the Lakeshore...

Lorna sighed, fidgeting slightly at the assessment that they'd have to leave Kitty alone. She really hated leaving things like this. It was gnawing away at her from the inside, making her feel uncomfortable and stressed. Lorna never really did do well when she felt her friends were angry with her - she wanted to resolve the problem as soon as she could, just go ahead and rip off the bandaid. Leaving things be for a little while, even though she logically knew was the healthy choice, threatened to drive her insane. "Urghh, you're probably right... Maybe the fish are being better friends to her," she mumbled, feeling a bit ashamed still.

She glanced towards the craft building, spotting her siblings and other residents of Cabin Eleven heading on inside. She was going to be late if she didn't sprint on over there. But Lorna didn't care. It wasn't like the kitchen harpies would pop up and eat her if she didn't make it to arts & crafts on time.

Then, Kitty's head surfaced and Lorna's heart did a backflip. She had hardly processed Kitty's words before a word avalanche of its own fell from Lorna's lips. "Are you sure? Because we are really sorry - it was stupid of us and it hurt you and, like, if you want to punch me in the face then that is totally okay. Or slap me or whatever. Your business with Luke is your business and we shouldn't have said anything about it. Like you're great, he's great, everyone's... great." Lorna had no idea where she was going with this anymore, looking at Kitty somewhat anxiously. "So so so so.... great."

Kitty waves her hand. "No, I don't need to do anything like that.... Please calm down. I'd just like to look past this and forget about it." She gets out of the water and sighs. "Really, thank you for making me open my eyes about it. Ive been just ignoring facts because of my foolishness. Anyways I'll see you guys at dinner." Walks past them to her cabin so she can settle down with her thoughts.

"Alright Kitty..." Fable knew it was better to not push the issue farther since sometimes Kitty would finally get annoyed and snap. She really didn't need to get splashed with water since they were near the lake. "Well um I'm going to check on my siblings and make sure they're getting the last of the chores done." She waves while quickly heading over to the Apollo cabin.

- FORWARD IN TIME -

The Camp enjoys their dinner for the night, the next few days whispers of a new demigod surface. Talks of the minatour being defeated by a single unknown boy. Nobody knew what to think of the new boy until they finally started to see him. Percy Jackson. He'd been put in the Hermes Cabin like all the other unclaimed. Even more whispers went around the camp when they'd heard that Clarrise and her goons had been soaked in toilet water.

Kitty felt like she knew already. This boy was her brother! There was no doubt about it after the pipes had exploded and he was still unclaimed. She wanted a sibling, badly, but knew that he'd be under the same constant torture.... Being a child of the Big Three was never a good thing. Danger came even quicker, much more powerful monsters wanting to kill them, it was never safe to be out in the world.

She'd decided to wait and see if Poseidon would claim Percy, not wanting to spook him since she already had her speculations. The demigod hadn't even spoken to him yet! Today was the first time she had even been around Percy. Kitty was joining the Hermes Cabin for sword training. Like usual Luke was leading the lesson.

the Arena...

Today was a more traditional lesson in swordsmanship from Luke. The arena hadn't been turned into an obstacle course - instead, the straw dummies were out and scattered around. Luke surveyed the assembled demigods, most of them his siblings, and he grinned. His eyes settled on young Percy Jackson for a moment, before he started. "Alright, campers - today we're practicing our basic strikes on the dummies. After we've done that, I'll be pairing you up for sparring matches." He motioned to the side of the arena, where the swords were kept for those who didn't own their own sword. "Grab your sword and get started on those strikes, I'll be coming around to help as needed."

Luke intended on coaching Percy in particular today, going through the basics of Greek sword-fighting, while the rest of the Campers worked on their basics. It was a win-win as far as he was concerned.

Lorna yawned slightly. She hadn't really slept well the night before. Her sleep had been plagued with nightmares, nightmares that she wasn't ready to talk to anyone about. She'd rather take out her fears and anxieties on the dummies anyways. She headed on over to the weapons rack, and picked up a sword. She didn't even really notice it, but the sword instantly became balanced and sharp in her hand - moments before, the blade had been dull and somewhat dirtied.

