Camp Half-Blood: Into the Storm - Closed!

[sweet.peaches~]

riley palmer | 16 | she/her | zeus | location: cabin 1 | tags: orin | mentions: caleb
She thought it was a little strange he refused a duel but she merely shoved it off, assuming Orin just felt like talking instead or didn't want her to win (because obviously she would have). "Invincible? I see how it is." She nodded approvingly at his joke. "Well, if I ever feel like 'getting embarrassed by you,' I'll come over later and teach you who's really the boss." Riley teased him.

"You're taking this news heavily well," she blinked, "but I guess now that you think about it, being asleep for one hundred years would be kind of relaxing... No monsters- well, except if you have nightmares or something. Man, that'd kinda suck if you had a nightmare you couldn't wake up from. Guess eventually it'd have to fade into another dream though." Riley shrugged. She snickered when he mentioned Caleb. "Oh, gods, that's a good question." She thought for a moment. "If you start screaming in your sleep or something, I think he might be the only choice. I'm pretty sure he already thinks he's an handsome prince anyways, no need to praise him." she laughed. That was something her and Caleb both had in common; they saw themselves as the best people in camp.

Her eyes sparkled when he talked about a devolution system. "I'll gladly do so," she grinned. "I'm sure they'd like a little introduction to some of my daggers, wouldn't they?" Nevermind, that'd probably be some camp violation or something, she thought. "Okay, okay, maybe just my fists." He talked about the croissants and suddenly she felt incredibly hungry. "How could I forget about lunch?" She didn't even bother to eat breakfast today since she had been completely focused on preparing to go to camp. Her stomach had been growling the moment she stepped foot on Half-Blood Hill. Riley couldn't help but let out a little chuckle after he recommended charming a dryad into giving her a croissant. "Good idea. Gonna rival the Aphrodite campers with all my glamour," she joked.

Riley nearly let out a sigh of relief, although it was like Orin to not be pushy. It was one of the things she liked about her brother. If he actually was pushy, then she estimated it would have been about a year ago she'd challenge him to a duel to become the new head counselor. "If I ever get home, I am 100% gonna try that." She was going to say 'when' but hesitated. She didn't really want to go back to her town after the summer. If all she had to do was schoolwork and be ignored and lonely at home, then Riley wanted nothing to do with it.

"Why thank you," she accepted his compliment. "The name Billy is only for the best things." She had a look of amusement on her face as she listened. "I don't believe you." She shook your head. "You have so much potential. Maybe you should style your hair a little bit? You could borrow some of my makeup." Riley thought the idea of sprucing up Orin's looks to be kind of funny. She might have burst into laughter right then and there. She knew he had been joking about taking a picture of him although there was a part of her who did want to cherish the conversation between them. "Why don't I take a picture with you?" She proposed an idea. "That way it evens it out. You, being meh, and me being wow."

She took her time thinking about the starlings. Personally she had never really been interested in birds but they were quite excellent models for pictures. "Maybe, maybe some of them don't know. But there's some sort of gut feeling guiding them. Or the birds have been taught about their environment. Perhaps they have this picture-perfect image kinda like a map in their heads so they know where to go," Riley offered. "I don't know anything about animals so I'm as lost as you are," she confessed. "But it's sorta fun to guess. Fun not to know what happens most of the time. What do you think?" She glanced at him.

[FerretMonarch]

Sa'd Salam • 17 •Transmale (they/them) • Bisexual • Host of Set• location: behind cabins•tag: Jay, Zahra

"Ah. I haven't gotten a chance to ask the Athena kids what they thiught about it yet and besides, I don't know if they know about the other gods. I'm sure they do since we're here and they crave knowlege anyways. They would read every book in the universe if they had the time." Sa'd hummed.

Sa'd gave Zahra a lopsided smile in return causing the teen's features to look mischievous though that was far from their intentions.

"Oh. I suppose she would be. Expesially at a time like this. There's a sparring ring in front of the cabin with a boar's head and barbed wire. You could always let her, and yourself, blow off some steam there." Sa'd offered.

