Camp Half-Blood: Into the Storm - Closed!

[Kveykva]

──────── 𝐀𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫
[✦] | Athena Head Counselor | 15 | Male | ➡ Hampton Inn, Dining Room| Tags: Mirabelle, Clive
❝ 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑠❞

Those impossible, knowing eyes shook Aiden to his core, and it took more than a little tug from Mirabelle to snap him out of it. "Wha - Mira - Wh-What?" He glanced back at the television, but the face of Malcolm Kingston was no more. "The cleaning ladies," he repeated, realizing how rude it sounded only in hindsight. "I - no, all my stuff is still in my room. I don't know if anyone finished packing up or if we were gonna do it after breakfast. But Mira - Mira we need to go. Right now, like now now." Aiden caught sight of one of the cleaning staff licking their lips, but as far as he was concerned, Tartarus hellspawn was the least of their concerns. "If we stay any longer, we're gonna be in big trouble. It - It's fine, just try and herd everyone to the van with their belongings as quickly and quietly as possible." a glance over to Clive, who was still seemingly entranced by the next segment of news covering a crisis at a hotel in San Francisco.

" - reports are generally inconsistent, and many of the tenants are still being held in custody as suspects for the time being. The identity of the victim has yet to be disclosed, but with the crime so close to the location of one of these "demigod camps," police may be open to considering one of these superhuman teenagers as the culprit. We'll stay tuned for updates as the investigation continues. Tom, back to you." "Clive. Clive." Aiden jabbed his elbow into the ghost's side. "Go tell Teilo to start the van. I'll grab his stuff and return his room key if Ash doesn't. Tell him we've got monsters on our tail."

──────── 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧
[✦] | Hephaestus | 18 | Male | ➡ Forges | Tags: Caleb
❝ ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒❞

Wilhelm fell into a familiar routine as he worked with the metal, nodding along as Caleb went on. He recalled the face of Chris Evans from when he watched movies with his family, and the extensive story of Marvel movies was one of many his sister started growing up with. Personally, Will didn't watch movies - they were more for background noise while he worked on projects, and the role could be filled with music, podcasts, audiobooks, the news. It didn't require much - just anything that would break up the monotony. "Best not t' let my folks 'ear y' say that. They kill fer less in 'ouston." He joked, not at all bothered by the comments. Had Will been a bolder person, that would have been the prime opportunity to flirt.

"Ain't no trouble," he replied. Will breathed a small sigh of relief when Caleb confirmed that the Athena cabin hadn't seen any casualties. It was good to hear, especially following the ghost attack. He didn't know if he had the heart to tell Aiden one of his siblings had died so soon after he'd left. This couldn't be the worst of it. "Wishful thinkin'." Will murmured, burning time before coining the rainbow goddess. Unsurprisingly, Caleb had a response similar to Lucy's original hypothesis, as well as one of the rumors floating around the camp. Plausible, but Will wasn't convinced. "Th' Doors o' Death are openin' up," he stated, setting the drachma on the workbench beside him. "That ain't just somethin' fer demigods to worry about, s'bound t' affect everyone. Th' whole world's victim t' that. I've got a sister t' worry about, an' I'm stuck here. I ain't convinced it's 'ades, so give me a 'and with that Athena brain o' yours."

──────── 𝐊𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐱
[✦] | Mortal | 19 | Female | ➡ Lancaster, PA | Tags: Vivienne
❝ 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒❞

Kayle felt Vivienne grow rigid beside her, and the non-demigod winced internally. It was setting up to be a difficult day if she had to spend its entirety tiptoeing around her brother's name while driving his car. "Yeah. Xaliphax is fast. That's all that's important." She stated, pushing all the other information off the table. The arrival of their meals was welcomed, and Kayle organized the platters with surprising accuracy, going based on weight and smell. Once both parties possessed all their dishes, the blind woman dove headfirst into her hashbrowns, munching contently on them as she tore her waffle into strips. At some point during the set-up of her meal, Kayle felt the other's eyes watching her debatably strange actions. "Look man -" she said defensively. "My dad always made waffle sticks when I was a kid. I don't eat them any other way now."

The topic shift to clothing pulled the attention off Kayle and her eating habits, neither of which she was in the mood to defend herself about (but she would, if necessary). "Ahhhh, don't sweat it, girlie." The teen waved dismissively. "There's nothing to it, you'll figure out what you like and we'll go from there. Big man gave me his wallet, the only budget I have is his bank account." A small part of Kayle wanted to be petty and use this shopping venture as a form of revenge, and there was a rather high chance she'd give in to that devil on her shoulder. Like most other women, she did enjoy shopping; however, unlike most other women, she had a much more difficult time finding clothes that fit her measurements. "We'll start with finding a style you like and a material you find comfortable, and then we'll move on to finding pieces in your size and ones that complement each other. It's all gotta be multifaceted - I think that's the right word. You can't just have a shirt that only looks good with one pair of pants, or vice versa. Every bit of your wardrobe has to work with a sizeable chunk of the rest of it." Kayle didn't strike many as the type to pay attention to fashion theory, but she had a habit of working with others knowledgeable about it when picking her own outfits.

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

"Then why -" a pause. Then why did you ask for them? It left him puzzled as he passed over the tin, but he was just happy to help. He offered the other a small, tired-looking smile in response. "It - It's no trouble, I'm just glad I had some on me. I'm kind of used to strange requests - you'd have to try really hard to top some of the things Juliet has asked me to get." There were some other noteworthy offenders, but all Cain really cared about was return customers and the thank-yous. It didn't seem like much else would arise from the conversation, so the oracle planned to take his leave so he had something - preferably carbs - to accompany the acidic energy drink sitting in his otherwise empty stomach. "Lunch," he replied quickly. "Er - breakfast, I mean," Cain rephrased, beginning to scratch at his arm before stopping himself. "I haven't - I'm the first out the Dionysus cabin, so I was just wanting some breakfast." Cain felt like he was making excuses, which was a problem Chiron (gently) and Mr. D (not so gently) informed him he needed to work on. "You can come with me if you want to, I normally just eat in the cave but it's too cold right now." He didn't want to ask, but he didn't know if he was allowed to sit anyone in the dining pavilion - the tables were cabin coded, after all.

