Approach. Twelve o'clock high. Somebody new entered the field, and judging from the refinedly sensual, honeydrip tone...

He glanced upwards. Truth be told, he'd long heard her coming— first as a new pair of unidentified footsteps and second as an identifiably familiar, but not quite fully recognized, disembodied voice— one he had a decent guess at, but didn't elect to verify. They normally had other priorities than each other in the times they'd crossed paths. In all honesty, he had guessed that they'd mutually deduced that there was nothing either really had to offer the other in the way of common ground beyond the girl currently surveying the landscape atop his Ford.

But evidently that had come to an end. Now in full view, his enhanced senses quickly took stock of the girl before him. She was, thankfully, dressed casually as opposed to something mind-bendingly out of place for (and we reiterate) a lakeside outing. Just jeans, a crop top (bralette? I don't know clothes), and a leather jacket to fight the bitter cold of Coloradan night. I oughta get one of those, actually.

"Ah. Ariana."

He rose to his full height.

Ariana "Ari-chan" Mossos. His younger sister's favorite shopping buddy. A girl of... eighteen, if he recalled correctly, years of age. A daughter of Aphrodite that shared Danaye's love of long shopping trips and very heavy, very full bags. Five and a half feet tall, she cut the striking figure you'd expect of her heritage, with the well-kept locks and immaculate skin to match, kissed by the sun just so. The outfit did a fair job of showing off her curves, and her makeup accentuated her face—

“I'm surprised you're not on security detail this time around, sweetie! Does this mean you finally have some time to hang out with me?”

The face that was blowing smoke into his and getting it up his nose and in his eyes and he thought he tasted it and

"Ahem." he gave a polite cough, adroitly following up with a small chuckle and a joke. "Better watch where you point that thing. I can't summon my own, but that might count as a weapon."

This is Dana's friend, he reminded himself, Be nice. She knows not what she does.

Waving the smoke away, he adopted an easier, more naturally friendly grin, and continued, allowing a warm ruefulness to creep into his baritone.

"Yeah, getting the kegs here with Dal's run us both ragged, so he's letting me have the night off. I dunno if I've the temperament to safely handle a belligerent drunk after dodging the barriers and guardians in and out of campus anyway."

Wait.

"Hang out with me"...

Huh?

He was fairly sure they'd never spoken at length before, let alone shared any interests aside from the common thread of his sister. Surely this was only being courteous. He wasn't Dallas, people mostly let him paradoxically both be physically huge and slip under their radar if they existed outside of his friend circle... And yet here she was. Making that voice, giving him that look, and asking him to hang out. With her. Him.

Alright. There could be any number of things driving this.

Well, first, this was a Daughter of Aphrodite. Aphrodite, aphrodisiac. He knew that one of his abilities granted him total presence of mind under any outside influence, but perhaps the unfamiliarity of the situation was throwing him off-kilter. Best to verify a few things. Namely, intent and motive. Remove all possibility of misreading the situation.

He helpfully threw a thumb over his rounded shoulder to his sister, and spoke.

"I appreciate the offer, but if you're worried that you'd be taking the other Ares kid from her post, don't. Dana'd be free to hang out with you so long as she keeps an eye on everyone else, so you don't have to make do with me or anything like that."

In truth, this was a stretch. It was a hell of a stretch, given how quickly he'd come to the first conclusion. His suspicions told him, in no uncertain terms, that this one was the peak of playing dumb— she was very openly eyeing all six feet and three inches of him up. She was busting out pet names when he wasn't sure he'd ever done anything more than greet her when picking up his sister from the mall. She tried to Jessica Rabbit him with weed, what an inspired move that was.

He knew better. And he knew he knew better, too. This was an act he'd seen more than experienced by leagues, but he knew how it played all the same.

Internally, he sighed, not letting it show on his face. He didn't want to be rude and act like his kid sister's friend was being a bother, but...

Don't make me do this.

Beneath his friendly smile, Jonas Highwind searched for a way out that didn't rock the boat.

"Ah, who fucking cares," Dallas demurred, although his eyebrow seemed to cock upwards in some mild display of trepidation at the new kid's bad touch vibes. If it fixed whatever dark, monstrous CTE ravaged Viv's head to the point where she could just spit out words like 'dandy' without a hint of shame, then keep on keeping on, whatever. "You came. You saw. You conquered an incisor or two. We'll laugh about this story together in a few years, as long as you don't fall asleep with a concussion and wind up a vegetable. But I guess you have a friend for that now."

He had been about to press a cold one to Viv's head as a temporary measure, but now that Dr. Phil had stepped in and cleared up everything in Viv's head but the sunshine and rainbows, he cracked it open and prepared to polish off the whole can to ease the throbbing in his own temples--

“Hey, JoJo.”

Is that a motherfucking--

“I'm surprised you're not on security detail this time around, sweetie! Does this mean you finally have some time to hang out with me?”