"I, uh, y ok u're welcome." Sa'd stuttered not used to being thanked.

Sa'd reached out to pet Zahra before quickly retracting their hand once realizing what theybwere doing.

"Sorry. A-are you fluffy? Sorry its a weird question. You obviously don't have to answer if you don't want to." Sa'd said before she bounded away.


Ai Uragirimono•18•nonbinary (they/them)• Gay•child of Loki•Location: Hermes cabin• tags: open

Ai sighed quietly before looking at where they were. The camp was weird and quiet compared to the hotel. They silently wondered where the Hermes cabin was, but didnt ask anyone. They sighed again a bit louder this time realzing that they really had to use the bathroom. They looked around quickly before spotting it.
They turned into a hyena as it was more comfortable and ran off in the direction of the bathrooms.

[norvina!]

🌨️αηαѕтαѕια уαнσηтσν
(fourteen;khione;oracle cave)(tags;cain)

the daughter of khione continued to trek along, humming a tune she heard from her childhood she felt oddly at ease despite the mess her mother had caused. ana knew her mother was bitter, she wasn't the nicest goddess out of the bunch but she couldn't help but feel attached deeply to her mother despite her wrong-doings. while she mindlessly walked her head turned, surprised she had ended up at the oracle cave she debated heading inside. deciding to check it out she walked in, looking around "cain are you here?" she asked, wondering if he was around. "it's ana." she called out again, although her thick russian accent gave it off.

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ！！ x─────ix ♔
x──────i ii zeus. iii eighteen. iiii tags: riley. ivi cabin one.

"i've never had a nightmare in my life," orin said, though so much wasn't exactly true - the dream he had had earlier wasn't quite a nightmare - it hadn't roused him in a cold sweat, but images of a lifeless desert, of water like ink, of the faceless stranger asking him the strange question - "could i tell you?" and following with "everything. would you listen?"
it had been odd. it had frightened him, but it wasn't a nightmare. so his point stood. "i'm sure he'll be over the moon to find out about this conversation," he chuckled to himself, wiping the thought away.

she was confident - perhaps overly so, but that was what they had in common, and orin would have been a hypocrite to deny her that privilege. riley knew herself better than he did. they were all wearing masks, after all, and the one they both bore appeared to run in the family. "just your fists? you're selling your fists short," he pointed out. "really lather it on thick. it'll do the job nicely."

"when," his voice took on a more serious tone. he imagined that she had thought the word and wiped it, but orin wasn't going to allow her to ponder on the nature of her own death. she would be fine. there would be no other casualties. he wasn't going to let it happen. like he had forgotten, or like it had never happened, he broke out into another smile. "i think you'd get arrested for trying to spy on space. they'd think you were planning something."

"billy the kid, billy bragg, billy idol, billy joel - i can't think of a bad one, personally. you've done a good job with that. the billy goats gruff were a bit annoying, but - we can ignore them," he said. "potential?" scoffed. "i've actually had this conversation with my younger sister back home. i really suit eyeliner. not so much the rest, though." aisling had wanted to straighten the curls out, to mess with his untameable mop, and that had been a certain no. but taking a photo with riley felt a nice idea. "yeah, go on. as long as your camera doesn't steal my soul or something." he stretched, shuffled across the room and collapsed into a sitting position next to her.

"or maybe they're just spies. government spies," he offered. "with no manners, or morals, or sense of hygiene. seagulls are driven entirely by hubris."

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳

[♠]17|he/him|Ares (unclaimed)|outside Cabin 11/Cabin area|tags: Kathryn, Leo

Vittorio cracked a smile at the farewell, slightly raised eyebrows the only indication that he was impressed with her accent. He hadn’t expected to meet anyone at camp who knew Italian, or could at least manage the accent accurately, but he hadn’t been sure what to expect at all. It didn’t make him feel better, especially not coming from someone who he wasn’t sure was all that sincere in her kindness and flattery, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He gave a small wave in return before turning his attention back to the battered book in his hands, running his thumb over the bent corner of the cover.

