Dr. Nichols frowned as he glanced between his watch and the couple in front of him.

"I'm sorry, we don't have enough time now for a whole cup- excuse me-"

The researcher left with an apologetic look and stood on top of a wooden table.

"May I have everyone's attention please?" Dr. Nichols shouted from his perch. "A few things before we start our hiking and zip line excursion. Don't forget that this is a wild forest. We will be staying on the marked paths. Leaving the paths could result in you getting lost or hurt, and that would be a big bummer. If you need to leave for any reason, use the buddy system and take the main paths. Remember to stay hydrated and wear sunscreen. And most importantly, have fun!"

With that, the man hopped down from the bench. He and one of the blue-tagged volunteers began leading the conference-goers over to the trail, while two other volunteers stayed behind to bring up the rear. The group soon passed the signpost that marked an entrance to the main trail. Almost immediately, the trail was surrounded by tall thin trees, casting shadows on the ground and the faces of the campers. The path itself was covered in dusty gravel, which petered out into a section of bare damp earth as the group scaled down a small hill. The gravel returned as the path kept alternating between levels of civilization and wilderness. The trail was wide enough for about three people to walk together, though sometimes it narrowed through winding areas.

"Hello, America!" a strong masculine voice cut through the quiet wilderness. "This is John Jacob at the long-awaited SHARP conference. We are on a hike through these beautiful woods at the Cypress View Retreat Center. Let's see if we can find some interesting people to talk to. Who knows, we might even meet some plant-essenced people today!"

The peppy talk show host smiled brightly as he just about shoved his big microphone in one of the hiker's faces. A few meters behind John stood a big man with an almost equally big camera and a thin young woman who looked annoyed. A few hikers gave the camera crew a weird look before politely walking around the impromptu set.

"Hello there!" John Jacob addressed the random hiker. "What is your name? What are you looking forward to at this conference?"

Further back in the line, NatJack averted her eyes from the camera crew, decidedly NOT wanting to be any part of that. The redhead kept to herself, though she sent some thoughtful glances Connor's way from time to time.

@Crimson Flame @Emeth @GreysonEA @LuckyBlackCat

After Conner finally got his money, it was time for their hiking and zip lining adventure. He had to admit, Conner was more excited about the zipline part of this excursion, but eh it was fine. It would make the ziplining that much more fun once he got there.

Then, something unexpected happened. A guy shoved a microphone in his face. There was another dude with a giant camera behind him. "Hello there! What is your name? What are you looking forward to at this conference?"

Conner smirked. “Name’s Conner Waters. I’m looking forward to learning about these awesome new powers I got.” He did his usual trick of manipulating the water in his bottle. “Btw, if my parents and sister are watching this, well… SURPRISE! LOOK AT ME NOW GUYS! I’M NOT THE PERFECT CHILD YOU WANT, AND I NEVER WILL BE! I HAVE SUPERPOWERS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?” Then he flipped off his family on camera.

@Zanavy

"Isn't it obvious?!"

The superhumanly amplified voice was the first thing Mara heard when she re-entered the pavilion, after having tried and failed to find Felicia. She flinched and stared. The discussion wasn't due to start quite yet, but in the middle of the gathering stood a wild-haired woman shouting to anyone who'd listen - not that they had a choice.

"For all the ills of the modern age, a select few of us are still in tune with the natural world. So Mother Earth has called us to end the scourges of technology and civilization! Rise up, my fellow chosen ones, and let's abandon the cities for the woodlands, where we can live carefree, peaceful lives in harmony with nature's paradise once again!" She spread out her feet, raising her fist in a superhero-like pose, tendrils - no, roots - trailing from her limbs.

Oh. Of course, mandragora essence, Mara thought, considering the folkloric connotations. If she'd guessed right, that'd explain the shrieking. And while respect for nature was by no means a bad thing... Peaceful? Either the speech-giver had never seen a wildlife documentary, or she had to be saying all this ironically.

"I, for one, will start with this!" The shrieker flung her cell phone at a wall, where it smashed, shards clattering to the floor. "Liberate yourselves, blessed ones!" Several people, including Mara, slowly backed away.

Hiking suddenly didn't seem so bad an idea. If this loudmouth didn't get kicked out, it was clear nobody else would get a word in edgeways. Mara sighed and hurried back out into the clearing, just in time to catch the end of the announcement. She sprinted over to the hiking group, slowing her pace to a leisurely traipse once she caught up, thankful for the quiet as they headed down the tree-lined trail. Ziplining was still a no-no, but at least a walk and some fresh air could prove relaxing...

"Hello, America!"

Or not.