Kitty always disliked having to do sword training, but she'd taken an interest in trying out whips. Oddly enough she'd found a sword that was like a whip and asked if the Hephaestus cabin could make her something simular. So on her own she'd train herself to use the scorpion whip once they'd finished making the crazy weapon. She undid her necklace, it switched to the celestial bronze sword whip. The dummy in front of her was tied in the blade and crushed when she pulled. "Woah....now that looks dangerous!" "That's really cool." Seemed that some of the Hermes cabin were rather impressed.

She rubbed her neck and shrugged. "Well I got curious about other weapons.... Im not handy with a normal sword and saw this in a book." "Well I sure wouldn't wanna mess with you, Kitty." "Yeah. That reached out pretty far." The demigod nodded. It was the first time she'd shown it off around the others so she sort of expected shocking reactions to the unusal weapon. Of course with some of the other curious about the scorpion whip she let them come up for a better look.

"You alright Lorna?" She questioned her friend when hearing the yawn. Kitty was training closer to the weapons rack and saw the Hermes girl was oddly worn out already. "Seems like you didn't sleep all that well.... Bad dreams?"

the Arena...

Lorna stifled another yawn, before jumping slightly, a little surprised - she hadn't noticed that Kitty was there. Her eyes instantly darted to the scorpion whip in Kitty's hands and her eyes widened. "Oh woah, that thing looks wicked cool," Lorna praised. She'd never seen one in action before. Most people at Camp tended to stick to the basic weapons - swords, daggers, bows. Every now and then Lorna spotted someone carrying a spear, but a scorpion whip? That was out there. But it made sense for Kitty - everything about her was so unique and special, Lorna wasn't surprised to see that her choice of weapon would reflect that as well.

She shifted slightly uncomfortably as Kitty hit the nail on the head, asking about bad dreams. "Nah, nothing like that," Lorna lied, forcing a smile on her face. "Cabin was just super rowdy last night - you know how it gets, with all of us crammed inside there," she joked. She glanced across the arena and saw that Luke was working with Percy. "Huh, he's really good already," Lorna said with somewhat of a pout. "Hopefully Luke doesn't tire him out too fast, I think he'd be a fun spar..."

"Heh, thanks." She smiles and nods gently. "Right, it would get rowdy at night. I remember that very well." Kitty had stayed only a couple months in the Hermes cabin when she arrived at Camp. But it was always loud, even at night when you wanted to sleep. A couple kids were either speaking to each other, new demigods were sobbing, or you couldn't even sleep because of the sounds outside if you weren't use to the creatures quite yet.

She looked over at Percy. "He's not bad, learning quick which is a good thing." The girl giggled softly. "Just ask Luke if you can have a turn to spar with Percy. I'd spar with him but my whip isn't a good weapon to go against." She spun it around before hitting another practice dummy. If a person was to go against Kitty it would be difficult to time how the blade would react. She could switch directions quick and attack at a different angle since it wasn't a straight blade. Plus it seemed like she had a good understanding of how to handle her weapon far better than any sword that had been given to her. "I'd really rather not hurt anybody with it. Unless its capture the flag." The demigod added while retracting her blade back over to her. The practice dummy was sliced up pretty good with how it'd wrapped around and sliced into the hay.

the Arena...

Lorna thought for a moment about doing what Kitty said, just going on up and asking Luke for a chance to spar with Percy. However, Kitty had been perceptive - Lorna hadn't slept well the night before. And her gut was telling her that she'd want to be at the top of her game when facing off against Percy Jackson. Besides, he was brand new - if he trained a little more, maybe he'd be more fun to spar. "Hmm, maybe I will... Or maybe I'll just ask him next time, when he won't just be good, he'll be great," Lorna proposed.

"Do you know what side your cabin's on next Capture the Flag?" Lorna decided to ask Kitty, as she swung at the dummy in front of her, slicing its head off cleanly. Her sword gleamed, catching the light. "I forget who we've made an alliance with - Athena, I think..." She was almost certain it was the Athena Cabin that Hermes had elected to go with, but the brain fog from her lack of sleep was making Lorna a little bit unsure.

