"The hydra is real and everyone but new people knows it there." Finx said "It likes to spook new comers. Its an odd thing but it protects us and as long as we leave it be it will leave us be." she smiled at the girl "just don't go beyond the boundries and don't go out for a swim at night and you'll be fine." she brushed her priestess robes off scatterring sand everywhere.

"Well, it's nice to formally meet you, Crystal," Rey replied brightly. "To be honest, I thought that you looked familiar, but I couldn't place you exactly." She blushed a bit at her confession. Normally, she never forgot a face, but there were those whom she just never saw or talked too that managed to slip under her radar for the most part. The year-round campers, like Ty and Taigi, were the ones she knew the best. Nick was another one that she had gotten to know relatively well, though he didn't seem to want to talk to her very much.

The mention of the cabin caused Rey to look around again, taking in as many details as possible. Crystal was right though. Every cabin was designed beautifully with the traits of the god it belonged to in mind. That's why the kids seemed to fit into the cabin so well. Not to mention that the designs made the gods happy as well. And with the addition of cabins, Hermes' Cabin was able to be fixed up a bit. It no longer looked so rundown and poor. "As much as I would like to, I can't take credit for anything other than painting," Rey said, nodding at the conclusion of her survey. "That's all I did to help really."

Ice cream has always been a sort of secret phrase when it comes to children, and therefore Rey was no exception. Her head whipped around, golden eyes shimmering as she said, "You can make ice cream? Really?" Truth be told, that was one of Rey's favorite desserts, which was rather unfortunate at Camp. Ice cream wasn't really in high quantity there, even with the magic food system. Desserts didn't really count for that it seemed. "That's a lot better than doing manual labor!"

"I'll tell my cabin!" Rey exclaimed with a grin. The children of Hebe always loved a good party and were, consequently, the best organizers of said parties across the camp. There was no doubt in the small girl's mind that they would manage to come up with something, even if Chiron was against the idea. He had said "No" before after all. "I don't think that this cabin will be large enough for everyone, so having it down on the beach would probably be a better idea." She subconsciously chewed her lip as she thought it over.

Crystal's question diverted her thoughts, however. "No. It should be on a first come-first served basis," she replied, looking around. They would almost certainly have enough bunks for everyone, though if not they could get some more from a different cabin until they could get the Hephaestus kids to build new ones.

"I'll go ahead and give you some privacy to unpack," she said, waving as she went to the door. It was clear that her mind was still on the party as she walked though. "If you want to talk, come get me somehow. Or I'll come find you when we get all the details for the party down, kay?"

"I'm not sure I'd call it 'protection,'" Cat objected, frowning as Finx's scattered sand stuck to her wet legs. That was another reason not to go into the ocean. Cat hated having sand stuck to her. "You don't protect yourself with something that wants to eat you. The barrier is protection."

She turned to the new campers with a reassuring smile. "I agree with her that we're safe this side of the buoy, though. Monsters can't cross the barrier without explicit permission from someone who belongs here. You could even stay and swim without being in any danger."

The new campers relaxed slightly, and Cat grabbed her towel from the ground and shook out the sand so she could dry her legs. "But it's almost lunchtime, so I don't know about you girls but I'm going to go shower before we eat."

"Yeah. It's not too complicated." Crystal smiled some at the way Rey brightened up- Rey really did take a lot after her mother's nature, though there was a little concern that some of the rosiness to her cheeks was actually due to the cold. "And that's one thing I think the Hephaestus kids can agree with as well, but then again I don't really know if they've ever tried their hands at cooking."

Not large enough? Suddenly her heart jumped into her throat. Crystal's idea for a little get-together must have been horribly mistranslated somewhere... The beach?! Where did that come from? No, this was definitely not what she had wanted. The little girl's enthusiasm must have been running away with her and dreaming up some whimsical celebration. Crystal looked at the icy windows nervously. She had no idea how Rey expected her to make that much ice cream or how, exactly, she was planning on keeping it cool before serving if this party was going to be at the beach. Sure Crystal could turn water to ice, but that took energy and she really didn't want to spend that much time outside freezing over parts of the ocean just so she and the ice cream could keep from melting.