Sitting by himself and staring at a book he’d read several times before didn’t seem to be the best solution to his problems. If escapism wasn’t working in his favour, the only other option was to throw himself headfirst into whatever the hell this was. He’d already been dropped into the deep end, it was better to tread water than hold your breath and just try sinking.

He popped inside the cabin quickly, dropping the book roughly onto the bunk he’d been assigned. It didn’t feel like anything more than that. This cabin wasn’t his home, nothing about it felt like it ever could be. It was only temporary, a place to stay, biding his time until he could go back home. He let out a breathy chuckle as his gaze caught on the cover of the book he’d been reading, it hadn’t been intentional, but a journey through Hell seemed like a fitting choice.

He stepped back out into the snow, pulling the zipper of his jacket up to combat the cold, shoving his hands into his pockets with a shiver. He wasn’t sure he would’ve liked camp that much in a regular summer, but the freezing weather wasn’t doing anything to improve his disdain. His eyes scanned the courtyard-like area that the cabins circled, searching for something, though he wasn’t entirely sure what. If he interacted with these people, was he accepting his fate? Accepting the fact that he was supposed to be here? He didn’t like the thought, but he wasn’t sure he had much choice, so he plunged forward, approaching the first person he saw without giving much thought to the boy’s harsh expression, set jaw or the way he walked as if he didn’t want to be interrupted by anyone. If he had, he might’ve known to avoid him, but Tori had a tendency to flock to trouble like a magnet.

“Hey, I was just—“ His sentence stopped abruptly when he got a look at the boy’s face, noticing the dark bruise forming on his jaw. Of course the first person he’d chosen to talk to looked like he’d just been in a fight. With Vittorio’s luck, he’d probably be next. “Oh…” He froze for a moment, whatever he’d been about to say having evaded his mind completely. “You okay, man? You look like I did after the last time I got kicked out of school. Well, not really but you look like the other guy.” He shrugged, then his eyes widened as he seemed to realize the implications of what he’d said. “I mean, not...not that I think you’re…” If this guy didn’t punch him in the face, he was going to do it himself. He took a breath, attempting to regain his composure. “This weather is awful, right?” Smooth. What a save.

[*Lovel*]

[center][color=#E56E94][size=150]『❀ ♡』Aurelia "Relia" Lennox『❀ ♡』[/size][/color][/center]
[center][size=85][color=#E56E94]Daughter of Aphrodite ♥ Cabin 10 ♥ 16 ♥ Bisexual [/color][/size][/center]
[left][color=#E56E94]Tags: Jack
Location: Stables [/color][/left]
Aurelia smiled brightly as he greeted her back, though the smile faltered for a quick second as he offered her his scarf. [i]He's so sweet, Gods....Gods! He really did figure she was cold. Act natural, he offered you his scarf. You need to accept, say thank you.[/i][color=#E56E94]"Ah right, thank you."[/color] she said softly before taking the scarf and wrapped it around her neck neatly and snugly. A sudden floral scent assaulted her nose, it was nice to smell it, she missed having flowers to smell. [color=#E56E94]"This summer cold is dreadful."[/color] she said, not really to him but in general. [color=#E56E94]"Did you have anyone to say bye to still?"[/color] she asked curiously, subconsciously twirling a strategically placed strand of hair around her finger.

She looked at all the questers speaking to each other and their friends about this and that. [color=#E56E94]"They'll be ok right?"[/color]Her face becoming somber while looking at each quester before finally landing on Mira. She wanted her.... no, needed her to come back. She loves Ophelia and knows she'll do great but camp wouldn't be the same without Mira. Not to mention she couldn't bear losing a sister. Relia didn't know how nervous she was until she felt the stinging pain of tugging her hair too hard. She retreated her hand quickly back to her worries slowly and steadily began to melt away.

