xNocturnax

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#ffc300 ....|..... outfit .....|..... Hall > Cabin Bound}

“Sure. We need to sharpen our skills and get some routine again, but who made him leader? And why? He’s all up to date with camp’s roster, the past events and leaderships. But where’s he been?”

A knot formed in her stomach as Daniel spoke her exact hesitance on River. They knew nothing about him other than he was Poseidon’s son and likely elected by Poseidon himself to lead which meant…Had Zeus left camp behind? Evelyn tried to brush all the growing unsolved queries aside, only offering silence so the cycle didn’t resume. They weren’t going to get answers, at least not for a while yet and she doubted River would like being interrogated. Though, maybe that was answers he owed them. One day.

Such thoughts preoccupied her time alone until her company rejoined her. By then, Evelyn was able to shift subjects. With a gentle smile, Evelyn scanned Daniel as he seemed pleasantly surprised that she actually remembered one of his most wicked adversaries that he conjured. From what she could gather anyway. Though, it was a time before she joined camp thankfully, it stuck with her because she found the idea barbaric but fascinating. In general, she also made a point to listen to people.

The son of Hecate dove inward, giving Evelyn a surface level consensus. “Those scary Algonquian things. Mmm. They’re pretty jacked. Even for demigods. And especially for a son of Poseidon. But can they drown? I’ll get back to you on that.” He winked to tease her.

Evelyn sighed quietly. There was no need to reinforce how and exactly why that was a bad idea. She let him have his fantasy and theories in his thoughts. He rolled his shoulders, Evelyn’s eyes sharpening to the movement. Where the creature bit. “At least not until I learn how to teleport,” he barely said aloud.

“You outdid yourself literally,” she remarked, only able to make light of it because he had made it one piece.

Seemingly unable to help but to inquire on more serious matters all to showcase she cared, the mood sunk at the mention of the daughter of Apollo.

“Ahh.” His joking and perky demeanor changed. “Fine. Fine. I miss her. She was a spec of sunshine. It felt like we were in a good place and going into a better place and then, you know, Rae didn’t make it.” She was surprised by his spoken honesty, even when she sensed there was more under the surface. “I would’ve loved to have held her and talked to her at least but, I woke up and she was gone.”

Evelyn averted her gaze. “I’m sorry,” she said, both for bringing it up and what happened. “It was probably a tough decision but something she felt she had to do.” No one could get the daughter of Apollo’s side and Evelyn didn’t like to speak for anyone but a decision like that had to come with turmoil.

She let them sit and digest for as long as silence as he wished.

“What about you? Tell me your great Pandora tales of woe,” he said after a beat or two.

She smiled tightly only feeling an obligation to respond honestly because he had. Her shoulders slackened with a breath she didn’t know she was holding. As she braced to exchange her significantly less traumatic experience he spoke again.

“And all your great forecasts for training,” he said waving his fork. “You know since, if we get stuck with any teamwork exercises, it’s singlehandedly your fault.”

Evelyn rose her brows. “Is that right?” She gave a nod. “Very well.” She dragged her chair closer, taking it one response at a time. “I’m doubting and questioning people more since the box. I don’t know how it got on our grounds or who opened the thing.” That was how she was since the box. A finger popped up.

Her lips paused apart. She took a moment to measure the words speaking on her box experience. Evelyn cleared her throat unwilling to give full transparency. “I was fortunate with my first encounter. I woke to a blade over my head.” She was only saved thanks to Sylas’s reaction. “Then I ran. Deservingly right into some winged humanoid who…” Her eyes dipped to her forsaken scar before inhaling and blinking back on Daniel. Maybe her scar was the permanent mark of karma for attempting to flee. She shielded it again subconsciously, even when it was obstructed by the table, her leggings and top. “Eventually made my way to the lake and was spared in time before we could drown.” Another finger added.

Before she ‘forecasted’ their training, her third finger joined the count. “If there are teamwork exercises, it’s because most of us need it,” she stated matter of factly, only tainted by the small curve of a smile. “We’re a horrible unit.” She sat up straighter ready to defend her bleak statement. “I know we don’t all like each other but there’s always a bigger threat out there. It would benefit us mutually to learn to work together as long as we’re in the same territory, defending the same thing.”

The very second she sensed a retort coming from Daniel, she raised a hand and finger beating him to it. “The course was an independent assessment. And I know it’s all very idealistic.” There was no way teamwork was beneficial in the course scenario unless they were evaluated as a group. Meanwhile, some feuds burned deep.

