Camp Half-Blood: Into the Storm - Closed!

[The Scribe]

Samantha "Sam" Semuels

16 ~ She/Her ~ Lesbian ~ Athena (Unclaimed) ~ Tags: Aoife, Juliet

Sam winced at the sound of cracking bones as she jammed the rock repeatedly into the skeleton's ribs. It clawed at her, bony fingers digging into her skin as it tried to pull her off. Until one of the girls drove her knife into the disembodied skull. The body went limp. Sam breathed heavily. The rock fell from her hand.
She looked up to see both of the girls hovering over her.

"Juliet . . . Aoife. I'm Sam. Where are we? What is this place? What is going on? And why do I keep getting attacked?" Sam had a thousand more questions, but she figured she's stop while she was ahead. She stared at Juliet's hand a moment before taking it. Despite the cold, her hand was warm to the touch. "Thanks," Sam said as she pulled herself up. "And don't worry, I don't have belongings to steal." As she stepped away from the skeleton, she felt it's hand wrap around her leg. "Hey! Get off me!"

[*Lovel*]

『 ☯』 Oliver Howe『 ☯』

Son of Phobos ✵ Cabin 26 ✵ 17 ✵ Demisexual

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

Tags: Ambrose, Dante, Apollo NPC's
Location: Apollo Cabin

Oliver’s eyes flew open, the back of his head still stung. “Ambrose? Where am I?” he asked voice hoarse. He tried to sit up but the movement made him dizzy. He laid back down, his black curly hair was stuck to his forehead hinting to him that he had been sweating at some point. Most likely from his dream that seemed more like he was reliving a memory. He looked around the unfamiliar room. “Ambrose why am I here?” he asked glaring as two boys came over with bandages. Oliver looked to Ambrose, he looked older than Oliver now, well physically at least. Oliver wanted to ask him about it but now wasn’t the time or place.

The back of his head stung and he went to touch it, but his fingers touched gauze instead. With his momentary distraction the boys attempted to step forward again. Oliver pointed to them “D-Don’t touch me.” The boys exchanged a look before looking to Oliver like they were going to come close anyway but then an older boy with brown hair separated the other two and walked over to Oliver. He reached for Horace but realized he did have any of his weapons. He glared at the brown-haired boy scooting back in his cot. “I’m not going to hurt you; I’m trying to help you idiot. Now let us do our job so you can leave.” The boy sounded annoyed with his job.

Oliver didn’t want to trust the boy, but his head started stinging again. Oliver winced and the boy handed him a small cube. “It won’t bite, my names Dante by the way.” Giving Oliver his name didn’t make him trust Dante anymore. He looked to Ambrose for his reassurance.

〖 ☾ 〗Ash Davis〖 ☾ 〗

Son of Hypnos ☼☽ Cabin 15 ☼☽ 17 ☼☽ Bisexual

☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆

Tags: Mira, Isabelle, and Rochelle
Location: Hampton Inn

“You’re both. We’ll deal with that once we are done with these harpies.” he may not have been able to feel her sickness like he could with her tiredness, but he could tell in the way she spoke, and she looked paler than usual. Speaking of, more harpies were coming out of the woodworks and advancing on them. Where are they all coming from? “We need more help” he thought out loud dodging talons. His wrist was starting to hurt from the weight of his one sword. He remembered he had forgotten to take ambrosia before leaving the room.

Their wings, hit their wings. Easy enough, right? another harpie came after him and he let it. He wanted to let it close but apparently too close as the harpies talons grazed his cheek but he was able to make a cut in it’s leathery wing. “How dare you, you wretched demigod.” It hissed as it flapped one wing before falling to the floor. “Oh shut up” he said before piercing it with his other sword.

A gust of wind pushed him against the wall away from where the previous harpy was. A new harpy was about to impale him with it’s talons when a bat hit it turning it into dust. “Sorry I’m late to the party, was involved in a very strange conversation.” She turned to look at Ash with a smirk. “Looks like I came just in time to save your hide.” Ash rolled his eyes before pushing himself up with a wince.

Rochelle looked to Ash “You can’t do this with your wrist in that condition.” she noticed it the night before, but it didn’t matter until now. “I need to –“ Rochelle shook her head “Go, We’ve got this.” She looked to Isabelle. “Keep them safe or –“ Ash was cut off again as a harpy went for an attack. “Go!” she yelled swinging porcupine at the harpy. They nodded to each other as a mutual understanding was shared between them.

