"Oi, the only person allowed to kick my arse is me, love. Suppose I need to teach you humility." Griffin proclaimed with a practically insane grin, twisting his neck from shoulder to shoulder to let it pop.

Smirking, Griffin nodded with a mock bow at her offer to escort her to her cabin and help her unpack. It allowed him ample opportunity to hear whatever tales she had to tell before Arianna or Syleste beat him to it. Erin, of course, would hide any interest she had beneath her veneer of cruelty.

Things had always been like that, it seemed. Ever since they were young, Erin was the cold, objective one, Arianna was the excitable, talkative party girl, Syleste was the sweet, compassionate one, Ky' vie was the glue of sensibility that held him together, and he was the joker, the troublemaker - the wildcard. Funny...there was a time he could remember not always being this way, though it seemed as though it was long and far away.

He could pick up glimpses of it in his memory; being a young, wide-eyed boy who's mind and heart were full of fairy tales and dreams of the future. Never worry about tomorrow, let today play it's course.

Pulled out of his absentmindedness from a distinct vibrating sensation coming from his right-side pocket, Griffin pulled out his phone to see an incoming call flashing on the screen, with the word "Dad" in bold letters identifying the source.

Letting out a sigh, Griffin hit the 'ignore' button, putting his phone back in his pocket. Whatever Hermes wanted, it would just have to wait for a few minutes.

“Ah, poor seaweed-brain… oh well, looks as though she couldn’t take the truth of the matter- she asked a question, I answered it. There’s no need to throw such a hissy fit over it…” Oh for the love of Hades, Claire was such a child at times... Was she really going to sit there and throw a temper tantrum like a five year old little girl, all because she had done nothing but be herself? The thought caused an amused scoff to sound from Erin’s throat, her dark eyes holding a glint of amusement as she watched the fish-girl storm back off down the hill, ignoring everyone and everything else as she took her leave; the dark haired daughter of Hades chuckling softly to herself for only a moment before finally she turned her attention back towards the group, her expression once more returning to its usual bored state, “Well… look what the cat dragged in- you look like crap, Speed.”

Excitedly tightening the grip that she had over his wrist as she heard the familiar sound of her friends voice filling the air around them, Syleste pressed herself closer against his body, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of red at having used him as an anchor as she lifted one of her hands up, waving sweetly in the direction that she could hear the unmistakable voice coming from; her head nodding softly up and down in response to his question. This was a normal thing here in the camp; Ky’ vie was never one to do things by half… now that she thought about it, she never had, not even when they were kids; the bright demigoddess every now and then tearing up the peace and quiet with the sound of one of her machines or inventions- though having almost bowled them all over by her sudden appearance, well that was a slightly more rare occurrence; as far as the she knew, the Hephaestus girl had been getting better at that…

“Yeah, that’s Ky’ vie alright- she’s always back and forth, this is the first time in ages that she’s almost killed us all with her bike though...” Lowering herself back down onto the souls of her feet, she relaxed the grip that she had around his wrist, though seemed to give no intention at all that she was going to be letting go of him anytime soon; the hand that she had been using to wave over at her most recently returned friend dropping down to quickly brush at her clothes, quickly checking to see if she had indeed been hit by any of the dirt he had mentioned went flying towards them, “Nine times out of ten it’s just Griffy that waits for her to get back, sometimes its Gideon that’s here waiting; and even though she complains about people meeting her up here, she loves seeing everyone.”

“..flashy isn’t exactly the right word to describe Morgan over there- try ‘hot-headed’ or ‘rash’ instead, maybe even ‘stubborn’ and you might hit the nail on the head.” It wasn’t as though Erin had meant to overhear the private conversation going on between pinkie and the new guy- okay, that was exactly her intention; it was why she had moved away from where she had been standing by Thalia’s pine, instead taking up the space on Logan’s other side so that she could hear what was being said between the both of them, “Though little Juliet here does have a point- the two pups, though they don’t particularly get along with one another, take it in turns to beg for their mistresses attention.”

“She isn’t that bad, Erin..! Ky’s a really nice person; she’s sweet and she cares a lot about everyone in the camp, that includes you. And she’s also a really good cook too..!” Giggling softly to herself knowing that Erin wouldn’t have anything to say in return, Syleste turned her head away from the both of them once more, her head tilting and a smile never once seeming to fade from her features as she listened to the familiar banter between both Ky’ vie and Griffin getting further and further away from the group, “Trust me, Logan; you’re going to absolutely love her cooking- and if you tell her your favorite foods, she makes them for you on your birthday..!”

“Yeah, yeah- can we hurry up and get a move on already? I have better things to do than to waste my time escorting little greenies around the camp.” Not bothering to even wait for an answer from either of them, Erin shoved her hands deeper down into the pockets of her shorts, her body turning away from the hill as she began to make her decent; following the path of so many who had already disappeared to go about their daily routines. Truth was, she had nothing better to do with her time- if she wasn’t here doing this, she would be sitting in her cabin working on her art. Not that it was going to be getting her anywhere in life; her style of work wasn’t something that would earn her a living as anything more than a tattoo artist, and while the thought of inflicting pain on people with needles was oh so tempting to her, she had no drive to socialize with those outside of the camp.

“Whenever Ky throws a party, it usually begins when you hear the music can be heard pumping through the camp- so when it comes on, just follow the crowd and you won’t miss a thing, promise.” Smile fading only slightly as she tried to concentrate on the footfalls she assumed belonged to the princess of death herself, Syleste softly tugged on his hand as she soon began to follow along behind her, her long and wavy bubblegum pink locks bouncing over her back with each and every step that she took- she was glad that she had decided to tag along for the tour… it was the most excitement that she had seen come through camp in quite some time, and if it was any indication of what was to come, she couldn’t wait to see what was next, “If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask okay? Erin might bite, but I can promise you that I don’t.”

Oh gods, the idea of food set the demigod's mouth to watering. It had been too long since he'd had a decent meal and he was jonesing for a burger in the worst way. Logan felt a little embarrassed with how close Syleste had gotten, but the bubbly girl didn't seem to mean anything by it. Noting how she checked her clothes with her hands, Logan decided to let her know she was free from dirt. "Don't worry about your clothes, Syl. I made sure we didn't get hit, no worries." He raised an eyebrow at Erin's less than kind things she had to say about her fellow campers, especially Claire. Did she automatically hate him too, because he was a son of Jupiter? "They must be good friends then, I'd never get greeted after a long quest. Usually it's business as always." Logan shrugged as he said this, unsure still of how Camp Half-blood operated.

They certainly weren't like the highly militarized Roman camp, that was for sure. The two girls seemed to have opposite views and feelings towards nearly everything. How were the two such good friends was beyond him. "After you, Erin! I'm dying to see the rest of the camp," Logan emphasizing the word for a little humor with the daughter of Hades. His smile was the same, friendly and without malice, truly meaning only to share a joke with her and not at her expense. "Where should we start, do you reckon?" Logan asked his tour guide, hoping he wouldn't annoy Erin. When Syleste started to pull him along, he allowed himself to be dragged after Erin's sudden hasty beat back to camp.

---

Jericho shouldered his backpack, finding that the closer he got to camp the more his feet seemed to drag. The only good thing at that place was Erin. He couldn't wait to point and laugh at the other idiots, but that was a long time coming. Right now, he was outrunning a trio of empousai and a couple of dracanae. They'd finally closed in on him as he finally drew to the end of his journey and they'd pulled out all the stops. Running up the trunk of a tree, Jericho jumped off onto a large branch, climbing until he had a good look at the clearing below. He melded into the shadows of the trees, his scent disappearing. The five monsters came together from different directions, confused and angry at losing their prey. Drawing back Moonlight, three spectral but deadly arrows appeared. Jericho took his shot, the arrows sinking deep into the empousai's flesh and the dracanae's tail, pinning them where they stood. As they howled out their pain their friends hissed and looked at the trees above, never seeing the demigod. His next three shots reduced the monsters to dust and the other two began to warily back into the tree cover.

Stowing away his bow, Jericho drew Wolf's Fang and slowly flanked the remaining dracanae. It had its back to a tree trunk, casting its reptilian eyes all about the scenery. Dropping down, Jericho made it jump, hitting its head against bark before he ran it through the heart. It burst into dust as well around his blade. Focusing for a moment, Jericho followed the smell of goat till he found his last pursuer attempting to cross a stream. Sheathing the sword, he once more drew his bow and after a moment's aim, that empousa was sent back to Tartarus as well. His grin held a dark satisfaction. After a good twenty minutes, he finally made it to the base of Half-blood Hill, where he started to whistle tunelessly. He noted fresh tire marks in the soil and recent footprints. That meant Ky'vie was back in camp, no surprise she'd made it before him with that eco-hazard she rode. He was always tempted to give her a flat, but she'd end up fixing the damn thing anyway.

Sighing, he took small steps, rebuilding the scene that had just taken place just minutes ago. Griffin's tracks were deep in the soil in one spot, suggesting he'd stood there for awhile. More than likely waiting for Ky'vie like a loyal lapdog. Then there were the heavy boot prints of Gideon, since they came from the direction of the armory. Then there were three sets of footprints, one of small measured steps, a careful person that meant it was most likely Syleste, which only meant the other small set was Erin... yet there was a mystery set. He was tall, heavy, and kept his weight perfectly balanced... Who was this? "Seems like things are shaking up around here.. better go see what's what, huh?" Jericho murmured, and hurried down the hill. If there was someone new, Ky'vie would most likely throw them a party. Which meant her food, possibly the best and only trait Jericho appreciated about the tinker girl. He headed off to the Mess Hall first, he needed some food pronto and that took precedence over his curiosity.

Gideon waved his hand over his head, back to Ky'Vie, showing that he had heard. He continued down the Hill, heading toward the armory, where the two demi-gods were waiting. One of them he did not recognize, but the other he knew very well. A big smile came up on his face when he saw him and he laughed out loud. "Archer! Buddy! What's up?"

Archer Andrews, one of the rare sons of Athena, smiled at Gideon as he approached. "Nothing much. I just came down to see if you were up for a round in the ring at the training grounds, but it looks like you have a customer." He booty bumped the young man who was standing next to him forward and the poor fellow stumbled forward in front of the fairly large son of Ares. Gideon cocked an eyebrow at him and the young man stuttered out that he wanted a set of throwing knives as his weapon.

"Good choice, mate. Those are such a rarity these days that it's hard to find anyone who will actually train with them and get good enough to use them properly." Brushing passed the two boys, Gideon made his way inside and walked over to the set of weapons across the wall. Pushing the kid in front of him, Archer made his way in as well, though he had no need of getting any weapons. φλας was strapped across his back and ασημένια φωτιά was on his side. He knew that they were going to be fighting today because, well, Gideon never turned down a chance to fight him.

Pulling a black case off the wall, opening it to inspect the insides, and then smirking as he recognizes the craftsmanship of Ky'vie, he snapped the case shut and walked back over to the kid, who couldn't have been much older than twelve. He spun the case around in his hand and handed it to him. "Here you go, kid. Don't poke an eye out." The kid frowned at him before turning away and marching off, shoving the case into a holder in his jacket. Gideon raised a curious eyebrow at the holder; he hadn't even seen a person here have one before. Kid must've made it himself.

Archer watches Gideon with dark eyes as he watches the child exit. Drawing out his jian sword, Archer ran his thumb along the edge of it and looked through slightly squinted eyes at Gideon. "You ready?" Gideon nodded and they made their way out to the training grounds. It was fairly deserted, most people either going to do other things or going to see the new kid, so they had most of it to themselves. Archer swung his sword and moved to stand in front of Gideon. He held the sword lightly in a two handed grip and Gideon drew his katanas off his back. Archer smiled and leaned into his position.

"Three. Two. One. Fight!" Gideon yelled and he charged Archer.

It was at this moment Ares decided to get bitchy with Hermes.

Ares' anger filled Gideon and he slammed down with more force than he meant to. Archer, shocked by Gideon's attack, only barely got his sword up in time to block the attack. He twisted the blades away and dodged out, whipping back around to face Gideon. A burning anger was forming in the pit of Gideon's stomach and his teeth ground against each other. He leapt at Archer again, swinging for his neck. Archer blocked one of the swords with his and swung under the other one. He was honestly surprised at the ferocity that Gideon had. He was fierce when it came to battle, but he normally wasn't this ferocious. He spun out of the way again and this time, he attacked first. He swung for Gideon's arm, but Gideon was able to block it with the flat end of his right katana. He laughed out loud and a chill ran through Archer. That was not a happy laugh. That was one of menace and evil.

"You think that attack can work?! Let me show you how it's done," Gideon snarled, his voice dropping to a deep bass. He shoved Archer back, kicking him directly in the stomach. Archer fell backwards, but managed to get into a roll and jump back up to his feet. He held his sword in front of him as a barrier, but Gideon would not stop with that. Gideon charged him again, and swung both his blades together, hooking Archer's sword with both of his. Archer kept a hold of it, but his hands slip, and he felt the rush that normally kept him steady with ασημένια φωτιά slip away from him as he lost his grip. His hands tightened on it, and the rush came back, but late. Gideon pushed forward with his hands, shoving the flat of the blades against Archer's chest and the force knocked Archer back onto his back.

Gideon let out a menacing howl and was about to do what he did best, show no mercy. Not even to his friend. Archer saw this in his eyes and rolled up to his feet, drawing his crossbow from his back. Drawing his hand in a straight line in the air, a bolt appeared in his hand. He notched it quickly, raised it to his eyes, and pulled the trigger. Gideon was suddenly dragged back and found himself pinned against the wall of the armory. He tried to jerk free, but the bolt had gone through his shirt and sheath into the wall.

"Gideon!" Archer yelled and ran after his friend. He came to a pause in front of him as Gideon yanked out the bolt. "You need to cool down. I've never seen you so angry."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? 'cause that didn't look like-"

"I said I'm fine!" he snarled. He rolled his shoulder and drew his swords again. "Come on, let's fight."

Archer stared at him. The soft thunk of his crossbow and sword could be heard as they hit the ground. Archer stepped back and held up his hands, his dark eyes worried and carefully wary. "I'm not fighting you. Not while you're angry. You need to go cool off." Archer reached down slowly and picked up his weapons again, sheathing the sword and place the crossbow across his back. "I hear the lake is very beautiful this time of day." Archer spun on his heel and walked off.

Gideon watched his friend go, the angry still seething underneath his skin and crawling around in his veins like bugs. He ground his teeth together and took a deep breath, letting it out a in a long stream with a hiss to go along with it. He shook his head and gripped at the back of it, sheathing his swords before he did so. He stared up at the skies. This is all his father's fault, but what had made him so angry that Gideon nearly killed his best friend?

Kiran drummed her fingers against the wooden desk where she sat. Her eyes were glued to the door of the infirmary, occasionally glancing at the antique clock that hung onto the west wall. Arianna still hadn't dropped by. Who knows what she could be doing right now. The daughter of Apollo started bouncing her leg. What if something bad happened? Could she have gone into an episode? No, someone would have come gotten her. Right? Now she was biting her lower lip. What if they didn't know what to do? Or where to find her? These thoughts ran wild in the Indian girl's head. Anxious to do something, she got up and went to one of the various medicine cabinets to retrieve Arianna's medication. The tube of pills was slipped into her pocket. She would have to go out to find the party girl.

At last, another child of Apollo came through the door to relieve her of her duties. Kiran quickly ran through the necessities before bolting out of the building that had confined her for 2 long hours. Her poor sibling's head was probably still spinning after how fast the anxious girl had talked. In her mind, there was no time to waste.

Sprinting, the brunette found herself checking all over the camp for her target. Asking around, and poking her nose into cracked doors soon sapped the anxious energy from her body. From the angle of the sun, Kiran knew that her good friend would be alright for awhile still. The feeling of being couped up had got to her head. Sighing, she headed to the dining pavilion to feed her groaning stomach.

There were many campers spread out over the pavilion. Some eating, others socializing, and a few Ares kids arm wrestling. Kiran grabbed a plate and piled some food onto it before sitting amongst her siblings at the Apollo table.

They were chatting away, when a figure caught the bright girl's eye. It was Jericho. He was her closest cousin by blood, but definitely not friendship wise. He was always distant, a characteristic far from what Kiran herself would be considered. While he wasn't exactly the type of person she usually admired, Kiran couldn't help but feel a bit envious of his skill with a bow. Being the spawn of Apollo, she was expected to be a master at shooting, but she fell far from those expectations. Jericho on the other hand, was great. The failed expectations were a constant reminder of her mother. Kiran tried her best to avoid archery, but when no one was around, she practiced trying different methods and techniques. However, nothing ever worked out for her.

Realizing that she had been staring, the brown eyed girl quickly turned her head away and focused back on the conversation. She needed to finish up and locate Arianna.

"Gideon!" The angry voice echoed through the water and Claire blinked, looking through the small waves into the glittery abyss above her. The sunlight glinted off the top of the water and she pushed herself upward toward the surface. Poking only her eyes, forehead, and nose above the water, she looked around. She saw the pretty blond boy making his way toward the lake, the Son of Athena, Claire believed, but she saw, storming in front of him, was Gideon. Claire tipped her head curiously to the side and pushed herself silently through the water hardly making any ripples.

"I don't understand why you think it's my fault!" Gideon snarled, coming to such an abrupt stop that Archer nearly ran into the back of him. Archer backpedaled slightly, glaring at his friend. He couldn't understand why he was making sure a big deal out of this! "I can't control it! I can't control his feelings! Can you deny your own actions when Athena is angry?"

"This isn't the same thing! I don't fight when I'm angry--"

"Not the same thing? How can you even say that! I've seen you fight when you're angry."

"I'm not merciless when I fight!" Archer yelled at him. Gideon, on an impulse of rage, reached back to grab his swords, but before he could even get one out, Archer had his crossbow out and was aiming directly at him. "Don't even try it."

The two, unaware of the circling water that now began to spiral around a small blonde making her way out of the ocean, were at a standoff. Neither would move, as the other would most likely strike if they did. The sun beat down heavily on both of them. Archer's dark eyes were narrowed, tracing every single one of Gideon's twitches. Gideon was registering Archer's moves as well, predicting where he would strike first, but neither got the chance to use their knowledge as the sun suddenly disappeared under a dark wave. Both boys tried to get out of the way, but the wave slammed down hard, catching them off-guard.

"Zat iz enough!" Claire was so angry that her French accent jumbled up some of her words. Both boys, now soaking wet, stared at the small French girl. "You two. You two are... 'ow you say... best friends! Amis mellieur! Your parents, as they are brother and sister and opposite, argue much! You two should show them that their children can get along! Not fight whenever one of them gets angry." Claire narrowed her eyes at Gideon. "You. If you are angry, do not fight." The dark blues turned to Archer. "Et vous! You should not be mad at Gideon if his father becomes angry up there" She pointed toward the sky. "And it transfers to him down here! He can control Ares about as much as you can control Athena."

The poor child was shaking from her rage and she plopped down on a stump and crossed her arms across her chest. Her hair fell in wet locks around her face. Droplets of water ran down her skin and with one slight twitch of her shoulders, the droplets suddenly shot off in every direction, some hitting the boys, but when they were gone, she was completely dry. Even her hair was now smooth and straight, as if she had just dried and straightened it at a salon. The ground around the stump was completely dry as well, an after affect of the water bending. Gideon and Archer looked at her for a few moments before turning their eyes to each other. Archer's hair fell in front of his face and he ran a hand through it, slicking it back.

"Sorry," he muttered, staring at the ground. He looked back up carefully and smiled. "Friends?"

Gideon just looked at him for a few minutes before cracking a smile and saying, "Friends." He dipped his head in thanks to Claire. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I will head off to that barbecue with Ky. See you later, scamp." Gideon winked at Archer and Archer just shook his head. After Gideon had walked off, Archer cringed and leaned up against a nearby tree. Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Not really. I think he bruised some of my ribs." Taking a deep breath, he drew himself back up and smiled at Claire. "I'm going to see if I can find Kiran. I'll talk to you later, Claire." He waved to her before hurrying off to find the daughter of Apollo.

Claire smiled and stood up. Well, she had done her job for the day. She walked back into the water and sank down below the surface. She would go to the barbecue at some point. Just not yet.

Oh by the Gods above, it felt amazing to be back in the cabin she was able to call her own; she’d missed all of this… the other campers that she called both her friends and family, the soothing and peaceful aura that seemed to fill the area that made up the camp; for the love of Hades, she had even missed being around people such as Erin and Dionysus- though she knew for a fact that particular feeling wasn’t going to last very long. It had taken them a little longer than normal to make it back to her cabin; the red-head happily and politely greeting all and any who spoke to her on the walk, the news of her barbecue spread quickly causing the both of them to have to stop every now and then so that she could answer questions, but eventually, they made it back to the familiar surroundings of the Hephaestus cabin. It was like clockwork; all the cogs and gears meshing with one another and working perfectly- the very moment that the both of them had been able to step through the door, they were greeted with the strong smell of metal, parchment and grease. A blurred mass of bronze and steel almost bowling them both over as the over-excited auto-animalistic figure everyone knew to be her mechanical dog Ratchet, came running out to meet them from somewhere within the cabin.

Reaching out towards the big and lovable hunk of metal, she let her hand slide back and over the very shape of its head in an affectionate manner; her father’s craftsmanship something that she had always admired about the man, even if the both of them had a hard time getting along with one another. Letting a soft through still definable whistle slip out through her soft pink lips, she motioned with her head towards the door on the other side of the living room, her smile growing and crossing further over her features as she watched the creature happily pull away before bounding off towards her room, whipping its tail dangerously back and forth in his excitement at having his mistress back in the camp. Following the path that it had taken towards the now wide open door, Ky turned her head so that she was looking back over her shoulder at the son of Hermes she had grown exceedingly close to over the years they had known each other, her metallic silvery-blue orbs meeting with his own as her expression softened. She had missed him… she had missed him so damn much- being able to see Griffin again was just one of the many things that she loved about coming back home after a long journey; and getting to speak to him after so long of being apart from one another made every crappy little things she had gone through completely worth it.

“Okay, so it took some doing, and it wasn’t easy to snag them before the pain in the ass disappeared; but I managed to get a couple of minotaur horns from one of my fights. But then again, that’s nothing compared to what I managed to lug back here for you.” Quirking her eyebrow ever so slightly as she dropped her bag down onto the end of the bed, she lifted her hands up and around the back of her head, gathering as much of her long and wavy red locks into her palms before tying them back up in both a messy and loose ponytail behind her head, her lips turned up into a slightly mischievous and playful grin as she once more turned her attention back down to the bad in front of her; the sound of the zipper opening filling the room before she delved her hands into the depths of the bag, fumbling around with the contents as she began to unpack her belongings, “You know, you better start telling me just how much you love me, Girff- I wouldn’t go about carrying these things around for just anyone you know…”

"Asking for free compliments? Well, my father is the god of business...it best be something worth a compliment." Griffin returned with a playful smirk, though even he could not hide the look of curiosity in his eyes as he gazed upon her bag most inquisitively.

Ky' vie was rather well-known for bringing back incredibly valuable gifts that seemed to practically come from the depths of his desires. No doubt she wouldn't fail this time.

Letting one of his hands drift across the cool surface of Ratchet's frame, akin to scratching his head, Griffin planted the other hand in his coat pocket, raising a single eyebrow as anxiousness began to swell in his chest.

"Well, come now, I'd like my present before dinner, love." He said in a voice of mock-impatience, but the amusement that was prevalent both in tone and look proved his words were coy at best.

“Oi, now you listen here mate- don’t you go biting at the hand that feeds you; and you just gotta remember who the person cooking tonight is.”

The sound of her gentle chuckling filled the air of the bedroom as she began to unpack the very items that she had been keeping a secret from him; the space on the bed beside her bag quickly being filled up with boxes consisting of various shapes and sizes, each of the boxes containing one of the pop vinyl figurines of characters she knew for a fact that he loved- Game of Thrones. It was just one of the many shows that the both of them were content to just sit back and waste their time watching together; and while there were times when he had become completely obsessed with it, she had other TV shows that ranked higher up on her list of favorites. Pulling the last one out to sit on the exceedingly large pile that had been created, she straightened herself back up, sliding her now empty bag down to the floor before she turned back to the clothes that she had taken with her- the pile more than obviously smaller than the one that she had left with, but that was just something that she had grown used to over her years of questing; though whether or not it was because of them getting ruined on the journey, or whether she had left them behind on purpose was a complete and utter mystery to all but herself.

“So… when I picked them up on my way back, the demigod I dealt with said there were about sixty-four of them in total, but I’m not too sure, I was too tired to sit there and count them all myself.” Picking up the small pile of shorts and pants that she had made, she turned herself around so that she was facing him, an amused expression playing over her features as she took in what she could of his reaction- she had outdone herself this time; and they both knew it, “So let me know what you think of them okay? If you don’t like them, I can always take them back and exchange them… maybe for a nice top, or mug.”

Griffin was - for perhaps the first time in his life - speechless. All he could do was stare at the immense pile of figures that covered the bed, a look of incredulous shock quite plain on his features.

"This...This is fanTAStic." Griffin declared, purposefully enunciating the second syllable of the word 'fantastic'. Surprise was still evident in his voice as his deft fingers delicately began fishing through the pile, recognizing the caricature miniatures by name and appearance, eliciting a series of giggles that would have fit a young boy in a candy store.

This childlike excitement was once more interrupted by a vibration from his right thigh. "Not now, Dad." Griffin said to himself, promptly hitting 'Ignore' yet again. What on earth could be so important right now?

He was happy, and that was all she cared about; she had once again managed to hit the nail on the head and get him a gift that he so obviously loved. Taking a few moments to finish putting all of her things away in an effort to clear some room on her bed, she turned back around to face him, her hands reaching back behind her to rest against the dresser as she leant her body back into it, her head tilting thoughtfully to the side as she continued to watch him, catching the change in his voice and expression as she watched her friend glance down at the phone that seemed to never stop buzzing at his side.

