People make mistakes. Most don’t almost kill you but many do embarrass you, and so, Calista did too. She dove, deeper and deeper into the lake the water playfully toying with her auburn hair as it flowed behind her. She did not look away from her target, the goal of her mission. A girl around her age who was floating near the bottom. She looked peaceful, serene even, Calista worried that she was too late. She outstretched her hand towards the girl, nearly making it towards her, when she felt a hand on her own ankle. Calista whipped around, pushing water out of her way, to face a boy, also around her age, not that she could really tell. She was pulled towards him, and he seemed to urgently be trying to tell her something. By the time Calista was turning back to the drowning girl she found herself, the girl and the boy shooting up towards the surface.

Gasping in a breath of fresh air she rubbed the water out of her eyes, throwing her wet hair back Calista inhaled deeply, seeing the drowning girl, well, not drowning. She was walking on the water and it was by this point Calista connected dots that must’ve been clear to everyone else. “You’re Poseidon’s kid.” She said baffled as she watched the girl flex her abilities. Calista took a second to take everything that was happening in. After all, one minute ago she was attempting to save a girl’s life, but now, now she was witnessing the only daughter of Poseidon’s abilities first hand. It was… Weird. Before Calista could say a word, the girl dove into the water, Calista looked around for a few seconds, glancing over at the boy who had grabbed her ankle. That was when the girl resurfaced immediately in front of Calista. She explained that her name was Claire, spoke a little French and disappeared under the tide once more.

She swam back to shore with the boy who had grabbed her ankle and hurriedly put her dry clothes back on, slightly blushing after being exposed like that. It wasn’t something new to Calista, she was a daughter of Aphrodite after all, and she lived in a coastal region, she spent a fair amount of time in a bikini. But this was different, probably because it was Camp Half-Blood there she felt like herself like a completely different person.

“I’m sorry for that, my name is Calista Eden, I’m a daughter of Aphrodite only been here for a couple months now, It’s nice to meet you.” She said, reaching a hand out to shake his. “Anyway, isn’t there some kind of party that’s supposed to be happening tonight?” Calista asked, peering over his shoulder. “We should probably head over.”

Camp Half-Blood...the place hardly ever looked more welcoming than when returning from a quest. The Camp was more than a haven; it was safety, it was home. Roy would be lying if he said he never missed the simpler life back in Nevada City, working lumber with his father during the summer days and sitting out on the porch with lemonade on the evenings. Life was routine, and it was bliss.

But that all changed upon discovering his destiny. His true heritage, his true fate, was to stay here and fight - always fight. Roy comforted himself with the fact that, as long as he kept fighting, his parents would be safe. He could almost imagine his father granting a firm nod. Though small in gesture, the depth it held brought a smile to Roy's face. Boreas may have helped created him, but in Roy's mind...the North Wind was far from being his father. That privilege belonged to Jack Montag.

Interrupted by a sudden bark, Roy looked down at Hircine, whose tail was wagging most violently. The Wolfhound, like Roy, always grew excited when returning to Camp. Probably so he could tackle some poor unsuspecting camper and lick their face off.

Rubbing the dog's head affectionately, Roy adjusted the worn backpack he kept over one shoulder, the smell of smoke and sound of loud music meeting him barely after he passed the gate. No doubt another one of Ky's parties. Looks like he came home just the right time. Smiling once, Roy bee-lined towards the cabins, being sure to stop by Cabin One to drop off his gear and hopefully change into something more presentable.

Coming out a few minutes later, Roy took a moment to look over himself before deeming his appearance sufficient. Walking down past more cabins, Cabin Nine soon came into view, already crawling with campers who were enjoying the festivities - no doubt Arianna had her own personal touch involved to make things this rapturous.

Scanning the crowd, Roy's icy blue eyes quickly caught onto Griffin, who was standing outside a small crowd of dancing demigods, but nonetheless preoccupied watching them.