[WitchHazel]

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

"What? I'm not - I'm fine, Ash," she'd insisted, despite the obvious congestion marking her scratchy voice. "It's just - I'm just tired." She had offered him what she hoped was a convincing smile, but likely appeared a poor imitation. I can't appear weak in front of the rest of the team. They need me to pull it together, so I'm pulling it together. After she had distanced herself from the group and taunted the monsters, she realised she wasn't alone. Isabelle and Ash had accompanied her. "What the - you need to run!" she hissed. "I'm buying you time. Get out of here while you still -" it was too late. The harpies were upon them, and all further protests were silenced.

Isabelle had said something about Mist control to her right before they started to attack, but she didn't see how it was relevant at the moment. "What? Yes, we have Skylar, but -" she had to pause as a harpy dive-bombed her in a squawking flurry of feathers. She parried its talon attack using both blades, steadying her feet against the floor so she wouldn't be knocked over. "- not the time for chatter," she managed between blows of celestial bronze. "Focus on the fight." It was taking most of her energy just to do that in the first place.

As the harpy ascended into the air again, she swiped at it with Rhódon for good measure. Another was already charging towards her, waddling like an especially menacing chicken. It gave a piercing shriek as she twirled on the ball of her foot and slashed at its chest. She didn't even have time to think before the monster exploded into dust. A sneeze sent her head snapping forward, just as yet another creature came spiraling from above. She barely had time to dodge, but she mustered her strength and slid unsteadily out of the way. One of its talons ripped the sleeve of her sweater as it passed by, leaving a small cut in its wake. Just a graze, she mentally sighed. I'll clean it out and put a bandaid on it once we get to safety. The sweater would take a bit of energy to repair, if she did so using her abilities. Right. My powers. She didn't trust herself to utilise charmspeak or amokinesis in an aggressive manner, not with how little energy she already had. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping her going. I don't even know if charmspeak would work, given how much of a mess my voice is right now. She just barely managed to fend off another attack, parrying with Ankáthi and wounding the offending harpy with Rhódon. Right. Less thinking, more fighting. Or maybe thinking was the way to go? I know these feathered fiends have strengths and weaknesses. But what?

Even given her current condition, Mirabelle was a formidable warrior. Her reaction time might've been a bit slower and her head might've felt a little fuzzy, but she'd be damned if she let the monsters get to her friends. Most of the harpies' attacks were parried or dodged, though with far less grace than usual. Harpies... harpies... what do I know about harpies? She wracked her brain for answers, though it felt like wading through a pool of molasses. They can fly, obviously... they have a good memory... they like cinnamon... ugh, none of this is helpful! Think, Mirabelle, think... As she fended off another attack, a sharp blaring sound rang out through the hall. She nearly jumped out of her skin. At least the sound served as a distraction to the harpies, allowing her time to think properly. "- fire," she remembered aloud. "They're immune to fire!" No fire-based weapons or attacks, then. "And they have aerokinesis." It was all coming back to her now - the legends, the readings, the lessons, battle strategies, all of it. "Be careful - they can control winds!" she called out above the clamour of battle. Winds that will snatch you up if you aren't careful. "Focus on hitting their wings - we can ground them. They'll be easier to kill that way."

One of the harpies caught the last bit, and a look of terror overwhelmed its features. Mirabelle took full advantage of the creature's hesitation. The terror soon disintegrated before her eyes as the harpy realised too late that it had a sword through its chest. Ugh, there are so many. Why are there so many? She swung at one as she blocked another's attack. Why didn't we bring a satyr along? We would've been able to sense them much sooner if we had a satyr.

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

"I don't think dead guys are super concerned with manners, but okay." Juliet was about to shrug, but shot Aoife a glare instead when she stated that the daughter of Hermes would steal half of Sam's belongings. "Hey! That's not true! I'd steal all of them, rifle through to see if there's anything of value, and then put everything back how it was," she huffed, though the humour never left her hazel eyes. "How dare you undercut my thieving prowess like that. I am a master thief. A real artisan."