Eyebrows knit with concern she might insult the tiny teen, "I- I don't know about the ocean... I was thinking about just a small gathering." Crystal squeaked out in a voice so small it might not have even been heard at all "Maybe eight to ten people...". She just knew Rey would be crushed and would never want to talk to her again. She was ruining her grand plan for what was probably to her a brilliant party, but there was so much Crystal saw going wrong, so many potential complications that the blonde couldn't keep quiet.

When Rey explained how the bunks worked in the Aeolus cabin Crystal started looking around. She definitely wanted to make sure she had a quiet corner, maybe even something somewhat nicely tucked away. "Thank you, I'll... I'll check by your cabin when I come up with something." She hoped Rey heard her comment before but regardless of if she had or had not a sinking feeling grew in Crystal's stomach. Either way she'd have to talk to a lot more strange people than she was used to.

---

Phoebe's eyebrows seemed to have crawled half way up her forehead after Finx's comment. No swimming at night, or what? Or it will... get in? That thing can get IN?! A shudder shot down her spine at the idea of such a beast really stomping through what little of camp she had seen. "You're kidding, right?"

When Cat spoke Phoebe's nerves settled a bit until she mentioned that last little bit about eating. The blonde girl whined and looked out at it bobbing in the water, all of it's angry eyes leering at the potential protein on the beach, so ready to be gobbled up in a gruesome feast. The more the earthy girl spoke, however, the calmer Phoebe became. So it couldn't get in regardless of the time of day... unless someone invited it... How do you invite something like that anywhere? Despite her questions she let out a deep sigh of relief and smiled at her in gratitude.

Mention of a shower and disregarding the monster had a surprisingly encouraging effect on Phoebe and the other new girls. Immediately she was back to her typical barrage of excited questions much more suited for the reality she had so-far grown accustomed to "That sounds pretty good... what kind of food gets served here? Is it any good? What would you suggest? Are there any vegetarian options?"

"Mostly barbecue and salads and stuff. With fresh fruit for dessert most of the time. Anything you want to drink, as long as it's nonalcoholic. Mr. D takes care of that. Camp is pretty big on the whole non-processed food thing." Cat grinned at Pheobe, knowing that would probably be good news for a vegetarian. For herself, Cat couldn't see willingly giving up meat, but as long as they weren't preachy about it she didn't care what they ate or didn't eat.

Deciding her legs were as dry and de-sanded as possible, Cat folded up her towel and smiled at the now much calmer campers. "Showers are in the cabin, and if you're very lucky you might even get hot ones. We go through hot water pretty quick in Hermes cabin because there are so many of us."

"Is the barbecue good?" Phoebe tilted her head inquisitively. "I normally don't eat a lot of meat because it's really-really taxing on the environment and, I mean, it's healthier for you to eat vegetables anyway so I guess I'm helping myself and the planet at the same time. But, erm... heh... a burger doesn't sound that bad right now..."

Alright so maybe she was a spaz at times, but Phoebe didn't see the harm in it. These girls didn't seem to mind, in fact she felt like she was hitting it off with everyone quite well! Everyone except for the Hydra and that gloomy guy from before, but seriously, they had to be the exception to the rule! "So... let's get those showers out of the way and try out this food!" She declared, comically pointing her finger high into the air. The other new girls started to gab and walk off toward the Hermes cabin, excited--and still a little terrified-- about the summer ahead.

Phoebe looked back between Finx and Cat and for the first time since she arrived she kept to a relaxed manner "Thank you again. I'm not used to being spooked like that, and having people around to explain what was going on really does help." Her long legs started her off toward the Hermes cabin, though she did try to keep pace with the two veteran campers while their paths remained the same.

"Awesome! I get a cone sometime, right? Peanut butter, maybe?" she asked, peering up at Crystal with sparkling eyes. "I don't think that they like cooking anything but machines. I mean, a few of them might, but I've never seen it." The thought of a child of Hephaestus, covered and grease and oil standing over a skillet brought forth a giggle from her.

Oblivious to Crystal's internal panic, Rey had almost reached the door when Crystal mentioned she hadn't meant a large party. Instantly, the gears in the little girl's head were churning in a different direction. "Why?" she asked, honest confusion showing on her face. For one, she, as a child of Hebe, loved social interaction and especially parties, which meant that the larger was better. That, of course, meant that she had a hard time understanding awkwardness in social situations or shyness.

