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He watched as his boyfriend scrubbed his face with his free hand, emotions clearly eating him up from inside as they were him. His expression quickly going from concerned, to sad, surprised, and then back round to concern as Zeke pulled him into a tight hug. Demetri could feel the soft golden hair rustling against his neck as his boyfriend buried his face into his neck before settling in. He held Zeke there for a moment before slowly moving his hand up and down his back to try and give him some solace. "You're not wrong." he paused, feeling his voice vibrating in his chest against Zeke's. "The gods do see fit to want to control us, and they always will. However" Demi pulled back a bit, looking into Zeke's eyes as he tilted his chin up with a free hand.

"Just because they can try to control me, doesn't mean that I'm not fully yours. Yes, I'm now unfortunately betrothed, but that doesn't change us or who we are, what we are. The gods can't say shit about it either. Alexios is born of Aphrodite and Ares even though she's wed to Hephaestus, I'm a child of Zeus regardless of the fact that he's married to Hera the Goddess of Marriage. So they can say all they want about this betrothal but they can't really force me to be loyal. I'm yours fully and utterly yours." Demi went in part way for a kiss, stopping just before Zeke's lips before pulling back. He didn't want to force one on him, he didn't know if Zeke even wanted to get one right now. So instead he was content just giving him a dopey dimpled smile while taking in the face of his boyfriend.

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There was a brief moment, where Alexios eyed the pair as Cassian stood there with his hand extended and waiting. Normally he'd have pulled it away already, deciding the other clearly didn't wish to reciprocate the action. But it was clear to him as he watched Alexios, that there was something else going on. It was subtle, as it usually tended to be, but those few moments of quiet allowed for Cassian to study. Sure the expression of annoyance was plain to see, written across the gods face as if he wanted the world to know, but it was the little details that stuck out to him. The way his jaw was clenched, the small arch across the brow, his posture, and most importantly his eyes. This went beyond annoyance, this look was one he'd seen before, hatred. All of that directed right at Zeke, and behind them was a softness. One only seen when his eyes wavered towards Demetri.

If he was anyone else but a god, he'd say he was jealous of the pair. Not because they were together, but because he wasn't with the one he'd wished. It was as if Alexios' two sides were active at the same time, war and love both fighting to show themselves. In a way he reminded him of Janelles, though in regards to Demetri instead of Zeke. Cassian's thoughts were interrupted once Alexios responded to him, shaking his hand before continuing forward once more. He followed by his side in lockstep, as he continued his conversation. "God of Parties huh? Should my dad be worried you're coming for his title?" he joked clearly. "Son of Dionysus, a god often mistaken, or enraptured, with parties. Though it's sure one hell of a way to explain ritual madness but it is what it is." Cassian shrugged. A part of him wanted to apologize again for Zeke's behavior, he wanted to mend that bridge quickly before it affected the quest, but he worried Alexios would see it as meddling and turn his ire on him instead.

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Ezekiel didn’t want to pull away. He tried to remain hidden in the crook of Demetri’s neck, pretending everything happening was a horrible dream. He felt safe and loved for the moment. If he moved, Zeke worried that it would all come crumbling down.
Demetri made Zeke look at him, and his words helped to disarm the angry, hurt son of Apollo. Ezekiel smiled a little, nodding. ”Something tells me it isn’t going to be as easy as that.” Ezekiel didn’t want to share either. He didn’t want to be in an “open” relationship. He wanted to be with Demetri exclusively. He wanted Demetri’s words of being his to be true, but something told Ezekiel it wouldn’t be that simple.
Demetri moved in to kiss Zeke but pulled back. Ezekiel saw the hesitation in his eye but the openness in his smile. Demetri was giving Ezekiel a choice. Ezekiel smiled, resting a hand on the back of Demetri’s neck and slipped his fingers through his hair before he pulled Demetri in and kissed him deeply. Considering present company, it was a bold move, but Ezekiel wasn’t going to back down, and he wanted to seal that promise with a kiss.
Ezekiel pulled away, bumping his forehead against Demi’s before letting his boyfriend go. He looked at the other two boys until his eyes settled on Alexois and frowned. ”We started off on the wrong foot. I take full responsibility for that, but I don’t like people trying to control my life. I’m sorry I took what our parents are doing out on you. I hope we can move on better terms.” Ezekiel probably wouldn’t like the guy as long as he was betrothed to Demetri, but he would make an effort to be at least amiable.

---

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Andy's little untrusting heart didn't like that Mary told Damon they had the book, but it was too late now. He at least seemed excited rather than mad. Andy leaned into her aunt's embrace. It was comforting. Something she had had precious little of for too long. Especially without Arthur around. Arthur was a comforting presence. Even if Andy felt like she had to protect him all the time. She missed him and hoped he was doing well.

She ate her food quietly and looked at the map the boy had produced. She was not a great judge of maps. She couldn't guess much of the meanings of the marks on it, except simple things like trees and walls. The book map was much more helpful since it was an active map and helped them. It had led them here in a way.