The new girl - Sam - accepted Juliet's outstretched hand, and Juliet helped her to her feet with a small grunt of effort. The girl's palm was warm in her own, which was a nice change from the frigid temperatures. "Nice to meetcha, Sam-I-Am. Samburger? Sampoo? Sambuca? Samwich? Samsung? Man, there are just too many options. How about Samwise? I like that one. Lord of the Rings is a great film. Anyways, back to the point. You're a demigod, Samwise, monsters smell your demigod scent and think 'mmm tasty' so they try to kill you. That, and they hate the gods or something I don't know! I usually sleep through mythology class okay? But anyways, welcome to Camp Half-Blood, where weirdos like us are safe from the things that want to kill us. And believe me, there are a lot of things that want to kill us." She offered Sam a toothy smirk. Her face faltered, however, as a skeletal arm reached out and snared the other girl around the leg.

"Wow, just like a horror flick! I can already hear the dramatic violin music- " she made a poor impression of the famous violin track from Psycho. "- oy vey, I forgot my mimicry only works on human voice. Oh yeah, should probably do something about that." Juliet stepped closer to the skeleton and jumped into the air, landing on the exposed bone of its arm with a great big crack! Despite the obviously broken bone, she continued stomping on the reanimated corpse until there was barely anything left of the arm. "...yeah. Should probably get you over the border now, I'm not exactly sure how long this thing will play dead."


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: Cabin 7|Tags: Oliver, Apollo NPCs|

“Ambrose? Where am I?”
Ambrose jolted to attention at Oliver's address, straightening up and walking a bit closer to the wounded boy. "Ollie - don't try an' move now. You've been knocked in the head real good, I reckon. Dante here said something about 'blunt force trauma'. Not sure what that means, but it sounded bad." Dante shot Ambrose an irritated look and rolled his eyes. "Right. Yeah, I reckon it's no good. What's important is that you're safe now, mate. Gave me a right scare, you did. But you're hunky-dory now, yeah?" The last part was said more to the Apollo boys than Oliver.

"He'll make a full recovery if he lets us actually treat him," Dante cut in. "Oi! Leave off him, Dants," Ambrose shot back. "He's had a rough enough go of it as is. Ollie -" he turned back to Oliver "- Dante may be a shirty one today, but he's alright. The lot of 'em are. They're not gonna hurt you, if that's what's got your knickers in a twist. We're the good guys here, yeah?" He got a few nods from the Apollo boys. "Oi - Gene, he's sounding a bit parched. Get 'im some water." The guy who was not Dante hurried off to follow the order. "Right. You want some answers, so answers you'll have. You're at Camp Half-Blood, mate. Safe haven for lads like us. Got a magic barrier, we do - keeps monsters like that undead git on the hill out of our hair. I'll find Chiron or Mr. D and have you introduced proper when you're able to stand. They're -" he paused, thinking through exactly how to explain what they did. "They run this place, yeah? Train us to fight so we can exist out there in the world. So we know how to handle ourselves against those nasty ol' monsters."

Eugene returned with the water, leaving it hesitantly on a nearby side table. "That stuff Dante gave you - that's ambrosia, see. Food o' the gods. It'll get you healed up in no time, but don't eat too much at once lest you want to turn yourself to ash. Er - not Ash, the person, the stuff that floats in the air when a fire's burning. Ash's a good bloke though, he's - blimey, he's on the quest now, isn't he. I hope he doesn't take a trip down the Styx. Right - where were we? Ambrosia. Yeah. Dante and company gave you a bitta nectar earlier, when you were zonked out. Don't know if it's advisable to give you ambrosia after, but I'm not the quack here, now am I?" Dante looked vaguely offended at being called a 'quack'. "Right. My apologies. 'Course you know how to do your job, I'm - yeah - I'll stop yakking. It's a lot to take in, ennit? I'll - I'll shut my gob while you process."


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|

What happened to me is my identity, she wanted to say. I carry it with me wherever I go. I do not know who I am without it. Instead, she simply nodded. The realisation hit her that Kayle couldn't see her nodding, so she made a small sound of acknowledgement in addition. Despite her troubled thoughts, she felt less alone. Loneliness, my constant companion. Your exquisite agony is no more. Her poetic musings were cut short by a sharp elbow to the side. A soft grunt escaped her, more in surprise than pain. "- you've got your little bit of freedom now, so run with it." Vivienne flinched at first when Kayle knocked her on the forehead, gentle as the action may have been. The poke in her chest made her stiffen, but she forced herself to relax at least a little bit. [b]"Thank you, Kayle. I shall hold freedom fast in my mind." And in my heart. Emotions may be centred in the brain, yet they are experienced with the entirety of the body. A particular Dickinson poem surfaced from the depths of memory, one line in particular sticking in her head. Captivity is consciousness, So's liberty.

