My Wednesday evening at Fusion had the feel of a real vacation. I wandered around campus, stopped and chatted with folks, drank a little, and had an overall chill time.

The majority of my time spent in any one place that day happened at the Baekry, a collective of friends who welcomed me in. I learned of their existence through two of my first Dark Odyssey friends, RobTheBruce and Kat. They organized and ran the tent enclave tucked just behind the Barn.

Before Fusion began, I contacted them about joining their group for meals. I knew this arrangement would provide me with two essential benefits: one, excellent food, and two, excellent company.

In events past, I have only seen RtB and Kat in passing. Being as social as I am, I often flit about at events, bouncing from one fun experience to the next. As such I would maybe see RtB and Kat for a few minutes at any given event. By arranging to have my meals with them each day, I guaranteed us more time to catch up or just hang out.

My plan was a resounding success. The food was fabulous. The company even better. I met new friends through the Baekry, including that first night. As everyone had settled in, and little play was yet starting, I found myself swinging by the tents. A simple question (“Do you play spades?”), a deck of cards, and an hour later, I’d gotten to know just a few of the people I would be sharing my weekend with.

Wednesday night is always odd at Fusion. There are enough people on campus to be a noticeable amount, yet the event has not nearly reached critical mass. It is a mixture of tension and anticipation.

Towards the end of our spades match, the skies produced magic. Far off in the clouds we could see lightning, but heard no thunder. The show was beautiful, a display of nature’s power, genuine moments of awe. Still, the threat in the air was for rain. Thankfully my friend Squirrel let me borrow an umbrella.

I strolled down the asphalt path towards my cabin, taking in the light show, and chatting with people as I went. I stopped by my friend Finn’s tent and we both marveled at the sky. When I stepped away, I felt a raindrop or two. My umbrella went up. Before I reached my cabin, the heavens opened up.

Rain fell in sheets. Thunder boomed and lightning burst across the sky. It was bright and beautiful and frightening all at once. For about ten seconds, the power went out.

By this time, it was after 1am. Since I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before, and the rain, though slowed, didn’t seem like it was going to stop soon, I decided to call it a night.

Categorised as: DOF | Friends

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