Logan quirked his eyebrows up as Griffin passed off his contemplation as mere babe watching. While the Aphrodite girls were fun to look at, he hadn't considered such things for a long time. Today had been quite unexpected, from his arrival to the events of a couple hours ago. His head was still reeling from the shock of it all, but his gut told him that something was seriously off with the roguish son of Hermes. His face had the pale look of someone given terrible news and his usual jovial witticisms rang slightly hollow.

"There's only been one daughter of the goddess of love that could capture my heart," Logan said honestly, drinking his beer to wash away the lump and to continue the conversation. "And frankly, I don't know you, Grif. Not a lick except for a brief meeting on the hill yonder." Logan gestured in the general direction of Half-blood hill offhandedly. An amused grin graced his face, but it quickly faded as the purposeful vague description was offered. He didn't speak until Griffin was finished with what he had to say, but gave another honest smile when he realized that the man was merely making a joke. It all seemed a diversion though. Watch these words, when the real meaning was in the slight hunch of the shoulders, the tightness of the brow. "A lost bird? Flaying? Weird beard? What are you going on about?" Logan's brow was furrowed in confusion, trying to make sense of the mysterious air Grif was putting on. The leather-clad demigod's look at the sky made Logan certain as to who was to blame for the problem at hand.

"It's not a bother, Grif, honestly. You're one of the few people I know, being my first day. If you need help, ask! It can't be a coincidence that I came the same day you've seemed to land in a tough spot. The gods, Roman or Greek, always have a funny way with fate. I've come to accept it and something tells me you're going to need help." Logan grasped Grif's shoulder sincerely, trying to convey his support in whatever endeavor his new friend needed to take. He let go, standing up straight to take in the scene a bit better. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the mane of red that was Ky'vie, bustling about in her effort to be the perfect hostess. His gaze lingered for a few too many seconds, before he spoke his thoughts on Griffin's jest about flexing. "Ah, the ones that care about the muscles aren't worth the trouble, you should know that. Besides, I wouldn't want to be known as a showboat or a player by all these strangers, ya know what I mean?" He sloshed the liquid in his cup, noting that it was already only half full.

Resting a hand on his abdomen as he made his way down to the Ares Cabin, Archer cringed slightly as he walked over rocks and small hills. Maybe Gideon hadn't bruised his ribs... maybe he had broken them. That would definitely be bad, especially for Archer's training. He needed to be able to train for the days to come. He knew a capture the flag game was coming up soon and he wanted to be able to play and win, especially since the Ares kids and Athena kids were always on the same team, and he wanted to show up Gideon this time.

Walking to the stone steps, he walked up to the door of the large cabin and paused in front of it. Curling his middle finger and thumb in toward each other, he placed it toward the outside of his mouth. Bending his tongue back behind his teeth, he whistled, the sound reverberating through the house. He and Gideon used this whistle all the time on the battle field, and many people have begun to figure out who it is. It is still an effective tool to figure out where the other is, however.

Gideon turned away from Aella with a smile and just before he responded, he heard the whistle echo. He shook his head and laughed out loud. Archer's voice called from outside, "Get your ass out here, you jerk!" Gideon shook his head again. Archer's insult game was weak. He and Gideon would have to work on that in the future, especially if he wanted to be taken seriously.

Turning back to Aella, he said, "You might as well come and meet him. That's Archer Andrews, my best friend." He waved at her to follow before taking off outside, not checking to see if she would come. He pushed open the door, nearly hitting Archer in the face, before saying, "Where the hell have you been?!"

"The infirmary, you moron," Archer said, cringing as he had to jump back out of the way. "I'm pretty sure you broke my...who's that?" Completely forgetting what he was saying when he saw Aella, Archer raised an eyebrow. "You got a new sibling, mate?" He smiled at Gideon, shoving him to the side as he walked up to Aella. Being a polite gentlemen, he bowed to the pretty lady before holding out his hand and saying, "Hello! My name is Archer Andrews, but most people call me Archer or AA. And you are...?"

Maybe living in this camp wasn’t going to be as bad as she thought; Gideon was certainly proving everything she thought she knew about the Greeks to be wrong, or at least misled… maybe it wasn’t the end of the world like most of the other Romans she knew would believe it to be. Quirking her brow in curiosity as the sound of another man’s voice filled the air around them in the cabin, she turned her head around so that she was looking over the door of her room for a few moments before she let them come to a rest on her brother’s figure, listening silently to his explanation and invitation to meet the person whom the voice belonged to before finally, he left the room and in turn, left her standing alone once more. This was something that she needed to get used to; once more being the new girl in the camp. It happened only once before… and that was a long time ago.

Waiting a few moments more before she turned around so that she was looking at herself in the mirror, she tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing and her lips turning down in a small frown as she examined what it was that she was wearing- the short blue denim shorts were perfectly fine, the boots… she could live with them, she’d change them later on; but the top, she wasn’t sure of, at least not at this point in time anyway. Crossing her arms over her body once more she pulled the top she hadn’t just long put on back off before she threw it over to lay on the bed, her body hunching back over her bag as she fumbled around for a bit, her hands lifting a few other things up in front of her so that she could look them over before making a choice; the girl quickly changing into an outfit she felt was more comfortable before she turned and followed the path that Gideon had taken only moments beforehand.

Slowing down her step as she drew closer to where she could hear their voices more prominently, she came to a stop by the door, her dark eyes flicking back and forth between the two boys before she finally settled on the figure of the one that she didn’t know, a small though rather amused smile playing over her lips as she watched him finally take notice of her before he bowed and introduced himself before Gideon ever had the chance; not bothering to give her brother so much as even a glance, she lifted her hand up from where it had it resting by her side so that she could take a hold of his, shaking it lightly as she continued to hold his gaze, “Aella Stedford; daughter of Mars… It’s a pleasure to meet you, Archer. I can tell you that I am most definitely looking forward to getting to know you better.”

Eyes wide, Archer could only stare. He wasn't even looking at her face. He was mainly staring toward her midriff and exposed skin on her stomach and chest. "Damn, how the hell are you not on fire from your hotness," he muttered under his breath, letting out a long, low whistle. Gideon raised his eyebrows at him and shoved his dumb ass of a best friend.

"Dude, that's my sister," he said. "Control yourself at least a little bit." Archer cleared his throat, the shove knocking him out of the trance that Aella had on him. He smiled sheepishly at Gideon and rubbed the back of his neck with a self-conscious air. This time when he looked toward her, he stared off over her left shoulder, looking into the house, because he knew that if he looked at her, his gaze might wander. He didn't want anymore broken ribs than he already had. Gideon snorted and looked at Aella. "You really want to make a first impression, don't you?" he said with a light laugh. He turned his head toward the oncoming music and saw that the barbecue had already started.

He then remembered what Ky'vie said to him about the broken weapons. Smacking his forehead, he groaned. "Ugh, I completely forgot." He turned his eyes to the two standing near him. Archer wasn't even looking in Aella's direction anymore. He was staring at the ground. Rolling his eyes at the doof, he looked at Aella and said, "Will you two mind helping me carry some broken weapons down to the barbecue? Ky said that she would fix some up for me and I completely forgot she told me to bring them to the barbecue until now."

"Sure," Archer muttered. He walked up to Aella, meeting her eyes briefly, before sliding passed her into the cabin. He gritted his teeth and shook his head. What was it with demi-god girls? He always had to be friends with the hot ones, didn't he... Shaking his head, he continued to the back room, heading toward Gideon's room.

Gideon watched him go before looking at Aella. "Sorry 'bout this. It would be a big help though. I kind of broke... a lot... of weapons." He laughed with embarrassment.

“Well now; aren’t we straightforward… I like that in a man. Especially one who’s as good looking as you are, sweetheart.” Lifting her hand up to partly cover her mouth as a gentle chuckle fell through her soft pink lips to fill the area around them, she let her dark eyes slowly glide down his figure before once more working their way back up; the young daughter of Mars ignoring her brother as he chastised and warned his best friend against the path that he was clearly thinking about walking. He was a cute one; that was for sure. Flustered at the very sight of her, though unlike a few others she had met in the past, he had still been able to string together a legible sentence… it was impressive to say the least.

Taking a single step to the side to make room for him as he moved past both Gideon and herself, she fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments, listening to her brother explaining just why it was that he needed their help before finally, she nodded her head in understanding; her mind however, clearly stuck on other matters that needed her thought and attention. She should probably tell them… or at least, she should probably tell her new brother. It wasn’t as though it was this big deal or anything like that; but it was something that affected her, and in turn would explain a few things about her that she was sure they were going to see sooner or later.

“If we’re going to a party; I need to change my shoes. These boots only work if I plan on wearing jeans and my Stetson. Once I’ve done that, I’ll be more than happy to help carry them… though Gideon, there is something about me you should know first.” Frowning slightly as she slowly began to follow the path that Archer had taken, she slipped both her hands down and into the back pockets of her denim shorts as she thought of the best way to say it- be blunt, or break it gently? Argh, why were Grecian’s so hard to talk to at times..? Shoving the stray thought out of her mind, she sighed softly, her head shaking lightly from side to side as she continued to make her way down the hall.

“I’m a legacy- I’m not too sure if it’s a common thing here for you Greeks, so it might not surprise you; however, people who find out after a while about mine say it explains a lot about me. I’m a legacy of the Lady Venus.”

Walking with Aella back toward the room, he listened to her with a small smile on his face at her reaction to Archer. He hadn't been expecting that out of her, that was for sure. Though she did seem like that type of girl at times... He nodded when she said she needed to change her shoes, curious to why she couldn't just wear the shoes that she was wearing. Girls were so strange at times, always thinking vainly.

And then she said that.

A loud clatter went through out the house and Gideon turned to see Archer, who was standing near the door when she said it, dropped all of the weapons and weapon pieces he had in his hands. Gideon raised an eyebrow and he knew immediately, from Archer's paled complexion and worried look on his face that they were thinking about the exact same thing. Both only knew too well that Colt was a child of Venus. At first meeting, neither of the boys could tell that she would be a legacy of Venus, but now that she told them, they began comparing her to Colt.

"Huh," Gideon said curiously, eyeing his new sister up and down. Archer was now crouching down to pick up the pieces of weaponry and Gideon immediately walked over to help him. He murmured as quietly as he could, "Did you expect that?"

"Not even close," Archer muttered back, not looking at the War God's son. The weapons kept slipping out of his hands however and he threw his hands up in frustration. "Damn, why'd you have to go and break half the weaponry in the camp?!" Glancing around Gideon's room, Archer spotted his bed sheets and stood up. He walked over to them and, with a quick flick of his wrist, pulled them off the bed. He held them up to his face and said, "You didn't like these very much did you?"

Gideon jumped to his feet and grabbed the sheets from him. "We are not using my sheets to carry dirty, broken weapons down to Ky." Gideon rolled his eyes as he threw the sheets back into a clump on the bed. "Just grab a handful. Stuff some down your pants if you have to. You do that with-- hey!" Gideon rubbed his arm remorsefully as Archer punched him as hard as he could before Gideon could continue. Rolling his eyes, Gideon picked up some of the weapons. "You mind grabbing something?"

It was clear as day what was going on… and this was why, nine times out of ten, she avoided voicing her legacy out loud to others around her; it only ever caused them to look at her in quite a negative light. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t seen it coming; but now that she was standing in front of his bedroom door witnessing their reactions firsthand… well it didn’t exactly give her much confidence when it came to not being judged by the Grecian’s. She hadn’t even been there a few hours and already her brother, and the only other person she saw potential in becoming friends with were too focused on her legacy rather than on her as an actual person… yeah, she was a flirt; but it wasn’t all there was to her. Nolan had been able to see that- why couldn’t anyone else..?