[center][color=#306EFF][size=150][b]〖 ☾ 〗[/b]Ash Davis[b]〖 ☾ 〗[/b][/size][/color][/center]
[center][color=#306EFF][size=85]Son of Hypnos ☼☽ Cabin 15 ☼☽ 17 ☼☽ Bisexual[/size][/color][/center]
☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆
[left][color=#306EFF]Tags: Delilah, Telio
Location: Stables [/color][/left]
[color=#306EFF]"You're tough Plum, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If they do slip me their name and cabin number and I'll deal with it."[/color] Ash said cracking his knuckles with a smirk. He accepted her hug and squeezed, he blushed at her telling him he was the best brother. Not that she had another brother to compare him to but it was still something he liked hearing none the less. His eyes started tearing up as he squeezed her one last time. [color=#306EFF]"Tell that mangy cat to keep off my gaming chair or I'll give him nightmares about the fish fighting back."[/color] he joked while wiping his eyes with the sleeves closest to his face.

He pulled away from the hug and scanned the stables, Mira and short stuff (Aiden) were gone. He supposed he should head out of there soon. [color=#306EFF]"Guess it's time for my departure."[/color] He said to Delilah before ruffling her hair and climbing onto Jellybean. He caught a glimpse of Telio. [color=#306EFF]"BABY! Wait for me!"[/color] he sing songed out to Teilo with a smile holding back his tears. He looked down a Delilah [color=#306EFF]"See you later Plum."[/color][i]I hope[/i] He then headed to Teilo.

[sweet.peaches~]

riley palmer | 16 | she/her | zeus | location: cabin 1 | tags: orin | mentions caleb
She looked at him for a second to see whether or not he was joking. He didn't seem to be, just there was something a little bit off. Riley shrugged it off. "Well then, you're lucky. Nightmares suck, especially for us demigods. Camp makes it worse for me, I've luckily been scot-free ever since I've left." She nearly forgot about the dreams she would have last year, always waking up completely freaked out. It hadn't exactly thrilled her that she would go back to that same schedule, her visions most likely including the snow they were having. She laughed, "Totally. Promise not to tell Caleb any of this? I don't want his head getting even bigger." It was ironic considering she had a large ego as well, but it was annoying for people to rival her with their pridefulness as well. In her mind, she was the only perfect person, therefore it was alright for her to be boastful.

She grinned. "Can't forget about my feet either. One kick with my combat boots and they'll be sorry they ever crossed you," Riley boldly claimed. She didn't say anything when he mentioned 'when.' She knew eventually she'd have to go home. Either to help around the house, to reunite with her expensive camera and scrapbook, or because camp simply wasn't safe anymore. The only reason she had came back to her suburban town was because she wondered if her mother had changed, if she could at least spend one meaningful dinner with her. It hadn't worked, and she was forced to spend her time alone. Didn't necessarily blame her for all the work she had to do, but it hurt. She realized Orin may have taken on a serious tone because he had thought she was thinking of her death. That was also another case; her dying before she would go back. A shiver went down her spine. Death never really felt so close until she started wondering about it. Even when monsters started invading her home. But now? With her camp becoming this snow globe? In danger of intruders? No, she firmly told herself, Not today. I will only live in the present. Not the future. Or the past. The only time that's important is now.

It was sort of impressive how quickly he could change his expression, as if nothing had occurred between them. She gave him a faint smile. "Who says I'm not planning something? I always have some sort of plan. In fact, I'll be the first person to play guitar on the moon," Riley declared. "Just need to find out what my band space will be like. I'll be praised and remembered among mortals, don't worry about it." She nodded confidently. It's ironic since sound can't even travel in that type of atmosphere, she thought. Knowing mortals, they probably wouldn't care though.

"The Billy Goats Gruff? Let's just forget them. I've never heard of them." When Orin had talked about his sister, she tried to relate but unfortunately couldn't. She tried her best to hide her envy. Riley had always wanted to have a sibling. Her mother had hooked up with several people before she had been born but when they were born, her mom had given the child to the father instead. The only reason Riley's mom kept her was because Zeus wasn't exactly welcomed to raise a kid on Olympus, especially with Hera involved. Eventually she had given up on ever getting a brother or sister because she knew that they wouldn't have a happy life with her. "Well, sorry, can't promise anything. Billy needs his daily soul extraction." Riley held out her camera, moving it so that it'd include him and her yet also have enough space above their heads. "There. Say cheese!" She took the shot and instantly, a little picture popped out. The only reason the camera had been ten dollars was because it had been used and she'd bought it on craigslist. Luckily, she had not been scammed out of her money, as Riley pulled out a colored image of Orin and her. "Hey, Billy didn't steal your soul," Riley commented. "You'll live another day. Take a look."