"Whichever you prefer." Niah shrugged. She ate her food quickly, which was a good thing. She huffed a little when she noticed the men entering. "Time to go. If you aren't done eating you are now." Of course it always happened when they were eating.

"This way." She said, leaving the remains of her food on the table. No time for being nice when men with clubs were following you. And Niah had a nice fear of random groups like this since the incident that had turned Mads into a werewolf. That hadn't been their first group of werewolves. And without Nancy and her fantastic ability to just pop their heads...well Niah didn't like close combat with them.

Niah led the way out of the building through the secondary exit and headed for the hotel on their slips. They'd check-in, hopefully, get a room that was semi-defensible, and get some much-needed sleep.

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Janelle looked over at Nancy, a bit surprised that she had decided to ask about what was going through her head. From what little she had gathered about the Roman, aside from being Zeke's half sister, she didn't seem like the type to do that sort of thing. Kristin it wasn't all that surprising to her to hear her then ask about it too. Her attention was a bit distracted though, and when it came to food, she only ordered 2 things, a large french fry, and a soda. At the moment she wasn't really too hungry.

"De dings I want to vent about is a bet lahng and prahbably dahn't 'ave time fahr everythin befahre dey catch up to us," Janelle said slowly, thinking about how best to explain what was going through her head. "Where to start, well let's see. Fahr me entire life I dedn't really 'ave friends, at all. Because o' dat I'll admit I'm kend o' naive to de way dings tend to wahrk, or social dings, and tend to be a bet too trustin and see de best in everyahne... Dat dedn't change even when Jason and I ended up gettin dragged across de ocean because de only family who'd take us in after our parents died was our uncle in New Yahrk City. Dat's 'ow comb I was able to afford de train teckets, because all o' our parents belongings and assets were split between ous, though definitely would trade dat all away fahr our parents back. Big defference in size compared to where we grew up though when we gaht to New Yahrk. Anyway, fast fahrward two years and we end up at camp. Den turns out I get dragged along on a quest wit Krestin and Zeke... Whech I guess is where de whole problem o' dings start really, wit Zeke. I'll admit now seems a bet stupid and naive, but I guess I ended up wit a bet o' a crush ahn 'im, sence mahst anyone else befahre den really 'adn't exactly treated me like a nahrmal persahn. 'e was nice and all o' dat and I enjahyed bein around 'im. Fast forward again though to de mornin we 'ad left fahr our quest now. Dere was dat whole situation in de monin wit 'edge basically yellin at 'im for bein in de wrong cabin. and o' course dat gets de camp gossip train goin and it's kend o' 'ard to potentially avoid it. Later at breakfast, de camp was stell goin a bet chaotic wit it at time, so I figured why naht basically just go ask Zeke about de whole din, de respahnse I gaht was dat essentially nothin was goin ahn. Turns out dat was a lie, as later dat day when we gaht into de city, when Zeke wanted to talk to me, it was literally about dat and I snapped back, whech I dahn't usually do. Says 'e ded actually 'ave feelings fahr me or somethin stupid like dat. I dahn't believe a damn din dat combs out o' 'is mouth at dis point and dahn't care if 'e ends up dead ahr sahmethin at dis point, you can't trust 'im sence 'e'll lie straight to your face over dings to basically cover 'is own sken." she wasn't sure how the other two would react to this whole rant. She hadn't really expected to do that in the first place, but it all just sort of tumbled out before she could stop herself. Janelle typically didn't rant, but the pair had told her to essentially vent about what was going through her head, so she did. What she hadn't expected was more of the length of how much she had ranted.

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"It's ahkay Stella, you can take first, I'll take de last one if Niah wants de meddle one. Dat way makes it a lettle easier ahn you overall really. I'm used to wakin up early," he said to her with a bit of a shrug. Jason ate his food fairly quickly, figuring the sooner they were done eating, the quicker they could get to the hotel. Which meant the quicker for them to go and get some sleep which was probably a good idea in the long run. Since they probably wouldn't get a whole lot at this point.

That's when he heard the voice, and glanced over, the guy was clearly a monster of some sort, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to be. Though personally he wasn't too keen on trying to learn what it was up close, so he was rather glad when Niah instantly spotted another exit, "Comb ahn, we dahn't want to steck around 'ere long," Jason said to Stella, before heading after Niah as they went to see about getting to the hotel rather quickly so they weren't out in the open.

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"Well at least the Sphinx didn't decide to throw it away right? Helps us out a little bit," she said with a slight shrug. This sort of was weird, and she was still trying to figure out how Damon had defied the odds and survived alone, and though she wouldn't say anything about it again, she was pretty certain the one he had gotten separated from probably wasn't still around. The odds of one person surviving alone in the Labyrinth was rare. The odds of two people surviving having gotten separated from one another in the Labyrinth was near impossible.