“..hey Grif, you know in personal experience… the longer you ignore your parent, the higher the chance of them showing up out of the blue and usually at the worst times too…”

Griffin scoffed, continuing to stare at his phone for a brief few moments before returning it to his pocket. "Oh, come now, Hermes wouldn't do that. He probably just wants me to watch Netflix with him or something...you know, gods trying to fit into the human world - it's a real piece of work." He explained, a small half-smirk never seeming to leave his face.

"Hermes wouldn't do what, now?" Griffin practically jumped out of his sneakers as a third voice cut in behind him. Cocking his head behind him, Griffin's saucer-sized eyes landed on his own father, wearing a brown UPS polo shirt and khakis that looked just a little too small.

"We gotta talk, kiddo." Hermes continued without skipping a beat, a casual, almost sing-songey tone to his voice, though Griffin could tell when something was wrong with his father...and this was one of those times.

"Oh! Let's see..." Hermes trailed off as a rather large package apparated in his hand. Looking at the address, Hermes' eyes narrowed slightly. "Ok...Kylie, Kelly, Kyra, Karla, Ky' vie!"

Hermes handed the package over to the daughter of Hephaestus, "It's from your dad. He sends his regards, his apologies, and his, and I quote, 'request for forgiveness'. Please, for all of our sakes, call him once in awhile." With a small affirmative nod, Hermes turned back to Griffin wearing a hollow smile.

"So, son! How do you like quests?"

She told him so; but did he ever listen to her? She knew from personal experience that the Gods and Goddesses had a habit of just dropping by unannounced to see their children, her own father being a major culprit of such rash decisions. She couldn’t count the number of times she had come home with her friends to find him standing in the middle of the living room, and that wasn’t even mentioning the times he had attempted to actually use his parental rights over her.

Widening her eyes up only a fraction as she felt the weight of a rather large and heavy package fall down upon her arms, she took a few moments to look down at it, her curiosity burning when it came to finding out what was inside, though she made no move to show that she was going to be opening it anytime soon; the demigoddess twisting her body just enough so that she could slide it onto the top of one of the few desks that decorated her room, “..yeah; no… I think I’ll pass… last time we spoke with each other was when he popped in unannounced while I was in the shower; it ended with the both of us in another argument. So, remind me why I should forgive him again..?”

"Hey, hey, don't shoot the Messenger. I just deliver the packages. Want advice on how to deal with your father, then might as well bark up Athena's tree." Hermes replied, a slight hint of irritability to his tone. He had enough going on without worrying about other divine family dramas.

Straightening herself up against the dresser once more, she brought her arms up so that they were instead crossed over her chest in a defensive manner; the last thing she needed was for her dad to butt his head into her business again- how many times had she given him a chance only to have him throw it back in her face before begging for another? No, she was just better off with how things were at the moment, “Questing..? Griffin..? I’m sorry, uncle Hermes; I think you might be out of luck on this one, I’ve never known Grif to take an interest in quests the whole time we’ve known each other…”

"'Fraid she's right, Dad. Prophecies were never my forte." Griffin affirmed, regaining his casual composure. Many demigods would have become rigidly formal or terrified upon having to speak with their godly parent. But Hermes was nearly casual to a fault.

Sucking his teeth, Hermes gave a wounded look before clearing his throat. "Well...I'm afraid there's no choice in the matter. Aphrodite's dove has been stolen. It's a stupid damn bird if you ask me, but she seems to think it's special. Ares wants you dead because out of every demigod in the world, you're the only one who could have possibly stolen the bird. The god of war isn't the god of common sense, to put it lightly. Unfortunately my own father didn't strike very well in the common sense department either. Zeus has given you one week to find the dove...or he'll..." Hermes trailed off suddenly, appearing quite devastated for a moment before regaining control of his expression. "He'll let Ares deal with you."

There was an ample pause, a tense period of palpable silence as Griffin coped with the news that had just hit him. He had a week to find one bird in the whole world, or else he'd be killed by the god of war, himself. Letting out a deep sigh, the son of Hermes hung his head, swallowing once before looking up once more.

"Well...shit."

The silence filling the space of her bedroom was almost deafening- the God of war… blamed Griffin..? It both did and didn’t make sense to her; her mind seeming to run a million miles an hour as she did all that she could to ignore the pain that shot through her heart at the very thought of losing her friend to something like this. It wasn’t his fault that he was being pointed out and blamed for such a thing; if anyone was to be blamed, it was his late half-brother Luke. He had been the one to start giving the Hermes cabin a bad name with his attempt at bringing the downfall of Olympus; and while he had managed to go and redeem himself in the end, no one ever really remembered the good that he had done… especially not the Gods.

Gritting her teeth and clenching her jaw for the longest of times as she dropped her head down so that she was staring at the ground below her feet, she did her best to hold back a frustrated growl as she tightened the already firm grip that she held over the edge of her dresser, her muscles seeming to tense with anger which was directed towards the God of war himself- how could they accuse someone just by judging them on the past of those who came before them…

“..I’ll go…” Lifting her head up after a few moments of silence in reaction to her statement so that she could look from one to the other, she nodded her head softly up and down as though to push the point that she wasn’t joking around with either of them- if it was going to help her friend get out of a jam that wasn’t his fault, she’d gladly take up the responsibility and go on the quest in his place. He had been there for her through every hard time that she had gone through in her life, and the very least she could do was be there for him when he needed her, “I’m being completely serious. I’ll take the quest on and go in his place- I’ll even pack now and leave tonight if I have to. Griffin has no experience when it comes to questing; I’m the complete opposite, I’m always going away on quests. I can be there and back, and have his name cleared in less than a week.”

"That's where the problem lies..." Hermes began, taking a somewhat unsettled tone. "Griffin specifically needs to be the one to return the dove. In order to clear his name in Olympus' eyes. Were you to take the quest in his place, the others would see it as a confirmation of Griffin's thievery. He must seek out the dove himself," Hermes paused briefly, "however that does not mean he has to go alone..."

"I don't have a choice either way in the matter..." Griffin responded curtly, still in apparent shock as he was trying to swallow the gravity of the news.

“I can’t believe what I’m bloody hearin’… this is absolutely ridiculous.” Tightening her grip over the edge of the dresser for a few moments before eventually pushing herself away from where she had been leaning up against it, she brought her arms up from her side, crossing them furiously over her chest as she took her place by her friends side again, her metallic silvery-blue eyes turning over to the God she had always been able to consider an uncle. The fact that the Gods had not only given the quest to someone who had no previous experience in quests, but also the fact that they had given him seven days to get the dove back to the Goddess in Olympus.

“..yeah, well there’s no way I’m lettin’ him go off on his own- you don’t have to worry about that, uncle Hermes.”

"Thank you." Hermes replied solemnly, his tone turning sincere as he eyed Hephaestus' daughter.

Suddenly clapping his hands together (eliciting another jump from Griffin), Hermes turned on his heel towards the door of the cabin, preparing to leave.

"Well, I best be off; messages to deliver, packages to sign, singing telegrams to perform, the like. You wouldn't want my job, kids." Hermes hardly seemed to take a breath, resuming his eccentric speech patterns almost as if nothing had happened.

"As for you, Griffin, be safe, pack extra underwear, don't forget your sword, and send your uncle a damn postcard for Olympus' sake. I blame Athena for that man's paranoia." Moving towards his son, Hermes clasped him once on the shoulder with a subtle, affirmative nod before diverting his attention once again to Ky' vie.

"As for you...you have the most important role of all." Hermes began, now once again becoming sincere in tone. "Keep my son safe."

With hardly a moment to spare, the god of messengers had disappeared from the cabin, leaving a tangible silence between Griffin and Ky.

"Hmm...better make sure I'm fresh stocked on underpants." Griffin noted to break the silence, shrugging his shoulders.

Straightening her posture up as the God himself turned to her once again with a sincere though solemn look in his eyes and a grateful tone within his voice, she relaxed both of her arms from where she had them crossed over her chest allowing them to rest once more by her sides, her hands slipping down and into the back pockets of her jeans as she nodded her head, showing him that she was appreciative of his gratitude towards her, “You can count on me, uncle Hermes. I’ll protect Grif on this quest with my life; you have nothing at all to worry about, I give you my word.”

This was unbelievable… but it wasn’t something that could be avoided either- just as Grif had unintentionally found himself in the middle of a quest; she had just voluntarily walked straight into yet another one. Frowning heavily as she let her eyes glide slowly around the room at everything that was around them, she turned and leant her body over, her hand clasping around the material that made up the bag she had only just unpacked before she hauled it back up onto the bed, a soft sigh slipping out through her lips as she headed back to her drawer so that she could begin packing. “Griffin, this isn’t something to make light of… you’re in serious danger right now; and I just swore to your dad that I would protect you with my life. Just do me a favor okay..? Make sure you have fun tonight; enjoy the barbecue as much as you can, because as much as you don’t like it…”

Grabbing up the fresh pile of clothes that she had created on top of the dresser, she turned her body around to face him, her eyes betraying her by looking both tired and weary for the first time since she had gotten back to the camp- she was feeling a little run-down, but that didn’t matter. After a little bit of sleep, maybe some ambrosia; she’d be as good as new, and ready to get back onto the road, “..first crack of dawn; you and I are going to pay the oracle a little visit.”

Beads of sweat forced themselves up through Calista’s pores. They gracefully skated from her forehead to the nape of her neck, eventually rolling over her collarbone sinking their way into her chest. Calista was entangled with her sheets wrestling with them her eyes firmly held shut. Light that flickered in and around her rose colored curtains caressed her pale skin, warming her and encouraging the sweat to continue to pour from her skin. As she jutted out of her bed she felt her damp palms hit her bed sheets and her lungs rapidly expend all of the remaining air they contained. She clutched her chest with her right hand, eyes scanning the room left hand absent mindedly on αγκαλιά which she kept under her pillow at all times while sleeping. After a few quiet moments she realized that she was being paranoid, she was still in camp half blood, she was safe.

Calista took a moment, letting her grip on αγκαλιά fade. She drew her hair back into a ponytail and used her wrist to wipe away the sweat from her brow. She took a long look at her face in the mirror that sat across from most Aphrodite cabin beds. You’re okay girl, pull yourself together.’ She knew that if Jaune were there right now she’d be getting demolished for her lack of composure.

Calista lifted herself out of her bed shedding the undergarments she had chosen as PJ’s for her nap. She quickly through on a newer pair and put on a pair of shorts, an off shoulder shirt and a pair of boots. She examined herself in the mirror making sure to perfectly recolor her hair and eyes to match the lighting before ultimately leaving the cabin. As soon as she left cabin ten she noticed the cabin’s counselor standing outside of it. His name was Colt and it was pretty clear to any outsider that he was a child of Venus. He managed to be beautiful and handsome simultaneously, something Calista actually struggled with. But hey, that’s why he was the counselor. She motioned a quick hey towards him and gave him one of those perfect “I’m a child of Aphrodite” smiles before continuing on her walk towards the lake.

Something about walking through Camp Half-Blood always made Calista feel more at home than anything else in the world. Perhaps because she didn’t really have another home. Living with Jaune never really felt homely, even though it did more or less fulfill the basic living requirements of a person. It wasn’t like Camp Half-Blood. There wasn’t hundreds of people who had similar experience to you, all trying to make the world a better place for people like them, like you. Even though they all had vastly different abilities and potential, they were all so similar.

Once Calista reached the serene lake she took a second to take a breath. She inhaled as much of the refreshing lake breeze as she could before finally, and with great patience let out a deep sigh. She opened her mouth and felt her salty tears stream down into it. She could barely remember her dream, a man standing at the end of a pier, falling in. She knew it was her father but she also knew that wasn’t how he had passed away. It felt wrong, yet at the same time it felt incredibly real. She pushed the thought from her mind as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Picking up a rock and chucking it into the lake absent-mindedly. It felt good, a show of brute force like that to get the blood pumping. She picked up another rock and threw it in, and another.

It wasn’t until Calista had already let the fourth rock launch that she noticed a person under the water. She looked around, but nobody else
was there.

“Zeus, not here. No one is going to drown in this place.” Calista said ripping off her shirt and shorts and quickly diving into the lake. Swimming as fast as she could, which was most likely embarrassingly slow, in order to reach the girl.

Death rode a pale horse. Tobias rode shotgun in a Toyota Tacoma.

He had been to town earlier that day, taking care of some business he had. He unconciously rubbed his sore legs as he watched the scenery from beyond the passenger's side window slowly become less and less civilised. Tobias offered no words to his driver and his driver didn't expect them. Tobias had already slipped him a twenty and asked him to bring him out of town and that was the only conversation they needed to have. He had told the driver, 'I'll tell you when to stop and that'll be the end of it.'

And Tobias said "Stop," when they were far enough away from town, only near woods and and dirt roads, and the driver stopped. He took his backpack and the two paper bags that he picked up from town and hopped out, closing the door with a jerk of his shoulder. The driver popped it into reverse, turned around and left. "Toodles," Tobi said, not bothering to wave when each hand had a bag in it. He marched into the woods, only pausing for a moment to adjust his hoodie, namely, to pull his hood over his head and then slide his earbuds in and start blasting whatever he was last listeningto. He adjusted his shoulders, trying to get the sweatjacket to fall on him in the right way, feeling a chill from the breeze. He was shirtless after today's little adventure, the shirt he was wearing in tatters back in the town he left. On lower half he wore blue jeans and a pair of scuffed and faded dress shoes, a look that he generally determined to be 'good enough'.

The shirt thing wasn't a particularly big deal to him anyway. He tended to not wear a shirt when he was in his cabin or doing work. Why not show off his tattoos, even if he wasn't nearly as ripped as some of the Ares brats. Around his neck was a sling that extended to a sleeve that was still on his right arm, the sleeve extending down to his wrist, where it ended and the glove that was stitched to it began. He wore the little contraption as a way to make it that much more difficult to accidentally kill someone in a drive by handshake.

Being Edward Scissor Hands without the gigantic blade fingers made life a bit more difficult. People weren't as aware that they should avoid touching his right hand, even if it looked like it just spent the past week in a fire and was now charcoal.

He kept his head low as he walked, watching the ground beneath his feet. He preferred not having to make eye contact with anyone that may try to initiate conversation and it was harder to trip on any roots if he watched his step closely enough. Last thing he needed was to break any of the bottles he was carrying. Every few steps the bottles in the two bags would clank against eachother and, when the wind died down, one could hear the sloshing liquid in his backpack that bounced with every stride. He walked a bit fasted as Thalia came into view, the walk being almost over giving him a touch more pep in his step.

"Hey, girl." he said as he passed by the pine tree, feeling the slight change in the air around him that was half-blood hill. There was always something so noticeable about going into a place mortals and monsters weren't allowed, though he'd be hard pressed to say what it was. Perhaps it was the air that tasted fresher. Perhaps it was a placebo effect.

Tobias made his way first to the big house where Dionysus was probably loafing about and only spent enough time there to put down his bags and fish out two bottles of 3 dollar wine, which he left at the big house's door for the good god. Dio tended to ignore Tobi's unannounced comings and goings as long as he left a little gift, even if it wasn't a particularly good gift.

He moved quickly to cabin eighteen, only pausing for a moment when the cabin came into view to admire his handywork. The windows were almost entirely blacked out now and only really needed a final coat of paint, which was exactly what Tobi had sitting in his backpack. Tobi never moved faster than a brisk walk when there was no need to run and as little as he wanted to even be seen by the other demigods, he had no reason to run.

He walked, keeping his head low, trying not to jostle the bags too much as he walked. Demi-gods tended to love alcohol and he had a lot of it. He reached his cabin with minimal contact with the outside world and kneed open the door, putting his bags down inside before shutting the door and sliding a chair over to block the door.

Tobias leaned down into his bag, pulled out a bottle of cheap wine and removed the bucket of black paint from his backpack. He had work to do.

Pausing only slightly within her step as she heard the quick quip towards her heritage that slipped out through his lips, Erin turned hear head back to look over her shoulder at where he walked side by side with Syleste, her ever dark eyes flicking over the slightly muscular figure that they now all knew to be her new cousin; an extremely small and very slightly uncharacteristic smile crossing over her lips as her amusement seemed to flash across her eyes; giving off the hint that maybe… just maybe she saw him to be different from others she knew- he was… tolerable. Though as quickly as the flicker of slight affection towards her new cousin came, it left; falling away from her features and leaving her normally bored expression as she continued down the hill, her attention turning back to the path she was taking.

“Well bolt-brain, I would assume at the building that’s closest to us.” Though her words came out harsh, her tone was only a smidge softer than it had been earlier when she had been speaking with Claire; the demigoddess seemingly taking a slight liking towards the son of Jupiter- no matter how small that liking may have been, “If I might give you a small bit of advice; I would hurry and take your pick, before I grow bored of playing host and leave the blind to lead the blind on this little adventure.”

Bolt-brain, that was a new one. Logan caught the small smile he'd gotten from Erin, knowing that he was on the right track. He really didn't know a damn thing about the camp, never getting an itinerary or map of the place. What was the nearest building to them right now? Logan didn't know and wasn't afraid to express his ignorance. "I don't know enough to have a pick, Erin. But, the most interesting buildings are the ones with skeletons in the closet, right?" Logan joked, yet again. He found the puns were getting a bit harder to get across, but he silently applauded himself over the last.

He looked down at Syleste at his side and asked her opinion. "Where do you think we should start the tour, Syl? I'm completely at a loss, honestly." He shifted on his feet slightly, feeling slightly uncomfortable for once. He still felt out place, as if he didn't truly belong here at Camp Half-blood. There were so many kids milling about, dressed in plain camp clothes instead of suits of armor. It was so different from what he knew..

Seeming to mull over his question for a few moments, the pink-haired girl turned her head away, tilting it lightly to the side as she let her mind flick over all the different places in the camp that they could show him- there were just so many things for him to see; and while they had all the time in the world, there was no way that Erin was going to be patient enough to escort them everywhere they wanted to go, “Uh… well the beach and the lake are really peaceful..! Then there’s also the stables, I really love spending time there; all the Pegasus are really nice, and whenever I go in there to visit, they nibble on my hair until I give them apples and sugar cubes. You should probably see the Big House too; that’s where the staff and Dionysus stay and spend most of their time… other than that, there’s a lot of other places to see, like the forge and the training grounds…”

Her sentence trailed off thoughtfully as she turned her attention back over to where she could feel his arm resting up against her own, her bright smile lighting up her features though the material she wore over her eyes hid most of it from view of any who looked at her; he seemed as though he was okay with her being blind, or at least, he was fine with it from what she could tell anyway… but she wasn’t about to go throwing the strange look in her eyes on him until she was perfectly sure, “There’s just so many things for you to see, and me to hear; so why don’t we start with one of them..?”

Logan perked up at the idea of meeting pegasi, but thought it more prudent to meet the legendary hero trainer and resident god. He nodded slowly as Syleste detailed the various hot spots around the camp. Should he decide between entertainment or business? Business. He squared his shoulders and drew himself up, just to seem a bit more presentable before he met with the deity of wine and madness. "I think I'd like to the Big House first, that's where your Oracle is kept as well, is it not?" He noted Syleste's hesitant air when she finally finished detailing the various locations and shared her belief. Erin most certainly wouldn't stick around for all that, not without incentive.

He smiled down at Syleste, even if she couldn't see his face. He assumed it was the thought that mattered, the sound of a smile in one's voice that the girl would appreciate. "Well then, lead the way Erin!" Logan said magnanimously, joking with a grandiose tone. He turned to her then, waiting for her to show the way. His other hand came up to comfortably pat Sylest's hand upon his wrist, assuring her that he wasn't going anywhere. Truly, her blindness did not bother him, but he didn't want to offend her nonetheless.

“Lead the way..?” Quirking her eyebrow in slight amusement to the words that he had chosen, Erin couldn’t help the gentle smirk that played over her lips as she turned her head to look over at him, a gentle chuckle falling through her lips as she shrugged her shoulders, “I haven’t heard that phrase directed at me for a number of years now… Most in the camp decided against such a thing since I began leading the last person straight into the depths of my father’s domain…”

“Oh..! That’s a really good choice, Logan..! I’m sure that Chiron and the others will be really happy to meet you; I mean, we haven’t had any new campers in quite some time.” Practically bouncing up and down at the idea of being able to show him just where the Big House was and who lived there besides the camps director, Syleste quickly turned and began to make her way in what seemed like a random direction, the hand holding his wrist lightly tugging on it in an attempt to get him to follow along behind her, “And you’re right; about our Oracle I mean... The great Oracle of Delphi lives there as well, though she stays up in the attic almost all the time; the only people who get to see her are those chosen to go on quests.”

“Yes… because the old and rotting corpse of a mummy is the one thing in this place that everyone wants to spend all of their time with.” Crossing her arms over her chest seemingly un-phased by the direction that the pink-haired girl had chosen, Erin rolled her eyes in slight disinterest to the conversation that was being held though made no move to pull herself out of it, her dark eyes never once leaving the other girls figure as she let her take the lead, “The only times you need to go anywhere near the Big House is if you have a problem to bring up with the drunken God, or if you’re going on a quest… oh, and as you’re the councilor of your cabin; you’ll need to show up for those stupid meetings with the other camp leaders- they’re boring, trust me.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, but was undaunted. "Well, I trust you, Erin. If you're trying to persuade me otherwise... it isn't going to work," finishing his suspenseful statement with a broad grin. His back jumbled at the sudden change of direction and pace as Syleste pulled his arm excitedly. He almost thought it funny, with this weak-limbed and thin girl trying to pull him, but her energy gave her more strength than he'd given credit. Following her lead, he listened to both of the girls' explanations of the Big House. The only thing that had interested him was the Oracle. It had been a long time since Octavian had been the one sacrificing the stuffed animals and reciting false prophecies, yet Logan still thought that this Oracle was more of the real deal. He hoped to get a real and meaningful quest out of the whole experience.

"Why, do you have more interesting.. skeletons in your closet, Erin?" Logan quipped, once again making a joke in line with her parentage. He grinned again, this time in, hopefully, shared amusement. At the sound of a god and quests his face set and his jaw clenched. It seemed neither were Logan's favorite subjects, but that was all one could tell from his face. "Gods should always be given the proper respect that befits their station!" Logan claimed piously, his Camp Jupiter upbringing showing.

“That drunken mess can hardly be considered a God; his own father sent him here to look after us as punishment for his own selfish actions, you really think he would care about us if he was still up in Olympus?” Narrowing her dark eyes slightly as she tore them away from her friends figure so that she was instead staring her cousin down, she straightened her back, making herself as tall as she possibly could beside the taller and slightly more imposing figure that was Logan; a quite small though obviously unamused smirk playing over her lips as she continued to challenge him on her opinions, “He did the crime; now he’s paying for it by doing the time… and the only way he will ever get my respect, is once he’s earned it. But then, I doubt that’s ever going to happen."

Not even bothering to give him a chance to respond to what it was that she had just said about the Camps director and Godly resident, she turned away from him, taking the few steps forward in order to close the gap that had been created between her and the bubbly young daughter of Morpheus, her hand reaching out towards the Syleste’s figure before she let her fingers gently brush against the back of her hand, her expression and tone showing that she was no longer in any mood to be trifled with, “Syleste; I can take it from here. Go back to your cabin.”

“O-Oh, but I-…”

“Go.” Bringing her arm once more back to her side, she watched on in silence as the pink haired girl reluctantly nodded her head up and down in response before hurrying off in the opposite direction, causing the dark haired daughter of Hades to once more turn her full attention back to where her cousin was standing just behind her; her eyebrow quirking slightly as her dark eyes slowly worked their way down and back up his figure, the young demigoddess once more sizing up just how big of a threat her new cousin actually was to her, “Now then; be sure to keep up with me, because I don’t care if you miss something that I’ve said- there are no stops on this tour, and I will not be repeating myself. So first; let me give you a little piece of advice cousin; enjoy this little honeymoon period while it lasts… it might not be Camp Jupiter; but you’ll soon come to realize that the camp, as well as everyone in it, aren’t always what they seem to be. Trust me- even those who seem like the most innocent of people; can be the ones capable of some of the most dangerous of things. Now come on; let’s go.”

Once again not even bothering to wait around for him to respond to what it was that she had been saying to him, Erin turned herself around on her heel, her hips swaying lightly from side to side with each and every step that she took away from both him and the Big House- there were so many places in the camp that she had to cover; and if she wanted to get it all done, and get back to the sweet isolation that her cabin offered to her, there was no way that she was going to waste time standing in one spot while he stared at some building for the next fifteen minutes of her life. No, she had better things to do, “Okay, dear ol’ cousin… you might be tolerable in my books, but that does not mean that I’m going to stand around answering any of your questions at the end of our little ‘chat’, okay? I’ll give you a rundown; but you need to learn the rest on your own- so here are the basics: You’ve already seen Half-Blood Hill and the Big House, they are just a couple of places to know. You also have the infirmary which is run by the children of Apollo, the stables which are run by the Demeter and Aphrodite children; and there’s also the training grounds where you’ll more times than not be able to find your children of Ares, and any other Neanderthals who like to fight with one another.”

Pausing in both her words and step for a few moments so that she could glance around her person at what there was left to tell him about, she narrowed her dark eyes ever so slightly, nibbling softly on her lower lip before her gaze slowed to a stop on one of the larger buildings with white columns standing tall out the front of it, “Right… you have the mess hall; for a long time there used to be a ruling that you had to sit at the table of your parent, however those times have long since been thrown out and you’re now allowed to sit with people you consider to be your friends. Other than that, you have the chariot course which get used at the end of every year; the last event before the campers who are only here for the summer go back to their family and their home. There is also the forest where the games of capture the flag are played, the obstacle course where you can test your strength and skill against other campers, the beach where a few of the yearly parties are held luau style as well as the bonfire nights, and then there’s the lake where you can more times than none find our resident seaweed-brained cousin.”