"Wingfoot!" Roy called out, trying to raise his voice above the music. Griffin absentmindedly turned his head in the direction of the voice, landing on Roy for a split moment before his eyes widened. "Well, look who's back from the dead!" The son of Hermes declared as he approached, holding out a single loose hand for Roy to shake. "And, what's this? You grew a bloody beard? Hm...nice. Maybe Claire will notice you now that you don't look like you're five, eh?"

Raising one eyebrow, Roy attempted to give Griffin a half-hearted though well-deserved punch in the shoulder, but the other demigod was too fast, quickly jumping back out of the way, smirking all the while. "Gotta be quicker than that, Sub-Zero. Good t' have you back!" Griffin bid with a two-fingered salute before falling back into the crowd, leaving an amusingly exasperated Roy in his wake. Looking down at Hircine, Roy winked once at the hound. "We'll sic him one day, boy, won't we?" Earning a bark in response to his query.

With that, the son of Boreas reserved himself to get a well-needed drink, and relax after a long trek home...

Her head perked up when she began hearing loud music and seeing smoke coming from the cabins. She smiled and nodded to the two. "It was lovely meeting you, but I am missing a most wonderful party. I will most likely see you there!" She swam quickly to the shore, purposefully and playfully splashing Jericho as she went. She slipped up onto the shore, expelling all the water off her as she made her way up the hill toward Ky'Vie's party. Ky always threw amazing parties, and, even though Claire wasn't much of a dancer, Arianna's music always made her dance somehow. She hurried up the hill to her cabin. She threw open the door and made her way inside, grabbing her suitcase as she went.

She pulled out a party dress with a white bust and teal skirt and quickly slipped out of her still damp clothing. She threw the clothes onto the bed and quickly slipped into her dress. She would just go barefoot, as she normally did, but she made sure to put on the vial from her father again. Throwing her clothing into a suitcase, she quickly moved to her mirror and maneuvered her fingers in her hair to make a fishtail braid, that way at least some of her hair would be out of her face. All of her makeup was waterproof, as she made sure it was, so she didn't bother reapplying anything. Instead, she placed her hair gently on the back of her head once more and made her way back out the door, heading toward Ky's party.

She would see a few people milling around from a distance. She noticed a limping Nix son with an Iris daughter and a Eris son very obviously avoiding them. She tipped her head to the side, curious as to what that was. She saw Arianna DJing and she smiled, swaying her hips to the beat, smiling up at the blonde and waving to her. Though she could not see Ky yet, she knew that she was there, somewhere. Probably with some of her friends. She smiled at the two Aphrodite girls nearby. They waved and yelled, "Bonjour Claire! Ca va?"

She laughed and nodded. "Ca va bien! Ou est ton frere?"

They looked at each other and the taller of the two shrugged, saying, "Je ne sais pas!" Claire heard one of their names being yelled and they turned to look. They then turned back and waved to Claire. "Bon journee, Claire!" they said, before disappearing toward the voice. Claire smiled after them. The Aphrodite girls, and Colt whenever he would stand to talk with her, were really the only other people who she could actually speak her native language with, besides Roy. But he was out on a quest and wouldn't be back for a bit...

Turning around, her eyes scanned the area, looking for someone she could talk to or say hello to. She saw Griffin a few feet away, talking to someone she could not see. She shifted, peering around him to see who it was. It was a young man, a scruffy beard on his face, and ice blue eyes. He looked familiar and Claire suddenly had a memory of a young man, clean shaven and baby faced, giving her a hug before leaving the camp... Claire cupped her hands in front of her mouth. "Roy..." she murmured quietly. She doubled checked to make sure it was him. There was no mistaking it. "Roy!" she yelled, joy filling her voice and her step as she ran to him. She leapt into his arms and hugged him, holding him close. "You're back," she said quietly, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"A new-blood, eh? From Jupiter? With how much condescension the Romans look at us with, they're still not above sending us their 'legionnaires'." Simon smirked without warmth, feeling a pang of irritation at the hypocrisy their Roman brethren showed.