“But no, I think we should be safe from teamwork and trust building exercises. If they were going to do that it would’ve been in place of the trials.” She drew stray patterns on the table, pursing her lips thinking on their collective punishment. “Probably powers?” she suggested. Beyond that, she had no clue and too much speculating proved a never-ending pit. “As long as he keeps collaborating with your sister or you, I imagine the sky’s the limit.” Which could be its own form of bad news for the rest of them.

“With all your abilities and the promise of future assessments and training, what if you conjured a chiropractor? Or a masseuse?” Evelyn tilted her head side to side and rubbed at a niggle in her shoulder closing her eyes with a grimace. The one of many discomforts she had throughout her whole body at the moment.

Slowly, she rose to her feet. There were too many thought-provoking subjects brought between them by no fault of his own. Usually, Evelyn would thrive and appreciate the conversation and topics, but she found herself exhausted, craving the solace of her own cabin and privacy. There was no rule that she had to speak to Daniel in a certain way on certain conditions. She only felt her energy waning and didn't particularly want another public "crashout".

“I'm going to go.” It sat as a statement initially, no comment pending. But on account of not sounding dismissive, she continued “... Take a nap or something.” She added a smile for good measure. “I'll see you later.” She placed her jacket back on and stepped into the snow to head for cabin.

^{interactions ....|.... Daniel ............... mentions ....|.... none ............... collabs ....|....none}

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#66356a ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena > Hall}

Busted.

Her gaze must’ve bore some weight because Wes poked his head up curiously and found her staring. While he didn’t seem to mind, Trinity’s mind experienced a delayed fluster into a panic and looked around at the ever fascinating arena wall and ground. She lifted her eyes when it felt safe, returning quickly to her spellbound admiration.

Trinity lost count. Probably after five truthfully, her mind in other places than numeric values. Lucky she wasn’t responsible for counting, likely seeing to it that Wes did double the push ups, to make sure she didn’t miss a square inch of his body’s muscles. When he sat back on his knees, she was riddled with unreasonable disappointment. It felt too quick. There was a small part of her that even wanted to argue and find a reason one or two didn’t count, but given work outs were actual punishment for some and he looked a little worn, she spared him.

Since she had been very openly spotted having a feast for her eyes watching him do his push ups, she waited, shuffling from foot to foot as he disappeared into the stands.

“You’re very distracting… You know that?” He said upon joining her.

Trinity did her best to ignore the enthralling sparks his voice ignited through her, forcing herself to scoff and look him over. A defense mechanism to not appear stupidly struck by his seduction. The one literally birthed from the goddess of love and beauty who was shirtless and had the best genes, dropped to do push ups not two minutes ago, called her distracting. People were literally running past her field of vision for the course and all she saw was him. And she’d never admit it, not to herself and certainly not Wes, but something about his blood soaked shirt gave him some rigid appeal, like he just conquered in battle. He brought his finger under her chin, inadvertently bringing her gaze off his pants line and into his eyes while his thumb ran against her bottom lip. Wes leaned in and kissed her and Trinity tip toed into it. Every kiss seemed a sweet relief that they were okay. “If I knew it only took push ups to get you to look at me like that, I’d do them every morning.”

Trinity beamed, helpless to his infectious smile and gorgeous chuckle and all the giddy feelings a first crush gave you. “Why do you think I want you to train?” She teased, like that was the obvious reason all along. Trinity twirled his sweats’ strings around in her finger. “But no, I look at you like that every day. I’m just smart enough to do it when you’re not looking most the time.” The confession slipped out unfiltered, causing her to widen her eyes in horror. “You know, can’t let that outta control ego see too much,” she tried to save.

“I was thinking about grabbing food before a shower,” he said. Trinity nodded along. The man’s stomach did typically rule the mind, and the guy could pack it away. “I know you probably want to talk, so we can over lunch if you want? Or… If you want to now, that’s fine.”

“Oh.” That’s what he was putting down. She just assumed he was telling her he was having lunch then a shower. Not that she was invited to pester him along the way. Trinity shook her head to herself, snapping herself out of her delay. “Yeah, no, we can talk at lunch. Which is where you’re off to now, right?” Trinity threw her hands about as she spoke, gesturing out of the arena, in the direction of the hall, then back in the arena where they stood before clasping her hands together to stop her animated talk. “Let’s walk,” she concluded.