Her attention turned now towards Madalyne as she asked about whether or not he knew the area they were in pretty well. This was a useful thing though, as it turned out he'd been making a map of sorts, which was what the group on that quest had been attempting to do anyway. So the fact that he still had the map that they'd been working on was a good thing. Mary instantly opened up the map in the back of the book, and started comparing it to the map that Damon had created. "Well the map in some areas is a bit outdated just because of the sheer nature of the Labyrinth, but nice, you've basically have this area down almost exactly, I'm kind of impressed a bit," she said towards him.

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"I'll take a whopper, large fries, and a large vanilla shake, thanks," Nancy ordered. She had been on enough quests and whatnot with the legion to know to take advantage of opportunities for food when they came - particularly if the only other options were rations. The rations kept them alive, but they were patently disgusting at times. They'd probably outlast the heat death of the universe, or even Jupiter himself. Janelle hadn't ordered much to eat, which concerned Nancy, but Nancy wasn't her mother. Until it became a problem for the quest, she wasn't going to say much.

Nancy then moved off to the side, grabbing a table for them to sit at, as Janelle decided she was going to open up after all. "Let's sit down here," Nancy said, making sure to give Janelle that audio queue, as Nancy sat down at one of the inner seats, leaving an outer seat easily accessible for Janelle. She listened to Janelle's rant, as the girl explained everything that was bothering her in great detail, basically giving Nancy her life's story. Nancy actually rather prided herself on being able to read other people, to psychoanalyze them - sometimes with the efficiency of a student in their first psych class, finding every label in the book and applying it to their friends, but sometimes she hit the nail on the head.

The outward problem seemed to be that Zeke had lied to her - which Nancy was irked at him for. If Janelle's timeline was reliable, and she saw no reason why it wasn't, Zeke could've come clean with her when she first asked. Leading her on, even unintentionally, was cruel. If he wasn't ready to be out yet with Demi, then find another way to spare Janelle's feelings. Of course, Nancy also took issue with the fact that Janelle had a death wish on him - something that would definitely tempt the Fates and maybe even Venus. It was dramatic, excessive, and cruel.

Nancy kept going back to what Janelle had first said though - about the death of her parents, and feeling alone. It seemed like this was really about abandonment and trust. Nancy's guess was that this was just that fear making itself manifest, with Zeke's behavior not being the real issue, just something to lash out at. "Okay, so that was hella uncool of him, grody to lie to you. Real butt-face behavior. I don't like you wishing death on him, because I'm going to be honest here, demigods are going to die. He might die. You might die. You don't want that on your conscience if it happens. And I think you're a better person than that, anyways."

"I obviously can't speak for him about what he did or why, but Janelle, sweetheart... Is this really about Zeke? Or is it more about you feeling abandoned and alone?"

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Leda felt something hit her back and then grasp her hair, yanking on it. She reflexively bent backwards with a shriek, her hands going up as she grabbed at her head, trying to get her fingers around the hands of whatever fucker had grabbed onto her. She couldn't get a good grip on it though, at least not before suddenly it had been knocked off of her, and her amazingly hot girlfriend pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I could've handled that!" Leda protested with a wink.

She then took off at a run, spotting that merpeople nearby were being menaced by more of the demons. She hacked and slashed her way through the enemies with her sword, turning combatant after combatant into monster dust that gently floated down to the ocean floor. By the time Leda took a breath and reassessed what was going on, she had taken out ten of them in total. But there were still more. The fight wasn't nearly over yet.

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Stella had been halfway through her sandwich when she heard the voice... The one mentioning it smelled demigod meat. Why did this keep happening while they were trying to eat! At this rate Stella was going to become thinner than she already was, and not for good reasons. She wrapped up the rest of her sandwich and shoved it into her pack. Maybe when they got to the room she could try to finish it on her watch. Her iced tea would have to be abandoned however, and that was a downright shame. She picked up Arbor's leash and gave it a gentle tug, but she didn't have to worry about him really. He was already on high alert it seemed, especially after the train station.

She said nothing as she gathered up her bag and then went to follow Jason and Niah out the side entrance, and headed to their hotel. She hoped that once they got inside there that they could hide away among the mortals. Maybe if there were a lot of other people in the hotel they might get confused about where the demi-gods were. Her pup kept close to her, even if he seemed to be making some low growling sounds at the monsters back in the cafe as they left. She reached down to pet his head, hoping to calm him down a bit as they crossed the street.

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Harrisburg Amtrak Train Station:

Luckily the hotel was just across the street from where the train station actually was, there were a few cars that were out and about during the evening but they'd be able to make it across safely. Inside of the hotel it was relatively empty there was a small group that was being checked in and the receptionist handed them their room keys. The lobby of the hotel was pretty nice, there was even a small bar in the corner and a dining area as well to if the group wanted to get some breakfast in the morning before hopping onto the train if they wanted. Seeing the three of them enter he looked at them for a moment and waved them forward. "Good evening what can I help you all out with?" He asked them.