──────── 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐞 "𝐌𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐞" 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩
[✦] | Mars | 29 | Female | ➡ Hampton Inn, Van | Tags: Teilo, Rochelle
❝ ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒❞

Taffy reached back to examine the item he'd been given. He seemed content with it, which meant her work here was done. The other demigod introduced themselves as Rochelle Di Angelo - a surname that certainly rang some bells, but not enough -and stated she'd be sticking around for the remainder of the quest. Based on the child of Thanatos' next words, he was none too happy about that. "Oh great, she brought friends too." Moxie glanced back through the windshield, counting the seats. I don't know if they'll have space for everyone. Then again, it was hard to determine just how many questers they had here. She counted... ten? possibly? during her exploration of the Hampton Inn. They'd been quick glances - in and out visits as she meandered the rooms and floors of the inn, mainly just trying to figure out what to do with herself in light of her newfound ethereal state. She would have lingered in the rooms longer, but there were a few too many honeymooners for her liking.

The comment about annoying the designated driver would've made her laugh, but the context it implied actually unsettled her slightly. "Gods, if you drive off a cliff with me inside, I'll kill you a second time." Moxie didn't find the idea of sleeping with the fishes appealing, but there was a potentially worse scenario that came to mind. "I don't want to spend the rest of my afterlife with a bunch of dead kids, especially that one," a nod to Rochelle. "I doubt your dad would pull you out of that mess either, Letus sounds as stellar of a parent as the rest of the gods." The tone shifted before the daughter of Mars could get any further into her spiel, and as Taffy's eyes focused on the spindly figure in the window, Moxie shifted upright and glided closer, thankful she wouldn't have to hobble as a ghost. "Don't know why being a demigod couldn't give me sharper eyes, I can't see it from here. What are we looking at?"

[WitchHazel]

Mirabelle Everhart
|♡|17|She/Her|Aphrodite|Head Counselor|Location: Hampton Inn, Dining Room|Tags: Aiden ➡ Ash, Jamie, Isabelle|

Mirabelle's brow furrowed in an expression of both confusion and concern, but she nodded nonetheless. "Okay," she concurred softly. "If you say we need to leave, then we need to leave. I trust you." She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting her hand fall to her side. "I'll do what I can to get everyone out." The mortals included. "And if the cleaning ladies attack, I'll hold them off." Her demeanour was eerily calm, especially given the high stakes and the emotional turmoil she'd just endured. "We need to get the mortals to leave as well - I doubt they're going to listen to some teenagers telling them they're in danger, but... Clive," she turned to the undead man. "Before you get Teilo to start the van, see if you can get the mortals out of here. Tell them there's a gas leak or something - I - I don't know. They'll be more willing to listen to an adult. And let Teilo know we have a monster situation."

With her piece said, she hurried over to where Ash and Jamie were talking with Isabelle. "Sorry, but no time for niceties at the moment," she butted into their conversation. Mes dieux, I really hope no one comments on how awful I sound. There isn't the time for that either. "Aiden says we need to leave, now. And I think the cleaning ladies are monsters." As if that had been their cue, one of the cleaning ladies let loose a mighty shriek. The familiar sound broke the illusion of the Mist - harpies. Loads of them. It seemed every member of the custodial staff that she could see had turned into a bird-woman.

"Hungry hungry harpies!" a harpy squawked. Mirabelle was oddly reminded of an old children's game. "One of you three, go tell Aggy and Karter what's happening. Please," she added as an afterthought. "Get your stuff and get to safety. I'll -" her voice cracked, and she had to stifle a cough in her sleeve. "I'll hold them off while you escape." The adrenaline pumping through her veins was enough to restore some of her energy. Without leaving time for arguments, Mirabelle made a dash for her duffel bag. There was no time to strap on her armour, but her belt of weapons disguised as cosmetics was another story. Her backpack dropped atop the duffel. Within reach in case I need to run for it. She uncapped Rhódon, swinging it in a shimmering bronze arc as a harpy dressed in a Hampton Inn uniform launched itself into the air. "Hey, bird-brains!" she taunted as loud as her hoarse voice could manage. "All you can eat buffet over here! Come and get it!" Her left hand pulled Ankáthi from its honeycomb hairbrush sheath. I can do this. I can do this. Just give everybody time to get away, and then I'll make a dash for it. She knew she couldn't hold off so many monsters on her own for long, should they all decide to storm her at once. Ugh, monsters seriously have the worst timing. Couldn't they have waited until we were outside at least?


Juliet Pratten
|⟡|16|She/Her|Hermes|Location: Half-Blood Hill|Tags: Oliver, Aoife, Sam, Ambrose|

Whatever Ambrose had been trying to do obviously hadn't worked. Juliet had to dive out of the way as the skeleton lunged towards Oliver. She managed to land alright, though her coat was dusted with powdery snow. Out of everything that happened next, there was one specific morsel Juliet's mind focused on. "Wait - your full name is Ambrosius!? Ha!" A hearty laugh bubbled its way out of her chest. "You have got to be kidding me! Ambrosius. Oh, that is rich." Then the gravity of the situation hit her. Oy gutt - Oliver's down. But lo and behold - Ambrose to the rescue. The son of Hades manifested in a puff of shadow and disappeared almost instantly afterwards, cradling Oliver in his arms.

Aoife was swinging at the skeleton's head with a boomerang, and the new girl was charging down the hill with a battle cry that sounded a lot like "DIE!". Juliet wanted to point out that the skeleton was technically already dead, but she didn't get the chance amidst the chaos.