"I suppose eight to ten could be enough," she said, chewing her lip as she thought it over. "Probably be easier to hide it from Chiron too. Who would we invite?" It was a bit obvious that she was a little downtrodden by the idea of having less people, but she made a good show of it for Crystal. Other parties would come after all and maybe she would feel up to going to a bigger one after having some experience at smaller ones. That was the idea that gave her a bit of comfort.

The last of the new campers were finally in the Hermes cabin, unpacking and settling in before lunch. Chance stepped outside for a moment of semi-privacy. They hadn't had any questions he couldn't ask-- not so far, at least. He felt fairly good about this counselor thing. Besides, if he read the sun right, it was just about time for the daily show.

Just like clockwork, the Sons of Ares appeared around a corner, still jogging in formation. They stopped in front of their cabin to do cool down stretches, and Chance grinned. This was the highlight of the day at camp for anyone who liked rippling muscles, and he was hardly the only one watching. The entire Aphrodite cabin 'just happened' to be on their porch, and Chance suspected their cabin wasn't opposite the Ares cabin by accident.

A sudden memory wandered into his brain, and he was distracted from his aesthetic appreciation by a wave of anticipation. As soon as the Ares guys had entered their cabin, he hurried into his.

Moments later, Chance was knocking on the blood-red door of the Ares cabin, his face a mask of innocent helpfulness. When the door opened, he smiled cheerfully at the boy on the other side of the door. "Mind if Ah come in? Ah found somethin' of Ty's."

The boy that answered the door eyed Chance a moment then leaned in, calling Ty over. There was some muffled words, other Sons of Ares asking who it was and what they wanted. After a few moments they finally let Chance into the cabin but he was warned not to touch anything. Not that he would probably want to. Ty and the older siblings had done a fair job playing boot-camp to get the others to actually put their spears and armor on stands and in closets rather than dropped somewhere in the hallway just ready to get trampled the next time the Sons were called to an impromptu drill.

The room Chance was lead into was dark and had an atmosphere like that of an interrogation chamber and none of its charm. It took more than a minutes for Ty to actually arrive into the room, though it was clear by his hair and the way his t-shirt stuck to his torso that he had been in the shower when Chance arrived. "What is it, Delacroix?" He said, sitting down backwards in a chair. "Some of us actually want to go to lunch."

Ty eyed the son of Hermes for a moment then his eyes fell on the item in Chance's hand and started to frown. That had better not be what I think it is. His eyes jerked up to Chance's blue-green ones and narrowed. That had better not be it if he knows what's good for him...

Damn it. He stood back up and moved toward Chance and quickly told him that they would talk privately. Annoyed, and honestly a bit worried Ty half turned to his siblings and barked with his normal gruffness "Get back to it! You didn't buy tickets and this isn't a show!"

Chance was disappointed as the audience was sent away, but he tried to keep it from showing on his face. An audience would be more fun... He'd have to figure out a way to get them back. "Ah found somethin' of yours... Ah was wonderin' if ya wanted it back."

Grinning mischievously he put the magazine on the table. A scantily-clad blonde smiled up at both of them from the cover, surrounded by promises of similar pictures within. The magazine had just been laying there right at the top of the locked compartment in Ty's trunk. Chance couldn't possibly have overlooked it, even though he had no interest in the pictures. And, being a kleptomaniac... well, it was inevitable. The best part had come, however, when Chance had idly flipped through it, wondering why it was there. There had never been anything of that sort among the Ares boy's possessions before. "Ah know it's yours, 'cause the centerfold autographed it for you."

A bit of practice felt good, getting his emotions under control. Angel smiled as he moved to the target he had been working with, removing the arrows. They turned to a gold dust in his hands, which was typical after they had served their purpose. Maybe that was why his father never got caught. He chuckled a bit, and turned to look over the grass back towards the cabins. He wondered what the others were up to, by now they must have settled in right? He stepped away from the target, and made his way back towards the main camp. He slipped the heart back on its' chain as he did, feeling more calm and at peace now. The morning's events had been anything but simple, and he was hoping they had calmed down by now. He paused for a moment to glance at the sky. A breeze flowing past, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was nice out, and beautiful weather always helped to make his mood lighten. He thought about going to the showers after training, he could deffinetly use one.

