A scant two minutes after Stella and perhaps three other students had entered, the Son of War ambled in, clad in plain white underarmor, black basketball shorts, and a Dallas-tier sunny grin on his visage. Around one shoulder, his trusty plain red backpack was relatively light, containing naught but a shaker bottle filled to the brim with such gourmet mixtures as The Nectar of Lifts (literally just protein powder and water), a one-subject notebook and pencil, and a ziploc bag (made doubly sure to be sealed, mind you) of chalk. Plopping down into a seat, he slung the bag from over his shoulder and under his desk with practiced grace, one smooth and seamless motion.

Fingers lacing together behind his head, he leeeeeaned back in his chair, stretching his back in a manner not dissimilar to a large, human-shaped cat.

Tara must be lagging behind. he thought, as his earbuds began to pump a copiously appropriate mashup of Deus Ex and DMX. She's usually up before me. Weird.

"Weird" was right. If there was one partially sedentary class his sister would like enough to always wake up for, it'd have to be Physical Training, right? Nothing like knowing your body, and thus your weapon. Nothing like training it... even she wouldn't be able to say no to a free session in a gym that was actually not overpopulated every week. One not plagued by fucking curlbros...

...I don't actually know that much about her grades, do I?

"Meh." he mumbled to himself, returning to a neutrally seated position and concluding it to not be too urgent. She was still here after like three years, after all, so she obviously was doing fine enough. Wasn't like he could abuse his big brother authority in that regard anyway: she'd been here longer, so despite being three years younger, she had seniority. Weird how that worked.

Idly drumming his fingers on the faux-wood of the desk, he waited as more students filtered into the room. One part general health class, two parts working out. Perfect setup, in his opinion.

Goin' heavy on the legs today...

How am I still on a 5x5, honestly? Should have moved onto something more advanced, shouldn't I?

Eh, still making gains.

---

---

Looking at Stella; Clarissa listened to what she said about giving her brother a pair of cookies. That still wouldn't have stopped her from poisoning her pair, if it came down to it. The other pairs could have been free and clean. She just managed to smile at Stella; somehow wondering what she had just gotten herself into by agreeing to this truce. Would it come back and bite her behind? When Stella mentioned killing someone over her brother...she felt a knot in her stomach but managed to disguise it with a smile. "I suppose so." she commented when Stella asked about seeing her later. Watching the daughter of Zeus leave, Clarissa didn't move from her spot until Stella was out of sight. Stella's cookies were still in Clarissa's hands; who was gripping them rather tightly. The cookies started to crumble in her tight grip.

Looking around Clarissa trying to spot her brother, when she did her eyes widened slightly. 'Holy shit!!!' Skye had bumped into Jay. The broken up cookies fell to the floor as Clarissa had released her tight grip on the goodies. Swallowing, Clarissa felt a little panicked wondering what Skye would do to Jay.

The Daughter of Aphrodite broke into a run, sprinting towards her brother and Jay; practically running over the broken up cookies that were on the ground. Reaching the two Demi-Gods, Clarissa gripped Skye's shirt slightly tugging him backwards as she moved in=between her brother and Jay; panting for breath. "What do you think, you're doing Skye?" she asked, looking at her brother with wide brown eyes. Worried that Skye was going to...or already said something that might scare Jay away. Her eyes begging her brother to be nice to Jay. Looking at her brother for a few more moments, she tried to figure out what was going on through his mind and what he had said to Jay before she had run over towards them. She knew they would be late for class...but she didn't care at the moment.

Glancing over at Jay; she gave him an apologetic look. "I am sorry...for whatever he already said to you. He's just....a little too...over protective." she gave Jay a gentle smile, before she looked over at Skye again. "Please be nice to Jay...I am begging you Skye." she whispered to her brother, looking up at him with her big brown eyes. Her body was still positioned between the two of them, in almost a protective manor blocking her brother from Jay.

Skye (mentioned) - Jeremiah (mentioned)

---

---

Today would be a rather easy day, first day of classes always were. Elize stood idly in front of her closet in this god forsaken apartment that they insisted she live in and then demanded that she not keep her serval here. She hated to think of her precious Persia at home alone with only her foster parents to take care of her. She was sure they were spoiling the living daylights out of the large feline but still she missed the creature, missed having some sort of enjoyable social interaction. Interaction with other demigods were alright at best, nothing truly pleasurable that was for sure.

She rummaged through her closet, throwing clothing about in all directions to find what she wanted to wear today. This was the one thing she had while at school aside from the creatures in the woods. She pulled a pair of simple medium wash distressed jeans from a drawer and pulled them on before she dug out a low cut tank top and a dark red, loose, leather jacket. Next was her shoe situation, only she could have nearly 150 pairs of shoes stashed around her apartment and not a single pair to truly match her outfit. She pulled the outfit together with a pair of dark red flats that were as close to the same color as her jacket as she could find, not exactly the same but close enough.

After straightening her hair she slunk from the apartment, moving as silently as ever while she crossed the distance between her apartment and the main part of campus swiftly. Skye and the young lad Clarissa had been kissing were loitering about as they spoke to one another, she wasn't quite sure whether Skye was being friendly or not. It wasn't any of her business anyhow so she continued on her way spotting several of the others lingering around gossiping. That might as well have been the official school sport here after all what better to gossip about than a giant party. She still wasn't quite sure why her mother had insisted she come but there was little she could do but obey, her mother had a strong tendency to turn you into an animal when you didn't listen.