At the sight of a camera crew of all things, Mara startled. Sparks crackled at the tops of her gloves. Her stomach dropped, and she grimaced, eyes flicking from side to side as she drew back. She hadn't zapped anyone or anything, to her relief, but what if she'd drawn the crew's attention? Being on TV would be nothing short of a nightmare. Hoping they'd keep focusing on Conner despite his attitude, or even because of it, she edged further and further away.

She should have stayed at the discussion after all.

Mara's 'accident' happened plenty of distance away from the cameras and went unnoticed by most of the crew. The surly thin woman standing behind the cameraman startled a bit as the sparks caught her eye. She looked at Mara with widened eyes for just a second. Then she averted her gaze, acting natural, letting the situation pass without a big hullabaloo.

The cameraman did his work well, following the stream of water as it floated through the air, catching John's amazed expression and Conner's proud one. The reporter's trained smile faltered just a bit as Conner decided to start going all Rebellious Teen on the air. Ever the professional, the cameraman predicted Conner's subsequent gesture and only half a second of the bird appeared in the corner of the screen as the camera panned back to John.

"Well there you have it," John said with a bright smile. "A spirited bunch at the conference. We'll be back with you soon!"

The instant the camera cut, John's plastic smile dropped. He rubbed his eyes as he addressed Conner.

"I guess you're probably not mature enough to care, kid, but this is one of the first impressions the world will have of plant essences. For your own sake, maybe think about not making that impression so... abrasive in the future."

John rubbed his temples and turned away, looking ten years older without his well-trained TV personality pizazz.

"Candy," he grumbled. "Go get my smokes."

The thin woman in the background took a breath and braced herself.

"You said they were 'only for emergencies,'" Candace replied in a bored tone. "Your future self would not say this is an emergency."

"My future self can kiss my ass this one time," John practically barked. "Go get just one cigarette, Candygirl. I won't. Ask. Again."

Candace fought the urge to roll her eyes. Both of them knew that statement was a lie.

Before she could reply, a bearded man with a bandaged hand took an exaggerated inhale awkwardly close to the tense conversation.

"You smell delightful," the bearded man addressed Candace with a smile. "I can tell with my dog powers."

Candace froze for a second, pondering.

"Fine, I'll get your smokes," Candace muttered, starting back down the path toward the cabins. At least it would be a nice break from these obnoxious men.

Joseph continued sniffing around, trying to find the source of another delightful smell. He hadn't pinpointed Mara yet but was getting dangerously close.

NatJack continued hovering around the area. She eventually worked up the nerve to reunite with Conner.

"Uh... hah," the redhead spoke. She looked away. All this time working up the nerve to converse with one of the people who had cool functioning powers, and she didn't even know what to say.

"...So, uh, how long'd it take ya to learn howta do that?"

@LuckyBlackCat @Crimson Flame

@Zanavy

When the camera cut, Mara gave a huge sigh of relief. Shuffling back in the line, she glared at the camera crew and the volunteers. The staff could have said this would happen, instead of springing it on everyone like that. "Never a dull moment," she muttered to nobody in particular.

That trend showed no sign of stopping. The bearded guy from earlier clearly hadn't learned his lesson, sniffing at a woman in the crew, trying to impress her with his claim of dog powers. Predictably, the first thing the woman did was make a swift exit. Mara groaned, wondering what essence the guy would try - and inevitably fail - to convince everyone he had next.

She took another step back as he started heading her way, no doubt picking up on the smell of lemon. He hadn't found the source just yet, but it would only be a matter of time until he did, and Mara grimaced at the thought of being on the receiving end of that terrible flirting attempt. Before it could happen, she faced him, glowering. "Funny. Didn't you have ivy powers a few minutes ago?"

No sooner had she said it than childhood memories surfaced, accompanied by a spike of guilt. Stumbling around a dark room, convincing herself she had feline night vision. Sneaking to retrieve toys her siblings had stolen from her, wishing she had the cunning of a fox. That hope, followed by disappointment, whenever she dreamed of an animal. Sure, she'd been a kid back then, but maybe she wasn't one to judge.

When the newsman scolded him, all Conner could do was mock him. “For your own sake, maybe think about not making that impression so abrasive in the future." Conner did not hide his disdain with an eyeroll. “Dude, you need to chill. We are human beings. Not aliens. We just… happen to get cool powers out of it.” Then he made his poor beleaguered assistant fetch him some cigarettes. This guy was clearly a jerk.

Then NatJack approached him, and asked him how he learned to do that, and Conner grinned. “Ah yeah. It wasn’t easy. I watched a lot of cartoons, read some comic books, and copied what they did. I’m still not that good though. I can’t do anything bigger than this damn water bottle. One day I’ll be able to summon my own sick waves to ride. That’ll be sweet.” Then he looked back at the newsguy smoking a cigarette. “Speaking of sweet… Watch this.” And he used his powers to throw some water at the man’s head. “Like I said, you need to chill. Hope the water helps bro!”

@Zanavy