Chapter 21: INTERMISSION 1: Vee the Basilisk Part 1.

The Angel of the Owl House

Intermission

Chapter 1: Vee the Basilisk

A young girl slithered through the streets of Bonesborough, hidden beneath a ratty old cloak she'd scavenged from the trash when she first arrived in town. It wasn't exactly comfortable and it smelled pretty bad, but the girl needed it to keep herself obscured and conserve her magic. She would need her limited magic more when she finally reached her destination; the Human Realm, the one place she might escape to where she could be free of the Emperor and his minions.

For this young girl was Subject Number Five, though she preferred to go by Vee, and she was a Basilisk. She and her species, including all variants and subspecies, had gone extinct a very long time ago. They'd been hunted down and exterminated by Witch and Demonkind due to their ability to drain magic, but it was for that exact reason that the Emperor and his Coven had found a way to bring them back. Vee didn't know the full details; she only knew that she and her fellow test subjects had been born in a lab beneath the Conformatorium, apparently created artificially with preserved blood from ancient Basilisk fossils. Vee had spent her whole life there; all 14 years old it, locked in a cell and experimented on. Warden Wrath and the Emperor's researchers would bring her all manner of small magic creatures to feed on, and whenever Vee refused, she was punished harshly.

For years, poor Vee and her fellow Basilisks had seen no hope for escape; they were guarded too closely and kept chained up in their cells, only being released when they were taken to the lab so the Warden could force them to use their powers in front of the Emperor. Vee hated those times the most; the Emperor scared her, especially since he paid special attention to her for being one of the only two subspecies in the group. There were six Basilisks in all; Subjects One through Four were Common Basilisks; largely serpentine creatures with thick snake-like bodies and more bestial faces with wide necks. Vee was the last and youngest Basilisk; a subspecies known as a Golden-Eyed Basilisk, so named for their golden pupils in the centre of black irises. Her upper body was slightly more humanoid than the others, having a thinner torso and a more pronounced neck and shoulders, as well as a generally being closer to a human in size, and a lot more docile in temperament.

This stood in stark contrast to the other subspecies; a Greater Basilisk known as Subject Zero, and the eldest of the lab-grown Basilisks. She was utterly insane and seemed to almost revel in feeding on the magic of others… her only complaint with their life in the dungeons was the lack of magic to eat. Vee was terrified of her… but on that fateful day a week ago, Subject Zero had been the one to save them, if inadvertently.

The Emperor had come for another visit to see their progress, and as always Vee and the others were dragged before him and made to drain magic. This time they were made to drain magic from some Witch prisoners from the Conformatorium above their heads, and while Vee hated it (despite how full it had made her feel), Subject Zero had loved it. She had demanded more, becoming completely intoxicated, and when no more was given, she'd gone wild, revealing a surprising amount of strength by overpowering the scouts holding her down and devouring magic from them, including the magic in the keys to their chains. With the magic drained from the keys, their shackles had clicked open immediately, and Subjects One and Two had attacked the Emperor and his men alongside Subject Zero. But Vee, and Subjects Three and Four had been terrified and knew they could never defeat the powerful witches, so they had fled.

Taking the forms of scouts with their shapeshifting powers, Vee and her two fellow Basilisks escaped the Conformatorium and went into hiding. They eventually split up for safety, but Vee knew it was only a matter of time before she was caught. Her only hope was found in a rumour she'd heard while passing through a small town about three days after her escape. It was a rumour about someone known as "The Owl Lady" and "The Wild Witch of Bonesborough", who allegedly sold human goods straight from the Human Realm. In disguise, Vee had looked into these rumours and discovered another rumour; that the Owl Lady apparently had a way into the Human Realm!

It was for that reason that Vee had come to Bonesborough; she would never be able to live freely in the Demon Realm, but if she could find the Owl Lady and use her to get to the Human Realm, she could be safe! It would be easy to shape-shift into a human and never have to worry about the Emperor again!