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"I mean you could have, or you could have risked cutting off those beautiful locks of yours." Kiera said to her girlfriend and smiled as she looked at Sera giving her half-sister a nod, there was an axe nearby that Sera could grab and use to defend or attack the sea demons with. Some of the nearby sea creatures started to attack the telekines as well to, helping out their demigod and merpoeple allies. Even a few dolphins swam through knocking and slamming into them to. Which Kiera was surprised to see them do that she knew that they were pretty intelligent animals.

Kiera counted around twenty more telekines that were still fighting around against the merpeople as Kiera ran forward and swung her sword at it managing to kill three of them. "Hey Sera see if you can control the water around them." Kiera suggested to her half-sister hoping to get her to learn a little bit about how to use her demigod abilities would be helpful in the fight. Leda would see in the distance that more of the little sea demons were setting up some siege weapons with the help of a few cyclops that weren't allied with Poseidon.

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"The weird thing about this area it doesn't shift like the rest of the Labyrinth does." Damon said as he got up and pointed to a singular spot at the center of the area that they were in. "There is a large structure there I never really got a close look at it, there were a number of monsters in that area." Damon told Mary as he sat down and continued to eat the rest of his food. "In the morning I can take you all there if you want." Damon offered the group figuring that the group needed some direction there to.

Madalyne looked at Andy for a moment as she leaned against her and gave her a loving smile, she didn't mind that she was leaning against her as she continued to eat and study the map a little bit more. She thought for a moment getting some help navigating to where that area was, she figured that it was probably where they needed to actually go before speaking. "I believe that is where we need to go to complete our quest then if it is the only place that doesnt change on that map." She said it was probably the only way other than mindlessly wandering around the area to where they needed to go.

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"Your pops and I have really great times at the parties that he or I set up, I can tell you all the stories about him if you want sometime." Alexios said to Cassian as his attention turned towards Demi and Zeke as the two of them continued to talk amongst themselves, hearing every word that Demi was saying which annoyed the hell out of him. But he decided to not say anything at the moment as they continued to walk when Zeke turned his attention back towards him, and apologizing for punching him. He looked over seeing a nearby woman carrying an ice cream cone in her hand, that was passing the four of them he subtly flicked his wrist and the cone ended up landing on Zeke's face. "Now we are even no harm, no foul." Alexios said with a slight smirk happy with the little petty revenge that Zeke clearly deserved.

The food was handed to the group as Kristin grabbed the trays and followed alongside Nancy towards one of the booths taking a seat across from Janelle and Nancy. She listened to Janelle as she started to vent about everything, and she could understand why she was really pissed off at Zeke. "It was a real dick move both on Demi and Zeke's part not even considering your feelings at all." Kristin said to Janelle as she got up and gave her a quick hug.

"If you want me to punch Zeke in the face i'll happily do it for you if you want." Kristin said, though she didn't comment on the whole wishing death on him thing, anyone of them could die while on their quest. Kristin turned when she heard the door opening seeing a new face but could see Zeke Demi and Cassian in the window. Janelle would get a sudden strong scent of fresh roses that would lead to the ladies restroom, only she would be able to smell it.

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Demetri smiled down at his boyfriend, his eyes full of love for the Son of Apollo. He felt as Zeke's fingers ran through his hair in the back of his head before being pulled into a passionate kiss. For a split moment he worried about his company, but almost immediately he stopped caring and leaned into the kiss more. When they'd finally pulled back he gave his boyfriend a dopey dimpled smile with his smitten eyes. "Nothings ever as easy as I say." he joked. As he watched Zeke make his way towards Alexios and Cassian. He didn't seem as angry as earlier, and hopefully that meant he wouldn't throw another punch.

And while Demetri had no love for Alexios (I mean he just met him how could he?) he didn't want to see this animosity drag on between Zeke and him. Demis' smile only got wider as his boyfriend extended an olive branch, offering his apology for his earlier actions while simultaneously asking to move forward on better terms. He couldn't ask for more. He couldn't tell what Alexios was thinking, would he accept? Would he punch him back? Would he simply decline it? Demi didn't know the party god at all to know how he would react to this sudden turn of events. But the next thing Demi knew, Zeke had gotten ice-cream on his face. Compelling Demi to make his way back to his boyfriend's side, chuckling a bit to himself as he ran a finger across Zeke's cheek before suggestively putting it in his mouth. "Mmm. Mint chip, great choice mate. It's actually my favorite ice-cream"

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Cassian beamed at the idea of hearing more stories about his father. All his life he grew up hearing about how wonderful Dionysus was, his mother fully enraptured by him and what he's done. His whole reason for being at camp was basically a custody switch. He wanted to finally get the chance to meet his father, but shortly after joining camp the gods all locked themselves away. They pulled Dionysus out of Camp and left it to Chiron to run. It's not that he didn't like the old centaur, but he wanted to finally see his dad, meet him, and get to know the man his mother had all those years ago. So if Alexios had even more tales to tell, Cassian was all ears. "I'd love to hear some stories whenever you can."

