Connor listened quietly as Erin determined it was Ate. She hadn't been on his list of gods or goddesses, but once her name was uttered Connor knew that it was correct. There were others, of course, who had the ability to do this, but among them too many had reasons for not taking one of the people in the group or another, or reasons not to bother taking a group entirely, but Ate, well she had the power necessary and wasn't above using people as playthings. Hell, she had a habit of using gods and goddesses as her play things. She was the one who had tricked Zeus into making a hasty proclamation about kinghood without proper phrasing, and Hera had taken advantage of it to make sure Hercules didn't become a king. That was why she was banished from Olympus and all other places which the gods could live. He had phrased that one carefully, from any godly abodes. Connor shuddered, once again being reminded the gods were not a group to trifle with or piss off without reason.

Arianna's assessment was spot on. Gods don't grow bored easy, and once one like Ate got her fingernails in she wasn't likely to let go. Not until someone else made her. They were stuck until someone noticed and cared enough to save them, or, the much more likely scenario, they finally failed in one of her tasks.

Connor rolled his eyes as the skeleton grabbed the flask taking a swing... and promptly having the liquor swish out of his hollow stomach. He also couldn't help an eye roll at Faris's comment towards the skeleton about wasting, and had to stifle a response about how surviving till they were rescued was a lot harder than it sounded. The Hollow Man's assessment of the situation was no where near as accurate as Arianna's. This situation could, and most likely would, get worse, much worse.

And of course, seemingly as soon as the thought that it could get worse passed through his mind, Ate appeared in a puff of red dust. Connor instinctively reached for a sword which, regrettably was not there. “My name is Ate; though in this form I’m sure most of you know me as Ruby. When you leave this place-… I’m sorry; if you leave this place you won’t remember my human name or form, it will be wiped from your memory. You have my word it won’t be painful. And please, no need for you all to introduce yourselves, I already know all about you…" As if. Connor thought to himself. He planned on remembering this girl, no matter what it took. He would remember this, and be more cautious next time.

"Erin Marie Chase; daughter of Hades. Thaddeus Gresham Kingsley; son of Thanatos. Jack Hallows; son of Hephaestus. Connor D'Finn and Caien Cobb; sons of Hermes. Raleigh Holter Theron; son of Poseidon. Venice Kenny Gorga and Faris Ecklan; son and daughter of Ares. Syleste Nioré; daughter of Morpheus. Gaspard Aucoin; son of Hecate. Auguste Elais De La Fontaine; son of Aphrodite. And last but certainly not least... Arianna Louise Watson; daughter of my dear brother, Dionysus.” Great. So the goddess knew there names, and their lineages, but then of course she did, she was a goddess, she ha to have had ways of knowing who they were, even if she wasn't up on the mountain. But if she knew their lineage, whatever tasks she put them to, they would be suited to their skills, and meant to give them at least a fighting chance in the beginning. That is, if she wanted them to survive for more than one round.

And then she talked about splitting them into groups. This was going to go poorly. He looked around as she isolated groups. Some of them might actually work well together. Erin, Thane and Raleigh and Faris and Gaspard actually had a fighting chance, the chemistry and raw power between the first group, and the surprising intellect behind the Ares girl, along with the natural combat skills most Ares had combined with the arcane powers of Hecate's son. Groups one and two had a good chance. Group three, the love triangle that was just plain hopeless. Because of the infighting any chance to play off of one anthers strengths would be lost. Jack and his newfound brother, well Jack was a bit of a wild card and Connor didn't know him all that well, and Caien was completely fresh here, not even a day of formal training in anything, hopefully whatever he ended up doing didn't require actual combat. He said a quiet prayer to their father for him, and then looked over at Arianna. Looks like they were the last two. As Ate announced that they were a group, the sand seemed to fall away, and suddenly he found himself in a hallway full of black doors and more hallways.

"Well then." He said stretching his neck from side to side. "Any idea what to do from here party girl?"

Starting at the sudden appearance of the goddess, Jack backed away slowly from her. “Welcome to my game; you are all now my little toys, I’m so very sorry I didn’t give you notice, but you know how it is when you get the urge.” Bending his head away from the goddess so as not to draw any attention to himself Jack saw his hand peeking out from behind his coat. The white of the bone showing itself began to fill him with. Not draw attention to himself? He was a gods damned freakn skeleton! His head snapping up looking directly at the goddess with fire in his eyes he ignored all words that had been coming out of her mouth he shouted out, "You know what? I've had enough of you fucking gods messing with my life! You and your stupid games and your pitiful stupid fights and your fucking messes! Just leave us alo-"

The ground began collapsing beneath his feet. Skull tilted down, Jack realized he was falling into the void, as the sand completely disappeared from around his feet. He jaw opened as if ready to scream out, but the air was whipped from his mouth before anything could come out. Finally after what seemed like ages Jack slammed into the ground, his head cracked back from the awkward fall and his some piece of junk behind him. Dark spots flew across his vision as he groaned and rubbed his skull. "Where- what the-." He cut himself off, of course Ate was going to force him to play her game.

Glancing around him he saw another kid down here with him. "Hey man... you okay? That was a pretty rough fall, to... Well where ever this is." The place looked like a warehouse. And it was full of crap. All sorts of scrap metals, broken utilities, coke dispensers, pretty much everything. But it was all junk. "Man, this is like a Hephaestus kid's nightmare, you know?" Standing up and brushing himself down the skeleton looked around and flipped up his hoodie. Looking over he asked, "So what now?"

Caien Cobb

Cai had never seen a goddess in his life. Or maybe he had, but he had never taken notice of it then. So to have one appear right in the group was kind of surreal. He was almost tempted to test and see what she could do, but it seemed that that wasn't needed. And it was an unwise idea anyway. If anything she knew his name and the name of the weird skeleton guy. Bones didn't scare Cai but he had to say that being grouped with him didn't sound like the best idea. What if the guy broke some of his bones? Would he fall apart? Didn't sound very safe when you were playing a dangerous game with a god. Whatever game that would be and whenever it would start. Her rules didn't sound very compelling at least.

Luckily Cai didn't have to wait long for his questions to be answered. His answer came in the form of a void beneath his feet. As before Cai's breath got stuck in his throat. He couldn't even find the way to scream as he plunged down, the others disappearing from view. For a moment there was only the blackness and it scared him, but then the void gave away and he landed roughly on his feet that buckled immediately so that he crashed down face first into the ground. That hurt. That hurt pretty bad. Groaning he lifted himself up and pressed a hand against his nose. A steady stream of blood met his fingers and he winced. Pincing the bridge of his nose he looked up into the face of the skeleton.