Kathryn Blackwood
|☽|17|She/Her|Hecate|Location: Outside Cabin 13|Tags: Nikki|

"A grimoire?" Kathryn snorted. "Honey, a grimoire is a spellbook. And trust me, I've got plenty of those." An attempt at a bit of humour, if one could call it that. The smile never left her face, yet her brain remained cold and calculative. "Nice to meet you too, doll." She straightened up as Nikki rose to her feet. "Magical creatures though, huh? Quite fascinating," she mused. "And always good to be prepared in case you run into any in the wild. Most tend to be quite unfriendly to demigods such as ourselves. And by unfriendly, I mean they'll rip you limb from limb and use your bones as a toothpick, given half the chance." She let out a small laugh, intending to keep the mood light even under such dark topics. "Diablo and Duncan... apt names for Hellhounds." I bet that big one drools a lot. Yuck. "They are Hellhounds in disguise, are they not? I would assume nothing less from a daughter of Hades." Her deep brown eyes flickered up to the crow perched atop the cabin. "Mazingo... interesting name for a crow. Gorgeous bird, if I do say so. I'm rather fond of corvids."

Ambrose Fletcher
|♠|19|He/Him|Hades|Location: Half-Blood Hill ➡ Cabin 7|Tags: Oliver, Juliet, Aoife, Sam ➡ Oliver|

"That was bloody frightful. Surprised I didn't piss myself," Ambrose chuckled nervously. He didn't even notice that the new girl had taken off down the hill. Not until the skeleton was doing exactly the opposite of what he'd said. "I - oh my giddy aunt, the bastard didn't listen." That was a new one. "Why in the blazes didn't it listen? Was I not enunciative enough? I swear if I have to leave the safety of the bloody barrier I'm going to -" his blabbering was cut short as a desperate cry of his name - his full first name - pierced the wintry air. "Oliver!"

All thoughts for his own safety were forgotten. Sure, Ambrose was a coward, but this was Ollie. The closest person he'd had to family before arriving at Camp Half-Blood. A dark tide of rage washed over him. His eyes sparkled dangerously in the morning light. With a dramatic flick of his wrist, Ambrose shadow-travelled again. This time, to where Oliver was lying listless on the ground. "I'll get him to safety. You blokes - you finish that thing. Come on, Ollie, stay with me. I've got you, mate. I've got you." His form vanished in a swirl of darkness, taking Oliver with him.

The white plaster walls of the Apollo cabin greeted him when he reached his destination. "Help! We need some help over here!" He called out. "My mate - Oliver - skeleton got him on the head. He's - He's bleeding, and it's - blimey, it's getting all over my coat - Ollie - Ollie hang in there - we're getting you some help, love - don't you worry - you're going to be hunky-dory - he's - he's going to be fine... yeah?" Ambrose's voice grew more unsteady the more he talked. Tears threatened at the edges of his vision. I've just got him back, I - I can't lose him again. It's too soon.


Liv Keary
|✂|15|She/Her|Iris (Unclaimed)|Location: Training Arena|Tags: Cass|

"You know The Shining!?" Liv exclaimed. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "I mean... you're cooler than I thought you'd be." She blew an errant strand of dyed hair out of her face. "And why not? Axes are awesome. I could totally pull off an axe." Her pierced lips shaped into a pout. "Still, knives are more my thing... wait, you guys have an armoury here? That's metal!" She hadn't even realised she was making a pun. If she had, she would've groaned aloud. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The daughter of Hermes turned her sword into a ring somehow, which Liv couldn't help but gasp at. "I want something that does that. That is so awesome." She bounced around as she followed the older girl out of the arena. Come on Liv. Be cool. You're a baddie, you've got this. Despite her thoughts of 'playing it cool', her giddiness could not be quashed.


Vivienne Isole
|❄|18|She/Her|Khione|Location: Waffle House, Lancaster, PA|Tags: Kayle|

Vivienne scrutinised Kayle when she started to cut her waffle into strips. Is that the correct method in which waffles are consumed? She glanced down to her own plate before back over at Kayle's. "Look man -" Oh dear. I did not mean to stare. Her gaze dropped to the horrid contraptions on her feet. How did she know I was looking? Can she sense me regarding her? She simply uttered a soft sound of acknowledgement at the defensive explanation that followed before turning back to her own meal.

The conversation turned to clothing. Vivienne knew little about fashion, but she listened anyway. She couldn't help but feel it wouldn't be as easy as Kayle made it out to seem. "But what if I do not know what I... like?" she asked softly."I do have certain preferences, yes, though I have not chosen my own clothing before." Even she knew that was a little weird - the admission left her shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She felt she owed an explanation to follow a statement like that, so an explanation she gave. "In my youth, I did not have a choice. I wore whatever was provided for me." Hand-me-downs more oft than not, though she didn't know the exact term. "At that - the camp - Audra and I were clothed by the lost and found as well as the camp store." Saying her name hurt less than she thought it would. "Subsequently - Khione provided my garments. I have never had a true choice before." She poked at the remainder of her breakfast with her fork, feeling a bit exposed after opening up even a little. It is only logical I would feel vulnerable after revealing information about my past, no matter how scant.

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ！！ x─────ix ♔
x──────i ii zeus iii eighteen. iiii tags: drew. iv idining pavilion.

orin admired the animal additions to the camp, and the german shepherd was no exception. "perceptive little beasts, aren't they?" he said. "she'd probably be able to pick up on a bad vibe better than i could. you've got a certified person checker, there." he made his point with a pat in the centre of her head. "i dunno. there's something very magical about a non-magical creature in these boundaries. taste of normality. not much more y'could want."

orin smiled, wry, at the inherent doubt of the reality they were in. he was still battling with that, for different reasons, but good to know that it was shared, at least a little. "some things are just too perfect to be believed," he rose a hand to comb through the curls, ignored the course texture of the snow-coloured lock. he grimaced at the mention of the cold, as though thinking of it was enough to send a chill through him. "hate it, me. i've got very thin skin on my ears. one chilly wind and i'm nursing a headache for three hours." a pointed grimace, an inward cringe at the mention of vivienne. "yeah. it's all quite bonkers." a quick segue from that was offered, thankfully. "which satyr're you seeking? if you're not picky, could always just throw a fork into the middle of the pavilion. one of 'em's bound to jump in and swallow the thing whole."

