1x1 [ Harper. & ShimmerSolarPets ]

[ShimmerSolarPets]

ʀᴀᴄʜᴇʟ ɢᴜɴᴛʜᴇʀ
( gender. female || godly parent. ares || age. 17 || location. pegasi stables || tagged. leland santanos )
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Rachel proceeded to hoist the riding equipment back to Skylar's stall. Unlocking the door of the stall, she led the dappled gray pegasus out before proceeding to equip all the tack. The blonde-haired girl made sure to listen to Leland as she slid the saddle blanket over the winged horse's back. A light thunk that signaled Leland had put away whatever grooming equipment he had held (was it a brush? Rachel hadn't taken too much notice). Although her bright blue eyes were still focused on the dappled gray pegasus, she nodded at Leland's answer. "Really? That sounds fun!" she said, her tone as cheery as ever. What a great idea, having a picnic out in the beach on such a fine day. She wished she'd thought of it, too, though picnics weren't really her thing. She liked to eat quickly, then train afterwards. The girl realized that it was her daily routine. She would wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, and train. Still, it wasn't boring. Training might be tough and tiring, but she loved it. She liked knowing that all of her hard work was going to pay off. Also, Rachel wanted to be a strong warrior. Perhaps it was her Ares blood, but she wanted to be able to defend the camp she loved so much if the need came to it, as well as her loved ones. The girl's hands continued to work on saddling up Skylar, but her mind was wandering to other things.

What should she do today? Should she try to challenge her personal record on the climbing wall today? Rachel had heard from her fellow Ares siblings that they had added a new obstacle to it, and it seemed that they were all pumped up to challenge each other's records. Unlike most of her half-siblings, Rachel was not the competitive sort. She trained because she enjoyed it, exercised because she liked it. It was all about personal enjoyment and improvement for Rachel. However, she wondered if she should join her siblings later on. Maybe seeing their competition would spark the girl's excitement. "You know, I heard they added something new to the climbing wall," she said, to avoid awkward silence. She hated awkward silences more than anything, even if she knew Leland wasn't much of a talker. "Did the Hephaestus kids have anything to do with the addition?" she continued, an excited tone slipping into her voice.

ᴛʀɪsᴛᴀɴ ʙᴀɴᴇ
( gender. male || godly parent. hades || age. 13 || location. mess hall || tagged. adeline harkins )
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Tristan watched as the brown-haired daughter of Poseidon rose to her feet. The younger boy tilted his head slightly at her offer. "Sure, I guess. Depends on my mood," he said, nodding. A small, thoughtful frown was on his face. "But, it's not like I'm any good with a sword..." he murmured, looking down at his plate. Usually, the boy would prefer to fight with his Stygian iron sickle. It was smaller, lighter, and more practical. Besides, the blade made out of the Underworld material was strong enough and easily got the job done. Perhaps it was a bit of a self-justification on his part: he was a little clumsy when it came to blade-on-blade fighting. He preferred to use misdirections and tricks to take down his enemies, because of his small stature. Ever since he found out that he was a son of Hades, he both revolted and reveled in his inheritance. He could still remember how he spent the next few days after being claimed constantly being in a grumpy mood. It was one thing to have a particularly traumatizing experience with monsters the week before, then suddenly having the fact that he was the son of the god of death being shoved into his face. To make things worse, he had to move from the fun and lively Hermes cabin into the dark and gloomy Hades cabin. However, he had decided to try to look on the bright side. At least he had a whole lot of special powers in his arsenal. Tristan remembered how he began pranking the others with his necromancy, which had been quite out of control at that time. It certainly was something different, having a mischievous little devil among the gloomy children of Hades.

"By the way, do you know when the next Capture the Flag is gonna be held?" he asked. The boy feigned a bored yawn. "Things are getting slooow around camp. If nothing's interesting gonna happen, maybe I should spice things up..." A mischievous grin appeared on his face. Though his childlike face looked somewhat innocent, there was a bit of a dark tone within the last part. It was as if the young boy was really considering doing something to spice things up, as he called it. But why not? he thought, silently.

[Nunavik]

Aᴅᴇʟɪɴᴇ Hᴀʀᴋɪɴs - daughter of Poseidon
Adeline shrugged her shoulders. The daughter of Poseidon, she had always relied on the powers that her father had bestowed her. Before she had even been claimed, when she had been in the Hermes cabin, and during her first few days at Camp Half-Blood, Adeline had been getting quite good with a sword. She remembered those days like they were yesterday although it had been years since Adeline had just come to Camp Half-Blood. What was she doing? Those were times during the wars that so many campers had died from. It seemed like forever ago.