Vivienne was quick to follow at Kayle's heels when she got up to leave. She hovered uncomfortably behind the older girl, all too aware of her unbecoming appearance at that moment. She didn't usually take much stock in her looks - she enjoyed seeming put-together and distinguished, and that was about as far as she went. She knew she did not appear to be either of those things with a blanket wrapped around her t-shirt-clad form. Not to mention the sweatpants, her tangled mess of hair, or the funny foam shoes that were too bright to look at for long. ""You all set?" Kayle's question had her head jerking up in response. "Yes," she stated simply, "and my skull has never become detached from my spinal cho - oh. That was another turn of phrase, was it not?" A rush of embarrassment accosted her nervous system. 'Ride like the wind' is likely another, though I am capable of riding venti in equine form. The confusion that followed over what 'nae nae' meant was short-lived; quickly cast aside in favour of getting going. There will be ample time for inquiry later. "Yes I am prepared to depart. No need to keep Xaliphax waiting."

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐀𝐨𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲

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

”Well...maybe that’ll teach him to learn some,” Aoife stated haughtily, sticking her tongue out at the cracked skull. She snorted at Juliet’s sudden indignance, raising her hands in defense. “Right. Sorry, my bad.” She turned her gaze to Sam, nodding with mock-solemnity. “She’s really, really good.” She eyed the girl up and down, noticing for the first time that she didn’t have much on her. It wasn’t surprising, a lot of kids came through with nothing but the clothes on their backs. This girl was lucky to at least have a weapon.

Aoife grinned as Juliet began rattling off nicknames the second the girl introduced herself, then her smile faltered. “You just took all the good ones. Now I’m gonna have to call something stupid like...Spam.” She glanced over at Sam, narrowed her eyes, then shook her head. “I’m not gonna call you Spam. You seem pretty calm for someone who just got attacked by a skeleton. Are you one of those people who stays perfectly tranquil and then snaps and loses it all at once? I don’t mind, but if you’re gonna start screaming, at least give us a little warning first. I've got sensitive ears.”

She cringed at the less than accurate violin impression—screaming might’ve actually been better—and was about to swing a kick at the reanimated hand when Juliet took over. She tapped her boomerang against her wrist, turning it back into its slap bracelet form, and shook her unruly hair back from her face. “No, I think we should just stand around out here and wait for more skeletons to come get us. Come on.” She started towards the crest of the hill, only taking a few steps before turning back around to face them, continuing to walk backwards. “There’s a magical border around this place so once you’re past that tree you’re protected.” Visions of the undead soldiers that had swarmed camp the day previous flooded her mind and her expression faltered briefly. “Mostly. It’s pretty wild, but you’ve already dealt with the pumpkin king so I’m assuming you can handle a little magic forcefield.”

[Kveykva]

──────── 𝐀𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫
[✦] | Athena Head Counselor | 15 | Male | Hampton Inn, Upstairs Hallway ➡ Fire Escape, Parking Lot| Tags: n/a
❝ 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑠❞

Gods, what do these people pack in their bags? Bricks?! All of a sudden having a limp went from inconvenient to detrimental. In all his stubbornness (which he likely takes from Will) he refused to leave anyone's bags behind, for the sake of simplifying the escape. He'd already told Mira he planned to double back upstairs so nobody else had to, but at the time, he hadn't been bitten by an unnecessarily aggressive harpy. Aiden bumbled his way to the fire escape, headbutting the door open (it wouldn't matter, since the alarms had already been pulled), and dropped all four of his bags down to the ground. If anyone had anything fragle in there, that was a "them" problem. He wasn't apologizing. The climb down was equally as "easy" as it was "painful." Even without the added weight of his fellow campers' travel gear and night jammies, searing daggers shot through his leg with every step, and the only thing Aiden was thankful for was that the fire escape was composed of steep stairs rather than ladders. Though, his fight with the ladder would come as his final obstacle.

Upon reaching it, Aiden considered his plight for a few moments. His consensus resulted in "screw that" and he jumped instead, landing on the lumpy cushion of everyone's possessions. Freedom was in sight at last, and with some difficulty, he dragged himself around to the front of the building - only to be pounced on by a second harpy, likely seeking vengeance for the first.