Being sure to keep her back to him as she slid both of her arms up the length of her body, she interlocked her fingers with one another before taking her time to tilt her body from one side to the other, soft clicks and pops sounding from her joints as she cracked them of any trapped air; her fingers lightly brushing away any stray strands of her long dark locks as she lowered her arms back down to her sides, “The most important place in the camp however, are the cabins. You will be staying in the cabin that Zeus built; it’s number one and you can’t miss it. From this day forward, this is your new home until you go and choose it otherwise; no one can make that choice for you… but remember, not everyone you meet is going to be all happy go lucky or even as welcoming towards you as Syleste is. So here’s just a friendly little heads up about some of the cabins and those who call them home…”

Coming to a complete and utter stop in front of her own cabin, Erin turned on her heel so that she was once more facing him with her intense gaze once more met with his own, a small and slightly mischievous smirk playing over her lips as brought her arms up to cross over her chest, “You didn’t officially meet him for very long, but Gideon is the son of Ares; they are very testy and have no issues picking fights with people who cross them or who piss them off. Griffin is one of the sons of Hermes; make sure you watch your back around them, they are notorious for pulling pranks. There’s a couple of people calling the Aphrodite cabin their home; though one of them is a transfer like yourself, Colt. If you want alcohol, or need to update your playlist, you should go see the psycho in the Dionysus cabin. When it comes down to issues or faults with any of your gadgets, weapons, or mechanical items; you want to see Ky over in the Hephaestus cabin- she’s the camps mechanic, runs the forge, and stocks the armory with all its weapons… Oh, and unless you’re looking to take a nap; I’d steer clear of spending too much time over at the Morpheus cabin.”

Moving backwards and up the steps so that she was instead standing up on the porch of her cabin, she leant herself against the post, her head tilting to the side slightly as she continued to stare at him, amusement flickering through her eyes for only a moment before her features seemed to soften only a smidgen, allowing a pause in her words to give them enough time to sink in, “..look, just be cautious of who you cross here in the camp; making alliances with other cabins can keep you ending up in the infirmary, under the care of the Apollo kids… any alliance that you make will also help you when it comes to things like the weekly capture the flag games, and even with the chariot races… if anything goes wrong; your alliance has your back. I’m sure it’s something similar to your troupe or your army, or whatever it is back at Camp Jupiter. Either way, just watch your step here…”

Logan scratched at the back of his head for a moment, taking in all the information that Erin had so succinctly provided him. He'd already had each building memorized, their placing and layout now known to him. His training had always told him that every detail, every inch of the lay of the land was important. Logan made a note to peruse the chariot arena at his leisure, though he was sure that would not be with Erin. The way she seemed glued to the pillar of her porch, this was her usual place among the camp. It seemed a shame that someone with her sharp humor would sequester herself from the rest of her fellow campers. He sensed in her something darker than being of the bloodline of Hades. He'd known a girl with a similar wry smile, a cynical look in her eye. What had been her name? Logan felt embarrassed, knowing a person's tragedy, yet forgetting their name. Yet, he had a vibe that he wasn't far off his guesses as the Erin's dark past and it only filled his heart with compassion for this girl that protected herself from the world itself.

"Of course it'd be number one, why would that change?" Logan muttered under his breath, not loud enough to carry to Erin. He'd always felt a twinge of jealousy for the children of minor gods and goddesses. They didn't have to deal with this sort of thing and could live relatively normal lives. But strong scented demigods such as himself?... Well that was a different story altogether. Not one for self-pity, he smiled at Erin, trying to think of a question that would be worth asking. "I think I'll be fine, Erin, not to underestimate your camp in the least. But I have faced far worse in my time... As for alliances, I don't understand, quite honestly. Do they train together, form battle strategies? Who is each alliance's leader and the name of their bands? Do they have ranks and are they justly gotten?"

Logan's inexperience with the Greeks was becoming more and more apparent with each question. For him, an alliance meant Cohort, commonly finding children of other godly parents fighting and working side by side. Here, it meant entire cabins coming together against one another, possibly even betraying one another to reach a goal. Logan hadn't even considered such a possibility and it was better that the callous Erin be his guide than anyone else at this camp. She would teach him the exact realities of this camp, before one of these alliances would crumble underneath Logan and set his aflame with rage at such deceit and lack of honor.

“Alliances...” Unable to help the frown that frown that crossed over her features as her mind began to quickly flick over ways that she could explain it to him, she turned her head off to the side, her gaze lowering down and away from him for but a few moments before she returned her eyes to meet with his, her body shifting slightly against the porch post as she slowly began the explanation he was looking for, “Alliances help you in many ways… they are there to help you train, yes; but they won’t go out of the way to come up with battle strategies unless you’re in with the Athena or Ares cabins. As I said to you before, they look out for you, and if you find yourself in trouble with anything ranging from another camper, all the way up to the Gods and Goddesses accusing you; they’ll stick up for you and have your back even if it means getting involved themselves.”

Pushing herself away from the post before taking the couple of steps down off the porch, she dropped herself back so that she was perching lightly on the top step, the palms of her hands resting against the wood and her head tilting slightly as she continued to look up at him, “The alliances are run by the leaders of the cabins that are in them; they meet up whenever they need to, mostly before games of capture the flag. There are no rankings; each member is as important as the next, parentage doesn’t even come into play. The only times alliances don’t matter are when the huntresses come to camp; everyone works together to beat their ass in the match… and during the chariot race when only members of your alliance are left. There are no hard feelings in being taken out by another member after that; it’s a race after all.”

Pausing for a moment so that she could think over any other details she needed to while her explanation sunk in, she shifted slightly, readjusting her lean back against the porch before she once more began to talk, “Alliances can be broken; but never without the leaders of those cabins speaking with one another. An explanation isn’t necessarily needed, but more times than none, one is given, even if the whole camp already knows what happened to cause it. Usually it entails fighting or threats due to some sort of disagreement in-house; though it can be anything, and it can happen at any time. Other than that; most of the alliances you make are made of those who are basically loyal to a fault, and they do what they can to keep the rest of their cabin in check... if they have siblings that is.”

Logan's brow also furrowed. There were no treaties, no signed plateaus of agreement? It seemed like a certain way to spell disaster among demigods. Logan knew only of those with loyalty to Rome and all her glory, nothing of personal loyalty except to his own Cohort. This was indeed a new experience and one he couldn't exactly get his head around. "But what advantage does that really yield? Won't more of these allegiances be made if the one you're a part of decides you're too good? Or an opposing faction gains too many allies as well? This sounds like it just invites chaos among the campers, rather than form an order to the madness... Does everything in the camp run this way?"

There were no ranks?! But then how did one know to show proper respect to one above their own station? To think of it, Logan had never seen a training ground other than the one he'd glimpsed with Erin... Did the Greeks not have an equivalent to the House of Wolves and Lupa? Stranger and stranger still for the former Roman camper. He figured that the first he would like to know would be the Athenians. Camp Jupiter had a lot of respect for these children, the great Annabeth whispered in admiration since the years of the last desperate quest. As well as Leo Valdez, and his monstrous air ship.

Logan seemed stumped and he clomped up the steps to lean against the post opposite Erin, completely at ease in her presence. The normal chill of the children of Hades didn't affect him in the least, the vibrancy of his life force hard put to be hampered by anything of the like. And he also felt that Erin might not dislike him as much as she would like him to believe. So comfortably, he lounged across from her, thinking through the information she had just imparted to him. "Can you challenge the leader of another alliance for control over their subordinates?"

She couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out through her lips at the thought of him going up and challenging one of the other leaders in camp for control- yeah, he was way out of his comfort zone; and it was going to be extremely amusing watching the son of Jupiter adjusting to life in the Grecian camp. Dropping her head back and to the side slightly so that her gaze once more met with his own, she shook her head lightly from side to side, the amusement at his lack of knowledge clearly written all over her features, “You’re playing with me right..? I mean, you can try and challenge one of the other leaders, but it’s only going to end in disaster for you- the only ones who might not laugh in your face at the challenge are Gideon and Ky’ vie, but then even if you win, there’s no way that the people ‘under them’ as you say, will follow you.”

Shifting herself over the place in which she sat, she let her back rest up against the pillar she had been leaning back against not too long beforehand, her posture more relaxed than it had been since she had woken up this morning as she tried to think about how to explain it without calling him out as a moron, “It’s called respect and loyalty; they won’t go against their cabin leader; and if said leader gets hurt in the process, they’ll not only stay by their side, but they’ll also look at retaliation against you. There’s no chaos in the camp that has anything to do with any of the alliances; most of it is demigods just trying to have some fun, or getting into arguments with each other. This is how this camp works, you’re going to have to get used to it cousin; you’re the one who chose to make this place your home.”

Logan couldn't help but continue to be confused even though Erin's description started to paint a better picture of what he knew of the Grecian's. So there was a method to their madness, one of blood. It seemed that the cabins segregated themselves more than they themselves let on. He couldn't understand that kind of thinking without a reason that these people had earned their roles as leaders. Yet, if it came down to the oldest and most powerful of each group, he had a feeling he'd met most of those counselors that he would invariably have to barter and connive with. Except for one cabin, one that he dreaded to reunite with... Colt. The guy had left just a little before Logan had left with his friends on their eventually deadly quest. He didn't want to see that look of accusation that he'd tried to leave behind in Camp Jupiter.

"So are these positions given or earned? I know respect and loyalty, don't doubt that, Erin. I'm just wondering what gives these leaders the right to be leaders if they haven't been tested by their peers." Logan had a sneaking suspicion that Erin thought him a fool and he nearly reddened from that realization. Was it his fault that he didn't know anything about this place, his first day here? He forced himself to slow his heart rate, not trying to alienate someone he'd just met and connected with. "It all just doesn't make sense to me. They follow someone to the death and yet can betray each other when the day is done. They pull pranks on other campers and are allowed heated debates without repercussions except for personal acts of revenge... It doesn't sit well with me, not at all."

Logan's hands had been braced behind him on the rail while looking at Erin and the groaning protest of wood as it splintered underneath his hands let him know that it was beginning to splinter underneath his hands. He consciously loosed the vice grip. "The only reason I came here was... Camp Jupiter no longer felt like home. " His voice was wistful and his eyes seemed to no longer look at Erin, instead looking back at triumphs, glories, and victorious quests that made up what he was as a Roman soldier. In a grand poof of dust, all that had been stolen from him, replaced with narrowed eyes and whispers of blame. The simmering embarrassment underneath the surface had frozen over in the remembrance of those faces. His voice had lost its friendly tone and was replaced by a shade of its former vibrancy. Now he merely seemed like someone very much lost and out of place, feeling it keenly in a new home. "I won't apologize or explain my ignorance any more than that.. and I'm sorry for taking so much of your time with my pointless questions.

“Oh… okay, I get it. You think I group you in with the rest of the degenerates that live in this dump. That you’re some kind of fool who doesn’t know his left from his right.” Quirking her eyebrow as a clearly unamused and slightly disgusted look crossed over her features, she crossed her legs over one another before lifting herself back up to her feet, her arms lifting up to fold defensively over her chest once more- this guy had some nerve… she’d just sat there and wasted more time on him than she had on any other person in camp for weeks; only to have him stand there on her cabin porch giving her attitude. Well, that’s what she got for attempting to ‘connect’ with someone, “If that was the case, then I would have ditched your ass back at the hill, and made you fend for yourself. You’re pathetic questions about this stupid place, while wasting a lot of my time, were not pointless; and much to my disgust, I answered every single one of them… which in itself, should make you feel honored that I spent my precious time in your company.”

Taking a couple of steps closer to him and narrowing her eyes as she continued to stare up at him, she closed what little gap there was between the both of them, the shadows surrounding her cabin seeming to darken as the sound of both cracking and splintering wood filled the air around them, “It’s a mixture of both. But any leader of cabins that were given their position of power, have proven themselves to be worthy of it a hundred times over- they have got more in them than you’ll ever have cousin; don’t you ever doubt that. We don’t have to prove ourselves to you; nor are we going to change to accommodate your perfect way of life. You may not understand it, but you now live here, and you’ll get used to it; I don’t care whether or not it sits well with you. The only way you’re going to learn about how things work here is by getting the hell off my porch, and going off on your own.”

Turning away from him altogether once she was sure that he had gotten the message, she crossed over the porch, her hand reaching out to take a firm hold of the handle before she yanked the door open, pausing just inside the frame, “Oh, and if you ever feel the need to pester me with such stupid and idiotic questions again; I’m pretty sure you have enough intelligence to find my cabin on your own.”

Logan felt a bit more of heat fill his face, but this was slightly different. Instead of anger, he felt even more embarrassed than before, but not because of his sudden rise in ire. No, he was embarrassed he'd fell for the bait and hook that was Erin's mouth, not her intentions. He'd read all of the surface energy right, but Erin was more than just the layer that was under her sneer and sharp tongue. Yet, her response seemed to contrast in ways that he suspected not even she realized. While she called the people around her idiots and the place stupid, she defended it with passion and genuine protectiveness. No one could do that without a measure of pride and love. And if Camp Half-blood could get the pissy Erin to stand up for it... well Logan had to give it the benefit of the doubt.

She also defended it's people, talking a large game before she even knew their opposition. Logan had felled many a powerful monster, even deities, in the never ending questions Camp Jupiter had sent him on. One after the other, only stopping for holidays or war games. Only what was necessary and anything that would hone his skills. He'd read scroll upon scroll, learning the weaknesses and names of monsters and divine creatures and beings alike that would harm his fellow demigods. This girl though that her fellow Grecian's had as much discipline, had sacrificed just as much as he? Many, Logan knew, hadn't. The few that did were probably the leaders she spoke of, the ones he would show respect, but only if it was earned. That was the proper way of the world, Logan knew. The son of Jupiter wasn't hard to get along with, being a good and friendly person and thought he would have no trouble after breaking the ice. Yet neither would he cow himself before people that knew nothing about him or his history.

"Yes, I think I'm capable of at least that much of higher level thinking.. You pretend to hate this place, but you don't, Erin. No one argues that much, gets that angry, in defense of a place they aren't vested in. I think that little tirade of yours gave me all the information I needed, Princess." Logan grinned again, regaining his humor as he titled Erin, though not in an insulting way. More in a descriptive manner, showing what he thought of what her opinion of her precious time would mean. He also turned, but stayed his foot for a moment, half turning to look at her. He hoped his next question wouldn't be telling, but he couldn't tell with a daughter of Hades... "The Aphrodite cabin... there should be a transfer there, goes by the name of Colt. Do you know if he's in the camp?" For once, his tone seemed hesitant, unsure. Something had finally unnerved the large man, shaking his well-earned confidence.

“Don’t dare try and tell me what it is that I do and don’t hate, bolt brain…” Her grip over the door tightened causing her nails to dig into the wood for a few moments of silence before she turned her head to the side, her dark orbs glancing at him out of the corners of her eyes- what was with this guy… he just didn’t know when to give up did he, “If you must know my story; this camp saved my God forsaken life, and gave me another chance at living… a safe chance at living- if Colt and the others hadn’t of found me when they did; I wouldn’t be here… he would have killed me.”

Faltering slightly in her grip over the door she narrowed her eyes in slight confusion before she twisted her body around just that little bit more, her gaze flicking about the grassy area around the cabins before her eyes settled on one of the blonds that stood not too far away with a small group, “If you’re looking for Colt; he’s over there. Blond, pompous, full of himself- like your cabin, you can’t miss him.”

"Then don't try to judge me before you know me, skull-smoocher!" Logan fired right back, enjoying the little repertoire of banter. He wasn't normally brash like this, but Erin made it almost fun as he got over her usual behavior. Who was he kidding? It was fun! But not in the biting way she made it, but the teasing tone that Logan set for his jibes. He'd never had such camaraderie from the others, except for perhaps Nolan. Yet, as he looked back on it, he'd never known much about Nolan's life, except he had a girlfriend from camp, who was in the First Cohort, what was her name...? Aella, that was it. Daughter of Mars and a fierce fighter. With Logan's frequent absence from Camp, however, he didn't know her as well as he should have. What she must be feeling now, having lost Nolan. It was hard to look past his own grief that others must have been feeling the same way as her.

"Colt saved your life? Kind of out of character for him, I'll be honest.." Logan said slowly, perplexed at this change of events. But he shrugged, figuring that all people were capable of altruism. "Well, I'll be sure to go find him and thank him for saving the best guide I could have ever gotten!" Logan said, with well-meant sarcasm. With a short laugh and a wave, Logan started off, but not towards his own cabin. He moved towards Colt, hoping to catch him at a good enough time to be able to draw him to the side and give him the bad news. Logan's face had a determined set and anyone from a military family would know that expression. It was set with grim finality and a duty never wanted, but necessary to the last. If only he had something better than the pendant he'd had grabbed as they fall. His fist had came away with nothing other than the air and this necklace, nothing he could've grabbed of Ashley's to save her...

Jericho was just polishing off his sixth drumstick. He'd always been ravenous whenever he got back from a hunt and this one had been particularly lengthy. Sighing lustily, the young man was quite pleased with his meal and felt the familiar laziness that came from a well-fed belly. Nothing really compared to a good meal at camp, although he was worried that he might not have enough room for Ky's shindig later tonight! Wincing to himself at the long ago memory, he rubbed at his backside absently. The only time he would admit to biting off more than he could chew... Chuckling to himself, he started whistle, perfectly mimicking the birds around him. Slowly, they began to converge upon him, as they usually did at the return of Jericho. He grinned broadly, pleased his little friends still remembered him, even with the frequent departures. What could he say? Jericho had an incurable wanderlust.

Although he was heavily laden with various trophies from fallen monsters, Jericho moved easily underneath the early afternoon sun, basking in its warmth. The day was just too nice to return to his cabin. No, he'd dip his feet into the bay and wait a bit for taking a little dip. Nothing was better to wash away the grime of the road, Jericho surmised. It had been a long time since the last swim in the watery depths. He trotted now, dropping his pack at the start of the pier. He dropped his weaponry as well, leaving his treasured bow and dagger behind. The only time those weapons left Jericho's side was in the camp, where he knew he was protected. He stripped his shirt, boots, and socks quickly leaving him in only a pair of camouflaged cargo pants, with a few telltale claw rips and wearing patches of fabric. He needed a new pair of pants, but Jericho often found the task tedious... Maybe he could ask a lady friend from Aphrodite to give him a bit of fashion advice. At least, for his non hunting apparel.

A shrill cry broke the normal whistles and trills of the birds, foretelling danger in the lake. The birds' language came easily to Jericho and soon he learned that an Aphrodite girl had gone after Claire! Didn't this girl know she was dealing with a daughter of Poseidon?! Claire could bend the water to her will, breathe underwater, and keep her clothes dry from a dip at will! How Jericho envied this ability now. He hoped that he wouldn't have to rescue someone his first day back at camp! But if one his family needed help, you'd bet your ass Jericho would be there in a flash. Despite all misgivings about his character, he was a loyal man and would never back away from a fellow demigod in need!

The planks thumped and rattled under his sprint and he quickly came to the edge of pier, looking into the depths. "HEY! HEEEY!" he roared towards the water, hoping the girl might hear him. She'd drown before she got Claire from the bottom of the bay! Jericho took a hesitant step forward, then pushed down his misgivings. He was most comfortable in the woods than the water, even though he was a swift swimmer. But this was not his parent's domain and he was loathe to enter it when a child of Poseidon was exercising their gifts. But, with a deep inhale, Jericho dived, cutting the water with barely a splash in a perfect dive. He swam much like mermaids, a creature he'd seen more than once. Now those were monsters Jericho could get used to. He smiled to himself at the thought of those pretty girls, whose only flaws were the tails and fins they called legs and feet. Otherwise... well, need he say more? His words came out as gurgles, but he saw the girl as she continued to dive and dive. How far would she go?! He propelled himself down still, until he could reach out. With a strong grip, he grabbed the diving girl's ankle and pulled it towards himself to get her attention!

The ripples in the water moved overhead as Claire sat on the sandy bottom of the lake. Opening her crystal colored eyes, she looked around, looking through the water. Around her, nymphs swam and giggled, smiling and waving at her as they passed. Claire waved back, before suddenly being knocked by slightly by a bigger wave. She jerked her had back around and saw a red head swimming toward her. From what it looked like, it looked like that new Aphrodite girl who had just gotten here a few months ago. Shaking her head, Claire bent her knees and pushed herself toward the surface once again. Blonde head breaking free of the water, Claire threw her hands down, creating a propulsion like affect that shot her above the water. Jet streams of water flowing by her side, she turned her eyes to the approaching demi-god.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked, releasing the jet streams from her hands. She solidified the water underneath her feet and approached the swimming girl, who was now being grabbed by Jericho, as it seems he was trying to get her to stop before she herself drowned. Though the water underneath her feet still looked normal, the top particles of the water moved slow enough to create a barrier between Claire and the actual water. It was like walking on cement covered with water. In fact, Claire's feet were still getting wet. Nearly down to sit on the water as she twisted her finger around in it to make sure that the water did no liquefy again, Claire watched the demi-god. "I have in need of no help. In fact, it was kind of pointless to swim out here." She smiled at Jericho. "Bonjour, mon ami!"

Claire smiled at the girl before leaning her chin on the edge of her hand. Wet blonde strands of hair fell down in front of her face. Standing up once again she jumped back into the water, doing a perfect backwards dive, while letting out an excited yell that went along with it. She smile and giggled as she was enveloped in the water once more. She did a mermaid kick with her legs before popping up directly next to the Aphrodite newbie. "I'm Claire by the way. Enchanté!" She swam around the girl and Jericho faster than she had swam out here. "I'm the daughter of Poseidon. The only child known at the moment."

Globs of black paint dribbled to the floor as Tobias jerked his head in a half head-bang to the thrashing of guitars and the pounding of drums that ripped out of his speakers with ferocity that would rival Zeus's lightning. The raven-haired demigod of death slapped his paintbrush against the nearest window, slathering a layer of black across it before dragging the brush back. He began singing the words in a harsh, guttural voice as he rolled out the little Finnish that he did know, singing Rauta. The music shook the window and, if it weren't for years of abuse to his ears, would have threatened to deafen him. "Iske," he'd emphasize, dragging the brush along noticeably harder than before.

The gentle feeling of the blades of grass brushing over the souls of her feet caused her soft pink lips to turn up into a warm and sweet smile, seeming to light up the pink haired girls features brightly as she continued to walk through the grassy knoll that was lain out between the cabins as a comfortable place where the demigods could both relax and interact with one another- not that there was anyone there who wanted to speak with her at the moment... the sound of familiar voices and other noises filling her ears and causing her to tilt her head slightly as she tried to make out who was around her; the sound of Colts voice coming from somewhere beside her as he happily spoke with some of the other campers, the sound of the door of Erin's cabin slamming shut could be heard coming from close by as well… the sound of strange and loud music blaring out from somewhere just ahead of her…

Bringing her hands together in front of her body as she took pause in her step for but a moment, Syleste once more began to follow her ears, her brows furrowing slightly underneath the blue material that covered her eyes from sight as the beating of the music grew louder and louder with every step; gently biting down on her lower lip and reaching out as she grew closer, she waited until she could feel the all too familiar roughness of wood under her palm before she took the steps up onto the porch, her hand leaving the railing before moving around and in front of her body so that she could search out for the door that led inside, the young demigoddess hesitating for only a brief moment before gathering up the courage to knock, the soft sound of her rapping against the wood seemingly lost under the sound of the music blaring from within.

Tobias stepped back to admire his handiwork, one of the final windows now slathered in a final layer of black that did a brilliant job at keep the light out, though the now black windows did something that wasn't exactly thrilling. They absorbed enough heat to raise the temperature of the room by a balmy six or seven degrees, leaving Toby to do what he usually did when no one was around. Strip down to a pair of, now paint-splattered, jeans with the waist band of his boxers just barely sticking out. The boxers were optional.

The song rolled to an end and for a moment there was a silence that filed the cabin, amplified by the added layering of the paint over the windows. Tobias had always hated these moments. They were the times when his room was the loudest. Silence was deafening. But there was a sound, one that he had not heard for years. A sound so unfamiliar, he had to give it a moment to recognize it. A knock? "Yah," he said aloud, his thick Scandinavian accent slipping out for a moment, caught off guard by the chance appearance of a guest. When he didn't hear anything and the next song began to play, drowning out a second wave of knocks, he scowled.

Tobias swiftly moved toward his stereo and cut it off before turning and gliding over to the door, dancing around the bucket of paint sitting by it before yanking the chair out from behind the door and ripping it open. Only to be greeted by the girl that he had mentally referred to as 'Cotton Candy'. He would've said something smart, but he had never interacted with the girl before. So he went with a default. "What do you want?" He asked, bluntly letting the words fall out of his mouth.

Jumping slightly on the spot as she heard the sudden whoosh of the door being ripped open in front of her, she pressed both of her hands closer into her stomach, her fingers nervously playing with one another as the sound of a voice she didn’t know too well hit her ears- Tobias… she’d only been able to speak to him in passing, and only a few times at that; he was someone that most of the campers she knew avoided interacting with, though she had never really understood just why that was, that simple fact leading her to making the choice of making a point at getting to know him if she ever managed to get the chance to do just that. Blushing lightly in slight embarrassment at being spoken to so bluntly, she dropped her head down, the action causing her long and wavy bubblegum pink locks to fall down over her shoulders before framing her face sweetly.

