Going the Long Way Around

[espresso_doppio]

The camp rules were agreed upon on the first day:

1. Watch rotation: everyone would have a shift keeping watch at night for 3 hours.

2. All food and resources were shared equally. If someone found something valuable, it was up for group discussion whether it was used or kept.

3. For venturing into unknown areas, they needed to stick together at all times. When anyone needed to leave for any reason, they were to inform the others as appropriate.

4. Injury or sickness had to be communicated immediately. If anyone fell behind, the group slowed until everyone was able to continue. (They had been spared incident thus far, thankfully.)

Doppio rubbed his eyes as he re-read the rules during a little downtime at camp. He had borrowed some of Reigen's paper to keep track of them. By the time he got to the specific system of emergency signals (that involved one whistle, bird signals, and the metal from a six-pack Reigen had on him to act as reflective surfaces) he felt his ability to focus dissolving. It wasn't because he was bored or disagreed with them...he actually felt way more at-ease with a clear system of operation.

He was just tired. A lot. His head hurt. A lot. He felt his focus slip away...a lot.

Rule #4 forced him to be honest about when it got to be too much to the point he couldn't hide it. Reigen and Hitomi were patient, but Doppio wasn't content with it. The first few days were the worst, especially because of rule #3--every place was new to him. Hitomi at least knew the parts of Freid that hadn't been cleaved apart, and Reigen seemed like he was wrapping his head around things quickly, but for him it was sensory overload.

So, he had to learn how to ration out his energy.

Focus on what you can do, Reigen would say. He was the meal-prepper. He had to start there. It was actually something that came to him naturally. Doppio found that encouraging--in that way, it became the first thing to properly energize him. It made the times he had to be at camp more often productive, so he took on shelter management and quartermaster duties too. Even if he wasn't the haggler that Reigen was or quick on his feet like Hitomi, he could still make himself useful.

After a week he had finally gotten his daily system down to a science. It felt torturously slow getting there, but he let himself feel good about his progress.

Pitter-patter.

Ah, rain.

It rained often, and there was only one tent to start with, so they had to waterproof more shelter pretty early on. Maintenance checks were a pretty frequent part of Doppio's day.

At times like this, when he had pushed the limits of his focus and completed his tasks, Doppio retreated to his tent and let his mind wander a little. Despite all the hardship, Doppio had to admit that there was a surreal beauty in their surroundings. There were pine trees growing along what probably would have been a mountain--rocky cliffs rising only to be sharply cut off. Rivers flowing from unknown places. Rice paddies that melded with white sands.

Then there was the wildlife...that was his favorite thing to observe. Not just for their own sake, but it was where he learned about the environment the most. Doppio had heard somewhere (where?) that early humans learned what was safe to eat from watching animals. This all went straight into his notebook.

Pitter-patter.

'Ah, the rain is still going,' Doppio noted when he looked up from his writing.

There was a rustle--Hitomi in her tent, stirring from a nap. It was just the two of them at the moment while Reigen was in town.

"Good morning," Doppio said lightly. It was early afternoon. "Are you hungry?"

Comments

[aoihitomi]

"You think that's necessary?" Hitomi wasn't sure how much she could change her look. Of course she could swap into her gym clothes, but would that be enough?

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"Better safe than sorry, you know? Oh, and we should really get some cover stories straight." Reigen gestured at her with his chopsticks. "If anyone asks, you're my little sister. We got separated from our aging parents during our annual Disneyland trip."

It may or may not have been based on some real life experiences.

[aoihitomi]

"Okay..." Hitomi said uncertainly. "What about Doppio-kun?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen chewed in thought and hummed loudly. He and Hitomi could probably pass for relatives, but Doppio wasn't even the same race.

"She's your friend we're hosting while she visits from overseas. You became penpals as children. You're planning on attending the same college. If anyone presses you for more answers, just overwhelm them with info until you induce mental exhaustion and they give up. Easy-peasy."

