[IC] The Heroes of Olympus (Caits and abibliophobia)

[MarshiestMallow]

Demelza

Demelza was iin her room. She was familiar with it, having stayed in it for the last few years. Despite being in the camp for a few years, Demelza was still a shy girl. She rarely spoke up, instead, she focused on the training in the camp. She was becoming an adequate fighter, but still preferred not to hurt people. Instead, she looked for ways of stopping them without causing injury. Oft times she was lectured on that, but Demelza couldn't change her nature.

After a few hours, she rose, changing her clothes, and running her hands through her dark blond hair. She never really put much stock in her appearance. Demelza preferred to keep herself out of others notice, not that it worked sometimes.

She made her way to the nightly fire, weaving her way through the camp, and sitting down on one of the logs, she tried to make herself unnoticed. She loved the camp, but she was shy.

Cameron

Cameron was outside, in the trees. He enjoyed being aside, and it gave him a chance to swagger about like he own the place. Cameron was a real people person, and thrived on contact with others, enjoyed chatting, and laughing. He was friendly, and more often then not, he had the attention of others, in a large group.

Camp was simply a social thing for him, where he got to beat people up fighting and training as well. Perfect combination of the both, making him love it here. Cameron tried not to let most peoples reaction to who his father was get to him.

He was also half his mother, and people loved her, so it balanced out. Cameron was all about balance. He smiled as he walked aaround the camp, saying hello to people as he came along them, before making his way to the camp fire.

[abibliophobia]

Elizabeth Berezi Sendoa

The day at camp ended the same way every day for Elizabeth: she went back to her cabin after a day of training to change in clothes that weren't sweaty and then went to the large camp fire. Nothing was new. It was nice being at camp, where she was safe from the dangers that lived in the outside world, but at the same time she didn't like staying in the same place year after year. Her mother passed away a few years after Elizabeth's birth, leaving her a child of a God that couldn't find time to visit with no home outside of camp. She sighed irritably, removing herself from her negative thoughts. Elizabeth sat in a wicker chair that faced a window in her cabin. The window didn't show much, as it was on a wall that faced the forest, but it was still a peaceful place. The demi-god had just finished sparring in the arena with some children of Ares. Of course, the training ended early due to injury on someone, not her thankfully. She had left to her cabin after the training ended, as she had nowhere else to be. Elizabeth did have friends, but they were very casual friends.

She stood suddenly, stripping herself of her dirty shirt and shorts. There were no other children of Poseidon at camp, she had the cabin to herself. It was nice to not have any siblings at camp, but it could get lonely. Elizabeth changed into some clean clothes and left the cabin. She tried to run her fingers through her curly and very uncontrollable hair, but gave up soon after starting. She caught sight of the growing fire and the logs that surrounded it. Without meaning to she gave a frown, not too excited to spend an hour around the element that disagreed with her the most. She could feel the shores of the ocean calling to her, the beach wasn't too far away. Perhaps she could sneak away, it wasn't like anyone would notice. Just as she was contemplating ditching a voice called her name. She looked over in the direction that the call came from and smiled forcefully. It was Kate, a daughter of Ares that she had sparred with earlier.

"Come sit with us!" Kate called. Elizabeth went willingly, sitting with the other children of the war God. They weren't a welcoming type, but they didn't mind Elizabeth because her sour attitude was very similar to their own. "Did you get that black eye I gave you fixed?" Kate asked. Elizabeth answered by looking her in the eye. Both of her dark eyes were perfectly fine. "Did you get that broken finger fixed?" Elizabeth retorted. Kate waved her working pinky in Elizabeth's face as Elizabeth had done with her eye. Elizabeth smiled a genuine smile and turned back to the fire. Letting it's heat warm her bare arms and face while she waited for Chiron to give his usual speech.

---

Michael Alexander Malleum

Leading a cabin of teenagers that made weapons in their free time was harder than their previous cabin leader had made it out to be. A year ago Michael had been made cabin leader, partly because he was the oldest and partly because he worked the hardest. He had spent the entire day going through orders that had been put in for new weapons, there had been an 'accident' in the arena that involved Greek fire, and half of their stock of weapons had been lost. This was why Michael wasn't in the best of moods. His hands were charred black from the machinery that helped create the celestial bronze weapons, he had a pounding headache and someone had dropped a mallet on his foot so now he had a slight limp. The day was over, so now he didn't have to continue working until tomorrow. "Tomorrow," He started in a loud voice, getting the attention of every demi-god in the cabin, "We are going to finish replenishing the missing stock." With that announcement he received a few groans of protest, but no one argued.

Michael went to his bunk and was taken to the small room that lay underneath it. He changed out of the grease ridden clothes quickly, glancing at his reflection in the mirror for a moment, then heading back up to the cabin and out of his small, private room. "Come on, let's go to the camp fire. I'll ask Chiron if we can get some help to get finished faster tomorrow." The majority of the cabin came out after Michael, the others were too tired to even get out of bed. Normally Michael would've made them get out of bed, but he felt just as tired as they did. They got to the campfire after everyone else, it seemed. Groups of demi-gods took up most of the large log benches that surrounded the fire. The Hephaestus children found an empty log and took up all of it. Michael didn't sit, he was scanned the crowd for a certain centaur.