She quickly found herself in the classroom for Greek Mythology, it was a delightful class learning about what all their parents had done. Elize would have rather jumped from a cliff than found out all the disgusting detail of what all their parents had done.

---

---

Cool spring green eyes opened sharply at the sound of an alarm, the fourth and final one she had set. Upon realizing this Laurel leapt from her bed, throwing on a pair of black and blue work out pants that clung to her well toned legs and a black racerback tank with a cute sports bra under it so that if anyone saw it at least she would look decently cute. With this she paired her black and purple Nikes that she was ever so fond of and rushed out the door, notebook in hand to her first class. Power Management since she was still learning about how her powers worked and what all she could do with them.

As she was jogging swiftly across campus she heard someone say something about going there but she didn't stop to ask where it was. They'd given her a small map and she slowed her jog so that she could both hold her books and look at the small map. It was located in a building just to the left of where she was at apparently and on the second floor so that was where she headed, sitting down quietly in a desk when she got there.

She rubbed a small locket that her mother had given her before she left for this school. Apparently this was her father's only wish, that she attend here. She'd never met the guy and he'd never tried to contact her or anything of that nature. His only request was that she go to this school to learn to use her powers and he'd told her mother than soon after she had delivered Laurel. When he walked out of the hospital that was the last time either of them had seen one another.

---

---

Cori was early for the Power Use and Control Class, apparently. There were only a few kids so far. She was amazed by the classroom. It had the normal part with desks and a blackboard. But also a big open space. probably for when things became a bit more physical. Around the classroom stood closets and tables which had all kinds of stuff on display. There were plants and weapons, and some sort of instruments that Cori couldn't name. There was protective material and there were targets. There was a lifesize doll that was probably for testing out all kinds of hurtfull stuff. There were vials with unknown liquids, and different kinds of materials. Rocks and Metals. Wood, cloth, paper, coal. Books lying around here and there. Through two glass doors on the side of the room, Cori could see how the Power Use facilities were extended outside. There she could see a big fire place. And a garden with all kinds of plants and some animals. Everything was there. Ever type of divine power that you could possibly have was catered for. She thought it was rather impressive.

"You must be Corinthe." A voice behind her said, taking her out of her thoughts and observations, back into the real world.
It was the teacher. "Uh yeah. Hi. Mister Neelson?"
"Correct. Welcome to Power Use and Control. I'm curious to what you will bring to the table today. You did figure out your power did you?"
"yeah I did, but it kinda.."
he man interupted her. "Don't tell me. I have some guesses. I'll see if I was right soon enough."
"oke..."
"Why don't you have a seat."
Cori sat down at a desk near her. With nobody around her. That was stupid of her, as she'd rather get to know somebody here so she wouldn't feel weird and alone. But now she couldn't get up anymore to get to a different seat, because that would be really weird. So she just stayed where she was.
somebody was bound to come sit next to her, right? There was probably a good chance he or she would be nice. Maybe she was fooling herself, but it sort of calmed her down. She checked her phone for a message from Zeke.
Nothing.

So her gazing around the classroom started again. Among the weapons she saw a scythe. Or maybe it wasn't meant as a weapon here. It's just that she had this image of the grim reaper with the scythe. Maybe that would be her thing. With her father being Hades, she would become the personification of death. Ha! She discarded the idea. That was nothing like her. And really really ridiculous. Like her life had become some sort of cartoon. But what could she expect?

---

---

Raven, after looking over the map for the hundredth time, was able to make her way to her Power Management class. She raised her eyebrows at the people who were taking it before going and sitting down in her chair. She pulled it out and plopped down in it, setting her bag down next to her chair. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked around. The people here... Jeez, they were strange, but less strange than some of the people that she had met before.

She pulled out her locket once again and began playing with it on her desk. She never took the locket off, even when she went to bed at night. It was the last thing that remained of her mother's. Everything else had either been sold to help pay for her living or had been stolen or taken by the orphanage women. They didn't want the children to have anything about where they had come from. Raven had hidden the locket every day under her pillow and she had remembered to grab it when she ran away. Now, she always wore it, making sure that it still worked. She would always clean it and keep it in pristine condition.

She turned it over carefully again, examining the gears and knobs on the back. The heart had a clear case over it, so you could see the mechanism that would work the music box itself. She carefully twisted the knob to make it go, watching the wind up mechanism, and then watch it as it began to spin the opposite direction and the music began to pour out of it again. She began humming some of the notes to it, whenever she recognized it and she sat back in her chair with a sigh, memories of her mother fluttering back to her.

---

---

---

---

Ever carefully slid her arm underneath his and they began to walk, Charlie trotting in between them. "Love triangle?" Ever said with slight interest. "That sounds most fascinating. Love is a curious thing... then again, Curiosity did kill the cat. It is best to just avoid love at all costs. It is easier for me because I am blind, and, well, who would really want to date me? With my creepy eyes and creepy powers?" Ever let out a light laugh as they turned to head toward the Physical Education room.

"I believe that they have put me in Physical Education this morning," Ever said, in response to his last question. "The Gods only know why they would put a blind girl in the Phys Ed class, but I guess I can help out. Preventing things before they happen in all." Ever laughed as they turned the corner again and she carefully picked up Charlie's harness as they entered the room. "Thanks for helping me out, Peter. I hope you get to feeling better." Gently reaching out, she gave him a quick hug before making her way over to the nearest seat, with help from Charlie, who managed to run her into four chairs on the way.

