Act 1: Talent Camp

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Xinqiu hopped out of his dad's car.
"See you in a couple weeks! I'll write!"

His dad shook his head. That boy was unstoppable once he got an idea in his head. He watched Xingqiu take his baggage out of the trunk through the back window. They waved at eachother before Xingqiu closed the trunk and dragged his baggage out to the rest of the group.

His friends Xinyan and Xiangling had convinced him to tag along with talent camp. At first he wasn't sure, but they promised the nature around the camp would be amazing for writing inspiration. By the time they had listed examples of it helping their own creations Xingqiu was completely sold on the idea.
Xinyan was bringing her guitars (yes, several) and Xiangling was bringing her trusty cooking equipment. For Xingqiu it was his trusty pen, notebook, and a pile of books he hadn't read yet.

He waved the pair hello as he approached them. They were at the edge of the group, waiting for him. They were as excited as him.
"Xingqiu! You were almost late!"

He scratched the back of his neck.
"Sorry, i couldn't find my pen. The maid moved it again. I swear i asked her to leave it!"

Xiangling smiled.
"Well we're glad you're here, they're about to start their head count."

There were two men next to the bus. The first, a thin man with a warm smile and even warmer ginger hair, was helping people get their luggage into the bus. The second was at the entrance, answering a parent's questions. He looked more serious, dressed nicely with his dark brown hair in a long thin ponytail. Despite his serious demeanor he must secretly be a little adventurous, as the tips of his hair were dyed orange.

The second man clapped his hands.
"All right! Everybody gather 'round!"

The group formed semicircle around him. There were one, two... seven kids in total. Xingqiu, Xinyan, and Xiangling made up almost half the group. They didn't recognize the other kids but they seemed to know eachother. The first was a girl with long brown hair, dressed in red sporty clothes. Next to her was a blond-haired girl in a flowy white dress, and a girl with pastel green hair wearing a floaty hat, wearing a dark blue shirt dress with a white cropped jacket. The last was a light blond boy wearing a long white coat, wearing dark black boots.

The serious man cleared his throat.
"Greetings, fellow campers. My name is Zhongli and these are my fellow camp leaders Childe and Albedo."

He pointed at the ginger man and then at the boy in the coat. He must've been older than Xingqiu had guessed, maybe in his late teens or early twenties. He didn't look like a camp leader but his eyes indeed looked too mature to be one of the campers. He had a blank expression on his face, nodding when his name was mentioned.

Zhongli carried on:
"Please form a line so i can get your names and sign you in."

The group did so. Six kids, Xingqiu corrected in his mind. He stood last in the line so he could hear the others' names.

The red sporty girl proudly announced herself as Amber. The blond girl spoke with a gentle voice, her name was Barbara. The pastel green girl was too quiet for Xingqiu to hear. Then was Xiangling, Xinyan, and himself. Childe finished putting away the luggage and followed Zhongli and Albedo into the bus.

Amber and Barbara sat in the front, talking about their plans. Xinyan and Xiangling took a double seat in the back, knowing they're be the loudest of the group. The only seat left for Xinqiu was next to the quiet girl. She looked away as he sat down. He didn't mind silence, but the rules of politeness required him to introduce himself and he was not about to break them.

"I'm Xingqiu, what's your name?"

The girl jumped a bit, not prepared for conversation.
"S-Sucrose..."

"Nice to meet you, Sucrose!"

"..."
She nodded and turned away again.

Well, he tried.
About an hour into the bus ride Childe got up and turned to the group.
"All right! Let's introduce ourselves, shall we?"

He took a bow.
"My name is Childe, and i'll be your activity and exercise master! I'll be inspiring you with sports and games!"

Amber put up her hand to ask a question.

"Yes, Amber?"

"Will we do archery!?"

Childe smiled.
"You're in luck, i started learning archery last year! we don't have it as an activity yet but i can make an exception just for you!"

She cheered loudly until Childe tapped the driver's shoulder and continued:
"And this walking encyclopedia is Zhongli! He'll be teaching you about the wonderous world of nature!"

Xiangling interupted this time:
"Will there be edible mushrooms!?"

Zhongli put a hand to his chin before answering calmly.
"Yes, this time of year there should be some. I'll keep an eye out for them."

Barbara raised her hand.
"Will we find birds? i'd like to sing with them."

"You sing?"
Xinyan cut in.

"I do, i'd like to be an idol when i grow up."

"I play guitar!"
She made a strumming gesture with her hand.

Once everyone was quiet again Albedo finally spoke.
"My name is Albedo. I'll be in charge of any creative activities. I paint but i'm knowledgable in all forms of art."
He spoke without a hint of intonation, completely deadpan.

Childe took the lead again.
"So, how about you all? Does anybody want to introduce themselves?"

Amber jumped up, always ready to go. After explaining her love for archery it was Barbara's turn, then Xiangling and her love for cooking, then Xinyan's future rock 'n' roll carreer, and Xingqiu spoke of his intent to find inspiration for his next story. The last girl spoke quiet. Xingqiu was suddenly glad he was sitting next to her.

"I'm S-Sucrose. I'm here b-because of uncle Albedo. He said there would be m-many flowers in the forest for me to s-study."

Albedo added:
"Indeed. Sucrose is an aspiring botanist. Her parents were away for a trip and i was already doing this so i invited her."

That explained how such a shy girl ended up in talent camp. Not that she lacked talent, but she seemed too introverted to willingly join a group of strangers on a vacation.

The rest of the bus ride went well. Childe sang some camping songs with Amber and Xinyan, Xiangling somehow convinced everyone to let her cook for them at least once, and Xinqiu read several chapters of one of the books he had with him.

Zhongli tapped Childe as the bus started slowing.
"We're here."

Childe turned to the group.
"All right everyone, are you ready for talent camp?"

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