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

Wilhelm shook his head, showing disagreement with the suggestion. " 'ere's gods mightier than K'one, I ain't seein' how she's got th' know-how t' put someone mightier than 'er under 'er thumb." He knew Khione didn't have the Doors down - someone else had to have done that - but he couldn't see why anyone else who actually did possess that level of power would, for lack of a better word, serve under Khione. " 'r maybe I'm readin' too much into it," he admitted. "Them Doors might not even be open. Permanently, I mean. All's too much fer me." Will wasn't a strategic thinker, and he didn't like to dedicate so much of his head to problem-solving. He wasn't good at it and it took a lot of time. He'd much rather follow someone who knew what they were doing before he made up his mind about going another way, because gods knew he wouldn't change it after that.

──────── 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐞𝐧
[✦] | Apollo | 16 | Female | ➡ Dining Pavilion | Tags: Leo, Vittorio
❝ 𝑖 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑟❞

"Space," Lucy answered curtly, glancing back at the sparsely sat Apollo table. "I'm on the brink of losing my head being around them all -" a pause, taking notice of a new face. "not their fault, admittedly, but it's a little more stress than I signed up for on my otherwise pleasant summer vacation. I'm going to start getting sores on my hands if I keep playing for so many hours straight." There was quite a bit of truth in the statement; Lucy hadn't been able to sleep between all the groaning and sniffling in the cabin, and she'd spent the time instead playing violin throughout the night. It begged the question of, if she'd chosen to purposely play poorly, those inside the cabin would find it disruptive or just as soothing as usual. She wouldn't tarnish a piece of classical history to find out. "Dante kicked me out of the cabin this morning, actually. Breakfast and fresh air, he said. I think he's afraid I'll be stepping on Felix's toes." The two half-siblings were far from being on good terms, even after last night's development, and she wasn't sure whether he held it against her or not. Regardless of what Felix thought, Lucy hadn't intended to kill him. What was she supposed to have done? Tears were shed on her own time, and she moved on. None the wiser.

"As for here... You should know." They'd already discussed the arrangement the day prior, but Ares kids were dense - maybe he'd forgotten. "It's just nice to have someone around." That wasn't the whole of it, and from the look Leo pointed at her, Lucy doubted she could leave it at that. "I do have something to ask you - not now. Later. When you have time." It was dismissive - swept under the rug, Lucy didn't really want to say more, for reasons she didn't want to disclose.

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

"Ay, you're catchin' on now." Kayle grinned. "The saying usually goes "you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached" but you can twist it however you like. It doesn't have to stay as the cliche." She ushered the other girl out the door and into the driver's seat, placing herself on the right side with Snowdrop settling into her lap. "Put your hands on the wheel," she instructed calmly as Xaliphax shifted itself into reverse. "You don't have to do anything, Xali can drive himself, but the one of us that can actually see should be behind the wheel for - obvious reasons, I'd think." Then again, nothing about any situation Kayle found herself in these days was obvious. The car mechanically pulled from the parking space and maneuvered its way out onto the open road, itching for a chance to stretch its legs. Xaliphax knew the meaning of haste, and it was now that he would show this to his passengers.

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

"No, they aren't - Harpies!" Moxie repeated. "Like - the eagle. You know - Christ, never mind." The nonsense itself didn't bother her, it was the uncertainty on whether he was playing dumb or genuinely this ignorant. She was thankful for the interruption and subsequent trade, though the question of how her weapons remained after she passed lingered somewhere in her mind. She'd yet to put words to it, but the connection would come sooner or later. A single loud pop signaled the end of her only chance, and while the shot hadn't been entirely blind, she wasn't confident she'd hit a target. It sounded like it, and Moxie took it at face value. "That's it, boys!"

With a hop, skip, and a jump, Moxie landed herself safely and seamlessly in the back of the van, joining the other two passengers to break up the party. "So it's probably a good time for me to ask, how many kids do you have in this group? Might be easier if one of us runs the headcount while you step on it." She wasn't a fan of harpies by any means, but there were far nastier monsters out there. The original Greek ones were debatably worse, but she had her doubts that anyone wanted to listen to her top ten list of "worst monsters to encounter on the road." I haven't seen a harpy in years, she thought once settled in the van, braced for the next shift of action. "I haven't seen any monster in almost five years, now that I think about it. Crazy, isn't it? You kids get attacked after being out in New York for less than a day, and I've been kicking back in retirement without a care in the world. It's all so - wrong." She wasn't particularly talking to Taffy or Clive directly, but some input on the thought would be taken into consideration.