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 ！！ x─────ix ♅
x──────i ii janus. iii sixteen. iiii tags: emmie, aldous. ivi cabin eleven.

"it's a good offer. i'd consider it if there wasn't a much more civilised, roman way of doing things," conan said. "just... talking works. don't need the swords and the wagers, do we? i'd hope we're on good enough terms to just be able to be honest with each other." he wasn't particularly against the idea of a battle, but he was an open book. "unless you're just looking for an excuse to see the pride of camp jupiter in action? i can't really blame you for that."

he glanced down at her when asked about parents, shook his head. "leucracotta got our mom when we were eleven," his voice was calm, steady. as heavy a topic it was, he wasn't overrun with grief, and it was clear why. "we had each other, though. so it was alright. it was just the time in between, trying to get to the wolf house on our own. didn't think we'd make it. but - here we are." he appreciated the caution that she took, but it was unnecessary. "it's alright. nothing's really off-limits. you get used to the idea of people knowing everything about you when -" he waved at his twin. "can't hide anything from that idiot."

aldous didn't seem too sold on the idea of emotional support when he returned, and gave a curt nod to conan. "i'm gonna..." he pointed away from the cabin. "get some air. i hate doing that. feels so gross." and with conan's confirmation, he was gone.
the focus was then on emmie, her panicked rambling. "hey. slow it down," he said, a hand on her shoulder. "he went to the underworld, right? and from what i know, the harmful spirits are kind of separated from the normals and the extraordinaries. they can't be that bad if they had access to him. we don't even know that that's what's happened." he said. it was all conjecture. "memories are difficult. we deal in memories. those're our thing. memories don't know if they're bad or good, they just are. it just depends on how he's reacting to them, right? people can have the worst pasts and turn out fine. y'should talk to him. fretting won't do anything for him, and it'll do the worst to you." if only it was that easy - but the way he said it, it certainly sounded a simple task. "things are hard enough for everyone right now. don't make it harder for yourself."

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

leo watched half entertained as the pieces began to slot into place. slowly, it seemed vittorio was getting used to the fantastical ways of living, the strange nuances of the camp. instead of outright denying it, he was questioning the validity. "i think efficiency is more of a roman thing," he said. "they like their... showy displays here. it could all be a lot simpler, but taking the most complicated route possible seems to be the way they do it." he couldn't say he had much of a vested interest in the film industry. it had been years since he'd watched anything, since he'd actually gone through the motions of attending a cinema. "does he think the same about films that were based on historical events? isn't that basically the same thing? is he one of those guys who really hates titanic?"

leo noted that the kid was bold, bold enough to call the goon squad 'grunts' in front of their faces, and that was respectable. it was also accurate. "not both, no. that would be hogging it," he said. a bit of him appreciated the naysaying of his role as the antagonist. a larger portion thought that it was best to just make it clear, to solidify it in his younger brothers' mind, because he had made a good impression and things could only go downhill from there. "right." his eyes wandered to orin, fingers tensing on the crust of the bread that he held, crushing it under the pressure. even after the guilt, the utter shame, that anger remained for no good damned reason. the guy had died and the creature under lock and key was turning the shame into rage. "don't act too shocked. when it does happen."

he finished the plate, nothing left of his excessive carbs aside from a few stray crumbs, and took a breath in. "avoid lucy," he said. "she's - don't make it obvious you're looking, but she's there. she's -" maybe he was making a mistake. "you don't need a rougher time of it than we're already having."

[*Lovel*]

『☣』 Rochelle Di Angelo『☣』

Daughter of Hades ☠ Cabin 13 ☠ 16 ☠ Bisexual

==== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ======== ☠ ====

Tags: Teilo
Location: Outside the Hampton Inn

Rochelle wasn't scared of the underworld boy but she nodded her head "Yeah sure." he's pretty serious about his sleep. Rochelle looked away from the boy to the hotel longing for breakfast. "The driver?! Really? Chiron had me anchor to the driver what..?" her annoyance with the situation was rising. "Diavolo stava pensado?! Ha un cervello li dentro? Cosa dovrei fare con questo?" her stress rising and with that her Italian was slipping out.

The rest of his annoyed words went to deaf ears wondering why Chiron wouldn't just have her anchor onto the lead of the quest? Was there a reason why it had to be this kid more than just him being an underworld kid? She was most likely overthinking it. She centered herself one more time "Isabelle and I will make it work, thank you." she didn't know if the thank you was genuine or not but it felt right to say.

Rochelle turned to see what Teilo was looking at. It was the ghost from before, the one who had been telling her off. "Probably not" she looked into her bag. Her eyes caught on Nico's sword "Only for emergencies" she whispered to herself before settling on a deep red stained bat with celestial bronze spikes poking out of the end. "Not trying to order you around but it'd probably be best to hop in that thing to be ready for a quick exit." she said to Teilo looking at him out the corner of her eye before slinging her backpack over her shoulders and slung the bat over her shoulder. "I'll keep your friends safe." she said hoping to actually keep the promise.

『 ☯』 Oliver Howe『 ☯』

Son of Phobos ✵ Cabin ? ✵ 17 ✵ Demisexual

==== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ======== ✵ ====

Tags: Sam, Aoife, Juliet, and Ambrose -----> Ambrose
Location: Half Blood Hill-----> Apollo Cabin

Oliver was back in his house, a fire was going and there was a distinct smell of beef stew being cooked. He was sat at an old wooden table by himself seemingly deep in thought when banging had started at the door. "Oliver Howe, we have come to collect you." The voice of the head of council rang out loud and clear. Oliver looked to the door "On.. on what pretenses?" he asked getting up and moving closer to the door. Another man's voice from the council spoke in a hushed tone "are we sure the accusations are sound sir?" A pause as if the head considered that the accusations were false. "If nothing else we need to make sure." Another pause as if the head was still unsure of whether or not to go through with what he was doing. "On the pretenses of use of witchcraft."