She would not be able to tell who was in the class with her until someone began talking or there was a roll call, though there rarely was ever one to help her out. Many of the people who took Phys Ed had already been here for a few years and many of the teachers knew them by name. She was one of the more known ones, but for the reason that she was blind rather than anything else. She was mainly in the class to help prevent injuries, lest the Gods be angry with the teacher... She smiled slightly. She at least was important. She was literally protecting people from getting killed.

---

---

Jay was still trying to gather himself. He didn’t mean to bump into anyone, but he did and the initial feeling wasn’t a pleasant one. He slightly got the wind kicked out of him, so he was trying to do all that he could just to get control of his senses. That wouldn’t take long, but when Jay would apologize to the person he bumped into, he noticed that the person was the last person in the entire academy that Jay wanted to see/talk to, let alone bump into.

”Y-Yes, I am, but I prefer Jay, if you don’t mind,” Jay said, stating he preferred to be called Jay and not Jeremiah.

What nerve he must have had though? There he was, being eyed by Skye as if the latter were a predator and Jay were his prey. Jay noticed that his right thumb and index finger were on his chin as if trying to get a good look at him - examine him. Jay couldn’t do anything but stand there, waiting for some situation to arise where he could get away from him.

It wasn’t like Jay was deathly afraid of Skye, but he’s heard the rumors. He’s heard that the Son of Aphrodite was a bit overprotective over his sister, and Jay was the guy who had gotten pretty close with that very sister. What else was Jay to feel aside from uneasiness and a large hint of fear? He didn’t know if Skye was going to attack him right then and there or do something far worse. He didn’t know if Skye would plot to kill him later down the road or do right at the very moment. Every possible thought was going through Jay’s mind - none of them good.

And then he stopped in front of Jay. The latter was sweating bullets inside. Skye would ask the dreaded question and Jay looked up, meadow green eyes filled with anxiety, “It’s just as you said,” Jay said, his voice teetering a bit in clearness.

In-between his response, there was a silence from Jay. He was pondering his next sequence of words. He wanted to make sure he did not say the wrong thing or the right thing in the right way. He had no idea of knowing how Skye would react to it(if he would at all). He had no idea of knowing that words of stating how he cared for Clarissa would help or hurt his impression of himself to Skye. There was no way of telling if Skye would back off slightly if he stated he cared for Clarissa a lot and wouldn’t let anything happen to her or if that would make Skye push even further with his interrogation, because, despite what it appeared to most, this was as anxiety-filled as any interrogation Jay has seen on cop shows.

When Jay took a deep breath, he looked Skye directly in the eyes. He kept that for a moment or two until his mouth formed words and his voice matched to boot, “I care for Clarissa a lot. I--” Just as Jay was going to complete what he was going to say, he noticed Clarissa stepping in-between the two of them, sort of like how Jay did for Clarissa when Stella was confronting her.

As she had pleaded her brother to be nice to him, a look of relief came over his face. Jay was about to say something that would have most likely gotten him in even deeper waters with Skye than he already was.

“It’s alright.” Jay said, smiling gently at Clarissa, “I’m late for my first class anyways. Nice meeting you, Skye,” Jay said nervously, but his eyes fell to his sister, “I’ll see you later, Clarissa,” Jay said, getting up. As he dusted himself off and grabbed his shoulder bag, Jay gave a wave goodbye to Clarissa as he headed off to the direction of his first class.

It was probably five or so minutes of on-and-off again sprint-to-jog running that Jay did to get to his first class. He knew he was late, but based on the dwindling numbers of the students out and about, Jay knew he was running later than preferred.

I’m so late.

Jay turned corners, ran down hallways, and just five minutes more of doing that, he came to where his first class was being held: Physical Training.

When Jay entered the building, he noticed desks. “Well this is odd,” Jay commented lowly, but the echo of building probably hinted his arrival to the other students.

He looked around to find a suitable desk and as he looked to the left, he saw one Stella McGuire - the person that Jay didn‘t want to see; though, the same could be said for Skye too. Should Jay just make the effort to smooth things over with her as well or evade her for as long as possible? Swallowing a anxiety-filled dose of saliva, Jay chose to the former category.

Deciding to be the bigger man or whatever, Jay took a seat next to Stella, trying to avoid as much as eye contact as humanly possible. When Jay would look over at Stella, something came over him. There was a look of nervousness, but also one that had a slight apologetic feeling to him. Sighing, Jay would speak, “funny seeing desks in here..” Jay said awkwardly, trying his hardest to kind of break the ice between the two of them. Perhaps it was too early for that to happen. Maybe what Jay just did made things even worse.

Mother, I hope this was the right thing to do.

---

---

Serafina sighed with relief. Nothing major had happened. Smiling, she stood and started to make her way to class. Physical Training, probably her least favorite class, but it was necessary. The life of a demigod was dangerous, and she knew she needed to be able to protect herself, but still. Hera's daughter did not like fighting. She would much rather look after her family in peace, but that was not always possible.

Entering the classroom, Serafina sat down at a desk, somewhere in the middle and close to the other people there. She busied herself quietly, working on a macrame bracelet. It was a nice one, she thought; green and gold and blue in a zigzag pattern. It would probably be gifted to one of her children at some point. That was the usual for her crafts. She would much rather give something to someone who would use it than keep it in a drawer somewhere.