The daughter of Poseidon shoved her hands into her pockets. Her body seemed to tense. Her friendly smile falling into a thin line. Her eyebrows knitted together, as if she had just remembered something disturbing. "Ah well, you know where i'll be if you'd like to join me." Adeline offered. "It's always good to practice with different weapons. Especially when the person you're sparring with isn't actually trying to kill you." Adeline mentally slapped herself for repeating the words the Hermes' counselor had used on her to Tristan. She knew how weird it was to learn and practice with weapons she wasn't comfortable with. The Hermes' counselor had tried to get Adeline to learn how to fight with daggers and bows even though she had an obvious talent in sword-fighting. She had hated it but she was also grateful for the practice. While sword-fighting would always be her go-to, if it was necessary, atleast she could defend herself with something else.

Adeline removed her hands from her pockets. Her somewhat muscular arms crossed over her chest. She hadn't heard anything about playing Capture the Flag. Chiron and Mr. D had set up the game to occur every Friday afternoon. However, it had also become a tradition to have a game to welcome the new campers to Camp Half-Blood. With the summer starting so recently, she couldn't imagine Chiron not announcing a friendly game of Capture the Flag on such a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. "I have no idea." Adeline admitted, "If Chiron decides to have one, it'll probably be today to welcome to the newest campers. If not, Friday." She couldn't imagine the camp director's putting off such a popular game. Even the eldest of the campers looked forward to it. The mischievous glint Adeline caught sparking in Tristan's eyes made her chuckle softly. "Don't let Mr. D catch you spicing things up. You'll be on dish duty all summer.

Lᴇʟᴀɴᴅ Sᴀɴᴛᴀɴᴏs - son of Hephaestus
Leland absentmindedly continued to work on the pegasus tail. His fingers, despite being rough and callused worked smoothly against the hair. Each strand was tucked neatly under the other. He seemed as if the son of Hephaestus was rather good at decorating hair. While Rachel had began to make small talk about the climbing wall, Leland shuffled over to the side of the stall. He reached over, picked a golden ribbon from the bucket and tied it into the braid. His fingers tightened the ends, making sure it was secure. He didn't admire his work for more than a moment. He grabbed his comb from his back pocket then began to work on Harold's mane.

Leland wasn't much of a physical person. He had climbed the big obstacle a few times before but never made it far off the ground. He left that to the other campers whom were more willingly to be thrown off the massive structure. He would stick to his gadgets and trinkets. Being in the forges all day, however, did have its perks. Leland wasn't one but many Hephaestus kids did actually like to participate in the activities in the camp like Capture the Flag and of course, the wall. He heard plenty of news as well. The forges at Camp Half-Blood was a cesspool for gossip and rumors. "I heard something like that." Leland agreed. His fingers cut through tough pieces of knotted hair. "I don't know for sure though. Making obstacles for the climbing wall isn't exactly my area of expertise."

// i'm going to be camping tomorrow and Friday, I doubt i'll be gone all day Friday but just so you know, I won't be replying tomorrow for sure.

[ShimmerSolarPets]

ʀᴀᴄʜᴇʟ ɢᴜɴᴛʜᴇʀ
( gender. female || godly parent. ares || age. 17 || location. pegasi stables || tagged. leland santanos )
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Finishing up all the buckles and adjusting all the straps of tack, Rachel put her hands on the reins that were equipped onto Skylar. Her blue eyes were gazing at Leland, watching intently as his hands weaved through the tail of the winged horse in such a smooth and graceful manner. A braid was slowly taking form before her eyes. She had always marveled at how clever the Hephaestus kids were with their hands. Their hands might be rough and dirty from working in the forges, but they were so skilled with their fingers. Complex mechanisms could be knit together through their hands, or they could be taken apart with no effort at all. Rachel never had that kind of patience nor skill with machines. In fact, it was a rather embarrassing fact that she used to just bash things that didn't work up until they did when she was younger. A golden ribbon was tied into a bow at the end of the brown equine's tail. Turning her attention back to the discussion they were having, she found it a bit disappointing that Leland didn't know anything about the new mechanisms being used for the climbing wall. At least, if he said that Hephaestus kids were involved in the creation of the new challenges for the climbing wall, she was pretty excited. She couldn't wait to see what sort of craziness they came up with. Hopefully, nobody was going to die.