“Uh… s-sorry Toby… I heard your music while I was walking back to my cabin…” Hunching her shoulders over slightly as she kept her head lowered and slightly out of sight, she shifted awkwardly over the place she stood on his cabin porch, the girl not having realized earlier that she might have been interrupting him when she had knocked, “..I haven’t heard anything like it before... so I was curious… I’m sorry if I disturbed you; I can go if you want me to…”

He stared her up and down, holding back snarling at her. No one came to visit. When they did, it was because they needed him to do something. So what was it that pinky here wanted? A new seeing eye-dog, the next best carpenter to a Hephaestus kid, alcohol, someone to sew back together something, or something else entirely? She blushed and that truly made him scowl. Women only blushed around him when they wanted something and, unlike the others, she wouldn't be able to give him something in return. He was about to tell her to fuck right off, when she spoke.

He hesitated. A music complaint? He wouldn't turn it down, but he'd recognize the complaint and wear it with some pride. But before he could mouth off, she beat him to the punch, saying she was curious. His brow furrowed and he chewed on his lip, mulling over what to say and whether or not to take her up on the offer to tell her to buzz off. "Having you leave is an option? Then, consider it taken." He said, turning his back to her and moving back into his cabin. He returned to his stereo and turned it back on, nudging the volume down just a tad before returning to his paintbrush, slathering it in some more paint, and moving on to the next window.

"Hurry up and get in and close the door before you let all the hot air out," he said.

Lifting her head back up as the invitation to join him inside finally registered within her mind, she nodded lightly up and down before she made her way forwards, her hand reaching out so that her fingers could lightly glide over the front of the wooden door, making sure that she had passed it completely before she turned and lifted her other hand up, being sure to close it as quietly as she possibly could so as not to disturb him like she had when she first knocked- the last thing she wanted to do was make him angry, especially after he had gone out of his way to kindly invite her into the warmth of his cabin so that she could listen to the music with him as well.

“Sorry… thank you though; for letting me stay and listen to your music. It’s very different to what I’m used to- Arianna doesn’t normally give me tracks like these…” Turning herself around so that her back was now facing the door, she took just a couple of steps forward before coming to a complete stop, her soft pink lips parting slightly as the strong smell of paint began to fill her nostrils, her arms lifting up from her side and around behind her head before she paused, her fingers hovering only just above the bow of the blue material, “Uh… do you mind if I take my blindfold off..? Or would you rather I leave it on… I know my eyes make some people uncomfortable…”

Tobias didn't attempt to sing along with this song, not knowing a lick of gaulish and not bothering to pretend he did. He hummed along to the now much quieter music, smearing more paint across the window as he did. "You can say if you don't like it, Cotton Candy. You don't have t'pretend," He said, glancing back and noticing the face she was starting to make as she moved her hands to take off the blindfold."You look ridiculous, you know that? Take it off." He said bluntly, returning to his paint bucket and drenching the brush in more paint before moving on to the next window.

"I know you can't see, but if you're really afraid of people seeing your slights, you're coming to the wrong person. I'm not going to pity you because you're blinder than a bat." He paused for a moment and looked toward the bag near his foot. He set the brush down and squatted by the bag, digging through it until he pulled up two cans. He got up and walked over to her slowly, before putting it into her left hand. "I'll only pity you if you sit there with that dumb look on your face and don't enjoy yourself," He said, cracking his own hard cider open and taking a long swig before returning to his little 'art' project.

“Huh..? Oh, no… sorry, it’s just the smell of paint is really strong in here. I haven’t painted mine in a few years; I can feel the paint chipping away from the wall in my room whenever I get up. So… are you redecorating your cabin..?” Not bothering to hesitate any longer in her actions as she took a hold of the bow, her fingers lightly pulled at the knot in the material until the makeshift blindfold came loose before falling down from around her face, her head stooping down only just as she blinked a couple of times, doing her best to get used to no longer having the restriction of the material strapped around her eyes; her smile seeming to grow in brightness at no longer having to hide the most distinct part of her life, her hand slipping it down into the back pocket of her pink denim shorts.

“I usually only wear it when I meet new campers, so that they don’t get freaked out when they see me; or whenever I know that others can’t handle the strange way they look… I’m not stupid; I know that they make people feel uncomfortable…” Lifting her head up so that she was looking up in the direction that she could hear his voice, she let her fingers curl around the can that was offered to her, her opposite hand coming up to rest just underneath it as she held it up against her stomach, her head shaking lightly from side to side, “I’m not afraid to let people see who I really am. I’m not asking for your pity, Toby; you are one of the only ones who doesn’t treat me as though I’m a child. You don’t babysit me, or consider me a burden like the others seem to do…”

Dropping her head down slightly as she paused in her words, she took but a few moments before finally opening up the can that she was holding close to her, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly as she smiled at him once more before lifting it up to take a few sips of the cider, the strong alcoholic beverage causing her cheeks to blush a gentle shade of red.

"Redecorating, sure. Yeah." He said, giving the window a final stroke before dropping the brush into the paint can and turning to survey his now nearly pitch black room. Perfect. He stalked past Syl, his own drink still in hand, and dug around piles of books before pulling out a candle and a match, spending a moment to light the candle before placing in on the nearest table. It added a gentle orange glow over the room and satisfied him enough for the moment. It would make reading a bit harder, but that's what the overhead lights were for anyway. He just wanted to skulk around in his cabin for the time being.

"Don't bother wearing it. It makes you look like you want people to know you for your disability and not for you." He said, sitting down on his bed and taking another swig of the crisp cider that sent a faint tingle down the back of his throat. "Why would I babysit you? If you're that incompetent, you wouldn't have made it here in the first place. You can take care of yourself. I'm not interested in walking you through life."

He chewed his bottom lip, looking her over and taking another swig from his now empty drink. "Though you might want to get someone else to do your makeup. You look like a raccoon fell into a cotton candy machine." He got up and went to find another drink.

Trying not to choke on the mouthful of cider that she had as the mental image of what she believed to be what a raccoon to look like with a large puff of colorful cloud covering its head flashed through her mind, she slowly lowered the can down so that it was once more held in front of her stomach, her cheeks still retaining that soft red glow to them as she tilted her head ever so slightly to the side, her rather dreamy but slightly cloudy gaze dropping away and to the side as she let her mind wander over what it was that he had said about her appearance, her smile faltering ever so slightly the more she lingered on it, “..do I really look that bad..? When Ky’ vie isn’t at camp, Erin usually does my makeup for me- she had a meeting this morning with Mr. D before she had to meet with Logan on the hill; I didn’t want to bother her with little things like my makeup, so I just tried to do it myself…”

Tightening her grip over the can for only a few moments before relaxing once more, she chuckled lightly to herself before she lifted it up to take another drink, though this time noticeably smaller than the last time, “I know that I can’t do everything on my own; makeup is something that I need to learn- the lips are easy, and following the line of my cheekbones for blush is easy too… but blending foundation, doing eye-liner, and putting on eye-shadow is something I’m still working on learning. I can do a lot, but my makeup isn’t a strong suit, that’s for sure…”

"You lost me half-way through that list of makeup," he said over his shoulder before crouching down and riffling through the bag until he found another can of the good stuff and cracked it open, taking a sip before even bothering to stand. He licked his lips and stifled a yawn as he returned to his bed and dropped down onto it, scowling as he felt a few drops of liquid splash out of the can and soak into his pants.

"You," he started, stopping immediately after and pursing his lips together in an 'Ohhhhhh' sort of way. "You don't know what a raccoon looks like. They're little fuzzy critters that have black fur around their eyes like a little mask. But, yeah. Chill out on the makeup." He leaned back into his bed, tilting his head up long enough to take another sip before setting the drink down beside him and taking to staring at the ceiling. A new song began to play, already separating itself from the other tracks. It started soft and slow. Tobias sung along, his voice low, almost a whisper, sometimes trailing behind the song, sometimes coming a bit early.

“..fuzzy little creatures with masks..? Huh…” Biting down on her lower lip softly, she let her unseeing gaze wander over the room around her for a while before she slowly nodded her head in response to the suggestion he was making, her lips turning up into a small though still ever sweet smile as she shifted slightly over the place in which she stood, though never seeming to give any sign that she was going to be moving any time soon- she had always thought that they were small… but the fact that they were furry and wearing masks was something that she hadn’t considered before. It was one of the many animals that she hadn’t had the chance to ‘see’ before; she’d held kittens… puppies… rabbits… she’d been able to pet and be around the horses and pegasi; even managed to get close to a couple of deer thanks to the Nymphs that lived in the forests… but she knew there were still so many out there that she’d never held or touched… that she’d never been able to get a picture of…

Lifting one of her hands up from where it had been resting against the outside of the can, she slipped her fingers back and through her long pink locks, ruffling them slightly before she once more returned her hand back to where it had been resting only moments before, “I’ll do my best to keep that in mind. See if Erin and Ky can teach me some things so that I don’t go around looking like one of the raccoon's with the masks that you mentioned.”

"You do that, girlie." He said, finishing his drink and dropping the can onto the floor by his bed, laying out and closing his eyes. "Just try not to run around telling them I said you look like a raccoon. They don't need any more of a reason to dislike me." He returned to singing along with the song, never raising his voice beyond the whisper, even as the vocals blared.

“I don’t understand why everyone in the camp tries to avoid being around or talking to you, Toby; I mean, it’s not like you’re not a bad guy or anything… and you’re really easy to talk to as well.” Shaking her head lightly from side to side in an attempt to show him just how much she didn’t understand why the others in camp acted that way, a gentle sigh falling out through her soft pink lips as she slid her foot back, hesitating for a few moments until she leant back and pressed her back up against the closest wall, relaxing once again before finally sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the ground, her hand lifting her can up so that she could take another mouthful of the cider.

“Why do people insist on judging others on what they see..? I don’t see anything like they can; and I honestly think that you’re a pretty decent guy... I just-… I just don’t understand…”

"Give it time. You'll figure it out." He sighed out between lines, drumming his fingers on his bed to the song. Despite being the middle of the day, his room was as dark as it would have been during the night and he was beginning to doze off, in spite of the blaring music and the time of day.

"Get out of here," He said, moving his hands up and putting them behind his head and using them as a pillow. "You've been here long enough."

“O-Oh… yes, of course…” Dropping her head down as though she were looking about her person with a slightly flustered look about her, she shifted her body slightly over the ground before she placed the palm of one of her hands down on the ground beside her, pressing into it and lifting herself up from where she had been resting over the floor and against the wall that was stood tall behind her- she had gone and long overstayed her welcome within his cabin, that much was obvious… and now it was time for her to take her leave.

Tightening the grip she had over the almost still full can of cider that she had been sipping on since he had given it to her to have, she lightly brushed down the back of her shorts before she nodded her head lightly to let him know that she had heard and understood that it was time for her to leave; doing her best to follow the same path that she taken to get to where it was that she ended up, she let her feet slowly though confidently lead her back through the cabin and over to the door, her hand pausing on the handle for a moment before she turned her head to glance back over and in the direction that his voice had been coming from.

“Hey Toby..? Ky is throwing a party tonight; you know, to welcome the new camper and all that… if you’re not doing anything later, you should drop by, it’s going to be a really good time. Maybe I’ll see you there.” Smiling brightly towards him once again before she turned herself back to the door, she slowly pulled it open only enough to slip herself through before she disappeared out into the fresh air of the camp, being careful not to spill any of her drink as she quietly and carefully closed the door behind her.

Pulling back gently though firmly upon the reigns to slow the pace as she drew closer to the top of hill that she now knew to be the entrance to the Greek camp, she steered her mare off slightly to the side, her balance never once seeming to waver on its back as the creature reluctantly came to a stop before shaking out its beautiful mane, the action causing the demigoddess to lean forward over the saddle, her hand softly gliding up and down the animals neck a few times in thanks and appreciation for getting her as far as she had. Leaving her life in Camp Jupiter behind had been easier than she had thought it was going to be- sure it meant leaving all her friends and those she cared about behind in her wake, but she’d made Nolan a promise… and she intended on keeping it, even though it meant uprooting her life and shipping herself off to Camp Half-Blood. Sitting up tall once more in the saddle as she turned her head back to the camp, her attention falling to glance back and forth between the other demigods milling about at their own pace and leisure- this place was so different to what she was used to… where were the uniforms..? Where was the structure..? It was going to take her a while to get used to living here…

Clicking her tongue a couple of times as she lightly pressed her heels into the side of her horse to once more gain its attention, she lightly flicked the reigns, urging the creature forward and down the hill to where she could see the most demigods milling about in the one area; her eyes flicking about her person so that she could take in as much as she possibly could before her eyes finally settled upon a small group staring up at her from where they stood, her eyebrow quirking ever so slightly before she nodded over to where the cabins stood tall surrounding them, “Ares; which one is it?”

Stooping her head slightly in thanks to one of the guys who pointed her in the right direction, she once more urged her mare to move forward, following the path that had been lined out for her to follow before eventually, she once again came to a complete stop, though this time in front of the cabin she now knew to be the one she was to be staying in; frowning heavily for a few moments as she looked up at it from where she sat, she leant forward slightly, her leg swinging back and over as she lowered herself to the ground, her hands working to tie the reigns to the porch banister before fumbling about with the straps on the saddle, silently collecting up her bags, “Be patient, Alcippe. Once I’ve unpacked my things, I’ll take you to the stables… wherever they are…”

Patting the horse lightly and rather affectionately against its neck a couple of times, she reluctantly pulled herself away from its side, her back straight and her head held high within her pride as she made her way up the steps before disappearing into the cabin itself, “Father give me strength…”

Turning away from the two blondes, Gideon's small smile immediately dropped off his face, and he let out an exasperated sigh. Running a stiff hand through his short hair, he dropped it down over his face, pulling at his skin and eyes. Ares could not be blocked out. Not for his eldest. Because Gideon was the oldest, he had the most connection to his father, and almost everything that happened to him, emotionally anyways, would happen to Gideon. His rage was the strongest control over his son... and it had nearly killed one of his best friends. Seeing an upcoming tree approaching, to let his anger out, he whipped out one of his katanas and sliced at a branch. The razor sharp blade cut through the wood with incredible ease. Going with the momentum of the follow through, Gideon placed the katana back in its sheath on his back.

He noticed a few of the campers by themselves on the training grounds and he pondered whether he wanted to join them. Focus, he told himself. He needed to remember to grab those broken weapons from his cabin for the barbecue so Ky could help him out with that. He wouldn't admit it to her face, but he really was glad she was back, with or without her skill. He approached the cabin absentmindedly, but he was shocked into attention when he saw an unfamiliar horse outside the cabin. He paused, narrowing his eyes, and looked toward a group of guys nearby. He recognized one of them and raised his voice to yell, "Yo! Colt!" The blond turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "Who's here?" Gideon jerked his chin toward the horse.

"How the hell would I know?" the blond yelled back. "I just got here!" Rolling his eyes and muttering how that didn't help at all under his breath, Gideon approached the cabin with caution, but a little bit of excitement. He had been the only person in the Ares cabin for the longest time, and it might be nice for a change of pace with a brother or sister. He prefer the brother, but it was how it was...

Gideon walked up the stone steps of the cabin and pushed open the door. He looked around, but he couldn't see anyone in the front hall. Curiously, however, those were where most of the empty rooms were. His room was toward the back, being the biggest. He made his way through, looking in each of the rooms. The further back they went, the bigger in size they got. He finally paused at an open door by his room and saw a young lady with ombre hair in there. Hesitating, he rested his hand on the door frame and looked at her for a moment before saying, "Ares' child?" Wow! Way to go genius! Way to greet your new sibling like that, his brain ranted at him. He shook his head, ignoring his thoughts, before looking at the girl for a response. "Who are you? No one told me about any transfers."

She would have preferred to have the biggest room; but the sight of someone else’s belongings in it had her doubling back for the room standing directly across the hall. It was only slightly smaller than the other, but it would do… for now anyway; least until she was able to convince whoever it was that lived here to swap with her- her clothes needed room to breathe. Frowning slightly as she let her dark eyes flick about the room for a few moments before she moved herself towards the bed that sat up against the wall, both her shoulders hunching forward slightly so that the straps of her bags slid down her arms before falling onto the mattress below- this was nothing like the barracks back home… she hadn’t had her own room since the day she had been sent to Camp Jupiter by her mother; her father for some unknown reason writing her an almost glowing reference letter which had gotten her accepted into the first cohort, and into a life that had had taken over and drowned out the luxuries she had grown used to when it came to living quarters and personal space.

Lifting her arms up from where they had been resting against her sides, she straightened her back, gathering as much of her long ombre hair as she could before she tied it back into a high though messy bun, doing what she could to ignore the stray strands that fell down about her face as she leant forward once more, her fingers fumbling only slightly as she undid the zip of the bag closest to her so that she could begin unpacking; the sound of a new voice filling the room from somewhere behind her causing her to tighten the grip over the hilt of one of the daggers she had hidden within her clothes, her back posture quickly straightening before she turned, the point of the blade directed towards the new guys throat- catching on to what he had actually said, she flipped the weapon, the blade pressing against the inside of her forearm for a moment before she lowered her arm back down to her side.

“..Aella Stedford, daughter of Mars. And no one knows about my being here, I asked my superiors and your camps director to keep my transfer quiet…”

Gideon eyed the younger girl, carefully examining her. He was not startled by the knife to his throat, but what did surprise him was how fast the little thing could move. He, almost, disarmed her with how fast she moved, but he thought against it. She was a daughter of his father's counterpart. It was always curious to him to look at the similarities between the Jupiter children and the Half-Blood children. Pushing himself back up from where he was leaning, he eyed her luggage and then turned his dark eyes back to her.

"Why would you ask them to do that?" Gideon asked out of pure curiosity. He found it slightly suspicious that a transfer would want to keep their transfer quiet. Many of the campers here knew about the new transfer, Logan, for a few weeks, but Gideon hadn't even heard of Aella. Carefully moving around her, he made her way into her room, looking at what once was the nice pristine room across from his that was now covered in clothing.

"Was that your horse outside?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you rode here all the way from Camp Jupiter, more power to you. I would've taken an airplane myself." He smiled carefully at her. He figured that he shouldn't frighten her off too quickly, or else he would be alone in this house once again. He ran his hands over the side of the wall as he eyed all of her things. How she was able to pack all of these bags on a single horse was beyond him. Rubbing the back of his neck, he made his way back out into the hallway again, leaning up against the doorway as he had before. He watched her carefully, waiting for an answer.

So this was the guy that she was supposed to be living with during her time within the Grecian camp- her new half-brother of sorts; or at least, their fathers being counterparts of one another connected them in one way or another. Narrowing her dark eyes ever so slightly, she let her gaze flick up and down his figure; muscular… strong... but then sloppily cared for when it came to toning. Though she couldn't tell whether it was due to not having a decent training partner, or whether it was just pure laziness? And... was that an accent? Turning herself away from him after a few more moments of sizing her new cabin-mate up, she once more gave her full attention back down to the bags and clothes she had laying over the bed, her arm reaching out to drop the dagger onto the mattress before she began to gather up the items she needed to have hanging up; her feet carrying her across the room and over to where the rather large closet door was open for all to see, the young demigoddess draping her clothes over the back of the nearest chair before she began to hang them up one by one in the order she was used to.

“Because I didn’t want anyone to make a big fuss; I don’t need a welcoming committee, or some big long tour that’s going to waste both mine and the other person’s time. I am more than capable of finding my own way around this place. Besides; I’m here because I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.” Keeping an ear out for the sound of his heavy footfalls as he moved around what she could now call her room, her attention remaining on what it was that she was doing, her hands continuing the repetitive motion that was draping her clothes over the hanger before placing them in their place only to go and start again, “You ask a hell of a lot of questions for someone who hasn’t even given me his name... But to answer you; yeah, that is my horse out the front of the cabin, her name is Alcippe. My mother organized transportation for us both once we were out of safety that was Camp Jupiter’s grounds but unfortunately, our transport had to depart from us just as we were heading out of New York. We rode from there.”

Gideon chuckled under his breath. This girl was feisty. Maybe having a half-sister wasn't going to be so bad after all. "Gideon. Gideon Carlyle. I would shake hands, but it seems as if you're busy." He was slightly disappointed, however, that she did not ride all the way from California. That would have made her ten times cooler in his eyes, but it was smart the way she did it. He reflected back on how she said that she had made a promise, and he looked at her carefully.

"Maybe a promise to who, precisely? And for what?" Gideon was not the most optimistic person, especially when it came to promises. He has always said that he will never make a promise that he cannot keep, and so far, he has kept that mindset. He has never made a promise that he hasn't kept. He had been known to avoid making promises that he knows he can't keep, and it is easy to tell when he avoids it, as he quickly changes the subject or does not promise.

Moving back to the inside of her room, he leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms across his chest. He rested his head against the back wall, putting a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He cringed when his left shoulder felt the pressure. That was the shoulder that Archer put an arrow above. He hadn't thought it had hit him, but it must have just slightly. At least, it was enough to make him sore. He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, taking a deep breath, before opening one to look at Aella.

“Gideon… so you’re my new half-brother…” She paused her actions for only a few moments before she turned her attention back down to what she was doing, her hands quickly working to hang up the rest of the clothes in the pile she had picked up before she turned her back to the wardrobe, her head held high as she let her dark gaze lift up and meet with that of her (for all intents and purposes) new brother, “You really do ask a lot of questions don’t you..? You know, I’m curious, do you ever get sick of hearin’ the sound of your own voice, or does that strange accent of yours keep you amused..?”

Scrunching her features up slightly in obvious confusion about the accent itself, she shook her head lightly from side to side for a few moments before she made her way over to her bed, her hands coming up to pull off her jacket revealing a slightly modified Camp Jupiter top underneath; the arms cut out and the top looking more like a singlet to show off most of her back, the black tattoo like brand of her camp clear over the otherwise untarnished skin that could be seen- the young Texan leaning forward to drop her jacket onto the mattress before she once again began to fumble about within one of the many bags she managed to bring with her, “Not that it’s any of your business; but the promise I made was to my late boyfriend. As to what that promise entails; that’s not something I’m willing to share with someone I barely know- sibling or not, we don’t know each other boy.”

"You have to admit..." Gideon said with a smirk on his face. "My voice is amazing to listen to." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "The only reason why I ask questions is so I know I'm not in here with a serial killer." He eyed her shirt. How someone could do that to a uniform or shirt of any kind was beyond him. He bought them normal and clean cut and that was it. Besides the once in awhile rolling up of his sleeves, he doesn't bother dealing that much with clothes.

"It also tells me a lot about you, when you don't answer my questions or question my questions all together." He managed to confuse himself with that sentence, but he didn't let it show. "Like in avoidance of the answering the final question that I asked, it tells me that something happened to your late boyfriend. Something bad." He pushed himself off the wall and walked closer to her. Nudging her shoulder with his hip, he smiled at her. "You can tell me anything. I swear on the Gods I will never tell another soul unless your life depended on it."

“Is every Grecian in this camp as full of themselves as you are, dear brother..? Or is that just a special family trait that I should know about…” Unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his rather obvious inflated ego before she straightened herself up once more, she let her fingers curl around the light material that was one of her many tops, her head tilting ever so slightly to the side as she allowed her dark eyes to flick over it before dropping it down onto the mattress, “I can assure you, Gideon was it, that I am not a serial killer. I have more integrity… more honor… and more discipline. I don’t kill in cold blood without reason; and unlike you Grecian’s, my word can be trusted- especially when it comes to family.”

Letting her words trail off into nothing as she finally managed to come across one of many tops she had packed that caught her interest in the last few moments, she dropped it back down to the mattress before crossing her arms over her body, her fingers curling under the bottom of her top before she lifted it up and off of her body; tossing it over towards the top of the bed before she once more took a hold of the one that had caught her eye, her body turning slightly so that she was looking back over her brother, “It tells you nothing that I don’t want you to know... I called him my ‘late’ boyfriend; using that word in particular already tells you that he has passed on. That isn’t something I wish to hide, I don’t see the point in doing so; I loved once, and now that love is lost... But my promise to him has nothing at all to do with him, and is something that I’m not willing to share at this point in time.”

Relaxing her shoulders and lifting her head up slightly as she continued to watch him with slight curiosity, she slid her arms one by one into the singlet top, holding onto the rest of it as she tilted her head lightly to the side, “I appreciate the sentiment of family trust- truly, it’s touching that you’re offering such… loyalty to someone you not only just met, but barely know. Tell me, why do you feel such an obligation towards me..?”

Gideon still kept a still face, but on the inside he was sighing. There was no talking to this girl. He had been hoping for a competitive mate, one that he could fight with on the field and not feel bad. Walking away from her again, he leaned up against the wall and listening to her again, shaking her head as she talked about Grecian's like they were dirty liars. He cracked his knuckles in front of him before taking a deep breath to answer her last question.

"I feel that obligation for you because I've never had a sibling before," Gideon said with an external sigh this time. "I've never had anyone to protect, anyone to stand by. As you probably know, as we are both his child, it's hard to exactly be understood by others as a child of Ares. His anger is our anger, his fear is ours. He is the only God who tends to be us more often than we are ourselves." He leaned his head back against the wall. "I've never had anyone who has understood that about me before, or gone through the same thing."

He rolled his shoulders, dropping them lower to the ground. It was realized throughout most of the camp that when Gideon was being truthful and apologetic, he made himself a lot smaller and more vulnerable. He no longer looked like a child of Ares'. He looked like a hollowed down, broken man that he was on the inside, not like the son Ares is always proud of and that bestows Ares' gift upon him. "I am sorry for prying. I just want to know if those who are the same as me are going through the same as me."

“..you aren’t alone; we share the problems of our fathers… the anger, the fear, the hatred- it’s a burden that only we can bare and only we can understand.” Stooping her head down so that her eyes were lingering over her top for a few moments before she pulled it over her body, making sure that it was covering her chest and torso before finally, she turned and closed the gap that was between the both of them; a frown playing over her features and a slight understanding flashing across her eyes as she lifted her gaze up to meet with his own.

