-M/n's Pov-
M/n paced impatiently next to the side railing of the boats edge. He tried to cover his eyes with his bangs and failed. As the boat pushed towards the dock he could here Chris give his introduction. "And finally, the two contestants I have personally been impatient to meet, M/n, and Duncan! welcome." M/n stepped off of the boat with Duncan on his tail, and everyone turned to stare at the pair, including Chris.
"Ugh, another Goth? What a weird-o." A low growl escaped from between M/n's teeth upon hearing the rude comment. "Take it easy, M/n is the son of a very good friend. No special privileges, but I'm not gonna stop him if he starts a brawl, I'm smarter than that. Also, whichever team gets him, good luck. He knows this place better than me, so be careful of who ya ditch." Chris set a hand on M/n's shoulder, knowing what he was thinking. Chris was basically his step-dad, and the only person mom trusted with his secret. "Alright, now that we're all here, I need you all in a group. We need a picture for the promos." M/n mentally groaned, but dragged himself over to stand next to Duncan.
"Alright- oops, lense cap is on." M/n rolled his eyes and focused more on the dock. The thing was old, ten years at least, and it smelled like it only had maintenance once. Chris tried snapping another picture. "Oh, cards full." That was when M/n heard the creaking. "Uh Chris..?" M/n jumped out of the way just as the dock collapsed, grabbing the back of a pair of shirts before they fell in. Click. Seriously? M/n let go of both shirts and dropped and the strangers on their feet. "Nice save." Chris congratulated him on his catch, only to be met with a molten absinthe-green glare. "Alright, everyone dry off and meet me at the fire pit." M/n huffed and shook off the splashed water that had landed on him.
"What kind of person are you? Use a towel!" M/n turned to snarl at whoever had chosen now to speak. "Yeah, I'm talking to you. What are you, a dog? Dry off like everyone else." A tall, dark haired girl stood several feet away with her lip curled in disgust. "Dumb broad." M/n muttered, and turned to walk away before his temper ripped from it's leash. "What did you call me, freak?!" M/n whipped back around so fast he could hear the bones creak in his ankle. "I called youa a dumb broad, what, are you deaf too?!" Duncan stepped between the two before M/n could advance further.
"I love a good brawl guys, but I have a feeling this guy's losing his grip, plus I think those canines might just win." M/n snarled defiantly, showing his fangs again before he turned around again, limping away from the docks to cool off. He wouldn't miss the campfire meeting, of course, and he would be back just in time for lunch. Chris stopped him just before he left. "Listen kid, you know I care about you, but I can't do anything about these kids. I know Juvie was tough, but you're out now. Don't mess it up again." M/n's head bent slightly in shame. "Lowering my shield is gonna be rough, Chris." Chris nodded. "I know, why do you think I brought you here. Win or not, you're staying here with me. I made that promise and I'm not letting your mom down M/n."
M/n shook his head. "Wow, this is.. depressing. I better go apologize..or not." He scowled at the sight the dark-haired idiot already being an entitled brat. "Who is that anyway?" He asked bitterly. "Heather." His green eyes darted from person to person. M/n shrugged and started walking back to the now broken-ish dock. "I'll be okay, if not hot-headed for a bit." He chuckled and flashed his fangs. He tried again to cover his eyes, and failed miserably. A gentle breeze blew towards him and brushed the familiar scents of the woods into his face. M/n closed his eyes to savor the smells and opened them again to see Gwen staring at him. He stepped back an inch or two, a little startled.
"I like you eyes," she said. "They're really pretty." He blinked in surprise. "R-Really? You think so?" She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I've never seen anything like it." His eyes softened a bit from their usual hardness. "What's wrong, I didn't say something wrong did I?" M/n shook his head no. "No, it's just.. my mom said the same thing when I was young. I haven't seen her since I was very little, before I went to Juvie. But, thank you." Gwen looked confused. "For what?" He smiled. "Saying something I needed to hear." Something clicked in Gwen's head. "Your mom, she died didn't she?"
M/n nodded. "I'm sorry." "Don't be. She's with my father now." He said wiping away the tears that had spilled down his cheeks. "I hope we're on the same team, it would be nice to have a friend." Gwen nodded. "That sounds nice." Gwen reached up and brushed the hair away from his eyes. "You should leave your eyes uncovered. It looked better." She smiled. "Okay." Was all he could say. "Oh, hey they're starting the campfire thing. Lets go." Gwen started walking in the direction of the campfire.
