Eclipse woke up to bright sunlight shining through the now open back doors. She sat up and noticed that she'd been laying her head on Ash's shoulder. She muttered her apologizes sheepishly but Ash only smiled. Then she turned her focus on the person who opened the doors. Blaze stood there holding back a grin, "Guys, c'mon, at least wait until after training to get together."

Ash frowned after finally seeing Blaze, "I would never be with a princess, much less with Eclipse."

That did not sit well with Eclipse, she and Ash grew up together, they would never be together. He was like her brother. She glared at Blaze, "And I would never be with a commoner."

With that, she got outside of the van. She knew that Ash wouldn't take anything she said to heart. They often spoke like this to each other on a regular basis. She looked around at the scenery. Fantastic, they were in the middle of some woods. Eclipse made a mental note not to let Ash lead any hiking activities.

She noticed Tyson standing in the middle of a few cabins with the group from the first van. Debating whether to wait for her group or not, Eclipse decided to go ahead and go. Cole and Ash finally made their way to the rest of the group.

Tyson began giving directions while pointing, "The girl cabin is over there and the boy cabin is directly across with the staff cabin in the middle of the two. Once I'm finished going over the rules you can go unpack. There's only a few rules, the main one being about letting one of the staff know where you're going. Then also if there's someone from out of the clan that shows up, let me know immediately and then return to the cabins until further notice. And then there's always the general clan rules that you still have to follow."

After Tyson was done going over the rules, Eclipse and the other girls started walking to their cabin. The cabin seemed large considering there were only three girls, yet there were six beds set up. Sitting at the right of the door were the girls' bags. Eclipse found hers and claimed the bed in the back left corner farthest from the door.

She watched as Star claimed the closest bed to the door also on the left side of the cabin. The other girl, who she knew was Hydra, chose the bed in the middle of the right side of the cabin. Eclipse started to unpack, she put her hairbrush on top of the small dresser beside the bed and started taking her clothes out of the bag. She tried to put them in the drawers neatly. The cabin was quiet until the door burst open.

Eclipse jerked her head to see who so rudely barged into the girls' cabin without even knocking. Two people walked in and then froze after seeing the others. The red headed girl turned to the other kid who had short, blonde hair. Eclipse could tell that they were both confused.

The red headed girl started speaking with an annoyed tone, "I wasn't expecting to be sharing with a bunch of strangers."

Eclipse took a deep breath to calm her own nerves before speaking but her sister interrupted her, "I'm sorry, I didn't think we would have anyone else here. I'm Star by the way," She held her hand out just to be nice.

The girl ignored the extended hand and sighed, "A bit formal for camp. I'm Amber and this is Ray."

Star put her hand down again and looked at her sister and slightly shook her head. She looked back to Amber, "That's my sister Eclipse and that is Hydra, we're from the Ember clan. We weren't told there would be others joining us, I hope it's not too much of an issue."

Amber rolled her eyes, "Neither were we, it'll be fine as long as you're not too annoying."

The girl carried her bag and claimed the bed across from Eclipse. The other kid spoke barely above a whisper while getting the bed across from Star, "I'm sorry about her, she's in a mood since her partner is in a different group and couldn't come with us to training. She'll get over herself eventually. We're from the Avala clan, I believe you're one of the neighboring clans, correct?"

Star had to think for a moment, "I think so? Well, I hope we'll all have a good time. From what I've heard, the past groups have loved this trip."

Amber groaned from her bed, "Can you be any louder?"

Eclipse muttered under her breath, Amber looked over at her but didn't comment. The door opened again and there was a girl with the same midnight black hair as Eclipse. Eclipse could feel an immediate tension between herself and the new girl. She guessed the girl could feel it too because when they made eye contact, the girl quickly looked away and shifted on her feet. Star looked to her sister and then to the newest girl, "Welcome, I'm guessing you just got here," She started pointing to people and telling the new girl their names.

The girl nodded her head slightly with a small bow, "Her Royal Highness, Princess of Ember. I'm Astrid from the Duna clan."

Star and Eclipse let out a small laugh together before Star started talking again while waving her hand as if swatting away a fly, "No need for formalities. Just call me Star."

