<div align="center"><em>Vanessa creates a complicated reaction: small talk</em></div><hr/><br/>The younger half-blood wiped her eye with her fingers, realizing she'd forgotten to wash her face before she left her cabin.  Her hands felt grubby with the distinct texture of<em>work</em>: smooth, clinging oil traced with grit in the lines of her hands.  It felt good to wake up with it already on her skin, knowing the semi-transparent layers would only build as the day went on.  Although she had spent most of the night awake and building, Vanessa's mind still buzzed and whirled with designs.  Meeting her father had sent her on a frenzy of creation, and knowing she was leaving to visit him did nothing to slow her.  Pausing to converse seemed nearly a difficult feat.<br/><br/>"Hey, Vanessa... uh... thanks for letting me come along. I told Vincent to talk to you about it after he invited me. I know we've never really talked or anything, but I do love the pictures you take.  I've never been any good with cameras... except stealing them."<br/><br/>Biting her bottom lip, Vanessa tried to focus on what the vibrantly colored girl was saying.  Momentarily, she grew bemused.  Had she let Abigale along?  Had Vincent talked to her about it?  Were any of her cameras missing?  In reply, she smiled rather blankly, trying to weave together some kind of polite response.<br/><br/>"Have you ever met your dad before?" Abigale finally said, saving Vanessa from the tumble of thoughts in her own mind.  A part of her realized that she had taken too long to say something, making it seem like she was stupid.  Vanessa wasn't too worried about her reputation at camp though, knowing everyone in orange had to be a little weird in some why.  She resolved simply to shake her head and finish their journey to the Big House.<br/><br/>As Mr. D casually predicted their dooms, Vanessa dared not correct his names for them.  She knew those kinds of things didn't matter to gods; they could rename you anything they wanted if they really wanted.<br/><br/>"...just a ray of sunshine..."<br/><br/>Vanessa took toward the chairs, her foot catching on its legs.  The knocked chair scuffed loudly on the floor before Vanessa sat in it.  Vanessa hardly thought of Mr. D as a god, having seen none of the great divinity he hid.  Still, he respected him to his face as much as any adult who had a controlling hand on her life, accepting that not all leader-type jobs were done where everyone could see.  Some things took a long time to make and not all work could be done with people watching.  No doubt Mr. D's job was like that, Vanessa assumed as she settled in to wait for her half-brother.  Despite their nervous energy, she again flashed a quiet smile at Abigale, unsure if Vincent's... whatever-she-was really wanted to go with them.