"I should hope to give him a warm welcome when I meet him." Simon noted simply, his tone implying that he viewed the task as more of a chore than a genuine human way of greeting.

"So tell me, child, what is that you have in your hand?" He asked next, adjusting the topic away from the newcomer. In truth, a newcomer would only interest Simon if they came with a certain amount of baggage - something to study, to analyze. No scientist analyzes a sample that bores him.

"If I recall correctly, you're abstaining from alcohol for the next couple years. Then again, life wouldn't be fun without the occasional rule-breaker, now would it?" Chuckling softly, Simon let both hands move to the top of his gilded cane, leaning back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Well, no matter. I believe our presence is required at Kylie's party, is it not? No...no, Ky' vie, not Kylie, my apologies. But I digress. Shall we go?" He asked, just about to offer his hand when he forgot she could not see him do so. Instead he chose to brush his hand against hers, hoping the sensation of touch would suffice.

---

Shaking his head with a lighthearted sigh, Roy was hardly able to think before someone quite literally crashed into him for a hug. It barely took a second for him to put two-and-two together. Her voice, her distinct scent. Claire.

"Yes, yes, I'm back." He responded with a warm, genuine smile, running his hand down her back for a moment before pulling back to face her better. "Tu m'as tellement manqué..." He added in her native language, his eyes meeting hers. Though Roy was, by no means, a fan of French, his innate knowledge of the language was one of the few gifts his birth father had provided that proved something useful.

"Oh! I got you something." He began cheerily, reaching into the pockets of his thick jacket, fiddling about for a bit before pulling something out. Holding his palm out to her, he revealed a beautifully carved wood dolphin, apparently handmade.

"I had some spare time during my quest. I hope you like it!" He added, a sincere look in his face. As if to back him up, Hircine barked twice, nuzzling his nose against Claire's leg while wagging his tail; practically begging her to take it.

The view around Carmen was fuzzy. Her brain couldn't concentrate on the scenery that passed her by, despite the beautiful greenery that fought for her attention. Every once in awhile her eyelids would close, only to be jerked open by the nervousness that was seeded within her. A new place, new people, and nothing to help her ease in. This was going to be a nightmare. The redhead didn't know if it was acceptable to simply walk into the camp. Probably not. After all, it had to be fairly orginized right? However, on the journey here, she wasn't able to find the "Delphi Strawberry Service" in the phone book. Maybe that was her own fault, though. What if she just didn't look hard enough? Would the head of the camp get mad at her?

It was in the middle of this circuitous thought process that the man she hitched a ride from shook her shoulder to grab her attention. "Hey, girly. This is as close as I get to that Strawberry Service place. I'd recommend you get off here and walk the rest of the way." Startled, Carmen's back shot straight up. It probably wasn't the best idea to hitchhike, but she didn't have much money. "Thank you so much," She said instinctively, as she gathered her 3 suitcases and backpack. It was a lot of things, but it was basically her life. "Um, if you don't mind, which direction should I go to find the Strawberry place?" Carmen asked. Even as the driver responded, she was mentally kicking herself in the head. 'He probably thinks I'm stupid now. "Which direction should I go?" If I had been paying attention, I would have known!' "Delphi Strawberry Service is about a couple miles from here in that general direction." He waved towards a more secluded road. "Thanks, I appreciate your kindness," She squeaked, before rushing away from the conversation.

Her baggage was quite heavy, and Carmen wasn't one for exercising, making her journey slow and difficult. She had to take a couple of breaks before she finally arrived at what looked like an entrance to somewhere. A large pine tree stood next to the entrance as if judging her for approaching. The soft spoken girl bit her lower lip, a bad habit of hers. As Carmen reached the top of the hill, an amazing sight was displayed for her. It was almost as if an entire world had been created in this small area in the woods. She could even see the sea from her vantage point. She was soon startled from her trance when she heard music blaring from some where. Instantly her eyes were drawn the the crowd of people partying around some cabins. Unfortunately, the shy girl needed to ask for help, and she couldn't see any other campers around, so she headed towards the large crowd.