"I..." He said staring. "I..." He pinced harder as a frown appeared on his forehead. "Why exactly are you a skeleton? Too much milk?" He asked then before suddenly taking their surroundings. He shot one look around and then did another take. Well... could be worse, he guessed? They could have been in a pitch black hole. "A nightmare or a dream, I mean they could probably build anything out of this stuff and fly off to safety as where we... Well... I am not really sure what I can do. I've only been here a day after all. Not much time to settle in and get used to ... this?" He gestured around. "I'd say we look around and see what we find? Maybe we find some cool weapons." He finished as he got up and stretched his legs, finally letting his nose go.

Astrid

Astrid startled awake at the sound of several loud bangs. Flustered by the sudden sound interrupting her deep sleep she jerked suddenly, accidentally banging her head against the railing. "What the- Who- " Her eyes fell on her sister Ky', who she hadn't seen in forever. Leaning her head back against the post of the railing, eyes closing because of her throbbing head. "Oh Ky', gods you scared the crap out of me. Don't you know its rude to wake up hammered people? Like really really rude."

Her hand reaching for the post behind her to use as support, she slowly stood up, careful not to move to fast lest the headaches, that were just receding, returned. Finally getting a full look at Ky' she muttered, "Looks like i'm not the only one that pulling off some bullshit." Her outfit was... Well it was just very inviting. "Where the hell is Jack?" Jack? He was usually the rock beneath her feet, keeping her from doing stupid stuff. Stuff like last night. Guess not anymore. "That's a good question." Memories of the previous night flooded back suddenly. "Oh shit." Did she- If she- and if she- Astrid's hand flew to her mouth to cover her gasp she was so dead.

Only her ADD could pull her away from her fear of her drunken actions. "Get up off your ass and get cleaned up, you're giving this cabin a bad name by laying there. Oh, and you'll be cleaning up the mess you made out here not to mention the clean out of the forge... And don't even think about complaining about how it's unfair; you brought it on yourself and Jack will be getting a punishment for not looking after you too." The thought of cleaning out the forge put a pouty look on her face and she crossed her arms sullenly, "What! Uggg I don't wanna. I can't do it because- because.. " Not being able to think of a reasonable excuse she followed Ky' into the cabin. Trying to change the subject she said, "So what, you've been gone for.. how long? And now my sister- half-sister or whatever is too good for me? Where is my hug?" She had a look of expectancy on her face, though really she was just lightly teasing Ky'. Hopefully Ky' had manged to obtain some sense of humor while she was gone.

Jack

Allen stood in the brisk air of the woodland, trees scattered about the way with only a beaten path to show him his way. The evening sun sat behind the tree-line and a orange glow enveloped the sky and shot beams through the canopy of the thick woodland. The moment seemed so soft as Allen raised his fist and outstretched his fingers to brush their tips over an invisible wall in front of him. His blank eyes looked over the ripple of energy as he laced his hand over the force-field and his lips parted to take a deep breath. His lips quivered ever so slightly as his hand fell slowly to his side and a memory entered his train of thought.

The soft glow of a light seeped under the doorway to the apartment, Apartment 3-C, third door on the third floor, his father's apartment. A young man of fifteen reached out to grasp the door knob as a slight crimson tint slipped over the glow and under the door-frame. Allen pushed open the door and his eyes spanned wide while his jaw dropped. His knees grew week while his arms fell limp. He tried to move, but only fell to his knees as the sight before ripped through him like a blade. His mahogany eyes glared at the moment as everything slowed to a crawl and the color of the world seemed to fade nothing more then shades of black & white. The young man stared at a Vrykolakas sitting over the figure of his father, the poor son's father lay dead over the small , round, table in the side of the living room drenched and draped in blood & organs. The undead entity turned it's head, the crawl of the movement due to the Allen's brain, only added more to the horrific moment. It raised it's arms and let it's jaw drop open, releasing a large bite of flesh fall from the mouth, and then it climbed down off the body as if it were a monkey and it took a few, creeping, gruesome steps towards Allen, leaving bloody footprints in it's wake. It stood several feet from Allen and the rush of adrenaline in the demi-gods body finally caused a response. Allen's hands dropped from his chest, where fists had been balled up in his shirt, and the boy jumped to his feet with a slight wobble while finally letting the image set in mentally, to match his physical trauma, and the boy unleashed a scream. The echo of the scream resonated throughout the apartment and out into the rest of the building. The Vrykolakas scampered back several steps in awe-struck fear. The blood-soaked jaw of the monster draped open and released a blood-curdling screech. Allen's eye's began to glow and the young man lunged forward to assault the beast, but it quickly leaped out the apartment window and scaled the wall to the roof and Allen lost the beast. His body began to turn and he glared at his father's body once more, the torso, gullet, and innards were torn and strewn across the table, blood laid in pools all across the floor and under the table. Allen took to the corpse's side and his hands became drenched in blood as he placed one over his father's left hand and the other over his forehead. Allen's face swelled into a fit of rage and his bottom lip grew red and one corner began to drip with a drop of blood. He clenched his hands, the one tightened around his father's lifeless grasp and then lost all connection to reality. Allen blacked out mentally, but his body continued to release the rage with a fit of anger and strength rarely seen. He turned and grabbed a chair, flinging it through the kitchen area and then kicking over the TV, followed by the most destructive rampage of apartment furniture a fifteen year old male could cause in his state. Several moments later the Apartment Complex Owner came to the room for complaints of noise, and found the body of his father, and Allen. Allen had passed out on the floor with self-inflicted collateral injuries from his rampage, this caused the Owner to call the police and after a long investigation they released Allen into foster care.

Allen's mind halted as the memories of Foster Care came into play, and he quickly shook his head and dismissed the flooding memories. He raised his hand once more, but not to the force-field, this time to his face where his index finger pulled away a single tear that formed in the corner of his right eye. His blank expression looked to the damp finger and then back to the invisible wall before he stepped on through. He took into a light jog as the sight of the camp crept into view from the distance. Once he reached the gate a young Satyr met the male and allowed him into the camp while introducing him and then beginning to show him around the camp.

