small travel watercolour tin into his back pocket, along with a tiny sketchpad and a pencil behind his ear. Alonzo made his way back out, now a much more comfortable temperature as he glanced around, trying to pick out a BioTech employee among the swathes of people outside. He joined one of the lines of people that looked like they were showing off their powers and essences - wracking his brain for how he could demonstrate his own without someone getting hurt on purpose, just for him to heal them again.

He let out a frustrated huff and after a quick word to the guy behind him to ”Save my spot? Pleeease? he wandered off in search of someone. He spotted a familiar face in the crowds, his dog as adorable as this morning, along with two people he didn’t recognise, probably from their cabin.

“Dumb question, any chance that Mara has zapped you again? I really need to prove this power to the BioTech guys to get my cash back and unfortunately, the stupid thing doesn’t work on myself.” He turned his attention to the two others that had been stood with Ryker. “Alonzo, healing lavender powers - have anything I can fix for you?” Alonzo offered a slightly strained grin, aware of the time slipping away and really not wanting to be late to the hike.

Saved by the bell! Dani thought gratefully as she smiled and sighed in relief. The booming male voice had announced that the first activity was running long and needed to be cut short. There would be a short break before the next activity, and a chance to prove your abilities for a discount.

"Just fifteen minutes! We better hurry to the cabin before the next activity," Fauna exclaimed as she rose from her seat. She quickly picked up her purse and her younger children's belongings and handed it to them. "Do you know what activity you would like, honey?"

"Um..." Dani stammered, opening up the brocure to see her options. They could either attend a conference about the origin of powers or they could go hiking and zip lining. Destiny grabbed Dani's arms with satin hands. "Can we go hiking, please? I want to go outside!" Destiny asked with pleading eyes. "Yeah, this is boring. Too much like school," Willian added. "Heh, do you even know what ziplining is? You'll be scared out of your mind!" Abagail piped up with one earbud pulled out of her ear and a smirk on her face. "Will not!" Destiny shot back. Soon the three siblings were arguing, and Dani sighed and shook her head.

Danielle look away towards the nice lemon girl, Maraz and flower girlz Dolly, then towars the line that was forming in the auditorium. There were bursts of light and sounds and wonderful scents coming from beyond the crowd. There were "oohs" and "aws" and laughter. And she couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy. Dani had wished for physical power like speed, laser beams, or super strength so she could protect people. But Dani was just a small girl with no training--defenseless really. If anybody found out she had some kind of mind reading--well, she would rather not think about that. Instead she looked back down at the itinerary she was holding in her lap.

"I don't know... she murmured, frowning and clenching the paper tighter. She really wanted to learn the source of their powers and the lecture could surely shed light on the subject, but most of her family would prefer to enjoy the outdoors on their vacation. What was she supposed to do? Her siblings were giving her headache, making the choice all that much harder. She closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears to concentrate.

The room around her disappeared and the room became dark and quiet. There were just a few tiny sparks floating around and a few coming toward her. She waited to hear their messages, but suddenly a light blinded her a voice cried out: Take a hike!

"Take a hike!" Dani blurted out. Her squabbling siblings stopped and looked at her in awe. "Excuse me?" Fauna asked, taken aback. "I uh, sorry, I meant I want to go for a hike. It sounds fun, sorry..." Dani rushed, embarrassed. Her face turned bright pink and she hid her face in the brocure.

Fauna raised a brow, but her eyes softened. "It's alright, sweetie. It does sound fun let's get back to the cabin and get ready," she soothed with a rub on the girl's back. William did a fist pump and Destiny cheered. Abagail rolled her eyes then got up from her seat and threw her backpack over her shoulder.

"It was nice to have you join us, mister Burke," Fauna addressed their new friend. She paused a second to help Destiny put her backpack on around the comically large flower, and zipped up the partially open pouch. Satisfied, she continued, "I hope the children weren't a bother to you or your partner, Sascha. Will we be seeing you around?" Fauna asked with a flitter of her hair and a flash of a smile.

Felicia raised a brow at the dog that slowly bounded past several other strangers to come sniff curiously at her, in particular. Noticing that she had come from what looked like a law enforcement type of guy, she couldn't help but feel singled out a little. Even though she didn't show any of the telltale signs of a drug dog that had sniffed out something illegal, Felicia did have to admit that she looked like "the type" of girl who might have something. As the man who she would later know as Ryker glanced in her general direction, Felicia felt a little uncomfortable, but... dammit, the dog was cute.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" Felicia asked Sascha pointedly, lowering her body posture suddenly, in that way people do when a dog wants to play.