...mediocre...

Then the implication of the words struck him like a cannonball to the chest, and Dallas paused with the beer can held to his lips. For a cautious second, he waited - held his breath to see if the words were just a hallucination brought on by some of the pot smoke in the air, or maybe bran damage he'd done by watching more than one anime in a year like he had when he'd first started attending Olympus. Maybe it was just a herald that something had gone wrong in the Matrix, like a black cat walking by twice through the same hallway. Were half the people at this lake about to start turning to dust?

There was no way they could. He felt way too good.

"Ahem. Better watch where you point that thing. I can't summon my own, but that might count as a weapon."

He's DOING IT!! FITIZEN! FITIZEN!

Beaming, Dal turned around and took up a position between Marcella and Kelsey; it was a comfortable spot between two friends, neither of whom he'd be opposed to waking up with tomorrow morning, and more importantly it was the best perch at the entire lake to watch Jonas humiliate--



"Ah. Ariana."

...Arthur?

"You guys should tune in for this," he stage whispered to the beer-besotted valkyries on either side of him. "This is about to be a fucking treat. Look at him. Those vacant eyes. That dumb grin. Brainpan thick like a fucking bank vault. It's all a ruse. He knows exactly what he's doing. This guy fucks. He doesn't sleep with us demigods because he thinks we're all too spoiled as it is, but I've partied with him during summer breaks. Five girls, back to back, when we turned twenty. They still have a sign of him up in the VIP lounge of the club we crashed at. There's a fucking titanium nameplate underneath it with 'Immortan Joey' etched into it. The backs he blew out that day laid the foundation for what this party is now. And blowing weed in his face? Fucking a. Like giving Shendu all twelve fucking talismans. He's either about to humiliate her or cut a sex tape you'd need the fucking Fram Cam to appreciate. If he humiliates her then Jesus returns by Christmas. If he gets laid then you can use my shirtless body for the beer pong table."

He finished his can of beer and watched Joey blunder his way through what would have been a very simple "get the fuck out of my face, Arthur" if Dal were in his shoes. It was hard to stop a grin from unfurling on his face, or keep the twinkle out of his electric blue eyes. If any of what he had said was a lie, it was rattled off convincingly - and without any hesitation.

"Look at him go. It's like watching Scott Summers try and take a fucking eye exam."

---

This cannot be happening to me.

She was not the sort of woman without honor, the kind of coward, who would slay her own beloved older brother. The fact that he was a faithless American pigdog that teamkilled his own little sister in 2v4 situations in video games was irrelevant. The blood that ran through his veins was half hers, and even if her remaining blood was redder and hotter and more valuable than his, the shared variable was still enough for her to feel protective of Jonas Highwind. Boys were for slaying, not for laying, indeed...but Jonas wasn't for slaying or laying. He was for...saying.

Saying important things. Like.

Oniiii-chan. Dana needs money for shopping. Give her yours.

Oniiii-chan. Dana is going out with Bekah for the evening. She will need a set of keys for the truck. Give her yours.

Oniiii-chan. Dana's controller batteries are dead. Give her yours.

Oniiii-chan. Dana wants to practice her fatalities and will be taking a spine spine. Give her yours.

Oniiii-chan. Dana should not need to tell you that Ari-chan is not for riding. Give her nothing!

Had Ariana not wanted to come to the party after all? A simple no would have sufficed. Why would the daughter of Aphrodite force her friend to watch idly as her lunkhead older brother was tortured like this? A dog did not understand why a cruel owner would strike it. A deer could not comprehend the headlights hurtling towards it. Jonas was going to politezone Ari so hard! Dana would be forced to cringe until her fingers dug all the way through her arms and back into her wrists!

Kaz would be loving this.

But she was not as cruel as Kaz.

"I appreciate the offer, but if you're worried that you'd be taking the other Ares kid from her post, don't. Dana'd be free to hang out with you so long as she keeps an eye on everyone else, so you don't have to make do with me or anything like that."

"Hm? Oh."

TRAITOROUS NII-CHAN? YOU THINK TO FUCK ME? HUH? HUH? AFTER ALL I DO FOR YOU! BBBBBBBBBḆ̭̞̲͖ͪ͑̈́ͅA̭̩͛͑̄͒̾̑K͕̦̬̙͕̗̐͛̐̈ͤ͋̌̽A̤̻͙̙̗̘ͪ͑͋͂ ̯͓̞̬̜͍̥̈ͬͤ́ͥ̍B̲͚̺̦̳̜̞͉̗̍̃ͨÄ̙̤͍̳̜̘́K͓̞̙ͣͮ̓ͬͩA̞̗͍͓̖̞̞͐ͅ ̥̍̈̿ͫͩ͗̆ͬ̓Ḅ̖̙̯͕̘̹̉̈̂A̩̓ͯ́͌̊ͬ͗̍K̭̞̲͓ͩͤͤ́̌ͨ́̂Ȧ͚̟̲̫̝͆͐̓!͈̘̹̱͔͎̖̹̖̈́ͧ̊

Bad enough that the kiss Ariana had blown Dana still lingered on Dana's fingertips, where the Japanese girl had playfully caught it and meant to mime returning it - before Dana had deduced where Ari was sauntering, of course. She was supposed to be working security so Dallas could waste his life in sin and iniquity, for fuck's sake! She did not want to have to spend half the night distracted, explaining to her spurned friend why her fucking traitorous idiot pigdog onii-chan thought his dick was supposed to be used like an alarm clock! Why he thought babies came from fucking C-130s! Why else would he still be a virgin at the age of twenty?