She was nearing the end of this bracelet. Serafina measured it around her wrist and gave a small, satisfied smile. It looked like she had estimated right on the thread length for this one. She was getting better, mostly thanks to the help of an artsy friend of hers. As her hands worked on the bracelet in front of her, she was already mentally planning out her next one: shades of blue, in a wavy pattern. It would be lovely.

---

---

Delilah internally groaned as the wonderful and amazing Vivian dragged her for yet another run. She didn't even get the chance to say bye to Dallas and Rozelia. They continued to run until there was no one in sight, much to Delilah's confusion. She had no idea what was going on, though Vi was most likely going to tell her while she tried to catch her breath.

Ah, there it was.

And this was way worse than anything Delilah could ever imagine. She did not even want to believe that the news was true. It was also hard to tell if the source was reliable or not as it could be a messy game of telephone. Still, it was unnerving and Delilah saw the fear on Vi's face so it was still a grave matter. In attempt to make her friend feel better, Delilah pulled her in for a hug. Patting her back gently, she did her best to console her friend. "We'll get to the bottom of this. For now we have to get to class, but let's both try to get as much information as we can. We need to stay in touch and let the other know if they find anything else." She hoped she sounded more confident than she actually was.

Eventually she released Vi from her embrace and noticed that class was going to start soon. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry! She waved goodbye to her friend and then held up her phone to indicate that she should text her often to stay posted. She rushed over to her class which required even more running, much to her dismay. She really couldn't catch a break today.

By the time she reached her class, she just barely made it on time. Her hair was getting messy and she felt all gross and sweaty. This was not what she had in mind for her first day back. Most of her classmates had already arrived, leaving her with only a few seats available for her to choose from. She sat in the middle, among a few students she might have met the year before, and smiled at them even though she was not really in that great of a mood because she still want to give a good impression.

While she did her best to pay attention in class, she could not help but let her mind drift off to what Vi had told her. What if something really was going on? A lot of people could get hurt, and that would be terrible. Before she knew it, class had ended without her catching a single thing. Luckily, the girl sitting next to her was kind enough to explain what happened in class for her. Delilah made a mental note to give her muffins or cookies as thanks later in the week.

---

---

“Yeah, let’s continue this after class. See ya then~” Vivian said to Lilah, watching her leave.

As she saw her friend go to class, Vivian waved goodbye with a half-happy smile. Most of it was being consumed by worry and curiosity. Yes, Vivian knew what it did to the cat, but she’s a tough cookie. She knew what it took to get things done when it really counted. Besides, she’s the niece of Artemis. Sure, it’s not the same of being a direct descendent, but there should be at least some kind of huntress-type of blood inside her. Even if it manifests in some kind of detective persona, surely Vivian would be able to handle whatever it was that it would require of her.

Vivian didn’t really check the time, but she was lost in her own thoughts about what would happen and what it would take for her to find out more about this that she just noticed that Lilah had left some time ago. That’s when she decided to indeed check the time and sighed. She had already went to her first class, so it wasn’t like she was in a hurry to get anywhere.

I guess I could go nap, but..

Vivian didn’t know what she wanted to do. There was still plenty on her mind. She didn’t know if what Alana told her was the truth and she couldn’t very well go to the Headmaster about it without any proof to back up her story. Going to any of the other students was out of the question since Vivian wasn’t sure if any of them were responsible. Wait, what was she thinking? There’s no way anyone she knew could be behind it. Most - if not all - of the Olympus Academy students were, at their very least, half-decent people.

As she started to walk around campus, Vivian noticed that it was quite empty. There were very few people who were around. It was no surprise as most of them were in their first class. Vivian, on some level, regretted taking the early class with Miguel. Though, Vivian didn’t think that Alana would drop that bombshell on her.

Taking it upon her to make use of her free time, Vivian decided to head to her apartment. Since she wasn’t busy with any class, Vivian made it up in her mind to go home. Obviously none of her known associates would be free to hang out for at least a couple hours, so this was the perfect time for her to catch up on some relaxing Zs.

“I can’t wait to just rest off these worries.” Vivian said, actually sounding excited for her nap.

Vivian might not be a real lazy bum, but when she was agitated or worried, a nap seemed to really do the trick.

As she came into view of the apartment buildings, Vivian smiled happily as she jogged to it.

After five seconds, a shadow appeared behind her. One more second, a black hand was over her face. A surprised scream muffled through the glove on that hand. And in two more seconds, Vivian was gone, with only her phone left on the ground, set on Delilah, calling her..

Nothing made exercise worth it quite like getting a literal power-up from your workout music. It was just a shame that the most energetic - and looked forward to - class of Dallas' day came first, because after Physical Education, it meant that the day could only go downhill. But for the entirety of first period, Dallas Relo got to dirty dance around a punching bag like Swayze, man a treadmill, even work on his max on the bench. It was doubled down upon by the fact that he probably had the best spotter - and vice versa - in the entire school in the son of Ares himself. Always there to whip his pretty ass into a motivational frenzy, emasculate him by promptly deadlifting almost as much Dallas and his mother weighed together, and, of course...duets.

