Day 2:
Wisp
Beckett tucked the camera into their lap as they sank into a squat next to the bag. The main pocket was opened and they riffled through the items within as he settled near them. He looked towards the others as he waited. Sam was now in the water with Dean but it was hard to tell if they were just playing or if Sam was indeed trying to drown Dean again. Dean was still reading as he caught shrills of Dean’s laughter on the breeze that brushed against his face; he was going with the former.
Gravel grinding against itself brought his attention back to Beckett as they stood. Their camera was tucked protectively against their stomach in the motion but their other hand reached out to him holding a familiar object. “Here,” they offered, gesturing with the old digital camera. “The battery won’t last long but it’ll give you something to do if you want. That way you don’t have to fill the silence if you don’t want to.”
A smile pulled at his face as he took it. “Thanks, Beckett.”
The other gave a nod before starting back towards the rocks he had joined them at.
He took his time getting the thing to turn on and took a few random test shots to get used to the old camera. The display screen was hard to see in the bright light even when he blocked the sun with his body. It made it difficult to tell if his shots were straight or not but he found he didn’t care. Shifting his stance, he brought the camera up and pointed it at Beckett.
They had settled on the rock again close to the water, camera inches from the water’s surface. Without really thinking about it, he took a few shots from a distance before getting closer. He wondered if Beckett noticed what he was doing. If they were, they didn’t say anything while moving farther down the lake edge, stopping here and there to take a picture of whatever caught their eye. He found himself enjoying taking pictures of Beckett before a thought came to mind. “Hey, I’m going to go take pictures of the others. I’ll be right back.”
“K,” drifted back to him but it sounded distracted. A glance at Beckett confirmed they were more focused on whatever was in the tree above them that what he had said.
He trekked back to the others, the walk seeming oddly long despite the short amount of distance Beckett had moved. Orlean was asleep under the tree book open in his lap. He smiled and took a few pictures that he thought would be artsy. He took a few of Dean and Sam from the top of the outcrop before moving closer.
Dean had settled for sitting in the shallows as Sam drifted on her back nearby. It wasn’t till he was almost upon them that he picked out their voices on the breeze. He was happy they hadn’t stopped talking. He took a few quick photos before Dean realized he was there. “Hey, Tye! What you got there?”
Sam sat up in the water, looking over as she found the bottom of the lake easily. He took another picture answering, “Beckett’s old digital. Figured we could use some pictures while we were here.”
Sam gave him a look. “Come on, Tye. That’s what cell phones are for.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, taking another shot of her though this time trying to have only her in the frame. He wasn’t sure if he had managed it without cropping out her foot. “But this way I don’t have to worry about my phone dying. Just the camera.”
“Can I try?”
He focused on Dean, lowering the camera. Unease settled in his stomach but it was mild. He offered it to the other. “Only if you’re careful. It’s Beckett’s. Not mine.”
Dean got up out of the water. The unease ebbed when he noted Dean took the camera with his dry hand. And just like that, the camera was in his face giving a faint click. Dean smiled at him over the small device. “There. Now we have pictures of you, too.”
He snorted. “Are they all consecutive photos of my dumb expression?”
Dean beamed at him. “Not anymore they ain’t.”
He laughed at that.
Midday seemed to arrive sooner than any of them had expected. Dean and Sam had hijacked Beckett’s old digital camera taking pictures of everyone and everything. Orlean had gotten awoken by their escapades and had refused to be in any pictures. That had left Dean and Sam the task of getting shots of Orlean without the other knowing and it had entertained them up until the battery died as Artemis drew in the lines.
“Bout time that damn thing died,” Orlean ground out, tromping up to his side as he picked up the second fishing pole. “We moving on, then?”
“Yeah. The fish aren’t biting here so we’ll go try the river.” He passed the now stowed second pole to Orlean as the other picked up the first. “If we don’t get at least one fish on the river, I’ll be surprised. The lake is hit or miss but I’ve yet to walk away from the river empty handed.”
“May it not disappoint.”
He and Orlean walked over to the pile of belongings Dean and Sam were going through. A blanket was stretched out on the dirt nearby and some of the food they had brought with was situated on it. He hadn’t seen Beckett return but they were sitting on part of the blanket in the shade. They had a distant look about them. With a slight frown, he tucked the poles he had carried back in the pile before pulling open the small cooling pack. A lot of the ice packs had melted but the drinks inside were still cold. He pulled out a Gatorade and Beckett’s water.