BECAUSE HE'S FUCKING STUPID!!!

Why should she be forced to explain that!?

"Onii-chan..."

Rebekah was going to kill something tonight.

"Ari-chan is good girl," she insisted politely, mustering all of her inner strength and her middling command of English. "But if you want to hang out with your friends tonight, I can hang out with mine. We can both keep eye on things together."

_{☠ Marcella Aveline Bonaparte ☠ 20, Fifth Year
Ψ Rhea Franky Psomas Ψ 19, Fourth Year}

---

Rhea was leaned down, keeping a fairly casual eye on the lake watching for any ripples, though there was Ian he wasn’t in any danger of drowning as he stood by the lake. She didn’t necessarily need to, she had a good sense of the occupants of nearby bodies of water, but she liked to be careful. For the most part she was very impressed with the crowd they had selected to partake in this special experiment. She liked most of them if not loved a great deal.

It hadn’t been long into the party where Rhea had noticed that Marcy was no longer paying attention to her and she snuck off in order to change into something more comfortable for her. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate Marcy’s efforts. But god damn how does she walk in those fucking things? She was now wearing a camo sweater, a white tank top underneath and a pair of leggings along with some cargo boots for good measure. It did a lot to make her more comfortable and she had already caught Jonas' reaction to her initial outfit. Glancing over at Marcy though, it seemed as though the older girl had expected it, holding her bottle up in a sort of 'cheers' motion. Rhea just nodded at her with a bit of a laugh.

In her leaned down position one of the mini-cerberus’ heads were rubbing up against her cheek while she pet the other two. She hadn’t seen the beast in quite some time.

The last time was a rather tragic drunken attempt to pet all three heads at once and crying because it just couldn’t be accomplished. But her focus on the dog was lost as Ariana approached, fashionably late as always. She thought back to first year for a moment, her first year and her first time attending one of Dal’s parties. Their status on campus was legendary and she was, not. She was some terribly dressed girl from Alberta. But she managed to attend, and she met quite a few people for the first time.

“Hey, JoJo,”

Her voice was like a current of electricity that shot up Rhea’s spine and almost made her hair stand on end. She used it as a weapon, often, and this was no exception. Her eyes scanned up Ariana quickly, dressed as one would expect from the daughter of Aphrodite, her midriff lay bare and her eyes were illuminated by the far end of the joint balanced precariously on her lips.

Oh shit.

Jonas himself glanced towards her without any sense of surprise. He must’ve heard her coming, Rhea hadn’t whatsoever. She considered this probably painted the still cavernous gap between their skill levels at this point. She was progressing, but so was he. He rose up to his full height to greet her, standing well overtop of both of the girls.

She blew the smoke towards his face and Rhea nearly shot up, shocked.

But she restrained herself.

"Ahem."

It seems Jonas would too.

"Better watch where you point that thing. I can't summon my own, but that might count as a weapon."

In the immortal words of Danaye Harade. ‘Nani the fuck.’

Was Jonas trying to... Fuck? Rhea clearly had much to learn still from a man much more enigmatic than he lead on. He waved the smoke from his face and for one instant Rhea believed that she saw a crack in his calm and casual demeanor. But it was tough to tell for sure.

Rhea had sparred with Jonas and spent quite a bit of time with him as well. If there was a single defining trait about his demeanor it was his fucking perfect poker face. It most likely came with his level of control over his mind, but you could not read him whatsoever. She was sure she was projecting due to her sheer surprise.

She glanced over at Dana, who was already moving to respond. "Ari-chan is good girl," Dana postured politely towards her friend. “But if you want to hang out with your friends tonight, I can hang out with mine. We can both keep eye on things together." Rhea couldn’t help but wonder where Dana got the strength to be so kind and measured.

---

As soon as Dal sat down between Kelsey and Marcy the daughter of Hades wrapped an arm around him and kissed his cheek. He was whispering to the two of them about Jonas and Ari. She glanced over in their direction and watched as Rhea floundered about having been caught in the immediate proximity of that fuck-bomb.

As soon as Dal had finished with his apt comparison of Jonas to the leader of the X-Men Marcy watched Jonas stand up to his full height in order to greet the daughter of Aphrodite. Marcy side-eyed Kelsey and Dal and whispered back.