Her hands started to shake as she looked into the mob of people. Carmen stood at the edge of all the action, bags in hand, most likely looking like a fool. She could taste blood in her mouth, she was biting her lip so hard. Now came the hard part, who to ask? She had to choose wisely otherwise something bad could happen. Carmen really didn't want to create drama on her first day. What if they thought she was annoying? Or what if they laughed at her? The shy girl's hands fidgeted as she tried to calm herself down. What would she even ask? 'Hey, I'm new here, what the fuck do I do?' Warm, wet pressure pushed on the back of Carmen's eyes. Was she really going to do this now?

Finally after calming herself down, she left her things and went into the crowd to find someone. Not exactly the best choice she's made in her life.

The door creaked shut behind her, the rush of air taking the life of the candle with her, leaving the demigod in darkness. Tobias laid there silently, waiting and listening to the steps of the blind girl as she moved out onto his porch and then left for good. He waited, letting nearly half an hour pass to be sure that she was truly, without a doubt, gone. He lifted himself up from his bed and turned, planting his feet onto the floor of the cabin. Unlike some of the other cabins, his only had a single large room. Whoever built it probably knew the type of guy that Thanatos tended to be. One child. Any more and, as they're so wont to do, they'd kill eachother. Perhaps that's why his cabin was the way it was. Sharing it with a sibling would probably drive one of them to madness.

He then pushed off of the bed and stepped into the center of his room, kicking a few half-read and likely forever abandoned books to the side. If he hadn't finished a book in a single sitting, it usually meant it wasn't worth his time to finish it. As he stood there, surveying his room that, despite his eyes best efforts, was still to dark for him to make out much more than silhouettes. From beyond his cabin walls, he could hear the bass of music, no doubt from the party the blind girl had mentioned. The party the blind girl had invited him to. "Maybe I'll see you there," he muttered, repeating the blind girl. "Forget you're bloody blind?"

Tobias shifted around his apartment, from his latest liqour supply, to a pile of cups he was sort of sure he had recently washed, and then back to his bed were he sat on the edge; sipping from a chipped glass, the burn of whiskey helping him feel a bit more alive. The burning in the back of his throat tended to be particularly good at that. He drank and finished his glass, scowling at it before refilling it and returning to the amber liquid with more ferocity than before. He was going to at least need a buzz for where he was going. He hated parties.

Almost as much as he hated leaving camp sober. So he had a third glass.

He turned off his stereo, cutting the static white noise that he hadn't noticed until it was gone. Tobias made his rounds through his cabin, grabbing a change of clothes and slipping into a pair of black boots, blue jeans, a black t-shirt, black leather driving gloves, and a bomber jacket with a fur collar. With a flask in his jacket pocket and a near dead android smartphone with a pair of earbuds coiled around them in the opposite pocket and a recently slimmed down faux-leather wallet in his back pocket, he was ready to leave.

He kept a cautious distance from the party which had spread beyond the Hephaestus cabin and was likely soon to consume all of the neighboring cabins. Tobias couldn't help but be a bit thrilled that his cabin was so far away from hers. He wouldn't have even approached, let alone stop if he hadn't seen something unusual. A face he didn't recognize, and he was familiar with all of the faces in camp even if he wasn't on speaking terms with most of them, had put down a load of baggage at the edge of the crowd and was beginning to wander in while maintaining the appearance of a frightened animal.

He jogged toward her belongings, calling after her as he reached them. "Hey, newbie, don't leave your shit around for the Hermes kids to get into," he said, stopping by her stuff and folding his arms. On his first day several years back he had found a hornets nest in one of his bags, courtesy of a Hermes kid that disappeared a few years back. "You need help or are you just abandoning this?"