Collab between Whirlwind and Phloem

Gaspard’s brow furrowed as he listened to Erin’s series of deductions. Ate? To be honest, he didn’t have much of an idea who she was. Then again, he never really cared much about the ins out outs of Greek mythology. But, the name ‘Eris’ did ring a bell. In fact, Gaspard himself was a legacy of the spirit of strife and discord. Granted, it was a rather weak legacy, thinned out over the course of countless generations… but it was one, nonetheless. Whatever it was, though, it paled in comparison to the situation at hand. Since this was only the second year that Gaspard had been at Camp Half-Blood, all of this was a bit overwhelming for him. For starters, a goddess descending from the heavens just to fuck around with a group of teenagers? Anyone would agree that such a thing sounded absolutely ludicrous.

Just then, a movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention. Craning his neck around to get a better view, he finally saw what… or who it was. Gaspard wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or just the absurdity of everything that happened tonight, but one thing was for certain -- he had just laid eyes upon a talking skeleton. If it was a costume, it was a damned good one. But it seemed way too realistic to be one, and when said skeleton took a swig out of the flask; the liquid passed right through him. Like literally right through him. This wasn’t even a metaphor for anything, the wine, whiskey, or whatever it was flowed right out of his throat and through his ribs. Gaspard let out a small laugh at this, the sound bubbling up from his throat, past his lips. This skeleton-man was certainly one to watch; if he managed to make it out of this alive, that is. The son of Hecate was pretty confident that he’d be able to overcome whatever obstacle he’d face. Sure, he was a little tipsy. But it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, right?

A red swirl of smoke interrupted his train of thought, and Gaspard had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Sure enough, the mysterious apparition turned out to solid flesh and blood. Well… as far he could tell, at least. He wasn’t about to saunter over and poke her in the arm, or anything. But he was pretty sure that it wasn’t all just smoke and mirrors, since he couldn’t sense the presence of any Mist.

“My name is Ate; though in this form I’m sure most of you know me as Ruby,” the figure began introducing herself. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing she did. The next thing she did was go on and on about how she was going to split everyone into groups for some twisted little game of hers. Oh, and also how she was going to wipe all of their memories like in Men In Black after everything was over and done with. Which was reassuring, to say the least (note the sarcasm). Whilst Gaspard had half a mind to start railing on the so-called goddess, he decided to keep quiet, in the end. Mostly because he didn’t want to get vapourised before the game even began.

Faris admittedly jumped a bit when a woman appeared out of a cloud of dust. How hard indeed my dear, that is the question isn’t it?” she said. Faris blinked a few times in surprise. Was this the person screwing with them? Seriously? She looked easy enough to take down. But then again, if she had brought them here, Faris wasn’t about to tempt the woman to see what else she could do to her. Welcome to my game; you are all now my little toys… at that, Faris was already boiling. She was no one’s ‘toy’. That was it. She was screwing up this lady’s game and beating every frickin’ thing she threw at her. No questions asked. She’d show her. Er, Ate. Ruby. Whatever.

“...Faris and Gaspard as group two.”

She listened as the goddess introduced everyone’s name, as Faris hadn’t known who they all were anyway to begin with. But she already knew the guy she was paired up with. Ah, Gaspard. Of course. She had wanted to give a party and have a drunken good time, and now she was paying the price by being placed with the only one remotely drunk. She could only hope this was sobering him up. Hopefully their task in this game was to drink coffee and red bulls prior to whatever she was going to have them do.

Huh. That was convenient. Gaspard just happened to get paired up with the Ares girl from the party that night. Looks like she was gonna get her entertainment, after all - albeit not the kind she expected. Unfortunately, before he had any time to convene with Faris, the ground seemed to crumble under his feet once again. A sickly, lurching sensation pooled at the pit of his stomach, as he tumbled around in darkness that only lasted a second or two. Biting gusts of frigid wind suddenly assaulted him from every direction, and a cold wetness seemed to quickly be spreading through the front of his clothes. Snow? Right now, all he could think about was getting out of the cold. The chill sharpened his senses, at least. It was like he was almost sober again. Quickly getting back up on his feet, Gaspard brushed away the snow that stuck to him, and heard Faris’ voice from beside him.

Faris barely had time to think before the game had begun and she was freezing cold. Boots starting to get covered in snow, wind whipping at her, and bits of ice hitting her face made her gasp and rub her arms right away. Why the hell was she wearing a dress again? Her quickly becoming numb fingers rapidly undid her braid and let her thick hair fall in a curtain, warming her neck like a scarf, but really it was like a bandaid on a bullet wound. ”Gaspard! Tell me that fire you made at the party actually produces heat!” she said desperately, huddling close to him and shivering.

“Unfortunately, no. But this one will.” Gaspard said through gritted teeth, which were already beginning to chatter from the cold. On any other day, he’d give her an explanation as to how the fire was only an illusion formed from Mist, but somehow, he didn’t think that was important right now. Fortunately, even if the flaming sphere from the party was but an illusion, he was still capable of casting real magic. After all, what son of Hecate would he be if he couldn’t at least make a fire? Clasping his hands together, he began reciting an incantation in Ancient Greek. As he did so, Gaspard could feel a heat centered in his chest, and surging through his arms. An orange glow could be seen through the gaps of his fingers, and soon, flames began licking his skin. Gaspard opened his hands again, his right palm facing upwards, a warm ball of fire floating a few inches above his skin. Heat radiated off the fire, and Gaspard could feel his extremities again. Hopefully, this was going to be enough to keep hypothermia at bay until they managed to finish the game.

”Damn it,” Faris mumbled at first. But she waited to see what he was doing. Raising an eyebrow, hair whipping across her face with the wind, she watched Gaspard mumbling and putting his hands together. She shivered and tried moving her legs a bit to keep feeling in them, but it was like her temperature was dropping by the second. She started to ask if he was doing anything at all, when the flames began to roam over him, making her hesitant to stay so close. Then again, at this point, touching fire out right didn’t sound so unappealing. Her eyes took in the fire he held in his hand, feeling the warmth from it. She inched slightly closer, putting her hands up to it and wishing there was a better way.

Glancing down at the other’s clothes, and then his own, Gaspard let out an exasperated sigh. They really weren’t dressed for the weather, were they? Not like it was their fault, though. Camp Half-Blood always had perfect weather, and getting trapped in a massive snow globe just wasn’t a thing that happened on a regular basis. The fire was warm, but in this heavy a snowstorm, it really wasn’t going to help them much unless they found themselves some shelter. At the back of his mind, Gaspard had the nagging feeling that there was some manner of monster out there, waiting for them, but now it almost seemed like the elements were going to kill them first.