Though shocked and unbelieving Oliver still opened the door. The men outside looked just as shocked that Oliver had opened the door. "Oliver you've been accused of witch-" there was a scream from on of the men in the group then the rest had joined. Oliver and the head counselor looked at each other in silence for a fraction of a second before the head started screaming himself. Oliver slammed the door shut heart pounding. His body slid down the wooden door in shock unable to do much else. The screaming went on for what seemed like eternity before it stopped, before all noise stopped. Now's your time. Move!

It took a few moments but Oliver had finally gotten himself off the floor. Were do I go? It's only a matter of time before I will be set to the worst. No sooner had noises of yelling were heard, not fearful like earlier but angry. Time is not on my side today he peered out the window sure enough a group of men were heading for his house. At a blink of an eye he had been somehow transported in the middle of the woods. The work of a witch. He had no time to extend that thought as the yelling was getting closer again.

His heart was pounding and he had no idea of where he was trying to go but he couldn't stay in one place too long. Think think then the sound of gunshots echoed through the woods and hit the tree next to him. He turned and met the twisted faces of the men from his village yards away. He could see the fire in their eyes from where he stood. Another shot was fired and had grazed his shoulder. The shot had stung but adrenaline was at least in his favor and he wasn't feeling it at full force.

Another blink of an eye and he was in front of a quite run down looking tavern. His feet guided him inside the old building that seemed sorely misplaced. Gunshots were heard again but they were far away this time. "You don't look so good sweetheart, how about you let me fix you up." A sweet voice said from behind the counter. Oliver turned and a curly brunette was smiling already fixing him a drink. "S.... sure" the word came out of his mouth before he could think about it.

"Ollie hang in there..." He heard Ambrose's familiar voice and he wanted to say he was glad to see him, reassure the boy he was just fine. But he was tired, so very very tired. The words were lost in his mind for the time being until he woke up from his nap. He'd wake up, he had to for Ambrose, the boy needed him. I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok "I'm.... ok." The words came out slurred but the at least they came out. Hopefully he heard, now time to sleep.

[No one]

Rexxington Repimus

18 years old/August 13th/Male (he, him)/Pansexual, Demisexual with a slight male lean/Cabin 1: Zeus/Pet: Kordia (Munchkin Cat)/Location: Camp Half Blood/Tags: Press, Hunter/4 beads

Rex nodded and said, “Ah I see an Ares kid.” He said looking to Hunter, “I find it to be lucky being I’m from the big shot... well one of the big shots. It helps me to be better and so I live up to the Zeus name and create myself to be the best Zeus child possible. I mean, your godly parent is pretty cool. Unfortunately for Press, his godly parent hasn’t claimed him yet and so he is stuck in the cramped Hermes cabin. My hope is that he will get claimed soon, but you never know with the gods. For all I know he could be from a big shot godly parent like me. Anyway, enough about me, what about yourself? How long have you been at camp?”

Ava Fisher

17 years old/July 13th/Female (she, her, they, them)/Pansexual/Cabin 6: Athena/No Pets Currently/Location: Camp Half Blood/Tags: Kaden/6 beads

Ava nodded as the young make talked. He seemed very nice and quite the kind soul from her perspective. She said, “That’s really cool. Athena must have found you quite the guy to claim you that fast! I waited for a bit since I was 11 coming here before she claimed me. I was 11 years and 7 months when I was claimed. I came here when I was 11 years and 2 1/2 months. Yes it sounds weird to say months and my apologize for my poor language. Honestly, I find it quite weird they would have a child with a mortal, but hey I’m not complaining. Despite the dangers being a Demi-god has to offer, I’m actually quite satisfied with being one. It’s kinda fun at times.”

Presley “Press” Weston

14 years old/October 12th/Male (they, them, he, him)/Pansexual/Cabin 11: Hermes (Apollo is Godly Parent)/Chase: German Shepherd, MoonWatcher: Pegasus/Location: Camp Half Blood/Tags: Rex, Hunter/0 beads

Press looked to the boy as Rex talked about his godly parent. Would his godly parent ever claim him or was he destined to live not knowing who is godly parent is the rest of his life. He sure hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He then muttered after Rex finished, “

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬 ！！ x─────ix ♖
x──────i ii thanatos. iii seventeen. iiii tags: moxie, rochelle.
ivi outside the hampton inn.

as rochelle descended into her impertinent rage, teilo's eyebrow inched ever further up his forehead."if you're quite done," he said when the outburst was complete. he wasn't familiar with italian himself - his brush with the vulgar latin languages were limited to the french lessons he had for the most part skipped during his school career, which seemed light years away, a different lifetime entirely - but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't complimentary.

a glance at moxie when she spoke. "i think i'd have to take a detour to tombstone the van, and i don't think time is on our side," which was clearly the only thing stopping him from such a feat. he also doubted thanatos' dabbling in a bit of deus ex machina when it came to his life being put in danger. when rochelle confirmed that they would 'make it work', he "clearly you've got everything under control. rocking up a day late, getting on the last nerve of the misidentified group leader - gods, i don't know what i'm worried about." that was rude. he was being rude. if his granddad could hear him -
no need for that.

"yeah, i gathered that. thanks," teilo said, his manners thrown to the wind. had to bite back the comment that rose in the back of his throat like bile regarding friends, because they weren't. for the most part, they were strangers. he had no idea who half of them were and he was okay with that.
he was about to divulge the information for moxie when “hull!" was bellowed from the doorway of the hampton inn. it seemed staying covert was an impossibility, though the accidental coded language from the ghost that stumbled toward them made things a tad easier. “taffy, motor! there's a bitey lot out there, an' all. it's all going a bit topside down, if i'm being honest. christ, are you still 'ere? don't you have dead people t'glower at?" the last comment directed at rochelle. “you wanna be useful, and you're standing 'ere like one of burton's dummies. go and 'elp, wetwipe. us dead lot can take it from 'ere."
"what did he say?" teilo asked.
“i don't -" he flailed his arms in protest of being asked basic recall. “something about - hampton palace, and communing with dead people, and... demigods, obviously, that was the real meat of the issue. 'ambush', he said. and he really - i don't know, the way he said it, he really emphysema'd it. like he was droppin' 'ints."
"emphasised,"
“no, not that. that's a lung thing. gave me a rattle, that - no, enough of that. get in't van."
"right. okay," it appeared action was being sprung on them. a look to moxie, and a question that felt more of a plea. "are you coming?" it turned out that he had actually quite missed dead people.