"Syleste, I'm not your babysitter or your keeper. You're old enough to drink within the Camp, no? Sometimes you must make your own decisions...and forgo asking permission if you're old or acute enough to make them. However, for the sake of keeping the peace," Simon paused to take the can from her light grasp, holding it aloft in his right hand.

Releasing his cane, (which remained standing even without leverage) Simon let his left hand hover above the can for a few moments, his fingers twitching ever so slightly. A distortion of the air appeared around the can, rendering it completely intelligible to sight as it appeared to...shift. Stuck between this world or somewhere else. Eventually the mist cleared, and while Syleste could not see the apparent change, the can now resembled an innocent Coca-Cola.

"This should hopefully deter any potential negativity." Simon noted calmly, placing the can back into her hand. "Now then, let's go, shall we? I'd like to be fashionably late, if possible. Waving a hand over his own body, Simon's outfit changed to something more fashionable, consisting of a double-breasted sport coat and waistcoat complete with a scarf tucked neatly into the collar.

Picking up his cane once again, Simon dusted off his new outfit before beginning the trek to the Hephaestus cabin, being sure to call after Syleste to grab her attention as he did so.

~Camp, Cabin Hades~

Having long since taken a shower, gotten changed, and generally made himself acceptable by society's standards, Jericho walked out of Artemis's cabin feeling like a new man! With the heavy beat of Arianna's first track of the day filling the camp with life, he was suddenly grateful for the party. It afforded his return no small amount of anonymity, except for that little mishap at the lake. He stretched luxuriously in the warm afternoon sun and noted the position of the sun. If he had any hope to get Erin to attend, he'd better start needling her now until she was too fed up to say no. As he patted around in his pockets, he realized he'd forgotten the gift he'd procured for her on his most recent monster hunt. Jericho had long since realized that his continued disappearing act infuriated Erin and these small gifts were his versions of an apology.

He bounded up the steps, waved his hand in front of the door (because who needed a key with a locksmith like Ky?), and scooped the brown paper wrapped rectangle from his nightstand, secured with twine. This was only one of two gifts for Erin, however. The second was tied to the brown paper of the rectangle, the blank backside of the paper facing up as to be a surprise. After a momentary consideration, he scooped up a third gift similarly wrapped, but very different in contour. It looked strange to say the least, thick at one end as if it would fit into one's grip comfortably, and extending a hand a quarter's length after what was obviously a hilt. This one was for Grif. It had been awhile since he'd talked to the guy and he felt that it was an appropriate gift. He tucked each of the gifts into his two inside jacket pockets, right and left respectively. Grif's present bounced conspicuously against his breast, but Jericho didn't really care.

When he made it to the Hades' cabin, he had an odd feeling as nostalgia took over him. He remembered watching from the shade of the trees as Erin was led to her new home, so much different than the girl he knew today. Shaking off his bemusement, Jericho put on his best charming smile and rapped three times, counted a half second then knocked twice. It was his usual signal to Erin that it was none other than yours truly at the door. Just in case she was particularly testy that day.

---

---

His arms were held up to shoulder height and fully extended, much to the amazement of campers watching Logan's progress through the growing mob of campers. They parted way as he politely smiled, nodded, and excused himself and the kegs, one held in each hand as if he were carrying two kittens by the scruff of the neck. After making his way from the cellar to the ice tubs for the kegs, he finally deposited his load gently to its container. Logan ducked his head from under the amazed stares of the Greeks. He didn't like all the attention the simple favor of carrying the four kegs to the party's central location and he had a sneaking suspicion Arianna had coordinated that way for this very reason. The fifth and final keg he carried with both hands, for comfort, into Ky'vie's cabin and kitchen. He hadn't seen much of her, except from bustling in and out of the house to the grill and chatting with various campers that wanted to talk to her. Every time he managed to catch her eye, however, he immediately felt a red blush rise on his neck, threatening to smother his face until he shifted his thoughts.