“We’re all looking at the same thing, right?” Jonas was, very evidently, a big fucking guy. He was around six feet and two or three inches, packed muscle on just enough that it didn’t slow him down but he could probably flip a car if he needed to. The man must’ve had a foot and at least 100 pounds on the smaller girl. And she was trying to land that fucker like she was a fishing competition. The biggest stronger sunova bitch the school had to offer. The more Marcy considered it, however the more it made sense.“Honestly, good for her.”

But as Rhea made her presence known and Dana also began to intervene it seemed more like a rescue attempt. But Dal, Dal had already hit a boiling point. His blood was pumping and he was excited. If Ari was as persistent as her reputation preceded than Marcella may yet get to see Dal become a beer pong table.

She glanced over at Dustyn who had handed an absolutely horrified Viv her tooth. What a fucking legend. This is why everyone invited Dusty everywhere. You couldn't slow a bitch down. She couldn't even slow herself down.

Marcy knew Ari like people knew celebrities. Her exploits were talked of and her conquests probably had a group chat or some shit. But she knew that at one-point Rhea had nearly fallen victim to the walking embodiment of charisma. Marcy looked at Dal for one more moment, his arm around both her and Kelsey and in that moment, she realized something beautiful.

Dal is having a great time.

I bet he’ll let me pierce him again.

“Hey kids,” Marcy said turning towards Dal and Kels with a devilish grin. “I just got a fun idea, how do you both feel about getting a piercing? I’ll do anywhere and you get your choice of gem, I think sapphires would look beautiful on you Kels,” Marcy’s charm was being cranked up, her eyelashes fluttering as she spoke. While she did speak to Kelsey her eyes shot from the girl’s gaze straight to meet Dal’s. He knew the look on her face well by now. Her grin was less kittenish like Ari’s and more apropos to the devil himself. Still tempting, but for all the wrong reasons.

---

"I'll be fine to drive," Athena's daughter confirmed to Jonas, midway through twisting the top off of a beer. Mot quite what he asked, but an accurate statement still. She could drink the whole pack herself and drive fine. Benefits of a godly affinity for driving. Not that she would. She didn't like beer that much. Or, for that matter, weed; so she politely shook her head at the girl offering joints. Dana had enough complaints about her clothes without them smelling like smoke. "I figure we'll toss the drunks in the truck bed. Someone threw up in my van last year. Took ages to clean out, so I left it home. At least if they do it in the bed it can just be hosed out."

She took a long sip from her bottle and scratched one of the Cerberus' heads absently, watching the proceedings for a few moments. Most of the people had no real investment for her, though she nodded her head at Kelsey in acknowledgement. Pleasantries exchanged, she didn't have anything else to say. Yet. Truthfully she was busy plotting. Jonas usually took security detail, but Dallas had given that duty to the CGBG on this particular evening. To her great displeasure. She was sure that Jonas could take a shift, the big guy was amiable enough and like any true scoundrel Relo had his price. He'd do her a favor with the right coercion. It was just a matter of what it'd take. So she chewed on that thought for a few minutes, steadily sipping away at her first drink.

Until the approach of one Ariana Mossos, blowing a kiss at the girl seated on a keg up behind her.

And her eyebrows went up, for a brief second, before her eyes narrowed. Ariana was a year younger, and the daughter of Aphrodite was vaguely on her radar. She went shopping with Dana from time to time, excursions Rebekah usually declined. Dana's haunts were too expensive for her bank account, and she was uncomfortable letting the Japanese girl spend so much money on her. But for the most part she was blissfully unaware of the.... girl's existence, as surely the daughter of Aphrodite was of hers.

Clearly, since she didn't so much as acknowledge her before proceeding to harass Highwind.

Rebekah didn't like that. Not one bit, she decided after a second. Her own apathy towards the girl's very existence was not an invitation to be ignored. Arrogance was typical of the Aphrodite breed, but this was a bridge too far to be tolerated. Gray eyes gave the girl a quick appraisal, lips pursing into something almost approaching a frown. Could she be laying the come-hither on much thicker? Jonas could take care of himself, that wasn't her concern, but...

Good Lord, someone needed to put this kid in her place.

"But if you want to hang out with your friends tonight, I can hang out with mine. We can both keep eye on things together."

"That's great, Dana-chan," Rebekah said brightly, pulling herself back up onto the bed of the truck with the hand not holding her drink and plopping down on her friend's lap. Her gaze swept, once more, over the daughter of Aphrodite. "I was getting worried Relo would keep you too busy to hang out with me. I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting your friend before. Care to introduce us?"