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Athena | Location: Dining Pavilion | Tags: Orin |

Drew couldn’t help but beam proudly at the compliment of her skills and talents. “She is. Even around normal non-demigods she is good at spotting a shady character. If she thought you were a threat, her bite would be much worse than her bark.” Talking about his beloved best friend was just about the only thing he wasn’t terribly awkward about. “My dad got her for me and when he told me had to go to camp, I couldn’t leave her behind… especially since dad is always away on business trips.” Perhaps he over explained, but he couldn’t help it. “I think it adds a nice sense of normality too… like our worlds aren’t entirely turned upside down by having gods for parents.” He added in. Drew himself struggled with how drastically things had changed for him three years ago.

Some things were just too perfect to believe. “I hate being cold, but I love the cold because it gives me an excuse to wrap myself up in blankets and hoodies. Luna likes it too because I don’t get all overheated when she cuddles with me.” He was definitely the type to spoon his dog when he slept after all. She was his best friend. “Honestly? I’m not entirely sure who I’m seeking out.” He stated with a shrug as he admitted that his ADHD had kicked in a bit. “I lost track of the conversation with Ambrose a bit but he told me I had a satyr to seek out…” He admitted as he scratched at the back of his neck. He couldn’t help but start to laugh at the suggestion. “Honestly might work quite well.” He added in. “I don’t even really know what I’m supposed to be asking them about if I’m honest.”

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬

[➳]18|he/him|Athena|Forge|tags: Wilhelm

Caleb gave a short exhale of laughter at the comment, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a sly smile. “I’ll be careful to keep my mouth shut. Though I’m sure that won’t last long.” It was peaceful for a moment, to be surrounded by the warmth of the forges, to simply talk without worrying about slipping up, without thinking about the tragedies taking place outside. It was an appreciated bit of respite from both the literal and figurative storm, the tight knot of anxiety in his chest beginning to come undone.

But the conversation always came back around, because it was difficult to ignore the elephant in the room when the elephant was bright pink and weilding a knife. “Well...sometimes wishful thinking’s what you need.” His words held a slightly different meaning than what Will would interpret, but it worked either way. “Better to hope for peace than sit around resigning yourself to tragedy. That doesn’t help anyone. Best to be prepared for the worst, but hope you don’t find it.” His moment of seriousness was briefly broken by a smug look. “That was quite good, wasn’t it? Put that on a t-shirt.”

Will didn’t seem too sold on Caleb’s halfhearted explanation, and he wouldn’t have minded elaborating his thoughts—as evasive and made-up as they may have been—until the son of Hephaestus kept speaking. He stiffened slightly, ran a hand through his hair, expression becoming something with a little more of an edge than the mellow smile he’d held before. “It’s not right,” he said quietly, something a little off in his tone. “Everything going on here, and our families are all out there, god knows what happening to them. It’s sick, yeah?” Will had no idea. He didn’t know the things Caleb knew and he didn’t know what he was asking for. He also didn’t know his words had struck a nerve, so Caleb had no right to blame him.

It didn’t sting any less, but he took a breath and once again let the easy smile fall into place. “I’m just the pretty face of the Athena cabin, everybody knows that. I’m like a mascot.” He sighed and let the facade drop enough to be believable, enough to cover for the fact that it was only another mask underneath. “I don't know, Will. There’s so many possibilities. Do you know how many Chthonic gods there are? Could be any of 'em. The doors of death are owned by Thanatos that’s like...his whole thing. But I don’t see why he’d be leaving them open and he doesn’t exactly seem the forgetful type. Somebody could be working with him. Somebody could be working against him.” He spread his hands in a display of defeat. “I know as little as you do.” It was almost funny that the statement was actually true. Despite his position feeding information to the other side, he really didn’t know much of what was going on. Of course, it had occurred to him that he could at the very least try to find out what the plan was, to really know how much danger they were all being put in, but he had his priorities. He didn't want to jeopardize his position, risk losing his sister again, and it didn’t help that Khione was a little less than approachable.

━━━ 𝐀𝐨𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲

[☘︎]17|she/her|Hebe|Half-Blood Hill|tags: Oliver, Ambrose, Juliet, Sam

The boomerang collided with the base of the skeletons head, knocking it clean off it’s body and sending it soaring unceremoniously into the snow. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to need it’s head to keep moving. “Like a great bloody chicken, you are.” She’d been prepared to strike again when she heard a shout behind her, whirling around in time to see the new girl flying down the hill. Aoife staggered to the side, slightly startled and not wanting to get trampled in the line of attack, though she thought she could play it off that she was simply letting the girl have her moment. If she wanted to run into battle screaming like a barbarian she was welcome to it. “Christ, you’re pretty bold for a newbie. Have you fought skeletons before?” She cast a quick glance up towards the pine. Ambrose and Oliver had disappeared, hopefully to get help, and Juliet was lying in the snow. She didn’t look hurt, but Aoife shot her a questioning look before nodding her head towards Sam, eyebrows raised. “You want to help or should we just let this one take care of it?” she called with a grin.