There were so many people here, Logan couldn't have imagined so many campers. It seemed every demigod, satyr, naiad, and woodland spirit had come to enjoy the merrymaking! Roman never had such devil-may-care gatherings, so the son of Jupiter was very much out of his element. What he did know, was how to drink with the best of them. Quickly tapping the keg, grabbing a red Solo cup, and pumping out a healthy serving, he downed half the beer instantly, just to settle his nerves. The cup was soon empty, and again after that, and Logan found himself on his third cup before he made his way out of the cabin door. He looked around until a familiar leather jacket caught his eye at the far right end of the porch.

Walking up to the Englishman, he gripped the handrail with his left hand, even as he took another healthy gulp of the brew. "Hey Grif, you came to the party! What's up?..." Logan paused for a moment, reading the air as you walked beside the man. "You've got a look about you.. like my legionnaires did whenever we were about to do battle. Something on your mind?" Logan asked in concern and respect. The energetic aura Grif had displayed so much before had seemed sobered by something that Logan couldn't put a finger on, not knowing the guy well enough. But a man that looked like he was readying for war was familiar indeed. The red head wondered if there was something he could do to help the roguish son of Hermes. He looked down at Griffin's cup, seeing that it was still nearly full. Logan guessed that was a bad sign for a Grecian.

When you attempt to save a daughter of Poseidon from drowning, it just throws your whole day off. Calista was sopping wet underneath her newly dampened blouse and jeans, so she decided it was time to go find a spare pair of clothes. She was pretty sure when she first came to the camp she was introduced by one lovely girl by the name of Erin, daughter of Hades. Calista found her mesmerizing, she lit up the room like a beautiful rose, but instead of having thorns that rose could potentially raise the dead. Calista valued that quality in her friends. She found herself walking up, hugging her shoulders attempting to keep the warmth of her body inside of her body. She found herself pacing up and through the camp at a rather brisk pace, she didn’t want her first impression at the party to be an awkward one and done right, Calista could make a damn good first impression. Such was life as a daughter of Aphrodite.

Calista took a moment to think about who she was about to walk in on once she reached the appropriate cabin. Calista prided herself on her heritage, there weren’t too many negative connotations tied to Aphrodite, though infidelity was definitely one. Made it somewhat difficult to control that impression. People tended to get it quite often. Calista figured that the same probably happened to Erin. Daughter of the lord of the dead probably came with its own bag of impressions and insults from onlookers. Even in the demigod community, stigmas were inevitable and unavoidable. Calista finally came upon the cabins, they were all ordered in the Omega symbol in the Grecian alphabet it was a warm aesthetic. So many different cabins housing so many different people who all managed to coexist and help one another out. She looked over at the horizon that was peeking out in between the trees that surrounded the camp. She wondered if she would be leaving camp soon, she definitely felt a certain lust for adventure start to well up inside of her, it was something she craved for a while now.

Calista happened upon the Hades cabin, one of the big three. Noting that her fast friend from the lake was at the door already, she couldn’t really see what he was doing, but from it definitely looked like he was opening the door. She walked up to him, offered a warm smile and walked into the house, it was certainly a refreshing design – there wasn’t too much black. She found Erin sitting on a couch petting a small cat, which was adorable.

“Hey, it’s Erin right? I was just wondering if I could grab a hoodie or something. I tried to save a girl from drowning, but it turns out she just so happened to be the one daughter of Poseidon in this camp.” Calista said approaching the senior demigod at the camp. Her words were sure, though she did feel a little awkward about walking into the house. She looked behind her and noticed that the boy from the lake was standing in the doorway, door ajar and so was his jaw. He seemed shocked that Calista had just walked in.

“I’m sorry is this a bad time?” Calista said turning back to Erin.