Being careful not to let too much of herself be exposed by her cloak, Vee made her way to the Bonesborough Market and began to look around at all the different stalls and tents that had been put up. All the different magics and smells on display had Vee salivating, but she suppressed the urge to feed and followed her nose, searching for the smell of a curse. Golden-Eyed Basilisks had the sharpest sense of smell there was when it came to magic, and since she'd heard that the Owl Lady was cursed, she was able to follow that scent until she found exactly what she was looking for.

It was a stall set up in front of a large tent, which a woman with long, thick silver hair and golden eyes was watching. Vee eyed the woman closely, noting the green bandana she wore over her ears and the distinctive torn red dress; there was no doubt about it, this was Eda the Owl Lady! She looked just like the wanted posters Vee had spotted, so the young Basilisk slowly made her way over, mentally planning out what she'd do. She wasn't sure how she'd convince the Owl Lady to send her to the Human Realm, and as she got closer, Vee began to worry about what would become of her if the Owl Lady decided to use her like the Emperor had done, or perhaps even turn her in to the Emperor's Coven for a reward or a pardon!

Fear overcame her, and instead of just talking to the Owl Lady, Vee slithered behind her tent, and subtly snuck under the canvas. Inside the tent, she found herself faced with the back of a strange door, which had been set up at the back of the tent. Vee could sense very powerful magic coming from it… it was a kind of magic she'd only sensed once, when the Emperor had put a vial of some foul black liquid under her nose and ordered her to memorise the scent. Vee was so transfixed by the odd door that she paid no attention to the rest of the tent's contents, and instead moved to the front of the door, finding it open. The door had some kind of giant yellow eye on it, and the door frame was filled with a vision of a small wooden porch, beyond which was a path through a forest… a green forest.

Vee gasped quietly; this must be a portal to the Human Realm! And it had been left wide open! She couldn't help but wag her tail excitedly; this was her ticket to freedom, and she didn't even need to deal with the Owl Lady!

She was just about to pass through, but saw something coming from the other side. It was a little owl, hopping along on the ground and dragging a large sack of human junk. Vee suspected this was the Owl Lady's Palisman (she did have an owl staff on her wanted poster after all) and wondered if she should just ignore it and run past it, but then she saw someone else pursuing the owl. It was a human girl with tan skin and shortish curly dark brown hair, dressed in denim shorts, dark blue leggings, and a white and purple hooded shirt.

With a quiet squeak, Vee hid amongst the human junk already in the tent so the human girl wouldn't see her. The Palisman was one thing, but a human that could expose her was quite another, so Vee wasn't taking any risks! She watched from her hiding place as the owl hopped straight through the portal and hurried out of the tent to its mistress, followed a moment later by the human girl.

"Whoa… where am I?" the girl whispered, looking around at the trash filled tent. Vee got a good look at the girl, but her looks weren't what caught her attention… While the girl had appeared to be human, now that she was actually in the same realm as Vee, the young Basilisk could smell her and knew she was definitely not just some normal human!

Her scent definitely had some human to it, but that was to be expected from someone coming in from the Human Realm, and the majority of her scent was something distinctly different… distinctly magical… distinctly familiar.

It was a scent Vee had picked up from the Emperor. He too had the smell of a human and the odd magic that this girl had, but while his was powerful and mixed with the foul stench of rot and burning Palistrom wood, the girl's magic smelled pure and gentle, though quite weak. There was also a second, stronger version of the same magical smell coming from something around the girl's neck, though Vee couldn't figure out what it was. Considering the girl looked human, Vee suspected it was some kind of concealment stone.

Vee couldn't quite place what the smell reminded her off, but the answer came when the girl suddenly gasped after peeking out of the tent.

"The owl became a staff! That makes it a Palisman!" the girl whispered to herself, "Only two types of people have Palismen; super powerful angels… and witches!"

Vee had to cover her snout to stop her own gasp of surprise; that was what the smell reminded her off! It was angel! This girl was an angel!

