𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳 ~ [𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘹 𝘖𝘊]

⇒ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ

"I don't know, David, are you sure about this?" I raised a tentative eyebrow. I was trying to look out for him, save the redhead from disappointment, but he seemed  deadset on this. I had a sinking feeling the campers wouldn't care about the Order of the Sparrow, whatever it was, but I didn't have the heart to tell him.

"Oh come on, Avery, this has been around since I was camper, they're sure to love it!" I doubted the credibility of this statement.

"Alright, if you truly believe that..." I trailed off slowly. Guess I just had to be prepared to be there for him when this inevitably went to shit. "I'll go get the kids."

It was safe to say, the children didn't appreciate being up at the crack of dawn at all. Max grumbled especially loudly as I roused him, sticking my head round the flap of the tent he shared with Neil, refusing to leave until they were both out of bed. I got them all assembled and stepped back to wait. Gwen appeared first, looking a little disgruntled, a headpiece with a feath perched on top of her head. I wrinkled my brow slightly. She just shook her head. David appeared last, crowned by a traditional Native American headress and- Oh God why is he shirtless? I averted my gaze respectfully, playing off sheer embarrassment as a cough.

"Why the hell are we up this early?" Max queried. I risked another look at David, before catching what I was doing and forcing myself to look the other way. I flinched, as Quartermaster fired a flaming arrow into the firepit to light it from the bow attachment on his arm.

"Good morning, Campbell Campers!" There was something different in his voice, a new edge of confidence I wasn't used to. I noticed the redhead was still wearing the bandana/t-shirt round his neck. "Now I'm sure you must be wondering who we are-"

"David, what the fuck are you doing?" The blue hoodied boy cut straight through the bullshit.

"I am not David, though if he were here he would tell you to mind your language, I am Chief Squatting Bear." Oh god please don't let this get offensive, I dread to think what lowkey discriminatory practices Mr Campbell inflicted on the old campers...

"Oh, that's awesome!" Space kid stepped forward, face painted with awe. Neil frowned, giving the boy in the 'astronaut' suit a shove, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Gwen, why is David dressed like a turkey?" Nikki asked.

"Because he's fucking David. You've been here long enough to figure that one out." The counsellor pinched the bridge of her nose. I fought the urge to laugh, she had a good point.

"Don't break character!" He leaned over and hissed. "And I'm not a turkey, I'm an Indian Chief." Wrong terminology.

"Like Max?" Neil raised an eyebrow. This was getting closer and closer to offending someone, I could tell.

"No, no, not like that, like the Cherokees, you know-" David raised his hand to his mouth. I darted my arm out and grabbed his wrist, giving a furious shake of the head to stop him doing something that might turn out inevitability racist.

"Davey..." I warned quietly. Probably could have figured Cameron was a discriminatory old fuck who forced his beliefs on impressionable children. Even something as mild as this was still offensive.

"Right! We represent, the Order of the Sparrow," The redhead stepped forward continuing, "A secret society that gathers only to honour the most worthy of campers."

"What are you doing here then?" Nikki asked, cocking her head to the side to ask a genuine question. I snorted with laughter.

"Look, guys, the Order's been around since I was a camper, it's a huge honour. It's really cool!" David tried to defend himself. I could see everyone losing interest quickly. I hated to say I told you so... But it looked like his impending heartbreak was on the way.