The reassurance from her best friend Kelsey was good enough for Dustyn. She wasn't sure who Scottie Upshall was but she assumed it was someone Kelsey had bumped loins with- and if he was good enough for Kelsey he was good enough for Dusty. "I'll keep my other tooth in my head thank you very much." she laughed, "If I lose anymore teeth, i'll be all gums and then I'll be even more popular with the boys." she gave her lewd comment before pulling her used cigarette from her lips and dropping it back to the ground from which it had just came. She used her shoe to put it out completely. "Hey now, not even Viv's hard ol' dome can keep me from some pong. No offense Viv." the girl nodded, giving a Vivian a hearty pat on the shoulder.

No hard feelings.

Phil joined the group and gave his healing touch to Vivian while Dusty watched in awe, when it came to special abilities Dustyn was lacking in usefulness. She was always impressed with Phil's tender touch, the glowing of his herb's on Vivian's forehead causing her to stare her eyes slightly closed as she zoned out for the moment. If Phil were to roll those up and if Dustyn were to smoke she wondered if that shit would be life changing. When he mentioned the tooth however, Dusty spoke up, "NO!" she exclaimed, before explaining her outburst, "You can't just mend that shit, it came out for a reason right? If it came out of my head it was probably gonna cause me problems later, like a tumor or something. I swear to the Gods that I heard that on television before." she exasperating, opening up Vivian's hand wither her slender finger tips only slightly to examine her tooth once more.

It was awfully pathetic.

"Goodbye dude." she said, closing Vivian's hand with hers.

She gave Vivian and Phil a wink, before turning her attention to the rest of the crew that had formed around them she gave a quick wave to Marcella. The party was finally really starting, and it was clear that the night was going to be one to remember. Dallas began speaking quietly as Dusty turned her attention to the scene between Jonas and Ariana, Dallas' voice barely above a whisper for her to hear.

"Daaaaaaaaaamn." she concluded. That one hurt her from here.

---

---

Ian zeroed in on Marcy and co. the minute the red truck’s door was opened and the group that was a staple of his sister’s presence spilled out and commenced their usual rowdy shenanigans. Some American branded sorry-excuse-for-a-beer piss-drink was getting passed around, not that he would touch the swill, then a girl he thought might be a new transfer offered her share of weed, the sickly-sweet smell a dead giveaway for what the fags actually were even as far away as he was. The arrival of the daughter of Poseidon meant that his worry for any Naiads potentially being disrupted was for naught; Rhea could handle anything water-related tonight. Mini-cerberus had apparently been designated to her as part of the guard-duty, and the adorable ball of fluff was getting his deserved dose of physical attention.

Once again staring at observing Marcy, Ian stood up, though remained at the lake for just a bit, waiting for the crowd to get engaged in the party well enough that he could easily slip in to snag Marcy’s attention for a little while, or alternatively, to unobtrusively approach and then hover at her side to soak in the presence of someone familiar, and better yet, familial amongst all the strangers and brief acquaintances surrounding him. He was admittedly somewhat…unsettled at so many living people being around – they made for quite the contrast to the rot of the dead and the dying of the forest, the scent of decomposition especially potent in a natural location such as this, and yet one much more pleasant if compared to the apathetic decay of large cityscapes where the filthy exhaust fumes of traffic mingled with the literal millions of psychedelic vibrant little human souls in all imaginable states of life and death.

The Mystic Forest was practically desolate by comparison, truly. A fringe party like this is nothing to the thrum of L.A. With that bit of self-encouragement, Ian ventured forth (well, cautiously drifted, at the very least), approaching Marcy, who was now the only one in a dress – a decision he thought odd but chalked it up to her personal taste and left it at that – sitting next to Dallas and Kelsey, connected to both in some sort of a group hug. The trio were watching the Daughter of Aphrodite and the Son of Ares engaging in what he was fairly certain was one of those flirting games, though he couldn’t judge if whether Jonas or Ariana was the one winning, or if either of them would get to a point that could be termed a ‘win’ at all. Nearby, Vivian and Dustyn sort out the tumble he’d seen them getting tangled in even from the lake-side, a Demeter-lad healing them – a thoughtful, common-sense action Ian very much approved of.

He caught the tail end of the conversation which tipped him off to the fact his sister had voluntarily involved herself in a bet involving piercings and possibly beer pong with Kelsey. He stifled the sigh of mild exasperation and questioning doubt from passing his lips with practiced ease, simply choosing to stand a respectful distance from everyone while still being close enough to converse with his sister. “Hello, Marcy,” he interjected quietly. Hopefully no one else would pay him undue (read: any) attention, as though he was now practically in the middle of the popular crowd, he’d prefer to keep his relative anonymity.

He had failed.

It was a small, insignificant failure, especially in the grand scheme of things, but Jonas had failed spectacularly at his one stated goal.

Around him, the enhanced acuity of his hearing drove it home, with a half-dozen murmurs and titters entering his register even as the final sentence had left his unassuming lips. All it took was a single exchange. On a battlefield, that maxim held just as true, with totally more dire consequences... but still, it was an immediate and seemingly unavoidable failure.