Kitty nodded softly. "Yeah true, he'll be better the next time for sure." She paused for a second. "Oh I sided with Ares. Tyler asked me to side with them, so I said sure. So guess we'll be going against each other this Capture the Flag." Usually she'd go on Ares, Apollo, or Aphrodite's side if her other friends got to her before Lorna or Luke asked her to join Hermes cabin in any capture the flag games. She never really was picky about who she sided with for games. It was more about fun for her than the sport of competition. "Maybe you should try to get a nap sometime during the day.... It'd be bad to keep going on without proper rest, Lorna." Kitty was bit worried for her.

She put away her sword, turning it back into a necklace since it was getting close to the end of sword training. Her next task was to go do horseback riding or to do some Pegasus flying if she was up to going in the air. "So what's your cabin got next to do after this?" The demigod asked her friend.

the Arena...

Lorna's eyes sparkled slightly at the realization that Kitty was going to be on the opposing team. Of course, she would have been excited to fight by Kitty's side, but fighting against her was equally thrilling. And the realization seemed to put a little more energy into her weary body. "Oh gods, this is going to be absolutely wicked cool - you better bring that new sword of yours to it, fighting you when you're using that in the woods? It'll be my own personal Elysian Fields," Lorna exclaimed. "You have to promise me that you won't let anyone take you out until you face me - and I'll promise the same. This is going to be completely epic!"

She brushed off Kitty's concerns about her lack of sleep with an offhanded pish. "After this we have... what day of the week is it again... Oh! Mythology lessons with Chiron," Lorna said. She wasn't nearly as excited to study old myths as she was thinking about Capture the Flag plans. "Can't wait to learn about who did who and got Hera mad this week," she joked. "What about you - what're you up to next?"

"Well Clarisse has her spear that shes allowed to bring out so I'm sure that I'll be allowed my sword." She giggled softly at how excited the Hermes girl was about capture the flag. "Alright, I'll try my best. I know they like to put me near the little river for coverage. So find me there and we'll have a little battle."

Kitty rolled her eyes at the pish, of course Lorna wouldn't go nap, she'd rather drag herself through the day without a care. "Ah, I believe I have Mythology lessons tomorrow. Which I do always enjoy the history of our parents. Plus its also nice comparing our Mythology to others like the Romans." She loved Mythology the most. Her bookshelf back in the cabin had books upon books of different ones. Greek, Roman, Norse, Japanese, and Egyptian. Even books on Cthulhu. Figurines were a rarity as well in the cabin, a whole other spot dedicated to them and crystals. The Poseidon cabin was all decorated to her style. Mythology, vintage gothic, and cottagecore all wrapped into a messy crafty madness when she had her creative days.

"Horseback riding. Perhaps I'll get on a Pegasus, sometimes I do enjoy going up in the air on those beautiful beasts."

the Arena...

Lorna was eagerly thinking about the battle she was going to have with Kitty later. And thinking about how to get Kitty away from the river. If Kitty got into the river, she'd become basically unbeatable - and that wouldn't be any fun. Lorna didn't have any flashy abilities like that. All of her powers were more subtle. For instance, she had the uncanny ability to always arrive just before the bus reached the stop, and she never had to wait very long for one. Maybe she'd be immortal on a bus. Lorna made a mental note to see if she could bleed the next time she was on public transportation.

"Do you think the Romans are real? Or just copycats?" Lorna mused. "I bet we can't be the only mythology that got it right, y'know. Like what if there are other gods just bopping around, nearly bumping into each other? Do you think there could be someone with a parent from one thing and then a grandparent from another, maybe? What'd that even be called? A three quarters god?" She paused in her ramblings though, perking up a bit as Kitty mentioned getting on a pegasus. "Maybe I ditch mytho and come with you - I could be your passenger?"

"I think they're real and well copycats... perhaps but I dont know." She says while pondering the thought. "Maybe! Who knows, it'd be pretty interesting to see mythology mixed together. Like japanese and greek being put together between human blood." Kitty was curious, wondering if there was such things. Perhaps in older anicent days, the bloodlines mixed but now where muttled with generations and generations of races. Some perhaps getting stronger when godly blood reentered the family.