After unsuccessfully finding Chiron Michael sat next to his younger siblings. Most of them were nodding off, some were in conversation. Michael didn't say anything to any of them, he only looked into the flames of the fire. The bright light created by the flames didn't hurt his eyes, it was one of the perks of being the son of the God of the forge.

[MarshiestMallow]

Demelza

As more of Athena's children appeared, Demelza found herself amongst her younger siblings, the youngest a child really. She smiled at them, enjoying their company. Most though you could actually tell were related to each other, and were clearly Athena's children. Not so with Demelza. Demelza was the odd ball out, and she knew that played against her with her mother. Demelza was quite content with how she was. She didn't need to be exactly like her siblings, or her mother.

She listened to the stories her siblings told, smiling and making the appropriate responses. She loved her siblings dearly. Yet she was more her father, the normal, plain, human medical professional, then she was her mother. She got most of her features from her father, and yet, she had that undeniably...look that said she wasn't completely human. She was tall, thin, and graceful, even if she was mousy and shy. That was perhaps the only thing she had in common with her siblings.

As more and more campers joined them, she tried to get her siblings to settle down, and allow more people to sit down. Right now they were taking up a few more seats then they needed to. Most of them laughed and said "Yes Mum" but didn't make a move. The younger two did move, sitting up with her, and Demelza shook her head and smiled.

Yet when Chiron appeared, the customary hush fell over them, and Demelza leaned back, waiting for the normal speech.

Cameron

It was as Cameron was walking towards the fire that a small voice caught his attention. It was soft, and very obviously girly. A genuine, and true smile formed on Cameron's face.

"Cameron! CA-ME-RON!" The voice called, and Cameron turned aside, watching as the girl, 12 really, but looking younger, ran towards her. She was small for her age, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in spirit. She was laughing, and her eyes were bright as she watched him.

"Lucy" He said happily, catching her as she flung herself into him. Lucy had the exact same eyes as Cameron, the only thing that marked them as siblings. "I missed you, little sister" He hugged her tight, smiling.

"Missed you too!" She said, and Cameron let her climb on his back, continuing towards the fire. They were the only children here right now from Hades. Cameron would do anything to protect his sister, and she knew that, and took advantage off it. He chuckled, and set her down when they reached the fire, sitting down with her.

He listened as Lucy chattered along like only a pre-teen girl could. He chuckled, and laughed at the right parts, and nodded along. He looked around at the other campers, once more, as he usually did, taking stock of them. He looked up when Chiron appeared.

[abibliophobia]

Elizabeth Berezi Sendoa

Chiron didn't rush to where the fire was burning to give his address, he took his time making his way through the crowd. Stopping to talk to cabin leaders who needed assistance or guidance. Elizabeth had barely noticed the centaur though, her gaze was set on the redhead that sat on the log closest to the fire. Rachel Dare, the camp oracle. During the entire time Elizabeth had been at camp Rachel had never revealed a prophecy. Older campers told her that she had before, but all seemed peaceful across the globe. The Gods were getting along, there didn't seem to be any disturbances. As she watched Rachel talk to another camper Elizabeth didn't notice Kate talking to her. The brunette was elbowed in the gut by the impatient daughter of Ares. "Are you even listening to me?" The very blonde Kate asked, crossing her arms with a scowl on her face. "I am now." Elizabeth groaned in response, rubbing her stomach to ease the now sore area. "We're sneaking out to the beach later tonight." Kate said with a smile. "Wanna come?" One of Kate's brothers overheard what she had offered and he gave his sister an incredulous look. "Kate!" He exclaimed. "You can't tell her, she's a cabin leader." Elizabeth glared at the guy, he wasn't trying to be rude, he just didn't want to get into trouble. "I'm the only camper in my cabin genius, I'm only the leader because there was no one else for the job. And yes I would love to--" Elizabeth was interrupted by a girl yelling 'Rachel!' at the top of her lungs. Elizabeth stood to see what had happened. Rachel still sat where she was before, except now she was deathly pale and gasping for breath. There were others around her, children of Apollo, seeing if they could help. Elizabeth was about to say something to Kate when Rachel stood, quite suddenly, her eyes glowing a dark green. She spoke, her voice not sounding like her own, and unveiled the prophecy:

"To the city of dreams the heroes are called
To fight the forces that have been enthralled.
Allies united at a crucial hour
To save the Gods that were stripped of power.
If the battle is lost at dawn, the Heroes
Shall fall to the craft of the Dark One's pawn
Casting Olympus into endless winter
On the darkest night of Cruel December."

Just after Rachel had finished she sat down as suddenly as she had stood, looking exhausted. Her eyes no longer held the eerie green as they had when she foretold their future. Everyone was silent as Chiron spoke to Rachel, presumably asking about how she was feeling. No one spoke about the thing that was on everyone's minds: who were the four demi-gods that were mentioned in the prophecy? As Elizabeth watched Rachel a breeze ruffled her hair. She ignored the wind that hadn't touched anyone else and continued spectating, curious as to what would happen next.