Such was a chilling thought. This was why he left these things to Dallas. He knew how to work a room better than the larger man ever had, and though it wouldn't be subtle— most of his working mind was spinning the gears towards the conclusion of "Ariana Mossos draws enough attention that the only subtle conversation you could have with her would be behind closed doors", Dallas had the social wherewithal to set much more realistic goals.

And now, Jonas was left with the aftermath of his hubris. He and the Daughter of Aphrodite, fresh off of what could only have felt like trying to seduce a brick wall in public, now held the gaze of most everyone here.

His name left a couple mouths, none of which he was fully certain he knew, nor had even spoken with. They were laughing. They were shocked. Some were upset. Some were sardonic. They ran the full gamut of emotions. How bold could he be to reject her? More shockingly, how bold could she be to approach him? He didn't mind it, given that he was the one who was simply trying to politely turn away someone putting themselves out there, but her—

"It was pretty bold of her to think Jonas Highwind would actually be interested in her brand of whatever product she was selling."

Yeah, that was bad. Every dig and every chuckle was just going to make this worse, especially if those assembled were going to put his name in their mouths.

Has my reputation really gotten to this extent?

...I have a reputation?

Half of my efficacy comes from the fact that I'm always written off as Dal's thug. They don't expect me to have a mind of my own. When did this happen?

Throws a hell of a lot out of whack.

"Onii-chan."

Oh come on.

Stepping out at a right angle, he bladed his body to keep both of the friends accosting him in view, sparing a moment to look his sister in the eye—

"Ari-chan is good girl," she insisted politely, mustering all of her inner strength and her middling command of English. "But if you want to hang out with your friends tonight, I can hang out with mine. We can both keep eye on things together."

And confirmed what his experienced ears had long known, from the tightness of the syllables to the distinct stressing of the honorific.

His sister was royally upset— and the Bekah behind her wasn't far off. The latter seemingly not at him, but that strayed from the point. The willowy Japanese girl's eyes were ablaze.

Add another issue to the list of "how this backfired horrendously."

As a preemptively cordoned off part of his mind spun off in about a baker's dozen directions, quickly gauging the severity of the situation and its likelihood of blowing up in his face, his eyes found Dallas. His brother in all but blood. His equal and opposite. The Dante to his Vergil. The Ken to his Ryu. The man who could save him from this mess with a word, a smirk, and a cavalier attitude.

He felt a hint of hope as the Son of the Sun smiled upon him...

And just as quickly found it dashed against the waves as he received an all-out broadside, straight to the face. A torrent of memes and inside jokes, spewing out into the airspace without care nor consideration of friendly fire. Immortan Joey. The Foundation of what We Are Now. Fucking FRAM CAM! Asshole, 2015 passed us by ages ago.

"Look at him go. It's like watching Scott Summers try and take a fucking eye exam."

His "thick brainpan" realized a crucial fact, prompting yet another fragment of his inner monologue to well up, frothing against the tight lid that was his self-control and gift of Courage.

This was on purpose! Looking at his eyes, looking at the laughter in them, the mischief, he could tell! Forget Danger Close, forget Friendly Fire, this was Enemy Action!

He forced down a shudder in his shoulders, and tightened his jaw before it could loose any sound.

Bastard, you're just trying to make me crack!

Busting a gut now would sink this ship outright. No amount of explanation that "no, see, the Fram Cam was this really poorly done shill that showed up a lot during mid-decade UFC cards, and I was laughing at the callback" would fall on charitable ears with a first impression of joining in on the guffawing.

So, he refused to laugh.

Alright.
Fine.
He couldn't count on Dallas.
He would have his head for the betrayal later.

For now, he would take full measure to regain a handle on this. He inhaled through his nose, lungs swelling with the clean lakeside air, and shepherded his thoughts back to center. Back to baseline. Within Cells Interlinked.

First, he would establish a threat matrix. A list, bottom to top, of what in this moment he was worried about the most. Who he was worried about the most. Naturally, the conclusion was that the current spectators sans the Solar Saboteur weren't worth worrying about. Most he didn't know. Most he couldn't hope to control. Doing so would only further exacerbate things. An appeal to any one of them would be poorly placed and poorly worded, coming across as simple panic. That would only further feed into the current atmosphere. Mirth wouldn't be just at his expense, it would be at their expense.

So in Ariana's mind, her expense. To tell the truth, he did shove the brunt of it onto her with the simple act of playing dumb. That was on him. But now, that in turn meant that he needed to keep her from flipping out if he wanted to remain true to his original mission statement in any respect. That was also a pragmatic act. Perhaps his firebrand of a mother was skewing his perception of things, but he understood well the old saying about the Fury of a Woman Scorned. With the little he knew of Ariana, mixed with the mercurial vibe he had picked up during their brief conversation, he doubted that she was going to let some of the things being said here slide with a smile on her face. What he didn't doubt in the least was that this would prove a blow to her pride.