[aoihitomi]

That was probably easier said than done. Hitomi wasn't especially good at lying. But she would have to do her best.

"Okay. I think I have it."

[espresso_doppio]

“Okay,” Doppio announced as he emerged from the tent and rose to full height. It was hard to keep seated in his new fit—the corset hugged his waist tightly and flared out around his hips. He didn’t have the chest to seal the deal, though…but the frill around the neckline helped to obscure that fact.

“How do I look?” His throat was dry as sand asking.

[aoihitomi]

This was way better than Hitomi expected. Doppio really did make a convincing girl.

"You look really cute!"

[espresso_doppio]

“I do?” Doppio asked a little too quickly.

[aoihitomi]

"Yeah. I really think you can pass for a girl."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile like this.’

Reigen concluded he should have thought of prettying him up a lot sooner.

“You know, with as good as you look you might end up drawing attention anyway.”

[espresso_doppio]

“You’re just flattering me now.” Still, it felt…really nice. “Hitomi, I promise I’ll take good care of your dress.”

[aoihitomi]

"Do you think I should do his hair?" Hitomi asked Reigen. "I think he's pretty convincing without it."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Doppio was messing with the end of his braid—even if he wasn’t asking with his words, he was clearly at least a little hopeful about the prospect.

“What harm? I say go for broke.”

[aoihitomi]

"Well, he's already got a braid, so we probably need to do something different..." Hitomi mused aloud.

[espresso_doppio]

"Should I just...take it down...?" Doppio mumbled to himself, fiddling with his hair to get it to do just that. He paused to admire the gloves that covered most of his arms as he did--they hid the tattoos well. Those would be pretty identifiable, wouldn't they?

"What about this?" He asked, doing his best to pile his hair over one shoulder.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

'Uh...huh...'

If Reigen hadn't already gotten a very good look at Doppio early on he wouldn't have believed it was a boy standing right in front of them. Reigen felt a pang of envy for how effortlessly he took on a princess-y visage.

"Well," Reigen cleared his throat, "Hitomi, just help him brush it a little and I think we've got nothing to worry about."

[aoihitomi]

"Sure," Hitomi said, rummaging through her duffle for her comb and brush. "Um, do you think you can go back into town and get a headband?" It would really finish the look.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"You got it."

Even though his knees creaked when he got back to his feet, Reigen resisting groaning about it like he would have done otherwise. This was the first time the mood at camp was this high.

[espresso_doppio]

"You really don't have to--" It was useless. Reigen was already down the hill, heedless of Doppio's insistence otherwise.

That left just him and Hitomi again.

"So...your friend that gave this to you...is she royalty?"

[aoihitomi]

"Oh... yeah." Come to think it, everyone she knew here but Merle was royalty. "She said my school uniform made me look like a handmaiden." Hitomi's wistful expression quickly transformed into one of mild annoyance.

[espresso_doppio]

“How rude!” Doppio scoffed as he took a seat back under his tent, making a face as he shifted around to find the most comfortable seated position with the corset. “She must have been jealous or something.”

[aoihitomi]

"It probably had to be pretty confusing for her. No one had ever seen clothes like mine before. Though I guess now the people of this World have seen a lot of it."

[espresso_doppio]

“Maybe, but that’s no excuse.” Maybe Doppio was biased, but he couldn’t imagine anyone being mean to Hitomi in a way so uncalled for. “She better have apologized.”

[aoihitomi]

That reaction drew a smile from Hitomi.

"She did," she said finally, weaving her fingers together and cupped them over her bent knees. "I guess you could say we're friends now."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

~~

By the time Reigen had arrived back to camp, the rain had stopped. That was good for him - he'd had enough of tromping through mud and bamboo for one day.

"I'm back." Reigen presented his find to the group - a headband with tassels that sat over the top of the head to drape down to the ears. "Pretty cute, right?"