(Open) June 19-Lakeside Daydreams

Matilda had dosed off while painting in the sun. The picture was black with little lights flickering on the edges. A maze seemingly amongst the canvas.

She had dropped the paintbrush and started dreaming about looking for Dristan. Lost among the maze, screaming out for him to look at her to come to her. Why wouldn't he look? Why couldn't he see her? "DADDDYYY!!!"

She hadn't known she was sleeping nor did she realize that she was screaming outloud. Morticia was meowing and kneeding her lap, trying to rouse the sleeping child.

Calista caught movement from another camper and rose to her feet. Walking over towards the waving girl, Calista brushed sand from her shorts and her legs. "What is it?" She asked Jillian, her green eyes darting about.

"What was that noise? Did I hear Daddy?" She asked, noticing Matilda and her kitten, a painting nearby.

The girl seemed distressed and the kitten was looking as if she was bothered by the girl's condition. Turning to Jillian, she handed her a bandanna. "Please go wet this in the lake." Calista put her hand on the girl's face.

"Matilda. Honey, wake up." She gently urged, her other hand on the girls shoulder, slightly shaking her.

Having obediantly rushed off to the lake, Jillian returned with the now wet bandana. Getting back she knelt next to Matilda, careful not to stand on the painting. Speaking softly, her voice a little concerned, she offered the cloth. "Here, I hope this helps. Are you alright?"

She was not too sure what else to say, she had never been too good with strangers unless research of some kind was involved but she managed to keep a smile on her face. She remembered how difficult things had been for her when she was the same age as the girl in front of her and how a friendly smile had been a blessing at times.

Matilda felt the cool cloth on her head and it sent a shiver through her body and she visibly shook from it trying to move away from it. "That is freezing." She whispered as her head started to throb. "I um." She looked at the painting on the ground and reached for it, her head dizzy as she fumbled in the sand to grab it but saw that it was picked up already. "Well, I was painting that." She said as she looked at the painting.

The picture is a dark shadowed maze with a figure standing in the center, small lights twinkled around the outside of the picture itself, but they seemed to have been fading out to the black of the maze. "I dreamed about this." She said softly, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

Her head spun some more and she leaned against Ms. Redthistle and closed her eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning each time she opened them. Even with her eyes closed her body swayed as if spinning on a merry go round.

Calista steadied the girl and even though the cloth wasn't that cold, it definitely showed that Matilda was exhausted. "It is a very good painting. However, you will need to have to explain why you may have dreamt that.' Her green eyes looked to Jillian, showing a bit of unease and disturbance at the creation. "I am Professor Redthistle, my dear. Will you kindly take the painting and find Aunt Agatha and explain what happened? I am going to get Matilda to the infirmary".

Concern crossed her face. Heat exhaustion or stroke was never a good thing, but she knew there was something else going on. Small children didn't just paint images like that. She scooped up Matilda, waitied for the kitten to start following and realized the girl was drenched in sweat and trembling. She felt there was more to it, but she would hear sooner or later she was sure of it.

Jillian nodded and then watched the two head off. Then she looked down at the painting with an uneasy expression, it unnerved her for several reasons. Getting to her feet she looked about, having only arrived at the camp a week before she was not entirely sure who Aunt Agatha was, but she felt it should not be too difficult to find her. Professor Redthistle's name sounded familiar too, but she didn't have time to place it.

Standing up and holding the painting against her so her body kept the image from view of anyone, including herself, she made her way towards the camp proper.

Matilda laid on the bed as Calista laid her down. She took the water and took a small sip. Her stomach turning a bit more at the cold liquid hitting her now empty stomach. She closed her eyes and laid there, her body still shivering a bit everyone once and awhile. She was cold, but she was hot. She didn't know what was wrong.

"Maybe I ate something that didn't agree with me?" She asked as she opened her eyes and looked at Calista.

Calista backed away a bit as Agatha and Jillian appeared, letting the old witch have some space. Calistas eyes wandered about, wondering if that troubling painting had arrived with the two.

"She fell asleep in the sun. She has thrown up. " she said looking down at her shoes that were now soaked in vomit. Thankfully she had a good spell for that.
"She is getting worse."

Matilda had her eyes closed when the two adults started to speak. She took the sweet from Aunt Agatha and sucked on the hard candy. She watched with slightly opened eyes. "Uh, I just fell asleep I guess?" She spoke with a rough low voice. "Then like Ms. Redthistle said, I had a nightmare." She said softly as she curled up on her side. She didn't want to close her eyes again.

She would only see that painting with closed eyes, so she just stared, watching Aunt Agatha and Ms. Redthistle and the house elf as it placed the cooling rag against her forehead. She shivered a bit more at the cool touch but didn't move away this time as she sighed.

Morticia took it upon herself at this point to jump up on the small bed and curl up around Matilda's stomach, purring and trying to help the girl, the only way she knew how.

Calista nodded and did as she was told, heading to the cabins to get herself cleaned up. Once she had done as was needed, Calista returned, freshened up and sat just inside the entrance of the infirmary while Agatha saw to Matilda.

Her worry began to rise, hoping that there weren't any lasting effects. She also wondered what in the hell drove a child so young to paint what and how she did. Talent, yes, but something darker was in play.

"You must be very close to your foster father, and he to you, for you to dream of such things." She says, lightly stroking Matilda's hair, then reaching to pet Morticia too. "It shows you have a big heart, and a sensitive soul. These are good things to have, but they can hurt, too. When you feel like this, you need to take extra special care of yourself, so you don't let their pain make you sick. Do you understand?" Agatha smiled at her, still petting Morticia, pulling out a squirming yarn piece for the kitten to play with.

"I think we can give Matilda a little time to rest and recoup. Off with you both back to the sunshine. I will sit with her until she is feeling well enough to return."

Agatha waved off Jillian, indicating for her to leave the painting behind.

"Thank you, Ms Redthistle."

The old witch stays sitting with Matilda until she is feeling better.

Jillian gace Matilda a tentative smile before heading away, leaving the painting as instructed.

Matilda looked at the painting and then back to Aunt Agatha, listening to everything she had said to her. "You are right about Dad, he wouldn't want to know I was so wrapped up in worry that I made myself sick. I didn't even know that was possible. I don't want him to worry about me." She said in response.

She smiled a soft smile in response to the woman as she ran her hand over her hair and then went back to petting Morticia who was purring very loudly. "I think she likes you." She smiled at Morticia as well who meowed in response. "That would be a yes from her." She giggled softly.

"I don't know even if I burned it, I still dream about it every night." She said with a bit of worry again. "I have never burned art before. It would seem like a bad thing to do. If you look at other paintings around the world from famous painters, they have paintings like these as well, based on their thoughts or what they were going through at the time." She bite the inside of her cheek.

"I don't know. I think I want to keep it for now. Maybe put it away though. It seemed to worry the other girl. I don't want to cause anyone else problems but I don't want to burn it just yet either." She said still unsure if burning it would even be something she would do.