well...this is awkward
Who: Marian, Caleb, and Alyssa Where: The campgrounds When: morning
The first thing that Marian noticed when she woke up was that she was delightfully and comfortably warm. The kind of warm that came with being curled up close to someone else and as she shifted she realized that yes, she was. It should have alarmed her, but she thought nothing of it as she snuggled closer, arm around the stomach of whoever was in bed with her. Her first thought was Ellis, but that passed as she woke up more. No, not him. That wasn’t right. She’d remember more of that. Sleep was slipping away and the euphoria was going with it as Marian’s eyes were blinking more, taking in the bare shoulder she had her head rested against and more than that the long hair of the woman curled on his other side. She blinked a few more times, pushing up more as the blanket draped across her fell down and she realized she wasn’t wearing nearly enough clothes to be in bed with strangers. Because that’s what they were, strangers. “Oh my god.” It came out louder than it should have, her surroundings beyond needing to pull up the blanket to cover herself and the two people with her, the only thing she could really register.
Alyssa woke with a start with the exclamation of a female voice. She registered the body she was pressed against only briefly before the distinct sensation of fear shot like a spark up her spine. Her mind darted to the idea that she had been caught in bed with Natalie by her mother. All of which happened before her eyes shot open, an explanation on her lips which died when what she saw didn't even remotely register. She blinked and gasped and started to panic, pulling back at the blankets to cover herself and trying to back away from the man who was in between the two of them. "Who… what… what is this? Who are you? Who is he?" she sputtered, her voice quiet and blue eyes wide though half her face was covered by long, white blonde hair.
Caleb was always a light sleeper. So when people he definitely had not gone to sleep with last night started to stir, he was awake right on time for both girls to react. For his part he quickly moved, winding up in a crouch away from them both. He raised one hand to show he was not armed. A look at them said he knew neither, and everyone was confused. Great. "I think we're all a little confused right now." He recalled the blonde asking about names. "I'm Caleb, and you are?" He asked, directing the question at them both. He also attempted to remain calm in the face of circumstances that screamed 'and then he was arrested for everything ever, see the poor terrified girls on the 11 o'clock news'.
"Caleb?" Marian blurted not expecting that name. She shifted closer to the blonde, not because she was afraid Caleb was armed or something to be afraid of, but more to share the meager amount blankets to keep from flashing anyone or worse. "I'm Marian." Because exchanging names seemed logical enough.
Alyssa wasn't afraid of Caleb or of Marian either. No, she was more afraid of what possibly had happened last night and the reason they would none of them appear to know what was going on. Had someone given them all something? Had she … had sex with either or both of them? She was a little late in joining the name game, biting her thumb nail and unconsciously moving closer to Marian for the same reason Marian had drifted toward her. "I'm Alyssa," she said, her tone not conveying her inner turmoil though her one visible eye was still wide.
He saw them getting closer together. “Nice to meet you both,” he said, trailing off. “I'm...just going to be outside,” he added, ducking out of the tent. He was absolutely positive he hadn't slept with either of them. Sort of. Probably. He had no memory beyond going to sleep in the hotel. So, this was probably one of the most awkward situations he'd found himself in in a long time. Shit.
Marian looked at Alyssa with a small smile, though when Caleb left she moved again, trying to stand up, but knowing she needed to find something to wear. That had her looking around them, seeing that everything seemed weird. She found two dresses after a moment, definitely not what she would have been wearing. She handed one to Alyssa, making a face. “This is so weird. Help me into this?” she asked, pulling at the one in dark green to get it over her head.
Alyssa looked at Marian appreciatively when she handed the dress to her but she didn't get a chance to put it on before Marian was asking her to help her into her own dress. Alyssa glanced toward the door of the tent to be sure Caleb was indeed gone before she let go of the blanket and put the dress on the bed. She was completely naked as she watched Marian pull the dress over her head. Her eyes strayed along the other girl's body and she felt that confused internal twinge that she tried to shove aside as she pulled at the dress to move it downward. She swallowed whenever her fingers met with skin and then stepped back to quickly get her own dress on but the material was stiff and scratchy. "I need help too," she admitted.
Caleb took stock of his surroundings. Nothing seemed overly helpful. Just woods and pants that fit loosely and he wanted to call 'breeches'. He rubbed his hand over his shaved hair, and shut his eyes for a long moment. Okay. He was in a strange place with two young women he didn't know. To him that meant he had two people to look after. Which would be easier with better pants. And a shirt. And a weapon.