("SOMEDAY, LOVE WILL FIND YOU"

"BREAK THOSE CHAINS THAT BIND YOU"

"ONE NIGHT WILL REMIND YOU"

"HOW WE TOUCHED AND WENT OUR SEPARATE WAYS"

"IF HE EVER HURTS YOUUUUUUU"

"TRUE LOVE WON'T DESERT YOUUUUU"

"YOU KNOW I STILL LOVE YOU"

"THOUGH WE TOUCHED AND WENT OUR SEPARATE WAAAAAAAAYS")

It could only go downhill from there.

So after about seventy five minutes, Dallas hopped into the showers to clean off (and hit the higher notes that Jonas, bless his burly heart, was just too masculine to pull off) and relax for a minute. When he was out and fully dressed, he reclined on a bench and held his phone with two fingers, spinning it around in a circle above his chest in boredom. He had an unread text from his mother, and several from people asking if they'd left shit at his place the week prior, but nothing he felt like answering at the moment. It would probably be easier to just wait for Jonas and fuck shit up with him after class. Or maybe annoy Vivian, but she seemed to have less patience for his shit than usual. Pouty face. The cute hippie friend would probably be just as much of a bust.

Booooored.

Miss Universe hated being bored.

---

---

It's weird to be back.
Sam had thought those words plenty of times upon his arrival in the early hours of the morning. Although disappointed that he'd come so late that he'd missed the first day, he was also thankful. If he'd ran into someone he knew before even prepping himself in the slightest - Gods, especially Ever - he would have completely blown everything. That's what he figured anyway.
In addition, he'd elected to sleeping in rather than attending the first day of lessons. It wasn't like he was going to miss much - he knew the teachers already - and he didn't want to be doling out explanations of his sudden disappearance while running on two hours of sleep. The few people he had ran into this afternoon were all new - or, at the very least, had arrived to the Academy in his two years of absence. Another new addition was the Headmistress - an attractive, yet intimidating woman. Although slightly concerned as to why she was here, and why the Headmaster - who seemed rather pleased to see him alive and not missing any limbs or extremities - needed an extra set of hands in running the school, Sam left it alone. It didn't seem to be a wise move in questioning someone like that.
"Let's see... I've missed Physical Education... and Mythology." He muttered to himself while staring at his timetable. Nothing too bad. He was pretty much in shape - what with running every day and pull-ups whenever he had the chance, he looked and felt good.

Well... he could probably lay off the burgers, but his abs weren't particularly suffering for the moment.

Looking up from his timetable, Sam smiled as he looked around the campus. Autumn hadn't quite set in yet - the grass was still the sweet green of summer, and the trees listed lazily in the warm breeze, leaves not yet showing the rust of fall. It had been winter when he had left the last time - the snows had made that night particularly tough for him. However, the campus seemingly welcomed him back with open arms with the view he was given. It was unchanged - barring the students. There were many new ones - however, more worryingly, there were quite a few of his old friends missing. An Ares girl whom he'd had a brief fling with; gone. His first friend/best friend/boyfriend/ex-boyfriend of the Aphrodite bloodline; gone. That one Hephaestus guy who he'd had a severe love/hate relationship with; gone.
Other than holiday seasons, it was uncommon for a teenage Demi-God to leave. If they finished the curriculum, it wasn't uncommon to see older students remaining - either to coach the younger Demi-Gods in their lessons, or to just remain safe. It was known that monsters just couldn't get into the campus. It had never happened, and never would.
If a Demi-God did leave before they finished all of the lessons, it was for a major reason. And even then, they didn't come back.
"Except me." Sam thought to himself, perching on a bench in the middle of campus. Sighing and running a hand through his dark hair, he peered at the buildings surrounding him. Before anything, he wanted - no, needed - to speak to his little sister - his Ever.

More than anything else, he regretted never speaking to her after that night. He meant to come back as soon as possible, but with what happened - with what he saw, both in his mind and in real life - he couldn't bear the thought. Sammy had taken to the roads, wanting to abandon everything from his past, just to ease the pain. Perhaps, it had. But perhaps it was just the fact that he was always thinking too hard about something else. What tattoo to get, how to survive this bar fight, what 'poison' he would choose, and which place to go next... it always overtook his mind, so much so that he could quite happily forget everything that really mattered. The Academy, his Sister, his friends... Hell, even his parents. He'd never had much respect for his Dad, but after Grandpops died, he didn't even consider the fact that his Dad may have been hurting over it. He didn't consider that Ever and his friends had no idea where he was, and if he was even alive.
Thankfully, Mom showed up to snap him out of his destructive and nomadic reverie.
It hadn't been pretty. She had showed next to no sympathy, and had instead told him to go back home, and deal with his shit. Oh... and the visions were going to be coming thick and fast, so he was going to need some support.
Although fearfully apprehensive of people's reactions to seeing him back, it sure as hell beat bleeding out on some deserted roadside, as his brain exploded into the agony of seeing the future. A gruesome, horrific future.
"Great job Sammy! You just made yourself severely depressed! Let's hope the first person we run into doesn't become our personal therapist!" Sam scolded himself silently, brow furrowing slightly. Now was really not the time to become brooding. Better to fall back on the good ol' thing that never failed - his optimistic flippancy.
As if by magic, his trademark smile appeared, and he forced his concerns to the back of his mind.
He was ready for socialising.