It’s not everyday daughters of Aphrodite were the least popular person in any given interaction; that being said saying someone like Calista wasn’t always prepared for this kind of situation would be like insinuating children of Ares don’t sleep with their spears. Calista pursed her lips and let her hands that usually worked to accentuate her words fall to her side.

“It seems I’ve made not one, but two mistakes today. I understand now that this isn’t where I should be getting camp sweaters – I apologize.” Calista said calmly analyzing Erin. “I don’t suppose I could sacrifice this one to make it up to you?” Calista asked motioning backwards unto their mutual friend of whom she still didn’t know his name.

Calista let out a soft chuckle and took one step forward. “With all due respect though, I don’t appreciate being judged based upon my parent. I didn’t come in here wanting to braid each other’s hair and I certainly don’t want to test your patience: I made a mistake, for that I apologize.” Calista said, stopping taking a deep breath and continuing. “I get it, you’re one of the big three’s daughter, you help out around the camp, and opportunity must thrust itself at you. But all I ask is that you judge me based on my actions not my mother’s and I’ll do the same for you.” Calista could feel the tension in the air, it was palpable. But at the same time, she realized she was smiling a devilish grin – and so was she.

“I’ve got to say though, you really pull off the whole mysterious, sexy badass thing.” Calista said motioning to the girl in front of her. “I’m sure guys like him dig it.” Calista said turning Erin’s attention to Jericho, once more throwing him under the bus. She definitely hadn’t made any fast friends, if anything she felt as if she was about to be attacked but for whatever reason she was getting the same feeling she usually got off of a friend from Erin right now. It was possible she respected her for not giving up ground, but at the same time she could just be sizing her up even more. “But even you must’ve experienced even a little crush at some point right?” Calista said, trying to relate to the girl.

A sigh escaped her lips. Archer was gone before she could tell him that bandaging his ribs was probably not a good idea. It would most likely turn out okay in the end though. If he wasn't coughing, then there wasn't any fluid in his lungs. Besides he was going to "the party" which was most likely thrown by Ky'vie. Kiran could keep an eye on him there.

Speaking of parties, Arianna was definitely going to be there. It's probably best if the half Indian female took the medication with her. She checked with her sibling to make sure she had a hold of everything before heading out to the party with the bottle of pills.

As soon as Kiran exited the building, she spotted a huge mass of campers crowding around the Hephaestus cabin. The music was blaring loud enough to blanket the whole camp in it's sound. As spontaneous and wild as the party girl could be, Kiran didn't deny that her taste in music was great for setting the mood.

As the bright girl drew closer to the DJ, she could feel the bass under her feet. The vibrations crawled up her legs until it resonated in her chest. Kiran couldn't help but smile. She finally reached the music girl of the night. The sound was nearly deafening, but Kiran got as close to Arianna's ear as she could.

"I brought your medicine," She practically screamed. In case she didn't hear, the medicine girl pulled out the bottle and pushed it into Arianna's hand.

Just as Carmen was leaving, a voice called out to her. She jumped, startled. The voice sounded annoyed. Did she already piss someone off?

The lost girl slowly turned around to reveal a taller male who looked as if he could knock a few of her teeth out. Now that she thought of it, many campers looked as if they were involved in a year long sport of some kind. Was there mandatory exercise? Carmen prayed there wasn't.

"Um, sorry. I wasn't really thinking about that," She returned to her suitcases, standing on the other side from where the intimidating camper stood. That way, if anything went wrong, there was a barrier.

"Uh, I'm new here, so I if you could help me I would be very grateful. Also, this may sound like a stupid question, but who are "The Hermes kids"?" Carmen gave a sheepish smile to the stranger.

Inside she was screaming. Why did she ask such a stupid question like that? She definitely should have looked up more about Greek mythology. But it's not as if she had the time to. Soon after explaining Carmen's heritage, her relatives had shipped her off to find this "Camp Half Blood".