The Emperor had made her smell angelic blood at one point, but he'd not allowed her to do it again after she'd given him an odd look, no doubt realising that he carried a similar scent. He'd terrified her into not saying a word, something Vee had been happy to obey!

The young angel began to back away, and Vee could see that her window to escape was closing. While the angel was still looking away, she silently slunk through the portal, feeling a sense of vertigo as she passed into the Human Realm. Immediately the overbearing smells of Bonesborough and its magic was replaced by the clearer, subtler smells of the human forest she arrived in. Vee found herself stood on a wooden porch outside a dilapidated house, and quickly hid herself behind a nearby tree so she wouldn't be spotted when the angel came back through.

But the angel didn't come back through. Instead Vee heard the sound of a squeaky toy being stepped on, followed by an exchange of voices.

"Oh ho, what do we have here?" asked an unfamiliar voice. It sounded like a woman's, so Vee guessed it was the Owl Lady. She must have discovered the angel in her tent.

"Eheheh, nobody important. I was just worried about the little owl, hopping along all alone. But he's home now so I'll just be going!" that was the angel's voice.

Before another word could be heard, the door of the dilapidated house, which also served as the Human Realm side of the Portal door, suddenly slammed shut, then blew open again in the breeze, revealing nothing but the inside of the old house. Vee peeked out from behind the tree and inspected the door, opening and closing it again. No matter what she did however, the portal remained closed.

"The Owl Lady must have closed it… I hope that angel girl is okay." Vee whispered to herself.

Suddenly, she smelled another angel, one with a lot more magic, coming her way. She then heard a voice calling out; "Luz? Where are you?"

Vee panicked. Should she run and hide, or disguise herself? She didn't know what any other humans looked like, but since the angel girl had been disguised as one, Vee decided to take a gamble and assumed the girl's form.

A moment later, a woman that looked a lot like an older version of the angel walked out of the woods. She had her dark brown hair tied up in a bun, and her eyes were behind a pair of glasses, but the resemblance to the other angel was still strong, and her magic was even more so. It was the same magic Vee had sensed from around the other girl's neck. The older angel was dressed in some kind of light blue shirt and pants in a style Vee had never seen before, but she didn't have time to think on that, as the woman took one look at Vee and smiled.

"Luz! There you are." she said, walking over.

Vee gulped; so the angel's name had been Luz… good thing she'd heard her talk enough to copy her voice!

"Hello… fellow angel!" Vee said nervously, "Um… skin's sure weird!"

The other angel, apparently Luz's mother, chuckled and walked over, putting her hand on Vee's shoulder.

"Very funny." the woman chuckled, before frowning as she looked past Vee at the abandoned house. "I'd rather you not go near this old place again, Luz. It's unstable and dangerous; it could collapse with you inside it!"

"S-Sorry…" Vee said shyly.

The woman just smiled; "It's okay, you didn't know any better. I don't think you've come to this part of the woods before… But listen, I've been thinking… I know how nervous and upset you are about going to camp. I still think it'll be good for you to learn to make friends and help people in ways that are less… chaotic, but I don't want you to feel like I'm chasing you away. You've never been away from me for more than a day, so three months is a big adjustment!" Luz's Mom said, gently rubbing Vee's shoulder.

The disguised Basilisk looked up at her with surprise; this woman was so kind and gentle… had Luz been running away from her to avoid going to this camp place? Had she really felt like she was being chased off?

"So, I've decided that instead of the bus, I could drive you to camp." Luz's Mom continued, "We haven't been on a road trip for a while, and we could take the time to talk a bit. I've got the day off from work, and you can have full control of the playlist. What do you say?"

Luz's Mom offered Vee her hand, and the girl hesitated. Should she accept? What if the real Luz came back? She'd be exposed in an instant! But then again, what if she never came back? She was in the Demon Realm now and there was nothing Vee could do about that. Maybe pretending to be her would at least prevent this poor woman from every realising her daughter might be gone forever…

Whether it was for that reason, or a more selfish one, Vee gently took the woman's hand with an uncertain smile.