Closing her eyes for a few moments of silence as she pursed her lips together in slight frustration at her own stupidity for trusting the Greeks- it was the number one rule in Camp Jupiter, and she had just gone out of her way to throw it out the window with thoughts that maybe… just maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about people thinking ill of her because of something she couldn’t help, “..got it… can’t believe that I was so stupid- never trust a Grecian. By the Gods, dad would be furious with me.”

It wasn’t as though she was lying- Mars would be furious with her for showing a moment of weakness, even towards someone who was classed as family. Her superiors back at camp would lecture her on her mistake; the rest of her cohort would worry about her actions, maybe even go as far as to state that she was going soft in her resolve. Shaking her head lightly from side to side, she turned on her heel so that her back was facing them both before she crossed over the hallway and into her bedroom; the sound of fumbling, thumps and metal scraping filling the room and floating out into the hallway as she searched for the heels she was looking for.

“You know… I was under the impression that I wouldn’t have to prove myself to you damn Greeks; but it seems as though I have no other choice.” Pausing every couple of steps so that she could slip her heels onto her feet as she made her way back into the hall, she narrowed her dark eyes in their direction, her chin motioning over to the weapons scattered about the floor though slight annoyance still poisoned her voice as she spoke, “I’ll help you carry the weapons to this thing; after that, I’m gone. My legacy is obviously going to be an issue here; I won’t bother you while I'm here, and you won’t bother me. Sound good boys?”

Both boys stared at Aella overreaction and both looked at each other. Both, just the same, immediately began talking at the exact same time.

"Your legacy isn't going to bother us! It was just surprising..." Archer's voice rang out in the cabin, trying to prove that he didn't care about her legacy.

"It was just a little surprising and the only person we know from Venus is that douche bag Colt," Gideon said, his louder voice cutting over the top of Archer's. He managed to silence Archer with a single glare and Archer began picking up the weapons once again. "Your legacy won't be an issue as long as you don't turn out like Colt. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm all out happy to find out my new sister is a legacy to Venus, but I can live with it. Don't drive me out just because you judge us before you get to know us." Gideon's voice was slightly harder than it had been before as he lifted up an arm full of weapons and dumped them in the arms of Aella.

"Gideon..." Archer cautioned, as he noticed that Gideon paused for a minute to stare at his new sister.

"Another thing..." Gideon said, completely ignoring his friend. "You show weakness now, by believing that all Grecian's are weak, liars, ignorant... Your weakness is in your mind, not your strength, and you need to fortify both if you want to get through this camp." Gideon turned away from her. "You don't want to talk to me? Fine. But I will keep talking to you until you trust us."

To say that she was slightly taken back by the response of both the boys would have been an understatement. Her brother’s voice louder and drowning out Archer’s before he had the chance to finish his sentence; though his words more than made up for the fact that he was chastising her for her sudden jump to conclusions. Colt was here..? It had been around a year since she had last seen him face to face- the last she knew he had left Jupiter in search of his friend; how it escaped her attention that his friend was a demigod at Camp Half-Blood was beyond her.

Bending her knees slightly at the sudden added weight of the weapons upon her body, she slipped one of her arms out from where she had it supporting the rather large pile, her hand coming up so that her palm was facing Gideon in an attempt to cut his little rant short as she turned her dark eyes down to Archer; a questioning glint flashing across her eyes as she took a couple of steps towards him, “Wait- you know Colt..? He’s really here..?”

Gideon, slightly offended at the cut off, was about to retort when Archer cut him off again quickly, "Yeah, he is. He's kind of a douche bag... How do you know him?" Archer looked at her curiously before realizing the stupidity of his own question. "Right... Camp Jupiter." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Tell you what. You help us get the weapons up there; I'll take you to Colt. He's probably flirting with Arianna at the moment anyways..." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Deal?"

“Yeah; he can be a bit of a prick, I’ll give ya that one…” She couldn’t help the bright smile that crossed over her features at the thought that she was able to catch up with her friend- so maybe the move from one camp to the other wasn’t a total loss; she was still able to see Logan, and now she was able to hang around with Colt. Oh how the Gods seemed to work in strange and sometimes annoying ways…

Shaking her head quickly from side to side as Archer began to try and reel her into a deal that was certainly far undervalued on one side, she closed the gap between the both of them, her hand coming up to press softly against the center of his chest as her eyes searched his for a few moments; practically demanding his attention, “No… if you take me to him; I will not only help you carry these weapons to where you need them to go, but I will also do my best to not judge anyone you introduce me to and I give you my word that I’ll do everything in my power to be a good girl, and good sister.”

Straightening her back up as she took a couple of steps back, she turned her head so that her attention turned up and her eyes met with that of Gideon’s, an apologetic expression crossing over her features as her smile softened slightly, “I really am sorry; it’s going to take me a while to adjust… to all of this... but let me make it up to you. Partying is my thing; so let’s all go and have fun- I’ll buy the beers..?”

Lang forced himself up a towering hill he didn’t really know what to expect when he arrived at the top. Pumping music and a big crowd was not one of them. It was like some kind of mixture of edm and pop music. He found himself letting out a hearty chuckle, starting down the hill. He wasn’t really sure of what to expect from Camp Half-Blood, the only other demigod he had ever met was his mother and the only ability she ever showcased was shapeshifting. It left who he would meet and what kind of abilities they would possess largely up to his imagination. He imagined that he would mostly be meeting warriors, bred for victory. But he was just happy he had remembered to pack his violin. He imagined that he wouldn’t fit in too well, but that was what he had Zuko for. The Fennec Fox was currently crawling around the back of his jacket, sometimes poking out in and around his shoulder and falling into his sleeve. The little moron loved climbing around Lang’s jacket whenever he could.

The man walked towards the camp that seemed more like a club than anything else. He made his way inside the entranceway and couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, but it was in a good way. It wasn’t like someone was following him, but it was more like someone was looking after him, almost an assurance of that fact. It was nice, sort of like how Lang felt like in direct sunlight. He couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable as the sun was beginning to set. It was like saying goodbye to the majority of his power and welcoming his Aunt into the sky. Uncomfortable was definitely the right word. He walked through the camp, glancing down to his crudely drawn instructions. He managed to find the cabins one marked with a sun. “Well alright then.” Lang said snatching Zuko out of his jacket and placing him on his shoulder. The fox chirped and nuzzled itself against Lang’s stubbly cheek. Lang opened the door without knocking, but found it empty.

“Ah, cheers.” Lang said looking around the empty cabin. It featured a grand piano and some nice decorations. There was a room that stated: ‘New guy.’ On the door.

“Oh, well fair enough then.” Lang said walking into the door. He put his bag down and Zuko climbed off of him and onto the bed. Lang set his bag down and decided that he’d make his way to the party he witness earlier. He put his arm towards his bed and Zuko climbed into his sleeve scurrying his way up to his shoulder.

Lang left the cabin and made his way to the party. He quickly spotted a table with varying degrees of alcohol on it and Lang quickly descended upon it. He picked himself up a whiskey glass and sat it down beside the gin. Pouring one third of it and setting it back down. He then scanned the table briefly for a moment snatching up a bottle of ginger-ale. He poured it into his glass, swishing it around before taking a sip. He made a satisfied grin and slowly looked around the party, it seemed as if there were definitely some characters around here. But he spotted a piano and immediately sauntered over towards it. Taking a swig of his drink he placed the glass on the body of the piano and closed his eyes. Focusing in on the beat, melody and the tempo of the music and let his hands free. He synched up almost immediately, playing along with the song humming along with it, his voice like a rich scotch. Zuko perched himself atop his shoulder coiling his tail around his arm. His voice providing a deep tenor to the soprano of the singing in the song.

Jericho's eyebrows shot up as Calista's hand had turned the knob and then proceeded to march through the threshold into Erin's cabin. Obviously the daughter of Hades' reputation for being a raging biotch hadn't preceded her for this camper. In fact, before the incident at the lake, he'd never met Calista. It seemed her track record so far was quite abysmal. Stepping in himself, he moved past Calista and strode into the room confidently. If this was the precursor to his own conversation with Erin, he took heart in the sheer amount of awesome his second gift was. If that wouldn't mollify the she-devil within, he wasn't sure what could. Especially since after he tirade, it seemed she was in rare form indeed.

He had crossed over to Erin, taking Salem with caring hands, letting the feline rest along his strong forearm even as he stroked him from head to down his spine. He knew that Salem loved this and was glad when he responded in kind, a throaty purr vibrating through his arm that served as the cat's bed at the moment. "So how've you been old friend? I trust that you've taken good care of your human?" Jericho mentally asked the cat. Salem had been the first animal he'd realized he could speak with telepathically, a gift from his patron, Artemis. He had casually strolled back to the couch, about to sit, when Calista made a remark about sacrificing him, even casually referring to him as 'this one' when she damn well knew his name. He bristled immediately, but calmed quickly when he felt Salem grow discontent.

"This one," Jericho said pointedly, reminding her of the casual flippancy Calista had afforded him, "does not dig that one. Although I certainly have plans for that one." This was directed at Erin, with a sly sideways look and a shit-eating grin. Erin never knew what it was that he'd always hinted at, but something told the hunter that this was the year his subtle suggestions and prodding would finally produce some results. Hence, his desire for her to attend the party. At the mention of a crush, Jericho's ears perked, but not out of self-interest. He'd always felt that matters of the heart were something that Erin avoided like the plague. Jericho had long since pieced together this aversion and the curious circumstances of her arrival at camp. He'd never bothered to ask Grif or Colt about it, knowing the two would never betray Erin's trust. The silver haired young man figured his friend would come clean about it all when she was good and ready. "This one is walking right into the snake pit, wouldn't you agree?" Jericho put to Salem silently.

What in the name of Zeus was wrong with people… they were either stupid, or had some sort of death wish; but either way it didn’t seem like they were going to be leaving her alone on their own accord anytime soon. Maybe it was both; and more. Erin couldn’t help the disgusted sneer that flickered across her features as she watched Jericho proudly and arrogantly stalked his way into her cabin, her arms tightening slightly around the feline she held within them before finally she gave up, letting him take Salem into his own arms so that the two of them could do whatever it was that they did- she could deal with kicking his ass out of the cabin later; first she had to deal with cupids younger and rather bold sister… She had moxy; barging into deaths den and demanding the attention she thought she deserved… and her words- she could only hope the girl had enough guts to follow through with them.

”After everything that you’ve heard; do you really think I need to look after her..?” Closing his bright eyes as he shook his fur out of any dust and grime that may have collected in his coat during his time indoors, Salem lightly pawed at Jericho’s arm a couple of times before once more settling back down against his chest, ”She’s in one of her infamous ‘screw you’ moods tonight- I heard her getting into it with someone earlier. I didn’t recognize the voice, so I’d say you have a new camper. She calls him thunder-thighs and cousin. All I can say- good luck.”