Trinity slipped on her jacket and faced the bite of winter’s true cold again, shuffling up close to Wes’s side for her own warmth and his. But she didn’t detour to her own cabin even though it was right there, and she didn’t head to his, but instead automatically headed to the hall with him where a vast selection of food waited and beckoned for ready consumption. It almost felt like a mistake not to make a quick pit stop for warmer clothes, boots instead of sneakers, maybe a fresh top for Wes while he ate, but the hall was insanely aromatic and cozy. And if anyone wanted to judge, they were welcome to try.

Naturally, her head wasn’t filled with the silence she portrayed along the journey. Trinity wanted to touch base on how he was feeling about getting another arm. Maybe even from the likes of Rae, sure his good friend would have incentive to produce something of great and sturdy quality. But, given everything, she was sure it would sound criticizing of Wes's performance or like she was trying to test the daughter of Hephaestus.

She lined up beside Wes for food, handing him a plate without looking at him to pile on whatever amount of substance he desired while she served herself. Trinity was quickly content with her mix but lingered by in case Wes needed help, though he had always managed fine in the past. Particularly with food.

When both were content, Trinity smiled up at him and made her way to a secluded table. Nothing nestled into the back or corner but just far apart enough from the others.

Now it was a simple matter of articulating her words and what was going on. But where to start? Trinity pushed around her food with her fork, losing her appetite while the anxiety lied at bay. Besides, it was best to let Wes get a few shovels in first. Around a minute or two, she finally broke the silence before she could stew on it any longer. “I haven’t had someone ask me to move in before,” she confessed, straight off the bat. Trinity wasn’t exactly desirable company whereas she was sure Wesley could easily cohabit with others and was offered frequently prior camp. How many girls wanted to play house with the stunning son of Aphrodite and ex womanizer…

She shook her head, snapping back to the present with Wesley here and now. Gorgeous inside and out, and somehow choosing her. “I freaked out. Stupidly. And I mean really stupidly. I’ve only known two homes and I’m territorial and…” she was rambling. Trinity sucked in a breath to compose herself and get to the point. “Wherever you are feels more like home. And that’s where I wanna be.”

It took a second or two before she heard her own words and cringed at herself. “God, that’s corny.” But she couldn’t exactly retract it or apologize when it remained true.

“But,” she shovelled up her own mouthful of food, as if busying herself would ease her nerves and all the confessions tumbling forward, “I had a really crappy sleep last night,” she said, speaking behind her hand. Sleeping with Wes beside her had turned into her blissful norm. Whereas last night felt wrong and cold and she was ill at ease the whole time.

Trinity risked a glance at him before her eyes fled to her plate. She didn’t like the vulnerability in all the ‘heart on your sleeve’ stuff. Wes deserved it and needed to hear it, and sure, it was the least she could do, but it was like willingly stripping herself of armour mid-battle and she couldn’t fight the outcome.

“I liked your plan and I really wish I didn't spoil it. Even down to the dancing.” Which she never did but she knew it was a romantic gesture and would've made them feel closer. Trinity dropped her cutlery and rubbed her temple. Gods, she was jackass.

^{interactions ....|.... Wes ............... mentions ....|.... none ............... collabs ....|.... none}

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#ffc300 ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena > Hall}

She was slowly gathering herself. Almost literally trying to reboot herself and find motivation to get up again and stroll out of the arena. But letting her muscles have a complete break for a moment felt best as she looked back at the others still navigating the forsaken obstacles.

Her peripheral caught movement and she shifted her gaze to Daniel who held out his hand. “I gotcha.” He shot a wink and a smile at her.

Admittedly, there was a moment where she only panted and stared. Her pause didn’t come from a place of stubbornness however, but hesitance in her own state. Evelyn wanted to be able to promptly rise on her own two feet, she didn’t want anymore friction and contact on her hands. She swallowed heavily and placed her hand in his.

Gratefully, as she was pulled up, Daniel’s other hand guided as a subtle steadier. Evelyn was a little uneasy initially but quickly found her balance and nodded at him that she was alright. As she gathered her bearings on her feet, she spied Sylas marching out into the snow without his winter coat on. He stayed behind… Before she dared to let embarrassment collapse on her tenfold, she reminded herself he had a sister that had to repeat the course too. Yet what she couldn’t shake, was that she found herself worried about what got him in a such a huff.

“Hey, maybe all this drying, running the course, jotting down notes and observing people will wear him out.”