Luz's Mom beamed at her and pulled her in for a hug, making Vee feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She'd never been hugged before, only having seen hugging during her brief time on the streets after fleeing the Conformatorium, and she could definitely say she enjoyed it. The older angel even stroked Vee's hair, almost making the disguised Basilisk purr.

After that, the two began walking back to Luz's house, which was a nice little home on the edge of the forest. Vee liked it a lot, but as Luz's Mom approached the odd dull red cart outside the house (Vee had heard her call it a… car?), the woman suddenly turned and asked; "Oh Luz, where is your satchel with all your things?"

Vee gulped nervously; "Um, I left it inside?"

Luz's Mom stared at her for a minute, frowning. She then shrugged; "Huh, I could have sworn I saw you with it earlier… must have been my imagination. Hop on inside and get it; I'll get the car going." she said, tossing a set of oddly small keys to Vee.

Vee, surprised her obvious lie had been believed, fumbled to catch the keys, then nervously went over to the house's front door. It took her a moment to figure out how to unlock it, then headed inside and began to look around the house. She needed a satchel of some kind, so she began to wander around and peer into various rooms. There was a lot of things she didn't recognise or understand, but exploring did reveal a few pieces of information.

A framed child's drawing had the words "To Mami and Papi. Luz Noceda Age 4" scrawled on it, revealing the full name of the girl she was impersonating. Vee also learned that Luz's Mom was named Camila Noceda thanks to a bill addressed to Camila on the kitchen table, and learned her father's name was Manny thanks to a lover's picture frame in Camila's bedroom that had the words "Camila and Manny" written on it. The fact that it was clear only two people lived in the house, despite the plethora of pictures of Manny, let Vee figure out that Manny had passed away… Vee hoped that the couple's daughter hadn't met the same fate in the Demon Realm.

Shrugging that off, Vee eventually found which room was Luz's and began looking around for a satchel. Vee eventually found a purple one in Luz's closet, and immediately smelled the magic on it. Curiously, Vee dropped a random book from Luz's desk into the satchel and noted that the satchel still felt like it was empty.

"It's enchanted to be weightless…!" Vee gasped, before mumbling; "Come to think of it, Luz was going away for three months… she'd definitely need more than one satchel of stuff to last that long, so if this one is like the other one, it must be both weightless and expanded on the inside."

Vee smiled and began grabbing Luz's clothes and putting them in the satchel. She didn't really need to wear clothes since she could just shape-shift, but if she had some, she could change without needing to use her magic! Vee was sure to pack a lot, including a few sets of the same outfit Luz had been wearing earlier (it appeared to be her favourite, considering how many sets she owned), then once she was done, she happily trotted back outside to Camila, locking the house behind her and giving back the keys.

"I'm done, Mami." Vee said, using the name she'd seen on the drawing. Camila smiled but didn't otherwise react, so Vee figured she'd done the right thing.

"I was wondering what took you so long! So you decided to switch from the yellow satchel to the purple one?" Camila said with a knowing smile; "Are you just trying to stall?"

Vee shook her head; "N-No! I just… wanted a change." she stuttered. "You believe me, right?"

Camila chuckled; "Don't be silly, Mija; of course I believe you! Angels can't lie; you know that! Honestly, camp must really have you frazzled!"

Vee chuckled along with her, while inwardly she was feeling a mix of relief and trepidation. She hadn't known angels couldn't lie, but it explained why Camila believed her even when she wasn't being very convincing. However it was also dangerous; if she told a lie that Camila knew was false, she'd instantly figure out that Vee wasn't really Luz! She had to tread carefully!

"I-I guess I am. Just frazzled, I mean. Um, shall we go?" Vee asked.

Camila grinned and started the car and began driving (Vee had to hide her surprise when it thrummed to life and began to move without the need for something to pull it along). As they were driving out of Gravesfield, Camila turned to Vee and said; "You can turn on the radio whenever you want."

Vee smiled, but she had no idea how to do that. Plus, she wanted to learn more about Camila and the life Vee was currently borrowing, so she shook her head and shyly said; "A-Actually, can we just talk? If we're gonna be apart for three months, it'd be nice to talk a lot first."