Their little moment was interrupted by camp asshole Ezekiel Kel. Cass didn't know what more he was wanting to do, but whatever it was it couldn't be good. Much to his surprise though, it was. Had Cassian been a betting man, he'd have lost right then and there on whether Zeke would ever actually verbalize an apology to Alexios over the hit. If anything it'd be something like "Sorry you have such a punchable face." Cass rolled his eyes at both their displays, it was very 'boys will be boys' but he supposed that beyond all the demi-god shit they were just boys. "I prefer Pistachio" he chimed in after Demi's comment. When they finally arrived at the Burger King, Cassian walked past the trio and made his way inside, standing away from the counter as he looked for something he wanted.

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Janelle listened to the responses from Kristin and Nancy. She was at least somewhat glad that they didn't seem to think that she was crazy at the very least, so that was something. Her attention went towards Nancy as she asked if it was because of Zeke or other issues that she might have. At the moment? She definitely just thought it was because of Zeke at this point. "Persahnally at least at de moment I do dink dat it is because o' Zeke at dis point and nothin else," she responded towards Nancy with a slight shrug. "As fahr punchin Zeke pretty sure me brahther would want first debs ahn dat one, but danks fahr de offer," she added to Kristin.

That's when she smelled something, and she was wondering what the hell it was. The strong smell of roses was a bit strange to her, since that was very out of place in the restaurant. "I'll be back in a moment," she said to the pair, before she got up from the table, and followed the rose scent eventually finding her way to the bathroom where it was coming from. "'ello?" she said somewhat quietly as she entered the room, unsure of what to expect really.

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Hopefully they'd be able to get along to the hotel to finally have a slight bit of downtime. That would be nice to not overly have to worry about potentially taking off at the drop of the hat. But considering the fact that they were wandering around on a quest, that likely wasn't going to exactly be super easy to accomplish. He could hope though for a little bit of quiet or something at this point, so his attention shifted to seeing about getting settled into the hotel room.

Thankfully it was fairly close by to the station, which made sense considering they had been given a voucher for the hotel to begin with, so obviously the voucher was for a nearby hotel. Jason walked up to the front desk receptionist, and he listened to the guy as he asked what he could help them with. "'ello, we've gaht a voucher to stay de night 'ere frahm de train station," he said to the man, figuring that explained what they were doing.

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"The fact that it doesn't shift is definitely odd," she agreed, since as far as she knew, the Labyrinth was ever changing, so why was it that this one area was like an island or something like that? Just this one area that could stay in place and shape the entire time? It didn't make a whole lot of sense to her, but then hearing what Madalyne said about this place likely being the area they needed to go to did make sense to her in general. It obviously was special, they might as well had a giant sign that said go here or something like that.

Hearing Damon offering to take them there in the morning, she nodded her head a bit. Though she did wonder how time appeared to work in the Labyrinth. Actually thinking about it, she didn't even know how long it had been since they had walked into it or something. "That would be really helpful, since until now we didn't even really have an idea of where we were supposed to go in here, so this in general is very helpful," she said to Damon. At least they now had a direction to go.

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Ezekiel wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t ice cream to the face. As soon as the cold snack hit his face, it started to drip and stain his shirt. He felt a finger on his cheek and opened his eyes to see Demetri liking the evidence off his finger. Thank the gods for Demetri. If he weren’t there to cut the tension, Zeke would have lost it again. As it was, he had to relax his hands again.
He smirked at Demetri and took a lick of the ice cream from his face, as well. ”Hmm, mine too,” he said. Ezekiel wiped as much ice cream off his face before reaching Burger King. ”Hey, can you get extra-large fries if they have to share?” Zeke asked Demi. ”I’m going to go clean up,” he said before disappearing into the men’s bathroom.

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Well, that gave them direction. That felt good, even if Andy didn't like Damon. "Thanks." She said. There was also the implication that they could spend the night there. In the cabin. In relative safety. Andy was used to sleeping in dangerous places. But since she had gotten to camp the previous summer, she hadn't had much need for that. She didn't like the idea of sleeping out in the open now.

She finished her food. It filled her stomach. Another thing she was thankful for. Coming to camp had made her softer. It had given her some meat back on her bones and given her security. She loved that security. But she also knew what living at the bare minimum was like. She knew she could survive, but would she want to? Not without alone. Not without Arthur.

"You did well to survive. Maybe we can help you get home." No one, not even someone Andy didn't like for personal reasons, deserved to live here like that.





Niah let Jason take the lead. She watched their backs. Making sure they weren't being followed. It seemed to be clear. That was good. Niah's mind was on high alert. She wondered if she'd be able to sleep through the first watch even at this point. Maybe she could read some of the book. Reading sometimes helped. That or journalling.

She smiled at the receptionist. Handing him one of the vouchers. She expected the hotel had been inundated with people from the train, so hopefully, they hadn't dallied too long, and there was still one room left. "We only need one room. Oh, and are service animals okay? We have one with us." Thank god it was actually illegal to ask to see the paperwork for service dogs. That was working in their favor here. If he asked, they could say medical reasons.