She knew what it was like; she’d grown up with her father’s fury running through her veins, and it was because of that anger and hatred that she had wound up at Camp Jupiter in the first place- all the fights, all the jealousy… it was all him; all his influence on her life, not that she had ever really minded. Her father’s guidance had made her strong, “I hear them you know… like my brother before me; I hear our father’s voices inside my head. They don’t argue as much like they used to, but they can still barely agree on anything together…”

Pausing for a few moments as she continued to stare up into the eyes of her new brother, seeming to size him up before finally making her choice, her body physically relaxing before his very eyes in an attempt to show him that she was willing to at least attempt to make a family connection with him, “I’ve had brothers and sisters before- though at Camp Jupiter you get split up into different cohorts. We didn’t live together as a family; didn't eat together, and we didn’t spend time together unless we were in the same cohort… I guess you could say that we were siblings, but then we also weren’t at the same time... As for someone who wants to protect me like that... I've never had someone like that, unless you count Nolan…”

"They do argue fairly much, don't they?" Gideon said with a light hearted chuckle. He was glad, in all honesty, that the two gods were not fighting at this moment, else they would interrupt this somewhat touching moment between new brother and sister. He was glad he was no longer alone. No longer alone in the house, no longer alone in the pain and rage felt through his father's emotions. He could sometimes hear Ares' voice in his head in battles, criticizing him, which was never fun, and during practice fights his father would always give him advice, but it always seemed to be as if Ares was disappointed in him. He tried to live up to his father's standards, but he could never seem to make him proud of him.

"That's the thing," Gideon stated, after she explained what happened with her half-siblings at Camp Jupiter. "It's different here. We stick together and we protect our own. In stories, us Grecian's may have a bad rap, but you can't put on us what our ancestors did in the past. We are different from them. We are better. Both types of demigod, Roman and Grecian." He smiled softly at her. "And with the protection... I guess it's just a brotherly instinct. You may have to get used to that." Puffing out his cheeks, he muttered to himself, "I might have to get used to that." Dodging his eyes back over to her, he said, "Whatever happened in the past is the past. You're here now and that is all that matters. What happened back at Camp Jupiter, all your faults, all your sorrows, all your pain... let it go. And I swear I will not start singing that damn song." He laughed. "I don't mean to get philosophical on you right now, but it would be easier, I think, on both of us, if you let a slight amount of it go now. To release tension and awkwardness..."

“To be perfectly honest with you; I don’t know what song you’re talking about.” Tearing her dark gaze away from his own as she once more fell into a silence for what felt like the longest of times, she turned her back to him so that she was instead able to look about the room that she had chosen as her own- as much as she hated to agree with a Grecian on anything, he had a point… Things at Camp Half-Blood were vastly different from how they were back at Jupiter; the very fact that siblings weren’t split up into different cohorts the minute that they arrived was a sign of that- and if the both of them were going to be living together as brother and sister for the duration of her stay within the camp, then she had to make an effort to at least open up and let him in… even if only the tiniest amount to release the tension that seemed to build between them.

“..Nolan and I met when I got accepted into the first cohort… he wasn’t just my boyfriend; he was also my superior, and he helped me a lot after I first arrived at Camp Jupiter. Above him in rankings, was Logan. They were war buddies; partners I guess would be a better word for it… they never did anything without the other knowing.” Smiling softly to herself as some of the memories she held of both her and Nolan began to fill her mind, she took a single step to the side before she fell back and against the wall beside him, her arms raising from her sides to fold over her chest, though the action held no malice or any sign of defensiveness, “There was just something about him… I couldn’t refuse him anything; so when he asked me to promise him something, I jumped in with both feet first and said yes without hesitation. He asked me to look after Logan; to keep an eye on him if anything ever happened. I take my promises seriously, all of them; but I never thought I would have to fulfill this one…”

Dropping her head down slightly as she took a few moments pause to keep from pushing her emotions too far, she closed her eyes, taking a couple of slow and deep breaths to keep a steady beating heart- it had been about a year since both Nolan and Ashley had passed away; she’d mourned… she was still mourning. The loss of them both from the world had hit her hard; she had lost her boyfriend, and one of her best friends… but she still had Logan- at least, until he had decided to transfer over to this camp, “It’s been a year… and he won’t talk to me, he won’t sit with me during meal times; he can barely even look at me anymore. I know he’s in pain too; but he did what he had to do to protect the camp and everyone they loved. I don’t think he sees it that way though… I think that’s why he transferred here from Jupiter. But either way; that’s why I’m here… to keep the promise I made; even if Logan doesn’t want me here… even if he doesn’t speak to me, or doesn’t want to have anything at all to do with me, I will look out for him… I just can’t do that if we’re not in the same place.”

Gideon was silent while the girl explained about the promise. He leaned back against the wall, running his hand through his hair in surprise and shock about what Aella just explained. Going through all of that, Gideon couldn't help but feel horrible for the new transfer, Aella and Logan both. He couldn't even be in Logan's shoes, as those feelings would come with an event that would take Archer from him. And Aella... He couldn't even comprehend what she was feeling. To lose someone you loved like that must be horrible. He had never had that happen to him, family or partner. He had broken bones, sprained joints, dislocated sockets, felt bruises, cuts, healing scars, but he had never encountered a broken heart before, and he knew that was the most painful thing in the world. He had broken a femur before, and he knew that a broken heart was more painful than that.

"I... I'm so sorry, Aella," he said, staring hard at the ground. His hands were on his knees and he looked like he was about to throw up, but he wouldn't. What the poor girl must be going through to have one of her closest friends cut her off after her best friend and boyfriend died. He felt kind of like an asshole after what he did by greeting her. He stood up, taking a deep breath, and facing her. His voice was now quieter than it had been. "I can't bring them back. I can't change Logan's mind, or rewrite the past, or go out and slay the monsters that killed them-" He smiled a little bit at the last part. "-but I will make a promise to you. And I never make a promise I can't keep. I will be there for you, Aella. As a brother, as a friend, whatever you need me to be, I will be there for you and do my best in helping you. I swear."

It was a strong promise to make, especially to someone he hardly knew, but deep inside him, he felt that it was right to say so. This would be a difficult promise to keep, but it was necessary for him to keep it, with all this girl had been through. Still staring at the ground as he spoke, he stated, "And if you need someone to talk to Logan, I can try, though I don't know the kid well enough yet." He smiled carefully at the ground again before leaning back against the wall, resting his head against it.

She couldn’t help the small and amused, though still ever grateful smile that played over her lips at her new-found brother’s words of comfort and promise- maybe they had been wrong back at Jupiter… maybe the Greeks weren’t as bad as everyone claimed them to be; at least, Gideon didn’t seem to be untrustworthy or a sneak that would try and double cross her the very moment he had the chance to do so. He wanted to try and help her fulfill her promise to Nolan… to try and make things right between her and Logan. It was a sweet sentiment; but there was no way that he was going to be able to fix the damage that the past had created in the relationship the two of them had with one another- while they hung out, while she considered him to be her friend and someone she had on occasion been able to turn to; she was his subordinate… one that unless Nolan and Ashley had both been in the picture, he never would have spoken to outside of training.

“You are kind to offer… but I don’t want you to talk to him. Like me, he’s grieving the loss of his best friend and love as well; I won’t force myself on him when he doesn’t want to be in my company. He doesn’t even know I’m here; I kept it from him, but even if I wanted to tell him, he wouldn’t talk to me.” Shaking her head lightly from side to side as a gentle sigh slipped out of her soft pink lips at the very thought of how Logan had been avoiding her for almost a year now, she finally pulled snapped her mind back to the present, allowing the memories to once more settle in the back of her mind as she pushed herself away from the wall before eventually, she turned her body around to face him completely; the small smile that had been playing over her lips growing into one that was warmer and more sincere as she motioned towards the door with a gentle nod of her head.

“Enough of the past; and enough unpacking for now, don’t you think? There’s plenty of time later for me to do that. But right now; I have a horse to tend to- mind showing me where the stables are… and maybe giving me that rundown and tour of camp that I didn’t want..?”

Logan steeled himself as he caught sight of Colt among the throngs of people milling about in front of the Ares Cabin. A familiar horse sent a chill down his spine. The mare was a sight he hadn't thought he'd ever see again, identifying it as Aella's favorite mount. Now what could she possibly be doing here?! He hadn't spoken to her since... well since Nolan's death and he had no desire to bring the issue up with her. If there was one person from his old group of subordinates whose wrath he didn't want to face, it was hers. Colt on the other hand, he felt as if he deserved a bit of an explanation. He had no idea his sister was dead and it was Logan's duty to inform him, as her centurion and her lover.

He trotted past the gawkers and bystanders to easily catch up with Colt, even with his armor and items jingling all the while inside his pack. He slowed just before he truly came abreast of the son of Venus, who seemed more at home here at the Greek Camp than he ever had in New Rome. He only hoped he could achieve the same level of familiarity in his new home... but that seemed like a faraway prospect. Right now, there was just one order of business he had to take care, a nagging loose end that needed to be cut off. He finally fell in step with Colt as they passed Cabin Eight, Logan clasped Colt's shoulder to get his attention. "Hey Colt! Long time no see.." It seemed as good as any way to get the conversation started.

So many people he had to deal with today. First the two boys asking if he knew anything about the mount outside of the Ares' cabin, which he had not. Then he had to get an explanation to the Athena children as to where Archer was. As he did not know, he had given them his best guess then told them to fuck off. Pushing his sunglasses up to the top of his head, he squinted his eyes, peering around the camp. He was looking for Arianna, to hopefully get her to head to Kiran to take her meds since he knew that she most likely hadn't taken them today. Not seeing the familiar blonde around whatsoever, he turned and began walking back to his cabin.

He felt a sudden hand on his shoulder and he immediatley jerked forward, pulling out his chakram which he always kept stashed in his coat. Heart throbbing, he looked up to recognize the red headed Jupiter child from California. He sighed, but he didn't put the chakram away. "I don't know whether to ram this damn thing into your throat or put it fucking away..." He raised an eyebrow at Logan. "What the hell are you doing here, anyways? Finally decide that fucking California Camp isn't god damn worth it?" Colt laughed and raised an eyebrow.

Logan hadn't expected such a visceral response from Colt and in the same moment that the child of Venus's hand disappeared to his waist, his own sword was out and ready, having taken a step back in case of a sudden attack. Even as Colt turned to look at him, his sword was pointed to the center of his almost opponent's chest. As he noticed the hard edge fall away from the blonde, he allowed his sword tip to lower and then come to rest diagonally across his hips, tip towards the ground. The fact that the demigod would dare to draw a blade on another was ludicrous to Logan. He didn't want to have this conversation while weapons were drawn, but the son of Jupiter felt more secure with the blade in his hands, ready to parry or deal a blow in return. "You know what would happen if you followed through with the former of those two options. Sheathe your blade, Colt." Logan said in a certain tone, the voice of a man that knew the most efficient way to kill. His tone wasn't grim, but it was cautionary. A soldier of Rome never took anything for chance.

"Not quite, but I've transferred here for reasons that will soon become obvious..." Logan had forgotten how volatile the young man could be. It'd been more than a year since he'd seen or spoken to him and the absence hadn't helped his language, or attitude. Regardless of his personal feelings, Logan knew he had to follow through with his convictions and knew that this course was the correct one. "I just need a few minutes of your time. Is there somewhere we could talk away from prying eyes and ears?" Logan wasn't one for such discretion, but this news was private and didn't want any of the campers to overhear. A few had begun to gravitate towards the pair, the sight of drawn weapons between two demigods an occasion to gawk and start suspicions. He sheathed his own blade and with a guiding hand on Colt's weapon arm, Logan began to lead him from the main body of cabins and campers. This gesture was two-fold, showing he had no fear of Colt and his weapon, but also to dissuade any attempt to use it.

"It's not a blade, dipshit," Colt said. "It's a chakram. It may have blades on the outside, but it is different not shaped like a sword if you can fucking tell." Jerking his arm away from Logan, Colt stashed the chakram back in his jacket and shoved his hands into his pockets, drawing up his shoulders near his ears to hide his face from eyes. Colt lead Logan back to the Aphrodite Cabin and snapped at the two girls that were in there, "Get out." Both jumped down off their beds and walked out, smiling and winking at Logan as they went. Rolling his eyes, Colt turned to look at Logan, an exasperated air about him.

"Welcome to the Aphrodite Cabin," Colt said, throwing his arms out wide. "It's nothing like you assholes up in Zeus or Jupiter have or had, but it's at least home." Leaning up against one of the beds, Colt sucked in his cheeks and looked at Logan with raised eyebrows. "I'm shocked you would ever want to leave Camp Jupiter. No one is really going to respect you here, whether your Zeus's Roman couterpart's child or not. You're just a Roman to them here. It'll be awhile before people will actually respect you." Colt was purposefully dancing around the subject that Logan wanted to bring up, because if Logan wanted to talk to him specifically, it couldn't be good. He knew the dude hated his guts and only tolerated him because he dated a half-sister of his that he hardly knew nor cared about.

Letting out a sigh, Colt shook his head at his own stupidity. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with. What the hell is so important that you have to drag me away in the middle of camp and find a place to hide before you actually tell me what you need to tell me?" Colt crossed his arms across his chest and looked at the boy, waiting for a response.

"If it cuts and kills, I consider it a blade, or edged. Never took you one for being so literal." Logan smiled good-naturedly and sheathed his own blade as he followed Colt. It seemed he was leading him to Colt's own cabin and any worry he had about such a location was soon dismissed. The retreating, yet still flirtatious girls who nearly made Logan blush, left quickly. It seemed being a counselor in this place held a certain amount of clout. Colt's demeanor did nothing to encourage Logan, but he forged on anyway. "Thank you... and you know I don't like luxuries, I've lived as much on the road as in camp."

He moved over to lean against a wall, not too far from Colt, but with just enough distance for a margin of safety. He rubbed at his chin with an empty hand, before deciding how to answer Colt's observations and impatiently given question. "I like to earn the respect of my allies, I'd think poor of the Grecians if they trusted me out of hand. But, I didn't come to talk of that, as you've guessed.." Closing his eyes briefly, Logan took a steadying breath as he pushed off the wall to stand, weight perfectly balanced between his two feet. Suddenly defensive, he crossed his arms, but just as quickly lowered them until his hands clasped each other worriedly. This was the most uneasy he'd ever felt, other than that fateful day.

"Your sister, Ashley, is dead, Colt. Shortly after you left camp, in fact." Logan did not how else to say it so opted for frankness. He said it quickly and in a monotone, as if it would help keep the pain of his personal loss from bubbling to the surface. It did not and before he could continue, Logan had to clear his throat past the ball of emotion that had collected. "Ashley, Nolan, and I were on a quest to exterminate a group of monsters collecting near the borders of Camp Jupiter. We were overrun, the information collected by the camp's agents was wrong, or outdated, and we couldn't hold them back. So we retreated to the edge of a cliff and... I split the rock shelf from the rest of the mountain-" Logan would have continued, but his throat was suddenly choked and he could speak no longer, his forefinger and thumb coming to pinch the bridge of his nose, pulling at the corners of his eyes to stall the flow of tears. Soldiers of Rome did not cry, did not mourn long since passed death, and Logan tried to keep to these ideals, but found them hollow and lackluster in the face of his overwhelming grief.

Ash is dead? Colt stared at Logan in silence for a few moments. He and Ashley were never close, but he knew that she had been a lovely girl, very kind, very stubborn, and very beautiful. Colt sank down onto the bed. This was a reason why he did not want to hear Logan's news, because he knew it couldn't be good. Colt couldn't think of anything to say. The guy dated her for the longest time and now had to tell him that she was dead. That was almost as bad as reliving the death itself. Colt let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. His hand did not shake with grief, as it would have if it had been a close sibling. Tears did not come to his eyes. He did not mourn his sister.

"Thanks for telling me. I'm sure I would have found out eventually, but it's better to hear it from someone so close to her," Colt said, his voice, normally loud and overpowering, quiet and refined. "I'm sorry for your loss, Logan. I know how much she meant to you." Taking another deep breath, he stood back up and rested his hand on the wall. He didn't know if anyone else had lost anyone, and he never meant to find out. He couldn't deal with anyone crying, whether it was a guy or a girl or whatever. He couldn't even stand whimpering dogs.

"Is that all you needed to tell me?" At the risk of sounding rude, which he normally was, so it wasn't that big of a deal, Colt asked this question. He was fairly busy and needed to get stuff done for the day, and he couldn't spend most of his day with a blubbering fool over something that had happened in the past. He and Ashley were not close, whatsoever. She did not deserve to die, but he would not mourn her as Logan would.

The shock of Ashley's sibling not even to seemingly care about the death of his sister brought Logan out of his reverie. How could Colt not care, not a lick, about her untimely death? This was a surprise and somehow, it made Logan's opinion of the guy fall even lower than his language and rude behavior ever could. It seemed... heartless, if ever was a more fitting person for the label. His hand slipped to the hilt of his sword for a brief moment, his grip bone white... but then it fell away in resignation. He couldn't seem to stay angry, or any other kind of emotional state, these days. The death of his true love had stolen away that vibrant fire of life the son of Jupiter had once boasted.

"Yea... that's it," Logan said brusquely, drawing up to his full height before offering a small dip of his head. His eyes never left Colt's, his eyes now the color and gleaming quality of flint as he turned to leave. In his emotional void, he hardly remembered opening the door, nor his grip bending the metal of the handle in his supernaturally strong grip. The door shut with a loud bang, startling eavesdropping children of Aphrodite, who quickly averted their gaze from Logan. Not many could hold the stare of someone in his state of mind or his daunting air of skill. He stalked past the rabble and continued on to the perimeters of the camp, needing to walk and let off this steam. Out of habit, he pulled out his phone and called his voicemail, listening to the last message Ashley had left for him. How could two siblings be so different? Logan pondered this question for a long moment, before walking to a more secluded area of the bay. Hopefully he'd have a chance to scream his brains out, but it was the middle of the afternoon and there were demigods fooling around at the pier. So not likely.

Logan slowly walked around the lake's edge, picking up a flat stone and palming it. Looking up, he suddenly felt a wave of irrational anger. He threw the stone, seeing it skip nearly half the lake's distance, before it succumbed to its own weight. He just couldn't believe that someone wouldn't feel at least a modicum of sorrow at the passing of their sibling. Even a stranger might have felt more than Colt! He wondered if the child of Venus knew what compassion and love truly meant. It seemed unlikely. He looked up to the sky, wondering how the Goddess of Love could let a child such as that stalk this land with such an unemotional state of being. How could the guy truly attune to his abilities without such intimate knowledge? The blonde's actions and reactions seemed paradoxical to his origins...

Releasing a deep sigh, the young man looked around the area, spotting one building Erin and Syleste seemed to have neglected to show or explain to him. He heard the sound of power tools and metal and was intrigued. Leaves and twigs crunching underfoot, Logan approached the building and peered inside. It was a familiar mane of red hair, but the back of Ky' vie's head. He knocked loudly, announcing his presence as he entered her domain.

She hadn't been back in the camp for more than a few hours, but then the familiar call of her garage (as always) was far too strong for her to deny- she had work to get done; orders that she needed to fill... and now more importantly, she had transportation to get together for the following day's events. There was no way that she was going to be able to get any of it done if she just chose to lounge about in her cabin, watching one of her many movies on the flat screen, and waiting for time to pass by until they were ready to leave- but just because she had serious and pressing thoughts filling her mind, it didn't mean that she wasn't going to be having any fun; that's what the nights party was for... it was one of her favorite ways for her to sit back and relax with those that she loved.

Entertaining; celebrating. Once again, she would be the one cooking; not only going out of her way to give the kitchens a break, but also giving Arianna the chance to do what she did best. Entertain a crowd, and party. Lifting her hand up from the cylinder that she had been replacing in the engine block of one of the two bikes she had been working on, she brought it up to rub lightly back and forth against her forehead, the grease and oil that stained her finger tips smudging against her flesh before eventually, she slid them back into her bright apple red locks, pushing them back and off her face so that she could properly see what it was she had to do- though it didn't seem to matter; the long tresses automatically dropping back into their usual place, causing her to groan slightly in her frustration.

The only thing that really ever got on her nerves while she was trying to concentrate on her job... her hair was long; she rarely ever cut it anymore, though it wasn't as though she didn't want to. The last time she had gotten a 'trim', the Aphrodite girls had instead cut it so short that she couldn't even tie it up, claiming it to be the new style before trying to shove her into one of their many closets for the dreaded finally- it didn't matter what anyone said about the situation; makeovers were never fun..! Standing herself up straight once she was sure that the part wasn't going to be falling from its place any time soon, she scooped her hair back over her shoulders, gathering it up within the palms of her hands before tying it up into a long though rather high ponytail so that it could be out the way. Now she could think... and now she could work. Leaning back over the engine block, she let her metallic silvery-blue eyes flick about the tools scattered around in front of her, taking a few moments before she finally reached out and picked up the one that she needed; her face scrunching up slightly in her concentration as the sound of metal against metal filled the garage once more, though this time interrupted by the confident sound of knocking from somewhere behind her.

"..yeah, just come in- did you bring me those blades you annihilated Gideon..?" Not even bothering to look back over her shoulder to see who it was that was there, Ky continued to work on what was right in front of her, the muscles within her arm tensing and relaxing in turn with each time she worked the spanner, tightening the part into the place- she didn't need to look to know that it was going to be one of two people... she rarely got any visitors within her garage without being asked first, and if it was unexpected, it was (nine times out of ten) Grif or Gideon; both of them having their reasons, but usually hanging around just for the sake of being with friends.

Logan let his rucksack slip from his shoulder to clatter onto the floor. The straps had just started to dig into the corded muscles of his shoulders, the weight making what little padding it had left useless. He windmilled his arm, right then left respectively to ease the tension and throbbing that had settled into his muscles. So this was Ky' vie's garage... Slowly, he made a circuit, staying out of peripheral vision. He avoided making it known that he wasn't Gideon just yet. Knowing something she didn't gave him a sense of whimsical giddiness, as if he was a child once again playing in the department store, hiding in racks of clothing. His grin was wide and boyish as his fingers skimmed her work benches, carts, and spare parts. He didn't care about the crude oil that stained his fingers, having known much worse.

Finally, he'd made it back to rucksack, Ky' vie still none the wiser. His sword belt soon followed his bag in a comfortable heap on the floor. Logan had no knowledge of mechanical gears and bits and whatever else that went into building something and giving that something life. He'd always been a bit envious of Vulcan's children for this gift. Being a son of Jupiter, all he'd known was battle, strife, and suffering and it was a bitter legacy to swallow. He watched in fascination as she tied up her hair and still had not realized she wasn't one of her friends. In Camp Jupiter such a relaxed attitude meant you had lost your edge. Logan didn't want to lose that and become soft here, but after seeing the beautiful camp and sheer amount of goodwill flowing through this place, it was hard not to see how such a life was enticing. Seductive, even.

He'd had enough of this game, however, grabbing a fresh white hand-towel. He wiped the minimal grease he collected touching her various tools. He hadn't moved any, knowing how these tech types liked their tools right where they'd left them. He leaned against a nearby tarped something, most likely a car, and held out the rag over her right shoulder. Clearing his throat, he finally spoke. "Sorry, but I'm not Gideon. You met me earlier on the hill, I'm Logan, Logan Murdock. I don't mean to interrupt, I was just curious as to what was here. I'm just getting to know the lay of the land." His tone was confident and positive as always. It always seem to say that all was right in the world, or Logan's world, and you were welcome to join.

The very moment that she heard the words slip out through his lips, she turned her head ever so slightly so that she could glance over her shoulder at him, her metallic silvery-blue orbs seeming to fixate on him for a few moments as she regarded what it was that he had to say to her before eventually, she turned her attention away from him altogether; a small but rather amused smile playing over her soft pink lips as she reached up to take the cloth he was offering to her, being sure to let the spanner drop back to the ground before she stood back up straight, doing what she could to rid her hands of the grime that had accumulated on them since she had gotten back to camp, "Ah... the new camper in town; I remember you. I almost ran you over earlier- really sorry about that by the way; had to stop pretty quickly, I wasn't exactly expecting so many demigods to be standing around on the hill gossiping like it was a mothers club meeting..."

Tilting her head ever so slightly to the side as she didn't bother to hide the fact that she was looking him up and down, she leant herself back and against the bike, sitting lightly against the edge of the seat for a few moments of comfortable silence before she spoke up again, her Australian accent still strong after so many years of living within the camp, but not so thick that people weren't able to understand what it was that she was saying to them- it had taken a while for her to get the perfect mix; her friends long gone often extremely lost during conversation when she had first arrived, "Oh, and you're not interrupting anything- just trying to catch up on work; got custom jobs I gotta get done, and going out on quests doesn't help make the load any smaller now, does it? But I'm always willing to free up my time for those who want it..."

Flinging the now dirty cloth over her shoulder, she brought both of her arms up before folding them over her chest, her smile never once leaving her lips as she lifted her gaze to meet with his own once again, "So tell me Logan... Logan Murdock... how can I help you..? Or are you happy there just leaning back against my baby..?"

"I don't think we would've been standing there, but it seemed everyone was either waiting for you or trying to see the new kid. Guess we're too popular for our own good, eh?" Logan asked rhetorically, broadly grinning. "Don't worry about it though, I'd have just caught you." Logan was perfectly aware that he'd claimed to be able to stop a motorcycle, but he figured a demigod wouldn't need to explain himself, or herself, in the presence of another. He almost blushed when she took a long look at his body. It didn't seem particularly sexual, but it wasn't a shy look either. Logan crossed one of his legs over the other from where leaned.

When she grew silent, he'd wondered if this was a cue to leave, but she started up again assuring him that he wasn't bothering her at too crucial a time. "I really wouldn't know about that." He held up his hands of a warrior, nary a single callous made by work with a respectable tool. "Quests had been my load. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me."