Camila once again beamed, and Vee felt warm and fuzzy again, feeling like she'd said the right thing once more. The drive to Camp Reality Check was about three hours long, and Camila and Vee ended up spending the entire time just chatting. Camila did most of the talking, with Vee asking questions occasionally so she could learn more and more about the Human Realm and this odd little family of angels that inhabited it. By the time they were almost at the camp, Vee felt oddly close to Camila and was actually a little sad to be leaving her for camp. She certainly understood how Luz had felt, and after hearing Camila laugh over some of the funnier and sillier mishaps Luz had gotten into while trying to be a good angel and help people, Vee felt like she emphasised with Luz a bit, and that in turn led to sympathy.

It must be so awful for a young angel with little to no power to be stuck in the Demon Realm! Even though it would mean being exposed and losing her place with Camila, Vee kind of hoped Luz would make it back safe and sound.

After a long but emotionally fulfilling drive for Vee, Camila pulled into a parking lot on the edge of a forest camp ground, where several other families were dropping off their kids. There was even a larger version of a car (Vee had discovered these were called "Buses") dropping off dozens of other kids. They all looked so different, and their expressions were just as diverse; some looked scared, some looked angry, some looked sullen, and some looked excited or even eager to be at camp!

"There are so many people…" Vee whispered as she got out of the car.

"All the more potential friends to make." Camila smiled as she joined the disguised girl; "You'll do your best to make friends, right?"

"I will. I promise." Vee said honestly. Camila smiled a little wider, then escorted Luz over to where several adults were stood. They were fairly young, being in their late twenties to early thirties, and all dressed in brown cargo shorts and green t-shirts with a square logo on the left breast, beneath which were the words "Camp Reality Check".

These were the Camp Counsellors and were currently checking in all the various kids, smiling kindly at them all and speaking in a friendly tone. Camila and Vee approached one of them, a young man with a clean-shaven face, tanned skin, and green eyes.

"Hello, I'm Camila Noceda, here to check in my daughter Luz." Camila greeted politely.

The Counsellor grinned; "Ah, our last minute schedule change! I'm glad to see you got here okay!"

Camila looked a bit sheepish; she'd told Vee in the car that she'd called ahead to let the camp know she wouldn't be coming on the bus, but the woman had been worried that the camp would be angry over sending their bus there for nothing.

"Ah, I apologise for that…" Camila said nervously, only to be waved off by the Counsellor.

"Think nothing of it, Mrs Noceda. We had to pick up three other campers from Gravesfield anyway, so it wasn't a wasted trip for our driver." he said, before looking to Vee; "You must be Luz! Nice to meet you! I'm Counsellor Stevenson, but you can just call me Adam."

"N-Nice to meet you, Adam." Vee said shyly, bobbing her head.

Adam smiled kindly; "Ah, nervous are we? A lot of first time campers are. Don't worry, three months may seem like a long time, but it'll fly by. It's rare we get a camper leave without having enjoyed their time here."

Vee brightened up at hearing that; maybe this place wouldn't be so bad? Adam scribbled some details down on his clipboard, then asked Camila a few questions to clarify any medical needs or issues Luz might have. Vee listened carefully, then watched as Camila read through some papers that she was expected to sign. Once Camila had signed the papers, they were handed to Vee to read and sign too. This made the Basilisk nervous; she could read English (known as the common tongue back in the Boiling Isles) thanks to being taught in her youth by the researchers, who wanted the Basilisks' literate, but writing was a whole other matter.

Shakily, she took the offered pen and read through the papers, which were a basic agreement that stated she agreed to follow the rules of Camp Reality Check unless necessary to preserve her life or the lives of others. She held the pen like she'd seen Camila do, then wrote the word "Luz" in a shaky hand. The Z looked more like an S, but Camila didn't comment and Adam just patted her shoulder, dismissing her shaking as being nerves.