---

---

---

---

His morning lesson had been promising, but at the same time, dull. Although the teacher - introduced as Dr. John Levesque - had been both passionate and articulate about the subject, everything touched upon had been known by Peter already. After finding out about his Greek heritage, Peter had delved more into the Ancient Greek mythologies, as opposed to his favourite Norse myths. It was more in order to find out about possible enemies as opposed to casual interest. If Gods were real, that meant the monsters were. And according the myths, monsters didn't like Demi-Gods. So, knowledge meant survival in his eyes.
However, interestingly enough, he'd never met or seen a monster on his travels around the world. Not that he knew of, anyways.

Once the lesson had finished, he was free until late afternoon. Heading to the café in which he had met Ever, Peter took a seat at his usual table as he waited on his order. Hopefully Ever would show up.

---

---

---

---

Despite the more than exciting name of the lesson, it had been dreary. There had been nothing to do with powers in the lesson - or, at the very least, about using powers. Although she was happy to keep her powers and Father's identity a secret for one more day, the lesson hadn't lifted her spirits much. It had been pretty much the teacher lecturing them on the morals of powers. How to not use them to destroy the world or rob banks and such.
Jeez, like that would even go through a sane person's mind. With monsters after you every turn of the way, who had time to rob banks? She'd rather be hunting the bastards down.
Yeah... one by one, just killing everything evil. A fine-ass car, the open road, banging tunes, some hot-ass angels and sassy demons - it was at this point Roze's mind fell into fandom territory, and gazing dreamily out of the window, pictured herself alongside Team Free-Will from Supernatural as they killed monsters.
As the mind of a fangirl works.

In no time (Or, at least, how time passed for the day-dreaming Demi-Goddess), the lesson was over, and Roze found herself heading to her next lesson. Which was...
"PE? You have got to be kidding me." Roze muttered to herself, looking at her timetable. "Am I back at Elementary school? Jesus, if I get there and they're doing netball or something, someone is going to die."
With a groan and a dragging of the feet, Roze towards the Physical Education building. Hopefully she was doing theory this period.

---

It wasn't theory.
With the classroom empty right before second period began, Roze figured it would be taking place in the gym. There were no sign of the teachers or students, barring the remainder of first-period students still in the gym. Spotting two people she actually knew, Roze walked over to Dallas and Jonas. It was a good ten minutes before second period began anyways, so she might as attempt to make friends beforehand.
"Hey guys." Roze began as she approached, smile on face as she began tying her plaid shirt around her waist. "I was about to ask you if this lesson was boring, but from the looks of you both, you take to exercise like Rocky does to punching butcher's produce." She added with a chuckle. Dallas was freshly showered, and Jonas was still working out on some contraption. Jeez.
Where was a swimming pool when a girl needed one?

"Hey there." Dallas was idly unzipping and rezipping his hoodie over his tank top, with both earbuds in and hair pushed back. He looked up from the bench languidly with a smile and then dropped his head back down onto the seat he'd cast himself down on languidly."Jonas is the one in it for the idealism. I just like looking sexy. I'm FOREEEEEVER YOUUUUUURS!"

He'd taken out one earbud and was looking expectantly at the son of Ares, who responded with a satisfactory mid-squat "FAITHFULLY!"

Leaving the earbud out, Dallas laughed and turned his attention back to the daughter of...uh...whose kid was Roze again? Dionysus? Explained how she got her way into a party with an age limit at least a year or two above her pedigree and didn't get too turned up. He hadn't really asked. Hell, aside from the party, he hadn't really seen all that much of her. Maybe Vivian would've known, but Vivian hadn't answered the call of Journey the same way Jonas would. He'd even given her the biggest softball lyric of them all, for Christ's sake.



Who didn't fucking take that bait? Sometimes he wasn't sure she was even human. Or. Well.

Half human.

Wonder if Roze is into Journey. He considered continuing where he'd left off with his sister, but Jonas got touchy about stopping one song for another, so he decided to just stir up Viv about it later.

"What's goin' on?"

---

---

Thankfully, Serafina didn't have many classes left in the day. She decided to take a walk around campus before heading to her next class; the Academy had some lovely views. Hera's daughter was glad of that. It made the school day so much more enjoyable. A smile adorned her face as she stopped to admire a particularly pretty bunch of lilies. She leaned down to smell them, and then straightened. After she had risen to full height, however, she froze.

Is that... ? No, it can't be. He left years ago. Her curiosity got the better of her. I suppose it could be him? I'll just have to find out. Taking a deep breath, Serafina started walking towards the man who looked like an older version of her close friend, Samael Krios. When she got closer, she knew. It was him. Somehow, he was back.

"Sam?" Serafina asked, an uncertain look on her face. She hoped he recognized her, as she had recognized him. However, she was a bit apprehensive about that. What if she had changed too much over the years for him to know her by sight? Hopefully, he knew her voice, at least. She didn't like losing friends. If he didn't remember her, she might just shed a tear or two.

---

---

Roze couldn't help but grin and raise her eyebrows at Dallas' choice of music. She had him pegged for an indie/modern pop guy.

"Hell, he is a kid of Apollo. Does that mean he likes all music? Gods, I hope he isn't a closet Belieber."
Roze thought to herself as she sat down on a machine inbetween Dallas and Jonas. It was some kind of weight lifting thing - not that she was tempted to try. She'd probably pop a disc in her back attempting it. Instead Roze just swung her legs up and reclined quite happily on the bench.