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The door swung open to the Burger King, and Nancy turned her head, seeing some familiar faces - and one brand new one. She had seen enough minor gods in her day to recognize one. Her posture stiffened as she straightened up, wary and somewhat on edge. The gods were many things, and she believed and fought and bled for them, but she knew above all else their capacity for cruelty. They were like children at times, never facing consequences, always passing them off onto someone else. Janelle made her excuses, heading off in the direction of the restroom - as did Zeke, coincidentally.

"Do you recognize the god?" Nancy murmured to Kristin. She didn't recognize him. He looked like most minor gods, classically beautiful and perhaps a little bit insane. She didn't feel a thunderous stirring in the air or notice any particularly ill omens, so she was fairly certain this was not one of the Olympians. And she somewhat doubted one of them would be here, hanging around with Zeke and Demi and Cassian. Unless it was Venus. Maybe this was Venus. Nancy would not put it past Venus to be continuing to make trouble.

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The fight was continuing to rage on around them, and Leda and her girlfriend were idly discussing haircuts. "Mm, I have been thinking about cutting my hair short - maybe trying out an undercut or something as well." She liked having her hair up in braids, but sometimes it did get in the way. And sometimes Leda thought it'd be fun to try out a new style, and who knew how long she'd have to try things out before she was inevitably dead and buried. Such was the life of a demigod. It was time to live hot, die young, and leave a sexy corpse behind.

In the distance, she saw siege weapons being set up. "I'll go take care of those, be back in a mo'," Leda promised. She then took off at superspeed, dashing across the ocean floor and closing the distance in record time. There were four weapons being constructed, each of them with their own crew of operators - some of them even cyclopses. Leda darted in and out with her sword, Ultraviolet, swinging and destroying three of them - and skewering their operators, turning them into monster dust.

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Location: New York City

Skills: Hydrokinsis

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"Oh! Right right!" She nodded towards her sister. Trying to control the water to see if she could try to take down some of the monsters. Thankfully the water worked with her, taking out a vast majority of seventeen. "Woah." That was unexpected. Was she really that powerful? Sera was always clumsy and knew little of fighting, so to see she could take down so many monsters with just the power of the ocean was an amazing feat for herself. She looked surprised as Leda slashed the monsters into dust. It was like watching the hero in a movie. But she shouldn't stop and watch. There was probably more monsters to attack. She looked around to see if there were any more of those left.

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Stella was glad they had found that back exit at the cafe and had managed to get out without being followed. She was sure if she needed to get down to it, she could fight, but for all those mortals that might get caught up in it, it was a very bad idea. So they had pressed on across the street to the hotel and had headed inside. She still held the leash in her hand, and reached down to gently pat Arbor on the head. He had also done very well, to not chase those monsters at the cafe. She could tell that he might have wanted to, that he might have wanted to attack, but had realized it was not the time.

Jason and Niah took the lead in talking to the receptionist, which was a good move on their part. She was still the youngest of the group, and it would seem suspicious for the twelve year old to be the leader of the group, right? They would really only need the one room, and hopefully the receptionist wouldn't ask too many questions. Especially about the dog. It was illegal to ask about a service animal, which was why they had gone for that guise.

Stella shifted from foot to foot as they waited, humming a bit as she hoped the news was good.

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Harrisburg, Hotel near, Amtrak Train Station:

The receptionist would reach over to look at the voucher that Jason had and inspected it for a few seconds before handing it back to him as he stared at the three kids before going into the computer typing away at it. "Normally we don't accept pets here, but seeing that it has a service animal vest on it, it's okay." He said as ended up finding some room for the three of them and it was the last room that they had as well to. "Luckily for you, we have one room left available." He said as he pulled out three room keycards for them and handed it for them.

"Your room is on the fourth floor, room number 17, you are welcome to use the gym facilities as well as the indoor pool if the three of you choose to use it while you stay here tonight. And room service is available twenty four hours as well to, so if you need anything just give us a call." He said as he gestured towards the nearby elevator to use.

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"I think you'd look good with that to." Kiera called out to her girlfriend as Leda sped off to deal with the monsters using the siege weapons. She was glad to have her girlfriend around to seeing her taking out the operators with ease was pretty hot as well to bit Kiera didn't want to talk about that during a fight right now. She saw her half-sister using her powers for the first time and smiled, Sera was learning pretty quick now which was a good thing then. "Great job Sera, your doing great!" Kiera said as a cyclops ran up to Kiera and tried to swing it's club at her but missed as Kiera used her power to manipulate the water currents around the cyclops and sent it flying, as it crashed into the only good siege weapon left destroying it ten more telekines started to run over to the two daughters of Poseidon now.

A cyclops came up behind Leda and swung it's club at her knocking her backwards into the ocean floor as it let out a loud roar towards her and was about to smash her again with it's club when Hercules came out and managed to tackle it to the ground and proceeded to pummeled it into the ground. "No one hurts my mommy!" He yelled completely forgetting what Leda had said earlier about calling her mom as he smashed it again until it ended up exploding into some monster dust.