Without a second thought, that was where he headed, after stopping by his cabin to pick up a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. It was empty at the moment, so that was good, it gave him time to thing. Hot water and silence was a perfect relaxing way to sort thoughts out, pairing that after a bit of training, and Angel felt the day was going perfectly. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and clearing his mind. He relaxed, not bothering to be so on guard or worried about control as he usually was, it was not going to harm anything to relax a little bit was it? He washed up, staying for awhile to just relax and think. He hoped the others were staying out of trouble, though with those who were here, that was a big if. He sighed, and leaned against the wall, as long as they kept him out of the middle of it, all was good. Something told him however that would not be the case.




Luke Byren


The water was cold against his skin, and for that Luke was thankful for. It was nice out, but his body was burning up a bit more then usual. He made his way to the shore, his breath slightly off and his heart racing a bit after the swim. He runs a hand through his wet hair, and notices a few girls watching and whispering. It wasn't uncommon, Luke was good looking for his age, and not at all out of place among the water. It was off for a son of Vulcan to be thinking that, but it was true. He needed the cold water to cool down, it was either that, or going topless everywhere. Either way would not be a bad choice for many he had herd. A slight smile found its' way to his lips at the thought. People were so easily amused. He walked over to where his things were waiting, grabbing a towel to wipe away the water that was dripping into his eyes.

He thought about a steam dry, but then his body would cool down a bit to much from using his energy to make the fire/steam. It would naturally heat back up in time, but to cold really wasn't his thing. He left the water as it was on his body, since much of it with his body heat plus the sun, was already drying. No point in waisting energy in something so frivilous. He glanced around, and noticed a few more people around. It must have ment the others were beginning to show their faces, good, a bit of competition was good for the body and soul. He grabbed his shirt, pulling it on as he made his way up towards the main camp. He said hi to a few familiar faces along the way, but didn't stop to get to social. He delt with people when he needed to, but most of the time it was keep your eye on the prize, something his stepfather had constantly reminded him.

Life with no purpose was no life at all. Many would say being the child of a god was purpose, but they would be more then wrong. Having a god for a parent ment nothing in the world in all reality, other then a few things that was true. One had to find what they were on this earth for, what they were ment to do and strive for it, not giving up or in for anyone. If asked what his purpose was however, Luke couldn't really answer at the moment. Truth was he didn't really know. Being here, training, getting stronger, that was something....but other then that his life of meaning really wasn't all that meaningful. He hated sitting around doing nothing and waiting, and waiting now was edging on his nerves. There was little he could do at the moment, so the need to be patient was a key role in his life. One he needed to master, and had been working on indeed.

He shook these thoughts from his head, and made his way down the line to where he was staying. He wondered where some of the new people would place, though it would be very rare for them to really be anywhere in league with most of the others. It was a bit sad but that was how things worked around here, and he wasn't one to get in the way of that. He got into more appropriate clothes, and grabbed his lighter from his trunk. It was a family heirloom, and he rarely went anywhere without it. This time was no exception. It was time to see who else was around, and what information he could gain. Knowledge was power in many cases, and it never hurt to prepare oneself for what was ahead. He left the place, and headed back the way he had come, more slowly then before.



The newbies were begining to bore him, they were so easy to prey on. Their fears only made him stronger, but the high never lasted long. For many of his type, it was kind of like a drug. A lot of Phobos ofspring sought out fear and could not live without the high it gave. He did not want to end up like that, so he soon put some distance between him and other campers. He made his way into the trees, placing his hands in his pockets. He hummed slightly to himself, as soon as he figured he was far enough out of range of the camp. The lyrics were on the tip of his tongue, but he kept them at bay just in case. He didn't know how many were out here, and anyone who dared catch him singing or even humming would get a taste of what a son of Phobos could really do. A slight bit of anger bubbled up inside him, and he forced it down.

He noticed it more lately then usual, he was getting more angry and defensive. A small part of him was worried, he did not want to be consumed, but it was hard to resist. He paused to lean against a tree, and slowly slid down it to sit. He clenched his waw slightly, and closed his eyes. He pulled his hood more over his face, and wished he could be anywhere but there. Why couldn't it hae been night already. Ugh this was getting on his nerves! He picked up a rock, throwing it as far as he could before sighing. If anyone saw him at the moment, what would they thing? They would probrably whisper about him, feel sorry or scared of him. Some would probrably think he was acting like a child. Maybe they would be right, but right now, it didn't matter. He pulled his legs a bit closer, and stayed there where he sat.