"Nothin' much. Had a boring as balls first class, which was fairly disappointing. And now I have this, although I'm extremely tempted to skive." Roze began, turning her head to look at Dallas, grin forming on her face. "I like to exercise when I feel like it, and I rarely feel like exercising in a room with sweaty people surrounding me. Also, my workout playlist needs some severe work - Journey doesn't really get me in the mood. Brian Johnson though... he could get me running." She added, swinging one leg over the other and bobbing her foot up in down in the mere prospect of some Back in Black.
Huh. Looks like she was more like Balboa than she thought - Rock definitely got her blood pumping.

---

---

---

---

---

"Sam?"

As a more than familiar voice sounded to his right, Sam turned, his smile becoming far more natural as he looked at one of his oldest friends.
"Serafina Lewison. I bet you're surprised to see me." Sam stated with a smile as he stood up, going to hug the daughter of Hera before him.
Serafina had been one of his first friends at the Academy. She'd always been there for him - how to deal with the new little sister, how to deal with relationships, how to deal with break-ups... she'd seen him at almost his worse.
Almost.
"Before you say anything, I want to say sorry. For... y'know. The whole leaving-then-not-coming-back-without-telling-anyone thing." Sam said swiftly as he gave her a hug. Although they had both grown-up in those two years, she still managed to tuck into him like a kid. He always called her a shortie, despite she being older - and definitely more mature - than himself.
Hopefully, she'd understand his situation. He had a feeling it would be easier to explain it to her than Ever.

---

---

Class was over in an instant, not that Ever really paid attention. She warned a few people about some oncoming threats, but it wasn't that big of a deal to her. Taking a deep breath and picking up Charlie's halter, Charlie guided her out of the school and toward the nearest cafe. She really wouldn't have another class for awhile and it was always nice to get a relaxing coffee or scone of some sort after a very boring class. Charlie pushed open the door of the cafe for her and guided her in, making sure, as much as he could, to avoid sharp corners or chairs of any kind. It was here that Ever put on her glasses. There was no point it making people point and stare.

Charlie, suddenly, let out a bark and yanked Ever toward a table. Stumbling over her own feet, Ever followed Charlie, slightly scared as to where he was leading her. Charlie came to a sudden stop and Ever tripped and fell to the ground. "Ouch..." she muttered, shoving away Charlie's nose as she made her way back to standing. She found the edge of a table and pulled herself up, hopefully not knocking over anything. She reached down and grabbed Charlie's halter again and reached out her hand, touching the table in front of her.

"Sorry about that," Ever said, hearing someone breathing. "My dog kind of gets a little wild sometimes. You're probably someone I know, but I can't exactly tell who you are by your breathing..." She let out a small chuckle and smiled in the general direction of the breathing. "If you could let me know who you are, that'd be great..."

---

---

They didn't really get to do much practical stuff today, which was dissapointing. There was sort of a lecture about how the class was going to be and something about morality involved in the use of divine powers. It was weird, as the gods didn't seem to abide by much morality themselves. But in the second half of the class they got to think about their powers. What they knew already and what usages they could think of. To help them out, there were some categories that they could think of -but to which they weren't limited- like: combat, offensive and defensive, aid, deception, guidance, construction, enhancement, information etc. It was a creative process that really worked for her. She thought of how she could 'find' metals and gems whenever and wherever she wanted. And how she could shape them to her will. For combat, she might be able to make some sharp and pointy metal pieces stick out of the ground into her enemy. At first she was happy with a creative invention. But as soon as she thought of that, she felt a bit sick that she would train to actually do that somebody. No, she wanted to be able to do good things for people, not hurt them. Another on her list was that she would probably be able to make any kind of key if she encountered a locked door. That could come in handy. But the whole soul seeing thing she didn't really figure out yet. The spirits of the living and the deceased weren't something that she thought she could manipulate. Nor did she want to.
When class was over, mister Neelson promised them that they would get to some actual practice of their powers next lesson. He was going to review their ideas and propose something they could work on. Cori was looking forward to it.



After giving her list of ideas to mister Neelson, she walked out of the class into the light of the sun. She stretched out her arms and yawned. Allright, coffee it is.
It wasn't very busy outside. The weather was nice with only a hint of autumn.
On her way she walked past the gym. Through the open window she could hear some people sing. She stopped for a moment to peek through the window for the owners of the voices. She saw Dallas, whom she only knew by name because he had thrown the party last week, in the company of a muscular guy and a younger girl. They seemed to have a lot of fun.

Onwards. Cori moved to the café and through the door until she reached the counter. "Hi. A large black coffee please."
As her order was being made, she sat down at the bar. When the coffee arrived, she took a deep breath and sighed. Now she could relax. Sipping from her drink, she looked around the café. Was that Peter she saw there?

"Wooooo girl, careful what you say. We're still within earshot of Jonas Highwind, the sultan of squats. The deacon of the deadlift. The baron of the bench. The evangelical of exhaustion, the architect of physical exertion, I could keep going if I gotta." Dallas sat up, deigning to zip up his hoodie about halfway up his chest. His phone tumbled down his front and he scooped it up with his left hand, pocketing it briefly. He was grinning; he had stumbled upon a reason to talk, and as was his wont, he would ride that motherfucking reason into the ground like Slim Pickens straddling a nuke.

"Once I was just a normal young buck who put more work into the perfect quiff than he did the rest of his body combined. They were happy days, Roze. Innocent days. Then idiot me went and made a son of goddamn Ares my wingman, and I found myself getting dragged here for physical re-education. Used to trudge back to my dorm exhausted, looking like one of those ASPCA puppies. And eventually, I kinda got into it. Cheating by using music helped. Sometimes I'd hold the door to the gym open for a quick ray of sunshine. Worked even better than fucking Gatorade."