She snickered. "That's the best one yet. No wonder they poop on us. They don't give a damn," she insisted. "Can't argue with you on the seagull one. I have way too many stories of seagulls attacking me." Riley shook her head. She didn't know why but whenever she would get close to one, they ended up flying right at her. It was fun to talk about, people always got a good laugh out of it, but less fun to experience. She still remembered the disgusting smell of seagull poop on her.

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ！！ x─────ix ♔
x──────i ii zeus. iii eighteen. iiii tags: riley. ivi cabin one.

"to many more mareless nights," orin said with a little nod, the thought quite the prospect. with everything that they had seen, with everything that they were bound to see soon, it didn't feel as though they were in the clear yet. still, he leaned over to tap the wood of his bedside cabinet, a motion of luck in torrid days. "on my life. i'll try my very best to keep my mouth shut. otherwise he might float away."

riley was confident that any foe that she faced was nothing more than dust - he hoped, for her sake, that so much was true. despite this, he wasn't planning on sending any naysayers her way - he had faced the brunt of leonidas' rage, hardly blamed the man for it, in fact, but wouldn't want to see it happen to her. learning that it had been shifted onto auggie had been enough, the thought sending a little chill down his spine. he pushed it away. no time for that now. "i don't doubt you. i mean, if you believe that they put a man on the moon..." the reference to the old r.e.m song was not bound to land with her, solely made for his own satisfaction. "you wanna be remembered by that lot?" mortal lives were another land to him - he spent so much time listening to his friends from home talk about their mostly vapid obsessions with whatever celebrity had taken their fancy, and though he enjoyed the mindless chatter, he had never truly gotten into it. the world was vast and filled with threats. a dodgy sponsorship here and there didn't feel as though it deserved the attention it got.

"you've never heard of the billy goats gruff?" he rose his eyebrows, shocked at the thought. "not even the big one? with his two spears that'd poke the troll's eyeballs out of its ears? with the two curling stones to crush it to bits, body and bones?" he cited the story with laughter. "that makes me so sad. i feel sad for you. that story built my childhood."
the photo came out nicely, surprisingly - a wide, smug-looking smile from him, hardly posed, but happy nonetheless. "so he didn't. good of him." came the response. "looks good. i like it."

"they're evil," orin nodded. "i saw a seagull eat a pigeon once. whole. it was... it was like watching a python swallow a gazelle. awful." a shudder followed. "just the worst. avoid them at all costs."

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬 ！！ x─────ix ♖
x──────i ii thanatos. iii seventeen. iiii tags: ash, quest group.
ivi big house ruins

he heard the call. teilo couldn't deny that. but it wasn't his name, it objectively was not his name, and he resented the fact that his ears pricked up to the sound of ash calling him that dreaded nickname once more. he patted the pegasus on its neck, muttering various words of discontent in a haphazard mix of languages, then slowly turned in the direction the voice had come from. "ash," he greeted. "was that - do you have difficulty with my name, is that it?" there was a glimmer of an amused smile on his face, one that he wiped for sake of the stony gaze. the last time that someone had struggled getting their teeth around 'teilo', he had simply settled for a shortening of his last name. he wasn't going to extend that to ash. it felt a sacrosanct monicker, not to be shared. "i could still qualify it as harassment. i could go to chiron right now, and have a word -" he wouldn't. the thought of talking to the centaur about anything gave him pause. he had slipped under the radar for the most part - this wasn't going to be what brought him up. "- you can't get into the habit of calling me that. if we're faced with a big, evil, underworld creature of darkness, and you call me that, then we're going to look a bit stupid, aren't we?"