"Definitely." Crystal nodded. Peanut butter ice cream didn't sound that bad, actually...

"Because... um..." she fiddled with the hem of her shirt "that would be a lot of ice cream to make all at once and I couldn't possibly get it all to the beach without so much of it melting or going bad." It was a good plausible reason, though in theory Crystal could just freeze the ice cream more before taking it over to the beach. She hoped Rey didn't think of that and quickly added "Besides, this means everyone can get more ice cream."

She thought for a moment... Crystal had been there so long but there wasn't really all that many people she could say she talked to regularly "Chance, I guess... and... maybe we can do a lottery for the other spots?" Yeah, that'll definitely sort it out. Let's just hope they don't hate one another. "I mean, if that sounds good. I really don't know how we'd get started with that sort of thing. Do you really think Chiron would mind a little... ice cream party?" the daughter of Chione mumbled as if she were afraid to merely ask the question.

But Rey looked upset with the way things were turning out "You can... um... do the decorating?" Crystal hoped it would cheer her up.

---

When Chance's face split into a grin Ty knew he was in trouble and so did his siblings. Suddenly they slowed their pace and looked back at the two curiously. "How the hell did you... That was locked." Ty grumbled. For that moment he was glad his back was to his siblings who were now gathered at the doorway, watching on. His face was beat red, too embarrassed to even be angry with his Kleptomaniac cousin.

"I locked the compartment... the trunk... the door. How the hell did you get--" He looked up at Chance, then away. He wasn't going to look at the magazine. He knew what it was, and it was his hope not to let the others know. What was she thinking sending this to me? "Whatever, just hand it over, Chance." muttered and tried to snatch it out of the son of Hermes' hands.

When Chance mentioned 'centerfold' the boys behind Ty erupted with laughter, cat calls and roaring comments and Ty felt every muscle in his body tighten. He could have set them all on fire with how hot his face was burning already, but he kept his back to them. He had to. It'll... It'll be over in a few days and they'll move onto something else ...He hoped so, anyways. "If that's all, get out."

"Don't you wanna know what it says?" Chance's cheeks almost hurt from grinning as he danced back, holding the magazine just out of reach. Most campers he'd have gone easier on, but Ty tended to get a big head if he wasn't kept in check, and Chance considered it his duty to deflate it now and then. Besides, Ty got over embarrassment easily. He got over most things easily, including anger. Which was another reason Chance was teasing him-- he was sure he could outrun the Sons of Ares for as long as Ty's anger lasted, and Ty didn't hold grudges, so Chance wouldn't have to be watching his back constantly.

The other Sons started clamoring to hear the message, and Chance smirked. Slowly, deliberately, he opened the magazine, keeping one eye on Ty. At the slightest move from the other counselor, he was poised to run away, and no child of Ares would ever catch one of Hermes' kids. "It says... 'Ty, I keep meaning to send you a picture of me, and this one turned out really well. Love, Mom.'"

Ty grit his teeth and reached again for the magazine, moving forward to take it from him forcefully "No, no one does!" He didn't even realize his words lost their rumble with his nervousness, what Chance was offering his siblings was a window into that dark closet Ty kept tightly sealed especially from his siblings at camp. They could think of him as a perv for having a signed magazine of ill repute, but what was really there on the page made it much more dangerous to his reputation than that could ever be. Then it happened... Chance, keeping out of Ty's reach, read it all aloud to the roar of his brother's shock and amusement.

Wolf whistles sounded and Ty lost all of the color to his face. He didn't even hear them jeering behind him for several long moments before diving toward Chance "Damnit! Give that to me, Chance!". He was too slow, landing on the couch instead of on his target and sprung back up to chase him out of the cabin. In the back of his head he knew he'd never catch the other boy but for the moment Ty had tunnel vision. He needed to get that magazine, that was all that mattered.

They crashed through the trees, kicked up sand and crushed strawberries but the son of Hermes gaining ground. The entire chase Ty's eyes weren't the smoldering stones of a killer seeking his prey but rather they were wide, terrified that he would deposit the magazine somewhere someone important would catch hold of it... someone important. Finally when Ty banked to make a corner and ended up barreling right into Finx, Cat and Phoebe.

All hope of recovery was lost. The magazine remained in Chance's sticky fingers.

