[center][img]https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/al-iaquinta-interacts-with-media-during-the-ufc-press-conference-picture-id942784118?s=612x612[/img] [h3][color=ed1c24]Jonas Highwind[/color][/h3] [@Plank Sinatra][@Write][@Krayzikk][/center] The drive up from Austin, Texas to Interior of the Rockies, Colorado, could be described in a single word: [i]Long[/i]. [i]「Nagai.」[/i] chirped the gentle, feminine voice of recording, filling the interior of the sturdy pickup with the tongue of Rising Sun. As such, anyone with half a brain would be wary of the very real dangers of falling asleep on the road. Long drives meant long stretches of monotony, and even the most exciting destinations found their call wilted by hundreds of miles of samey asphalt passing beneath four wheels. To compound the matter, the thing about a Texas-Colorado trip? That took you through the [i]Great Plains[/i]. [color=ed1c24][i]"Nagai."[/i][/color] echoed the baritone of the driver, low, smooth, and very pointedly mimicking the recorded pronunciation to the best of its American ability. And those, after the first five or so minutes, were nothing much to look at [i]at all[/i]. [color=ed1c24][i]I should have kept studying over break.[/i][/color] Such was the trial that Jonas Highwind endured each Fall for the past five years. A long march north, punctuated only by a mere handful of restroom stops and a Baconator with fries. To combat the lullaby of his droning engine, the hypnotic repetition of field after field of wide open land, the young avatar of violence had no choice but to fill his lonely world with stimuli. [i]Engaging[/i] things like music, podcasts, an impromptu call with Dallas, his brother in all but half-divine blood that ended up in flames (just like Hanako)— [i]「Mijikai.」 [color=ed1c24]"Mijikai."[/color][/i] And a quick, basic vocabulary refresher. No matter how much or how little one would expect a large Son of Ares to worry about his grasp on another language enough to look at studying it as a viable way to pass time, the fact of the matter was that it was productive. Not [i]only[/i] productive either, but downright crucial for his campus and family life. [color=ed1c24][i]It'll be fine, Dana's focused on her English anyway. She won't notice for a while. Just patch the hole until she does.[/i][/color] When your little sister hailed from somewhere, you made sure you could talk to her no matter what. Danaye Harada was doing her level best to learn his mother tongue, so it was his solemn duty to meet her on the same grounds. He'd be a failure on a brother if he didn't, honestly. But, since he'd gotten lazy over summer break (read: worked his ass off for three months either hitting things, choking things, lifting things, or serving things to people in a neocon-owned food truck), he had a summer break's worth of upkeep to catch up on during the span of this trek. And he was taking it all the way up from elementary vocab, too. God knew how he was going to sharpen up on grammar, but at least he had plenty of time and plenty of space for rote word-for-word memorization... [color=ed1c24]"Man, what the hell am I in for?"[/color] He drove on with hours yet ahead of him, staring out at the open fields, and finding within them no answer. If anything, the wind made things seem to shrug. How typical. [hr] "[i]Attention students of Olympus Academy! Report to the Ares Colosseum for a mandatory assembly at once![/i]" Well, he certainly could have guessed he was in for that. Every year, they put on a nice big assembly in the stadium, for the purposes of pumping kids up about the school, introducing new policy and faculty, and generally familiarizing any newcomers with the community they had just entered. That was all well and good. Really, he got it. He paid less attention every year to the point of outright napping through the last one, but he understood the idea behind them. That said, [color=ed1c24]"Couldn't even let me stretch my legs, huh?"[/color] he muttered, tossing his pickup's door shut. The beleaguered young warrior was none too happy with how they seemed to get earlier every damn year. By the time he graduated they'd be holding these sordid affairs at his[i] house[/i]. He knew the route by heart at this point. Best to just make tracks there and get on with everything. If he was lucky, he'd snag a pal on the way— Dallas could chew his ear off about their earlier argument, or Rhea could give him an update on her training during break. Could run into Marcy and ask her if she had any luck yet. Talk strategy with Bekah. Ruffle his sister's hair. Any of that'd turn this franchise around. [hr] Well, at least it was [i]over[/i] now. Jonas had once again zoned out for the bulk of Helena and Hector's speech. School's gonna be great, we're gonna make you achieve your full potential, you're gonna learn how to integrate into society while cloistered away from society, all of that good stuff. It was the same droll and played out material every year... [i]It's going to be lit!![/i] Except, as you might guess, for [i]that[/i]. Coach Akani being a large, enthusiastic, and very "how do you do my fellow kids" mountain of a man was nothing new, but this randomized rooming selection certainly [i]was[/i]. As was him and effectively all of his friends being amongst that chosen three dozen— The Oracle had to have done that one on purpose. Everyone here knew someone here fairly well as far as he could gather from idle chatter and shared glances. Meant that they weren't stuck somewhere entirely unfamiliar with people entirely unfamiliar. No "stranger in a strange land", or anything of the sort. Though he was expecting about a one-in-five chance of being matched with somebody he liked, he completely dispelled the randomization notion at roughly the same time Dallas had sent his note into the outfield. You didn't get him and Relo together by chance. Not if you [i]knew[/i] them. [color=ed1c24]"Hey, kids."[/color] But enough on that for now. Safest to say that they just all lucked out on the draw this time. More pressing matters than a harebrained experiment had presented themselves, and he towered over both of their slight frames. [color=ed1c24]"Course I did. How's summer been treating you both?"[/color] He asked, folding his corded arms with a small smile. [color=ed1c24]"You look well to me, at least. Been keeping yourself busy?"[/color] A pointed glance was thrown to Rhea. Over the past year, he had taken the tiny daughter of Poseidon under his wing for what was at first martial arts tutorials, but had then expanded into a full-blown apprenticeship. He was personally proud with the way she'd been progressing since they last met. Rhea had proven an eager student, and her naturally attentive personality meant that she followed his direction and correction fully. The girl would dot her is and cross her ts much more readily than many of the snot-nosed kids he used to work with, and no matter how much he loved the brats, it was a windfall to have someone who he didn't need to worry about not mentally showing up. That said, a lazy summer was a lazy summer, and lazy summers were awful to have in the middle of trying to train yourself. If there was ever a time to not mentally show up, it was Summer. Just like with him and Japanese. Speaking of Japanese, actually: [color=ed1c24][i]And where oh where could my willowy little sister be? Probably right behind me, huh?[/i][/color]