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx 𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐳 ！！ x─────ix ♘
x──────i ii ares. iii eighteen. iiii tags: vittorio ivi cabin area.

leo was a bit lost with what to do; the task had been completed, lucy had shuffled her way into the apollo cabin with apparently no plans of raising her head again, and he was left to his own devices. it didn't seem like a very good idea, considering the results of the last few times he had been left unattended, but he was comfortable with it.
what he wasn't comfortable with was the cold, which bit at his hands and made them shake in a way that he simply couldn't stem. he should have asked dante for a pair of gloves - though the boy had disappeared rather quickly back behind the closed door once he had realised who he was bestowing the envelope upon. it seemed that there weren't many people that were willing to talk to him. regardless of lucy's future attempts to clear his name, he had already gained a bit of a reputation.

or perhaps not. his head turned when he heard a voice next to him, accompanied by a face that did a double-take upon truly looking at leo. "yeah?" he asked. "is there something on my face?" a genuine question - followed by something that suggested that yes, there was. he reached to touch his jaw, where the tender skin laid, pressed at the blossoming bruise firmly. a little spark of something like pain, but not much more than that - nothing worth a trip to the now-defunct medical bay, anyway. he had been about to reassure that yes, everything was fine, but a slurry of words interrupted him. he let them, eyebrows slowly rising up his forehead as this boy continued. "do you want a shovel?" he asked, finally blessed with quiet. the mention of the weather was enough to send another inadvertent chill through his body. "yeah. pretty bad. i'm fine, by the way. i didn't - i didn't notice." he might have, at the fist, but there had been so much going on. "were you going to say something before you fell into that pit, or were you just looking to talk about the snow?" he looked over him. there weren't a lot of people that he recognised at camp, not by name, but most of them he at least understood that he should know. he hadn't even seen this boy in the corner of a room, or by the fire in the evenings, which meant - "you're new, aren't you?" if so much wasn't obvious by his concern rather than his fear, he had the air of someone who wasn't really sure what they were meant to be doing. "you've chosen a pretty bad time to arrive, i'll be honest with you."

[Kveykva]

──────── 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐳
[✦] | Oracle of Delphi | 23 | Male | ➡ Cave of the Oracle | Tags: Anastasia
❝ 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛, 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠❞

"I don't get it," he murmured, chewing on the end of his paintbrush. A bad habit he needed to break. He'd had visions that caused headaches before, but a couple Tylenol usually dampened the pain enough for him to focus. Now, it seemed they were back with a vengeance. Cain's eyes felt like they would burst from his head at any moment, with static scenes begging to be put to paper springing from his mind. Inspiration was never a problem for him; interpretation is where things got fuzzy. Bear Ghost blared in his ears as he filled in the details with a thin tipped brush, having finally blended the perfect color to decorate the scene. Just beneath the sound of the music, Cain heard a quiet voice. It came again, and that was when he realized someone was trying to get his attention.

He plucked the headphones from his ears and rested them on his shoulder. "Oh, hey." He greeted her plainly. His demeanor starkly contrasted the cave's interior; although normally filled to the brim with beanbags and throw pillows, many of them now sat discarded in the corner to avoid being stained. The walls, formerly painted white, displayed a spray painted mural with a variety of images. Two pieces of canvas leaned against the wall, and a third sat in front of the Oracle. Cain didn't remember her name. He knew her, but her name escaped him. "You need me? I'm… busy." He said, turning down the space heater slightly. No, no. That's rude. "You can come in, if you want." He winced and massaged his temples.

"I've never had visions like this before, the world's going mad." Cain didn't look as though he'd slept. Unlike the last Oracle, visions never came in his dreams. If he got them while he was sleeping, they usually woke him up. "None of these make any sense, either." He motioned Ana over, turning the easel towards her. The canvas bore the image of the sun rising on a grassy field, the sky filled with light snowfall. The sun itself, however, was shaped like a horse, standing in the grass rather than rising on it. "I know Apollo came down yesterday to help out in the medical tent, but if it was that, then why am I seeing it now?" He frowned, starting to chew on his paintbrush again before stopping himself. "It could be a sunset, though, symbolizing that the sun will abandon us as the snow continues falling. What do you think?"