"The barbecue's great," Cat grinned, and her stomach growled as if to second the sentiment. When Pheobe set off toward the showers, she laughed and echoed the blonde's grandiose pose. "Agreed! To Food!"

Concentrating on the humor and on walking was easier than handling the serious moment of Pheobe's thanks. Being thanked for being yourself was... awkward. Nice, but awkward. "Um... really, everybody's pretty helpful here. I mean, we're all family, if you think about it."

"Um, are there any other questions I can answer on our w-- whoa!" Cat jumped out of the way just in time to avoid Chance as he sprinted through the middle of the group of girls. Obviously he was up to something. Of course, Chance was always up to something. It was usually safest not to know. None of the girls were wearing clothes with pockets for him to pick, so they were probably safe. "I wonder what he's up t--oof!"

Cat gasped for the breath that had been knocked out of her, and tried to process what happened. She was in a tangle of arms and legs, and she recognized the beefy form on top of the pile. "What the heck, Ty?

"You wouldn't have to make ice cream for everyone," Rey said, tilting her head a bit. To be honest, the idea of getting more ice cream was really pulling a huge amount of force inside the little girl's mind. "But I don't mind having just a small party. We'll need to come up with an invite list though; twelve people tops?" It wouldn't be too hard to come up with a list of twelve people that they knew fairly well to invite, or at least Rey didn't think so.