“Here,” he said gently, offering Beckett the Gatorade and water. “This should help.”
Beckett took the offered drinks with a soft thanks.
Sam wandered over and dropped something on Beckett’s shoulders. The other jumped at the sudden touch but as Sam settled beside them, they settled as well. He recognized it even as Beckett clarified, “This that cooling thing you had been talking about?”
“Yeah.” Sam stretched her legs out, leaning back on her hands. “Mom fussed at me night and day for weeks about making sure I brought it with. She can be such a drag sometimes. It’s not like I need it. I happen to thrive on the heat.”
“Cold blooded, then?”
He tensed at the quip from Beckett but Sam just grinned at them. The look was sharp but he knew it could look a hell of a lot worse if she had truly taken offense to it. “My brothers call me a viper so it’s fitting.” She made a dismissive gesture. “Besides, it’s being of use and my mom can get off my back about it.”
“It is nice and cool.”
Sam’s entire demeanor deflated, her cautious gaze flickering over Beckett’s face. “I have another one. Do you want it for your head?”
Beckett’s hands stilled on the water bottle, their gaze coming up to meet Sam’s. “Oh, no. This one is fine. I don’t-”
“Beckett.” They fell silent and Sam sent them an encouraging smile. “I’m not using it. Do you want one for your head? Yes or no.”
A breath and then a soft, “Yes, please,” escaped.
Sam nodded and got back up.
He sat down at Beckett’s feet, gaining the other’s gaze briefly. “We’ll get you cooled off before moving on, alright? I’m hungry anyways so the chance to eat will be good.”
“I’m glad it’s as cool as it is with the sun so hot. Should be good in a few.”
He grinned at them. “We’ll be here for a while yet so don’t fret about it.”
A while yet was right. By the time Beckett had perked back up, Lora and Cole came wandering over with a few things between them. Beckett and Dean scrambled to their feet, rushing to give the duo hugs. Sam was right behind them. He took his time getting up while Orlean stayed seated on the blanket; the other continued eating but his eyes were on the group.
“You know they don’t bite, right?” Artemis inquired, watching him.
Orlean shrugged. “Yeah I know. Just gonna stay back here till the chaos chills.”
He nodded, turning his attention on the chattering group. Cole had a solid arm around Beckett’s shoulders happily jabbering away with Dean. Lora and Sam seemed to be excited about something but the noise from the group was more static than it was words. After a while, Cole herded the group closer to the blanket and pile of belongings and the two new arrivals added what they had brought to the pile.
“Thought you two weren’t coming till later this evening,” he pointed out, grinning at the two of them.
“That had been the plan,” Cole assured him as Lora wrapped him in a tight hug. He squeezed back, happy to see them both even if it had only been a few hours. “But the plans we had fell through and so we’re here to join in on the fishing.”
“Oh, no. What happened?” Sam asked as Cole took a turn giving him a hug.
“We had a few appointments that got cancelled and rescheduled for an assortment of reasons,” Lora offered, her voice soft, caring, and reassuring. “Not much to it, really. Just means now we get to spend time with all of you instead.”
“Does this affect any of your timeline?” he inquired, frowning at that.
“Not enough to be worried about,” Cole supplied with a shrug. “Even if the date gets pushed back, we’re not out any money. May mean a few people won’t be able to attend but we’ll still host those that can only come out that day and entertain them like we always do.”
He gave a cheeky grin. “Well, good news is we entertain ourselves rather well so you’re welcome to join if you want.”
“Awesome, cuz I’m starving.”
The group - now two larger - settled on the not quite large enough blanket. It didn’t really matter. People sat close to each other or sat on each other’s laps. He wasn’t surprised when Cole sat on Dean’s lap, gaining an annoyed squawk out of the smaller. It got a round of laughter out of the group.
Lunch ended after a while and belongings were gathered before the group moved on towards the river.
“Did you guys find a spot in the lot across the river?” he asked as they followed the bank from the lake to the river.
“Surprisingly,” Cole said. “There were,” he looked to Lora, “what, three other campers there? Maybe four?”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t much, especially for this time of year.”