──────── 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.

[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 said giving him a wave of his hand, “Me judge you. We’ve just met Hunter. I would never judge someone that I just met. Yes Ares kids to have a bad rep well some of them do, but I’m not one to jump to conclusions about anything!” As he listend her nodded and said, “I’m a year rounder myself. I’ve been here for four years hence my four beads. Why don’t you go on and talk Press.”

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 and said giving a half hearted chuckle, “I get what you mean Kaden. Sometimes I wish my life was so simple like a normal mortal, but wha t are we gonna do. I mean my life was simple before the car accident I was in. I had a loving Step mother, but my father got a divorce when I was younger. I mean you probably don’t wanna hear me say this, but what I’m trying to say without rambling on is that I did have a normal life before my car accident with my step-mother and my three mortal half siblings, Grace, Avery, and Saul. I’m glad though to have such a cool mom ya know. It feels weird to call a god such as Athena mom.”

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 listened and as Rex told him to talk, he felt a nudge of comfort from Chase. He looked into the dogs saucer brown eyes and he said giving a big sigh, “My mother was kind to me and my older sister, Kassidy, loved me, but ever since when I was two years old, my sister, Gia was born, I was forgotten being the middle child. I was placed into foster care at two year and three months. I never had a normal childhood. I was lonely, scared, and shied away from everything! My first foster family I stayed with for 5 years. When that didn’t work out, for another five years I was placed with a kind man named, Gerald. When I was twelve he died from an unknown sickness. I felt like family and when he was gone, I felt alone and again shied away from everything. For two years until I came here not to long ago, I was in an adoption center. No one cared to adopt me due to how old I was. So you wanted me to talk, there you go Rex.” He took a deep breath and proceeded to stare at the ground.

[sunhorsestar]

Kaden Turner | Athena | 18 | Tagging: Ava | Location: Dining Pavilion



"Hey, doesn’t matter to me if you want to spill your life story," Kade joked. After all, this was his half sister. That felt weird, but it was a fact. And families ought to stay together and be able to trust and rely on each other. If that meant being a listener, then he was more than happy to do so. "It’s really good you came from such a calm background, and…I’m really sorry to hear about the accident. Sometimes something happens and it can just…turn your whole world upside down," he acknowledged.


Hunter Mayhem | Ares | 19 | Tagging: Press, Rex | Location: Dining Pavilion


Usually Hunter didn’t mind being judged, but at least if he’d be judged, he figured it ought to be for who he was, rather than who his parents were, so it was quite a relief. He nodded in acknowledgement to Rex, then turned his attention to the younger of the two, Press. A kind family and yet, then being forgotten about as a toddler. Hunter couldn’t even REMEMBER being a toddler. This kid must have an incredible memory. "I…" Hunter trailed off. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d never dealt with such circumstances. "It sounds like you were moved around a lot. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. We're all lucky that we’ve got a home here."

[The Scribe]

Samantha "Sam" Semuels

16 ~ She/Her ~ Lesbian ~ Athena (Unclaimed ~ Tags: Aoife, Juliet

Sam raised an eyebrow at the nicknames. "Just 'Sam' is fine, thank you." Sam tried to emphasize that preference, but Aoife was already talking about calling her Spam. She was relieved when Aoife promised not to use the nickname. "Well . . . the last few weeks have been weird. A skeleton really wasn't out of the realm of possibility. As for snapping? Guess you'll have to find out." Sam winked at Aoife before following the girl up the hill.
"I'm confused by all . . . this. A magical border? What is this place? Why do you have weapons, and how did that boomerang turn into a slap bracelet? Also, why are monsters chasing me?" Sam hoped they would answer her questions instead of skirt around them with humor, which seemed to be what these girls preferred. She was cool with a good joke, but Sam wasn't in the mood at the moment. She was stressed, cold, and in pain. Hopefully there actually was a "magical border" to keep her safe and they weren't preying on her vulnerability.