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"That would be really nice, thank you Damon." Madalyne said to Damon as he nodded as he finished up eating the rest of his food setting his plate down on the ground. "Your welcome." He said to the Roman girl he perked up a little bit when he heard Andy's offer and nodded he had been gone for so long he didn't know if any of his other friends back at camp knew he was alive this entire time. "I'll help you out with whatever your quest is then as well to." He offered figuring that the three of them could use a little bit of backup as well to.

Madalyne wasn't really sure how time actually did work down here as she thought about taking watch while the others got some rest. "I can take first watch if you'd all like then." She offered monsters could popup anytime anyway down here as well to Damon nodded as he went down into the cellar to grab somethings. A minute or two later Damon came up with some blankets looking at the three of them. "I don't really have pillows sadly so it might be slightly uncomfortable." Damon warned as Madalyne shrugged slightly she was used to sleeping in uncomfortable places anyway.

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Kristin eyed the mysterious person that came in with Demi, Zeke and Cassian as Nancy pointed it out that the guy was some sort of minor god, but she didn't recognize him sadly. "No not really honestly." Kristin said to Nancy as she faced her for a moment. "Do you know who it is?" Kristin asked since Nancy had pointed it out normally she was pretty good at pointing out the gods, but she was actually pretty stumped who this one was actually. Kristin took a sip of her drink as she nodded to Janelle as she headed off towards the women's restroom probably to freshen up or something like that.

The man at the register nodded towards the group of boys who all had came in. "What can I get you all?" He asked, they would be able to see the girls in the booth that they had chosen and Janelle heading to the restroom. When Zeke made it into the men's restroom there unfortunately wasn't any paper towels in the bathroom or toilet paper either he was certainly having bad luck now, he won't hear the conversation that Janelle would be having in the women's restroom.

Over in the women's restroom she'd be able to hear a woman's voice, as the smell of roses filled the entire room. "Sorry for luring you away from your friends, I figured that this was the only way to lure you away for a moment." Aphrodite said as she got up from where she was and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation that brutish Zeke broke your heart just to be with the son of Zeus." Aphrodite said as she snapped her fingers and produced a vial gently setting it into Janelle's hand as well as something else in her hand was a small box to. "I am giving you two gifts, and don't worry the vial isn't poison or anything dear just put this into his drink and it'll turn him into the ugliest thing you can think of." Aphrodite said smiling to Janelle.

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Location: New York City

Skills: Hydrokinsis

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To hear that was heartwarming, having Kiera say such words was really welcoming right now since she was so new to this. Sera saw that more telekines where coming for them. She held her shield and weapon up just in case she needed to defend herself. Using the water to attack the monsters once again. Five of them get knocked away quickly from the swirling water that surrounded them. "Darn... I was hoping to get more." Well at least she got half of them away, could have been none at all. So she was somewhat pleased with the result. Perhaps Kiera and Leda would be able to get the other five telekines. Turn the monsters into dust and it'd be over.

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It didn't escape Demi’s attention that as soon as they'd walked in, suddenly Janelle had to leave the room. He'd heard that people who grew up with siblings could determine who was coming by just by the sounds of their footsteps, he figured it must be doubly so for Janelle given she relied so much on sound. But he didn't let it bother him, if she wanted to keep up this wall that was on her. He'd done nothing wrong and refused to play the villain here. He was pulled away from his thoughts as Zeke asked him to order a side of large fries for him. A part of him worried that this might be the last good meal they could get on this journey and that Zeke would blow it on just fries. But before he could even argue Zeke was already off towards the bathroom.

He wanted to introduce everyone to Alexios, after all they did just walk in with a complete stranger. However the cashier had other ideas as he called them over already to order. "Alexios you want anything? Or…well actually can you have anything mortal? Or is it all done via offerings like back at camp?" Demetri asked as he made his way towards the register to order. "May I get a Texas Double Whopper please. Large, with a side of Buffalo sauce. Oh and can I do a Chocolate Hershey pie as well?" he offered the cashier a smile as he finished placing his order before heading over towards the table the girls were at. He hadn't sat down yet, looking over his shoulder as Cassian continued to order some food. Alexios. This is Nancy, daughter of Apollo but like the Roman one. That's Kristin, daughter of Athena and the girl who just got up and went to the restroom was Janelle, daughter of Hypnos. Ladies, this is Alexios God of Parties and also my betrothed. Long story."

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Cassian watched as Zeke and Janelle made their way towards the same location. For a moment he thought there might be a confrontation, or perhaps they'd finally talk out their problems. But it seemed Janelle wasn't even aware of Zeke's presence or at the very least was ignoring him entirely as she went into the ladies room. Well, when you gotta go you gotta go. He stood behind Demetri, waiting for the child of Zeus to finish his order before going up himself. "Can I just get a large fry and strawberry shake please?" He'd no idea to Zeke’s aversion to strawberries, nor would he have known if this scent would do the same as the real deal. He just really liked berries and berry flavored things.