“A sacrifice..? Big words for such a little girl; if I agree, you better be willing to go through with it… however, I wouldn’t bother if I were you- I’ve already tried. You see; Jericho is like a cockroach… no matter how hard you hit him, or try and be rid of him from your life; he always finds a way back.” Tearing her dark gaze away from the red head so that she was instead looking at where Jericho stood affectionately petting her cat, Erin's expression seemed to soften just the tiniest amount, a small though almost caring smile playing over her lips for a few moments as she continued to watch on, wondering just what it was that he and Salem were speaking of- the fact that he could communicate with her beloved pet was something that both intrigued her and frightened her all at once; not that she would ever let on to that piece of knowledge… but all the things she had told him, all the things that cat had heard and seen…

Though the moment of happiness and calm, no matter how small a moment it had been was quick to pass; the smile she had held quickly disappearing as Erin’s normal frown once more returned to her features, her brows furrowing together as the red heads next lot of words hit her ears. She didn’t want her to judge her based on her parentage… yet that was exactly what she herself was doing. Responsibility around camp, opportunity comes knocking- did she think that she was popular among all the other campers too..? So this was what everyone thought about children of the big three, “If you’re trying not to be judged, I’ll tell you that you’re making it incredibly hard when you say things like that. Making assumptions about me, just because I’m a child of Hades… tsk, tsk, tsk. And I thought the night was going oh so well…”

Unable to help the roll of her eyes as she heard mention to not only the apparent look she was sporting, but also to the plans that Jericho seemed to have lined up for her, Erin shook her head lightly from side to side as she turned her back to the both of them, allowing her feet to carry her across the hall and into her room; the daughter of Hades not even bothering to close the door behind her as she headed over to the wardrobe. What was the point in fighting with Jericho? They would spend the next half an hour of so arguing with one another, until eventually, she gave in to his demands. It happened every single time he wanted her to go out- she had no choice or say; and if it got him to shut up, then that was just a bonus, “I don’t dress for anyone other than myself. Guys are a waste of time, and a waste of space; not to mention complete Neanderthals-…”

At the mention of experiencing a crush at some stage within her life, Erin seemed to freeze completely on the spot as thought after thought began to flood her mind of the love she once believed she had- she had been wrong… she had been so wrong… Swallowing back the lump that seemed to have risen within her throat, she did all that she could to once more get herself to move, her hands coming up to help strip herself of her clothes in a hurried fashion before she jerked open her wardrobe door; her dark eyes scanning the contents before she reached in and ripped a dress from its hanger, pulling it on over her black lace undergarments before she went searching for her heels. Her love life was the last thing she wanted to discuss, especially with a nosy pain from the Aphrodite cabin, “..so what if I have? It has nothing to do with anything discussed here tonight.”

”More like lions den…” Lifting his head up from where it had been resting against Jericho’s chest, Salem once again opened his eyes so that he could keep an eye on what was going on in front of them, ”Red alert my friend… this is not a topic that she likes to talk about…”

Before Calista could continue, she noticed something in Erin’s eyes a flicker of a memory. Calista typically couldn’t read memories unless they were so heavily woven in love that it was the primary emotion in them. She also physically couldn’t control reading them, it was like you saw that glimmer of a memory and suddenly you knew everything, but only in paraphrasing and dot jots. It was difficult to explain, even to demigods. But there it was, Erin’s memory all laid out in front of Calista. Fleeting, beautiful yet ever-present and forever holding on to Erin. She saw a widening gap: her family and friends on one side, Erin barely hanging on to the other. A man was that gap, swallowing Erin up as she lost her grip. She saw a home that didn’t feel like home, and a man waiting there for her who felt like a prison guard. She saw effort, real effort to improve herself, torn down by the very same man. She saw blood, scabs, bruises, damages. She saw the night sky, the feeling of freedom. She saw the feeling turn to anxiety, fear. She saw Erin ask, no, beg to be taken away. She saw the Hades cabin, she saw a home that felt like home.

“Erin I—” Calista began, but she realized she was actually weeping. She wasn’t sniffling or anything like that, but tears were streaming out of her eyes uncontrollably. This is the kind of thing that happened when a child of Aphrodite had a memory open up to them. It completely shut them down, tired them out, sometimes it even physically harmed them. This one was bad, it was in fact downright painful. Calista took a deep breath quickly wiping her tears away attempting to not be seen, but more than likely failing.

“I’m so sorry my mom couldn’t – ” Calista attempted to start again before deciding against it. Instead she felt her knees weaken and begin to buckle and she slumped backwards against the door. The pain that Erin had experienced was unlike anything Calista had ever experienced in another person. It wasn’t unlike when her father passed away, however it was different. When Calista’s father passed away it was a terrible pain that dulled itself, but this was an active pain, still today.

Calista managed to stammer out a few words, but she wasn’t able to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled covering her face with an arm. She was shaking uncontrollably, it was absolutely horrendous. But she had training for this sort of thing. She forced herself to stand upon her shaky legs, wiping her face once more, though it did not stop the tears from streaming out still. “I’m sorry for acting like a bitch. Maybe we can talk sometime, about everything. I’ll talk to my mother.” Her voice was the only thing steady about her. She felt as if she was having a heart attack, or being poisoned. But with all this pain she felt, she just hoped she could conceal it well enough for Erin to not be embarrassed. The girl had suffered enough.

Jericho smirked at the cat's confidence in his master, rightfully earned. "Of course not, but you know I always ask you to on my extended trips. You're one of her greatest comforts, my furry friend." He scratched at the corners of Salem's jaw, where every animal truly loved a little bit of love. "Thunder-thighs and cousin? Sounds like what she'd call a son of Zeus... But I thought that there hadn't been any in years?" Truly confused, Jericho looked at the two girls, impressed as always by Erin's skill in tirades. When she called him a cockroach, he looked up in indignant offense, but a rare smile and an expression of affection softened the insult to know she didn't truly mean it. Sure, he annoyed her, but Jericho knew that she valued his continued friendship and venting her frustrations on him as a punching bag.

It seemed that his plan to get her to the party was going to be easier than expected! Seeing her storm down the hallway, he settled Salem on one of the plush pillows on the couch instead of his laugh and jumped over the back of the couch excitedly. "Boo ya!" he iterated in glee, punching a fist into the air. Then he flushed deeply as Erin stripped to her undergarments rapidly. He turned on his heel, not seeing the slight pause in Erin at Calista's question as she selected a dress for the party. He did however, get prime real estate to the show that the daughter of Aphrodite then put on. At first, he thought something was attacking her, the way she reacted so violently to apparently nothing. Then she started weeping, for that was the only thing such intense sobbing could be called. There seemed to be no end as she called out to his friend in apology.

When she fell, Jericho reached out to support her, but at mention of her mother, the pieces began to fit together like a dead trail that led to fresh tracks. The absolute nerve of this new camper! To pry into the private affairs that Erin barely let a soul into like it was a B-list movie, free to stream on the internet! His concerned gaze turned to outrage and his hands of support was retracted as they balled into shaking fists. This was why Erin was the way she was. Someone had broken her along the way and the rage swelled past Calista, to the image of her bruised and battered form that first day Erin had arrived in camp... At that moment, the usually carefree and teasing Jericho had hardened into something very dark indeed and his slate eyes turned to near black. "You're right Salem, as always.. I'm going to get this, this invader out of Erin's home!"

When he spoke, his voice was very much robotic, a cause of the strain it took to pitch his voice so low that Erin wouldn't notice. "Leave, Calista. Erin isn't the only one you should be worrying about." His hand seemed to stray to a worn sheath, where a simple pocket knife was held in a leather pouch, scarred and made smooth with age and use. Jericho had never felt the urge to kill another demigod, but with murder in his heart caused by the atrocities this mystery man had inflicted on his best friend, he didn't know what he was capable of. His hand closed around her wrist in an iron grip as he twisted the door knob and yanked the door partway open, the signal clear. "You had no right.. to come into her home or whatever it is that you saw. Leave!" This last word came out not as nearly human as he hoped, more of a menacing growl that even set Salem's hair on end. Never had the cat heard such a certainty of threat in the young man's voice, or him being angry, for that matter.

Pity… that’s all she heard in the daughter of Aphrodite’s voice. Something… she wasn’t sure what… but something had caused the red head to be able to slip into and get a grasp of her past life, and of the love she thought she had; the one that went so terribly wrong for her in the end. Love wasn’t a topic she was fond of- nine times out of ten going out of her way to avoid any conversation that went on about it when it came to her private life. There was no one that needed to know the inner workings of her love life; it was a mistake and in the past, and she was being damn careful to never let it happen again. Rolling her eyes at the blubbering apologies coming from the girl who was somewhere behind her, Erin reached out her hand so that it rested atop of the dresser closest to her, her body tilted to the side as she used her free hand to slip her heels one at a time onto her feet before she stood herself up tall once more; her hands dropping down to lightly tug at the hem of her dress as she made her way back over to the door, her gaze flicking lazily from one to the other though her expression said it all… she was done.

“..enough…” She didn’t want to hear anymore. Didn’t want to hear anymore pity… anymore apologies… anymore plans that would magically put the world straight once again... and the last thing she wanted was to sit down and talk about crap that this girl didn’t understand. It was pathetic enough that she was standing there, in her cabin, weeping like a two-year-old who had been scolded by their mother; what did she expect was going to happen? That if she brought up something she had no business knowing about, that the two of them would somehow form an automatic bond and become the best of friends? It wasn’t how the world worked, “You bring the bitch of love into my private life; and I promise that it will be the last thing that you ever do… You think that you know me now; that you can sympathize with the daughter of death, but the reality is, that you just walked into something you have no business being in.”

Not even bothering to wait for an answer from the girl in question, Erin pushed her way in between the both of them, taking a hold of the door only long enough for her to swing it open before she reached back behind her, her fingers wrapping gently though firmly around Jericho’s wrist as she began to tug him out into the fresh air, pausing only for a moment so that she could look back over her shoulder at the girl she left standing alone in the Hades cabin, “Stay out of my business, and out of my way. This conversation you think you want to have with me… it’s never going to happen. Now I need a drink, so we are going to leave. And when I get back, you better not be here; because I won’t show the same person mercy twice in one day.”

Stopping in his tracks, Simon rather elegantly turned on his heel to face Syleste, letting both hands drift to the head of his cane once more as he looked her up-and-down. As though completely ignoring her words and deducing for himself that a more appropriate outfit was needed.

"Well, no time for that, then." Simon began in a calm, if languid tone, sliding the sleeve up on his left wrist to reveal not one, but three separate wristwatches strapped to his arm. "Yes, we've nearly passed our window of time. No matter!" Simon declared, fixing his sleeve and hovering his right hand in front of Syleste, a distinct shimmering, not dissimilar to the one that surrounded the cider can just moments before, seemed to emanate from his palm, enveloping around the sightless girl in a tickling, tingling sensation, seemingly creating clothing out of thin air to replace her current outfit.

When the ordeal was finished, Syleste's outfit had completely changed into something perhaps more appropriate for a party, consisting of a simple white blouse and flower-printed skirt complete with a wide belt under a small, sky-blue denim jacket.

"Ah, there you are, much more proper. Now, then, let us be off?" Simon asked for the third (and hopefully last) time, though he politely showed no signs of impatience or restlessness. He would be there when he got there - and the party certainly wasn't going to end in the next ten minutes...

---

---

Griffin scoffed as Logan went on about the gods and fate. "I was never a fan of fate. No one has the right to tell me where to go or what to do." He replied seriously, his overall mood and tone becoming somber for a time. Griffin outwardly stood for very little, if the subject matter had anything to do with pantheons or politics or philosophy. But fate...fate had made an enemy of Griffin, and he despised it openly with all his being.

Sighing once, Griffin ran his free hand through his mess of hair, as though contemplating something deeply. Finally, he looked Logan straight in the face, his demeanor still as serious as it had been.