---

Michael Alexander Malleum

When Chiron had started to make his way through the crowd Michael had immediately shot up from his seat, trying to make his way to talk to the centaur. However, there were others that needed to talk to him as well. Michael waited patiently to talk with Chiron, but his patience hadn't paid off. There were too many people already in front of him, it wasn't as if there was a line though. Just as he was about to talk to the centaur something grabbed Chiron's attention. He followed the stares of everyone in the crowd to the leaping fire, well not the fire but the person who was closest to it. He didn't recognise the girl immediately, it took Michael a moment to attach a name to her face. But, by the time he had remembered who she was, his mouth had already dropped open from the prophecy she had revealed. Michael looked over at Chiron, but he was already at Rachel's side, helping her. He could see how pale she looked, being the oracle must take a lot of energy out of her.

After a few minutes of silence someone finally called out what everyone was thinking, "Well, who is it?" Michael looked for the source, but they were on the other side of the crowd. "I volunteer!" Someone stepped forward. Chiron had an odd look on his face. "No, we don't need any of that now." The centaur started. "We are going to have a meeting on the prophecy and what it means for the camp tomorrow. There will be no further talk of volunt--" He was cut short by the fire. It had roared up violently, suddenly doubling its size in a matter of seconds. A question formed on Michael's lips, but there was no one for him to ask. He went to go back to where his siblings sat when something violently pushed him from behind. He tripped over a log and landed on a guy that looked about the same age as himself. Michael regained himself quickly and jumped onto his feet, holding out a hand to help the guy up. "I'm sorry, I don't know what-" Michael had started to say when whatever had pushed him before pushed him again. This time he reached the center of the circle. There was about a five foot gap between the encircling logs and the fire, Michael was about a foot away from the roaring flames. The intense heat didn't bother him like it would a normal person. Michael stood again, looking behind him to see who had been pushing him. There was no one there. "How?" He started to question when he was given one quick, final push into the fire. Michael gave a yelp and covered his face.

It took him a moment to realize that the flames had parted around him. Wherever he stood the flames reached away from him, not harming him in the slightest. Michael felt like an idiot. His father had pushed him into the fire, this he was sure of. But why? To make a point of something? Then Michael felt like an even bigger idiot. Hephaestus wanted Michael to go on the quest, and this was his polite way of saying so. Michael emerged from the flames, making a few people gasp when they saw that he was unscathed. "Are you okay?" Someone asked. Michael nodded, in a daze. He sat down on the log that he was closest to, which also happened to be the log that held Rachel Dare. She didn't look up at him, only wrapped her arms tighter around herself, her stare fixated on the ground. "I think that was your father's way of saying you should go on the quest." Chiron told Michael, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Michael nodded and looked around at all of the staring faces, wondering who the other three were.

[MarshiestMallow]

Demelza

Demelza looked over at the cry of "Rachael", looking over to where the red-headed oracle was. Demelza had never seen her make a prophecy, let alone even appear anything but normal, now though, it was clear she was quite powerful, especially with her prophecy abilities.

Demelza shuddered slightly as the prophecy was receited, looking to her younger siblings. They wouldn't be apart of this, would they? it sounded dangerous, and she didn't want them risking their lives. For one, her mother would probably kill her if she let anything happen to them, and for another, none of them were ready for such a thing. If it had to be anyone of Athena's children, then it should be her. She was the eldest after all. And it could be a chance to prove herself. So she was in two minds. On one side, she didn't want to be apart of it, but on the other it might be a good opportunity for her.

She gave a soft sigh, watching as another camper was virtually thrown across the camp, and into the camp fire. By then it was clear to Demelza that the guy was apart of the quest. She looked about, uneasy. Three more for the prophecy then, if one was already chosen.

She looked to her siblings once more, swallowing, looking down to the ground. That was probably a mistake on her part. Three letters suddenly appeared on the ground. You. She shuddered, staring at them, before standing up, shaking. She wasn't brave enough to look up, and she said softly,"The ground is saying You to me" She realised how stupid that probably sounded, and she blushed.

Cameron

Cameron listened with uneasy to the prophecy, not looking up as the Oracle receited it, listening as some fool volunteered. You didn't volunteer for prophecies, you were simply chosen in one form or another. He looked up, just in time to catch the boy that flew into his lap.

They guy said sorry, but as soon as he was up again, he was pushed towards the flames, and Cameron went to stop him falling in them, but then fell in, and in moments he fell out again, unhurt, and stumbled to the log by the oracle.

Cameron frowned, either he was extremely clumsy and was flame retarded or he was being chosen for the prophecy. Cameron let out a sigh, looking about to see who else might respond to this, or be shoved into it.

Then a girl stood up, and said the ground was saying you to her. He looked over to the ground, frowning. He shook his head, dismissing her as slightly crazy. That is, right up until there was a hell hound howl, and he cursed, as Lucy let out a soft grown.

They both knew what that meant. A message from their father, and he let out a loud annoyed sigh, but otherwise didn't respond, looking towards Lucy with slight uneasy and fear.