Once that was all done he'd gone over towards the table where Demi seemed to be getting introductions underway. Cassian wasn't so sure how bright it was to both be saying all this information out loud, while also being unsure that he should even mention they were betrothed. Janelle was already in a sour mood because of those two, no need to add that Demi somehow managed to pile on a third. "Soooo how was girl time? Hopefully not as eventful as ours was." he joked as he slid into the booth and waited for his food, debating on stealing a bit of Kristin's as he waited.

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"I've slept in worse. At least it smells nice here." Andy shrugged. She was tired. Quickly she finished the last few bites of her food. A part of her still didn't trust Damon, but she expected he at least wouldn't be stabbing her in the middle of the night.

She took the offered blanket and found a spot to lie down. She removed her backpack and adjusted it to be her pillow. It was not a good pillow since it was really only had a book and a box in it. The spare clothes were the only thing that might give any 'pillow-like' qualities.

"Chocolate, curl up with me." She called for her shadow hound, who curled up into the crook of her arm, providing additional warmth. Too bad he was too small to be a pillow.





"Thank you." Niah took the key. With how bad their luck had been with eating, that seemed like it'd be inviting disaster if they ordered food. She led the way to the elevator and then to the room. She was thankful they could keep Arbor. They didn't really have the luxury of making a fuss if they couldn't.

"Alright. I'm gonna knock out. Stella, wake me up when you feel like you're going to sleep." Niah lay down on the floor, stealing a pillow and setting up a space to sleep. Taking off her shoes and placing her bag next to the bed. She put her invisible sword near at hand, in a place she could draw it without even having to stand up.

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Nancy rolled her eyes as Kristin returned the question to her. "If I did, I wouldn't have asked," Nancy muttered. There wasn't much use in muttering of course - she was fairly certain that any minor god would be able to hear them this close, no matter what volume they spoke at. But still, habits died hard. Her irritation with Kristin was short lived though, as the minor god ended up coming on up to the table with Demi not too long after placing an order.

Nancy took a sip of her drink during the introductions, and almost very nearly sprayed Kristin, quickly covering her hand with her mouth as Demi dropped a bomb. "Your... your betrothed?!" Nancy repeated, her eyes wide with shock. She had to resist the urge to laugh. She didn't want this minor god to incinerate her. Maybe Janelle was lucky that Zeke wasn't into her anymore - this entire situation seemed to breed mess and chaos. Though Nancy wasn't really sure who was messier - Zeke or Demi. For Zeke's sake though, Nancy hoped that he and Demi would break up. Mortal rivals to gods never ended up surviving long in the stories.

"I'm sorry, I think I must have misheard you. You said betrothed? If you knew about this before you started dating my brother, I'll hunt you. I swear it."

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Suddenly, a cyclops crashed into the remaining siege weapon - and Leda couldn't help but let out a low whistle of astonishment. She had seen the way the water had wrapped around the monster as it soared, and she knew that odds were, Kiera had been the one behind it. Sure, there were other demigods present who could control water, but Leda recognized her girlfriend's handiwork with pride. She started to run back to the others, since the siege weaponry was all taken care of now, only to be taken by surprise - a cyclops had snuck up behind her!

Its club connected with her back, sending Leda onto the ocean floor hard. The monster roared, raising its club to smash again, only to be tackled by... Hercules! Leda squinted her eyes, annoyed and thankful as Hercules destroyed the cyclops in defense of his mommy. Ugh. Leda really did NOT like being called his mother. She'd rather be called a slur. "Thanks, Herc," Leda said, picking herself up and rising to her feet. "And again, I'm not your mum. If you insist, I'll accept sis. But not mum. I'm much too young and beautiful to be a mother. And not interested in being a mother either."

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Once in the bathroom, Ezekiel relaxed a bit. There was only a door between him and reality, but it was a barrier all the same. Ezekiel set his pack down on the counter and leaned, looking in the mirror for a moment as he recounted events. ”Well, Kel, it has certainly been an eventful year.”
He wondered what his mother would say in this situation. It was almost unbelievable. Falling for a boy, breaking a girl’s heart, who he thought he had something with, meeting a half-sibling who was more like his full sibling, and then his boyfriend being engaged… Punching a god in his face and making him bleed… Zeke smirked and went to turn on the sink.
A trickle of water came out, and then, nothing. Ezekiel frowned and tried another one, but it was no use. To make matters worse, when Zeke went to look for paper, towels or toilet paper, there was nothing. ”Of course, because why not, right?” Ezekiel wasn’t quite desperate enough to go for toilet water, but it was still an option.
Ezekiel grabbed his pack and left the men’s washroom to knock on the woman’s door. It was the 21 century with gender-neutral bathrooms; this should be fine, right? ”Hey, is there anyone in here? I just need some water to wash my face, and the men’s sinks are busted,” Zeke said with an awkward laugh.