"Alright then, I...suppose I need your help - if you're this willing to offer. Hermes, my father, spoke to me today. Said that I had been accused in Olympus, of stealing Aphrodite's Dove, something like that. I didn't do it, but...let's just say due to a rather unscrupulous half-brother of mine bringing Kronos back to life, the Children of Hermes have a bit of a sour reputation in Olympus. Ares wants my hide, both in a literal and metaphorical sense, apparently. Zeus, in his 'great wisdom' believed that I should 'prove my innocence' by returning the thing I didn't steal. Whole lot of geniuses, them. I have a week to go gods-know-where, and find a single dove to return to Olympus, otherwise Zeus schedules Ares a playdate with me. Look, I know you're new, I know you Roman lot see the gods as different; more disciplined, less cruel. But the gods here, in their...Greek forms, or however you describe it. They're different, passionate, more emotional. Simon'll go on a twenty-something-minute rant on how they 'disgraced' his mother, something like that. But I digress. I need to leave - tomorrow, early. If you're wanting to swing your biceps around a bit, I wouldn't mind the extra company." Griffin finished somewhat sheepishly. He was too prideful to directly ask a newcomer to come along, but if his hunch was right...this one had a certain, well...weakness for heroics.

Growing silent, Griffin's sharp eye caught onto the Roman's as he looked in Ky' vie's direction, staring for just a bit longer than someone who had normally spotted a friend. Quirking his brows, Griffin smirked at the corner of his lips, patting Logan once on shoulder. "Good luck." He said cryptically before sauntering off in another direction. Though Logan hadn't answered him yet on whether he would accompany him on his quest, it was a matter of action - not words. Either Logan would be there the following morning, or he wouldn't be.

Lang let his fingers glide from note to note, coming out less as single entities and more full sentences of song. He allowed himself to quiet down, pressing each key with less force and performing a natural denouement so that he could take a sip of his drink. His hand met another’s half way to the glass however, a somewhat pale, delicate hand, yet one that had seen much. He turned to meet the stranger and was delighted to see be greeted by two hazel eyes, keenly examining him. “It’s yours.” Lang responded allowing her to take the drink. She took a small sip, leaning on the piano and complimented his taste in drinks.

“Well, how can I turn you down with a promise like that?” Lang said chuckling gazing into the girl’s eyes. They were somewhat mesmerizing, pulling you in. Lang raised himself up scratching at his rough beard and realizing that he dwarfed the girl somewhat. He turned back to Zuko and quietly whispered “hold down the fort, buddy.” He placed a gentle hand on her lower back and lead her towards the area in which he had found his drink. He did not push or even direct her, he simply guided her towards where he was going. It wasn’t aggressive, but it demonstrated a confidence in himself that he had in spades. “Let me teach you one of the most valuable skills one can learn in this world.” Lang said leaning over the alcohol and deftly grabbing a few glasses.

“One might assume that it’s best to put less alcohol in any given glass, keeps you somewhat sober and keeps the taste fresh.” Lang began, glancing around the table before snatching up a life he found. Twisting it in his hands powerfully, yet slowly and carefully he managed to split the fruit in two, draining the juices into the glass. “But in reality, you want to play the rule of thirds. As long as the glass is only a third filled with alcohol I can guarantee you your drink will be pleasant.” He said, pouring the bottle of Gin into the glass followed by the bottle of ginger ale. He slid that one towards the girl he was with before making himself a second one. “Now that you know how to make my favourite drink, I’ll hold you to that drink you promised me.” Lang winked and grinned.

Logan downed the rest of his beer and crushed the cup in his fist before throwing it into one of the many trashcans newly set around the area of the party. This kind of atmosphere was too new to the Roman and he simply couldn't get into the energetic atmosphere, not with so many weighty things on his mind. Ky'vie and his guilt were paramount, but now it seemed his newly acquired friend Grif was in a spot of trouble as well! A dove of all things... Logan pondered what a bird might have to do with the gods, but the symbols of the gods came to mind. Who had a dove as theirs.. or hers? It clicked when he thought of Venus, but more accurately, Aphrodite. And there was only one Greek god that loved to flay, wasn't there? Swallowing, Logan knew that his mind was set. He'd be up with the dawn, ready for a long trek and a perilous fight. His blood sang with the promise of adventure, the first time for many months. How good this feeling was! Logan had sorely missed it.

And what had Grif meant when he said good luck? Logan knew the wily son of Hermes had caught him staring at Ky'vie, but was there a history that she too hid? He hoped that she would be able to get past whatever heart breaks she had been subject to, just as he wished the same for himself. The girl had made him so confused in such a short amount of time it was dizzying. He could only guess at what could follow.

Going down the few steps, he caught sight of Erin, haughtily pulling along a silver-haired man behind her. Backtracking their course, he caught sight of a red-headed girl, who seemed to be covering her face and her body racked by involuntary convulsions; sobs. His nostrils flaring, Logan's natural chivalry kicked into action, wanting to help this girl find peace. With purposeful strides, he stalked across the grass. He sidestepped the stragglers, just making it to the party. Finally, he broke free of the flowing mob and came out to an empty expanse between he and the crying girl. What had made her so upset and on a night of a party, no less? He slowed as he caught up to the fleeing girl, clearing his throat and calling out to get her attention. "Excuse me! Excuse me, miss, what's wrong?" Logan wished to help in any way he could. Other than being a good Samaritan, the son of Jupiter was a sucker for a damsel in distress. He shrugged off the uncomfortable notion that he may be growing an unhealthy hero complex, chalking it up to good will. He was only a few strides away from her now and his much longer legs were quickly eating up the distance.

---

---

~The Partay~

Jericho may have lost sight of Erin, but he wouldn't lose track of her scent. She always smelled the same, a sort of lavender fragrance. He easily sidestepped a couple of vengeful ex's with a quick spin and a duck behind another camper, only to come face to face with a flirtatious smile and a low cut top. The latter always held him up for a few seconds, but soon Erin came into focus through the crowd. She seemed to have struck up conversation with a large man that seemed at ease around her, which was indeed a first. While he would have welcomed Erin to let her freak flag fly, he had his idea for who she would end up with and he wasn't about to let this newcomer ruin his well laid plans! With a charming smile and a sincere regret that he couldn't stay to dance with the attractive demigoddess that had previously taken his attention, he made his way to the drink stand. Grabbing a cup without looking, a graceful move as his arm snaked between jostling campers, Jericho made his way over to where Erin seemed to actually take a shining to someone.

He was fearful of the amount of drinks she'd already imbibed or that she'd finally gone off the deep end.

Taking as little time as he could, he mixed himself a potent drink of rum and coke and drank half of it quickly. He smacked his lips as the invigorating beverage went down the hatch! "Come on Jericho, this is not the time to be indulging... My word, this is good rum- No! No, game face, man!" he silently berated himself. He closed the little distance, noting the the smell of the alcohol before he'd even drawn up to the other side of the mixing table. Gin! How Jericho despised that dry liquor, though he was told it was an acquired taste. Leave him with his tasty Jamaican rum, thank you. "Erin! You should know better than to be able to lose me," Jericho taunted as he made himself known. Cocking his head to the side, with a bemused half-smile and a raised eyebrow, he offered his right hand to the demigod that he didn't recognize. "Hey man, Jericho! Haven't seen you around here, though I have been gone for a good while. Are you fresh off the Roman boat as well?"

Carmen listened intently to what he had to say. She quickly committed the bit of information to memory so as to not make the mistake of being under informed again. She also made a mental note to keep her things safe. The fact that there were campers here who were basically thieves scared her a bit. What other kinds of bad people were here? Would she have to live here constantly watching her back? How did the kids get along here? The shy girl thought back to her previous experience with kids her age. It made her regret leaving her home.

However, the male's demeanor softened a bit as he offered to help her. Carmen gave a tense, but grateful smile. "If it isn't too much trouble." Perhaps this guy wasn't too bad. Maybe he was a nice guy once you got to know him. The pale female sure hoped so. It would be nice to make a friend right off the bat.

The flowery girl picked up her remaining things, struggling a bit at first to keep her grip on it before finally adjusting. For a moment, she didn't know what to say, or how to say it. Finally she spit it out. "My mother is Demeter." She was surprised he got it right. Was it that obvious?

Carmen followed this stranger in awkward silence for a bit before realizing she hasn't even introduced herself yet! Was it too late? She bit her lip nervously, unsure if she should just throw it out there. After all he hasn't introduced himself either. Deciding that since the lack of action was mutual, there was no harm in bringing it up now.

"Um, my name's Carmen Latham by the way," She smiled sheepishly hoping he'd introduce himself as well to avoid any confusion and general uncomfortableness.

---

Arianna was already clearly inebriated. Well, then again that was no surprise coming from the daughter of the wine god. Glancing over at the mass of campers drinking as much alcohol as they can physically stomach, Kiran decided that tomorrow, many people were going to be visiting the infirmary for some ibuprofen or Tylenol.

Dreams were very vivid and many time prophetic for demigods. The fact that Kiran was in Arianna's dream was a bit surprising, but it could mean a lot or it could mean absolutely nothing. The sunny girl grinned at her stumbling friend. "That must have been some dream," She joked.

When the DJ started laying on the compliments was when Kiran knew she wanted something. She was a bit suspicious at first, but after being told to simply grab some more alcohol, she relaxed. "Sure no problem," The half Indian girl replied, giggling. She took the empty bottle, nearly dropping it when Arianna dropped it so suddenly.

Kiran stood dumbly as a ridiculous hat was plopped onto her head. She reached up with her free hand to touch it before bursting into giggles. "Thanks Arianna," The amused girl laughed. "I knew something was missing,"

Kiran worked her was around her fellow relatives to reach the nearest alcohol dispenser. The daughter of Apollo didn't drink as often as many of the other campers, and for a valid reason too. She usually only drank during social situations like these, but after social situations like these, there had to be the one to distribute pain relievers. It was kinda funny to the girl who could control light, that it was her handing out drugs to kids who were in pain from the sunlight.

Nonetheless, a little bit of beer never hurt anybody. So after filling her drunken friend's bottle, she grabbed a red solo cup and filled it about halfway full.

As the bubbly girl took a sip of the burning liquid, she spotted Erin along with Jericho and a new kid Kiran hadn't met yet. And while the friendly girl hated not knowing someone, she had a mission to accomplish. Besides it looked like there was a bit of competition over there, and she didn't want to walk in on that.

Carefully, Kiran weaved her way through the crowd occasionally stopping to wave at someone or say "Hi,". When she finally returned to her party loving friend, a little bit of beer had spilt onto her clothes. Sighing, Kiran ignored it. There was nothing she could do at the moment, but when she got the chance, she'd have to change. The alcohol smelling girl nudged her friend to grab her attention. Then she held out the beer filled bottle to be taken.

The girl seemed tense, Tobias noted immediately. Of course she seemed tense. He knew he wasn't the most friendly person on camp. Some would even wager he was the farthest he could be from the that, but it could still bother him to see that. Even in people that had only just met him. "It's not," he said, doing his best to dismiss that this would be trouble. He wasn't quite sure why he had even bothered to care about any of this. He didn't know the girl, he wasn't liked by most people in the camp and didn't like most of them. He had no reason to even pretend to care, bu something inside of him was forcing him to want to help out the new camper. Maybe he just wanted a chance to leave an impression before she got to talk to anyone else.

Or before she passed by or someone pointed out the cabin with the painted black windows and said the child of death lived there. That one was entirely his fault though.

He began to move toward the cabin he assumed she belonged to, almost smiling when she confirmed it. At least he was still decent at making educated guesses. He bit his tongue, fighting the urge to say anything that would give her the wrong (or even worse; right) impression of him. The silence was admittedly awkward. Him leisurely strolling toward her cabin while he could hear her still struggling behind him. 'Should've grabbed more,' he chastised himself.