"Right! You're all signed in! We'll have a short introduction assembly shortly, followed by your cabin assignments. In the meantime, you're welcome to mingle with the other campers." Adam told her. "Mrs Noceda, you're welcome to stay until the assembly if you wish, but if you'd like to go then we'll take good care of Luz until you its time for her to come home."

Camila nodded and turned to Vee; "Luz, I'm going to go home, okay? It's a long drive and I'll need to work overtime tomorrow."

"O-Okay Mami." Vee replied, suddenly a lot more nervous.

Camila tutted softly and pulled her into a hug; "Te quiero, carino. Buena Suerte! (I love you, darling. Take care of yourself!)"

Vee didn't understand a word of Spanish, but she did understand emotions, so she replied; "I love you, Mami."

Camila smiled at her, then kissed her forehead with tears in her eyes. Vee felt a little choked up herself, as she smiled and waved as Camila returned to her car; "Call and text me whenever you want!" the woman said as she got behind the wheel; "Have fun, Mija! I'll miss you!"

Vee continued to wave, until Camila had driven off and disappeared into the distance. Once Camila was gone, Vee suddenly felt very exposed; she'd gone from a prisoner and fugitive to masquerading as a disguised angel in a summer camp, and she had very little idea of what she was supposed to do! Still, she didn't want to mess things up for either the kindly Camila or poor Luz, lost in the Demon Realm, so she took a deep breath and put on a brave face as she went to stand near the counsellors. Adam saw her keeping her distance from the other kids and made small talk with her in-between checking in the other kids, helping Vee feel a lot more comfortable.

It wasn't long after he finished signing in the last of the other teens that another counsellor pulled out some kind of odd, horn-like device and spoke into it, causing her voice to echo across the parking lot.

"Alright campers, please follow us to the assembly ground for the introduction!" she said energetically.

With a mix of sighs, grumbles and excited murmuring, the other teens obediently followed the counsellor out of the parking lot and into the forest camp grounds, escorted by the other counsellors. There were a lot of log buildings built around the forest, and a large lake in the distance just beyond the main campsite, and Vee was careful to memorise as much of it as she could during the short walk to it. They stopped at the outdoor assembly ground, which was really an open clearing with several rows of logs for seats, a tree stump with some kind of device on it towards the back, and a large white sheet hanging stretched out on a post of some kind at the front. Vee and the other teens were directed to sit on the logs (Vee was careful to sit on the edge of one, making distance between her and the grumpy looking boy she was sat beside), then watched as the counsellors assembled in front of the odd sheet. By Vee's count, there were 32 campers (including her) and 8 counsellors, making an even 40 people.

One of the counsellors did something to the odd machine on the tree stump, causing it to shine a light onto the sheet, which made images appear. Vee had no idea what it was, but it worked a little bit like the projection feature of a crystal ball, like she'd seen at the lab.

The image on the projection screen showed the Camp Reality Check logo; a box with a rainbow inside and the tag line "Camp Reality Check: Thinking inside the box!" written under it.

Adam stepped forward; "Welcome Campers, to Camp Reality Check." he said grandly, smiling widely. There were a few scattered claps and cheers from the few people happy to be there, with Vee giving a quiet clap out of courtesy (and immediately stopping when the boy beside her glared).

Adam nodded politely to the few that had responded positively, and didn't seem even a little worried by the lack of response from everyone else.

"Now, I'm sure a lot of you aren't too thrilled to be here. I understand that; our camp doesn't have the greatest of images, and once upon a time, it probably was as bad as you might have feared. It was originally founded to be a kind of rehabilitation camp for juvenile offenders from the days of the Great Depression. Despite a change in management and goal, that reputation has lingered to this day, making it a scary for some to be sent here. Believe me; I was sent here myself as a kid, and I was terrified and angry over it." Adam said, remembering his own childhood; "But I learned how wrong I was, and can honestly say that some of the happiest memories and closest friends I've made have been right here at Camp Reality Check. It's the same for all of my fellow counsellors."