But, Sascha didn't seem interested. She didn't return Felicia's "play signal." She just kept sniffing, until Ryker bade her return to his side.

Felicia was left a bit puzzled, and if she was being honest, a little disappointed that she couldn't pet the dog. She couldn't be mad, though. Sascha was a good girl.

She rolled her eyes at Ryker's flirtatious invitation, but begrudgingly offered him a sly smile for trying. Even if he wasn't smooth, he was at least as cute as his partner, and that was something. She stood up from the wall she was leaning up against and began walking towards the line of people showing off their plant essences, prompting a slightly urgent and questioning look from her uncle. "I want to see what kind of super-powered clientele I'll be dealing with," she said to no one in particular, not looking at Jacques. "On that note, I'm curious actually. You had what kind of essence?" she asked Ryker, suddenly taking an interest in him again—a business-like interest, granted, but interest all the same.

Sascha took the opportunity to start sniffing at Felicia again, now that she'd drawn closer. "What?" Felicia responded in a hushed tone, offering her hand for the dog to sniff to her heart's content. "Sorry, missy, but I don't have any treats for you," she said, giving Ryker a meaningful look.

Arthur cursed his luck as he sat in the conference’s medical building. An hour back he had the smart idea of walking through the woods for a little bit just to see how dense they were. Less than five minutes into his excursion, Arthur tripped on a root and fell down. While initially just embarrassed, Arthur had more to worry about when he realized he had fallen into a poison ivy plant. Arthur recognized it from many lectures of his parents telling him to avoid it.

By the time Arthur made it back to the conference, his skin had already begun to itch. Arthur tried powering through it, as he didn’t want to miss the keynote speech. But closer to the time of the speech, Arthur’s arms and legs had turned red. He tried his best not to itch, but the compulsion was too strong. As Arthur itched he thought of how poison ivy would be a really evil power to have.

Fed up with this, Arthur approached one of the staff walking about, “You wouldn’t happen to have something to help with poison ivy?”

The staff stared at his red skin, “Yeah, you should probably go see the medical staff. Their building is just down there.”

Arthur looked where she was pointing and did indeed see a white building that said medical. Arthur thanked the staff before running toward the medical building. The uncomfortable feeling of the rash prompted Arthur to run, and then throw open the door.

“Wow. Slow down man,” said the medical staff standing in the centre of the room, “What do you need?”

“Some help with this,” Arthur replied as he raised his red arms toward the staff.

“What? I told them not to have you guys hike through that trail. It’s all poison ivy.”

“Actually this wasn’t a hike. I just kind of wandered into the woods and fell into the ivy,” Arthur replied sheepishly.

“Well. OK,” the staff was a little surprised, “Let’s see if I can help you out.”

The medical staff proceeded to apply some kind of lotion that calmed down the itchiness. It even helped a little with the redness.

“That should do it. If you need anything else then come on back here,” the medical staff stated.

Arthur nodded before leaving and heading to the hall. He arrived just in time to see the end of the icebreaker activity. The people of cabin five were just splitting up for their activities. Arthur looked at his brochure and saw hiking was an option. Arthur considered doing that as he did like hiking and he was pretty sure he couldn’t get double poison ivy.

His attention was then drawn to the quickly forming line of people to show off their powers for a refund. Arthur decided to enter the line as saving money was always good. The only problem would be showing off his powers.

Arthur motioned for a staff member to come over so he could ask them a question, “Hey what do I do if my essence only does something at night?”

“I don’t know man. I don’t work for the BioTech guys, just the building they’re renting. My guess is to wait in line and ask when it’s your turn. Whenever that will be.”

“Thanks,” Arthur replied as the man walked away.

Arthur gazed at how long the line was and sighed. Maybe by the time he reached the front it would be night and he could transform. But at least he didn’t have to itch anymore.

Joseph Anderson was so immersed in brainstorming, he failed to notice his surroundings and had to be nudged whenever the line moved up. He wasn't quite satisfied by his plan when his turn came, but it would have to do.

"Hello, and welcome to the SHARP summit," the worker in the blue name tag said in a cheerful customer service voice. "Please show your ticket and step over there to demonstrate your essence."

The man pointed to an open field a relatively safe distance away from all the people in line.

"Actually," Joseph began, "my essence is ivy. I'm an expert climber! But, you see, there's nothing to climb on over there. You could take my word for it, or I could climb on this pavilion."

The worker's smile sagged a bit, already looking tired well before noon.