“Is it normally busy this time of year?” Orlean piped in.
“Usually getting anywhere near the lake is impossible this time of year,” Cole confirmed. “The parking lot being almost empty is very strange.”
“Maybe there’s an event going on that people are at instead,” Sam offered.
Cole shrugged. “If there is, I don’t know what it is. Doesn’t matter, though. Means more fish for us.”
The fishing spot was empty when they arrived. It was nothing more than a gravel beach but it was shaded and the group spread out. The lines were cast and in what felt like an instant they were reeling fish in. It was utter chaos and enjoyment for the entire group as everyone managed to pull in something. Beckett and Sam pulled in the largest fish while Orlean somehow managed to get the most catches. They kept what they would eat and released the rest. By the time the sun was setting to the west, the smell of cooking fish had filled the area. The fire Cole and Sam had built was a testament to their combined prowess when it came to anything camping related. Well, everything except for cooking. Lora wasn’t letting either of them anywhere near the fish and the other things she had cooking over the fire. Orlean and Dean were allowed to help only because she was teaching them how she was doing everything.
He frowned, looking around. For a moment he couldn’t find Beckett in the dying light, but they moved and he found them near the river. He wandered over, curious. Beckett didn’t look at him. Their gaze was skyward, camera in hand. “What are you doing over here?” he inquired, curious.
They raised the camera. “Taking pictures of the smoke.” The shutter went off a few times before they brought the camera down, frowning at it. “Only, smoke doesn’t show very well and I’ve been playing with the settings to get it to pick up what I’m seeing.”
He reached out but kept his hand close to himself. “Can I see?”
Their eyes finally landed on him and while he had reached out, he knew they wouldn’t hand the camera over. Instead, they shifted closer, turning the camera so that he could see the display screen. He tucked his hands into his pockets and bent close. At first, he couldn’t quite tell what they were talking about, though the first few photos were amazing shots of the changing sky. But then the pictures suddenly changed and he stared in awe at the images they had captured.
The smoke caught the beams of dying sunlight among the shadows of the trees in an almost surreal way. But the focus didn’t stay on the whole of the smoke. It shifted as if following a specific wisp of smoke but he couldn’t quite make out where it was.
He looked up but just as he couldn’t make it out on the camera display, he couldn’t make it out in the sky above.
Gravel grinding against itself brought his attention back to Beckett as they stood. Their camera was tucked protectively against their stomach in the motion but their other hand reached out to him holding a familiar object. “Here,” they offered, gesturing with the old digital camera. “The battery won’t last long but it’ll give you something to do if you want. That way you don’t have to fill the silence if you don’t want to.”
A smile pulled at his face as he took it. “Thanks, Beckett.”
The other gave a nod before starting back towards the rocks he had joined them at.
He took his time getting the thing to turn on and took a few random test shots to get used to the old camera. The display screen was hard to see in the bright light even when he blocked the sun with his body. It made it difficult to tell if his shots were straight or not but he found he didn’t care. Shifting his stance, he brought the camera up and pointed it at Beckett.
They had settled on the rock again close to the water, camera inches from the water’s surface. Without really thinking about it, he took a few shots from a distance before getting closer. He wondered if Beckett noticed what he was doing. If they were, they didn’t say anything while moving farther down the lake edge, stopping here and there to take a picture of whatever caught their eye. He found himself enjoying taking pictures of Beckett before a thought came to mind. “Hey, I’m going to go take pictures of the others. I’ll be right back.”
“K,” drifted back to him but it sounded distracted. A glance at Beckett confirmed they were more focused on whatever was in the tree above them that what he had said.
He trekked back to the others, the walk seeming oddly long despite the short amount of distance Beckett had moved. Orlean was asleep under the tree book open in his lap. He smiled and took a few pictures that he thought would be artsy. He took a few of Dean and Sam from the top of the outcrop before moving closer.
Dean had settled for sitting in the shallows as Sam drifted on her back nearby. It wasn’t till he was almost upon them that he picked out their voices on the breeze. He was happy they hadn’t stopped talking. He took a few quick photos before Dean realized he was there. “Hey, Tye! What you got there?”