Astrid blushed and looked away before muttering sorry and grabbing her possessions. She took the last open bed between Star and Eclipse. There was a knock at the door and Amber grumbled, "We better not be getting another cabin mate."

A slightly older woman opened the door, "Hey girls, we're going to have a little meeting. C'mon, leave your things here."

Eclipse didn't really want to go but she got up anyway and was the first out of the cabin. She followed the woman to a newly made campfire pit in the middle of the cabins. She saw that the boys were already there and waiting. Aside from the two from her own clan, Eclipse didn't recognize the other five kids. She took a seat on the ground beside Ash, "You know what we're doing?"

Ash shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine. Hey, did anyone let you know that there would be other clans on this trip with us?"

Eclipse shook her head slightly when the woman from earlier started to speak again, "Hi everyone, I'm Roxy from the Avala clan. You might know some people here, or you might not. I want to go around and allow everyone to introduce themselves and a fact about yourself if you want. I also have two assistants helping me out, Galvin and Avis, I believe they're helping get dinner ready."

There were some grumbles around the fire pit but Roxy held her hand up. Tyson, who was standing to the right of Roxy, started to say, "I'm Tyson and I'm from the Ember clan. My assistants this year are Blaze and Nexus," He points to two people sitting on the porch of the staff cabin. They waved and then went back to talking with the other assistants.

The next person started talking, he didn't look that old, "Hi everyone, I'm Nite from the Duna clan. My assistant, Monsoo, is helping with dinner at the moment. This is my first time leading a training so please bear with me."

Cole spoke in a shaky voice while looking at the ground, "I'm Cole, umm, there's really nothing interesting about me."

The next kid slowly shook his head and refused to talk and Nite only laughed a bit, "This is Pebble, he's really cool, I should know since he's also from the Duna clan."

Eclipse looked at Nite and saw him wink to Pebble and give a thumbs up, Astrid began talking monotonously, "I'm Astrid. I'm also from the Duna clan. Pebble really is cool, he's just a bit shy at first."

Ray was the next to introduce themselves, "I'm Ray from the Avala clan. I would appreciate it if you could use they or them as my pronouns."

"I'm Amber and I don't like getting to know each other activities," She said as she folded her arms.

"Flame, I'm from the Duna clan," The next kid shrugged.

The next kid had a huge smile as he spoke, "Hello there, I'm Gust from the Avala clan. And I'm super excited to be here with all of you!"

Eclipse couldn't help rolling her eyes to that response, no one normal is that happy. The next boy introduced himself with only his name, Cain. The boy after Cain looked over towards Eclipse with a smile as he spoke, "Hi, I'm Cliff. Something about me is that I'm the prince of the Avala clan."

Eclipse looked away from Cliff before talking, "I don't want to do this just so you know. I'm Eclipse from the Ember clan and that's all you really need to know about me."

She couldn't help but notice Cliff still watching her as both Ash and Star introduced themselves. Eclipse looked over to Hydra as she spoke, "I'm Hydra from the Ember clan. I'm hoping I can be a guard so I could hang out with my best friend all day," She smiled at Star who smiled back.

Roxy took a look around at the group and clapped her hands once, "looks like everyone spoke, how about we go down to the lake for a bit before we get dinner? If you want to change into a bathing suit, you can go ahead and get changed. Once you're done, meet back here."

Eclipse hung back with Ash while everyone else made their way to the cabins. He had a grin as he started talking, "Did you see the way that one kid was looking at you? I think he has a crush on you."

She waved her hand and made a dramatic disgusted face, "Ew, as if. He thinks just because he's a prince it means that he can get whatever he wants."

Ash stopped smiling and got serious, "I honestly don't think you should hang around him. He gives me bad vibes."

Eclipse nodded in agreement, "Hey, we better get going unless we want to swim in our clothes."

Before Ash could respond, she was already halfway to her cabin. She looked through the drawers trying to find a bathing suit and groaned when she couldn't find one. Star looked over to her before giving a quick grin and taking a bathing suit out of her bag and tossing it to Eclipse, "You're lucky I packed for two."