His reaction was priceless as he jumped away from the tarped object, "There's a baby under there?! We- Oh. You mean the car." Logan chuckled at his own foolishness, slapping a hand to his forehead. He started laughing harder and harder, till he was near tears until finally reigning in the almost incurable giggles. Slowly he took shallow breaths as the laughter left his system like a quick acting stomach bug. He wiped his eyes, which had begun to water. "I didn't hurt it at all? Did I?"

She couldn't stop herself- but at least she had tried... Lifting her hand up to cover her mouth the very moment that she had caught sight of his reaction, she did all that she could to try and stifle the laughter that fell from her lips; her eyes crinkling happily in the corners as she continued to watch what was unfolding before her. He was making a complete and utter fool of himself in front of her; but she didn't care, it was the first time in days that she was able to laugh about something... really laugh about something; and it just felt so good, just so natural- even with someone she had only just met. Taking a few moments to settle down and regain her composure once more, she shook her head lightly from side to side, the smile gracing her lips and lighting up her features never once seeming to fade as she pushed away from the bike, her arms swinging lazily at her side as she moved across the garage until she was standing at his side; her eyes lingering upon the tarp in question for what felt like forever before she leant forward, her palms pressing against it and her fingers curling lightly as she took a hold of the materiel.

"..well... there really is only one way to find out whether you hurt her or not..." The fluttering of the tarp was loud, filling the garage around them before it fell silent once again, the tarp itself settling down on the ground leaving in it's wake a pristine and well-kept black '67 Chevy Impala- the very sight of it causing her smile to grow even further over her face. It was her baby... her pride and joy; the car that she had always dreamed of owning, and at the end of it all, she had bought every single part one by one and assembled it on her own right there in the camp. It was the only thing that had kept her mind from wandering back then... kept her from thinking about him. By the Gods she was pathetic.

"You know; I think you might be off the hook this time- she looks alright to me." Chuckling softly to herself as she straightened herself up, she turned her head to glance at him before her arms raised from her sides, folding over her chest for the second time since he had come to join her in the garage.

He would've blushed, if not for realizing that Ky' vie was indeed laughing with him. That on its own convinced him that she was good people, otherwise she might have landed in a cheap shot of a joke at his expense. Logan admitted, quietly, to himself that that had not been his finest moment, but at least a good memory. Those had been in short supply as of late and were highly welcomed. He wore a more relaxed grin that didn't pull at his eyes as before, but had settled into a comfortable smirk. He dramatically wiped at his brow for imaginary sweat. "Phew, I know how you children of Vul-Hephaestus are with your personal toys. I'd hate to have you kill me over scratching your baby."

Almost afraid, Logan gently ran the back of his fingers over the shiny black paint, so as not to smudge Ky' vie's immaculate polish. "It really is beautiful... did you restore it or just build it all by yourself?" he asked wonderingly, this time a note of envy creeping into his voice alongside the awe. He peered inside, noting the sleek leather upholstery. He really couldn't believe that something so beautiful could've have been made by a fellow demigod, but not out of doubt of her abilities. Wistfulness graced his warm expression for a moment, regretting not having learned an art other than that of war. This was real happiness, being able to pour your heart into something you loved. The weight of his small writing notebook grew a little heavier in his back pocket. He just wished his art didn't focus on death and pain, whether by the sword or pen, it seemed all that occupied the kind boy's life.

In the reflection, his ever vigilant eyes caught a micro-change in her face. Was that... pity? But it wasn't for him, he'd done nothing to warrant such a reaction. Logan guessed it had to with herself then and made sure he wouldn't let her think whatever she had again, if it was within his power. Anyone that could laugh like that didn't deserve to be haunted by their past.

The hypocrisy was not lost on Logan.

He straightened from his slightly crouched position and turned to face Ky' vie leaning against a lift this time around and adopting a similar pose to his new acquaintance, hopefully friend. "Why did you take the motorcycle if you had this beauty collecting dust in here?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"You'll come to learn in your time here that I'm not like my brothers and sisters; especially the ones where you come from. I might have my moments, but they are never without stress or threat to the camp, or the people I love." Allowing her weight to settle over her right side as she shifted slightly over the spot in which she stood, her hip jutted out ever so slightly, her eyes seeming to soften until she was able to gaze at him with a sweet warmth that just seemed to emanate from her entire being at times- this was what made it all worth it. Seeing the reaction on his face... the glint in his eyes as he took his time to look over the creation sitting in front of him; it was why she did what she did- and why she rarely ever accepted any payments for it either.

"..built it myself... part by part during a hard time- had to do something; I needed to replace my jeep after it got demolished." Sadness seemed to flicker across her features though it didn't last for longer than a second before she chuckled softly once more, her body turning around slowly before she let herself fall back to rest against the hood of her car; her features turning thoughtful as she let her mind play over his question, thinking of the best way for her to explain why she did what she did.

"..demigods attract monsters- as someone who goes on quests, you should know that better than anyone. If I were to take my car; well she wouldn't stand a very good chance at coming back without damage... but with my bike, I have more maneuverability- I can go places that I can't go in a normal car; so I guess it's a mix of both practicality, and worry..."

"You're right, of course. Most of our mechanics and engineers are just worried with making a deadlier weapon." Logan looked around the shop, at all of the projects, repair jobs, and broken weapons that needed repair. Ky' vie had a lot of responsibility, but was that all there was to it? Only time would tell, he said to himself. "It's more than a little heartening to see some beauty put into this world and not more ugliness." He took one long last look at the car, before turning his back to it. He'd get lost in the curves, the seats, the more than likely extremely powerful engine... Before he could stop himself, Logan was sure he'd be asking Ky' vie for a ride like he was twelve again.

He empathized with the daughter of Hephaestus, once again his thoughts going back to his writing. It seemed she poured herself into her own version of art to escape demons. The fact that Ky' vie had to keep referring to her car as a she and expressing worry over losing her... Well it brought unpleasant memories to the fore and he couldn't bite back a quick, but friendly correction.

She stood to his right, leaning against the Impala and he turned his head to meet her eyes. "I went on quests. It's been some time since.. I was last sent into the field." Feeling like Logan might have said just a smidge too much, he let his spirit warm again. The smile returned to his face, but his eyes still had that faraway look about them. In truth, Logan knew that tonight he'd spend hours just listening and listening to a voicemail that he couldn't bring himself to delete. "Yea, that makes sense. Although I'd prefer a 'venti' any day over something mechanical. They're very loyal creatures once you've tamed them." Logan diverted, trying to bring the conversation from the troublesome topic. His mood had not yet been watered down and colored by his memories or bitter recollections. Maybe a change of scenery?

"What do you say about a walk, huh? I could use the exercise and an experienced camper to show me all of those spots and sights only a native could," Logan asked amicably, but without demand. She seemed like a good person to get to know, for reasons other than her prodigious skills. Ky' vie had a large heart and Logan appreciated that. "I'm sure this clears your head better than a silly hike around your own home, but I'd really appreciate the company of a new friend?" the redheaded warrior asked with a sincere and boyish hopefulness in his voice, that couldn't be denied by any mortal. Half god or not!

She could see it in his eyes... hear it in the tone of his voice... even in the posture of his body; it was clear that he was hiding something- keeping something to himself. They all had secrets here; parts of their pasts that they just couldn't share with the other campers, and sometimes they couldn't even share it with themselves either... It was a natural part of life for a demigod; and though they would all need to face it one day in the future, that day could be oh so far away from them. She didn't bother to speak as she reached out to slip her hand into his own, squeezing it softly in both a comforting and reassuring manner as if to just let him know that she understood clearly- he didn't need to talk about it, not right now anyway; if he was ready... no, when he was ready to face his demons, she was going to be there to help him every step of the way.

"You know; a walk sounds really good right now; and didn't I already tell you? I always have time for my friends... no matter how new to camp they may be." Unable to hide the warm smile that graced her features once more, she didn't even bother to let go of his hand before she stood up, tugging lightly and playfully a couple of times to get him moving before she took pause for a few moments, her expression faltering slightly before she turned her head to look at him once more, her body leaning closer into his as she stared at him with a curious expression building behind her eyes, "Tell me... what are you like with dogs..?"

The feeling of a hand evoked a primal surge of grief that Logan tried desperately to smother every moment of every day. He involuntarily squeezed, almost desperate like a frightened child, his body betraying a need for comfort that he hadn't known he'd yearned for. Yet, Logan pushed those wayward emotions right back in that dark place only he was allowed into. The son of Jupiter couldn't afford weakness, right? This was perhaps the bitter truth that made the demigod so determined to maintain a positive outlook. He would never let his reasoning, his will, or his mind to succumb to things like grief, regret, and crippling guilt. He couldn't afford to. He'd been trained to be a legionnaire first, a man second.

There was something familiar about her keen mind and intuition. She meant him no harm, but Logan knew that she might be the undoing of the extensive wall he'd built to protect others from his own internalized suffering. He smiled broadly when she accepted his idea for a walk and his face practically split when she called him a friend. This small display of acceptance was the only spark the boy needed to bounce right back. He didn't feel off put by her familiarity or proximity, which surprised Logan. Even Syleste, with her gentle and nurturing nature, had made him uncomfortable. This was decidedly different, even though the last person to hold his hand had been Ashley...

Her question did indeed trip the warrior up, making his eyebrow shoot up in curiosity. "I used to polish Reyna's mechanical hound and I helped train war dogs in camp, I was very skilled in that. But I've never known one as a pet." Logan's eyes cast about, looking for a bed or a food and water bowl. He saw none. "Where does he stay? There's nothing here for him!" Did Ky' vie let him roam the camp by himself? What if he went out beyond the barrier, the scent of demigod thick on his fur, and a monster attacked him? He knew in his heart that his new friend wasn't so careless with those she loved, as an unconditional fact.

Biting her soft pink lower lip softly for a few moments, she let her eyes flick away from his own and over to one of the workbenches that was closest to them, her attention seeming to only linger there for a few moments before she reached over, her free hand diving into one of the many containers causing a gentle but constant clanging to sound before she retracted it back into her body; her hand opening up to reveal a palm full of nuts and bolts to him as she held it in between the both of them, "..give me your other hand..."

Waiting until his other hand had lifted up, she smirked softly as she tipped the contents of her hand into his palm, allowing him to ponder on what she was actually doing before she turned and led the way out of the garage and back into the fresh though warm air that was the camp grounds- keeping her hand within his own as she led him away from the fumes and oil smell coming from one of the places she spent most of her time, she eventually came to a stop, her head turning so that she could glance around for a moment before she lifted her free hand once more from her side, both her thumb and pointer finger slipping only just into her mouth as she took a deep breath; a loud and sharp whistle slipping through her lips and sounding out through the camp as though she were calling for something, the answer soon coming in the response of a dogs barking growing closer and closer to them both.

"Logan; I want you to meet my Ratchet." Lowering her arm back down to her side as she moved to clear his line of sight, she let her attention fall down to watch as the husky-sized mechanical dog that her father had given her on her first day came bounding towards the both of them excitedly, his tail whipping back and forth at an immense speed causing it to almost look like a complete blur to the eye, "Dad gave him to me my first day in camp; he sort of evolved into the camps dog, now everyone looks out for him- he stays in my cabin with me, much like Erin's cat stays in her cabin with her, and... he only eats nuts and bolts, so if you give him them, he's gunna love you forever, and you'll never be able to rid yourself of this big, handsome chunk of metal."

"Alright... but I expect it back," Logan joked. At Ky' vie's request, he took the offered metal odds and ends, wondering exactly what he'd do with them. He was quickly finding out that his new friend was a mysterious girl that had a fair share of surprises. She seemed to know exactly what she needed and where it was, which didn't surprise but rather affirmed his suspicions that this girl was one of those prodigy demigods, a master of metal just like he was a master of power and battle. He let her gently lead him out of the garage, a bemused look on his face, but an air of anticipation around his person. He was grateful on some level when she didn't release his hand.

Logan breathed in the fresh air once again, not being able to get enough of that zest of life that hung in the air in the camp. As extensive as Camp Jupiter was, with all of its comforts and luxuries, it didn't hold a candle to this kind of natural beauty. Not for the first time, Logan wondered why Rome had to take over Greece and destroy a civilization that could build such a paradise. They'd built on the bones of their enemies and reinvented the body, Greece was the inspiration, the spark of life.

Ky' vie let out a sharp whistle, putting a New Yorker to shame. Logan heard Ratchet before he actually caught sight of him. When he did realize what he was looking at, his jaw dropped unashamedly. The dog was a marvel and god-made, of that he was sure. As it bounded to his mistress's call he dug his paws into the ground to slow his approach. Deep furrows were made by the dog's Celestial bronze claws and the faint sound of machinery could be heard -emanating from him. "How ya doing boy? I hear your name's Ratchet! Wanna treat?! Does the good boy wanna treat?! Sit!" Logan said, greeting the dog with affection and inviting voice. He held half of the metal bits that Ky'vie had given to him high above his head, talking a small half step forward. This was how he approached the war dogs and the tactic worked well with Ratchet, whose hummingbird-fast tail swatted away too tall grass and weeds as he sat obediently, head tilted in interest. "Good boy, Ratchet! Here's your treat!" He threw the nuts and bolts towards his metal muzzle that snatched them mid-air and greedily gobbled them.

Ratchet nosed Logan's closed hand, smelling and knowing his treats were contained within. "Lay down! On your back!" Logan was delighted at Ratchet's well-trained obedience to the commands. The dog now lay on his back, paws held bent over his chest as his tail beat faster than ever! "Here you go!" he said, throwing the mechanical dog the rest of his goodies. Logan's face was the picture of happiness, this little bit of familiarity that begged his way for treats no one had reminding him strongly of Camp Jupiter. "Thank you Ky' vie, seriously. He's amazing!" the words were sincere and emphatically felt.

"..you don't have to thank me, Logan; my father might have given him to me, but now he's as much your pet as he is mine. And just like me; he's always gunna be there for you- we're a team... a family... and now you're a part of that, no matter who your father is." Readjusting her hand within his, she entwined her fingers within his own with a gentle smile upon her lips as she motioned with her head towards the beach, waiting for some type of response before she began to slowly walk by his side to where the calming and sweet sounds of the waves beating against the sand could be heard coming from- it was one of the few places in camp that she could just sit back... relax... and just think; listening to the water rushing back and forth over the shore.

Lifting her free hand up from her side once more, she brought it back behind her head before she took a hold of her hair tie, pulling it out and allowing her brilliant red mane to fall down over her back and shoulders once again, "..I'm not going to lie to you, Logan... I don't know how things work back in Camp Jupiter, and to be honest, I doubt that I'm ever going to know what goes on there... but I do know that we're not like them here. I can't read minds, and I've got no idea about what's going through your mind; but if you think that you needa prove yourself to us- you don't... We don't care that you're dad is Jupiter; you're not your father... You're you, and that's all that we care about; who you are, and who you wanna be."

Pausing for a few minutes of silence as they drew closer to the sand bank, she involuntarily tightened her grip on his hand as she leant over, her free hand helping to remove her shoes and socks from her feet before she jumped down into the bank; her hand never once leaving his as she turned to look back up at him, waiting for him to join her, "We get our chores done, and we basically do whatever it is that we want here. You're free to be yourself with us, no matter who that person may be; and you're always going to be welcome. So try and relax okay? Have some fun- that's what camp's for, isn't it..?"

The solider had no answer to what she said. Camp Jupiter had been his family, until he'd let them down, let his father down, and himself. They had to hate him, because it had been all his fault! He should have told them to pull back, that it was too risky! No, the son of Jupiter had to prove himself... He didn't feel like he deserved this girl's care and acceptance, not when he was a murderer. Yet, the water mimicked the tide his heart was going through, breaking against the bank without end. That was, until Ky went in with both feet. Maybe that was the answer? With his free hand, Logan unlaced his boots with the swiftness only a soldier knew, taking that sweet brief chance at relaxation he could find.

Next come his socks and he reveled in the feel of the lush grass, almost as if nature had laid out the green carpet. He followed that hand that gently pulled, the grip feeling stronger than any he'd known. The sands yielded under his feet, but not that smile, not those sympathetic eyes. Logan's eyes stung, from the saltwater he told himself, though he knew that wasn't true. His nostrils flared as Ky's words hit him harder than any blow could, his pain more obvious with every heartfelt sentiment. His mouth was a thin line, his jaw muscles flexed as he clenched his teeth. For a few moments, every fiber of his being resisted. The temptation was palpable, to abandon his sacred oath to the order, the family of the Roman Army. It screamed against this heathen attitude, these values that were synonymous to weakness. But what had that ethos gotten Logan? Nothing but misery, nothing but bitter solitude. The hand holding Ky's briefly relaxed, seeming to let go. Then it tightened with a new feeling of resolve. Logan decided to find the strength to detach his past so it wouldn't hinder his future, but he simply didn't know how, even though the spirit was willing.

He took one step into water and froze. Then his left foot joined his right and he stood next to Ky' vie, looking down at her with red-rimmed eyes, shining with tears that wouldn't be allowed to fall. Even as the last of her words struck Logan's core, he fell to his knees, his head falling against Ky's stomach as he grew absolutely still, staring into the water but not seeing it. "I... don't know how to do any of that," Logan admitted, his voice a hoarse crack instead of the usual confidence and warmth. And as his voice confirmed that he was a broken man, he saw Ashley's weeping face right before he kissed her good-bye. He saw Nolan's last look of forgiveness, as if his friend knew Logan would live and blame himself to the grave. Then he saw nothing, as he motionlessly and soundlessly wept, tears blurring his vision past the point of sight. But his hand never lessened its desperate grip, as if that hand kept him from floating out into the sea to never be seen again.

Reluctance... that's all that she could see within his eyes; and then just like that, it was gone... he was gone- replaced by the real him. The broken soldier that wanted to heal, but just didn't seem to know how to even begin- the very feeling of his head pressing lightly against her stomach causing her soft pink lips to part slightly and a familiar sting to flicker through her eyes, an early warning sign of what she already knew was coming. Closing her eyes slowly as she felt her own tears building before silently falling down her cheeks, she tightened the grasp on his hand as much as she possibly could, letting him know as best as she could that she wasn't going anywhere as she brought her free arm up from where it hung limply at her side; her arm instinctively and protectively wrapping around his back, pulling him closer against her body as she nodded her head slowly and in understanding- just like him, she had her own demons from her past; ones that haunted her... ones that wouldn't let her be... they were both fighting some battle, and if she couldn't fix her own, she was going to help him get through and rid himself of any demons he had...

"..I know... and I'll do all I can to help you, Logan... but only if you want me to..." Closing her eyes tighter than they were moments before, she hunched her shoulders as she leant her body over him, her fingers curling lightly against his back as she pressed her lips lightly against the top of his head in a comforting and reassuring manner, holding them there for as long as she thought he'd let her before she straightened herself up again; her now red eyes slowly opening so that she could stare at the water moving about around them, her already broken heart seeming to shatter apart just that little more with every moment that passed the two of them by, "..I'm not going to force you to tell me anything... and I don't expect you to; not until you're ready and comfortable to do so... but know I'm always going to be here- whenever you need me, I'm right here... no matter what..."

Even in the depths of his agony, the feeling of her hand creeping, clinging to his shirt, and then pulling him closer broke already weakened walls that had surrounded his heart. When Ky' vie's own trembling started and her scalding tears fell onto his hair, Logan knew that they wouldn't be built up again. He wanted to tell this kind and amazing girl everything he'd ever wished, hated, and regretted. Everything that he'd kept to himself while trying to live up to the expectations as a son of Jupiter flooded to the surface like their tears. This... visceral release left Logan shaken and scared, but in the best way. It was much like the first time he had flown and only now did he realize why this gift had given him so much trouble. He'd simply forgotten how to truly accept the feeling of joy and happiness.

The feeling of her lips broke the cascade of tears and memories that flashed before his eyes. Ky had ripped him from that dark and lonely past and had thrown him to the present. The demigod felt born anew and raw. His own arms wrapped around her lower back, clinging to her tightly as she reassured him and promised she'd never leave his side. Could he trust that promise? With their dangerous lives could any demigod really promise that? If there was a woman who could, it was Ky, Logan decided. He'd trust her wholly and without reservation. When his tears finally came to an end, he took several deep and shuddering breaths. The break of the small waves of the bay seemed to clean off the evidence of his suffering, as if telling him that it was okay to let go.

So he let it happen and the snake that was coiled around his heart lessened its suffocative hold.

Logan felt the thrill of life with renewed passion, in such quantities that he could scarcely believe it. Unwillingly, wind began to whip around the two as he rose to his feet. They could no longer feel water on their legs and feet, because it was held at bay by the unconsciously made winds. Logan held that kiss until he felt the words bubble from deep inside, then laying his cheek against the top of her hair.

"I do want you to," he said in a near whisper, so shocked by the depth of that conviction. "I want it more than anything I can remember... Soon, I think I'll be ready, but Ky.. I know I'm not the only one with a shadow of the past haunting them." At this, he pulled back only enough to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "All that you've said to me, I promise to you. Whenever you need me, I'll be there. Whatever you wish to tell me, I will listen. With no judgments, with an open mind," with two fingers, he touched his racing heart that pounded as fast as the winds that whipped around them, "and an open heart. You can help me heal, if you let me do the same for you." With this, he tipped her chin up and kissed her forehead tenderly. And he waited for her reply in their own small tornado, the wind leaving the pair untouched even as the water tried to join again.

Her lower lip quivered lightly the very moment that the words fell softly from his lips- he… wanted to help her..? The thought of him trying to help mend the shattered pieces of her broken heart causing her stomach to churn nervously and a dull, aching pain to fill her chest; would she really be able to trust him, like he seemed to be able to trust her..? Feeling the gentle touch of his hand pressing lightly against her cheek, a light red tinge crossed over them, adding to the already natural color that they held as she slowly lifted her gaze up to meet with his own; her eyes flicking back and forth between his as though she were searching for something but just couldn’t seem to find it.

She had heard promises like this before… and she had been stupid to believe them then; every single promise, every single hope that Derek had given her, had been broken apart and tossed away as though the time that they had spent with one another had meant absolutely nothing to him- widening her eyes slightly as she felt Logan’s finger lightly cupping her chin before tilting her head up so that he could see her properly, she felt her heart begin to race against her rib cage. No… this wasn’t right… it was his first day in camp, her first day back home; and she still had Derek to think about… The moment that his lips came into contact with her forehead, her cheeks flushed a deep red in color, causing the ends of her hair to seemingly spark up and catch a light; the flames flickering wildly and barely managing to stay lit and in control as the winds continued to whip around the both of them, suppressing the air in the small area in which they were both confined.

“I-… Logan; we should go… we need to get ready… and y-you need to dry off before you catch a cold…”

Ky' vie's admission that they should leave put him slightly off balance. He'd just bared his soul and suddenly she was removing herself from the situation. Had he said too much? Done too much? As suddenly as the wind had come to be, it went, the water crashing against the pair once more. Logan couldn't have sobered if he'd been doused in ice water. Clearing his throat, he extricated himself from the quite literally fiery girl, taking a step back. His mouth was dry and his nerves were shot. The emotional tax finally caught up to him, resulting in a frayed and worn expression. His eyes hard darkened, much like a terrible thunderstorm. Clouds rolled, casting shadows on the water where there had been intense daylight.

"Yea, of course.." Logan replied, feeling like a fool. What had he been thinking? He'd just met Ky' vie and was already trusting her complicity? After creating some distance between them, he waded through the water and stepped onto the bank. He grabbed his shoes and socks, stuffing one into the other. He seemed remarkably flustered and had an intense desire to return to Zeus's cabin. He busied himself with the weapons and rucksack he'd left on the back. He began buckling his swordbelt around one of the straps for ease. The need to get away and sort out the turmoil in his heart was greater than ever.

The release of expectation had given him new perspective, allowing Logan to be more honest with himself than ever he realized that there was a budding affection or possibly more with this beautiful grease monkey. Guilt struck him like a very real blow, as if he had just cheated on Ashley and her memory. "The barbecue tonight, right? I wouldn't miss it, I'll catch you later Ky." With a watery smile, he shouldered his pack and stood tall, having been crouched as he got his personal effects in order.

"..Logan..." Pain shot through her chest, seeming to pierce her heart as his words sunk into her very being- it was clear as day as to what had happened; she had fucked up. Somehow she had scared him away, and she had a feeling she knew just what it was that had caused things to take such a sour turn. Not even bothering to hesitate another moment, she quickly made her way through the water and back towards the bank, her hurried movements kicking up the water causing it to splash about and douse the flames that had taken over in place of her normal fiery locks. Scrambling back up onto the bank, she completely ignored both her shoes and socks- they didn't matter. Right now... she owed him an explanation. The guilt she felt over the fact that she was still madly in love with a guy that couldn't care less about her was nothing compared the the guilt that was eating her up inside at the thought that she had just unintentionally hurt Logan... especially after he had just poured his heart out to her in the way that he had.

"..Logan, wait- I didn't mean..." Reaching out towards him as she drew closer, she took a gentle though still rather firm hold of his free hand, not caring as to how it might look to him or anyone else that might see them; her other hand lifting from her side to instead rest softly against his cheek, her features filled with nothing but guilt, pain, worry and sadness all rolled into one as she stared up into his eyes, trying to figure out the best way to make up for her actions and words only moments before, "I... want you to help me; just as much as I want to help you- but it's not that simple. Look, I get that this might not make any sense to you, especially after I just blew you off like that, but..."

She paused for a few moments, her eyes lowering from his own and trailing away as she thought, the soft hand held against his cheek slipping only slightly before she lowered it back down to her sides, her other hand tightening its grip over his own as she lifted her head to meet with his eyes once more, "..anything you want to know about me, I'll tell you; just not now... later- stay after the barbecue, we can talk then... okay..?"