”Seriously, I won’t be able to feel my toes if this goes on,” Faris said, dark eyes shutting often to protect themselves from snow hitting her in the face. Sure, the fire was great, but it wasn’t going to be enough unless they got out of this wind. There had to be a cave or something to hide behind around here right? She began trying to peer around them and see if there were any such things, when two dark forms began rapidly coming closer. ”The…?” Faris started to mumble. But as they got close, she could see two forms of well… they appeared to be half woman half snake creatures with spears.

”Shit!” Faris snapped, grabbing Gaspard and turning him in the opposite direction of the beasts. ”Run!” she yelled, suddenly not caring that she was becoming a popsicle as long as she was alive for the moment. Cold air mixed with the exertion she was putting on her body stung her lungs, eyes watering and streaming down her cheeks before crystallizing slightly from the chill. But in her mind, she was already trying to form a plan. If she got ahold of one of those stupid spears they were throwing, they stood a chance. With a spear, Faris knew she could kill the freaky looking things.

The snow crunched under Gaspard’s feet as he tried to keep up with Faris. His stamina had never really been amazing, but having caught a glimpse of those snake creatures, he knew that if he didn’t keep running, he was a dead man. The freezing cold stung his eyes and burned his lungs, but the only thing he could do was push on. The ball of fire he held in his hand was desperately trying to stay aflame against the harsh winter, and he knew that they needed to come up with a plan, and fast. Puffs of condensating water vapour escaped from him every time he exhaled, and a quick look over his shoulder confirmed that they weren’t out of danger yet. The monsters were still in hot pursuit, and Gaspard found himself desperately looking around for a solution to this disaster. He’d try creating decoy Mistforms for the two of them, but the lamias always seemed to know where exactly where they were. Out of the corner of his eye, in the distance, he could just make out a vague silhouette. It looked like some sort of hill, but really, it was nothing more than a glorified heap of snow. Could they hide behind it? He highly doubted it, but at this point, he was willing to try anything.

Faris was running, legs starting to get wobbly from the cold and how fast she was having to go to keep away from the creatures. Luckily it didn’t seem like Gaspard was outrunning her. To be left alone would not be a good strategy for defeating the ugly things. She was huffing and puffing, chest rising and falling heavily when her blurry vision caught sight of a snowdrift. ”This way!” she shouted, her mind still running the whole time with ideas. After all, combat was what she was made for. Although, the snow and cold was trying to battle that aspect of her at the moment.

When they got closer, she yelled ”Jump into it!” And with that, she dove into the snow. She didn’t get buried like she’d hoped, still able to see out but surrounded by snow otherwise. She watched, shivering so violently she felt a bit sick, as the snake creatures started to come towards the pile. Crap… she though, knowing they would be able to see them if they passed in front. But when the beasts got close, they continued past, looking confused and going in various directions in the snow. Faris frowned heavily. How did the stupid things find them in the midst of a blizzard anyhow? Visually, it made no sense. And if Ate put some sort of tracking on her and Gaspard, they would have found them anyway. How could they… ah! They were drawn to heat! And covered in snow, their heat levels must have dropped or been hidden enough to trick them.

Clawing away some of the snow between them, Faris shook as she explained to Gaspard. ”They are like heat seeking missiles. That’s how they found us in the blizzard.” She hesitated, knowing this part of her plan he may not like. ”We have to get out of this or well, we’ll die, duh. So, we have them find us again, then separate. Then, we run towards each other with them following us, and dive into this snow drift again. Hopefully, they’ll kill one another,” she explained, knowing it was stupid risky, but she couldn’t think of another option. And she could only hope he understood her through all the chattering.

Gaspard squinted through the snow, trying to keep his eyes from getting frozen solid. He tried to listen as carefully as possible to Faris’ plan, which was definitely not an easy task with the winds howling all around them. And then, he was suddenly struck with a realisation. Why didn’t he think of that?! The snake-people were attracted to heat, no wonder they managed to seek them out in the middle of this blizzard. He could feel a sort of grudging admiration for his companion creeping up on him, but he quickly pushed them down. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about such things. The son of Hecate nodded along at various points during her explanation, seeing the reasoning behind it. To be honest, he didn’t really like the chances of either of them surviving on their own, but there really was no other choice. No matter how ridiculous the plan sounded, he knew that it was their one and only gambit. “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed, somehow managing to crack a smirk despite everything, “No rest for the wicked, huh? Let’s get going.”

Faris nodded, glad Gaspard was good with the idea, cause they didn’t really have time to argue about it anyway. She smirked back at him and struggled just a bit to get out of the snow.

Clambering back onto his feet, Gaspard retrieved Thorn from the holster on his belt. Sure, all he was doing was kiting a monster round in a circle, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. Safety first, right? If it did manage to catch up to him, at least he wouldn’t be defenseless. With his trusty dagger at his side, he bolted off in the opposite direction to Faris. He hoped to the gods that this plan would work, because if it didn’t, well, let’s just say they wouldn’t be a pretty sight at the end of all this. His breathing was quickly growing ragged as he ran, but the adrenaline kept him going. The fight-or-flight was finally kicking in, he supposed. At this point, stopping equalled death. He never thought that one day he’d been fleeing from a fucked up snake-human hybrid in the middle of a raging snowstorm, but here he was.

The only thing Gaspard could hear and see was the blizzard, a swirling cacophony of wind and cold. When he tried to look over his shoulder, he was greeted with a welcome sight. The lamia was close behind him, but not quite close enough to shank him with its spear. Which was amazing news, considering the situation. If he could just get back to the snowdrift in time, they’d have a lot less trouble on their hands.

A faint hissing could be heard over the storm, and Gaspard knew the lamia after him was getting dangerously close. In fact, he could almost feel it breathing down his neck. Psyching himself up the best he could, he circled back to where the snowdrift was. The featureless landscape was difficult to navigate, but he was pretty sure his natural sense of direction would be able to handle it. At this point, he could feel the muscles in his legs screaming for him to stop, but to stop running now… he didn’t want to think of the consequences.

Faris began running in the opposite direction of Gaspard, a slight whimper leaving her lips. Her whole body stung, but now was not the time to care. As she ran she kept whipping her head back to see if one of the snake creatures was following. It didn’t take long before a looming slithering shadow began sliding over the tracks she was leaving behind. Her breath picked up and she hardened her resolve, booking it back in a semi circle towards the pile of snow.

As she drew nearer, her legs were trying to slow and her breathing was erratic, but she saw Gaspard coming towards her. The plan had to work. She forced her knees to lift higher to get her through the last bit of snow before diving into the snowdrift at the last second, almost feeling the lamia’s spear slide past her shoulder.