Sam sat up in the water, looking over as she found the bottom of the lake easily. He took another picture answering, “Beckett’s old digital. Figured we could use some pictures while we were here.”
Sam gave him a look. “Come on, Tye. That’s what cell phones are for.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, taking another shot of her though this time trying to have only her in the frame. He wasn’t sure if he had managed it without cropping out her foot. “But this way I don’t have to worry about my phone dying. Just the camera.”
“Can I try?”
He focused on Dean, lowering the camera. Unease settled in his stomach but it was mild. He offered it to the other. “Only if you’re careful. It’s Beckett’s. Not mine.”
Dean got up out of the water. The unease ebbed when he noted Dean took the camera with his dry hand. And just like that, the camera was in his face giving a faint click. Dean smiled at him over the small device. “There. Now we have pictures of you, too.”
He snorted. “Are they all consecutive photos of my dumb expression?”
Dean beamed at him. “Not anymore they ain’t.”
He laughed at that.
Midday seemed to arrive sooner than any of them had expected. Dean and Sam had hijacked Beckett’s old digital camera taking pictures of everyone and everything. Orlean had gotten awoken by their escapades and had refused to be in any pictures. That had left Dean and Sam the task of getting shots of Orlean without the other knowing and it had entertained them up until the battery died as Artemis drew in the lines.
“Bout time that damn thing died,” Orlean ground out, tromping up to his side as he picked up the second fishing pole. “We moving on, then?”
“Yeah. The fish aren’t biting here so we’ll go try the river.” He passed the now stowed second pole to Orlean as the other picked up the first. “If we don’t get at least one fish on the river, I’ll be surprised. The lake is hit or miss but I’ve yet to walk away from the river empty handed.”
“May it not disappoint.”
He and Orlean walked over to the pile of belongings Dean and Sam were going through. A blanket was stretched out on the dirt nearby and some of the food they had brought with was situated on it. He hadn’t seen Beckett return but they were sitting on part of the blanket in the shade. They had a distant look about them. With a slight frown, he tucked the poles he had carried back in the pile before pulling open the small cooling pack. A lot of the ice packs had melted but the drinks inside were still cold. He pulled out a Gatorade and Beckett’s water.
“Here,” he said gently, offering Beckett the Gatorade and water. “This should help.”
Beckett took the offered drinks with a soft thanks.
Sam wandered over and dropped something on Beckett’s shoulders. The other jumped at the sudden touch but as Sam settled beside them, they settled as well. He recognized it even as Beckett clarified, “This that cooling thing you had been talking about?”
“Yeah.” Sam stretched her legs out, leaning back on her hands. “Mom fussed at me night and day for weeks about making sure I brought it with. She can be such a drag sometimes. It’s not like I need it. I happen to thrive on the heat.”
“Cold blooded, then?”
He tensed at the quip from Beckett but Sam just grinned at them. The look was sharp but he knew it could look a hell of a lot worse if she had truly taken offense to it. “My brothers call me a viper so it’s fitting.” She made a dismissive gesture. “Besides, it’s being of use and my mom can get off my back about it.”
“It is nice and cool.”
Sam’s entire demeanor deflated, her cautious gaze flickering over Beckett’s face. “I have another one. Do you want it for your head?”
Beckett’s hands stilled on the water bottle, their gaze coming up to meet Sam’s. “Oh, no. This one is fine. I don’t-”
“Beckett.” They fell silent and Sam sent them an encouraging smile. “I’m not using it. Do you want one for your head? Yes or no.”
A breath and then a soft, “Yes, please,” escaped.
Sam nodded and got back up.
He sat down at Beckett’s feet, gaining the other’s gaze briefly. “We’ll get you cooled off before moving on, alright? I’m hungry anyways so the chance to eat will be good.”
“I’m glad it’s as cool as it is with the sun so hot. Should be good in a few.”
He grinned at them. “We’ll be here for a while yet so don’t fret about it.”
A while yet was right. By the time Beckett had perked back up, Lora and Cole came wandering over with a few things between them. Beckett and Dean scrambled to their feet, rushing to give the duo hugs. Sam was right behind them. He took his time getting up while Orlean stayed seated on the blanket; the other continued eating but his eyes were on the group.
“You know they don’t bite, right?” Artemis inquired, watching him.