Marian didn’t think much of it as Alyssa helped her put her dress on, nor did she think much of the way her hands touched Alyssa’s skin here and there when she helped her pull her dress on and tied up the back of it. “We should let him back in.” She looked back at the tent entrance, biting her lip before getting up and heading out to find their other bedmate. “Are you Ellis’ Caleb?” she asked, looking at him, but trying to keep her eyes where they belonged even if she was sure all of him in those tiny pants was quite the sight.
Alyssa did her best not to shiver whenever Marian touched her skin accidentally. She'd gone untouched for so long that it was hard to figure out what her reaction meant so she stopped trying. Instead she tried not to think of how much the dress itched once she had it on. It kept briefly making contact with her skin in random places until she fidgeted and almost screamed with frustration. Something she would never do, of course. She nodded at Marian. "We should, poor man." She turned away from the entrance, not willing to be facing it or the man that would come in because she still wasn't sure what had happened.
Caleb looked over when the dark haired girl came out. "I have a brother Ellis," he confirmed. "I take it you've met." He took a better look now that it looked like she was properly dressed. He didn't know that she looked like his brother's type but who knew.
“Mmm,” Marian said, looking at Caleb’s face and seeing the resemblance between the two men. “In a weird hotel neither one of us meant to be in, kind of like here.” Which had her wondering if this was a similar thing.
Alyssa wondered at the fact they hadn’t re-entered the tent. Surely Caleb was outside in all but his altogether. She hesitantly moved closer to the flap of the tent and listened. They were having a conversation? That seemed strange and inappropriate. She quickly looked for man-shaped clothing and gathered it up in her arms. Then she moved back to the tent flap and handed them out. “Um, ahem,” she said almost shyly.
"I was there too," he said. He looked over when he heard the other girl, even if it was quiet. Seeing clothes, he took them from her. "Thank you," he responded, then for lack of a better place, he ducked back into the tent. "I'll just be a second."
Marian definitely cheated, peeking a look at his backside when he ducked into the tent, because really, that wasn’t a bad sight. Then she turned to Alyssa. “What about you, weird retro hotel?”
"You're welcome,” she said and then her mouth opened to protest him coming back in to change. Mostly only because she’d woken up in the same bed with him and she hadn’t been wearing enough clothing and it had been strange. She wasn’t sure she trusted him. So she moved quickly away, facing toward the tent wall so that she couldn't see him. She glanced at Marian as she asked about the weird hotel. "Yes, I woke up there yesterday. Are we going to be waking up somewhere new every day, do you think?"
“I hope not,” Caleb muttered as he pulled his clothes on. As he was looking over things, however, he was noticing there was a theme. Something that looked like a knight type of thing. Picking up a shield, he easily held it, realizing immediately that it had been made for him specifically. How, he didn't know, but 'how' seemed less and less relevant these days.
Marian shook her head as well. “I hope not too. Though I was at the hotel for two days before winding up here.” Her attention was drawn to the shield in Caleb’s hands, but more the logo on it than the ease he had with holding it. She frowned, then looked down at her dress, similar colors to one that Alyssa wore and similar to the clothes that Caleb wore. More so, the emblem on the shield was on all of them. “They...match…”
Alyssa didn’t even turn to look at Caleb when he spoke. She tried not to over-focus on Marian either but it was difficult because it felt safer to focus on her. Especially when they were talking about things matching. She swallowed hard and glanced toward Caleb to confirm and was met with the truth of it. “They do,” she said after a moment. “What does that mean?”
“That we're supposed to be a package deal,” he said. He didn't know the actual specifics, but that much he got. “Look, do you two want me to scout around, see what the fuck is going on, then come get you?” he asked, wondering if that might be best.
“And just wait here for you to come back? No. I’d actually rather just go with you. I want to know what’s going on too.” Marian’s curiosity was supplying her with bravery she wouldn’t normally have, but this whole thing was just bizarre and she was desperate to know what it all meant.
Alyssa didn’t understand why someone would put them together as a packaged deal but she knew she didn’t want to be by herself to find out. As much as she didn’t want to leave the tent, she was a little worried something might happen to her if she didn’t go with the other two. “I think I’ll go too, if that’s okay,” she said, wrapping her arms around her middle.
Caleb sighed. So, they were all going to go then. “Alright then,” he said. “Let's pack up, get going,” he suggested. It would take a while, it looked like there was a lot to get together. But oh well. What else were they going to do?”