At Ky's touch, his body relaxed and tightened in stark contrast. The thrill that came was almost too much for him, having not felt this way for longer than he'd care to remember. When he looked down into her eyes Logan saw the truth in her words. It seemed he wasn't the only one hurt, her eyes reflecting a myriad of confusing emotions that he couldn't quite name. He knew similar pain was mirrored in his own, but he tried to keep his emotions in check. His very first day here and this is where he landed? Logan couldn't help but get a strange vibe, almost ominous in nature. He intuitively knew it wasn't about Ky' vie, but she was connected to it personally.

Shaking this feeling, he came back to reality and this wondrous girl in front of him. Was it wrong to feel like he could trust, that he truly wanted to? If only he could have talked to Ashley one last time... He didn't dwell on the impossible however. "It doesn't... but alright. I wouldn't miss it if my life depended on it, but Ky.. You aren't the only one scared about someone finally seeing what you've spent a long time hiding," Logan informed her, his voice still slightly hoarse but regaining a strength that hadn't been present even when he'd first entered her garage. The person he was before his loss was emerging once more, this time free of the burden of expectations he'd known at Camp Jupiter. Logan may have been broken down, but what was there was the same indomitable will that had always been. And now the son of Jupiter had a very different battle to face.

His hand squeezed her own tightly, with a strength of emotion that translated with his grip's intensity. He slowly let go, extricating it from her own firm hold. He brought it to her face, cupping her right cheek and chin tenderly, as if he were holding a flower. His eyes seemed to hold a wonder, as if asking an unvoiced question. "I'll take you up on that, definitely. The same goes for you, anything you want to know.. I'm an open book." Logan smiled down at Ky, a mixture of tenderness and disbelief. Logan was utterly surprised with how his life here at the camp had suddenly changed how he viewed his life and his mistakes. He'd wanted and expected change when he transferred camps, but meeting Ky' vie hadn't been in his plans.

It was the most natural thing in the world, and though every little part of her was screaming for her not to, she couldn't help the way that her eyes closed softly as she leant her cheek into the warm touch of his hand. How..? The single word wouldn't stop playing over and over in her mind as she tried to figure out the answer to it. How was it that he of all people had the ability to get her to second guess herself... he wasn't even a single day within the camp, and already she felt like she could trust him enough to open up- to tell him everything that he wanted to know about her; everything that she had kept to herself over the years... By the Gods it scared her...

"--Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost...."

Simon Riddle kept his eyes glued on the screen, his lanky form sprawled in a leather armchair moved to the middle of the room. In one hand was a glass of bourbon he had been nursing for some time; in the other, a distinctive black walking cane, topped with a jewel-encrusted metal head. The words spoken in the movie picture hardly registered in the young thaumaturge. He was thinking - now more than ever. Thoughts running through his head at a million miles an hour, ideas painting pictures then quickly disappearing from his mind, scenarios quickly developed only to crumble under themselves in perfect chaos.



Leaning his head back, Simon closed his eyes, taking one more drink from his glass before letting gravity pull his arm back down to rest, merely his thumb and forefinger holding the glass in his grasp.

Letting out a sigh, Simon's left hand fiddled for the top of his cane, gripping the cool metal surface tightly as he let the end rest on the hardwood floor. Putting all his weight into the can, Simon slowly lifted himself onto his feet, twisting his neck from side to side to let the bones pop, draining the rest of his glass and clearing his throat - he had been alone long enough.

Gripping his cane just below the metal end, Simon held it up into the air, the deep blue sapphires embedded in the top glowed magnificently. In an instant, the projector shut itself off and the chair slid back into its original place. Placing the now-empty glass onto his desk, Simon took a moment to collect his thoughts before limping towards the front door of his cabin, letting his free hand grip the collar of his black pea coat. Draping it across his shoulders, Simon took a few moments to get both arms through the sleeves, lifting the collar of the coat itself before deeming himself ready to go out.

Stepping outside, Griffin was initially blindsided by the bright flash of sunlight that gazed down upon the Camp. Being in practical darkness for a few hours would do that to a person, indeed.

Scanning his immediate environment, Simon's gaze caught onto Syleste, who appeared to be walking aimlessly from Tobias' cabin. She held something in her hand, a can...What on earth had the Son of Thanatos done, now.

Limping slowly towards her direction, Simon let his free hand raise up in a wave, calling out her name once to try and grab her attention. As he drew closer, his expression was one of slight concern mixed with moderate amusement. "What on earth are you doing, Syleste?" He asked upon getting close enough to speak comfortably. Indeed, she was one of the few people in Camp who Simon seemed to remember the name of...

Colt just watched him leave. Logan didn't exactly understand how Colt was, what his personality was like. The two never hung out back in Camp Jupiter, and Colt and his sister were rarely together. They were separated back at Camp Jupiter. They both knew the other existed, but they hardly talked. Logan expected a reaction out of him, but he had no reaction to give. Colt sighed and shook his head, watching the door where he left. The Aphrodite girls walked back in and looked at him.

"You okay," they asked simultaneously and that's when he remembered the two were twins. Though not identical, they still talked at the same time. He found it quite annoying, but he was forced to put up with them because they were his half-sisters.

"Yeah, fine," Colt said, standing up and pushing past them. They stumbled out of his way. Colt didn't apologize; he continued to walk. He needed some fresh air. Though the news didn't rattle him, the encounter with Logan definitely had. He took a deep breath of fresh air, and was relieved that it wasn't filled with hairspray, like the air within the cabin was. The girls were trying to suffocate him every day with those copious amounts of hairspray. He gelled his hair, every once in awhile, but he never used hairspray or makeup like his sisters did. He prefered his obvious, natural beauty to fake makeup and stiffed up hair. He didn't understand why they needed. Both were very beautiful without makeup. He glanced over and saw that his friends were still standing outside the Ares Cabin, possibly waiting for that new girl to come out.

He took a step toward them, before shaking his head and turning away, walking toward the training grounds. He took out his chakram and went for the targets rather than the dummies or a partner. He took in front of the targets and turned around to face them, holding both of his chakrams in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he spun the weapons around and threw them at the targets. He just barely missed the outside ring of the bull's eye with one and hit one of the outermost rings with his other one. Shaking his head, he walked up and yanked both weapons out of target.

Twisting the chakrams in his hands, he heard a commotion coming from farther over. Looking over his shoulder, he say two guys getting into a full on fist fight with a girl trying to get in between them to break them up. It looked like an Iris daughter and an Eris son versus a Nix son. The girl was yelling for help and Colt turned his eyes away, shaking his arms to loosen them up. The girl's yells hit his ears and he squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the shouts and pleas. He threw his chakrams again. This time, both hit outside the target. He let out a sigh and turned to look at fight again. The girl was now on the ground, probably shoved aside by one of the guys, and Colt swore under his breath, yanking out his chakrams.

"Hey!" he yelled, startling both boys at his loudness. He gripped both chakrams in his hands and stormed over to them. Both boys, obviously younger than him, looked at him, both fuming and angry. He tucked his arms underneath his armpits, making sure not to get himself. "These grounds are for training only, not real fucking problems. Now, get the fuck out before I make you."

"Whatever," one of them side, most likely the one that started the fight. He shoved passed the other guy, glaring at Colt. The other guy, most likely the Nix son, sighed and looked over at the girl on the ground.

"You alright, Em?" he asked, walking over to her and kneeling down next to her. The girl nodded, hugging him closely. Colt watched them for a few brief moments before turning back and walking over to the targets again. He lined up once more and threw one of his chakram. This time, that one hit dead center. He raised an eyebrow before he heard someone clear their throat. He turned and saw the girl, Em. She walked closer to him.

"Thanks for stopping them," she said, before getting up on her toes and kissing his cheek with a brief peck. She scurried off again. Colt watched her go before turning back to the target again, lining up another throw. He whipped the next one hard.

It stuck barely a millimeter away from the other.

Previously...

It was the most natural thing in the world, and though every little part of her was screaming for her not to, she couldn't help the way that her eyes closed softly as she leant her cheek into the warm touch of his hand. How..? The single word wouldn't stop playing over and over in her mind as she tried to figure out the answer to it. How was it that he of all people had the ability to get her to second guess herself... he wasn't even a single day within the camp, and already she felt like she could trust him enough to open up- to tell him everything that he wanted to know about her; everything that she had kept to herself over the years... By the Gods it scared her...

Opening her eyes slowly, she allowed her gaze to linger for a few moments longer upon the wet clothes that he wore before eventually, she slowly brought them back up to meet with his gaze... how could such eyes be both so intense and gentle at the same time..? Pushing the thoughts from the forefront of her mind, she nodded her head softly against the palm of his hand, letting him know that she had both been listening and that she understood what it was that he was saying to her- just as she was going to be there for him, he was going to be there for her, and she wasn't about to argue with him about it... no matter how much guilt and heartache it was going to cause her in the long run, "..come on; you can dry off and change in my cabin if you want... I promise you it's nice and warm in there... I'm used to an Australian climate..."

---

Logan let his hand slowly fall from her face as he nodded in agreement. His pants were beginning to stick to him uncomfortably and changing sounded like a good idea. He was loathe to go anywhere that would interrupt what it was that was happening, yet Ky' vie spoke good sense. His hand comfortably intertwined with hers as he began leading her back towards camp proper. The ring of cabins had been some of the earliest structures that Erin had shown him and he remembered wondering what the Hephaestus cabin might look like from the inside. "That sounds like a good idea... you aren't just hoping to catch me with my pants down, are you?" Logan joked good-naturedly, a teasing smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye of suppressed mirth.

He couldn't explain why he felt so natural with Ky, just that he had no reservations. He had no hang-ups, no doubts as to whether his words would be taken as they were meant and not just perceived. Logan felt that perhaps that her dropping in on her death trap, or motorcycle, had been the luckiest encounter he'd had on that hill. He felt as if those first few encounters and minutes might have been the most important in his new life here. What else would Camp Half-blood bring? Logan tightened his grip, not letting Ky let go even if she wanted to, as they walked. The contact just felt right and he wasn't giving it up any time soon.

The sweet sound of her laughter hung in the air for a few moments as she shook her head lightly back and forth at his words- catching him half naked and changing in her cabin was one of the furthest things in her mind at this point; she was just glad that she had been able to fix the wrong that she had caused moments beforehand. She had never once in her life experienced anything that just seemed to natural, that felt so right; even when she had met Griffin for the first time, she needed to work to be able to build the close-knit relationship the two of them shared with one another, but this... this was different...

"..ah... that was my original plan... but then I thought about the repercussions, and how if I caught you changing, then you would have to catch me changing to even it out; then it's like you gotta think about whether it's worth it in the long run..." Flashing him a playful smirk as she turned her head to glance at him for only a moment, she slowed her pace down slightly, her body moving just ahead of him as she made her way up the steps of her cabin before opening the door with her free hand- her cabin was exactly how she had left it on the day she had set out on her quest... the kitchen, living and dining areas neat and tidy; ready for her return, "Well... this is it, my home sweet home... uh, I really need to start getting all the food ready; but you can change in my room, sorry in advance about the mess on the desks and the shelves and all that, I keep all my blueprints, projects and all that in there... It's just that door there on the other side of the living room- light switch on the right of the door..."

"I knew it! Don't worry, I'd make it worth your while. But be warned: I bite," With that bit of banter, Logan followed Ky into her cabin, which seemed more of an apartment meant than anything else. His ears perked up at the mention of food, only now realizing that his stomach was feeling a bit hollow. Casting an appraising eye about the living space, he was pleasantly surprised that she didn't bring more work home with her. He'd expected more of a second workshop than a well-kept house.

Before he left her in the living room, he pulled her in for a quick, but tight hug. Then he released her, giving her a radiant smile. He nodded in thanks and left her, disappearing into her room. His hand found the light switch easily, since daylight still poked its way around her curtains. His purple Camp Jupiter shirt was a bit damp too, from the surf that had jumped up at them. He imagine'd that Ky' vie might need to change as well. Quickly stripping, he made a pile of his wet shirt, pants, and boxers. He crouched in front his pack on the floor, loosening the drawstring to retrieve another pair of blue jeans, underwear, and a dry shirt. The situation struck him as thoroughly odd, all of a sudden. He was naked in a girl's room, a girl he had just met and opened his heart to. He shook his head with a rueful grin at the improbability of it all.

Waiting until he had closed the door of her bedroom behind her before relaxing, Ky slumped lightly up against the frame of the door, her features suddenly looking weary as a soft sigh fell out through her lips- what was she doing… promising to tell him everything he wanted to know about her, being that close to a guy she barely knew… no, being that close to a guy who wasn’t Derek… Pushing herself away from the door frame, she lifted her arm up from where it had been hanging at her side, her fingers disappearing into her bright red locks as she pushed them back and off of her face so that she could see properly, her feet carrying her through the room and over to the kitchen that hadn’t been touched now in days… everything was just how she had put it before she left for her quest, though she knew from experience that it wasn’t going to stay like that for very long- once she began work again, the cabin was going to look like a bomb had hit it…

Scooping her hair around and over the one shoulder, she reached out opening up the fridge, her lips pursing together lightly as she glanced at all the things she had laying in wait to be cooked up and eaten- she had a lot to get done before people began arriving… she just needed to know where to start…

Logan's eyes scanned Ky' vie's room, looking at her various mementos and knickknacks. She seemed to have made quite a life here at Camp Half-blood. Pictures were framed and hung here and there, covering an expanse of years. It was if Logan were watching her grow up in blinks of time, seeing Griffin as well. What was the relationship between those two? He'd still yet to figure that out. Syleste was in quite a few as well and it seemed she had never been able to see. What was that like, to never be able to see the light of the day? Logan thought about the positives, never being able to the see the pain one could cause on a loved one's face... Shaking his head like a dog, he sat on Ky' vie's bed as he pulled on his socks first. Then his underwear, which seemed to resist him.

Finally, he took out his blue jeans and as he struggled to pull them over his soaked skin, he toppled over like a cut tree. His head made a loud thud as it connected with her dresser and his body resounded through the wooden cabin like an elephant had taken a spill. "HOLY FUCK!" Logan roared, hands going to his scalp and coming away with blood.

The sound of the buttons on the oven, and the dials on the stove sounded out from somewhere behind her as she continued to almost expertly chop the different things she had lain in front of the chopping board that she was using- the young demigod seemingly not paying any attention to what either machine was doing, though it was far from the truth; the heat radiating from each element clearly monitored by the red head as she continued to get things ready for when the other campers began to show up. There was so much she had to get done… the salads, the fried rice, the scalloped potato... not to mention prepping all of the meat and then getting the barbecue ready to be used- the thought alone caused her lips to split open into a thoughtful grin; it was like she had stepped right back into Australia, and she couldn’t have been happier.

Her head shot up the very moment that the sound of a loud bang and the sound of swearing came from somewhere within her room, panic flickering across her features for only a moment before she dropped everything that she was doing, her feet quickly carrying her around the bench and across the room until she reached her bedroom door; the young demigoddess not even bothering to hesitate as she opened the door, slipping inside to check that he was alright.

“Logan..! Logan, are you alrigh-…” Freezing to the spot the very second that her eyes fell upon his figure standing with his pants down and around his ankles, she turned on her heel so that her back was instead facing him; a gentle though bright flame flickering across her hair as her cheeks took on a bright red tinge in her embarrassment- she knew she should have knocked first before she had just gone barging in… “I-I’m so sorry… I-... I shouldn’t have just come barging in like this- but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay...”

Logan had just gotten up when Ky' vie had came rushing in, not even giving him the chance to pick up his jeans. If he was going to be honest, his head hurt quite a bit and he felt a little dizzy, but he'd suck that up. The small gash on his head needed stitches though, but all he could feel was intense embarrassment as a flush spread from his face, to his neck, till he seemed as if he'd just gotten out of a too hot jacuzzi. He'd never been caught in such a state of nakedness, other than Ashley. But that was a different matter altogether, since they'd been dating for years by that point.

He'd just met Ky' vie and their recent dip in the bay made this exposure all the more humiliating. He finished putting on his pants, zipping and buttoning them before answering Ky' vie's stuttering explanation. "It's fine and I fell is all. But I'm bleeding... do you have any ambrosia? My field kit ran out a few weeks ago and I never get around to resupplying it.. Oh, and I'm decent now." He had yet to put on a shirt, wanting to wash his hands free of blood first. He noticed the fire that had sprung in her hair and his gaze wandered without his control to her rear before he once again had to shake himself. What in the world was getting into him? He was acting like one of those Aphrodite kids all of a sudden, or worse Eros. He was frankly guilty and ashamed to be so intensely attracted to Ky' vie, as images and memories of Ashley were continuously brought to the forefront of his mind.

“U-Uh, yeah… ambrosia…” What was wrong with her- the last time that she had reacted in this way around a guy was back when she had first met Derek; the two of them had been stuck on the same team for the dream trials, and playing along with what she had believed to be a joke and nothing more, she had agreed to kiss him if their team came out with the victory… the fact that it had backfired and she had been forced to keep her word threw her; she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him as just another egotistical moron again. Doing her best to not make eye contact with him as she turned her head, she let her eyes flick over to where she had put her stash of ambrosia, her head nodding lightly over in the direction of the bedside table that was closest to him, “..in the top draw; there’s a makeup bag in there with an ‘A’ embroidered into the side… open it up, and you should find some in there- it’s what I take on quests with me…”

Waiting a few more moments before eventually turning around so that she was facing him straight on, she slid her hand down and into her pockets, her cheeks still a bright red in color as she continued to try and look everywhere else possible besides his eyes- she had sworn off guys; they were nothing but trouble-… okay, so that was a lie. She had sworn off all guys that weren’t Derek… she loved him, enough to risk her life over and over again due to the pain she felt because of him leaving her behind like he had… like she meant nothing to him…

Logan saw the flicker of pain contort her beautiful features and his heart felt a similar throb. His eyes narrowed only slightly, curious as to what she could be hiding in that head of hers. He supposed he could ask the others, but Ky had said she'd tell him and he wanted to respect that. Giving a nod, he crossed over to the drawer, pulling out the said bag in question, and tossing back a small square of ambrosia. The gash in his head quickly healed and he replaced it before smiling at Ky. Why couldn't she look him in the eyes? After seeing him like she had before, she had no right to be feeling shy.

Yet, he couldn't help but be reminded of the day he and Ashley realized they held feelings for each other. It had been very similar, eerily so, as he had been changing into his regular clothes after an intense fight with some nasty monsters. He had fallen, pulling on his pants, and had to roll out of the way of his own damn spear, not wanting to be impaled. As a result, his tent had come down atop him and Nolan had been out fetching firewood and looking for water. Ashley was the only one to help him, cutting the fabric open to get him out. She'd looked so worried, wondering if he'd actually keeled over from exhaustion or some untold of wound. Instead, she found a nearly naked Logan and had blushed quite prettily, but she hadn't tried to look away. They shared a tent that night and Nolan was told in no uncertain terms to take a walk. They had been an item since that time until the day of the cliff, madly in love with each other.

Logan had the oddest vibe at that point, as if events were repeating... but Ky' vie could barely bring herself to look at him and they barely knew each other! Shaking his head, he stared at Ky' vie, his gaze demanding her attention. She was much too old be acting like a child over something as silly as this. And he didn't want the closest friend he had at camp to have a hard time looking at him! So he crossed over to her until he stood a hand's breadth in front of her. His blush had subsided somewhat, but had settled into a light flush in his cheeks. "Ky' vie... would you look at me please?! What's the issue, huh?" He crossed his arms under his chest, making his prodigious physique ripple. "Are you okay?" he asked in a much softer voice, concern obvious in his eyes.

She couldn’t help but flinch as his sharp words pierced through her very being- she wasn’t even looking at him, how could she? It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen guys wandering around the place without their tops on; but she had just walked in on him, not only unannounced, but also while he had been changing, and had his pants hanging down and around his ankles- she hadn’t even seen Derek in that state before… Taking a few moments longer than she probably should have to do as she was asked, she slowly lifted her head up, her eyes following the line of his body… up his chest… his collarbone… his neck… his jaw line… until eventually, she let her eyes meet up with his own, the color in her cheeks not seeming to want to fade anytime soon.

“I-... I’ve never seen a guy in that state before… I never even saw Dere-…” She allowed her sentence to trail off into nothing as she caught herself before she could say something to him that she was going to regret saying; the last thing she needed to do right now was bring up her ex-boyfriend and give him the sob story that made up her life- she had promised him that she would answer any and all questions that he had for her… it was one that she wasn’t planning on breaking, but could she really sit here and go through all this now, “..it’s nothing Logan; I’m fine…”

Logan could practically smell a lie when someone told it and while it wasn't a complete falsehood, her assertion of being alright wasn't the complete truth. Had she been about to say a name? That's how that bitten off word had sounded to him. If she didn't want to talk about it, he was sure there was a good reason. Making a point to himself to ask her about that slip later, he let the issue drop. He'd gotten what he wanted, for her to acknowledge him. Yet her never seeing a man undressed? That was something new to the solider and a former lover of a daughter of Venus. Ashley, when they'd finally realized their love, had been quite forward. He'd thought that anyone of their age would have had at least some experience, but what did he really know? He'd been a soldier first and foremost in his life.

The news that that was not the case with everyone completely surprised, Logan and he stared at her with disbelieving eyes. "R-really? You've never seen a guy with no pants?" He seemed quite oblivious to her discomfort with such salient topics. Sometimes his lack of knowledge of the normal world, as normal a world a demigod could know, showed itself in these rather obvious moments of ignorance. Logan's hands fell to his sides, before he started laughing once more and only when his laughter slowed, he pulled Ky' vie into an affectionate hug. "I really didn't know, I'm sorry. I had no idea you'd come rushing in like that, honest! It's just, I hit my head pretty hard on the corner of your dresser there... didn't think I'd need my helmet when just changing into a new set of skivvies, ya know?"

“..y-yeah; it’s not something that happens every day here… and it certainly n-never happened back home either…” It wasn’t something that she had ever had to deal with before; most guys she knew didn’t go around with their pants off- even when it came to them all going swimming together, they’d all worn things like board shorts… The sound of his laughter filling the room around them caused her cheeks to practically glow a bright red in color, the flames in her hair once more flickering about wildly in her embarrassment as she turned her head away, her arms lifting up to wrap both tightly and defensively across her chest, “Oh, nice… go ahead and laugh at the virgin…”

Her eyes widened for a moment as she felt his arms wrap around her back, her body fell into his own, her expression softening as her eyes once more lifted to gaze up into his own, her heartbeat picking up its pace within her chest causing her to pray that he wouldn’t take any notice to it; confusion flickering over her features for only a moment before disappearing once more, “I was worried that you’d hurt yourself... I should have knocked first; it was my fault, not yours…”

"Back home, where'd you live before the camp?" he asked quizzically, From the pictures he'd seen around her bedroom, it seemed she had lived at camp for a long time. And if there was one thing that he'd noticed especially, there was an extra person that had yet been named... Perhaps this was the illusive Der?

Logan's light hearted smile quickly died with another sign of his telltale ignorance. Ashley had always given him the impression that sex was a lot more common for those their age. And Ky' vie seemed older than Logan himself, not that he could tell by her appearance. It was free of wrinkles and unblemished. Now that he thought about it, her hands had none of the callouses he'd learned to expect from a child of Vulcan, or Hephaestus. What was her secret, was she a Legacy as well as a demigod, like himself? He added that to the ever growing list of questions to ask her. "Forget about me, forget about manners, what do you mean you're a virgin?!" Logan asked incredulously, his eyes wide with surprise and confusion.

He looked down at her with renewed interest, wondering what her life had exactly been like. His had been one of homeschooling, then training, and finally learning what love was. But only in the scope of what a soldier could expect. Only with what a son of Jupiter that was destined to rise to greatness could hope to handle alongside a life as well. He knew how to kill a man with a stone from twenty paces, he could start a fire during a spring storm, and could know exactly where he was by the stars above, but was utterly clueless as to what a normal teenager lived like, what a variety of lives they could lead.

She couldn’t help but furrow her brows together as she tilted her head ever so slightly to the side- he… couldn’t tell where she was from..? From her very first day within the camp, people had been able to distinguish where it was that she had come from just due to her accent; and while they couldn’t tell just what particular state she originated, they were at least able to tell what country it was. Did that mean..? Had he… had he never heard her accent before..? Smiling softly at the thought that he had no clue as to where it was in the world that she had actually come from, she relaxed her body against his, her fists opening up until her hands were resting lightly against his bare chest, her fingers curling ever so slightly as she gave no sign that she was going to be pulling away from him any time soon, “I come from Melbourne, Victoria… it’s in Australia- I grew there with my grandparents; they took me in and raised me, you know, after mum dumped me on them and ran off to do who knows what that is.”

Slightly taken about by his sudden change in demeanor, she pulled back only just enough so that she was able to get a better look at his expression from where she stood under him, her eyes unable to hide the flicker of worry that crossed over them as she listened to the questions that were being asked of her; the red head growing slightly flustered as she tried her best to explain the answer, “W-Well, I-… I mean, me and Derek-… Uh, w-we… we never got that far in our relationship; i-it’s not like I didn’t want to go that far or anything, it-... it just never happened…”

The dawning of realization had reached Logan's expression, finally putting a name to the place her strange way of speaking came from. He shivered slightly as he fingers splayed against his chest, the light touch more than a little unnerving in a pleasant way. That question had been on his mind the whole day, Logan thinking that it was some isolated region in the States. "Australia! So that's where your accent is from!" His eyes were wide with such unprecedented knowledge. He'd have to ask more about her birthplace, he'd seen pictures on the internet and in his schooling and it looked like a dangerous place, but with a wild beauty.