Every other counsellor nodded in agreement, wearing pleasant expressions, which helped sooth some of the tension that had been building amongst the campers. Adam then continued; "For some of you, you've been sent here because you're imaginations are a little… too active. You've found yourselves getting into trouble, not because you're bad kids, but because you've not always known when to hold back and avoid going too far. Coming here can feel like punishment, especially with a name like Camp Reality Check and a motto like "Think inside the box", but that's not our goal here. We don't want to stifle your imaginations and creativity, or change you from the no doubt vibrant young people you all are into obedient cogs in society's machine; our goal here is simply to help teach you how to use your imaginations in a healthy way. How to take your creativity in a constructive direction, so that you can live your lives to the fullest without also causing trouble for those around you. To learn when its time to bring things back inside the box."

Vee smiled as her nervousness began to fade, and there was some muttering from the other campers as they grew more relaxed. Vee knew that Camila had feared she/Luz would view coming here as punishment, so she had no doubt many of the other sullen teens had thought the same, but Adam's gentle yet impassioned words had brought some peace of mind to them, erasing their fears.

Adam could see the campers slowly opening up, and smiled happily before continuing his speech; "And that isn't the only purpose of Camp Reality Check. Some of you are here from underprivileged backgrounds; lives that have been defined by struggles and hardships…" Vee gasped softly, and leaned forward in her seat, hanging on Adam's every word; "You've come from a life where survival is the only goal. Where the most you could ever hope for was a hot meal and a roof over your heads. You've learned to view life as a constant battle, something you have to get through one day at a time. But here at Camp Reality Check, we strive to help all young people see the reality of life, and so we want to show you the good it has to offer. We want to give you a reality check on the positives of life! To show you all that life can be something enjoyed, and not just endured. And while we're doing that, we'll also be teaching you all some important life skills, so when you find yourselves going out into the real world, you can show it what you've got!"

The kids who had clapped or cheered earlier all brightened up, and the other kids looked contemplative. Even the grumpy boy sat beside Vee turned to look at her briefly, his expression softening a bit. Vee gave him a shy smile, and while he didn't return it, she definitely sensed less hostility from him.

Adam looked around and saw that he'd managed to largely get through to the campers, or at least get them to keep an open mind. With a big grin he finished his speech by saying; "And on top of all of that, we're still a summer camp, not summer school, so we want you all to have fun. I promise you all that if you keep an open mind and let yourself just enjoy your time here, you'll leave here with fond memories and maybe even a desire to come back some day. This year is actually rare, since we don't have any returning campers unless you count us counsellors! Now, with all that said, welcome to Camp Reality Check!"

His speech was met with applause, this time by all the teens. Those who had clapped before (like Vee) did so more confidently and the others joined in with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

After that, the introduction assembly went into a brief overview of basic rules for both behaviour and safety, schedules for meals and curfews, and a basic itinerary of activities and how they would be handled. Generally each day would be split between regular hour long camp activities like games, swimming, and crafting, and "life lesson seminars" which were shorter, half-hour lessons that would teach them things they needed to know for later life. Vee listened eagerly and began to get excited; camp might actually turn out to be really fun after all! Though she did find it somewhat ironic that she was one of the "underprivileged" kids in reality, while disguised as one of the "over-imaginative" ones. Still, she resolved to do her best and make friends, and try to help people in healthy ways just like Camila wanted.

Once the assembly was over and the Counsellors had all introduced themselves, the campers were assigned to their cabins; it was four kids to a cabin and while bathing areas were divided by gender, the cabins themselves weren't, so they were all given a stern warning to behave as well as an opportunity to object if they were uncomfortable with their placements.

A young female counsellor named Morgan was the one to call Luz's name. "Masha Voelker, Gray Ramos, Luz Noceda, and Rebecca Dewitt!"

Vee and three other teens went over to her, and she greeted them with a smile; "Great! So you four are all from Gravesfield, so we decided to bunk you together. Do any of you know each other already?"

Two of the other kids shook their heads, while a girl in a black dress said; "We've seen each other around school, but we've never hung out."