Originally her father was going to tell Carmen, but things didn't go according to plan. Simply the thought of her father's fate pulled at the girl's heart strings. Carmen's aunt and grandmother only knew who her mother was, and that this camp existed to help demigods like her survive. Now she was standing like a fool in front of someone she didn't know, asking questions that were surely commonly known amongst the campers. Carmen wondered how she was going to survive in this place.

He stared blankly at her, not openly showing how dumbfounded he was at that very moment. Here she was, fresh to camp, a bonafide demigod, and she didn't even know who Hermes was? Huh. "Hermes. Messenger of the gods. Patron of thieves. Trickster. Kind of a prick. Guides people to the underworld. His children share his sticky hands and penchant for thievery." He rolled off in a way that one would read the Sunday paper. Uninspired, flat; he'd seem bored and neutral if it weren't for the furrowed brow and tightly crossed arms.

"I'll help you though," he added, softening his words slightly, his shoulders relaxing and sinking slightly. He looked from her down to the baggage and back to her, suddenly wondering how it is that she managed to get her bags this far. Maybe she didn't need help carrying things, but she didn't exactly look like most of the campers around them. She seemed softer. Weaker in a way. She hadn't been molded by years of being around other demigods which Tobias would've considered more of a blessing than a curse.

"Who's kid are you?" He asked, lowering his arms and dropping down for a moment to lift up one of her suitcases. He gripped the handle and held flung his arm over his shoulder letting the suitcase rest on his back. It'd be easier than trying to drag it along the ground. Though it was heavy. Exceedingly so. He showed up to Half-Blood with a half-empty dufflebag and the clothes on his back. He always had a spartan mindset about traveling. If you were to look around his cabin now, you'd doubt he could have ever been described as Spartan. "I'm gonna take a guess that you're one of the Demeter, Hectate or Iris kids. You're giving off the flowerchild vibe."

Oh these parties, how Griffin had missed them. The loud music, the noises, the drinks, the socialization. It was so...familiar. And yet, he couldn't get excited like he used to - there was a cloud hovering over his head. A cloud that seemed to dour his mood and wane his appetite. Sure, he could smile and laugh and banter as usual. But it lacked substance, lacked depth. It was a lie.

Taking a small sip from his hardly-touched drink, Griffin remained somewhat separated, choosing to watch the group of campers as opposed to actually participating. Were this a different day under different circumstances - that would be different.

Out of the corner of his eye, Griffin noted the newcomer son of Jupiter approaching him. Pretending not to notice, Griffin waited for Logan to start making conversation before acknowledging him.

"Eh, you know me: checking out some of the fine betties around." Griffin replied initially, motioning with the hand that held his cup in the direction of a few rather scantly-clad Aphrodite girls.

As Logan continued to implore, however, Griffin became slightly more sober. It was subtle, a shift in his expression, a tensing of posture. Nothing overt or obvious - but there nonetheless.

"No, no, got nothing on my mind. Just, eh...lost a bloody bird. I've got a short window to go find it, 'less some gorilla with a weird beard decides to flay me." At this, Griffin's eyes panned up to the heavens for a brief moment, as if daring something...or someone.

"Bah, no matter. C'est la vie. That's what my uncle said, at least. Usually after doing something fecking stupid, of course." Griffin raised his cup lazily before taking another small drink from it, his other hand finding its way to his jacket pocket.

"I expect you're not used to it here, eh, Roman? I suppose I can't blame you, if I spent my whole life with a stick up my arse, pulling it out would be alien." Though the words he issued were harsh, Griffin's tone and expression were nothing more than cheeky. "Still, everyone gets used to it here. Doesn't take long when you realize this lot is the only group of people that'll truly understand ya. Makes anything else dwindle by comparison."

Stopping to take one more drink, Griffin cleared his throat, letting out a soft sigh. "Now, don't go bothering yourself with me. Go mingle or something, get acquainted. Might even land yourself a girl if you flex enough times." Snickering, Griffin motioned for Logan to get moving, keeping that hollow grin of faux-joviality up just as long as he had to.