Part of him noted that in a campaign of Psychological Warfare, it could potentially be a thread to tug.

The rest of him had common sense and said to both focus on the here and now, not hypothetical battles in which trash talk could serve a purpose towards a victory that escaped his massive skill and physical advantages. If only he'd paid more attention to Dana's friends, he might have a better shot at solving the problems of the current moment... something that could ameliorate an embarrassed daughter of Aphrodite.

This of course lead him to the top of the list: Dana. Dana-chan. Harada Danaye. Five Feet and Ten Inches tall, One-Hundred and Fifteen pounds. A firecracker that could produce strength tripling that of such stature on a whim, and go further, much further, if upset. She was definitely upset. She was making an effort to control that anger, yes. She wasn't dumb enough to start a fight with her own brother whilst on security duty, yes. But she was upset with him.

And in his personal terms of importance, when choosing between an upset Daughter of Aphrodite and an upset little sister, better the devil you know. One hundred percent. Sister takes priority. He could even rationalize it that their shared bond meant that he had a much better shot of cooling her head than the almost total unknown of Ariana. When push came to shove, one girl simply mattered much more than the other.

He had a feeling he would have eventually upset Ariana anyway, had she continued ignoring clearer and clearer signs. At some point, he would get patronizing and sarcastic. Dallas's influence was what he always blamed that on.

"Wait," he began, after what was only a beat in real time.

What could she have been upset about? Surely not rejecting her friend, she knew him too well. Danaye Harada had discussed the subject with him often, so there was no way she wasn't aware of his thoughts on the Olympus dating pool and a prospective dip within. That was right out. His sister was cheeky, his sister was stubborn, but his sister could read the writing on the wall.

They could keep watch together, she said. They could both hang out with their friends, she said.

...

Yeah, that was what Dallas had said. Just hang out and punt anyone who starts something into the lake.

More specifically from her... "If you want to hang out with your friends tonight, I can hang out with mine. We can keep an eye on things together."

Why if?

"Dal said you're free to hang out and enjoy the party just like the rest of us, remember?"

He glanced to Bekah for a brief moment, who inadvertently given him ammunition.

"The whole idea's that you won't be busy, you just need to be around to kick any ass that needs it. It's not like I'd have to take over for you, you know? Wouldn't be 'slacking' in the least, so there's nothing to worry about."

---

"Sword."

The Daughter of Athena stated her initial request simply; specifics were unnecessary. They had sparred often enough for him to know her preference. A rapier would suit her well, though if they had gotten that close already then she had failed in her responsibilities. Highwind's particular wishes for her involvement were unspoken, but clear anyway; he required her insight. Their martial abilities were complementary, but differed fundamentally in their nature. He looked at the littler picture. He was very, very good at it. There was a reason that she had yet to balance her wins with her losses against him, and that was because the Son of Ares, and his little sister, were dynamos on the battlefield. Bordering on unparalleled.

Rebekah looked at the larger one. It would fall to her to divine what these creatures were, and more vitally, their weak point. Strategy was her domain.

In a single fluid motion she had slipped off of Dana's lap, and wrapped her fingers around the handle of an empty keg. Aluminum, not suitable for any sustained fighting, But good enough for single use. The metal conformed to her will, reshaping according to her thoughts to provide her with a small handful of pointed javelins. Good enough for throwing, until she had something better. But she would need a better weapon for range. A bow? No, she didn't have the natural proficiency that Marston did. A firearm would do.

While her mind raced, the first javelin lanced through the air at inhuman speeds towards one of the creatures. Almost an afterthought, it was a probe more than anything. Jonas was working to scatter them. Her eyes were focused, observing and analyzing. Whatever the nature of these creatures, she would know it shortly. It was simply one of her abilities. She couldn't not.

"Dana, dear, I think it's time for your party favors." As an aside, after a moment more of thinking, she added; "And a shotgun, Jonas. With plenty of shells."

The daughter of Aphrodite wouldn't be very helpful in a fight. Hopefully she stayed down.

"Stand by for analysis."

_{☠ Marcella Aveline Bonaparte ☠ 20, Fifth Year
Ψ Rhea Franky Psomas Ψ 19, Fourth Year}

---

Marcella's beer bottle stopped, gentle grazing her lower lip in dull fascination as she peered out towards Viv and the creatures that pursued her. "Well aren't you all just adorable." Her first thought, as she froze the bottle against her lip, cocked her head and palmed the ruby away from Dal's pretty face, was to illusions. Perhaps a prank on the newest class of 'special select students.' But, as the others began to react to the situation, specifically Bekah, it became clear that the threat would be taken seriously. Marcella gave Dal a quick peck on the cheek before hopping down from the truck, the soil beneath her churning ever so slightly.

