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[color=808080][color=0bbdaf][b]#0bbdaf[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/6v586Ms][color=808080][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [b]main hall[/b][/color]
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[indent][indent][indent][indent][justify][color=808080]Tapeesa really wasn’t paying much attention to the comings and goings in the Main Hall. Her first priority was food, which she half shoveled into her mouth without ceremony. She had been hungry before, sure, but there this was an entirely different level of hunger. Something about running an agility course twice, while also healing so much that she quite literally sapped herself made her feel like a drained battery desperate for a recharge. Focusing on eating was easier than letting her mind wander to Nate, how everything changed in a matter of minutes, or the twisting guilt that nearly made her lose her appetite on more than one occasion. 

She had taken a small break to pace herself and crack open into her bottle of apple juice when an unfamiliar guy with dark brown hair stopped in front of her table. [color=47815a]"Powers and a workout? Or do we call a demigod protection agency for neglect?"[/color]

Her brows tugged together a little confused, slowly pulling the bottle from her lips with a bashful smile. Before she could reply one way or another, her hand quickly covered her mouth just before a burp slipped out. Her gaze fell to where he knocked on the table and then he was gone, trailing after the pretty girl with red hair, without Tappi so much as getting a word in. That was a little odd, but she just chalked it up to him being friendly rather than ignoring her like the one random newbie sitting alone. Not that she minded at that current moment. She didn’t imagine she’d be the most thrilling company right—

Another demigod Tapeesa couldn’t recall seeing, or running into, sat down across from her without a word, like it was entirely natural and they had sat together for lunch before. Maybe it was a camp hospitality type thing, or people were more friendly outside of a party? No, that wouldn’t make sense. She was never the type to turn down the potential for new friends, it was just rotten luck that people started finding her interesting when she was hungry and grumpy and in desperate need of a nap. Regardless, she wasn’t going to ask the girl to leave, or get up and walk away herself. Some people didn’t like eating alone. She could understand that. She might not be the best company, but she’d try nevertheless. 

Tappi gave her best smile, fatigued and frayed around the edges, but even in her exhaustion there was still a warmth that lingered behind it, but it was more like the flicker of a candle rather than bright like sunlight. She didn’t say anything, just noted the girl's dark eyes and darker hair, and the way she ate her berries with similar gusto. Her gaze fell back down to her plate, where she picked up her fork and returned to skewering lettuce, cheese, and a crouton, then promptly shoved it into her mouth. 

[color=cb6583]"Hi, don’t mind me."[/color] The girl finally spoke, breaking the soft silence between them. [color=cb6583]"Or, do. You know, whatever works, I just didn’t want to sit alone like the weird kid on the first day of school. Some day, huh? I’ve just arrived, and on the first day we got put into that. Intense. Crazy."[/color]

[color=0bbdaf]"Hi,"[/color] Tapeesa replied, mumbling through the mouthful of food, holding her hand up in front of her lips so she wasn’t wildly impolite… just mildly. After she swallowed, her smile returned, a little awkward, but no less genuine. [color=0bbdaf]"It’s ok. I don’t mind."[/color] She stabbed the tines of her fork into her salad, more idly than purposeful. [color=0bbdaf]"I arrived last night in the middle of a New Year’s party. But I got lost in the woods for a couple hours trying to find this place and didn’t get much sleep."[/color] She shrugged her shoulders. [color=0bbdaf]"I don’t think many people got much sleep… Or they’re hungover. Maybe both."[/color] She chuckled softly before taking another bite a little [i]less[/i] like a rabid dog.

[color=cb6583]"Gods, I am starving. Hiking up that mountain took it out of me. I met a dog, though, well, he’s not really a dog. He’s like us, I guess. He’s new, too."[/color]

Tapeesa’s brows furrowed and her head tilted to the side slightly as she tried to follow, although she felt like she was missing important context somewhere. The silence dragged out for a couple seconds as she tried to recall everything she read in her mythology book, but she didn’t remember anything about dogs… or dog [i]people?[/i] Although, the book was [i]mythology[/i] and definitely had no information about the current status of demigods and Gods… Her brain hurt. She didn’t have enough sleep. Rather than try to make sense of it, she simply nodded with a lopsided smile that said something along the lines of [i]‘oh yes, I too met a dog boy.’[/i]

[color=cb6583]"I’m Callista, by the way."[/color]

After swallowing her food, Tapeesa wiped off her palms along her pants before extending her hand across the table, tattooed fingers peeking out from beneath the sleeve of her hoodie. She paused for a second, cocking her head to the side at her own awkward formality before curling her fingers into a ball with a soft laugh. [color=0bbdaf]"Sorry."[/color] She shook her head. [color=0bbdaf]"This is camp, not a job interview,"[/color] she mused while grabbing her bottle of juice. [color=0bbdaf]"I’m Tapeesa."[/color]

She settled into her seat, slouching slightly as she started pushing her food around with her fork, trying to decide if she was still hungry, had guilt nausea, or if the early stages of a food coma was fogging at the edges of her mind. Tapeesa’s lips parted, preparing to ask or say… [i]something[/i] but the second her attention lifted from her plate, her gaze snapped to a familiar head of red hair like a beacon she couldn’t look away from. Her eyes followed him as he crossed the hall and found a table as far away as possible. A weight, heavy like lead, settled in the pit of her stomach, stealing her appetite and what bit of her smile remained. 

It took more effort than she wanted to admit to look away, if only to avoid being caught staring if he happened to look up. There was a part of her that wanted to go to him, but her current company was a reluctant boon that helped Tappi not make a fool out of herself. She took a second to get a grasp on her emotions… by burying them deep [i]deep[/i] down, before forcing a small smile as she looked back over at Callista. 

[color=0bbdaf]"My dad’s Apollo,"[/color] she said, filling the silence before there was a chance to be asked why she was acting weird. It would be nice to have [i]someone[/i] to talk to about those kinds of things with… You know, like boys. But Tapeesa didn’t know how comfortable she was unloading all of that on someone she just met either. [color=0bbdaf]"People around here seem to be very curious about that. I [i]think[/i] it’s more of a avoid hitting on your sibling kind of thing, [i]but…[/i] either way."[/color] She shrugged her shoulders with a weak laugh. 

Whatever attempt at a conversation she had been building in her head vanished the second Nate walked into the hall. She forced a tight, polite smile, praying the girl wouldn't notice how her knuckles had gone white around her fork. She was struggling to think with him in the room. The air felt different, heavier… and Tapeesa knew that if she blinked, her eyes would betray her and find him instantly.[/color][/justify][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

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[color=808080][b]interactions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] daniel & callista [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]mentions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] nate [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]collabs[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none[/color]
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