'Ah', he mouthed when she spilled her name, reminding him that he hadn't bothered to introduce himself in any fashion. He blew a puff of air out of his nose, mulling over her name, particularly her surname. It was an old Scandinavian name before the English got a hold of it. For a moment, he was almost excited to have another person from his homeland. "Tobias Grímsdóttir," he offered out, slowing to a stop before the quiet cabin of Demeter. Omitting his lineage was for the best, he figured. Unless she asked, she didn't need to know who dear old dad was. He stepped to the edge of the porch and brought down her suitcase, planting the wheels down onto the wooden boards. "Call me whatever you please though. I'm not picky." He half smiled, stepping to the side from her suitcase and turning to face her. "Anyway, uh, this is it. Cabin four. I think you're the only living here, so that probably makes you the cabin's counselor. Whatever that means."

He decided that for the moment he'd wait and see if she needed anything else.

Rubbing the back of his now wet head with a towel, he walked toward the front room. After the training grounds he had headed back to the cabin to take a shower so he could go to the party, so he could hopefully catch up with Arianna. He didn't know what it was about the girl, but she had some form of weird spell on him. Some weird, drunken, exciting spell on him. He tossed his towel onto the bed and stared at the shirt and shorts he had laid out. He pulled on a pair of Army cargo shorts and was satisfied with how he looked. Hey if you got it, flaunt it, right? He shoved his shirt back into the closet and ran his fingers through his hair, creating a tousled, wet look. He smirked at himself in a mirror before turning away and heading out the door, rolling his shoulders and popping his back as he did so.

He made his way from his cabin, heading toward the Hephaestus cabin, where the smoke and music was coming from. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Arianna up on stage with Kiran. Slipping over to the bar, he reached over and grabbed a bottled beer. He popped the cap off by slamming the edge of the cap down on the edge of the bar. The metal piece flew off, but he didn't bother to pick it up. He took a swig of the bitter drink, keeping his eyes on the beautiful Arianna as he did. She looked so happy up there, a lot happier than she had been in the past. It made him smile just to see her. Taking a deep breath and another swig, he made his way toward the booth. He eyed Kiran as he did before grabbing onto a nearby post and hauling himself up to be even with the girl.

"Hey, Princess," Colt purred to Arianna, leaning up against the turntables. "You forgot your pills again?" he asked, jerking his chin toward Kiran. "She normally wouldn't be here if you hadn't." He laughed quietly to himself, running a hand through his hair. Up close, he could examine her beautiful face. He couldn't understand how someone not of Venus or Aphrodite descent could be so beautiful. And how someone so beautiful could be so deadly and exciting. He didn't understand how this girl was able to make him feel like this, but he liked it. And this was the only time he liked it. He had met thousands of girls and none of them had even made him feel the way that Arianna did. Not that he would tell her that...

A high pitch bark went up in the air near the party. A small black pup ran through the party, running all around. Dodging through people's legs, under seats, around dancing feet, Aquina ran. Little tongue sticking out, she swirled back around and ran back out, heading into the grassy area. The little pup ran around in a circle, beginning to chase her tail, when two thin arms scoops her up with a flash of bright light. The girl giggled as she held onto her wolf-pup and put her on her shoulder. Sitting slightly like a cat, Aquina perched on her owner's shoulder, looking out over everything.

"Now, are you going to stay near me?" Emerald asked the dog. Aquina let out a small yip and Em took her gently from her shoulder and set her back down on the ground. Adjusting her outfit to where nothing was riding up, Emerald proceeded to make her way into the party. She smiled and waved at people she knew with Aquina trotting alongside her. Pointing one of her fingers toward the air, she set off three shots off light, before motioning her hands like she was pulling something apart. The light scattered, creating a firework like affect over the whole area. Aquina barked and ran after the lights, chasing them as a cat would chase a laser pointer light. Once all the lights fell to the floor and disappeared, Aquina came back with her head down, saddened at the lack of anything to play with anymore.

"You're such a dork, dog," Em said with a light hearted laugh. Cupping her hands together, she created a solidified ball of light. She held it in one hand before bending down next to Aquina. She rolled the ball across the floor, heading straight for the piano where a small fox perched. Aquina took off like a shot, chasing after the ball. Aquina slid across the floor under the piano but kept going. Em laughed out loud before shaking her head. "That should keep the rascal busy for a little bit." Em began walking around, looking for some of her friends. She smiled and waved at Claire and Roy before moving out into the middle of the dance floor. There was a few people dancing and she began moving her hips along with the music. There was no reason for her not to chill out and relax today.

Coming up with an idea, she made her way over to the wall and pressed her hand to it, placing a finger in between the floor and the wall. A light beam shot out from her her hand and maneuvered the way around the dance floor, lighting it up with bursts of light every other second. The lights matched up to the beat of the music and Em smiled, beginning to dance with the beat. Until she heard a crash from the other side of the room...

Lang found his eyes dragging around the dance floor, examining the surrounding area returning stolen glances and examining the dance floor. He glanced over at the piano longingly, the music made him want to play, for whatever reason. He glanced towards the open door, only to notice flashing lights from inside.

“That’s new.” Lang said picking himself up from leaning on the table and looked over back at Erin. She mentioned that she wasn’t sure about the rule of thirds when preparing drinks, a common mistake. Bar’s commonly gave you less charging more, using but a taste of the third element. Hence the slice of lime on the edge of the glass. He chuckled to himself as he noticed someone approaching from behind who greeted Erin in a tone that implied mocking. He mentioned tracking, implying some amount of skill in hunting. He greeted Lang and was greeted all the same.

“How are you?” Lang said greeting Jericho shaking his hand with a wide grin. He noticed that Jericho was a lean, but fairly well built man. He didn’t see a lazy Saturday that was for sure. His silver-white hair shown in the sunset, perhaps he was Erin’s lover, Lang certainly couldn’t be sure. His ears perked up, he heard the sound of out of key piano notes immediately preceding a loud crash. He glanced over at the inside of the cabin.

“Lang you idiot, Zuko is on the piano.” He thought before glancing back towards Jericho and Erin. “I’ll go check on that, another time.” He said with his signature grin. He sauntered somewhat hurriedly past the two, leaving them to their devices. He followed the lights in the room, somehow leading him exactly where he wanted to be. He found Zuko and a small wolf pup entangled, having knocked over one of the many chip bowls. He took a moment to take in the absurdity of the situation, those idiots. But they were his idiots, so he scooped them up in his arms making sure to give them a comfortable grip.

“Zuko, where the hell are your manners? We’re guests here.” Lang said giving Zuko a rough pet, messing up his fur and eliciting a short quip from the fox. Lang’s attention quickly shifted to the wolf pup which he let gnaw on his hand as he pet it behind its right ear for a few brief moments. He playfully pet the wolf for a few seconds laughing as it played with him. But he realized the mess the two had made and sighed giving them a sympathetic look. “Alright, you guys wait with me, I’m going clean up your mess.” Lang said roughing up their fur once more before sweeping up the chips on the floor with his hands, attempting to make short work of the mess.

Adam was walking along the beach, bare feet slipping into the cool soft sand. His shoes were in his left hand, dangling by their strings. It was calming listening to the ocean, despite it being nearly his opposite. Hephaestus and Poseidon, Fire and water. Not the best combos, but after a long day in the forge he liked to calm down with a walk. Besides it had been on his way. He had been dropping off some gear that he finished earlier that day. Today had been mostly swords, but in his free time he got to work on his own projects.

As neared his cabin again, Adam returned his shoes to his feet after quickly brushing off the sand. In the distance music could be heard playing. Slowly looking around, he realized that it was coming from his cabin. A party? Was he told about this? Maybe Ky'vie had told him and he had forgotten, he had been very into his work. Shrugging at the thought, he continued down his path till he was at the party. Teens were running around, dancing and singing. The effects of alcohol was evident.

Looking around, he clearly saw a table filled with liquor. He had no responsibilities for the rest of the night, might as well try to loosen up a little bit. Gods knew he could use something to help push the words out his mouth. Reaching into a bucket of ice, Adam pulled out a cold beer. He wasn't too picky about the variety. Stepping back away from the table, he popped the top off with a rough finger. Quietly standing, he sipped his beer, people watching. Some girl pressed her hand against the wall causing lights to shine out to the beat of the music. That was definitely an interesting power. Continuing to look around, Adam realized he was looking for Ky'vie. She was probably here, but with all the people it was hard to pick out anyone he knew. A sudden loud crash drew his attention away from his search. Slowly he set his beer down, preparing to help if he could, only to realize a couple of pets had spilled a bowl of chips.

Hearing the crash, Emerald immediately knew who it was. She swore under her breath and scooted off the dance floor. She knew she shouldn't have let that dog run off without bringing the ball back. She could control light. How could she not control her own pup?! She accidentally bumped into someone. She muttered out an apology before making her way in the direction of the crash. She saw the chips scattered all over the floor and she let out a sigh. She saw Aquina nearby with a guy that she had never seen here before and she knelt down to get on the floor. Aquina let out a high pitched bark before sliding across the floor to crash into Em's stomach.

"You naughty pup," Em said, hugging the cute little thing to her chest. She looked over and saw a fox near the guy as well. "Decided to bring a friend to the party, huh, Aquina?" She smiled at the fox and walked over to the guy, kneeling down next to him to help pick up. Aquina trotted alongside her before plopping her butt down next to the fox once more. Em knelt across from the young man, sweeping up the chips he was missing.

"I'm sorry about that... and this," Em said to him, gesturing to the chips. "I guess I should have been watching her. I didn't realize how slick the floor was." She gave a soft smile, pushing the chips into a small pile. Leaning back on her heels, she examined the area around them, looking for any extra chips. Aquina, unbeknownst to Em, had moved and started eating an extra chip lying nearby. Em narrowed her eyes at the pup, who just looked up at her with wide eyes and continued to eat. Shaking her head, she said, "I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to rescue her, but I love her all the same."

Tipping her head to the side, she eyed the young man in front of her. He was cute, too cute to be from here. Well... that's not necessarily true. They did have the son of Venus here and he was pretty hot... minus his bad attitude. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new?" she asked curiously.

Lang was sweeping up the chips when he felt an outwards force from behind him. He steadied himself against the floor. He glanced back to look at the aggressor when he was greeted by a girl he had never seen before. The lights on the floor danced wildly around her illuminating every curve and contour on her body. He found himself at a loss for words, stammering out something that sounded like a couple of words when she apologized for bumping into him. She knelt down across from him and the wolf trotted to her, plumping down beside Zuko. She apologized for the mess and the wolf, but Lang was caught.

The lights in the ground that had led him to Zuko and these same lights dancing all around this girl, they were hers. He found himself staring at her before snapping himself out of it and continuing to clean up the mess. He eyed Zuko with eyes that said something along the lines of 'I'm still mad at you... But thank you.'

"That's alright, I'm sure Zuko here disturbed your beautiful wolf pup." Lang said with a hearty chuckle, his voice warm and smooth like pouring out some hot chocolate. Zuko watched Aquina began eating chips, eliciting a glare from the girl he had just met. Lang had just met, he found himself laughing at the display until he realized Zukoo started eating as well. He just stared and the fox made a noise closely resembling a laugh.