Gaspard unceremoniously dove through the snow, twisting his body sideways to avoid colliding with Faris. He got a mouthful of snow in the process, and he could only hope the plan worked. Fumbling to get Thorn back in his hand, ready to strike, that was when a terrible baying reverberated through the entire dome. At this, his dark eyes lit up. Surely this meant that their ploy was successful? He couldn’t be sure, though. After all, this could just be a trick. Poking his head out from behind the snow, he spotted a wildly thrashing form. And from it, escaped the loudest noise he’d ever heard; a cross between a snake’s hiss and a person’s scream. One of the lamias had a spear sticking out of it’s stomach, and its efforts to remove it only seemed to aggravate the situation. Sickly green blood and viscera stained the snow, and after what seemed like an eternity, the lamia finally ceased its morbid jig.

As Faris collided with the snow, she cringed at first, but then just laid very still amongst it, not wanting to accidentally attract the snake creatures. Then she heard it. A horrible noise ringing out like the crashing of cymbals. She turned her head, eyes half open and gingerly brushed the crystals sticking to her face aside. One of the lamia was obviously dying, though the blow was a gut shot the spear had run them through and it was… yep, there it went, laying dead in the snow. It’s green blood dying the white plains. Faris’s eyes lit up slightly but she didn’t have much more of a reaction than that. The snow was starting to feel like a warm blanket almost and she was content to stay there. The other snake creature seemed to be looking around, and as it twisted and turned, Faris could see green sliding down it’s shoulder. So, it had been injured as well. Good, but it was still a threat.

The snake thing didn’t look too long however before it let out a defiant hiss and slithered back in the direction they had originally come from. Faris could only assume it was returning to get its wound taken care of, leaving its fallen comrade. ”Told ya I’d beat that pin up bitch,” she smirked, mumbling into the snow pile. She could see the spear left behind by the dead lamia, laying there, and reaching out for it. Ah, but it was too much effort. She grumbled and figured if the other thing came back, she’d grab it then.

“Nice work,” Gaspard said, as out of breath as Faris was, “but you gotta stay with me now.” Right now, all they could do was stay warm the best they could. All things considered, everything could’ve ended up a lot worse. At least the snowdrift was shielding them from the brunt of the blizzard. Letting out an effortful grunt, he leaned forward slightly, conjuring up the fireball once again. The lamia had appeared to be beating a temporary retreat, and this was probably gonna be the only window of time they had to warm up. It took him quite a bit more effort to sustain the spell than before, but he managed. After all, what other choice did he have? Either he sucked it up or they both became human popsicles.

Faris looked to Gaspard as he spoke. Something about staying? She wasn’t sure. But she watched him as he created fire once more. Between the fireball and the snowdrift blocking the wind, she felt the stinging sensation of her blood flowing back to her extremities. She winced, but knew it was for the best. ”I’m glad you made me a fire,” she grinned, remembering back at the party when he said he wouldn’t. Looks like she got her way after all. And that now, hopefully, at least one person from camp wouldn’t think she was dumb as rocks.

Gaspard grinned back, although it looked more like a grimace than anything. “It’s the least I could do.”

Thane

The world jerked away from Thane as the earth beneath his feet crumbled, pulling him deep into a bottomless chasm flooded with darkness. His body met dry cracked earth, the light lingering at the edge of his vision. Thane sat silently as sight returned to his eyes and he had a sense of where exactly he was. Beneath him was a ancient pathway coated with a thin layer of dust, limestone walls rising high on both of his sides, multiple pathways all around him, all but one leading to a dead end. The air was thick with dust, filling his nostrils with the fetid, stale scent. The scent of solitude and abandon, of carnage and suffering, of a world forgotten and fallen prey to time. Thane stepped close to the left wall, planting a hand onto it and began to walk, his eyes scanning his environment cautiously, wary of any traps that may lie dormant, waiting for him to spring them. "Erin, if you can hear me stay still and stay silent" He called out loudly, cupping a hand around his lips to amplify his voice. He said nothing further, feeling a slight tremor move through the yellowed wall. Too faint for the creator to be close, but close enough that it's movements could be felt. Probably close enough to hear him. Close enough to smell him. Thane's eyes shut tight for a moment, trying to force composure upon himself. He had to move quickly and find Erin and, if he was lucky, perhaps find the other guy that was meant to join them. Thane's mind raced as he tried to figure out what could be awaiting them in the labyrinth, when his train of thought came to a screeching halt. Labyrinth. Labyrinth. Labyrinth. Shit, he scowled, It's a minotaur, isn't it?

---

Auguste

Auguste wasted no time listening to the goddesses's drivel as he gained his bearings on his surroundings. Here he stood on an island and floating in the distance was another island, one with Syl. Well, Syl and a manticore. His eyes searched his surroundings, finding mostly the ruins of a temple with nothing of particular value in sight. The only option to reach the island at the center was to traverse the massive wires that hung between the floating land. If one was to fall off of the wires... Auguste peaked over the edge of the island, seeing an infinite sea of blue. "Well, going down looks like it's a one-way trip." He scowled, spitting into the void. Auguste made his way to the abandoned temple, not bothering with any of the formalities that one would expect. The temple was mostly rubble at this point. The gods had abandoned it. It was probably Ate's way of letting him know that if he couldn't handle this situation on his own then he would have to perish. In the rubble Auguste found a stone mallet, aged but sturdy enough to deliver a decent blow. Time was of the essence and Auguste knew he would have to move quickly if he wanted to see Syl alive. He paused at the edge of the wire before taking is first step, some hesitation trickling into his mind. Then, as if taken by madness, laughter burst from his lips, his head arching back. "What am I thinking? This isn't the first time I've climbed something dangerous to get to a girl." He stepped onto the wire, walking quickly, establishing his footing, and then breaking into a light job. "And it won't be my fucking last."

Austin had been trailing the brown haired boy for a while. Not for any malicious reason, but more because he was just curious. He swiped his blonde hair out of his deep blue eyes. Man, I need a hair cut, he thought. He was ducking from tree to tree after the boy, but he saw there were no trees for a good 30 yards from where he and the boy were. Well, I guess you couldn't really call him a boy. He had a very muscular build and was a bit taller than Austin. He was also probably older.

Austin noticed the guy stop and just stare for a minute or two. He looked as if he was trying to decide on something important, which seemed odd, since he was just walking through the forest close to the Long Island Sound. It was a popular place, he'd been told, for romantic walks. He stared up at the sky, forgetting he was following someone for a moment and though about what it would be like to actually have a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, (he wasn't sure how he felt on the matter yet), and to walk out here, holding hands, getting lost in conversation. All of this sounded so boring, if just a little bit sweet.