[abibliophobia]

Elizabeth Berezi Sendoa

The events that followed the foretelling of their new prophecy somehow didn't surprise Elizabeth. It was true that this was the first prophecy she'd heard since she arrived at camp, but her peers were anything but unpredictable. Including the warrior children that sat around her. A tall girl volunteered, like an idiot, and Elizabeth gave an involuntary sneer in her direction. Then, a boy fell into the flames of the fire. Elizabeth gave a gasp, watching the fire with widened eyes. When he finally stumbled out, two seconds feeling like two hours, almost everyone around her made a sound of relief. So, one God had already volunteered a child. Who was next? Just as the question crossed her mind a girl cried that the ground was talking to her. Elizabeth looked confused, Kate let out a laugh. Elizabeth was just about to scold her friend to not laugh at others, when it started to rain.

The rain was warm, and if it weren't for the fact that they were enjoying a campfire Elizabeth would've enjoyed the falling water. Now she looked around, and realized the rain wasn't falling on anyone else. It was only raining around her. Elizabeth let out a bitter sigh, her wet hair fell in her face. Kate looked at her with a bursting grin. "See, you're Daddy does love you!" Elizabeth sneered at her friend and walked toward Chiron, as soon as his gaze settled over her the rain stopped. The brunette glared at the sky where she hoped her Father, God of sea storms, might see. "Demelza!" Chiron called with a cheery smile on his face, as if he was glad that the Gods were being so quick with their selections for the quest. "Come over here please." While Chiron looked as happy as ever Elizabeth looked just the opposite. There was a frown on her face and her clothes were still dripping wet. Stop pouting and dry yourself off. Elizabeth took her own advice and dropped her arms to either side of herself, willing all of the water to remove itself from her clothes, hair, and skin. There was a small puddle at her feet, and she gingerly stepped out of it when the process was finished. A few campers gave her an odd look, but she was the daughter of Poseidon. During her time at camp she had refrained from using her more powerful hydrokinesis powers. Elizabeth told herself that she did this because she didn't want to embarrass herself, but she really didn't want to frighten the other campers. Honestly, Elizabeth had no idea to what extent her powers reached. She didn't know if she wanted to find out either.

---

Michael Alexander Malleum

While Michael sat on the log, intently watching the scene unfold around him, someone had tapped his shoulder and handed him a bottle of water. A necessity? No, he hadn't been that phased by the fire; the shock of the whole pushing act was worse than the fire. He had taken the water anyway, giving a grateful look to the child of Apollo that had been worried for his health. Michael sipped on the water as he watched a girl from the group of Athena's children speak of the ground talking to her. Some looked at her as if she were insane, but Michael knew to think better of what their Godly parents did to them during. their time at camp. So, two demigods had already been chosen for the quest, now there were only two missing people. As he contemplated who the Godly parents of the next two demigods would be a flicker of lightning caught his eye. Surely there couldn't be a storm. Especially this time of year. When he found the source of the lightning he understand immediately. A dark grey cloud had formed a few feet above the head of the camp's only child of Poseidon. Michael expected her to look shocked, ecstatic maybe, but she only looked... a bit grumpy. She scowled at the sky as soon as the rain stopped. Michael didn't know anything about this girl, he didn't even know her name. She looked young, fifteen maybe, Her height made her seem younger than she probably was. One thing he did know was that she knew how to give an icy glare. Michael didn't know if he was comfortable with the fact that they would be departing on a quest together. Who knows how long the quest would take?

When Michael thought that he was finally done observing the girl she did something that surprised him. She dried off. It sounded funny in his head, but something about the way she had willed all of the water to come off of her in less than ten seconds was interesting. Perhaps, if she didn't bite his head off for daring to talk to her, later he could talk to her about the extent of her powers. How much could she do? As a craftsman almost anything sparked his curiosity. It wasn't hard to get Michael to start asking questions. His attention returned to Chiron, who called over the child of Athena that said the ground spoke to her. Demelza was her name then. Yet another person he didn't know at camp. What a surprise. Who was the fourth person? So far they had an odd combination of demigods. Poseidon and Athena didn't get along too well, Hephaestus got along well enough with most of the Gods. He continued watching, not saying anything mainly because there was nothing for him to say.

[MarshiestMallow]

_demelza

Demelza gave one last look at her younger siblings, their eyes were wide and full of excitement, clearly they were thinking that this was a big, glorious adventure. Demelza though was just glad it wasn't them, being chosen for this. It still didn't make her feel any better though when Chiron called her over. She swallowed, brushed her hair out of her eyes, and essentially stood up straight looking around at the other campers, deciding to hold her head up high and act like she knew what she was doing, and why she had been chosen. Even as people laughed at her. She knew she probably sounded like a raving lunatic, saying that the ground was talking to her, but Demelza didn't care. Her mother had spoken to her this way before, so Demelza didn't find it strange. It wasn't like she could just appear and talk to her in the camp. But it still hurt, and Demelza could feel the blush on her checks. This was why Demelza didn't have many friends.

She looked over at the girl that had rain pouring over her, trying to think whose child she was, and then figured it out. Poseidon. Demelza growned inwardly, wondering why fate had seen fit to pair her up with the daughter of a god her mother didn't like. Was there some sort of lesson in that? Honestly, Demelza didn't have anything against Poseidons daughter, having not really talked to her before. But that didn't mean Demelza would get along with her, not the boy that had appeared to be chosen first.