He was asked if he was new here by the girl, he looked up meeting her gaze and held it. "Yeah I actually just got in a couple minutes ago, I've never known anywhere but home my whole life." Lang said nervously eying her, but he held the gaze nonetheless. He took a second to realize how nervous he was, he glanced down at his hands and his fingers were shaking, nearly unnoticeable but there he was, shaking. Lang had stood before lionness' and stood his ground with ease, and yet here he was kneeling in front of a girl who had kindly helped him clean up a mess, shaking.

"My name's Lang, It's really nice to meet you." He said, once more warmly gazing back into her eyes. He realized he didn't even mean to look into her eyes yet they were drawing him in, he couldn't help himself.

Em smiled at the floor when he said that his fox, Zuko, had disturbed Aquina. It might have been true, but Em knew that Aquina got into a lot of trouble, with or without a fox present, so she almost knew that most of this stuff was Aquina's fault. The guy had a gorgeous voice and she turned to see the fox go over and start eating the chips as well. She giggled when the fox laughed at the poor boy's expression.

"It's always great to go on an adventure, isn't it?" she said in a comment to him never leaving home for the longest time. "You can never be stuck in one spot. Everything must keep moving forward and changing." Proceeding to get back down onto her knees, since she knew at some point her balance would give out and she would fall on her butt, she met his gaze carefully. "I'm Emerald, but most people here call me Em. Or Gem. Or Emmie. I really don't mind any of them."

Placing her hands on the floor she pushed herself up to her feet, shaking slightly. She knew she shouldn't have worn the boots. She had struggled with walking with them all the time. Why did she decide to wear them now? Aquina, now finished with her little snack, gave a small yip to Zuko before running over to Em and pawed at her leg. Em laughed and reached down to pick up the little pup and set her on her shoulder.

With her flashing light show still going for the dance floor, it was a little hard to see what Lang looked like, but she could tell he was fit. And from his accent, he was definitely not from the U.S. She held out her hand to help him up. Aquina, feeling the shift in weight from the shoulder, moved carefully across Em's neck to the other shoulder and sat down once again. "So where you from?" Aquina, who had decided that this would be the perfect time to chase one of the lights, decided to jump from Em's shoulder and chase the lights on the dance floor. Em cringed when one of her sharp, teeny claws scratched her, but it wasn't that bad. "And whose child are you? My bet is on Aphrodite or Ares. You just have that look about you. Or Athena." She smiled at him, her hand still outstretched.

He was told that it was always great to go on an adventure and Lang smiled. The girl had no way of knowing his past, unless that was something other demigods could do, he didn't actually know if it was or not. But regardless he found himelf agreeing with her. "I'd have to say you're right, this has definitely been the most exciting time of my life." Lang said with a grin. He noticed that her voice had an air of innocence to it, something about her, maybe it was the atmosphere but whenever she spoke lightning bolts went off in his head, and the words were etched into his memory.

"I think being stuck in one spot is alright, as long as you have people to share it with." Lang responded honestly. Zuko darted around wherever the lights were, pouncing on his luminescent prey whenever he made it there on time. "Em, I like that name." Lang said happily, a green gemstone it suited her, though he couldn't really tell why he felt this way. Em offered him a helping hand to get up but not before asking him another question. She asked him where he was from.

"Well really, I'm an amalgamation of locations. My mother is from the UK, but I've never been there and I was born an riased in Cape Town South Africa, I was a tour guide there since I turned 16." Lang said happily, it was definintely a job people could be envious of, one that many had told him thBut it wasn't something he would put his stock in to do the rest of his life. Aquina and Zuko seemed to be having a good time yipping at one another. When Aquina joined Em on her shoulder, Zuko followed suit running up Lang's back, into his coat and out the shoulder, his head popping out beside Lang. He took her hand and felt it once more, the thunderstrike in his mind. She helped pull him up, but Lang was a pretty big guy, he felt her already somewhat unsteady posture glancing down at the pair of boots she was wearing and once he was somewhat stood up he braced her, placing a gentle hand on the small of her back and another on her forearm. Funnily enough, it would've looked like they were performing a tango to anyone looking from the outside in.

He slowly lowered his gaze down to her eyes and stammered out an apology, releasing his hand from her lower back and stepping away, but his hand on her forearm lingered for just a moment longer. He quickly realized he had almost completely missed the other question he was asked and smirked. "My dad is actually Apollo, god of music and sunlight, among other things." Lang said his grin was beaming, but his hands were still shaking.

It was around this time that Lang's idea hatched. He motioned her towards the piano, which they were already near and sat down on the bench, motioning for her to do the same. His hands gracefully danced along the keys in tune with the song as he leant over, mere inches from her and asked: "Whose daughter would you be then? To follow suit with your example, I suppose I could pin you as a daughter of Zeus, maybe.. Although Aphrodite seems the most likely." He said remembering how her gaze had drawn him in.

Cape Town, South Africa. An interesting place to grow up, but Em didn't say anything about it. She knew that if he would have ever met her father, her father would have definitely disapproved of him immediately, just from where he grew up. Her cheeks turned bright red when he steadied her with a hand on her waist and one on her forearm. His hands were warm... either that or she was extremely hot and the heat just transfered. She grinned when he stammered out the apology and she shook her head. "No it's alright. I'm just a moron for wearing these shoes again. I know I can't walk in them, so why bother wearing them, right?"

She was a little surprised that it was Apollo for his godly parent, but he was so gentle that she wasn't too surprised. He seemed to have the attitude of a healer. When he went and sat down at the piano, she walked over and sat down next time, smiling as he began to play. She watched his fingers with wide eyes. She wasn't much of a musician. She was more of a painter, but it always fascinated her to watch someone play an instrument with such skill that Lang was showing.

She laughed softly when he said "Aphrodite." She shook her head. "No, I don't think I could ever be a daughter of Aphrodite. Remind me to introduce you to Colt later and you'll see why." Shaking out her hair to fall over her shoulders better, she said, "I'm the daughter of Iris, goddess of the rainbow." To prove her point a little bit, she touched in between two keys on the piano, right on the gap, and projected light into it. The light filtered through, filling every gap and crevice on the keys. Glowing with a soft yellow light, the keys now lit up Lang's face a little better and she smiled at him. "See?"

Aquina, tired of chasing the dancing lights came back over and pawed at her leg again. Em shook her head at the dog, giggling, as she picked up the pup and placed her on top of the piano. For the first time all night, Aquina actually sat and watched both humans with curosity. She didn't move. Em narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously but turned back to Lang. "I think she's a pretty good parent. Gave me the ability to light up anyone's day." She snickered at her own joke.

Lang noticed her expression as his fingers fell on each note and smiled, he felt warm for whatever reason. He had never heard of the goddess Iris, though that being said, he had only heard of about ten or so gods from his mother and even then the information he had on them was sketchy at best. He found himself improvising flairs for the musical piece he was performing, going the extra mile for whatever reason. It was something about her that was dragging a part of Lang out that was better than usual. She laughed when he mentioned that she could be a daughter of Aphrodite inciting a blush from Lang, one hopefully she would miss.

He continued to play, noticing her hair that had fallen over her shoulders in a seemingly perfectly arranged way. She placed a single finger in between the C and D key on one of the lower octave's and light beemed out from all of the keys washing Lang in what felt like the light from the sun. He marvelled at it for a brief moment, his playing growing quieter before he stopped altogether staring into the light. It was something he wasn't sure how to describe, but it held him on that moment like nothing else.

"That's incredible Em." Lang said baffled by the lights. He was snapped out of his trance by the wolf pup that jumped up onto Em and she placed her on the piano. Lang looked at the wolf pup, who seemed to be giving Lang a bit of a glare, Lang felt like he understood and laughed a little. Zuko found his way beside Lang before climbing up and onto his lap snuggling in and laying there, seems like the wolf pup had tired him out. He found himself snickering at Em's joke as soon as she's said it.

"Well you've definitely made my night." Lang said quietly leaning back. He looked at Em and felt like he saw so much, she seemed so open. "Here, let me show you something." Lang said taking her hand and helping her up and off of the piano bench, waking up Zuko in the process. Zuko climbed back onto Lang's shoulder before making his way to Em's, lightly licking her cheek and curling himself onto her shoulder. Lang lead the girl outside behind the cabin where they were alone. "My mother is a daughter of Hecate and with some help from my dad, I learned to do this." He said letting go of her hand and taking a couple steps backwards.

He shifted into the form of a lion, circling around his own immediate area and shaking his mane for a few brief moments. He kept this form long enough for Em to get a good look before changing back into himself, albeit shirt slightly torn. "Ah, damn I really need to get better at that, this happens sometimes." He said examining his now tattered shirt, thank god he packed a change of clothes.

Em smiled proudly when Lang looked at her light with awe and wonder. That's what she lived for, honestly. She always wanted to surprise someone new every day, or at least do something different every day. She blushed lightly when he said that she had made his night and she took back the lights, reeling them in with the tip of her finger as she had spread them out. Her fingertip glowed for a brief moment before disappearing and she dropped her hand back down by her side.

She was disappointed when he stopped playing, but that immediately left when he took her hand and helped her up. She smiled at Zuko, who came over to rest on her shoulder and she quickly whistled to Aquina as they made their way outside. Aquina jumped down off the piano and padded after them, looking up at Lang curiously. He took her outside, where the light was fading from the area, and she looked around. Most of the people were out in front of the cabin, talking and dancing, or inside, drinking and such. In the back, there was no one.

She watched with interest as he explained who his mother was after letting go of her hand. Tipping her head curiously to the side, she watched with wonder and excitement as he shifted into a gigantic lion. A little surprised, she took a step back, staring at him. It was an amazing talent, one that she had not seen before. Many people had control over the elements here, but it was rare to see someone who could shift shapes.

"Wow," she murmured quietly as he changed back into his normal self. She smiled softly at the ground when his clothes became torn. "I'm sure with some practice and help from here, you will," she said a little bit louder. "That's how I'm able to control my powers without, you know, blowing anything up." She chuckled to herself. She walked closer to him, hugging her arms tight around her. "That was amazing. I wish I could do something like that," she told him.

Lang chuckled, noticing that she was impressed, he laughed and gazed back into her eyes. He noticed her hugging herself, she seemed cold. "I would offer you my shirt, but well.." He said laughing a little at the torn mess it had made. "Come here." He said, embracing her in a hug. He caught the smell of her hair, which was both beautiful and relaxing. "My powers," Lang began "the things I can do they're all well and good, but you've got something incredible. You can be the light in people's lives." Lang said taking her hand in his, cupping it as if to show her something.

"You create art with your very being, it's amazing." Lang said his hands resting on hers. Zuko's ears perked up glancing down at Lang and retaining his perch on her shoulder, it seemed Lang had already been abandonned for the much comfier Em. But that was alright. For the first time in Lang's life he felt as if he was in full view of the sun, even though it was night time. The sun had dipped below the crest of the horizon and yet here he was basking in the glow of the warmness.

"It's pretty interesting, you know the chances of me meeting you tonight." Lang said gazing up at the stars, if he hadn't gotten into that fight back in South Africa, or if the tourist that he fought had come even days later, who knows what would've happened. "I'm really glad I met you Em." Lang said just barely above a whisper. He realized that he was still holding her hand, but this time he didn't let go he gently let his fingers wrap around hers while gazing at the night sky.

"I can actually shapeshift into a couple animals, an elephant, a bison, a fox." Lang said completely content with where he was at the current moment. He glanced down at Aquina who seemed to be inspecting him. "Maybe one day I'll be able to take a similar form to you." He jokingly laughed, seemingly not impressing the little wolf. "But I don't really know what I'm doing here, it was just the next place to go." Lang said squeezing her hand a little.