Her response and obvious discomfort of the question made Logan a little guilty, but for someone to be a virgin was another oddity to him. Ashley had made sex as natural as breathing to him, as much a form of love as their sporadic gifts and long talks. For someone of Ky' vie's age to have gone without was unexpected, to say the least. Logan felt that that bit of knowledge wasn't quite.. appropriate for this moment, however. "I didn't mean to embarrass you or put you on the spot.. It just never occurred to me, I'm sorry." Logan let her pull away from him and tried to let his face reflect the worry he felt at the thought of offending her with such a personal question... but who was Derek? Logan was surprised at the intensity that he wanted to know.

Shaking her head lightly from side to side as he began to apologize to her, she involuntarily took a single step closer to him, her soft pink lips parting from one another as she did so; her body pressing closer against his own as the gap that was between them closed just that little bit more- it wasn’t that she was embarrassed about the topic… it was just something that she had never really spoken about out loud, or a subject that she really knew too much about in the first place; and that in itself made it slightly difficult for her to understand, “Logan, please don’t… there’s no need for you to apologize for being curious about something. I told you that I’d answer any question that you had for me; that just happened to be one of them…”

Lowering her gaze down from his, she stared at her hands against his chest, biting softly upon her lower lip as her thumbs brushed back and forth over his skin for a few moments before she lifted her head once again, her attention turning back to him as she shot him a small though sincere smile, “I’m just… I’ve just never really spoken about that sort of thing out loud to anyone before…”

Logan relaxed somewhat, allowing himself to fall slightly against Ky' vie. His arms encircled her, but he kept one hand in the middle of her back between her shoulder blades. As she traced circles with her fingers, he involuntarily squeezed her a bit closer. What was happening to him? "If you say so, Ky. I'll take your word on it." His smile was trusting, affectionate, and a bit confused at what exactly was happening in that cozy little cabin. In Ky's room at that. One moment, she was flustered and scared to open up, the next here she was telling him everything and not seeming to back away in the least. She was a very perplexing, but entrancing, person Logan decided.

"I've never thought to ask, if I'll be honest. My first and only was A-," but Logan paused just as Ky had just before. He knew he wasn't ready in the slightest to talk about her at that moment, preferring to bask in the happiness of the now. "a daughter of Venus. She made.. that sort of thing," at this, Logan gave her a teasing smirk, "seem as natural as the sword to me and a wrench for you." He hoped he'd covered his slight misstep, if only so Ky wouldn't press him. He felt too warm, something he hadn't known for far too long and he wanted to keep it for as long as he could. "But if I could ask, how old are you Ky?" His own hand on her back had begun to lazily rub a small circle, his other resting comfortably on her side.

By the Gods it had been far too long since she had been held like this… wrapped up in the arms of a guy- just like she had whenever Derek had held her; she felt warm and safe, but more than that, she felt wanted… however the reason as to why she was feeling the way that she was, she wasn’t exactly quite sure of. A warmth seemed to spread throughout her body, helping her to retain the gentle red blush that tinged her cheeks with natural color, though it had nothing to do with the embarrassment that she had been feeling not moments beforehand; there was just something about him... something that had her almost reliving all of the emotions that she had first begun to feel when she had realized that she had been falling for Derek…

“Of course you can ask, Logan… I’m nineteen- and what about you..?” The soothing gesture of his hand rubbing small circles against her back caused her smile to grow, her hands hesitating for a moment before she slid them down his chest, her fingertips lightly tracing his muscles as they lowered down before they stopped completely just above his stomach, her chest now pressing up against his with no obstructions than the clothes she was wearing, “If you don’t mind me asking that is…”

What the hell did Ky think was going to happen with her hands trailing down his chest, stopping short of his abdomen? He shivered with a familiar feeling of lust, but he quashed that impulse and quashed it hard. Their friendship, or whatever this was, was new and Logan didn't want baser instincts getting in the way. But by the gods was she just not aware? He chuckled deeply at her tentative tone. They were in Ky's bedroom and he still without a shirt and she asked if he minded a question that he'd just asked himself? Maybe she had had less experience with the opposite sex than even he. His heart had nearly skipped a beat at the intimate contact.

"Of course not, I'm seventeen, but my birthday is in two months," Logan replied comfortably. He almost fidgeted under her touch, her fingers very close to his sides which were ticklish. This was a closely guarded secret of Logan's and one he was loathe to admit to. Ky was most certainly one that would capitalize on this weakness much to his suffering and her entertainment. His own arms slid downwards, on her mid-back, and he lowered his head until his forehead rested atop hers. "It's a week shy of Halloween, actually, although I've never been the biggest fan of the holiday." He thought of one particularly fond memory, when Ashley had made him dress up as Batman and she Cat Woman. His time with Ky had him focusing on such positive moments of his life when all he'd been able to think of was their last days together... Logan's guilt came back with a vengeance as Ashley's face popped behind his closed eyes. Her ghost never seemed to leave him, or perhaps he couldn't let go? The demigod was beginning to wonder if life, or fate, had other plans.

“..a week shy of Halloween…” A thoughtful expression seemed to cross over her features as she seemed to commit that small bit of information to memory, her thumbs never once stopping in their tracks as they continued to brush back and forth over the top of his stomach, the both of them following the line of his more prominent muscles- she wasn’t going to lie, she had always had a thing for guys with abs, it was one of the many things that she had grown up with; both within the camp, and living in Australia, “..I’ll be sure to keep that in mind- not to mention that I’ll also be sure to definitely start working on something that I hope you’ll like…”

Chuckling softly to herself for a moment as her mind began to work overtime, a million and one ideas for his present seemingly running through it at once, she twisted her hands only slightly over his stomach, her fingers lightly curling around his sides as she continued to gaze up into his eyes… his beautiful light steel blue eyes… so different from the dark brown ones that she had gone and fallen in love with oh so long ago… “Oh..? Actually Halloween here in the camp is a real treat for us all; it’s the one day a year that Erin is actually happy- and I mean noticeably so too. She gets up early and decorates the whole camp by herself; you walk out your cabin and it’s like you’ve walked straight into her father's domain… she’s also in that good of a mood, that if you ask her to, she’ll summon the spirits of people who have passed onto the Underworld…”

Logan's nostrils flared as Ky' vie stoked a fire that even she was not knowledgeable of. Why couldn't she keep those infernal thumbs to herself?! He was finding it increasingly more difficult not to misconstrue the affectionate gesture, even knowing of her inexperience. His hand unconsciously lowered its hold, now residing at her lower back and splayed as far as his large hand could go. Their proximity was slowly increasing, unbeknownst to either. Her scent filled his nostrils, so fragrant he could've sworn she wore perfume. "I did say that, yes.. why, what's going on in that head of yours?"

The mention of summoning spirits of the Underworld was akin to a bucket of ice water to the demigod, however. Did Ky' vie mean that Erin could actually let him talk to Ashley, one last time? It allowed his to focus on their conversation, rather than the physical sensations that had begun to dominate his higher thinking. "That sounds wonderful, but how exactly does she summon spirits? I always thought Hades was a greedy god, loathe to let any spirits go?" In truth, Logan had only a passing knowledge of the Greek gods, another reason he had sought to transfer to the camp.

Yet, he couldn't linger long on the thought of tragedies past, with Ky' vie holding his gaze. Whether he wanted it to happen or not, she was someone not to be ignored or neglected by daydreams.

“Ah, you see… if I went ahead, and I told you what’s going on in my mind; then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, and that’s the whole point of a present, isn’t it..?” Tightening the grip she had over his sides only slightly, the corners of her lips turned up, her once warm smile twisting into a playful smirk at the thought of being able to keep at least one secret from him; even if it was both about and for him in the long run, “But I guess I can tell you that I haven’t narrowed it down to a single idea yet- there are many different plans floating about up there… so you’re just going to have to wait until your birthday to find out just what it is…”

The gentle sound of her chuckle filled the air around them as she shrugged her shoulders lightly at his questions- she wasn’t exactly sure how the princess of the Underworld managed to summon the dead back, but there was one or two things she had picked up over the years since Erin had learnt how to do so, “I’m not quite sure of the details myself… but I do know that they need some sort of offering from us; and last year, Erin did mention something about happy meals from macca’s being the more favored among the dead. As for Hades… well, I don’t think he minds too much because it’s his darling daughter who’s doing it… I mean, there’s never really been any problems with her doing it in the past.”

Logan's brow furrowed in perplexity at her answer. He'd never celebrated his birthday and it passed nearly every year much the same. He just kept it in mind as a reminder that he was yet another year older. Another year he'd survived. He smiled at her teasing tone and her mysterious side was yet another new experience he was growing to enjoy more and more. Never had a woman kept him guessing like this. Logan took a step forward and Ky' vie's back rested against the wall near the door frame. "What if I wanted to know now, hmm? I don't like surprises as much and I've never received a present.."

Her laugh was intoxicating, her slightly raspy voice lending it a unique quality that left a man wanting to hear it again. "McDonald's really? Never thought a corpse would like junk food.." Yet even as Logan spoke the thought, further words slipped from his mind. He looked down at her now, staring into her eyes. But his focus drifted ever so slowly downwards, until they met her lips. They looked so soft and inviting... "How about, I choose my present? And I really can't wait." His right hand came up, enveloping her jaw and cheek and tilting up just so. His gaze flickered between her mouth and her eyes, until he closed his own and started to lean towards her, to kiss her. It was almost magnetic, like Logan couldn't resist the pull.

It was like every single one of his previous words were lost to her completely- all she could see was him; all she could hear were the last five words that left his lips… ’And I really can’t wait’… The words played over and over within her mind like a recording stuck on repeat, and even if she wanted to, she couldn’t turn it off. Heart fluttering wildly within her chest as she watched him draw closer into her, she closed her eyes slowly, her back pressing up against the wall and her grip over his sides never once wavering as she drew him ever closer into her- for the love of Aphrodite, this was it… she couldn’t resist him; it was like two ends of a magnet and no matter how hard you tried to keep them apart, they just seemed to be drawn together…

“Ooo..! Popcorn..! You know I knew I was forgetting something… You know what; lemmie just go and set up my gear! Yeah; I’ll put on some romantic music, dim the lights for you, maybe set out a few candles even…” Not even caring that she was interrupting the both of them, Arianna chuckled softly to herself as she continued to think up different ways to try and ‘help’ make the situation better than it actually was- the blondes bright smile never once leaving her features as she continued to watch the pair of them from the other side of the bedroom door, her body practically bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet as she looked from one to the other in her excitement for the pair, her free hand coming up from where she had it resting by her side so that she could adjust the set of headphones that was hanging lazily around her neck.

“Won’t even take me a few moments guys- and totally guys, you like won’t even know that I’m here..! We can just close the door- you go ahead with your bad selves and do what y'all wanna do, an’ I’m just gunna chill out here and do what I do best.” Leaning in through the doorway, Arianna reached out and took a hold of the doorknob, winking at the both of them before she pulled it closed, waiting for the obvious ‘click’ before she turned and began to wander over to where she had left all her things in the living area, her head bobbing up and down to the beat of the music that could be heard coming from the headphones she wore.

The hand splayed against her lower back had pressed her body insistently against his own. As they got closer, Logan's need had grown to nearly immeasurable levels. He'd never known this amount of anticipation, of yearning he felt at this moment. His world had become this one moment and seemed to slow accordingly. He was painstakingly aware of the rapid beat of his heart hammering against Ky's own, oddly in sync. There was no space between the two as Logan tried his best not to let base instincts to rush this exquisite encounter...

Logan was momentarily shocked, not quite comprehending the bubbly girl's words, he didn't even know who she was! Just as he was about to press his lips against Ky's the blonde had popped up without him ever suspecting. That in itself was a feat, Logan always being vigilant... Perhaps he'd been too engrossed in what was about to happen? The girl, after some comment about music and closed doors left, leaving the two of them alone.

That didn't deter him however and turned back to Ky the moment surprise had left him and allowed movement. He fairly crushed his lips against her, relishing in her taste. It was almost electric when he finally kissed her and his arm against her lower back slid and tightened until there was no more space. His body pressed hers against the wall as he came flush against Ky. Logan simply couldn't get enough, his gentle caress of her face becoming an insistent hold. After a few breathless moments, he finally disengaged and rested his head against hers, slightly breathless and his heart still pounding like mad. "Who.. the fuck.. was that?!" he asked incredulously and airily, still trying to catch his breath. His hand slid from her face to intertwine in her hair near the nape of neck, taking the silky yet strong strands in hand.

To say that she wasn’t caught off guard by sudden appearance of the camps resident DJ in her bedroom would have been a complete and utter lie; the very thought of being caught in such an intimate position with a guy she barely knew causing her cheeks to turn a bright red, almost matching that of her hair which had once more caught alight, the flames becoming wilder and almost seemingly out of control the moment that the door to her room closed, and his lips came down upon her own. She had never before in her life felt anything quite like this… His lips against her own just felt so right… so normal… by the Gods, she had never once before tasted anything so addicting- his lips were like alcohol; like a drug, and she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to get enough of them…

Sliding her hands slowly up over his stomach… his chest… his shoulders… she wrapped them both tightly around his neck, her body shifting only slightly against his own before she pulled herself even closer against him, the sudden intimacy between them causing her breasts to press flush up against his chest, the action causing them to look even bigger than they actually were as she did all that she could to make the moment last as long as she possibly could; a soft groan of reluctance and slight disappointment slipping out through her lips as she felt him pull himself away from her after what felt like a lifetime, taking her time to open her eyes and to catch her breath once more before eventually answering his question, “That… that would be our camps resident DJ and nut-girl… her name is Arianna Watson; she’s Dionysus’ daughter… and she’s councilor of that cabin…”

"I see... she has terrible timing." Logan asserted, with characteristic understatement. He rested his forehead against hers for just a moment, before cupping her face and looking deeply into her eyes, to gauge her feelings. He himself was confused and fairly torn. Until today, his one true soul mate had been his late love. Now the horizons had widened and he saw the potential for a brighter future than he'd ever had before. His gray-blue eyes were opened to the wide picture that was the future. This was uncharted territory for him, completely new grounds. He hadn't been equipped for battles of the heart, after all. He let out a shaky breath and wondered what was going through that mind of cogs and gears. His breathing seemed heavy, not from exertion, but anxiety. Never had he cared about another's opinion as he did this girl's.

"So... how'd you feel about that? I mean, me kissing you? I hope I wasn't out of line, but it just felt right... ya know?" Logan seemed like he was insecure, unsure whether or not he'd be rejected or accepted at this particular juncture in their new friendship. Or whatever it had evolved to in this most recent turn of events. He silently thanked the gods for cracking his skull on that damnable dresser and making this opportunity possible. Yet, it was odd, how quickly he connected with Ky' vie and how deep this new bond ran. His thumbs stroked the satin that was her skin as he kept his eyes closed. He didn't want to see a look of confusion, anger, or even mere platonic friendship reflected back after baring the truth that was in his soul to himself. And soon her.

“Y-Yeah… it happens more often than you think…” Her words trailed off into nothing as she felt the gentle and warming touch of his palm against her skin, caressing her cheek almost tenderly, though she could see it in his eyes… the reluctance, and the confusion… he was questioning just what was going on between the both of them; but yet there was no sign of regret behind his beautiful grey-blue eyes. There was nothing- no clues that he thought the kiss between them had been a mistake of some kind. The very thought that he might have like it causing the corners of her lips to turn up in a small and rather shy smile; one that she hadn’t worn in what felt like a lifetime. How long had it been since someone had made her feel like he did? How long had it been since someone had made her blush red, or become flustered… or had even managed to get her to open up in such a short period of time like he had just done..? Derek had made her feel something like she was special- Logan… Logan made her feel something that she had never before in her life felt…

Scrunching her face up ever so slightly in confusion to his words, she relaxed one of her arms from around the back of his neck before she slid her hand around to lightly caress his cheek, her heart seeming to beat faster than ever before within her chest as she brushed her thumb back and forth over the skin just under his eye; doing what she could to read the expression crossed over his features, though unable to see the emotion behind his now closed eyes, “It wasn’t out of line, Logan… not when I was kinda hoping that you would… and-… and I know what you mean; about it feeling right. I don’t know what it is about you, but you just makes it feel right…”

The guilt was the only thing keeping him back, Logan knew. With a certain concrete awareness, he accepted that his feelings about the past were his worst enemy. He'd run away from confronting those memories. With every avoided stare, every dismissed attempt at conversation, and running away from his home, Camp Jupiter. Truly, Logan was a man without a cause and that made him feel so very weak. What was a soldier without an empire, a cause to fight for? He was less than the shell of a man, first killing his own love, and now losing his first true home. What could he offer this Camp Half-blood, that turned good men to layabouts and tricksters? How could this place be so undisciplined, unscrupled, yet still train kids to survive into their adulthood? Logan couldn't see it, that strength of will in the Grecian's that hid just under the surface of their playful demeanor.

He opened his eyes again, which held a naked pain. Ashley's face had swam before his vision and not for the first time. However, this spell wasn't accompanied by the terror, the blood, but an accepting smile and a feeling of warmth and wistfulness. It had felt like... goodbye. Logan didn't allow himself the luxury of believing that, even though it was obvious he held the blessing of a favored child of Venus, who in turn had given her own blessing upon Logan. The goddess had known her gift to be a two-edged sword, for Ky' vie's own luck with divinities was less than enviable. And she had a feeling that these two needed each other, to get through the times ahead. Logan deserved another shot at true love, as did Ky' vie, and they both needed to survive to have that come to fruition. Venus wouldn't make it the easiest, but it would be a relationship all the more worthwhile because of it. "She needs to learn to knock," he joked. "I'm glad to hear it, because I feel the same, Ky. There's something about you that just feels like... home. And so much more than even that word contains. And I've been thinking about kissing you since seeing your perky little ass bent over your bike..." The last was given with a playful smirk, mirth and an odd longing haunting his expression.

“Heh… I’ve never been thought of like that before; been compared to home. But I think I know what you mean… you’re just so easy to talk to; so easy to open up to, and so comfortable to be around- I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s just something about you, Logan…” Falling back into a comfortable silence for what but a few moments as she continued to let the pad of her thumb brush back and forth over his skin, she tilted her head lightly to the side before letting her hand drop down to rest comfortably over his chest, her metallic silvery-blue orbs flicking down to watch her fingers curl ever so slightly before her gaze lifted back up to meet with his once more; her smile seeming to grow slightly at his words as the amused and playful glint returned back to her eyes.

“Well; this perky little ass isn’t for everyone… I can assure you of that.” Relaxing the grip that her arm held around the back of his neck, she kept the close intimacy that they had managed to create between the both of them, not showing any sign that she was going to be moving any time soon- it felt good to be held again… even with the guilt that gnawed at her insides at the thought of her heart belonging to another guy, “You see… the last person who tried to tried to get close, got a permanent and rather smoky reminder of his place; but then, if you play with fire… you’re likely to get burnt…”

"I don't have fond memories of the one I've left behind.. I thought making new ones would be much easier than forgetting," Logan answered honestly, shrugging a little. He took heart in her words, as she seemed to say exactly what he was feeling. She couldn't know that Logan's guilt nearly outweighed her own, with the grips of his love for Ashley telling him that he was shaming her memory by being with anyone else. Would she have understood his need to move on, or condemn her killer for forgetting his duty of blame? Logan wasn't sure, but he had to believe that he had been meant to come to this camp for a reason, that it all had a purpose in the grand scheme of the gods. "I feel the same way, it's almost scary..." She must have felt the rapid beat of his heart, her hand lightly settling over his chest. His eyes closed, until he heard the playfulness in her tone.

"That's good to hear... I'd hate to have beat off the suitors with a stick." Logan's eyebrow raised, wondering if perhaps Ky' vie had another interest here at the camp. He'd only just got here, he'd no idea the true relationships between the campers that had known each other for most of their natural lives! Logan could only hope he wasn't setting himself up for disaster... What had Ashley used to say? "Love is all about risks, big boy. You can't win a battle without making a few sacrifices, right, soldier-boy?" Logan let that piece of advice fuel his courage for the present. "I think I can handle the risks, Ky... The reward far outweighs the consequences..." Logan felt himself wanting to kiss her again, but didn't want to rock the boat, so to speak. This was new and fragile and should be taken with care. Steady as she goes... Logan gave her a lopsided grin as he pulled away, zipping his jeans and doing the button clasp, before slipping on a fresh purple Camp Jupiter shirt. He fell onto the bed, pulling out a fresh ball of socks to slip on his feet. "So, what can I do to help get this shindig going? It may be my welcoming party, but I want to lend a hand." His eyes showed sincerity and an eagerness to be involved.

Rolling his shoulders, Archer felt the stiffness from the fight from earlier. Gideon was not one who normally got angry, but when he got angry, he needed to be avoided. And when he got angry in a fight... Archer was shocked he wasn't dead. Gideon is a ferocious fighter and he almost never shows mercy, so when he walked off, that was a first for him. It was a curious thought that it happened with him though. He knew that they were close friends, but Archer had never known that he had that kind of affect on Gideon at all. He leapt up onto a nearby stump and cringed when he bent in half to brace for impact. Something was definitely wrong with his ribs, he knew that for sure. But if he told Gideon, he would never live it down. A child of Athena getting beat by a child of Ares? That was going to be hard to live down, even in his own cabin.

Walking passed cabin eight, where Gideon lived alone at the moment, Archer noticed an unfamiliar horse sitting outside of it. He raised an eyebrow and walked passed a group of guys, who were all looking at the horse as well. Archer called out, "Hey, Colt? Do you know what's going on?"

"Why does everyone think I know what's going on?! Gideon asked me the same thing about five minutes ago!" Archer was amused by the snappiness in the Venus's child's voice, but he made a mental note not to ask him about anything ever again unless he knew Colt was involved. He continued down toward the infirmary, hoping that Kiran was there rather than having to go to her cabin to find her.

Wandering around had led Kiran back to the infirmary. If Arianna wanted her meds, she'd go there. Besides, worrying about it won't help. When she walked into the building, her half sibling was no where in sight. However, after a moment a girl poked her head around the corner where the office area was. Realising, it was only her councilor, she gave a breaf wave before disappearing behind the wall again. Kiran followed her sister to the room to deposit the medicine she had been carrying around. There was some small talk about what was going on before the girl went back to the paperwork strewn across the oak desk. There wasn't anything she wanted to do, so the half Indian girl helped out around the infirmary. She spoke to the patients, exchanging stories, and joking around. A Hermes kid was getting to the climax of an interesting (and probably false) story, when the door open to reveal Archer.

Archer nodded to the Hermes child as he entered. He smiled at Kiran as he approached and said, "Hello, Kiran. You are looking lovely as always." He laughed and sat down on one of the nearest, empty beds next to her, cringing as he doubled over. He turned to where he stretched out along the bed, resting his head on one of the pillows. He kicked off his feet and looked closely at Kiran. "Kind of got into a fight with Gideon while he was angry. I think he may have bruised my ribs. Mind checking me out?"

"Thanks, and no problem," Kiran smiled at her new patient. She stood up, and headed over to the office to grab a couple of supplies before heading back over to the bed Archer was lounging on. She then placed her tools on the stand next to the bed. "If you don't mind, I need you to take your shirt off." The vibrant girl said expectanly. "It'll be easier to examine without it, but if you're uncomfortable, we can find ways around it."

Archer raised an eyebrow at the taking the shirt off part and he laughed before cringing at the pain that shot through his stomach. "Can't wait to get me out of my clothes, Kiran? I thought you were better than that." Complying with her command however, he gripped the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up and over his head. Tossing it to the side, he laid back down again so he was more comfortable. Shifting around, he turned his head to look at Kiran. He saw, out of the corner of his eyes, that his stomach was red where his ribs were, which was most possibly the bootprint left by Gideon. "Do you ever take a break, Kiran? You always seem to be here."

Kiran laughed. "Trust me, Archer, of all the people I've seen unclothed, you are just another body." Her fingers lightly brushed over the obvious mark, making sure not to apply any pleasure. The area surrounding was also slightly affected. "When you're the counselor of the cabin in charge of the infirmary, you tend to spend quite a bit of time here. Besides, I like it here. There's people to talk to, and things to do. But I guess I take some breaks. I have to eat and sleep like most people. I'm not a robot you know," The brown skinned girl then started to apply pressure around the area. "Tell me if it hurts," She said, moving her fingers nimbly around the bruise.

Archer cringed and said, "Yeah, that hurts!" He laughed a little bit, cringing as she proceeded press and gritted his teeth. "I thought you're supposed to make things feel better." He smiled at her and leaned back into the pillow. He should have never engaged Gideon in a fight. If Claire hadn't been in the lake, something bad might have happened with the weapons drawn. Archer turned his head toward Kiran once again. "How many times have you had Gideon in here? He doesn't seem to get hurt as much as the others do."

"I have to figure out what hurts in order to make it better, duh," Kiran grinned, her hands drawing away from the injury. "Gideon comes in every once in awhile. Many times he's just escorting someone HE injured. I understand training and all, but sometimes he needs to take it easy. Otherwise he's goning to wear himself down." She sighed. "I'll be right back," Quickly, the daughter of Apollo headed into the back, where she retrieved a small, golf ball sized chunk of ambrosia. Then, she returned with some instructions. "Here's some ambrosia, it will accelerate the recovery process." She said, handing the godly food to him.

Archer raised an eyebrow and took the ambrosia from her. He ate it quickly and took a deep breath. He felt a tingly type sensation going through his stomach, just over his ribs. He cringed and took a deep breath. "Thanks," he said quietly, sitting up. He grabbed some nearby bandages and held them up. "Just as a precaution," he told her with a smile. Having bandaged both Gideon and himself multiple times, Archer was a pro at it. He quickly wrapped his ribs before shifting his shirt back on. He smiled at Kiran and said, "I'll see you at the party, yeah?" He waved to her before leaving there, walking out of the cabin. He figured he should go find Gideon and make him apologize... but maybe not. Laughing to himself, he began making his way toward the Ares Cabin.