Demelza walked over to the two, sitting down on the log, swallowing with nerves. She thought she should talk to either of them, and she studied both, wondering who. Demelza had powers of her own, but Poseidons daughter seemed a bit...stern, and Demelza decided she didn't want to push anything, plus she had been sitting next to the girl that had laughed at her. She looked towards the boy, hesitating before saying "hi, I'm Demelza, but I guess Chiron already pulled the cat out of the bag on that one" She winced at how lame she sounded and blushed, looking down.

Cameron

Cameron's world had shrunk to just him and Lucy, although he was aware of the rain girl, and Chiron saying for the ground speaking girl to come over. Both he and Lucy were staring at each other, waiting for another howl, waiting to hear which one of them it would be. The howl came again, and then a softer, smaller howl and Cameron let out a breif sigh or relief. It wasn't Lucy. The smaller howl was his own pup, whom he'd met briefly when he's father had given it to him.

Cameron rose without a word, and went over to to the three other campers who appeared to have been chosen. "My hellhound states I am to come with you three" he said with a dull tone, of course he was somewhat surprised that a child of hades was being chosen for a prophecy. He didn't expect a lot of trust from the other three, but Cameron was a friendly person, and felt like he could win the over as friends. Maybe. He sat down, watching Athena's daughter lamely try to strike up a conversation, then looked towards Poseidons daughter, thinking how odd a combination this foursome was.

He looked back over to where Lucy was, giving her a small smile, and a thumbs up, mouthing "all cool, behave!" He looked back to the other three, waiting to see if Chiron would say anything, and looking to see if any of the other campers would object to who was apart of the prophecy or not. He looked about, and laid back, clearly trying to appear at ease, and comfortable with what was going on.

[abibliophobia]

Elizabeth Berezi Sendoa

When the fourth and final person was chosen for their quest she couldn't help but look at the ground disappointedly. Elizabeth had hoped that a child of Ares would be chosen for the quest, so there would be at least one person she actually knew going with them. She looked at each of them, studying what she could just from looks. The child of Hephaestus, a tall, somewhat built guy with light brown hair; he looked happy, but underneath all of that he looked stressed. She moved her gaze from him to the blonde daughter of Athena, Demelza she said her name was, Elizabeth didn't know anything about her. Demelza was the daughter of a Goddess that hated her father, which couldn't be good. She seemed cheery though, perhaps the other three had enough happiness about them to make for Elizabeth's lack thereof. The last demigod chosen, the son of Hades, seemed perfectly at peace with his father's choosing him to go on the quest. Elizabeth couldn't help but frown in his direction, how could he be so comfortable with all of this? Elizabeth was fine with going on the quest, that wasn't what was bothering her, it was why her father had chosen her. Was it because she was his only child at camp, or would her powers be necessary on their trip? Chiron pulled her out of her reverie. "Yes," He started after he heard Demelza introducing herself. "Introduce yourselves, get to know each other a little bit. I know you can't become best friends overnight, but some familiarity with each other couldn't hurt. I need to talk to Dionysus about the prophecy now, so stay here while I'm gone. I'll need to talk to you four later so don't go wandering off." He looked at Elizabeth, making his point very clear. "Don't leave the campfire Elizabeth." She rolled her eyes at the centaur and nodded. He left, heading toward the big house.

As soon as Chiron was gone Elizabeth had decided that she needed to talk to her Dad. "Well, as much as I want to get to know you three I have more important business to attend to. Don't wait up." Her words were meant to scare the others off from following her. Elizabeth pushed her way through the crowd, no one really paying attention to her, even after everything had happened. The beach wasn't too far away from the campfire, so it only took her a few minutes to get there. Once there, she kicked off her black converse, stripping herself of her shorts and shirt revealing the black, short-sleeved wetsuit underneath. She always wore it, never knowing when she would need to go for a swim. It was true that she could just swim in her clothes and dry them off like she had at the campfire, but normal clothes restricted her swimming. Once barefoot and in her wetsuit Elizabeth pulled her hair into a tight ponytail, not wanting it to bother her while she went underwater. Elizabeth dove into the salt water, she swam deeper and deeper until she found a nice patch of sand to sit on underwater. Her powers allowed her a few hours of breathing underwater and the ability to survive the intense pressure that came with deepsea diving. She started to contact her father as she always did, with a thought. Poseidon was always aware of Elizabeth when she was in the water, so when she sent him the thought he would reply almost immediately. Dad? She started, waiting for a reply. A reply came, at last, but very slowly and hard to make out. Elizabeth.....can't.....powerless.....go.....quest.... Her eyes widened and she quickly returned with: Dad! Are you okay? What's going on? This time there was no reply. What had her father been trying to tell her? Suddenly the line from the prophecy came to mind, her father was already becoming powerless. They needed to embark on this quest quicker than ever.

Elizabeth returned to the surface quickly. She walked out of the water and practically collapsed on the beach, her pile of clothing by her head. A gust of wind blew past and made her shiver. The shock of things was taking a toll on her. She didn't want to get up and go back to the campfire, she wanted to wait by the beach to see if her father would try and contact her again.