As they surrounded the group, a silence hung in the air as the demigods waited for some kind of instruction. Marcy expected to hear Bekah's voice or Dana's war cry. But rather it was Jonas' tactical mind that sprung the fastest, eliciting a small grin from Marcella.

Here we go.

"Marcy, scare these things if you can! Fear of God on deck now!"

"Ohh, coming right up Jo." Marcy's voice shifted from her typical bougie gently French accented party girl persona to one much more reserved. More of her French accent coming through in her words. She glanced over at Rhea, who'd also recieved some direction. The Rhea that Marcy had first met was not particularly good with the idea of combat. Or at least, she didn't have the demeanor for it.

Glancing out towards the Ares kids, they had the energy for it.

Marcy glanced back at Rhea, their eyes meeting briefly. It was a damned good thing Rhea was not the same girl she had first met.

Marcy walked out towards the wolf-like fiends, Jonas providing some cover fire as his bow shot off, the arrow rupturing the relative silence of the forest with a crack that rippled into the air. Marcy felt her focus grow, her hand on the ruby squeezing it. She felt the gem begin to splinter as her divine abilities flowed through it, grasping each shard like a tiny dagger.

"Si vous voulez une chose bien faite, faites-la vous-même." Marcy's whispered words took root in her body, as her divine energy began to slide off of her form. Her hair and dress seemingly affected by a second more ominous wind. The grass beneath her feet withered and the dirt dried up. She glanced out towards the beasts, her form radiated an energy many knew but did not face. The long night, a final rest.

Glaring at the beasts she knew she was effectively defenseless. Luckily, she had whom she did behind her. She felt another arrow whiz by her form. The force of the arrow's impact and trajectory past her form launched her hair up but she kept her focus. She had the gem if the beasts approached her, and until then she assumed they'd avoid her and split their group for the 'easier' prey. Surely, that was Jonas' quickly drafted battle plan.

"Come on then you little bitches. Let me to guide you to eternity." Marcy spat, as Creboros returned to her side, all three heads snarling at their newest meal. The princess of the underworld and her loyal hound faced the beasts, as they began to spread around her instead of charging.

It was working.

---

"Rhea! Gather up everyone who can't fight and hit the water! You can keep them safe there!"

Immediately Rhea leapt into action upon hearing Jonas' words. "Everybody who isn't going to get into a fist fight with a demon tonight hop in the fucking lake!" She shouted out with a tinge of almost anger in her voice. In truth, she wasn't angry at all - however she needed to rush those who would prove to be liabilities. She watched as Jonas divided the rest of his chess pieces as evenly as he could afford to. With Marcella's role becoming apparent through a more careful consideration of her abilities. One might assume that through her unique form of ferrokinesis, she'd be apt to handle the back line. However regarding Jonas' weapon choice and Dana's probable firearms given Bekah's cry for a shotgun, the backline was covered.

To protect the backline Jonas could have attempted to assemble a vanguard, but there wasn't enough pieces. The backline would get chewed up if there was an en masse attack, but as Marcella and Rhea locked eyes and Jonas cried out for the fear of god it was clear that there wouldn't be a charge en masse. Marcy would serve as a glorified obstruction. The demon-like dogs would have to split their attention moving around her and the backline would be able to fire at will as they split up.

Rhea's role, of course, was to protect the useless. In combat, one of her many lessons was to simplify what she could. Did she feel all of these people were useless? In combat, yes. That was all that mattered at the moment.

As Rhea backed up, with a group gathering behind her, she was presented with an option from Jonas. A weapon.

Her weapons were rustier than her hand to hand experience in combat, and she had the lake here. It wasn't a wise option and would likely slow down her muscle memory or reflexes, if her coat got torn up that was fine.

Her foot stopped just short of the lake. The lapping waves just barely missing her.

The first lesson she had ever been taught was to avoid training within water. She was heightened in water, it was a crutch. If she could become good outside of water, she'd be great within.

She let her foot slide back in the sand as the water began to lap up her pant leg. Continuing backwards into the lake her mind felt as if unlocked itself and her blood began to boil in her veins. She felt as if she could access any part of her knowledge in a fraction of the time she had been previously capable of it.

One of the hounds slipped past Marcy, Jonas and the bevy of backline babes that had been assembled. Rhea continued to back into the water. The monster advanced on her and the others, slowly. Rhea's finger tips gingerly made contact with the water as the beast's tendrils lashed out. It slowly advanced towards her, its maw snapping at the air between them. Its hunger, evident.

But Rhea was too fast, she saw the tension build in its back legs, the eyes focus narrow in on her jugular. Her hand rose up, calmly, casually and a stream of pressurized water shot out towards the beast. The hound could almost finish a whimper before both halves dropped into the watter, sullying it. The stream of water shot out towards a tree noticebly slashing into the trunk.

"Stay behind me." Rhea's voice was steady, with a tinge of excitement that only the most perceptive could detect. She was ready to go all out.