M/n started walking but disappeared into the bushes just as he neared the fire pit. His body ached like he'd been working out all day. He began to sweat and pant, grasping at the cotton of his shirt. He grunted in pain as his spine began to creak as it tried to break and rebuid itself in an attempt to force him into shifting. M/n knew with every fiber of his being that he had full control of this.
M/n swore under his breath and straightened his back to force his back into alighnment. He hissed in pain and defiance and walked back to the firepit.
"Alright if I call your name, go stand over there." Chris was starting, "Beth, Cody, Gwen, Heather, Katie, Justin, LeShawna, Lindsay, Noah, Owen, Trent. You are now, the Screaming Gophers." Owen shouted. "Woo! I'm a Gopher!" M/n rolled his eyes waiting for his own name to be called. "Next, Bridgette, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Ezekiel, Geoff, Harold, Sadie, Tyler, Izzy, M/n. You're now the Killer Bass." Some girl started wailing and bawling while Courtney tried to comfort her.
"Keep in mind you will be on camera at all times. Any questions? Good, lets go find your cabins."
The groups walked with Chris towards the cabins. "Gophers, your in the East, Bass your in the west. You've got half an hour to unpack, and meet me at the main lodge. Starting now." M/n went back to the dock and grabbed his bag, dragging it back to the boys cabin to unpack his few things.
M/n tossed his worn bag onto one of the lower bunks and left, picking his way to the mess hall to see Chef. "Hey Chef, hows Chris been treatin' ya'?" Chef looked up from his cooking. "Hey! M/n! I was wondering when I'd see you again, welcome home." Chef tossed him an apple. "Thanks, I missed these woods, It's good to smell the pine again."
One by one the teams trickled into the mess hall. "Cover your ears M/n, I gotta get loud for a second." M/n obeyed and covered his sensitive ears. "LISTEN UP, I SERVE IT 3 TIMES A DAY, AND YOU WILL EAT IT 3 TIMES A DAY! GET IN LINE, GET YOUR FOOD, AND SIT YA DANG BUTTS DOWN, NOW!" M/n uncovered his ears cautiously.
Harold and Beth were first followed by Noah and Owen. M/n nibbled on his apple and watched. "How come he gets real food?!" Harold demanded pointedly.
"Because I SAID SO." Chef snapped. Chris walked in and Geoff asked for pizza, followed by Chef nearly hitting him with a knife. "Chef, chill, their insensitive, don't pay attention to 'em." M/n said glaring at the rude teenagers. "Alright campers, your first challenge is in one hour." Chris said after the affair ended and walked right back out.
"Hey Chef, need any help with dishes or dinner?" M/n asked, wanting to take his mind off of the challenge ahead. "You don't have to help kid, I've been doin' it for the past few months all by myself." M/n nodded. "I know, but I still wanna help." Chef shrugged and pointed to the medium size pile of dishes. "If you wash I'll dry." M/n smiled and jogged behind the counter, turning on the hot water and grabbing a sponge.
-45 Minutes later-
M/n dried his hands, having finished the dishes slowly, trying to avoid the prospect of changing into swim-trunks. "M/n, go ahead and get ready, and don't worry about those dang kids, if they say anything, I'll make 'em eat double for a week." Chef said, nudging himout of the kitchen. "Thanks Chef." M/n smiled sadly and jogged out of the mess hall, back towards the cabin.
M/n shuffled through his bag until he found his shorts, then walked out of the cabin and over to the washrooms to change.
M/n walked out again, trying not to focus on everyone staring at him. Gwen jogged up to him and looked him up and down. "Tattoos?" She asked. "Just a few." He said, jokingly sarcastic, already feeling better with Gwen talking to him. Gwen moved to see his back and the many tattoo covered scars. She traced one that wrapped around to his side and ended on his lower ribs. "What's that one?" She asked.
M/n lifted his arm a little so she could get a better look. "That one...was a brawl in the Juvie canteen that ended in my getting dragged across broken glass. I think a big shard hit me between the ribs. They say I was asleep at a table when it all went down."
Gwen traced the tattoo, shards of broken crystal along the drag and one big cracked crystal in the center of the jagged stab wound.
Duncan walked over before Gwen could ask about another she was tracing. "I like your eyes." He said bluntly. M/n paused taken aback. "Really?" Duncan nodded. "Yup, I feel like I've seen 'em before though."
"Hey guys, the challenge is about to start, come on!" Courtney shouted. M/n huffed stubbornly but followed Duncan and Gwen anyway.