──────── 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦
[✦] | Horseman of the Apocalypse | 56 | Male | ➡ ??? | Tags: n/a
❝ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ❞

Melodious strumming replaced the silence that stagnated the River Styx, like the calm before a storm. The calm, comforting feeling of the underworld grew tumultuous as they approached Tartarus, but his hands never faltered on the strings. Charon seemed almost complacent, and his questions towards the god of death were no more. They reached the edge of Tartarus without a hitch, and as Nicholas prepared his farewell, Charon caught him. "Is this what you want, junior?" He had an answer readied. "It's what I was made for."

But is this what you want?

Nicholas never liked Tartarus. It served to punish gods and monsters alike, the acidic air and blistering hellscape painted a visceral image. Even his father avoided traveling there unless it was absolutely necessary. Death was not a force present in this place. Nicholas' dislike for the region, however, stemmed from other reasons. He remembered the time spent with his grandmother vividly compared to other events in his childhood, where he would wake up distraught in the Mansion of Night. Sometimes, his father would be there to comfort him. Other nights, more frequently, he would be left to cry alone, with only the spirits for company. He was too young then to handle the undiluted fury of the underworld's depths, but now…

Is this what you want?

Unlike the Olympians, or even tempered gods such as Charon or his father, Tartarus' punishment did little to affect the horseman. Nicholas didn't consider himself a masochist by any means, but the flesh of the Protogenoi and the rivers veining through it offered him something greater than pain and woe. It gave him power. He imagined this was a taste of how the Last Judgement would feel, when the Earth crumbled and creation went to die. He would become the sword used to strike down gods, and for decades, maybe even centuries, he and his kin would lay waste to mankind.

Is this what you want?

It made his skin tingle, the power coming and going in tandem with his heartbeat. He wasn't of this plane, but there was a part of him that felt affined with it. The hearts of two gods beating as one.

Is this who you want to be?

"Yes," If he said it enough, maybe he'd start believing it. "It's my duty." All around him, monsters burst out from pustules in the craggy landscape as they reformed, but they fled quickly as the horseman descended. The air turned acrid, thin black trees littering the otherwise unremarkable terrain. "I don't have to defend myself to you," Death's fingers found his amulet, trailing along its silver chain before undoing the clasp. "This is where we part." He whistled, the shrill call ringing out through the atmosphere. Moments later, Xaliphax answered his master's summon. "Take care of this, it has no place here." His expression hardened, the god steeling himself with outward determination. "I'm coming home."

Death chose to walk there, primarily to clear his head. Is this what you want? The question had followed him since its debut, and while he insisted on a yes, it was only a half-truth. Did he really want this? To open the doors of his namesake and flood the world above with a throng of marching death? Not to mention the monsters that would come clawing their way out alongside them. It would be apocryphal. Appropriate. His footsteps left dry dust clouds in his wake, but soon enough the terrain under Death's shoes transitioned from gravelly dirt to grass, thin blades reaching just under his waist. It was rather sudden, and he turned back to Tartarus. The plane of the Protogenoi had vanished, leaving only grass as far as the eye could see.

It was snowing. He remembered it always did. Tiny flakes speckled the sky, melting before they ever reached the ground. Death found nostalgia in the rustling blades and permanently overcast sky, yet Nicholas couldn't specifically recall any memories of this place. "Well if it isn't my spineless, soul-whoring bastard of a brother. In the flesh no less." Death raised an eyebrow. "You're awake," he observed. "Barely," said War, stifling a massive yawn. "How's life been coddling you up top, you skinless pansy?" The elder horseman laughed. "You'd assume I'm coddled, wouldn't you? You're just bored." "And jealous," War added sluggishly, leading his steed to circle around Death. "I'm losing my mind down here. I hardly get table scraps, do you realize what the Great War did to me? I've never felt so unsatisfied in my life!" Death rolled his eyes. "That's what hands are for, you won't always have a pretty girl on your ear. Not that you're gentle on the ladies as it is." War inhaled to throw a few insults, but his words were smothered by a second yawn.