She was a little startled when he hugged her, but she was freezing. Up here was not near as warm as down in New Orleans. Nor as humid, but she was okay with that. Pressing close up against his body so she could get as much warmth as she could, she listened to his rumbling voice. She didn't smile this time. Instead, she watched his hand take hers with quiet wonderment. Zuko shifted on her shoulder and she then remembered that he was there. She reached up to stroke the top his head carefully with her free hand.

Butterflies flew into her stomach as he said he was glad he had met her and his finger curled around hers. What was this? This was almost like a fairytale. She felt as if she was drifting. She hardly heard the part about being able to shape into different animals as well. She did smile only slightly when Aquina gave a small yip of approval when he mentioned being able to turn into the little pup one day.

"You'll find out what you're doing here," Em murmured. "Every reason for doing something has a purpose that can change the entire course of nature." She looked up toward the sky and saw a twinkling of a single star beginning to make its way out of the dimming blue sky. "I hope this is the place you'll stay," Em said. "It is quite beautiful and once you find a reason to stay, it's hard to leave."

As the darkness grew and it became harder to see, Em smiled as a thought came into her head. She carefully unwound her hand from Lang's and reached up to take Zuko off her shoulder. She set him down carefully next to Aquina and walked out a little ways away from them. "Watch this," she said with excitement. She cupped her hands together and blew into them. Little by little, light particles resembling fireflies flew up into the sky, lighting up the area around them. Emerald laughed out loud and spun in a circle, causing more of these firefly type lights to fly about, lighting up the small area with a beautiful golden glow.

Lang let Em's hand untangle from his own, but immediately felt as if he was missing something he should have. She moved forward from him setting down Zuko; who immediately ran back to Aquina and began playing once more with the small wolf. Em told him to watch, and so he did. Carefully and intently she closed her hands, putting them together and as she slowly released them; fireflies, or what seemed like them slowly fluttered out. Lang watched amazed as they danced over the area covering Emerald, she looked downright angelic.

He absent-midedly covered his mouth in shock and awe. As soon as he caught himself he laughed and dropped his hand down to his side once more. Before he could stop himself he found that he was answering his own question. "I think I found my reason to stay." He said barely audibly. He walked into the lights that were flickering around the two of them and stood directly in front of Em, peering into her eyes that mirrored the transluscent light around them. It was something that he couldn't describe.

He slowly spun around, appreciating the view that was given to him as he realized his hands were shaking again, hoping to avoid any awkwardness he chuckled. "It's much colder here than South Africa, let me tell you." The boy said rubbing his palms together in order to give them something to do.

Aquina and Zuko played together yipping and playfully dancing around Em and Lang and around the light show she had produced. He was at awe with the tranquility that she had imposed on him. He was rather nervous for his first day, and in a way he was all the more nervous now, but at the very same moment he had never been more at peace. She was a beautiful assortment of juxtapositions and hidden beauty.

"Thank you for this, it's been..." Lang paused, moving his gaze to meet her eyes. "It's been incredible Emerald."

She lifted up a hand and touched one of the lights, turning it pink instead of gold. She did this with a few more, changing them to different colors such as blue, green, and orange. She laughed as she waved a hand through it, maneuvered them around it, and she looked at Lang. Em smiled at the two pets as they began to play once more and looked around at all the dancing lights around her before turning back to look at Lang.

"I can tell. I feel the same way. I'm from New Orleans," Em joked, rubbing her arms. "I wish I could help warm you up, but I can only produce light. Not really heat. Unless I hold a beam for a long time, which is hard to do at times like this." She smiled carefully and drew her arms in around her again. The lights danced around the two of them, illuminating the pair.

Em blushed at the ground when he said that it had been incredible and she laughed. "Best first day I'm sure anyone's ever had," she teased, unconsciously tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, a self conscious thing that was now a reflex any time almost anyone complimented her. The multicolored lights reflected in his gorgeous eyes and Em found that she couldn't meet them. This felt... weird. Different than she normally felt. This didn't feel childish anymore...

Aquina, surprised by the sudden play attack of Zuko, burst forward, running at the pair. She zipped around their legs, trying to outrun the fox that was now chasing her. Trying to step on her, Em shifted her legs, making sure that Aquina didn't run into her, but somehow, the daft puppy still managed to run into her leg, knocking the poor girl forward against Lang. Letting out a small oof! as she crashed into the solid figure, she muttered, "Sorry. My pup is just..." She laughed and shook her head.

Lang noticed that she mentioned she was from New Orleans, unsuprisingly he hadn't the faintest of an idea where that was other than the fact that it was in the United States. "Well that's quire alright, I can always grow some fur when I got to sleep." Lang joked as Em informed him that heat was a different concept than the light she could typically create.

He found himself still marvelling at the lights, now some pink and some yellow, then more changed to blue, green, orange. He felt as if he was in the presnce of a goddess herself. But Em was different she was all the same time down to earth and completely ethereal, beautifully shimmering in the night air. It was like nothing Lang had ever experienced and as such he found himself lost in a sea of 'what to dos' and 'should I's'.

"I'd say so, this has definitely been the best night I've had in years." He said nonchalantly staring up at the lights. He almost didn't notice Aquina and Zuko's play fighting, but he definitely didn't notice Aquina running through their legs. The wolf pup traversed the dangerous ground of filled with legs and as Em attempted to make it easier for her companion she lost her balance, falling into Lang. He immediately reacted, grabbing her both quickly and gently while gazing down at the wolf who looked back up at him apologetically. This gave Zuko the perfect chance to blindside the wolf and before a few seconds had passed they continued their game.

Lang looked back at Em only to notice that he was but inches from her face and he froze. He didn't move, barely blinked. He just stared into her eyes. "Yeah, my fox is..." He started but trailed off, not really having a concept of what to say next or where to begin his next thought. He just stood there, lost in her eyes, face fully flushed. "I-" he stuttered, all too lost in their connection to properly coherent thoughts.

"Thanks," she murmured quietly, shifting back a little bit as he looked into her eyes. She didn't know exactly where to go from here. She dropped her arms down by her sides and rubbed her arm self-consciously, looking toward the ground. The tips of her cheeks turned a light pink and the corners of her mouth upturned slightly. She looked over at Aquina as her and Zuko wrestled.

"I'm glad you think so," she said, in an afterthought to the best night that he's had in years. "This ranks in my top ten at the least..." Her voice trailed off toward the end and she looked at the ground again. She sucked in her cheeks. She didn't know what to do! Normally she would just go with the flow, but right now the flow hit rocks and branches. She didn't know where to go from here.

Finally she said, "I could give you a tour of the camp, if you would like. You know, just go for a walk. Something normal like that." She mentally smacked herself for adding the last sentence onto it, but at Camp Half-Blood, nothing was normal. She took a deep breath and smiled, still looking toward the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look up after that awkward shove into Lang's arms by Aquina. "I am the best person for a night tour, as you can probably see why." She gestured around them to the still dancing lights.

Her heart was beating faster than normal and she had to take another deep breath, but it didn't exactly help. There were still little butterflies in her stomach and she couldn't make herself look up. Unknown to her, however, her lights around her decided to illuminate on the situation and turned different shades of red and pink.

Lang noticed her body language, she held her arm and look down at the ground. Maybe she felt like he did. It was a nice thought, but he barely knew how he himself felt. He searched for words, but the sound of his heart beating was drowning out his intelligent thoughts. He watched her breathing, deep breaths like had been taking. She suggested a tour of the camp and he knew it would be hard to pass up, he wanted to spend more time with her. 'Oh also the lights.' Lang thought mentally calling himself an idiot.

Lang grinned like an idiot when he heard that he had ranked in her top ten nights, but he could certainly do better than that. He noted to himself that he wanted to make it into the top five by the end of the night, of that he was certain. Lang took note of her posture once more and decided that he'd try to ease her mind. Zuko, on the other hand yipped from behind him, nearly sending him into cardiac arrest.

He took a step towards her and nodded. "I bet you'd make quite the tour guide." Lang said with a short chuckle, quiet and silenced almost immediately. The night air hung dead around them, neither of them said a single word. Lang found his eyes wandering, looking for a sign, something to say. That was when he noticed that the lights began to change colors. They all shifted to a shade of red and pink, even the blue ones. Lang began to connect some dots and realized that she may actually feel similarly to him,

"I-, I'm sorry." Lang started allowing his jitteriness to subside and relaxing his shoulders. "I'm a little nervous, you're beautiful and I'm having a great time, if you'd have me I would love a tour of the camp." He said taking her right hand in his left. "Thank you." He said sincerely, as soon as their hands touched he stopped shaking, he was at peace once more. This elicited a sincere smile from the man as he sighed a breath of relief.

He called me beautiful, she thought to herself as he took her hand. She grinned and looked up at him. "You're very welcome," she told him. Holding out her left hand, all of the small lights flew into it, creating one big ball of a light. She gently lifted it up over her head, tossing it above them. It floated up a little ways before pausing, casting a beautiful golden glow around them.

Aquina, now seeing the ball, yipped and ran away from Zuko, trying to jump at the extremely high up ball. Emerald, seeing her do this, laughed softly, relaxing a bit more. At least her pup still felt normal even when she didn't. Intertwining her fingers with his, she began leading him away from the cabin. They began walking in between the cabins and Emerald pointed out each of the cabins to him. "That's Ares' cabin. If you ever want a good sparring partner, go there and ask for Gideon. The guy is an amazing fighter. Next to it is Athena's cabin, after that is Hermes', then Dionysus's, where Arianna lives (she's really funny), then Demeter's, Hera's and Zeus's. Poseidon's cabin is over by the lake because... well, water." She laughed as she guided him.

They made their way away from the cabins and she paused in the middle of some of them. She pointed in the direction of Poseidon's cabin. "Over there is the lake. You can kind of see it through the trees." The glittered waves reflected back to them and she smiled. She turned a little bit and pointed again. "Over there are the training grounds, armory, forge, and infirmary. If you ever need a weapon made, talk to Ky'vie, counselor of the Hephaestus cabin. She is amazingly skilled. If you need a premade weapon, talk to Gideon, and if you are injured... I think you can handle it." She giggled, remembering that he is a son of Apollo.

"I want to show you my favorite place," she said, pulling at his hand. They made their way through the barren training grounds and came across the stables. She smiled and pressed a finger to her lips as she guided him inside. She walked over to a specific stall and tapped it gently. "Cascade," she murmured and a silver dapper head popped out of the stall and whickered quietly. Em smiled and stroked her nose. "This is Cascade. She's Claire Bellerose's horse, daughter of Poseidon. But Claire lets me ride her every once in awhile." She rested her head against Cascade's nose before taking Lang back out of the stables, looking up toward the night sky. "What do you think so far?" she asked, smiling toward the sky. She flicked her wrist and the bouncy ball of light dropped and rolled along the ground, creating another ball for the wolf pup and fox to play with. It still illuminated the area steadily, but Zuko and Aquina could now play with the ball.

Lang looked up at the light that now floated above them a beautiful golden orb that reminded him of the sun. It wasn't that he held the sun on that high of a pedestal but being the son of Apollo it made him feel whole, as if whenever it wasn't up he was hurting. Em returned him to that feeling and he couldn't stop the warmest of smiles from becoming plastered on his face. They both seemed much more relaxed, Lang couldn't help but want to thank the gods for that.

