The Shapeshifter's Clues (Camilo Madrigal x Reader)

The Second Clue

There was no time to waste. You calculated it was about an hour or two after you and Camilo had left the sleeping Madrigals at the sleepover and gone to investigate.

You and Camilo got to work, quicker than you could say Casita. Intently focusing on the task at hand, you grabbed your little scissors and started sawing at the vine with what strength you possessed. It was a lot harder than it seemed, like cutting a rock with a butter knife. Hopefully Camilo had better luck.

I think he does, you thought, as you heard a rustling of branches and a Woo-hoo! I did it! I did it! She'll be so proud of me!  further away, and Camilo doing a little victory dance as he held the shiny thing in his hands, hugging it like a teddy bear.

You giggled and kept on sawing. Oh man, can he get any more cute?

But it was still evident that the stubborn vine wouldn't budge. Then, with a snap, your scissors broke, as if to give you the loser sign without actually doing so. You cursed under your breath.

"Oh, did I hear someone say a no-no word?" Camilo had snuck up behind you in an instant. "You know, y/n, here in Encanto, we never curse."

"First of all, how do you always manage to sneak up on me, and second, don't go around lecturing me like you've never cursed," you gave him a dirty look and threw the broken scissors on the ground. "I guess we just start by looking at what you found."

You lunged forward to grab the shiny thing, which you noticed was a tiny metal box, but Camilo put it over his head, away from your reach, using his height as an advantage. You wasted 2 minutes trying to tussle it away from him, but he swiftly just interchanged the box between his two hands. "Y/n. Come on. Don't give up on me! I know you can do it. Do it with your bare hands if you have to."

You laughed. "If you're so strong and athletic, why don't you help me? This whole time I feel like you are some angel that came to make sure I make good decisions and trust in myself. And also to annoy me by pointing out what's wrong with me and then correcting me, although I already know this, just because you know I'm too lazy to fix myself. Is that it?"

Camilo bit his lip. "Maybe. Did you just call me an angel?"

"Actually," you said, turning towards the tree. "More like an evil pixie."

"Fair," Camilo laughed. "Get to work or I'm going to have to use my evil pixie powers on you."

You knew you had to do this, because Camilo, being the big help he was, definitely wasn't going to do it for you. Also, it was very intimidating trying to impress a boy who had everything and then appearing weak. You had to. Even if your hands bled. 

Ok, you were exaggerating, but you were a realist.

Taking a deep breath, you pulled at the vine with more strength than you could have ever thought you had. The vine was adamant. But you weren't taking no from an answer.

Pulling and pulling and pulling. All while Camilo watched. His eyes penetrated through you.

Finally, the vine couldn't take anymore and it broke with a powerful snap, sending you flying backwards and crashing into Camilo. You landed on top of him with your face straight in front of his.

"Hey," Camilo grinned awkwardly. "Umm. I-- Do you want to get the other shiny thing?"

His big hazel eyes were even bigger and shinier in the dark sky with the fireflies. You stared.

"Y/n?" Camilo interrupted your intense gazing.

"Sure, um, sorry," you dusted yourself off and offered your hand to Camilo, completely embarrassed. "Crashing into each other must be our thing now." You snickered, trying to play it smooth after appearing like some weird stalker girl.

Camilo was unfazed. He enjoyed the attention. "Yeah, you're right, heh."

You reached into the tree and took out the other thing, but it wasn't a metal box. It was a glazed wood carving of a toucan, with the eyes transparent, with a tiny lens through them. "Woah. This is cool! Just like my carved parrot at home! You look through it and it's a kaleidoscope. My abuelita gave it to me," you smiled but remembering your abuela was still too hard for you.

Camilo seemed intrigued. "Me too! Your abuelita also gave me one! It's in my room next to some drawings Antonio gave to me. But it's one of a chameleon. She gave it to me when it was my 13th birthday."

You looked through it. "Strange. It must be broken. I can't see a thing. Only like some lines and weird shapes but it doesn't look like a kaleidoscope should. Here, see for yourself, Camilo."

Handing it over to him, Camilo took if from your hands and looked inside. "You're right. It must be broken. Let's open the box and we'll see if it makes sense later."

The box was rusted, amidst some moss that was growing on it, so it was obvious that the box had spent some time there, hanging in the tree. It was a little dented, but no signs of any serious drama. It was left there, undisturbed. It wasn't locked, except for a simple screw that kept in place. It was easy to pick it out using the broken scissors like a screwdriver.

When you had opened the box, you were both nervous and excited to see what you would find. The top lifted up and then you examined it's contents.

A small journal with old yellow pages and a leather cover.

A map of the forest. It might be useful considering that you had no idea where you were.

Some plant or flower that had shriveled up and decayed into shreds at the bottom.

An old photograph depicting two people next to a house.

Two pencils, one brown, and one gray, a really old brand of pencils similar to the one your mother had.

All those objects meant nothing to you, except the last one. Camilo and you both looked at each other.

Another letter.