Whatever, he'd better start heading back to the city and find a place to sleep. It wasn't safe out in the woods at night, especially with what had been chasing him lately. He looked up one more time to see if the guy was still there, but he wasn't.

Honestly, there was no trace of the boy at all, as if he had dissappeared into thin air. Curious, and acting on impulse as usual, he climbed up the hill quickly, just to look for the boy. There was a sweet caress of twilight as the sun sunk farther behind the horizon. He must have been looking at the sunset, Austin determined, and turned to leave, but something told him not to. It was a weird feeling, like being pulled towards something you didn't want to get into. Maybe he should keep following the boy, or at least try to find him.

Austin turned back to the orange horizon, and thought, What's the worst thing that can happen? He took a few steps forward, and suffenly the landscape changed. What had been a clear view straight to the sunset had turned into some sort of crazy summer camp in the blink of an eye. "Woah, what the fuck just happened?" he mumbled aloud, seeing kids with swords strapped to their belts, half-goat kids, and a menacing looking climbing wall with lave spewing from it. There was a gate that, with his dyslexia, almost looked like Camp Half-Blood.

He started walking down into the camp, for some reason feeling almost at home here. Like other people would understand him. He also saw the brown haired guy following a goat kid around. He wasn't sure where to go, or if he even belonged here, but he started looking around anyways. He walked with sheer amazement as he saw a vineyard over by a pretty big farmhouse. Austin also saw an arena, where he heard the chink of metal on metal and the sound of laughter. An excited smile on his face now, Austin headed towards the forest, and when he got there, Austin saw 20 cabins lined in a big V shape, with 1 and 2 being right next to each other.

Then, a goat kid came over to him and tried to figure out if Austin was new or not. It was pretty obvious, though, from the way he was running around and the fact that Austin didn't know what a satyr was. The satyr decided to leave him be, which was a shame, he was kind of cute. At this point, he sort of just stood there, not sure what to do now.

Jack

Sighing Jack turned towards his partner. "Yes. To answer your question, yes. This..." He gestured with his hands to his entire body, "is exactly what happens when you drink to much milk. By the way, as a child of Hephaestus I find it a tad bit insulting that you think I could just build something and fly out of here." His voice was layered thickly with laughter. "Yeah, but my name is Jack, and... I suppose you can just call me Bones. Kinda fits, huh?" Looking the kid, Caien up and down he said, "So Caien you're a child of Hermes? New?"

His head nodded in acceptance. "Yeah that would make sense, " He answered his own question, " I suppose I haven't seen you around before. That and you don't carry around a weapon with you. That's a sure sign of a newbie. " Glancing down at himself he realized looked like he was without weapons. Holding up a bony hand it burst into flame. Staring at it intently to focus the flame, it began to bend to his will. The small fire grew smaller and the color of the flame turned to a bluish tint. Without looking up at Caien he said, "Tilt your head back, it helps with the nose bleeds. I've had plenty... well when I have a nose that is." Without warning Jack's head looked up sharply at his companion and he surprisingly said, "Can I call you Pepper?" his ADD was working itself up as he tried to deal with the stress of the situation the goddess had put them in.

Raleigh Holter Theron
"Afraid of the darkness of the unknown, the spaces in which we see only dimly, we often choose the darkness of closed eyes, of obliviousness." — Rebecca Solnit, Men Explain Things to Me

---

The entire instance came and went like the sand beneath his feet. Words were spoken, but not heard, only a few remaining quite within conscious reach that he grasped as he fell. The situation was clear from the start, as Erin had pointed out, there was no trouble in explaining that. Being in a fantasy world an entire lifetime meant certain inexplicable things became commonplace—this was one of those inexplicable moments. Mythology, any kind of text speaking of Gods really, usually spoke of spite and wrath, rather than benevolence and love. Such truths didn't bode well for humankind; wrathful beings only had one default mode and that was vindictive.

Falling from unimaginable heights came to no surprise in the back of Raleigh's mind, however his expression felt the need to betray him and his pulse quickened the longer and faster he fell. He hit a slope, a slant of concrete slab that bruised and scrapped him from top down toward the inevitable pit. Spats of dirt and rock clogged his throat and the aching throb that raced through his body came to Raleigh's immediate attention. Crimson coated his hands, knees, face even and his rib hurt most of all; it made breathing uncomfortable, but not intolerable. However, the first response as he came to, aside from the cough, spit, and groan succeeding his fall, was to grasp the key chain hanging from his belt loop and then standing as his fingers unlatched it. The bow sprang forth, nearly dropping as a sharp pain spilled from his side to throb in his head. A low huff slipped, breathless from his lips and Raleigh clung a free hand to the wound. It wasn't broken, but anymore unwanted pressure to it and it would be.

The next step in his makeshift plan—winging it—came in frantic gazes to his immediate surroundings. The area was tight, like a corridor that served more as a cage than an actual passageway. That seemed like the intention. Even architects had a way of conveying some kind of sub-textual meaning in the way they deliberately placed their blueprints; the walls seemed laden with the word claustrophobia, lined in the cracks and fractures that were ceaseless as they ran down the length of the hall. Great work, jackasses, the thought ran through Raleigh's head, Let's make our one purpose suffocating the shit out of everyone who steps foot here. From the look of it, not many people really found themselves ass end of no where in a field of walls. The creativity of deities ceased to amaze to Raleigh.

"One step at a time," he breathed. He paid no attention to the walls as they seemed to shrink in on him, preferring the solitude of closed eyes. This would end perfectly fine, if he had a say in it. But, as fate would have it, most of the time mortals or even half mortals didn't have a say in anything. The positives of having one's literal lifeline in the hands of untrustworthy, just-as-vindictive-as-a-god hags. There was no denying most immortal beings, whichever mythology they came from, were likely self-righteous, triggerhappy assholes with a propensity for smiting. Guess this one lived up to those expectations, found a thrill in it. As to why that didn't surprise him, Raleigh had a million guesses.

It wasn't until crackling and a faint, low hiss, like something was dragging behind him, caught his attention did Raleigh realize the danger he'd been immediately thrust in. The walls were moving rapidly inward, meaning that claustrophobic feeling wasn't just paranoia—well, it was, but it was justified, which was the difference. The exit just in front of him was a quick sprint away, but the walls didn't wait for his thoughts to collect themselves. Raleigh dashed forward, expression knotting into furrowed brows and clenched jaws. His footfalls thumped hard on the solid slab of ground beneath him, quickening in pace the closer the walls got to atomizing him into nonexistence. The faster he ran, the quicker the walls closed in and he sooner found himself sliding feet first into the intersection, using all the force he could muster to propel his upper body forward just as the walls shut tight, expelling a cloud of dust in its wake and a low, rumbling thud that coursed deep into Raleigh's being.