---

Michael Alexander Malleum

The newest addition to their quest, the Son of Hades, was the guy Michael had been pushed into on his way to the fire. Michael looked down at the ground and smiled, shaking his head at the small group. Was it bad that he was losing hope already? They would probably embark on this quest and fail, not because of the imposing danger, but because of each other. When he heard Demelza spoke his eyebrows rose in surprise. He had expected silence from all of them. The son of Hades seemed to be mouthing something to someone in the crowd, and the daughter of Poseidon seemed to be intent on keeping to herself. Chiron's orders made sense. When he gave them Michael agreed with them full heartedly. Then again, Michael wasn't one to argue with authority. Then Elizabeth had to go and refuse authority, not even five minutes after the instruction had been given. She gave no room for argument after her attitude-filled statement. She was already gone. "Should someone follow her?" He asked, while he watched her make her way to the edge of the crowd. "I mean, I would, it's just that I don't want to die." Her age didn't lessen the aggressive aura she put off, it surely didn't help it either. What did he know about her? Well her name was Elizabeth, Chiron had called her that. Michael only ever saw her hanging out with the children of Ares. Even during meals, when it was a strict rule to stay at your table, she broke the rules to sit with them. He had never seen her in training, but he knew her weapon of choice was trident. She had recently put in an order for a new one, her old one had accidentally gotten blown up with most of the other weapons.

"I bet she'll be fine though." Michael continued, almost absolutely certain that Demelza or the other guy didn't care that much about Elizabeth. Michael didn't even care that much. "Anyways, I'm Michael, head of the Hephaestus cabin." Michael hated silence, that was probably why he had continued speaking. Ever since he had come to camp there was never a quiet moment. Even when he went to bed there was usually some music playing in the background. Someone caught his eye in the crowd, his younger brother. Michael stood and walked over to him. He started speaking, "Brianna and Thomas are fighting about who will be in charge while you're gone." Michael rolled his eyes, "You can be in charge, I know you aren't the oldest but you are the most responsible. Tell them if they have a problem with my choice they need to take it up with me before I leave." His brother nodded and left to go tell his siblings the news. Michael returned to his spot on the log, noticing the absense of Rachel Dare. She must've left to go with Chiron to go see Dionysus. It made sense. His thoughts returned to his siblings. Hopefully they could manage without him for a while. They still needed to replenish their stock of weapons, that was of the utmost importance. How would they stay organized without him? Perhaps they didn't need Michael as much as he thought they did, he hoped that was true. He looked from his scarred workmen's hands to the fire. It burned brighter than ever and seemed to reassure Michael that everything would be okay.

[MarshiestMallow]

Demelza

Demelza squirmed as she felt herself being studied, glancing aside and seeing Poseidon's child looking at her. Demelza couldn't help who her mother was. no more than Elizabeth could help who her father was. She didn't think either of them had to be at odds because of who their parents were. Yet she doubted they would get along in any case. Demelza was startled as Chiron spoke, stating they should introduce themselves and get familiarized with each other, but Demelza didn't think that was going to happen with Elizabeth. She let out a sigh as Elizabeth walked off, blantantly defying chiron's orders. "Should someone follow her?" Demelza hesitated, thinking that it would be best to stay here. And She didn't know what reception she'd get from Elizabeth in any case. "I don't want to die either" she said softly, squirming slightly, wishing she could have the strength or ability to go after Elizabeth. But Demelza really didn't want to have her head bitten off, she she decided to stay where she was.

She looked over when Michael continued talking, introducing himself. Hephaestus, well, that was better the poseidion. She smiled almost shyly, and was going to reply, when it was clear that siblings of his came over, so Demeza fell silent, then realised she'd probably have the same issue with her own siblings. she looked over to where her younger siblings were, seeing her younger ones, the 12 year old twins, a girl and a boy, named Jamie and Julie, seemed lost, just now realising that they wouldn't have her here, if she had to go off on this quest. She felt so sorry for them, and she went over, to here her the oldest of her younger siblings squalling over who would take her place.

"Becky, Jackie, you know its going to be Dan who will be head of our cabin" Demelza said with an amused tone, kneeling down in front of the twins, and giving them both a hug, "You be good for the older ones, okay? I'll be okay, you'll see. Mother wouldn't have chosen me if I wasn't capable, if I wasn't meant t be a part of this" She said, giving them both a quick kiss, before doing the same with the middle children, and then the three oldest, beside her. "You all be good, okay? I don't wanna hear that you three have been picking on the younger ones, or I will have to kick your butts-don't laugh, I can do it, and you know I can" She said to them, before smiling, and hugging them all again, returning to Michael, and the yet as unidentified fourth member of this prophecy.

She sat back down, feeling awkward sitting with the two boys, unable to think of anything she could say. hey, were gonna be spending a lot of time together, it seems?. Yeah, right, she thought to herself. looking down, then she looked over to see Michael appearing trouble. She swallowed, moving over to him slightly, "Don't worry about your siblings, they'll be okay"[/b] She said,trying to be reassuring, and comforting. "They seem like good kids, and I'm sure Chiron and others will watch over them too...maybe" she didn't think that was very comforting, and she winced, muttering a quick "Sorry".