━━━ 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳

[♠]16|he/him|Ares|dining pavilion|tags: Leo

“Showy displays, is that what you’d call it? I’m starting to think…” He shook his head and rubbed a hand across his eyes before looking back at Leo. “If you told me that battle yesterday had been a training exercise, I think I’d believe you.” Not that he believed any of this. He was still desperately clinging to the final scraps of his sanity, feeling like the only way to stay afloat was to continue believing it was all a dream. But if he were to hypothetically embrace the madness, nothing seemed like too much of a stretch anymore. His expression shifted at the question about his uncle, a hint of a smile crossing his face. “No, not really. Well...he does hate The Titanic actually, but not because of that. He doesn’t think they focused on the right aspects of the tragedy, but he’s actually a bit of a history buff. I don’t know. I think he picks and chooses his philosophies.” Vittorio had been told he’d inherited his uncle’s resoluteness when it came to opinions with little to no backing, but he didn’t really see it. He was a stubborn old man, Tori wasn’t.

“It’s not hogging, it just makes you a more interesting character.” There wasn’t much of a shift in Leo’s demeanour, but he did catch the sudden murder of the crust in his hand, following his gaze to a couple of boys he didn’t recognize. He wasn’t going to ask. Leo didn’t seem like the type of person who would want to be asked. He didn’t really want to believe the older boy was as bad as he was making himself out to be, would’ve preferred if one of the few people he was actually starting to like in this place didn’t turn out to be some irredeemable monster, but every character had their flaws, he wasn’t going to judge Leo for his. But he wasn’t going to pretend they weren’t there. “Yeah, I’ll try not to,” he replied quietly.

He flicked his gaze towards the girl indicated when the warning was given, careful not to be too obvious as his eyes returned to the plate in front of him. Then he looked again. “Her? She doesn’t…” He frowned. “I don’t mean to judge someone from the way they look but...she doesn’t really look all that threatening. Am I missing something here?”

[takara]

☠ | Aggy Clemson
15 | She/her | Unknown (Ares) | Hampton Inn; Dining Room | Karter [Mirabelle, Ash, Jamie, Isabelle]

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Aggy cleared the last of her waffles and shoved her plate aside, all geared up to acquire more of the hotel delicacy. Or she would've, if some emo kid wasn't launching himself at her. Does he have no manners at all? Do they not make waffles where he comes from? Where is the respect? Geez, chill out! "Dude, they're like, right there," She gestured her fork at a fast approaching Mira, probably getting flustered over the morning rush or something. "You fresh from the coffin this morning, Drac?" She shifted in her chair, rocking the unsteady joints. Maybe she could get behind Mira on the moving thing.

...Or maybe it was bigger than that? G.I. Joe Barbie looks...scared? That's wrong. Something's wrong... Her blood ran cold, and she stood up, one hand tightening on her backpack, and the other straying toward Flora's decorated hilt.

♠ | Isabelle Yencha
16 | She/her | Poseidon | Hampton Inn | Ash, Jamie,--> Mira, Hungry Hungry Harpies

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Isabelle, in all her eloquence, shrugged unashamedly. "Rude? Rocky's the nicer half," It was fact, really. How could he not know it by now, if he'd been a camper for any length of time. A fake, that one. Still, she nodded along. In the overly exaggerated way of someone who's about to call you on your shenanigans. Ah, Mirabelle. Aphrodite counselor. She's... bearable, I guess. The popsicle haired kid went on to list details, like she was born yesterday. She rolled her eyes. Worse yet, they're like, the most unhelpful ones? Does he really think I'd get close enough to her face to see that old scar? Amateur! Momentarily, she considered if she should talk to Mira about her rock bottom choice in associates. Nah. That's what Rocks would want me to do, that's all doing so has going for it.

Instead, a smirk slunk over her face. "Got it, Scarface is the ringleader." She purred. Then the brunette was talking, and she was staring at the scar on his own face as she tried to assign the name that went with it. "J-jam? No?" She squinted, not eager to showcase her forgetfulness. Jam is generally not something one names their children... I think? These millennial kids' names are hard, okay! "You know what, we'll stick with Skittles. You liked that one...right Skittles?" It didn't matter what he preferred, she now had a word to anchor him to. "Shadow travel, Skittles," She pulled a sour look, an 'it sucks!' hanging off the tip of her tongue.

The conversation rested, leaving just enough space for the local news to rattle on about pop-up vet clinics and crunchy sound bites. It's the same everywhere, really. Isabelle mused, sliding over to the counter to snatch an apple of disputable quality.

She rejoined the boys, biting into her apple as she half listened. But something was off. Maybe it was the way Yankee candle was looking at the screen as if he'd seen a ghost-not out of the realm of possibility. She followed his gaze to the tv, to some man in a suit clearly doing promo for one of those superhero shows. They were endless these days. Not enough to look as shell shocked as peacock man to her left, but sure, whatever.

Still, Isabelle did a half-hearted job of spinning to find Mirabelle. "Where is-ahhh," The girl in question appeared before them, and her words had Isabelle leaving her fruit to the table. She leap up, slipping an earring from her jacket without checking to see which she'd grabbed and flipping it out before herself. The sleek feel of polished wood- Rafiki- this could work... There was no room for maybe. She ran after Mira, focusing the energy around into a rush of wind as she moved, pushing the harpies in the direction Mira wanted. "Yea, it's all you can eat alright! How about some sea salt with that!" She yelled, hauling herself down the hallway and away from the rest of the questors.

When she caught up to Mira, she slipped an aside under her breath. "Did you by any chance... bring a mist manipulator?" It was a longshot, but Isabelle had a sinking suspicion that the telly hadn't been talking about some flick.

☤ | Reese Dawson
18 | He/him | Hades | Dining Pavilion | Auggie

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"-because I will." Oh my Lord, does she believe that bluffing will work on me? After all this time? Damn, I'm hurt. He gave Auggie a blank look, then shook his head and proceeded after his gremlin sister. Her glare had never been as potent on him as she might have wished. At first because he did not know what to do with her, and now because such reactions from her got filed under huh-I-guess-she-is-just-like-that. "Oh? You only say that because it is true," He crooned, face tightening when he unwilling recalled that his lung capacity was not at one hundred percent.