That nightmare over, Raleigh felt the full effects of the adrenaline subsiding, his back clad against what used to be a hallway and his arms raised, hands resting atop windswept hair. The bow, he looked, laid beside him, unharmed and unaffected by the quickening pulse and the gasps for air that squeezed his lungs tight with every breath. Pain flared with each gasp, but Raleigh paid it no heed, happy to be alive and resting for even just a second.

Raleigh was intelligent, though, or at least had the common sense to get up, in spite of the burn inside his chest and the ache in his calves. Something was bound to show up, whether by happenstance or dumb, stupid luck—Murphy's Law dictated it. Not much deliberating was put into moving in forward, or in his case, down the west end of yet another stretch of claustrophobia. Whoever he'd landed with were bound to be around somewhere and Murphy's Law also dictated he soon find them, if nothing found him first.

Blue eyes kept vigilant and both hands and weapons were at the ready. Luck, people would soon learn, didn't quite exist in Greek Mythology—this was no exception.

Astrid

“You bet your ass I’m too good to give you a hug, what do you think this is, a happy family?” Ky pulled Astrid into a hug, and she lingered there for a moment relishing in the moment. The warm embrace was something that she had never experienced growing up without a family. “Of course you get a hug, and souvenirs. I couldn't remember if I got you a koala last time I went back home, so I got you one just in case. Pulling back she looked to Ky's hand and saw a tiny stuffed koala. Not being able to help herself she burst out laughing at the sight of it. "Oh this... This is classic." Looking into her sister's eyes she saw a glimpse of sadness, "I love it, thank you." She pulled her back into a hug. "Now let's get your Australian ass out of this cabin, you spend too much time here as it is."

Moments after they had stepped out of the cabin door as a satyr ran up to them calling out for Ky. Advantages to being the cabin counselor, everyone knew the instant you got home. Asking if they could take care of the new campers, Astrid shrugged ready to do whatever Ky was up for. “Hey, I’m Ky’ vie, this is my little sister Astrid; looks like we’re gunna be showing you around from here on out. I assume you've seen the normal places else they wouldn't of dragged you straight to the cabins-…” She raised a hand in gesture to the two new boys, "Hey." She nodded at both of them, studying them to try and figure out whose child they could be. We’re about to work out what cabin we need to visit, we can work out what cabin you belong too as well if you want that. If not, you’ll be stuck in the default cabin… You don’t want that. Trust me.” Looking at her sister she laughed thinking of the Hermes cabin. "Wait don't say anything yet, I'm going to guess..." She put her fingers on her temples mockingly at hummed slightly. "I have a nack for these types of things, you know." She laughed again. "I'm going to say Apollo aaaaand... Hades?" She turned to look at the kid standing there, "Hmm maybe Erin has a new brother, that or I'm way off."

Caien Cobb

"Well shit, I love milk. I should cut down." Cai said slightly sarcastic, but he did it with a grin. The fact that Jack - or Bones, Cai would have to figure out what to call him especially with two great names to choose from - was a child of Hephaestus was kind of awkward after what Cai had said about them. Then again he was never known for keeping his mouth shut about things. And shouldn't kids of the god of fire be brilliant with building things? As far as he knew that was the case. Or was it just forging things? Cai's mind couldn't tell for sure at the moment. There were way too many questions happening at the same time. Speaking of the god of fire, apparantly Jack could, next to turn into a skelleton, spontaniously combust in flames if he wanted. Cai stared to the little blue flame.

"Man, I want powers like that." He complained slightly. As far as he had figured out there were no special powers in him, besides that he was very good at running away from things really fast. And he had perhaps a keen eye for details or more specifically, for things that were left unguarded. But what did you get from that? You couldn't blow stuff up with those abilities. "I didn't have much time to find a weapon really before the ground ate me." He replied when Jack mentioned his lack of weaponry. "And Cai is fine. Or Pepper I guess? I don't really know where you got that from, but that is okay. I can call it my first official Camp Half-Blood nickname. Now that we have an awesome torch how about a little exploring. I'm doubting that we can find a way out very easily, but hey you never know. Maybe the goddess is like 'Let's be nice to Bones and Pepper.'"

With that Cai took his first step forward past the rubble. To be honest he was glad that Jack had fire on his side. That meant they would never have to face the complete darkness. The bone guy would always be able to light it up and show the way. As he walked past some stacks he turned back to Jack. "Who'd you think put all this stuff here? What is it anyway?" He asked as he took a closer look to one of the metal scraps.

Austin noticed the girl walk up to him. He also exchanged his goofy, bewildered smile for a confident smirk. “Just so you know, my name is Ky’ vie, this is my sister Astrid. We’re about to work out what cabin we need to visit, we can work out what cabin you belong too as well if you want that. If not, you’ll be stuck in the default cabin… You don’t want that. Trust me.” the girl said, flashing him a huge smile. She seemed really eager. It was kind of cute, actually. Especially since she was older than he was. Then, when the other girl, Astrid, guessed who his godly parent was, he chuckled. "You're actually kind of close on my dad, but my mom was my godly parent. Let me guess, you two are daughters of Aphrodite?" he said with a wink.

Man, that was so lame! Aphrodite, that's the best you could fucking come up with? If I weren't you, I'd be out of here right now. Austin thought. His smirk faltered for a moment, but he regained it, trying not to lose confidence. "I'm Austin, by the way, son of the infamous Drake Sentinel, and some goddess. I don't know who, yet. Nice to meet you two,"

“Hey, I’m Ky’ vie, this is my little sister Astrid; looks like we’re gunna be showing you around from here on out. I assume you've seen the normal places else they wouldn't of dragged you straight to the cabins-…” "We’re about to work out what cabin we need to visit, we can work out what cabin you belong too as well if you want that. If not, you’ll be stuck in the default cabin… You don’t want that. Trust me.”

"Hey." "Wait don't say anything yet, I'm going to guess..." She put her fingers on her temples mockingly at hummed slightly. "I have a nack for these types of things, you know." She laughed again. "I'm going to say Apollo aaaaand... Hades?" She turned to look at the kid standing there, "Hmm maybe Erin has a new brother, that or I'm way off."