"Alright," the volunteer decided, "but we'll have to move everyone away, for safety reasons."

As the grumbling line was forced to move back into more of an abstract squiggle, Joseph rubbed his hands and stretched his legs, firing himself up. When the worker nodded, the bearded man leaped onto one of the wooden beams with gusto, hoisting himself up as fast as he could. He shimmied up to the roof with impressive speed. Well, impressive for a regular human. The volunteer pursed his lips, not really sure how to judge this ivy man.

"Alright, you can come down now. I'll talk with my superiors and let you know their answer soon."

"Okay!" Joseph shouted down, beginning to slide back down the pole. "When my refund's ready, just call me on- ACK!"

The bearded man was interrupted by a large splinter sticking into his right palm. The man lost his grip and flailed for a moment before landing hard but on his feet. The shaken man stood frozen for a second. Then he put his hands up and posed like a gymnast landing an expert trick.

"I also have extra ivy resilience! Ow..."

@GreysonEA

@Zanavy @GreysonEA @Emeth

Taking another look over the brochure, Mara sighed. While she needed answers, philosophical theories would be no substitute for cold hard facts. Probably the best option though - ziplining would be fun and all, but the slightest panic from her could ruin everyone's day.

Bracing herself for the upcoming drudgery, she shuffled from the room, towards the line of people queuing to display their powers. She gave a nervous tug at her gloves - she'd be able to manage a small spark without hurting anyone, but she'd still want to keep a safe distance. Her eyes flicked around the area, settling on someone who'd spoken up earlier. The dark-haired woman who'd introduced herself as Felicia, also heading towards the queue with Ryker and his dog in tow. Overhearing Alonzo's question about another zapping incident, Mara huffed and rolled her eyes.

"So, about what you said earlier," she said, approaching Felicia. Best to skip small talk and get to the point. "You say you cater to essenced people, so... Would you happen to know how to mesh day-to-day life with electric powers? They're not exactly a great mix." The only thing she could think to do was put rubber sheeting all over her apartment. Which would mean she needed the money even more, but maybe a landlady could help with practical matters.

She whirled round at a yelp from the pavilion. A guy who'd had the oh-so-bright idea to climb to the top flailed before falling. Mara gasped, but luckily the guy landed on his feet, trying to save face with a showy pose. It looked like only his ego was hurt. Ok, and maybe his hand and feet.

Mara turned her blank stare from the show-off guy to Alonzo. "Well, there's your chance."

Felicia turned to face the lemon-scented girl—clearly a young lady with a lot of spunk. At least, Felicia was not used to being casually approached like that. Her mind blanked for a moment as Mara put her on the spot, mentioning that she catered to plant-essenced people. In actual truth, she didn't, and learning how to cater to such people was merely a pretense for coming to this summit, that she had come up with in the spur of the moment. Now, however, she found herself needing to prove her worth to this new community of people with much more diverse traits and abilities.

"Electric plant essence... That's not something I'd have expected," she said, truthfully. "It shouldn't be an impossible situation. I'd probably consult fire safety experts for advice on accommodations... and perhaps some electricians. If the power could be harnessed for energy, perhaps I could make a deal with the tenant and the power company to offset the cost of those accommodations by lowering the electric bill," she offered. I don't know if that's actually possible, though... she thought to herself, hoping she didn't sound like she was talking out of her ass.

Conner stood in line waiting for a long time. Mostly because the line was filled with scammers pretending to have an essence in order to get their refund. They were busted quickly, but it definitely made this line move slow.

Finally, it was Conner’s turn. “Finally! Look, I’m the real deal. Watch this!” He opened the water bottle he was carrying, and wave his hand over it, pulling out the water that was inside. He waved his hand around, levitating the water around the room. Then, he managed to successfully put the water back into the bottle. He need to drink that water later. “I didn’t splash anyone this time. Ha!” He threw a fist in the air. “I think I might be a seaweed essence. I’ve been having dreams about being underwater surrounded by seaweed… I think that’s what that means. Anyway, when do I get my monies?”

@Emeth @Zanavy

"Can't say I expected it either." Mara gave a humourless laugh. Listening to Felicia's advice, she nodded. "Heh, if there's a way to harness it, that'll be one good thing about this essence." Not that she knew whether to dare hope for such luck. "Thanks, that'll be great, so long as they actually agree to it."

She gave a worried glance at the ever-growing queue. Surely plant essences weren't that widespread. Either way, if she didn't take her place quickly, there'd be little chance of a refund. "Uh, just a moment," she told Felicia, heading over to the line.