Morgan nodded; "So you four will be okay sharing a cabin?" The other three nodded, so Vee did too. "Excellent! Then you guys will be staying in Cabin Seven! I'll be your personal counsellor during your stay with us, so be sure to let me know if you have any questions!"

The four nodded once again, and were escorted by Morgan over to a set of log cabins. There were eight in total, split into two cul-de-sacs of four each, and they were all identical except for the numbers carved onto their doors. Morgan unlocked the cabin marked with the number seven, then pulled out four lanyards with keys on them.

"These are for you. Please be sure to keep the doors locked at all times for safety; there's a fire exit on the other side, so no need to worry about being locked in during an emergency." she said, before finally opening the cabin door and letting them in.

Vee looked around the cabin with interest; it smelled earthy, like the forest, and had four beds, one in each corner of the room, with a large trunk in front of each one as well as a bedside table next to them. Besides that there were a couple of windows on the side walls, the previously mentioned fire exit on the back wall, a door with the letters WC carved into it, and some kind of small metal cylinder in the centre of the room that was connected to the ceiling by a pipe. It was very simple and rustic, reminding Vee a little of an abandoned house she'd hidden in when she'd first fled the Emperor and the Conformatorium.

"I'll leave you guys to get yourselves settled in. Spend some time getting to know one another, then come find me outside when you're done. And please don't mess with the heater." Megan said, nodding to the metal cylinder before turning and leaving the four to their business.

"I call the bed by the fire escape!" the girl in the black dress declared, running over to take it.

Vee blinked in surprise, and the others quickly claimed the beds closest to the front door, leaving Vee to take the last one closest to the WC door. She didn't have a problem with that, so she just casually walked over and sat on it, putting her satchel down beside her.

"So… looks like the four of us are cell mates!" the girl in the black dress grinned. "I'm Masha Voelker. I'm non-binary, so I go by they/them." they said.

Vee didn't understand what non-binary meant, but if Masha wanted to be called they/them, she wasn't going to object. Instead, Vee took a closer look at Masha; they had a lighter complexion somewhere between peach and tan, and short black hair worn in a bob cut. They had dark brown eyes that were almost black, and when they smiled, a gap was visible between their top front teeth. Vee found that rather cute, and smiled at them.

"I'm Gray Ramos." said their second cabin mate. They appeared to be a boy, with skin darker than the Nocedas' and shaggy pitch black hair that was long enough to cover his eyes. He also had a bit of stubble and wore plain shorts and a t-shirt, along with sandals and an orange bead bracelet. His tone was fairly dull and bored, but he seemed like an okay guy. "I'm a dude, but all that gender stuff means nothing to me, so call me whatever you'd like. I'm cool with whatever." he said, lying back on his bed with his hands behind his head.

The last of their cabin mates was a stocky, well-built girl with very short reddish-brown hair, blue-green eyes, and glasses. Her clothes were tomboyish and sporty, and her expression was open and friendly. "I'm Rebecca Dewitt! I'm a girl and proud of it, but if you start treating me like I can't do something because "it's for guys" then I'll kick your butt! But if you're cool with me, I'll be cool with you."

Vee smiled; these three were interesting! But then she noticed them all looking expectantly at her, and she realised it was her turn to introduce herself.

"O-Oh! Um, I'm V- I mean, Luz. Luz Noceda. I'm a girl too." she said. The real Luz was a girl too, from what Vee could tell, and while Basilisks were technically genderless creatures, Vee had always mentally referred to herself as a girl and felt more comfortable assuming female forms, so she felt it was okay to consider herself a girl. "Nice to meet you all."

They all grinned, especially Masha; "Nice to officially meet you too. You know, you're kind of infamous around school." they said.

"I am?" Vee frowned.

"Oh yeah, just about everyone knows you. You're like the troublemaker who never actually wants to cause trouble. It's kinda impressive." Masha laughed; "I saw those special effects you made for the drama club! They were so realistic that the EMTs were called! That's just awesome!"