"Probably not, but it's better not to ask," she replied, winking conspiratorially. While Chiron was pretty lax, it also wasn't uncommon for him, and especially Mr. D if he got word of it, to say no for some reason or the other. "I'll go see about getting everything set up while you unpack. Do you want to meet at the Pavilion for lunch afterwards?" The mention of decorating did bring a smile back to her face, as well as a chuckle, but she didn't respond with more than an enthusiastic nod before she darted outside.

~~~~~

"Bye Mom! I promise to write once a week!" Abby shouted as she bolted from the blue Subaru rental, salad wrap in her hand and duffel bag bouncing on her shoulder. Her mother merely shook her head as she waved back before pulling away from the base of the hill and driving off. The hill was a bit steep, though her excitement made it seem as flat as the road they had drove on to arrive. Unlike her home in Canada, Camp was near the ocean, which meant that she was invigorated merely by being there. Indeed, the second she crested the hill, here blue-green eyes picked out the reflective patch that signaled the water.

Her first stop, unfortunately, was not the water, but her cabin. The giant, lonely looking building stood next to Zeus's. It appeared to be made out of a kind of sea stone, with coral bits decorating it here and there. It was a long building, with windows, open of course, facing the ocean. As she opened the doors, the smell of the ocean enveloped itself around her in the ever-present sea breeze. An involuntary sigh escaped her lips at the comfort. Still though, she didn't forget to knock on the oak door six times before entering under the trident symbol and scarfing down the rest of her wrap.

A few minutes later, she was changed into her camp clothes: the familiar orange t-shirt, her necklace, and a pair of baggy, paint-covered cargo shorts. She had simply left her stuff sitting on the bed to be unpacked later, her desire to get in the water overpowering her urge to organize her stuff. The more rational part of her mind argued that it wasn't like she had anyone living in the same cabin to rifle through her stuff. And so she had firmly put that notion aside for preference of more pleasant thoughts. Like the beach, for example.

While walking, she waved to a few of her old friends and a few of the new, younger campers as well. They seemed to be adapting pretty well, which was a good sign all in all. After just a short time, she chanced upon Cat, Ty, and Finx, as well as a girl she didn't recognize. Of course, it was rather hard to recognize the tangle of arms and legs as Cat and Ty too. "Am I missing something?" she asked as she stretched out her arm in an offer of assistance. The fresh footsteps leading away from the scene were too light to be anyone but a child of Hermes. "Chance again? What did he take this time?"

Taiga chuckled as she saw the boy blush, it was cute, she couldn't help but reach out and hug him close to her, he was just so much like a little brother that she could not help it at all. "It is okay, Nick. The camp brings out everyone's powers, it is just a matter of learning how to control them." she said to him before she pulled away from him, fixing his clothes and hair much like a mother or dotting older sister would do.

She then reached down to rub her legs, making sure they didn't try to grow into her legs, tilting her head to the side as she watched him, a soft smile on her face. She then helped him with the vines by picking up the lose ends that were dragging down on the ground do that they would not get torn up. She even watched him dig holes at the base of the posts and plant them, she then moved over as she carefully moved the vines to where they were upright and clinging to them.

"It is fine, I completely understand. You see i am a native american...nature is something that i was taught to covet." she said to him as she continued to help him with the plants, being rather gentle with them. A soft sad smile was on her face, she had not even noticed what was going on between Chance and Ty, or that he had ran into a bunch of girls that were on the path way. "I hope you have settled in rather well....and try to make lots of friends. It is very important to have friends while your at camp." she knew that it was contradiction to her life there at camp considering she had none, she didn't even have any outside of the camp.

If Chance or Ty happened to walk by, they wouldn't even believe if it was Taiga sitting there, spending time with a child, acting in a way that was unlike her earlier actions. "Do you know that we pray and give thanks to the gods when we kill an animal and even when we take and use plants?" she asked him, as she leaned against the fence, tucking her legs beneath her as she looked up to the sky with a soft smile upon her face, completely forgetting about what happened earlier or the face that she was going to wear some "normal" clothes.

"I didn't know that..." Nick submitted to the hug and the fussing patiently. He considered himself too old for little kid stuff like that, but girls got upset if you pushed them away when they were feeling huggy. "There are so many plants and animals, though... you'd have to pray all the time. I'd get bored of listening to all those prayers if I was a god."

Nick looked thoughtful as he finished planting the vines and twining them around the fence for support. "If I was a god, I wouldn't do anything except hang out with the nymphs and satyrs and grow grapes whenever I got hungry. And watch movies sometimes, too. I like movies."

Finx watched the hydra for a second then walked away not even bothering to talk to Cat she usually didn't talk to the people at camp prefering the silence over to much noise and the calm being left alone brought. She sighed she still felt wierd about this place and she didn't trust anyone not even herself.

Gears slowly started turning in Crystal's mind. Twelve people... that shouldn't be so hard, right? Try as she might she couldn't think of twelve names of people who went to this camp... well... twelve people she wanted to invite into the cabin, at least. How could someone forget about the loud mouths and bullies sprinkled about Half-blood? "I'll see you later then..." Crystal waved and followed her to the doorway at a much slower pace before closing the door to keep in the cool air.

She could handle twelve people all at once... that was a lot better than a beach-full of campers all lined up to ask her for something. She shuddered and hurried on to getting herself set up in the cabin. Crystal found a bed tucked into a funny bend and laid her claim in the form of dozens of scented tealights-- none of them yet burnt, of course.

---

Phoebe beamed and said a cheery hello to Chance as he passed. She was completely unprepared for the wall of muscle about to take her down in the next second. With a yelp as she fell over, crushed and pinned under half of Cat and half of Ty. "Ow! What's wrong with you? Didn't you see us here?"

---