"I'm surprised to see you so alert," Death commented, hands resting in his pockets. "I never got back to sleep," War replied. "You know them. Pestilence and Famine both drifted off after you left, and Conquest didn't so much as flinch when we left. Couldn't get him to budge and come with us. So much for that prophecy…" he yawned a third time. Gazing around, Nicholas didn't spot any of the other horsemen; he couldn't say it surprised him. Their fields were endless, and the others could be anywhere among the grass. "You're still hung up on that, aren't you?" He supposed War wouldn't ever get over it. "Did you ever give her a name?" He changed the subject, reaching his hand out to his brother's horse. Its fur was a reddish brown, like cherry wood, and it boasted a sturdier build than Xaliphax. The horse snapped at him, trampling grass with its sharp hooves before its rider pulled it back into submission. "Don't see a point, she wouldn't acknowledge it." Death flexed his fingers, having narrowly avoided losing a few to the red mare. "She's belligerent."

"And about as fed up with waiting as I am."

"It shouldn't be much longer," Death assured them. He circled around to War's left, his hand feeling the steed's flank. "So that's why you're here," War allowed himself a single, deliberately pronounced "ha." "You're checking the seals. You've gotten soft, Death." He bit the inside of his cheek. As expected, War's seal remained intact, waiting patiently for the day the Lamb came to break it. "Not soft," Death countered. "Responsible. You aren't patient enough to wait for the call. None of you are—" the rest of his sentence escaped as a strangled noise, War having grabbed him by the throat. Even while half-asleep, the red rider was a force to be reckoned with. "Listen, you can play life up there all you want, but you can't lie to me." His arm faltered as fatigue overtook him, and he released Nicholas to the ground. "You miss it. We got that taste, that little hint, and I haven't been able to sleep since." Despite War's clear temper, he offered a hand to Death and helped him up. "You miss us." he sighed, brushing grass from his clothes. "I do. But…" He almost caved. Almost. "I can't." Death patted the red steed's armored shoulder, addressing both mare and rider. "Get some sleep, you'll need it for the day that we ride together again."

It's gotten louder. Not in the audible sense, but its intensity was almost frightening. He inhaled deeply, calming his beating heart as he stood on the precipice of erasure. It was day; he expected Night sat inside her pitch black mansion, waiting for her turn in the sky. His reason for visiting the Mansion of Night wasn't for Nyx; this time, he sought out strife.

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳

[♠]17|he/him|Ares (unclaimed)|cabin area|tags: Leo

Vittorio was fairly certain he’d made a mess of a first impression, and was surprised that he hadn’t been stopped in the verbal avalanche that seemed to spill from his mouth unheeded. He wasn’t usually one for nervous rambling, but the events of the last few days were starting to get to him, shaking his usual composure. He gave a nervous laugh at the question of a shovel. “It wasn’t that bad.” He raised an eyebrow at the response to the bruise on the other’s jaw, but didn’t question it. He’d learned from experience that it was easy to ignore an injury if you hadn’t actually seen it yourself, and he wasn’t about to draw more attention to it than he already had, so he simply nodded.

He gave a sheepish smile at the following question, not being entirely sure what he had meant to say before his mouth took over without his brain. “Uh...nothing important, no.” A scrutinizing gaze fell on him, and he felt like he was being sized up for the second time that day. The question that came next was expected. If it hadn’t been for the fact that most people here already knew each other and would recognize a new face, his evident confusion with his surroundings was certainly a giveaway. “Is it that obvious?” he asked with a small smile, having relaxed slightly from his initial moment of panic. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” His smile faded as he threw a glance around at the snow covered ground and the sullen faces of the campers, still dealing with the grief of everything that had happened. “In my defence I didn’t exactly choose to come here.” He turned his gaze back to the boy in front of him. “I’m Vittorio, by the way. Sorry to...sorry I kind of ambushed you there. I didn’t mean to, I just...I don’t really know what I’m doing.”