"You're a lifesaver, Star. I would've had to swim in some pajamas," She laughed as she started changing. Somehow she managed to pack sandals. While the rest of the girls headed outside of the cabin, Eclipse grabbed a notebook that she hid under her clothes. She turned to a blank page and started writing.

I wasn't expecting for other clans to join our training trip. I guess the older groups were told not to tell us. I seem to have a stalker. He's the prince of the Avala clan and he thinks just because he's royalty, he can get anything he wants. He sends off some creepy vibes to be quite honest. I think I'll try not to be alone with him.

Eclipse put the notebook back under her clothes and ran outside the cabin to meet up with the rest of the group. Amber scoffed, "About time you showed up."

With a shake of her head, Eclipse trailed behind the rest of the group with Ash. They talked about what they would probably be doing on the trip. The one thing Eclipse hopes that she'll learn is to create time bubbles just like her mom. Ash said he's just glad to get out of school.

The lake wasn't that big and it looked a bit murky. Amber sighed once she saw the lake, "I am not swimming in a filthy lake."

Eclipse rolled her eyes and looked at Ash. Without exchanging words, they both knew they'd challenged each other who could make the biggest splash. She lightly pushed him and began running towards the lake as fast as she could and jumped in the water and swam out a bit. Although Eclipse is quicker than Ash, he was still able to make a bigger splash. He swam towards Eclipse and started splashing her with water. She returned the onslaught with her own attack. With the two of them distracted, Hydra was able to swim behind them and splashed them both with water. Since they weren't expecting someone else to join them, they joined forces and went against Hydra until she called a truce. All three of them were laughing until there was a voice behind them, sadly Eclipse knew who it was, Cliff, "I bet I can beat Ash in a race."

"Oh yeah? Prove it. From here to the other side," Ash pointed to the far side of the lake, "Ready? Go!"

Eclipse watched as the two started swimming and Hydra laughed a bit, "Boys, huh? I bet that I can beat both of them even if they have a head start."

With that, Hydra shifted into her dragon form. Eclipse watched as her light blue and white body slipped under the water and her dolphin-like tail slipped underneath with ease. Eclipse shook her head as she knew the boys stood no chance. She began to swim backward towards the shore as she watched the race. She waited until one of them won the race before getting out of the lake.

The only people not in the lake were the leaders, Pebble, and Amber. She walked over to Amber and asked, "Is Cliff always like this?"

"Sadly he is. He feels the need to show off any chance he gets," Amber sighed in response.

Great, he was one of those people. Eclipse looked back to the lake where Ash was already getting out while Cliff was still a way behind. She looked at him with curiosity, "So, who won?"
Ash tried to keep his grin from showing, "I mean, Hydra beat both of us. But between me and Cliff? I won by a long shot."

Eclipse nodded and smiled. The two of them high fived before sitting on the ground. Eclipse laid down and looked up at the clouds and tried without success not to squint. Roxy appeared above her seemingly out of nowhere and startled Eclipse a bit. The woman laughed a bit, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Eclipse shook her head and stood up, "It's fine," she paused while waiting for a reply, when there wasn't one she sighed a bit, "Do you need something?"

She felt Ash nudge her and could feel him giving her a disapproving look. Eclipse's words didn't seem to upset Roxy as she spoke in a calm voice, "If you're done swimming, could you help with dinner?"

Eclipse grumbled but nodded her head before pulling Ash to his feet, "You done swimming?" Without waiting for a response she added, "Yeah? Good, you can help too."

As they walked past Amber, Eclipse could see her smiling from the corner of her eye. She looked over at the red-headed girl before giving a smile and a quick wave before continuing to pull Ash along. They made their way to the cabins and looked around for the kitchen and cafeteria. Eclipse groaned when she couldn't see an obvious building. That got the attention of one of the assistants hanging outside the staff cabin. The woman, who they noticed was Nexus, called out, "Do you need help or are you two just sneaking around?"

Ash waved and responded, "Hey, Nexus. Do you know where the kitchen is? Eclipse was asked to help."

Nexus chuckled a bit as she made her way over to them, "I'm guessing that you didn't volunteer to help. Anyways, take the path over there and you'll find the way to the mess hall," She pointed to a trail that was hidden by overgrown brush in the middle of the staff and boy cabins.