Dallas held his arms out and then gripped both sides of his neck with his hands, squeezing out a couple kinks. Jeez, what was the time? Was he already that close to leaving the one place in this school he felt thoroughly interested in doing shit that wasn't on his own terms? Or maybe that was why he did like Phys Ed. Older students, like him and Jonas, could do anything on their terms. The other classes should...haha...take notes.

"Long story short, I adapted, I enjoy it, and now I can feel comfortable with my own six-pack without Stone Cold back there going full on 'abs don't count if you're skinny, Dal' in my ear every fucking class!" He'd raised his voice and inclined his head to the right to scream at Jonas. Lowering his voice to its soft, lazy tone again, he turned back to the younger girl and plopped back down onto his elbows, smile returned. "And if a little Hells Bells is what fires up that impulse for you, then I want that for you. Truly. Genuinely. I do."

HASHIRIDASHITA

OMOI GA

IMA DE
MOOOOO

"They DOOOOOOOOON'T!" Jonas screamed back as he fought valiantly against the force of gravity for the final time, 495 pounds lifting off of the ground as if space shuttles, pulled through sheer power of the body alone. One earbud dangling from his left ear, the son of Ares felt adrenaline course through him as the moonspoken lyrics pumped his blood, running it as hot as any battle could. At the apex of the chorus, he was damn sure he could deadlift the entire building.

Hoisting the weight to it's full height as form dictated, he grinned ferally even as they descended back down from his now-rescinded over-under grip, returning to the matted floor with an almighty CRASH. Blood coursing through his entire body, he stopped any forward motion of the bar with one foot, and breathed deep. Sweat dripping down his brow, every muscle alight with fire (coincidentally having what in scientific terms was called "a motherfucker of a pump"), and music blaring in one ear, he relished the sheer feeling of raw power that washed over his mind.

Times like these, he felt like he knew just a taste of what it was to be Dad.

He turned to chuckle Dallas's direction, raising hand in greeting to the new girl that had a bad habit of following them all over the place. Roze, right?

"It took a while, but I finally got some work in on him." he stated, pulling the clip off of the near end of the bar and beginning the long, arduous process of removing plates. "It always surprises you how enjoyable lifting is. Surprised both of us, anyway." he explained for her benefit, wishing nothing more than to hog a useless machine with them for relaxation.

You know, that's actually probably the one good use for the Smith Machine.

Just sit on the bar.

Zaheen wasn't generally big on Physical Education, it's not that he had anything against keeping physically fit and he was smart enough to understand the benefits, it's just that he preferred to dedicate the time to working on projects. Unfortunately for him, Zaheen had the great pleasure of knowing Jonas - Son of Ares, Paragon of Masculinity, Spitting Image of Every Fit White Guy - Highwind.

Yeah.

He was going to get forced to take one PE course per year whether he wanted to or not. May as well get it out of the way. Still, it wasn't without it's benefits. Exercise had been proven to aid in one's cognitive functions, and when working on larger projects having a degree of strength was useful. Heck, just in dealing with Jonas one needed a fair amount of endurance to keep up. Plus, Zaheen didn't really mind lifting now and then, if just to keep in decent shape. Slacking off and getting lazy with his body was just as much of a problem as not bothering to learn.

Plus there was another benefit, particularly on days like today, when the Teachers appeared oddly absent, and Zaheen found he could often get away with merely speeding through the motions. This granted him the opportunity to spend the rest of his time tinkering with whatever project currently laid claim to his attention. As of the current moment, said project was his helicopter. It was nearly complete, the past week had done wonders, but the transformation mechanism still wasn't perfected.

Honestly these wires are the most annoying part. If I fix them for boat, there are problems in the helicopter. Maybe I should-nah, what about-nah. Both of those wouldn't fix the fundamental problem. I could mess around some more on rotor placement I suppose, if there located-well that might work but then I'd run into problems with the lift. Which reminds me, I should probably make sure it's still flying right. Besides Jonas and Dallas look like they could use a change of pace.

Not long after the machine was emitting a small purr as its four rotors came to life, lifting the small copter into the air. Remote Control works. That's good. As he continued the test, Jonas would feel the buzzing of air above his head, right before the helicopter dropped down upon the spartan's head.

"So Dallas, Jonas," Zaheen waved, "Would you consider the preliminary tests a success?"

---

---

Serafina nodded in response to Sam's first words, holding him tightly for as long as the hug lasted. She had missed him, missed the way his hugs made her feel like a child again. When they finally separated, she smiled up at him warmly. "You know I'll always forgive you. No matter what." Sam had helped her through some difficult times, just as she had helped him. She knew she could always count on him.

Taking his hand, Serafina stood and waited for Sam to speak again. She knew there was a reason that he had left so suddenly. If he wanted to tell her, she was there and ready to listen. If not, she would respect that. She hoped that he trusted her still like he did years ago. Like she still trusted him. He was, after all, the only man whom she let call her Lils.

Lils. From her middle name, Lily. Symbolically, the lily was associated with birth and motherhood, something which had made Serafina thoughtful when she looked it up. It was that meaning that proved to her that her father had known and accepted that he had a relationship with Hera. As such, she treasured her middle name as a symbol of her mother and only shared it with those she trusted most.