Cameron

Cameron couldn't help but thing that Poseidon's daughter was disappointed in him as if she had wanted someone else. Well, that was the story of his like, the only person that had ever wanted him was his sister. And his father. But his father was a god, so he didn't count. He rolle his eyes as Chiron sad about getting to know each other, and watched Chiron go, looking over to where Elizabeth was, seeing as she got the last comment for Chiron. And then as soon as Chiron was gone, Elizabeth said "Well, as much as I want to get to know you three I have more important business to attend to. Don't wait up." He chuckled to himself, looking towards Micahel and Demelza. He watched them, rolling his eyes as Michael suggested someone going after her, nut neither of them even made a move to follow after her, both saying they liked to live. "Cravens" He muttered to himself, but he didn't get up yet to go after Elizabeth, deciding she needed time to herself. He absently took out a gold coin, something he'd woken up with one day, and knew it was from his father. He stroked it, frowning to himself as he watched the two speak with their siblings. He looked over to where Lucy was, and smiled, seeing her interacting with other kids her own age, and knew she would be alright.

He looked down to the coin, frowning. Normally, it was warm, and sometimes, he felt his father's presence there, but now...it just seemed dull and pathetic, like a normal coin. What did that mean? He recited the prophecy back to himself.

To the city of dreams the heroes are called

To fight the forces that have been enthralled.

Allies united at a crucial hour

To save the Gods that were stripped of power.

If the battle is lost at dawn, the Heroes

Shall fall to the craft of the Dark One's pawn

Casting Olympus into endless winter

On the darkest night of Cruel December.

He frowned, knowing there were several important things there. "To save the Gods that were stripped of power." he muttered to himself that gave him cause to worry, and fear rose in him.

Gods. Striped of power.

"Dad?" He whispered, and bit his lip, thinking to go for a walk, and figure this out. He rose, shoving his hands into his pockets, looking to the other two, "I'm Cameron by the way. I'l go find our wayward Sea girl" He figured he knew where she went. To water, of course. Poseidon's daughter would find comfort there, he thought. So he headed in that direction, He found he spread out on the beach, in a way that suggested she had practically fallen there. Worried that something had happened, he went over to her, kneeling down, "Hey, Elizabeth, come on, you can't stay here" He said, shaking her shoulder. "Don't make me carry you back, because that will just tick us both off"

[abibliophobia]

Elizabeth Berezi Sendoa

Even when she was ten feet away from the shore, she still felt like she was thousands of miles away from her Father. On a normal day when she would come to talk to her Father, the ocean would feel welcoming. Today it just felt cold. She was shivering when she felt someone shake her shoulder, Elizabeth sat up quickly, expecting it to be someone she knew. It was the son of Hades that was chosen to go on the quest. She almost smiled, he was the last person she'd expected to come and fetch her. "I'm guessing everyone else was too chicken to come and get the 5'2" inexperienced fighter?" Elizabeth gave a shrug and stood up, her foul moods never stopped her sarcasm. Finding that her footing had been a bit off, she placed a hand on her seeker's shoulder to regain her balance. "Sorry." She apologized quickly, not wanting to seem like she was one to lose her balance often. Her previous talk with her father had taken a lot of energy out of her, and she still had a bit of a headache. Elizabeth's wetsuit was still a bit damp, she pulled on her clothes over it anyway. To be polite, she turned so her back was facing the son of Hades, and bent over at the waist. She took out her ponytail and wrung out her hair. When she was done she looked, for the most part, dry and mentally stable. Her hair was drying into small ringlets, even when wet her hair wouldn't straighten. She turned back to face the guy who'd found her.

"So," She started, her tone showing no signs of the malice it had when she talked to almost everyone else. "Since you are also a child of the big three, I assume you have enough power to contact your father?" The question might seem a bit off topic to him, but she assumed he could put two and two together. She hadn't come to the beach to find solace, but to talk to her father. The thing about children of the big three was that they were a tad more powerful than those born from any other God. Most other demigods did talk to their Godly parents, but only when their Godly parent contacted them first. Children of the big three, however, could get their parents attention to talk to them. Her curiosity to see if this child of Hades could do the same wasn't uncalled for, it seemed like a probable question that was bound to come up sometime. But now, Elizabeth wanted to know if his father was becoming as powerless as her own. Even though Elizabeth would never admit it, the thought of her father being completely powerless scared her. He controlled the seas and made sure that the monsters that lurked in its depths didn't come out to harm the humans. A gust of wind blew against Elizabeth's back with it came the salty smell of the water she loved. She turned her head so she could look at the receding tide; Elizabeth had expected to see something, but there was nothing to see. If he was able to, surely her father would have contacted her by now. She had no such luck.