Kitty giggled a bit and smiled. "Ah well I suppose if you want to ditch your class then I don't mind. I can handle an extra person. Hopefully we get a well handled Pegasus. The younger ones get picky I swear..." She shakes her head while heading over to the stables. It wasn't very busy, so most of the horses and Pegasus' were in their stalls. They were beautiful; Gold and black coated ponies, a few silvers and browns as well, one was black and white speckled.

"I'll get the saddle and things. Gotta be safe while in the air." The girl says while gathering up the items needed to ride one of the winged horses.

the Arena...

Lorna was dazzled at the possibility of mixing from mythologies outside of Greek and Roman - something she had never really thought much about before. Kitty's particular suggestion of Japanese reminded Lorna of Kitty's extended family. Maybe her step father's side had some blood from Japanese deities - of which, Lorna couldn't name a single one. For better or worse, most of the myths she knew had been taught to her at Camp Half-blood, and Chiron didn't tend to cover myths of other cultures unless he was making a point about how it was a reimagining of some Greco-Roman one or that it basically covered the same content. "Do you think any of your step-dad's folks has some divinity in them?" Lorna asked, putting the sword she had used down on the rack, before following after Kitty.

"Yeah I don't mind ditching, reckon the worst thing Chiron would really do is give me a stern talking to," Lorna said with a shrug. She was excited to see the pegasi anyways - they were truly beautiful. She found herself drawn to one of the brown ponies. It wasn't as flashy or shiny as the rest of them, but she liked it all the same. Maybe it was one influence of living in the Hermes Cabin - they didn't need fancy things (well, sometimes they stole them, but eh) like some of the other cabins did.

"Which one are you taking out?" Lorna then asked, turning to Kitty again.

---

---

---

---

"My stepfather....actually is a mythological creature in Japan. Its....bloody fucking crazy. I'm unsure if you''ve ever heard of Kitsunes. But he's one of those. That bag that I keep on me during Capture the Flag, its charmed with his magic to make it an endless storage. Also I keep some of his talisman in my bag that are protection charms." She came back with the saddle and other items. Giggling slightly at that comment about Chiron lecturing Lorna.

The girl nodded her head over to a black and butterscotch spotted Pegasus. "I usually use Hesper more than any of the others. Thankfully he's available." She gave the horse an apple treat before suiting him up. "Just make sure to hold on. He tends to take off very quickly."
"Hmpf. I don't always take off that quickly!" He argued with the demigod.
"Uh huh, sure you don't Hessi." Shakes her head.

Kitty climbed up and held her hands out to help her friend up onto the back of Hesper. He wasn't a large one like the rest but it sometimes was a bit difficult to climb up onto him when you weren't the main rider.

The Stables...

Lorna had never heard of a kistune before - most of what she knew about Japan had really just been things Kitty had taught her, or things she had assumed from watching Studio Ghibli movies with her mom when she was little. "Is it.. a type of magic cat?" Lorna guessed, since kit sounded like kitten to her and she didn't have anything else to go off of. She blushed in embarrassment, second guessing whether or not that had been an okay thing to say. She didn't really know a lot about other cultures. She was still mostly learning lots about her own cultures - she'd learn about her mother's culture when hanging out with Nadja and her family, and her father's culture here at Camp Half-blood. Lorna still wasn't sure how the two could mix and combine.

"But either way, that's wicked cool! What sort of stuff can he do? It sounds like magic stuff? Is he immortal? Where's his power come from? Is it something you're born as or something you become - or kinda both?" Lorna asked, incredibly curious. Her mind could hardly decide what to fixate on - the bombshell Kitty had dropped or how incredibly COOL it was to be on the back of a pegasus, her heart pounding as Kitty helped her onto the back of the horse.

Kitty giggled and shook her head. "No no. Neko, thats the word for cat. Theres a mythical creature called a Nekomata, it has two tails." Finally she could blabber about Japanese lore to someone. "Kitsunes are foxes with nine tails! Kit, like what they call baby foxes." The demigod quickly told Lorna to hold on before they took off into the air. Hovering above the stables. "My step-father was born as one. Sometimes you can be reborn as a Kitsune. It just all depends. Spells yeah like hmmm pyromancy is a thing besides just the protection spells hes given to me. I...need to ask more about his life span and how he has the magic. I didnt ever think of asking those sort of things."