It took more than just a moment. Mara's skepticism had proven correct, and she glared as scammer after scammer trudged away in shame. Conner, one of the few genuine plant essenced people, still had to be a total show-off about it. Mara folded her arms, inching forward with the line, trying not to think about the scorching heat. Or the idiot in front of her who dragged out his turn, insisting his retractable claws were in fact rose thorns. When he finally gave up and turned around, Mara noticed his sunglasses didn't quite conceal his cat eyes.

She sighed through her teeth. Her turn now, and getting irritable was something to avoid. She presented her ticket to the volunteer, who looked as tired as she felt, and hurried to the open space. The sooner this was over with, the better.

"Lemon essence," she said simply. Already, that urge to shrink back from all these people reared its head. "Which somehow translates to this." She pulled off one of her gloves, inhaled deeply, and held her hand out. Her fingers tingled, tiny sparks dancing around them. The scent of lemon rose into the air.

She curled her fingers, the sparks vanishing as quickly as they'd appeared. She hadn't meant to pull back her torso, but now it must be clear her own essence unsettled her. With her usual scowl in place, she tugged her glove on and headed towards the volunteer.

The volunteer gazed skeptically at the glob of water leaving Conner's bottle. His expression turned to neutral and finally impressed as the liquid levitated with control around the room and back into the water bottle. He thought for a moment and then nodded toward Conner, handing him an earned refund and a special sticker to put on his event program.

A few minutes later, the tired volunteer seemed less impressed by Mara's display. He narrowed his eyes and considered for a moment.

"An... electric lemon essence, you say?... would qualify for a refund. To ensure fairness toward all participants, you'll have to consent to a thorough pat-down to check for well-known items such as tasers or-"

"Ahh, you're doing a good job," a clear voice interrupted. The volunteer stiffened as Dr. Nichols, dressed in the most outdoorsy clothing possible to still maybe get away with calling it business casual, propped an elbow on the man's shoulder. "Way to hold down the fort. You give yourself a break, I can take it from here."

The volunteer still looked a little peeved about the researcher's display of boisterous friendliness. But he wasn't about to argue about a break. As the skeptical volunteer walked away, Dr. Nichols turned to Mara and handed her the plant essence refund and sticker.

"I wish some of the unessenced would get over their jealousy enough to realize that every essenced person is a benefit to humanity as a whole," Dr. Nichols commented more quietly with an understanding smile. "Electric powers, for example. If even one out of a thousand people had well-developed electric powers, we could greatly cut down the use of fossil fuels! Have you met any other plant-essenced people here? I have several events to run, but I would love to find a little time on the side to group together and talk."

@Crimson Flame @LuckyBlackCat

@Zanavy @Emeth

Mara pressed her lips together, but nodded. Tasers weren't exactly known for channeling electricity through people's fingers. Or smelling of lemon. This guy was clearly looking for any excuse to withold refunds, not that she'd expected anything different.

That expectation was turned on its head as an official-looking figure approached, taking over from the volunteer. A much friendlier attitude wasn't all he presented - to Mara's surprise, he handed out a sticker and a wad of cash.

For a few moments, Mara was speechless. Well, that was quite the upturn of events. "Thanks, I was starting to doubt I'd see a cent of that." Tucking the money into her wallet, she rolled her eyes in the direction of the volunteer who trudged away. Ok, so maybe her judgement of him was a little unfair. An unessenced person sick of people rubbing their talents in their face - That sounded rather familiar. As much as she'd envied her siblings, and as badly as they'd treated her, they did benefit humanity. She couldn't deny that.

"Yeah. Though it sure would help if some weren't so quick to flaunt it at every possible opportunity." She thought of Conner, and the water splash. "And yep, it'd be nice to make something useful of this." Useful. She hadn't imagined that word could describe anything she did. Could that change? Producing clean energy would be a better line of work than waitressing, depending how well the people involved were treated.

"As for other plant essenced people," she continued, "Turns out there are a fair few here, despite all the time-wasters we've had in the queue." Speaking of, she wasn't about to hold up the rest of the line. "Well, I'd better let things move along, but I guess a chat later wouldn't hurt." Whether it would help was another matter, but at least there was a chance. She wondered if the researcher had met any other electricity users. If so, would he have any advice about electric powers?

Heading away, she cringed, gloved hands in her jeans pockets. As someone who preferred to get things done herself, the thought of asking for help didn't sit well with her, but she had no choice. Right now, she needed to find Felicia, to further discuss matters.