Allen listened to both of the ladies and then the other new male as he arrived to join the four of them. Allen chuckled lightly as they all spoke and he listened to the back & forth of godly parents, taking into realization that he was the suspected Hades-born, and on top of that he realized the woman was close, He was the son of Hecate. He wasn't sure how to feel about the guess, Hades had a reputation and everything, but that didn't mean his children followed suit. Allen knew this because he didn't exactly follow suit with his mother after all. He looked over the ladies a moment while listening to the new male speak. He glanced about their appearances without trying to stare, but Allen had been raised differently during his time in "foster care" and had grown up rather blunt. When the air cleared into silence with the male's finished sentences Allen took his turn to speak.

"I'm Allen Napier, and I am also the son of a Goddess. My mother is Hecate, where as my father is deceased. You were close though deary, fairly close." He stated looking to Astrid with a nod and a smile. "I really don't what cabin I am put in, so long as it has non-sibling lassies like yourselves for me to gander at while working." He stated while turning to speak to them all generally. "It is a pleasure to meet all three of you, but an even better pleasure to have you ladies show me the Cabins." He ended while grinning a moment and then returning to his flat expression and awaiting a sense of direction.

Astrid

"Well shoot, guess I'll have to give up on my physic career." Her face broke out in a massive smile. At a comment about their beauty from one of the boys Astrid notice her sister shift in her posture. She leant forwards giving off the appearance that her breasts were bigger than they actually were. Rolling her eyes and shaking her head she thought about how Austin's comment was so accurate sometimes. "I'm Austin, by the way, son of the infamous Drake Sentinel, and some goddess. I don't know who, yet. Nice to meet you two." Still looking at Ky her face changed into confusion, who the hell was Drake Sentinel? With sudden inspiration she said, "I remember now he's the pizza guy! In that one movie... Right?" Her voice was playfully gently teasing the Austin for assuming that everyone knew who his father was.

Turning towards Allen she waited patiently for his name. "I'm Allen Napier, and I am also the son of a Goddess. My mother is Hecate, where as my father is deceased. You were close though deary, fairly close. I really don't what cabin I am put in, so long as it has non-sibling lassies like yourselves for me to gander at while working. It is a pleasure to meet all three of you, but an even better pleasure to have you ladies show me the Cabins." She felt her eyes beginning to roll again. Looking at her sister she said, "You have no idea how common this shit is becoming. This place is becoming a dating camp. You can literally feel the teenage hormonial tension in the air." She put out her hand in a kneading gesture.

And if either of you need help or are looking for someone to talk to just head on over, our cabin isn't one that can really be missed; most cabin counselors are pretty good when it comes to new campers, however I suggest you stay away from the Hades cabin as Erin isn't the friendly type..." At the mention of Erin, Astrid looked towards the dark cabin. Even for the children of Hades it was surprisingly quiet, and dark. "You know, now that you mention it, it does seem a bit smaller around here." She shrugged the tingling feeling at the back of her neck off, "Probably just wandering camp somewhere, it's quite a large place, you know."

---

Jack

Jack laughed quietly glad that Caien had joined his joke instead of getting angry about it. "I didn't have much time to find a weapon really before the ground ate me." Jack looked at him with an expression that said, "Really?" Despite his skeletal face he felt rather proud of the way it turned out. Shaking his head he began to rummage around in the junk. "Most people keep a weapon on them at all times at this camp. Comes in handy during surprise situations." He stopped his search and gestured around, "Like this. Anyways, because a weapon is sort of... annoying to carry a lot of the Hephaestus kids, like myself, have devised mechanisms to shrink them. Pens turning into swords, quarters into javelins, tissues into pikes, you know, the usual. That or you combust into flames, its a fairly reliable method." Finally finding what he was looking for, Jack began to pull.

Dragging out what seemed to be an old dish washer, he flipped it over with a slight struggle, and began to investigate the back. Reaching his hand into the tightly compact network of pipes, he clasped down onto something. Having smaller hands was becoming a really useful tool. Setting his feet, Jack began to pull. The machine at his feet squeaked and groaned, but showed no signs of budging. Leaning back he growled from deep in his throat. "Fuck it," stepping back he blasted the machine with red-hot fire, covering it's surface. In the center of the stream was a concentrated beam carving out what he wanted. After he had finished he reached in and grabbed out a glowing-red hot steel pipe. "Pretty much the best thing your going to get for now." Jack watched his knuckles and saw the heat shine through the cracks of the bones. "huh, cool." Swinging it around him a little bit, so that it cooled, he followed by tossing it to Cai. "Have fun."

"Who'd you think put all this stuff here? What is it anyway?" He shrugged slightly. "Hell if I know. Maybe it's one of the gods junk yards. Like Hermes lost and found? I sincerely doubt it's my fathers though, he like never wastes anything." He followed Cai until they reached the end of the clear path and began climbing the piles of junk. Their pace was forced to slow as they carefully placed their feet, so that pieces of the mountain of garbage didn't start deteriorating under them. "I must say, this is quite a boring challenge. I was hoping for something a little more Ate." Inside he was actually terrified of what would come next, but reasoning with himself that he might as well get it over with , so that they didn't have to keep worrying about the forthcoming threat.

Austin glared at Ky 'vie after she tassled his hair. He was red in the face from her previous posture, but he didn't care how cute she was, no one messed with his hair. He flipped it back over to the side. He smirked at the confusion on his father, though. His only answer was, "Well, he's a dick, so you're lucky you don't know of him." He smiled genuinely at Astrid's comment, though. Finally, someone as snarky as I am. he thought. Dammit! Why does everyone here have to be my type?

So, Allen's his name. He talks really proper and flatteringly. Though I'm not sure what he thinks he's doing. It seems like he was expecting to end up here. Like he knew about this place. Does that mean other half-god kids know about this place and actually flock to it? They aren't chased here and only accidentally come in? Austin thought. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he thought.

Austin looked up and saw the ladies walking off, followed by Allen. Then he remembered something that happened awhile ago when he was fighting a monster in a back alley. It had called him something, what was it? Son of... Joseph? No. Justin? No. Justice? Maybe. Maybe that would be something helpful to figuring out which cabin he belonged to. He hoped so, he didn't want to be stuck in the Hermes cabin. Does Hermes actually get around a lot, though? he wondered.

Either way, that wasn't important right now. Austin ran to catch up with the group. "Hey, guys, I just remembered something that might help you out!" He called as he caught up. "A monster a few months ago called me a Son of Justice. Does that mean anything to you guys?"