She was only taught so much at a time when she visited her familys home. Which wasn't often... such a rare thing to do... Gods she missed her siblings and step-father so so much. It always left an ache in her heart. Being a Big Three Child sucked in that way. Others had it a bit more lucky. Being able to go see their families, their friends, have normal lives outside of camp. Somedays she loathed those who got to be "normal".

All she could do was ignore the ache, train herself, and be safe in camp.

The Stables...

Lorna's eyes were wide with fascination as Kitty explained all of this lore to her. She couldn't help but notice that of all the mythological Japanese creatures she knew (which were now two), they both had extra tails! "Woah! Do all of them have like more tails and stuff? Or is it just the cat and cat-like ones? Like is there a dog thing with like ten tails?" Lorna asked. Her next question died in her mouth as she let out a slight screech, clinging onto Kitty for dear life as they suddenly rocketed up into the air. "Oh my gods don't drop meeeeee!!!" she cackled, enjoying herself just as much if not more than she was terrified. When they came to somewhat of a stop, hovering about the stables, Lorna processed the next bit of information that Kitty had given.

"So it's not like a mommy kitsune and a daddy kitsune have a baby kitsune - anyone can just... give birth to one? That's wicked cool! And weird! But mostly cool!" It was really blowing her mind to think about, which was saying something as there were so many weird Greek myths that Lorna shouldn't have been that thrown off by it. She wasn't too disappointed either by Kitty saying that she didn't know things - Lorna didn't know lots of things. "That's okay! We're both just learning. Like, I still don't know Hebrew very well, and like, I can say basic things in it but I don't really know what I'm doing, I kinda mumble through it on holidays and stuff..."

"Maybe? I havent heard of a dog with extra tails. Just the cat and fox." Kitty replies as they soared up into the air. She patted Hesper and off they went, flying above the camp grounds. "You're fine Lorna. Not gonna plumet to the ground." She thought about it for a moment. "Probably could. I mean its kinda a spiritual sorta thing I believe.... But I think my step-dad says it takes time for a person to become a kitsune if they aren't a full true blood kitsune."

Right they were still learning, it'd take time to get all the information down pat about mythology. "Oh yeah learning other languages is difficult depending on what one it is." Kitty was slowly teaching herself to speak other languages. Like Japanese of course.

The Stables...

That struck a chord with Lorna - one that she had been somewhat obsessing over in the back of her mind. Fable had suggested to her that maybe she needed to think things over, when it came to whether or not she liked girls. As the thought went back into the front of Lorna's mind, her stomach twisted with anxiety. They were both still just learning - about what cool creatures had multiple tails, how to say things, and... Lorna didn't think too much, before she spoke - not this time.

"Hey, Kitty? Can I ask you something? Because I was talking with Fable the other day, when we were off in the woods and you had run off and - sorry again about that - but like... Anyways we were talking about things and like it got me wondering and like of course this isn't a thing for like me to worry about or anything, but like... Ugh sorry I feel like I'm just, like, vomiting out words right now - guess I didn't get my dad's skill with language, he's supposed to be really persuasive and stuff - but... How do you know when you like someone?"

Her heart was pounding, and she was still holding onto Kitty - something she then became INCREDIBLY aware of as she asked this question. Lorna was confused and twisted up inside about it all, but maybe Kitty could give her some sort of answer here - not that Lorna wanted to tell Kitty that she was confused about it or anything like that, the thought for whatever reason made Lorna feel mortified.

The young demigod nodded and listened to her friend. "Oh um its fine... Well you sorta get this tight feeling in your chest any time you look at them. And you can barely speak to them correctly. You know forgetting words or stumbling over them and stuttering. You think about them all the time almost. Hmn... picture holding their hand or just being close. I don't know...thats at least how Ive felt in the past when Ive liked someone." She replies while soaring back down to the stables after a while.

They land carefully and the pegisus trots a bit before stopping and letting the two girls get off his back. "I get treats right?"
"I'll get your treats and brush your mane just give me a moment." Kitty slides off the equestrian creature and helps Lorna down as well. "I would have done some more flying but I think the horns gonna go off to call us all for a meal soon if I'm correct." She says while getting out treats for Hesper from the saddle pack pocket. The horse eats the dried apple slices happily as she pats his head gently.