They cleared the last few strides to the pavilion in relatively amicable silence. Table thirteen awaited them, and so did the issue of more walking. He let out a deep sigh, pausing before he took on his next battle. God, again? Auggie offered an option, and he grit his teeth a moment too long before responding. "That would be... ideal," He said, mouth curving around the words bitterly. No. God, why are lungs so... lung-ish? He pouted and took a seat, replacing his sword as a tie clip. Does she even know what I like? Maybe I should tell- no, she'd get me the leprechaun cereal if I second guess her. The dreaded food was probably what Aoife would have gotten him last night, had he chosen to freeze to death waiting on the tumbleweed's return. God, did that...thing discover a pot of sugar at the end of rainbow? He fought against an involuntary shudder, unsure if he was referring to the girl or the creature.

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

[✿]16|he/him|Iris|Hampton Inn, dining room|tags: Ash, Isabelle, Mira, Karter, Aggy

“Aw man, I doubt we’ll have time, but I guarantee a bag of skittles would make this whole thing more bearable.” He wasn’t supposed to be wishing for it to be more bearable. Ash had just admitted to joining the quest in the name of glory and Jamie was pining after skittles. “Well...they’d be good,” he amended awkwardly. He gave a small shrug when the son of Hypnos voiced his concerns about what he’d done to Aggy, face twisting into a frown. “I’m sure she’s okay. She’s pretty resilient, I doubt a bad dream could take her down. And if she had, you probably would’ve heard about it already,” he added with a grin.

The promise of video games when they got back to camp did lift his spirits a little, even if it was clearly a plan for him to lose. He’d spent a lot of time dwelling on all the possible causes of him never making it back, of never getting home to see his dad again, it was nice to fantasize about something that didn’t end in being maimed—at least not in real life.

As Ash and Isabelle spoke, Jamie took to drenching his waffle in syrup, locating a fork and tearing into it, only pausing to voice his question. Isabelle watched him closely when he spoke, and he couldn’t help feeling like he was being stalked by a hungry lioness—or a really vicious house cat. She wasn’t looking at his eyes though, and he felt a prickle of self-consciousness as he realized she was eyeing his own scar. “Jamie—” he corrected her quietly, or attempted to. It didn’t seem to work as she barrelled on, deciding to stick with his recently acquired nickname. He didn't really mind. “Um...yeah.” Shadow travel. He probably should’ve put that together seeing as a child of Hades was involved.

Things had started to feel a little less terrifying now that he’d had something to eat, but the feeling didn’t last long as his attention was drawn to the TV and a man in a suit talking about things he had no right knowing. He could feel the dread setting in again, at least this time Ash seemed as worried as he was. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. “How does he even—” There was no time to finish the thought as Mira suddenly appeared, on edge and warning them of monsters. A small, terrified squeak escaped him as his eyes wandered to the cleaning ladies scattered around the room. There were a lot of them, and as he studied their faces he thought he caught a glimpse of fangs gleaming in a malevolent grin. “The cleaning ladies are monsters. Of course they are,” he whimpered.

He wanted to tell Mira it wasn’t safe for her to hold them off on her own, that they were a team and they couldn’t just abandon her there to run off like cowards. If he’d been a bolder person, he would’ve run after her, thrown himself into the fight like the valiant demigod he was supposed to be. Unfortunately, he was not, and there was absolutely no way he was running towards those things. Isabelle didn’t seem like she was great at following directions, but for once that seemed like a good thing. He shot a nervous glance towards Ash. “I’ll get Aggy and Karter. You—” Why was he giving orders? As if the other boy couldn’t figure things out for himself. As if Jamie had any idea what he was doing. “I don’t know!” And with that he was gone, racing towards the other two with a paintbrush suddenly in his hand and a panicked look on his face. “Hey, sorry to interrupt. Welcome back, Karter. Slight problem. Monsters. We need to get out. Now.” The words came out in a rush, chest heaving with rapid breaths that were more likely due to panic than the short run across the dining room.

━━━ 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬

[✩]17|she/her|Hades|Head Counsellor|dining pavilion|tags: Reese

The blank look from Reese was returned with one equally lacking in emotion, though the tightness of her jaw and the look in her eyes betrayed Auggie’s growing frustration. He hadn’t really done anything, but she was already on edge and his refusal to take her threats seriously was starting to grate on her nerves. And he’d called her a smurf, so maybe he did deserve the glare. “Yeah, absolutely,” she responded flatly, not bothering to give any more to the argument. She didn’t really care what he did with the sword. She caught the brief wince when he spoke, but didn’t acknowledge it. He was still upright, and unless he somehow ended up on the ground, gasping for air or impaling himself with his stupid sword-walking-stick, she wasn’t going to do anything.

At least the dining pavilion was warm, but that didn’t do much against the sudden chill she felt when faced with such a crowded space, the roar of voices that resulted in a tightness in her chest. Reese seemed to struggle with answering, but her gaze wasn’t focused on him anymore, lost to the haze of her own anxiety. “Okay, I’ll be a second. Try not to...die or anything,” she muttered before setting off towards the buffet table. She briefly considered using her powers to cloak herself, but she didn’t think synthesized invisibility was actually necessary. She’d become quite good at slipping by unnoticed without it, whether that was really a skill of hers or not wasn’t a thought she wanted to delve into.

It wasn’t until she made it to the table that she realized she hadn’t asked Reese what he wanted to eat. She didn’t think it mattered that much, he wasn’t exactly in the best condition for answering questions and she could probably figure it out herself. As much as she liked to ignore him, she’d had the unfortunate privilege of spending enough time around the boy to know what he liked. He seemed to eat mostly healthy food, so she found him a bowl of the healthiest cereal she could find—something she would’ve referred to as “old person cereal”, but she would also refer to Reese as an old person, so it worked out well—and an apple. She grabbed a bagel for herself, knowing she’d only get lectured if she didn’t and not feeling too keen on the idea of passing out again due to low blood sugar, and made her way back to the Hades table.

“If you don’t like it, not my problem,” she said, setting the bowl and the apple down in front of him, a little less than gently. He didn’t seem like he was about to start complaining, but it felt like it needed to be said regardless.