---

Michael Alexander Malleum

When Cameron left to go retrieve Elizabeth he gave a sigh, This wasn't working out too well. "Great." he muttered, "Now two of them are gone." He hoped Chiron wouldn't get angry at them if he came back only to find that both Elizabeth and Cameron were gone. Perhaps Chiron would be too caught up in things to find time to punish them. He turned his attention back to Demelza, the only other demigod who was going on the quest and also liked to listen to commands from superiors. Michael's enthusiasm that came along with going on a quest seemed to dampen with that thought. While they were fighting and traveling would he and Demelza be the only ones making the responsible decisions? Michael sincerely hoped not, but that could be the case. Michael was only responsible because he needed to be. As a cabin leader he had his siblings to take care of, and that was his first priority. Demelza's words brought him back to reality. "Don't tell me you're being serious. You have nothing to be sorry for." A smile was on his face now. "And I'm sure my siblings will be fine, just like yours will be too." Michael frowned for a moment, thinking of what was bothering him the most. "It's just that prank that was pulled on the armory, I don't know if it was really a prank. That Greek fire destroyed half of our stock, now we are expected to leave camp. And we can't go unarmed. So we'll have to take from our already lessened stock of weapons." He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that we are leaving the camp unprotected." He shook his head at the thought. Of course, he was thinking very radically. Not taking rhyme or reason into account. There were many things that protected Camp Half-Blood, armed demigods were just one of the things.

"Sorry." He apologized, looking back over at Demelza, "I'm talking a lot." His previous frown turned itself back into a smile again. "I'm sure everything will be fine while we are gone." Michael tried to sound hopeful, but it came out kind of bland. He rubbed the back of his head where a headache was starting to form from him thinking too intently on something. He needed to relax. Michael was a lot of things, and being easily nervous was one of those things. He worried too much, which, in turn, made him stress out too much. He needed to learn how to let things go. But this trait was what made him one of the best cabin leaders. His siblings listened to him, for the most part, and they did what they needed to do. The weapons they created were some of the best that camp had ever seen. This got him to thinking about what weapons they would be taking with them for the quest. He knew that Elizabeth had a trident, but she had put in an order for a new one. Michael preferred his sword to anything else. It was one of the first weapons he had ever crafted by himself and he found that it was the weapon he fought the best with. He didn't know what weapons Demelza or Cameron preferred. He could ask about it later when they packed. "When do you think we'll leave?" He asked Demelza. They could leave either the next day or the day after, but it was always the sooner the better with Chiron.

[MarshiestMallow]

Cameron gave a chuckle as she asked if everyone else was too chicken to come and get her, and remained stable as she used his shoulder to balance, and he shrugged as she apologised. He didn't mind, it was better then her face planting it on the sand, watching as she pulled her clothes on over her wet suit, amused as se did so. He admired her, even when it seemed like things were going to hell, she seemed to have an inner strength that shone through. He decided to let her talk through what she wanted to.

He noted that her town had none of the malice she had weild before, and he took that as a step in the right direction. Perhaps things would work out between the four of them. As she asked about having enough power to contact his father, he was silent for a long time, pondering how to answer her. He looked down at his hand with the coin in it, still feeling nothing from it, no sense of his father, and no reaction to when he had tried to contact him. He debated about just not answering her, but he decided to be honest.

He raised the coin in a finger and a thumb."My father gave me this to contact him with. Normally, there's a faint warmth, a faint sense of him. But now there isn't" He said, "I went to contact him just now, and it normally works. Not now. That line, to save the gods that were stripped of power. Like it or not, I think us demigods are the only ones with power. And isn't that just a little scary? So, we have to complete the prophecy, I'm thinking, and save our parents" He gave a shrug as if it were nothing, but inside, Cameron was really scared. His father powerless was pretty much the worse thing he could imagine. What would happen to the dead? What would happen to his father, if Cameron himself couldn't help fulfill the prophecy? "Come on, lets head back before Chiron has a fit" He said with a soft sigh, putting the coin away in a pocket, and waited for her to start heading back.

---

Demelza watched Cameron leave, nodding as Michael said about both being gone. Demelza squrimed, knowing she wouldn't be able to lie if Chiron asked where the other two were. She just hoped they got back before Chiron did. When Michael looked to her, Demelza gave a shy smile. Then she cringed as he said that she had nothing to be sorry for. Sometimes, Demelza just couldn't help but apoligise for things that weren't her fault. But she nodded as he continued speaking about there younger siblings being okay. She knew her siblings could look after each other, and coulld at least not make everything worse.

She winced at the mention of the armory, knowing it had been a wretched and, well, really hateful prank, even if did seem as if it more then that, as if it were an attack. "I have my spear and shield, they survived the fire" She said, "Thankfully. And Chiron, and the others, and he other campers can keep the camp safe, The camps going to be okay, the Prophecy didn't say anything about anything happening to the camp" She was positive about that. Her spear and shield made her feel closer to her mother. Demelza had managed to find the materials needed to craft them, and it made her feel as if they were completely hers, as if a part of herself were in them. That made them important to her, and she would have been devastated if they had been damaged in the fire.

She thought for a minute as Michael ask when she thought they would be leaving, and she shrugged, "Most likely as soon as possible. And I think that would be best. I don't know if I could say goodbye to my siblings twice" she said, looking to him "And I feel like we should leave as soon as possible anyway. After all, it is a prophecy"