"I'm thinking of trying out the climbing wall later on," Rachel said. She opened her mouth to offer Leland to come along, but quickly thought the better of it. She knew that the son of Hephaestus was not one for participating in those kinds of activities. She often found him working in the forge. Perhaps he wouldn't be interested. So, instead, she changed her question. "What about you? Do you have any plans for later on in the day?" she asked, a smile on her face.

ᴛʀɪsᴛᴀɴ ʙᴀɴᴇ
( gender. male || godly parent. hades || age. 13 || location. mess hall || tagged. adeline harkins )
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Tristan had noticed earlier that the girl's smile had faded for a second. He tilted his head slightly when she mentioned how good it would be to practice using different weapons, noting her words of choice. Especially when the person you're sparring with isn't actually trying to kill you. It was sound advice, actually. However, Tristan Bane being Tristan Bane, he grinned in a mischievous manner and lowered his voice. "I wouldn't mind if the person I'm sparring with was trying to kill me," he said, making his tone sound a bit sinister. "The desperation of when you're about to kill or be killed does wonders to your abilities." He wasn't really serious about that. It was more of a joke- a product of his dark brand of humor. Perhaps it might come off as rather creepy to most people, but then again, a son of Hades was already considered creepy. What was left to stop him from making dark jokes whenever he wanted? "Of course, I'm totally just kidding about that. Maybe. Who knows," he said, his voice returning to its usual volume in its usual teasing manner. He put his hands behind his head, rocking on his heels for a bit. Tristan was actually considering the sword practice. He'd heard that "practice makes perfect", and he thought that trying something new would be nice for a change. Things really were getting quite boring. He didn't have anything special to do later on anyways, and it would be nice to be able to spar with a living person every now and then. He was starting to get bored of slicing up dummies with his sickle, even if it was satisfying.

It was disappointing that the older girl had no idea on when Chiron would hold the next Capture the Flag. Though, if what she said turned out to be true, he was looking forward to it. His mind wandered towards the new campers around. Perhaps he ought to prank them? That was going to be so much fun, pranking clueless demigods. Tristan gave a chuckle at the mention of dish duty and waved her off. "Why would the god of parties punish me for making things interesting?" he laughed. Subsiding a bit, he looked at her with a fake innocent look on his childlike face. "Don't worry about me, I'm a nice, obedient guy." Anyone who knew even the slightest bit about Tristan would know that was a complete and utter lie. If there was a personification of the opposite of nice and obedient, it would be this particular son of Hades.

[Nunavik]

Aᴅᴇʟɪɴᴇ Hᴀʀᴋɪɴs - daughter of Poseidon
Adeline couldn't argue with that logic. In fact, as disturbing as it sounded, it was surprisingly true. A small smirk flashed across Adeline's face. Her previous fading frown forgotten. "Nonetheless," The girl said, "the offer stands and i'm sure I could, you know, try and not kill you for the sake of training." As much as Camp Half-Blood was there a camp that was supposed to protect demigods, it was also a place for them to learn to defend themselves. When Adeline first arrived, she had been shocked to discover that they took swordplay so seriously. The girl absentmindedly played with the loose bun. "You're not fooling anyone, Tristan." She hummed lightly. Tristan were obviously taking his need for spicing things up quite seriously. The daughter of Poseidon clapped her hands together. She didn't mind. A good party in the cabins for the start of summer camp did seem like the way to go. "A nice party might actually be fun to start off the summer. I mean, we normally have Capture The Flag but a party among the demigods would be fun too." Adeline threw her hands up. What did she know about parties? It was guaranteed Mr. D would roast any camper who brought the idea up. Despite being a Greek god who enjoyed a party or two with a glass of wine, Mr. D had become rather bitter since becoming Camp Half Blood's camp director. Adeline offered Tristan a smile. "Right well, i'm going to grab something to eat. I'll see you later, yeah?"

Lᴇʟᴀɴᴅ Sᴀɴᴛᴀɴᴏs - son of Hephaestus
Leland spaced out momentarily. His hazel gaze tunneled onto the braided mane. His fingers worked without much thought. The son of Hephaestus reached for another ribbon. He tied it into the finished braids, tugging at the ends to make sure they stuck. In that time, Leland seemed to be thrown into his own world. Sounds of fastening buckles echoed; a distant nicker of a pegasus whistled past his ears. Finally, Leland stepped back from Harold's side. The son of Hephaestus admired the intricate work before returning to the stall door. He leaned his buff arms over the side of the side door. The boy's gaze was intense. His hazel irises watched Rachel and her pegasus, Skylar, for several heartbeats. He gave his head a brief scratch. "Nothing right now." Leland replied. "Are you heading out now?"