[takara]

ツ | Zeke Hopewell
17 | He/him | Hermes | Cabin Circle-> the void| Cain-> on ice, dni

Oh my gods, has there ever been another Oracle that's this... boring? Seriously, dude tryna be a whole Avatar Aang here. Zeke squinted at Cain's statement. "Oh really?" He asked, a smirk twitching at his lips, though he tried to hold it down. I'll be taking that as a challenge, thanks my ledge! Cain was talking again, spewing words for all that got through to Zeke. He tried to follow, but the ideas buzzing in the background were too loud. Would he stop me if I asked for just the right ingredients for some minor explosives? Nah, I bet milk-toast here wouldn't even notice and get himself arrested... gumballs and paint guns? Oh! What if I just get the parts from him and make some... abstract costumes? That would be sick!

"Huh?" Lunch? Or was it dinner? "I think I'm quite alright, thanks Caveman!" Zeke said, patting his pocket as he sidestepped, then broke into a full scurry off to gods know where and bad decisions.

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

"I will try," He muttered to himself, more of a grim promise than a proper response. Auggie wandered off, and he took the opportunity to survey the dining pavilion. It was greatly subdued for the most part, albeit with a few exceptions that tried to settle the humor of the room. Namely, the Cabin Seven table, where Hank, that rapscallion, was far too much effort into a joke about his dog. She did not look amused, and the half a dozen kids he was tasked with entertaining were not much better. Seriously, Dante should take the title back. Nothing against Hank, but the man is lying to himself if he thinks that he does squat. Reese rolled out a crick in his shoulder. If he needed a cane for any length of time, it really would be better to get have one that fit. But Reese would not need a cane. He is not someone's grandfather- he is a spry youth for god's sake!

A purple haired sprite made her return, and Reese put away all thoughts of crummy leadership and assistive devices. There would be plenty of time for that later. Maybe an angel was a more fitting analogy, but Reese could not help but realize that Auggie would have a knife at his throat if she knew of that. Sprite it was. But it was possible that he smiled a bit too much at the approach of food. His service was given with sarcasm rather than a smile, but he would take it. "I figured as much," He replied, killing his smile and nodding solemnly. He retrieved the dish from her, biting down a frown at the milk that had splashed over the side when she had put the bowl down. He tugged a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing at the table before laying it out over his lap. Closing his eyes, he folded his hands together and paused. Bless us, oh Lord...amen. And thank you for my sister. Please help her not to hate me.

With that settled, he lifted the spoon dipping it into his raisin bran as he considered talking options. Auggie does not do small talk well, so weather is out... He glanced over at her, eyebrows scrunched. "So... you like plain bagels?" He asked, nodding at her plate with more than a little concern. Did she... did she not even get butter? Cream cheese? Jam? God, not even honey?

[sammy,]

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

made sense for the gods to smell different, but ambrosia and nectar felt like a stretch. "that's godly food, though, isn't it? and if its taste changes for us based on, like, happy memories and all'a that business, then what d'they smell? does that mean that they smell like... i dunno, a particularly scented bin? or a stagnant lake that they can have a little frolick in?" he knew there were some who could converse with animals. maybe it was something to ask about. "got to think, with all the gods cutting about, all the different pantheons, whether they get possessive over certain breeds. 'cos most of 'em have got patron saints of certain animals. maybe hecate only claims collies. and little yapping shih tzus. says to the egyptian patron, goes 'you can have the rhodesian ridgebacks, i'm having the chihuahuas.'" though if there was any dog breed that existed out of the realm of godly influence, it was probably the chihuahua.

he nodded along with the explanation. it made sense. worth asking about, worth raising any concern that came up. it was their lives on the line, after all. everyone wanted to know that they were in safe hands. safe-ish, at least. "well, chuck's a safe bet, anyway. he's normally around mr. d's table this time. he's also, you know, he's just a gem. even if you don't get much information out of him, you'll come out of the conversation a happier chappy than you went into it. always worth a chat with chuck." orin cast a sweeping glance around, searching for the satyr. "i should probably leave you to your conversation with him. don't think i'll be of any help. much as i love the fella, i think one rambler's enough for a conversation like that. two's a stretch. at three, you're risking the collapse of a small solar system."