Ash thanked Nexus before Eclipse continued to drag him to their destination. They slowed down a bit once they got on the trail. It was less of a walking path and more of a deer trail. Not to mention it had a ton of thorns that kept stabbing them in their feet.

The trail opened into a small clearing with another cabin that was larger than the other three. Eclipse walked up to the door and walked in, she left Ash just inside the doorway. One of the assistants came through a door from the far back wall and waved, "Hi, can I help you two?"

Eclipse nodded her head at the girl who looked only slightly older than herself, "I was told to help here,"

The girl made her way over to the two and talked in an enthusiastic voice, "It's always nice to get more help around here. I'm Monsoo by the way, nice to meet you."

Eclipse nodded, "Likewise, I'm Eclipse and that is Ash. So, what do you need help with?"

"If you don't mind, could you set the table? All you have to do is place the silverware."

After nodding again she left Ash and Monsoo and walked to the plain looking tables and found a tub that held the silverware. She could hear the two talking by the door still as she began placing the silverware in spots. She took a glance as the other two made their way to what she assumed was the kitchen.

It didn't take too long to set the twenty-two spots. She sat down and waited for Ash, but instead, Blaze walked in. He looked confused as he looked at her. Eclipse shrugged and Blaze continued on his way to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Ash exited the other room and walked over to Eclipse, "Remind me never to sign up to do kitchen duty."

Eclipse grinned, "It wasn't that bad."

He shook his head, "They had me washing dishes. So many dishes," Great, now it was like he had PTSD from dirty dishes. He looked at the table and then back to Eclipse, "They gave you such an easy job."

She nodded in agreement and then noticed the front door open again. This time the whole group was there, Tyson told everyone to take a seat. Ash took a seat next to Eclipse. Star was about to take a seat on the other side of her sister but Cliff sat down first. He smiled at Eclipse who turned away from him. She looked to find another empty seat, but they were already taken. She looked to Ash who nodded ever so slightly.

Eclipse didn't want to seem rude, especially when it comes to a prince of an allying clan. She would just have to suck it up and deal with it. Besides, it was only dinner. What's the worst that could happen? Sure, he could stare and try starting a conversation with her, but that's about it. She could live with that.

The assistants started carrying plates of food out and setting them on the tables. The kids were instructed not to eat until everyone has their food and they have a group discussion. Once all the food was set out, the assistants joined the staff table.

Tyson stood up and spoke, "For the next few days we'll be discussing different jobs in the kingdoms. We'll also try to discover your abilities and how to use and control them. But in the meanwhile, let's eat."

Eclipse looked at the plate in front of her. It was a simple looking burger and fries. After taking a bite out of the burger, Eclipse fell in love with it. She looked over to Ash and asked, "You were in the kitchen, what did they put in the burgers?"

He shrugged but Cliff spoke up, "That would be Galvin's secret recipe. Wait till you try the food in my kingdom."

She looked over to Cliff with a confused look, "What do you mean?"

He paused and thought for a moment, "You know... Just when you visit the Avala Kingdom in the future."

She nodded slightly and looked back to Ash who also had a confused look. The rest of dinner went fine without anymore strange comments from Cliff. Although, he does tend to have a staring problem. There were ice cream sandwiches for dessert as Tyson explained that the reason the path wasn't maintained, is that they use the mess hall as a safe spot if something were to happen. Eclipse thought that made very little sense but oh well.

By the time everyone was done with dinner, it was getting dark outside. Eclipse and Ash hung back as the rest of the group led the way down the path. Once back at the cabins, the assistants instructed the kids to meet back at the fire pit for another discussion.

Roxy started talking, although she did sound a bit tired, "There's no curfew during training, so if you really wanted to, you could stay out all night. Please stay on the campgrounds, the property is marked by pink tags. Nite usually stays up all night, so if you want to leave this general area just let him know. Okay, now imma head off to bed, please be considerate of others and try to keep the noise down."

Eclipse looked to the sky and could see the last bit of daylight leaving. With a glance to Ash and then Star, she grinned, "You wanna do hide and seek?"

The two of them looked back at Eclipse with determination in their eyes and responded at the same time, "You're on.