[ShimmerSolarPets]

ʀᴀᴄʜᴇʟ ɢᴜɴᴛʜᴇʀ
( gender. female || godly parent. ares || age. 17 || location. pegasi stables || tagged. leland santanos )
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Again, Rachel couldn't help admiring the way Leland's fingers worked. Hephaestus kids were amazing and multitalented. They could create a lot of amazing things. Unlike the Ares kids, who could only fight and destroy things. In all honesty, she could never understand war. Sure, maybe she could understand fighting against monsters. It was a monster's instinct to prey on them, and their instinct to defend themselves. She could appreciate the tenacity of humans as they try to preserve their lives. Still, she did not like war among humans. Why did they have to hate each other? Why couldn't humans just get along, in spite of differences? Most wars were caused by things that Rachel considered trivial. Look at the Trojan War- it was sparked by the goddesses fighting over a golden apple. A. Golden. Apple. Being a daughter of Ares, she'd had plenty of time to contemplate on the reasons of war. And the conclusion she reached was that... it's human nature. Pride. War can be caused when people can't let go of their pride, and when two different senses of pride clash, it sparks a conflict. What the heck, Rachel? she thought to herself, snapping herself out of that little reflection. What had caused her to think of such things at a time like this?

The blonde-haired girl turned to Leland, meeting his intense hazel gaze with her own, striking blue one. The girl nodded with a bright smile. "Yep, I'm heading out now," she said, in her usual optimistic sort of tone. It certainly did not reflect the deep thoughts she had been thinking about earlier. "I'll see you later, then? Enjoy your breakfast on the beach!" She gave a small pause, before proceeding to lead the gray pegasus out of the stables.

ᴛʀɪsᴛᴀɴ ʙᴀɴᴇ
( gender. male || godly parent. hades || age. 13 || location. mess hall || tagged. adeline harkins )
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Tristan's eyes widened, and he clapped his hands together in excitement. "Whooooooahh, that's a freaking awesome idea!" he said, a sparkle lighting up in his eyes. "I hadn't thought of that at all!" Of course, the last part was a lie, even though he was genuinely impressed by the idea that Adeline had put out. A party would make things interesting. Especially if the party was done behind Mr. D's back. Yeah, that would certainly annoy the Greek god. Hosting a party without the knowledge and approval of the god of parties himself? If it was Tristan, he'd make sure it was a fun and crazy party- one fitting of Dionysus himself. Boy, he couldn't wait to see the look on the bitter god's face. Or perhaps it might have the opposite effect? What if it got him a point of approval from Mr. D? Nah, the chances of me turning into a dolphin would be much greater, he thought, dismissing the possibility. A smirk played on the younger boy's lips. Imagine, the son of Hades (Killjoy Death Dad, as Tristan often silently considered him) hosting a party to welcome all the new campers. It would certainly boost his cabin's reputation. He could certainly show those new campers that Hades kids weren't all killjoy doom-and-gloom emo kids, and maybe his kind wouldn't be so feared anymore. Of course, almost every older camper around would know that Tristan was a special oddity among his brethren.

So, was he really going to do it? A party? It would certainly take a lot of work, and he would have to enlist the help of the Hermes and Dionysus kids. Plus, they had to hide the preparations from Mr. D, which would be hard considering that his "party sense" might be tingling from all the preparations. Tristan wasn't sure how Chiron would react to it. Oh, and he had to somehow silence the Aphrodite kids from spreading rumors (which Tristan considered to be a much harder feat than keeping Mr. D's party sense from tingling). However, if he enlisted the Apollo kids to help with music, the Demeter kids with decorations, the Hephaestus kids for fireworks and stuff... Man, wouldn't that be one heck of a welcome party? Tristan quickly snapped back to the real world when Adeline told him she was going to get something to eat. "Huh? Oh yeah," he said. The boy looked down at his plate, filled with food that he hadn't even touched. The bacon had grown a bit cold. The boy pouted. "Aw man, my bacon's gone cold," he whined. "Welp, see ya later!"

(Oof, sorry for the late post!! So, I'm thinking we should maybe have a timeskip after this?)