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

"i don't think i'd be a good teacher," leo said. he had it in him, somewhere, to be patient. he knew that. but when it came to things that were so intrinsic, built and woven into the fabric of his dna, it was difficult how to explain to a layman how to land a blow that would shatter a skull. "and i don't think there're many people here who'd take lessons from me." there was a glint in his eye when tori caught onto the deadpan-delivered half joke. "i mean, you can't say that half of them didn't kind of deserve it." he said. "feel bad for the crew and all, but i bet most the aristocrats only sunk because they couldn't part with their seventy-four karat diamond ring, or whatever." he wasn't sure how diamonds were measured. wasn't even certain what a karat was when not positioned in the hand of a smug rabbit.

if vittorio couldn't avoid the hassle, he would have to make it. the world wasn't really that black and white, but it felt that way for leo. he was an exercise in polarity in many senses, the shades of grey mottled and dull. "make enough noise and you'll be able to sink into the background. people won't try and bother you if they think you're gonna go ape on them." he said by way of advice. "and, you know. it fits. we're categorised as armed and highly dangerous because of our father who art carried on a fire-breathing-horse-drawn chariot, lethal be thy name."

the explanation was fair enough. "does it not work if you... record it?" he asked, a salient question. "put it on loop. might be worth a try." names normally flew over his head, not familiar with a majority of the apollo cabin, but felix was one that he knew. another pang of shame. he needed rid of that, desperately. "too many doctors spoiling the surgery, huh,"

he did know. sort of. but his head was still a little lighter than he would have liked, and he wasn't in the pensive state that normally preambled a bout of rage, so a punchup was off the cards. he supposed that was why the confrontation with riley had gone so smoothly. besides, he didn't want to feed the monster of guilt that had settled in his stomach. "i'm, uh..." a glance at tori. he didn't particularly want the kid to know about the arrangement, which seemed a reductive word. "sorta drained. i think i'm still supposed to be on bedrest, technically. but if it's not... then i'll, uh, come and find you."

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

moxie returned with a question that teilo, frankly, did not have the answer to. "i don't know. seven? ten? there're more every time i look. they just keep splitting apart, making new versions of each other. it's hard to keep up," but he tried, counted on his fingers. his mind went to the dream from the night before - they had all been there, hadn't they? and now there were two more. "hang on," started counting on his fingers. "ten. i want to say ten."
"is that you counting 'ow many fingers you've got, or -" cut off by a sharp look, clive raised his hands in surrender. "retirement gets a bit dull. can see why people take up gardening. and gold. and... i dunno, composting."
"i've no idea how everyone's gonna fit," he said, mostly to himself. "i mean, it was crammed before, but now... if we don't get picked off by harpies, we're gonna get pulled over by the police for an overloaded vehicle."

any further complaints about the adherance to traffic law (like that had ever been any of teilo's concern) were wiped by the appearance of aiden through the windshield, quickly descended upon by one of the demonic creatures. "that's - i mean, surely that's against the rules."
a decision was made in between heartbeats. it was no good getting out and fighting it. didn't want to leave the vehicle, particularly, just in case someone else showed. but he knew from the mutterings of his grandfather that being behind the wheel was akin to holding a loaded gun, and no matter the godly origin of the creature attacking the son of athena, there was little that it could do if its feathers were splayed across the grill. he passed emrys back to clive, who took it with flailing hands. "open the van door," hesitation struck with brevity, quashed by a glare. "and - hold on. try not to fall out of it." a glance back at moxie. "that goes for you, as well."

teilo threw the gear into reverse. the wheels went rolling back. a swift jolt on the brakes halted it in its tracks for the length of a second as it was shifted back into first, idling. he needed a good run up, after all, needed the apex just right. the window was opened a crack, just enough for his voice to carry: "aiden, get out of the way!"
the accelerator was slammed as he lifted off the clutch. it was muscle memory. it was the visualisation of a bottle that he had to manoeuvre around, but this time, he was aiming to hit the feathered target. into second, the engines snarling to aggravated life. nearly past the harpy, a bit too close to the outer wall of the hotel for comfort, he came off the throttle, replaced the pressure on the clutch, and in a fluid, single motion, span the wheel rigidly and harshly to the left. the handbrake was pulled; the back of the van swung out; the wheel slipped back to neutral through his fingers; and the brake was released again as he revved straight back up to the territory of wheelspin. a slam marked the entrance of harpy feathers in the grill of the van, bumper marked by a sickening thud. all the while, clive was hanging on for dear life, screeching with a mix of glee and horror, waving desperately at aiden. the van juddered to a seething halt.

"get in, y'scallop! y'wanna be made into suet balls?"