Get back here! Ty thought desperately, trying to pull himself up onto his feet amid the forms of the two girls. It was no use, they were so helplessly tangled after the collision that even when he did manage to get to his feet there was a leg over it, or maybe that was a clavicle.... either way he fell right back down on top of the other two and winced. Chance was gone in a cloud of dust kicked up by his fleet stride.

"You can blame Chance for this!" he snapped at Cat, more upset that he didn't get back the magazine than angry at Cat and Phoebe for being in the way... he knew he was too far behind, but that didn't help his mood. He let out a digruntled snort as if to make himself more bullish than he already appeared. "And no I didn't see you, I was running around a corner."

The chipper sound of Abby's voice over them didn't help. "None of your business." Ty grumbled to himself and dusted off, now removing himself from the tangle. "He'd better not show that around."

"Honestly, why do you waste your time trying to chase him? Haven't you figured out by now you can't keep up with him?" Cat rolled her eyes and stood up, herself. Now she was covered in dirt. She'd had her first real shower in months just one hour ago, and in the time since she'd been covered in saltwater, then covered in sand, and now tumbled onto the ground.

More than a little annoyed, Cat started using her towel to try to rub off the worst of the dirt. There should be time for another shower before lunch. Hopefully the hot water wouldn't all be used up before she got there. "He just does it to get a rise out of you, anyway."

Distractedly, she waved at Poseidon's daughter. "I don't know what's up this time, Abby. Chance probably stole Ty's shorts again, or something."

"Yes there is but there are very few native americans....now a days and not everyone prays like we do so i think it just makes up for the rest of the world who don't." Taigi said to him as she sat down on the ground, leaning against the fence as she looked to the sky, then turning her head to look at Nick as she chuckled. "You really are his son." she said to him laughing as she played with one of the many feathers that was in her hair, getting lost in thought for a bit before ran a hand though her ponytail.

"Are you going try and make friends here? I mean i know i have no room to talk because no one wants to be my friend because of well me.....though ummm anyways that is a different story." she said to him as rubbed at her face, she did not understand why but then again she did have some issues when it came to actually communicating with people. "Believe it or not....you remind me of my little brother. I am sorry, Nick." she said to him as she laughed, she knew that she was talking a lot, she felt as if he was getting tired of her, though it was hard to tell at the moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cj trained long and hard, in and out of the water, but he didn't over exert himself with training, smiling to him self as he moved back to the camp, going to his cohort to gather some of his clothes and things he need to bath with. Smiling as he waved, nodding to people as he passed them by. He soon got to the showers, quickly cleaning up, as he walked out in clean clothes, freshly cleaned, a towel on his head that covered his hair, as much as it could cover his waist length hair. He pushed his glasses back up his nose as he walked to his cohort to put his things away, locking everything up once more before he moved to go and get some lunch.

"I don't know... Do you think kids at camp would like me? The kids at school never did. And Mom's supposed to come get me soon... she said it wouldn't be long, but she keeps pushing it back." Nick looked off in the distance for a moment. He didn't know what to think about that, really... He loved his mother, and wanted to see her again. But if he had to choose between them, he'd choose his father. Dionysus understood him, which his mother had never tried to do. And there were still so many questions to ask, and things to learn!

Nick's errant thoughts were interrupted when he registered what Taigi was saying. "Don't you get to see your brother? You don't have to stay at camp all the time, right? And I'll be your friend."

"Of course they will. You are the son of the party God, how can they not like you?" Taiga said to him, trying to comfort him, her face sadden when he mentioned his mother, she couldn't help it, she had seen this time and time again. The mortal parent being burden with a special child that they didn't want to take care of and at the first chance they got they dumped them at camp. "Look I know this isn't what you want to here....but i don't think your mom is going to come back for you. You see it is hard for a mortal to take care of someone as special as we are....it takes a toll on them after a while....and they see this camp as a way to give their child what is best for them and gives them the chance to feel normal after having to take care of us and protect us." she said to him as she put an arm around his shoulder, hugging him slightly as she smoothed his hair down.

"I stay at camp all the time because i choose to. I take a month out of they year to go and visit my father. So i technically do not stay here all the time." she said to him as she gave him a smile, watching the campers mill about and doing there own thing, she knew that it was lunch time but she didn't want to go and eat at the moment. "I do visit him when i am at home......but there is only so much time i can spend talking to a grave. Ah let me explain....my brother was eight when he passed away, it was because of cancer.....maybe that is why i mean and difficult to get along with. So are you sure you want to be my friend after knowing that?" she said to him as she laughed, trying to make light out of the conversation and everything that they were talking about to each other.

Ty grumbled inaudibly for a moment then answered: "I'm not an idiot, I know that and it's a big frikk'n success, too." Honestly, it was like I'm four with these people, always talking down to me... If she weren't a girl I'd get in her face. for now being a jerk was his only recourse. "Haven't you figured out to move out of the way when you see him running by?" Ty pushed passed Cat, giving her a shoulder check but Cat's next comment stopped him in his tracks only a pace away.

"Look, that freak has a sick fascination with me, okay?" Ty said, whirling around to address them "I lock my stuff away and he keeps breaking in like it's a freaking cookie jar you're suppose to steal from. I don't even care what he gets out of it, it's annoying!" The girls couldn't really do anything about Chance and his repeated 'pantie raid' of Ty's personal effects, but that didn't stop him from sounding as annoyed with them. How dare they joke about that! It was embarrassing! How would they like it if he broke into their things and hung their underwear all around camp for all to see? Just because he was rough around the edges didn't exclude him from having the standard set of thoughts and feelings teenagers have... Of course Ty was quick to 'heal' from his.

With a snort he turned around and looked for the light tracks of Hermes' son "When I find him I'll break his legs. That'll teach him."