Orlean shrugged. “Yeah I know. Just gonna stay back here till the chaos chills.”
He nodded, turning his attention on the chattering group. Cole had a solid arm around Beckett’s shoulders happily jabbering away with Dean. Lora and Sam seemed to be excited about something but the noise from the group was more static than it was words. After a while, Cole herded the group closer to the blanket and pile of belongings and the two new arrivals added what they had brought to the pile.
“Thought you two weren’t coming till later this evening,” he pointed out, grinning at the two of them.
“That had been the plan,” Cole assured him as Lora wrapped him in a tight hug. He squeezed back, happy to see them both even if it had only been a few hours. “But the plans we had fell through and so we’re here to join in on the fishing.”
“Oh, no. What happened?” Sam asked as Cole took a turn giving him a hug.
“We had a few appointments that got cancelled and rescheduled for an assortment of reasons,” Lora offered, her voice soft, caring, and reassuring. “Not much to it, really. Just means now we get to spend time with all of you instead.”
“Does this affect any of your timeline?” he inquired, frowning at that.
“Not enough to be worried about,” Cole supplied with a shrug. “Even if the date gets pushed back, we’re not out any money. May mean a few people won’t be able to attend but we’ll still host those that can only come out that day and entertain them like we always do.”
He gave a cheeky grin. “Well, good news is we entertain ourselves rather well so you’re welcome to join if you want.”
“Awesome, cuz I’m starving.”
The group - now two larger - settled on the not quite large enough blanket. It didn’t really matter. People sat close to each other or sat on each other’s laps. He wasn’t surprised when Cole sat on Dean’s lap, gaining an annoyed squawk out of the smaller. It got a round of laughter out of the group.
Lunch ended after a while and belongings were gathered before the group moved on towards the river.
“Did you guys find a spot in the lot across the river?” he asked as they followed the bank from the lake to the river.
“Surprisingly,” Cole said. “There were,” he looked to Lora, “what, three other campers there? Maybe four?”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t much, especially for this time of year.”
“Is it normally busy this time of year?” Orlean piped in.
“Usually getting anywhere near the lake is impossible this time of year,” Cole confirmed. “The parking lot being almost empty is very strange.”
“Maybe there’s an event going on that people are at instead,” Sam offered.
Cole shrugged. “If there is, I don’t know what it is. Doesn’t matter, though. Means more fish for us.”
The fishing spot was empty when they arrived. It was nothing more than a gravel beach but it was shaded and the group spread out. The lines were cast and in what felt like an instant they were reeling fish in. It was utter chaos and enjoyment for the entire group as everyone managed to pull in something. Beckett and Sam pulled in the largest fish while Orlean somehow managed to get the most catches. They kept what they would eat and released the rest. By the time the sun was setting to the west, the smell of cooking fish had filled the area. The fire Cole and Sam had built was a testament to their combined prowess when it came to anything camping related. Well, everything except for cooking. Lora wasn’t letting either of them anywhere near the fish and the other things she had cooking over the fire. Orlean and Dean were allowed to help only because she was teaching them how she was doing everything.
He frowned, looking around. For a moment he couldn’t find Beckett in the dying light, but they moved and he found them near the river. He wandered over, curious. Beckett didn’t look at him. Their gaze was skyward, camera in hand. “What are you doing over here?” he inquired, curious.
They raised the camera. “Taking pictures of the smoke.” The shutter went off a few times before they brought the camera down, frowning at it. “Only, smoke doesn’t show very well and I’ve been playing with the settings to get it to pick up what I’m seeing.”
He reached out but kept his hand close to himself. “Can I see?”
Their eyes finally landed on him and while he had reached out, he knew they wouldn’t hand the camera over. Instead, they shifted closer, turning the camera so that he could see the display screen. He tucked his hands into his pockets and bent close. At first, he couldn’t quite tell what they were talking about, though the first few photos were amazing shots of the changing sky. But then the pictures suddenly changed and he stared in awe at the images they had captured.
The smoke caught the beams of dying sunlight among the shadows of the trees in an almost surreal way. But the focus didn’t stay on the whole of the smoke. It shifted as if following a specific wisp of smoke but he couldn’t quite make out where it was.
He looked up but just as he couldn’t make it out on the camera display, he couldn’t make it out in the sky above.