He saw Aquina attempt to leap for the ball in the air, only missing by about ten feet. Lang laughed and found himself laughing with Em beside him. They walked beside one another, Zuko knowingly following them trotting beside his new best friend. They walked away from the party, the sound of which faded quickly as they made their was through them all.She introduced them citing people in each cabin that she knew and how Lang might come to know them as well. They shared another laugh at the concept of where the Poseidon cabin was located and he let her continue to guide him through the tour. The glittering waters of the lake shone through the trees in the forest, as Em pointed out. Once more she pointed out some of the helpful members of the camp. "Yes I feel that I can most likely heal myself," Lang said giving Em a light playful tug on her hand. "But if you ever need healing I can also do that." Lang said cheerily.

He found himself swelling up in excitement at the mention of Em's favorite place. He followed her and let her pull his arm as they came up upon the stables. Inside, she explained that Claire, the daughter of Poseidon, had a horse here that Em was fond of and rode every once in a while. She placed her head against the horses nose and Lang found himself dumbfounded by her beauty. He followed her back outside the stable and Aquina and Zuko played with the ball that Em dropped gleefully chasing it around. "I think you make it feel like home." Lang said warmly turning to face Em.

"Thank you for the tour Em." He said happily, quickly leaning in towards her and giving her a quick peck on the lips, as was fairly common in South African culture. He returned to staring into her eyes and smiled.

She blushed when he said she made it feel like home. That was an amazing compliment, she though anyways, to make someone feel so comfortable. She was about to respond when he thanked her for the tour and she suddenly felt the fleeting kiss over her lips. She blinked with surprise and looked at him as he looked into her eyes. She was shocked that she hadn't thrown up yet because of the butterflies in her stomach, but that kiss just made her more nervous than ever, even if it was as brief as it was.

"Uh," she said, unable to think of anything to say. The one thing she was certain about was that she was completely red in the face and blushing beyond belief. She blinked slowly and swallowed. "Um." She couldn't seem to get any words out and, just so she didn't look like a complete idiot just standing there, she looked over toward Aquina, who was looking at the pair curiously again. Aquina yipped at her before going back to chasing the ball.

Turning back to Lang, she whispered quietly, "What was that for?" She no longer had her voice and found that she could not speak above the whisper, as she was worried someone might come and break this up. She didn't want this to end. Not yet. Not doing it on purpose, dozens of the firefly type lights flew off her again, illuminating the area once more in dancing little pink and red lights. She looked at the lights in wonder. She never knew that her powers could be controled by her emotions. With how high some of them went, they blended into the night sky, looking like pink stars above them.

Lang noticed her blush after he kissed her to thank her. He blushed as well, he wondered if what he had done had caused her to feel embarassed. Her voice lowered to a whisper and she asked why he had kissed her. Lang thought about it for a second, while he wasn't typically one in South African to kiss people he had just met. But Em was just different, he felt as if he had known her for so long and yet they had just met. He took his time wondering how to answer and perfectly describe his emotions.

"Sometimes I forget that not everyone is from where I am. But in South Africa, when you kiss someone you do it to thank a person who you feel very close to." Lang said, attempting to make it as clear as possible. He raised his hand with their fingers still intertwined and looked at Em. "I'm very sorry if that was uncalled for, I just mean to say that I like you Em, you're the best thing I've met on this tour." Lang said with his signature grin. He noticed that the same lights had returned to blend with the night sky. The rosy pinks and reds.

"These lights, they seem to know you pretty well." Lang said happily, while his heart was still beating quickly and his fingers shaking ever so slightly, he felt somewhat at ease with Em.

She looked at the ground carefully, listening to what he had to say. How could he feel close to her... if he just barely met her? This was too much like a dream, it couldn't be real... And yet... he was solid. He was real. He was standing in front of her as a real human being, something not made up from a story. Her heart fluttered in her chest, bringing her back to where she was and she looked at the lights floating around her.

"I guess they do," she murmured quietly. The lights flickered red and pink before jumping back to gold. The lights sparkled, reflecting in the eyes of the pets and in his eyes. Those beautiful eyes and that amazing smile. She couldn't help but smile too. "It definitely wasn't uncalled for," she said quietly. She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her forehead against his forehead.

"How can I be the best think you've ever met or seen," she teased, "when you haven't seen or met everyone yet?" She took a deep breath. He smelled good, better than the stables, that was for sure. She giggled and shook her head, finally voicing what she had been thinking the entire time. "This is like a fairy tale, isn't it? You normally just don't meet someone and have all of this happen. What's so different about us?" She was still grinning and she still had her forehead on his. She looked into his eyes and said, "What makes us so special?"

Aquina, now beginning to feel left out, trotted over to them and sat directly in between Emerald's feet. Her wagging tell kept hitting the back of Em's ankles and Em laughed quietly, looking down at the excited little pup. Aquina pressed her head against Em's leg, looking up at both her and Lang, as if expecting something. She looked a little exasperated, as if she had been waiting for something from them. Em turned her eyes from Aquina and looked back into Lang's.

Lang listened to Em's uncertainty with concern and when the lights flickered out to their original golden glow. He felt worried, had he ruined everything, was it something he said. He began to speak but was completely and utterly silenced. Em wrapped her arms around his neck and gently placed her forehead against his own and he allowed himself to get lost in her eyes. He listened to her speak, questioning him telling her that she was the best thing he had seen on the tour.

"Well, mostly because I no longer feel as though I need to meet anyone else." Lang said honhestly hey eyes envelopping his spirit. She told him that it was like a fairy tale, they had something between them yet they had just met, what was it? Lang knew before she finished her question. His memory taking him back to when he was beginning to question his father's godhood, her mother had told him something.

'Lang, they have to base these stories on someone, one day you'll understand that.' his mother had told him. Lang gently placed his hands on Em's hips and began to tell her. "I was told at a very young age that they had to base these stories on someone, perhaps we're just lucky." Lang said quietly, not wanting to attract any outwards attention from anyone, this moment had to last. It already seemed like they had been there for hours, but it had only been about fourty minutes. Lang felt a warmth inside of him, a bubbling sensation of happiness.

He glanced over at their pets and realized he had almost completely forgotten they were there. Zuko look expectantly at Lang but Lang only let out a small laugh, looking back into Em's eyes. "How do you-, do you feel?" Lang began, losing his way in her eyes once more. He wasn't sure how to ask what he needed to ask.

"Maybe we are," she murmured, letting out a small breath. She smiled at him and took a step back dropping her hands from around his neck. Aquina quickly moved out of the way and bounded back next to her. The lights tracked with her, moving slightly away from Lang. She smiled at him when he asked how she felt and she puffed out her cheeks.

"In all honesty, I feel like I could use a few drinks, but I don't want to be hungover in the morning," she laughed. She stared at the ground for a few moments before running her fingers through her hair, trying to fix it. "I feel...different from how I normally am. I can't explain it, you know?" She rubbed her arm, feeling the coolness of the night beginning to wash over her. Aquina pushed at her leg and Emerald reached down and picked her up, holding her in her arms like she would a baby.

"It's a good different though," she said with a smile. "I'm glad I met you. I'm sort of glad this rascal tipped over a chip bowl so we could meet." She chuckled as she tickled Aquina's stomach. The little pup yipped and her head rolled in her arms, leaning back over Emerald's arms. Her fur was soft and wind-blown from running around. Em shook her head at the puppy and looked back at Lang. She watched him carefully before looking up at the night. "I should probably head back to my cabin. It's getting pretty late."

Lang noticed the light follw Em as she let go of her grasp and took a step backwards. He was actively embraced in the darkness, but was staring at the illumination of Em. He laughed when she told him she felt like she needed a few drinks and he found himself agreeing. It had been a crazy night, and he still wasn't sure how she felt about him, but he knew that it wasn't negative, she was very receptive to him and he to her.

She brought up how she felt different from usual. "I know what you mean, I'm not usually so... Forward." Lang said rubbing the back of his neck in an apologetic way. He laughed when Aquina became too fed up to be left alone any longer. Em picked up the wolf pup like a small baby while Zuko ran up Lang's back perching himself on his shoulder. He took a second to rub Zuko's soft head before returning Em's glance. "Yeah, let's get you back to your cabin now." Lang said absent mindedly reaching out for her hand once more, intertwining his fingers around her own and walking back towards the cabins.

It was a cool night, but he felt as warm as he did when he was in South Africa. The entire walk back he was beaming. They finally got back to the cabin's and he walked her to the Iris cabin. "Thank you for this Em, I had a really good night." He said stroking her hand with his thumb before letting go of it. He leaned on the wall beside her door and glanced up at the sky once more, thanking the gods for whatever divine intervention allowed him to have this night. "Sweet dreams." He said with a smile. Waiting for her to enter her cabin.

She smiled as he walked her to her door and she got chills when he stroked the back of her hand. The butterflies came back almost as quickly as they had disappeared. "I had a good one too," she said quietly. "Better than most of my nights." She laughed quietly under her breath and looked at him for a brief moment before an impulse pushed her forward and pressed her lips to his for a brief second before she back up again, smiling at him. "Goodnight!" she said rapidly, before spinning into her cabin and slamming the door shut. She leaned up against it and let out a long breath. Damn, what a night...

Lang experienced a second as if it was a millenia. Her lips were warm and soft. She pulled away and slammed the door as he fell square back against the wall. He looked at the sky for a brief moment before pumping his fist in the air in a fit. What a night... He thought to himself, happily walking back to his cabin, nearly skipping. Zuko did not enjoy the ride. He walked in to his cabin, laid down on his bed glancing to his unopened bag, not unpacked. He stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling, he found himself laughing.

Simon couldn't deny the distinct warmth he felt inside upon Syleste thanking him...had it been that long? Since someone had...thanked him? It felt so alien to him, so foreign. Simon knew that the reasoning lied in his very nature. How could someone feel gratitude towards a snake?

He simply nodded, a rather awkward look on his face as if he were trying to respond. "Yes...of course." He said in a peculiar tone, his body tensing reflexively as Syleste drew closer to him. Whatever...this was. It was something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

"Well, it wouldn't be sporting not to attend these gatherings ever once in awhile. It's best not to be labeled the workaholic in these types of situations." Simon responded nonchalantly, as if he was speaking to a student or coworker as opposed to a friend.

Making his way across the field that led to the other side, to Hephaestus Cabin, Simon was able to hear the music and smell the booze from a distance, shaking his head with a small scoff. Long as there's deafening noise and enough alcohol to knock out a Cyclops - the campers will come. People...so utterly predictable, It was simply boring. As unique and complex as humanity was capable of being, they still followed the same rudimentary routines and habits, falling into the same simple patterns. Even he was not immune to the call of habit.

Remaining silent, Simon simply led Syleste in the way of the party, leaning heavily on his cane while her counterweight gave him an especially awkward gait. Whatever this was, this...contact. He didn't like it - not at all.

---

---

Griffin must've missed the memo citing him as Camper of the day. Seemed like everyone and their mother was trying to stop and hold conversation with him. Can't a man drink in peace?!

Nevertheless, Jericho's presence at least brought Grif some level of enjoyment. Though the Irishman initially disliked the indirect son of Artemis, time eased their relationship into something less volatile.

"A present, eh? Lucky day!" Griffin replied with a simple wave of his cup, a small grin plastering itself on his face, even if he didn't feel much in the mood to grin.

"Aye, you know Camp. Each day without a trip to the infirmary is a small victory." Griffin replied with a chortle, eyeing a few of the Ares kids not too far off. "Bet you five there'll be a fight before the party's over." He noted most amusingly.

"But, I digress. If you've got a present, lay it on me! I ain't getting younger!" As impatiently arrogant as his words may be, Grif's tone and expression were nothing less than light and playful. Knowing Jericho, any gift he had for Griffin would be practical -- and probably dangerous. And the son of Hermes couldn't wait.