Without the capacity to admire Daniel’s attempt assurance, she huffed out politely, serving more a quiet scoff than the lazy laugh she was going for. Though a scoff perfectly fitted the occasion. “Maybe.”

In a pre-planned excuse to linger and gather herself a moment more before she headed out, Evelyn returned to watch the others. They were after all, the biggest attention grabbers with big movements and things happening.

“Welcome to the club.”

Daniel’s voice drew her eyes to him, patting his chest pointedly and catching his eyes lifting from her exposed mid-section. Evelyn tried to straighten and pull her top down to hide the ugly deformation. While hardly the worst of them and she recognized scars were part of life, she wasn’t content with her imperfection. “It’s basically camp initiation. You’re locked in now,” Daniel carried on cheerily.

It was odd to place whether his lack of care was inspiring and encouraging or plain ignorant. She placed an arm across her mark for good measure. “You know it’s rude to point out someone’s flaws,” she advised, lest he do it to someone less patient and knowing.

Able to redeem himself and assure he was coming from a good angle, he spawned their coats in his arm. “Whenever you’re ready.” She was surprised by the new gentleness and calm and patience that reached his tone.

Evelyn hummed in agreement, taking the coat from him and began to move slowly for the exit. She’d like to have moved faster but, best to conserve her energy for travelling through the snow yet. She was done with the arena and everything it stood for. Not one good thing came out of the place. At least the hall was far more reliable and safe.

Their pace was steady and Evelyn caught herself looking up the path that led to Sylas’s cabin as they passed. She truly had to stop thinking she was an exception to his mood or could soothe him, if not, the direct cause itself at times. But why did she want to enter his cabin and wrap him in a blanket, assure he was warm and drown each other’s problems away? He was a man who could take care of himself.

“You know, with your blessing, I can, uh, give him a visitor later,” Daniel said.

That had more than a few flags in one sentence, leaning on a hard and evident no.

Sensing it was no contest, he continued, “Make sure the leader is actual leader material, give him a proper dose of camp.”

She mocked pondering Daniel’s proposal, to indulge the man that looked to humour her. But given the potential severity, she tutted once and shook her head slowly. “I’m all for karma and tests, but in this instance, it doesn’t sound like the potential punishment fits the crime exactly.”

“If he doesn't apologize?” Daniel added, as if that would then be warranted to send something dangerous after the new leader.

Now there was a funny thought. For an assessment that was meant to be beneficial, it currently took the guise of something far more detrimental. The amount of egos that were bruised on people that didn’t need to be humbled, the demigods that were literally hurt. Of course, they’d all heal and recover easily enough. There were worse fates. But it was only a hard pill to swallow currently. She didn’t expect training to accompany humiliation. And for River to apologize for it?

She laughed once. “To me or the other 15% of camp?” She looked at Daniel in the corner of her eye. “One can dream.” She’d be over the moon if a leader understood the concept of public humiliation they inflicted and then much more, apologized for it. But apologies were sign of weakness in the patriarchy.

However since it was Daniel that initiated the idea left-field, which indicated a hunger for some extra chaos, she spoke again. “I wouldn’t tamper just yet.” She tried to repel the notion. As she trudged through the snow, muscles aching in constant reminder of how inadequate she performed, there was something the pain and fatigue proved. “Besides, the camp could do with a little discipline,” she muttered begrudgingly. That wasn’t to say she approved of all methods, but they weren’t on a holiday resort. The only way to improve themselves was through discipline and practice.

They entered the hall, but since she had eaten, she paused unsure why she had headed there almost automatically before drifting to a table. She considered joining the dark haired girl who dined alone for now, but as someone who had re-ran and felt her own nerves on edge, Evelyn granted space and spared the girl social harassment. A nice warm drink would’ve held some appeal, had she not recently been exerted and sweating. Evelyn shrugged out of her jacket once more, hanging it over a chair then sitting though it was more of a grateful drop. Her fingers tapped on the table, mind pondering. It wasn’t until Daniel joined her, she folded one arm on the table. “You weren’t thinking of another Wendigo were you?” She teased, having recalled one of Daniel’s fascinating but self-inflicted tales.

When there was an interval in the bantering and teasing, she gnawed her lip looking at the man across from her, biting on her hesitation. Despite his himness, she liked Daniel and respected him for his purity and he had been through a lot. “How’ve you been anyway?” she asked quietly, almost afraid to turn the conversation in such a serious direction with him. But it was another way for her to show she genuinely cared about his well-being. “Since Cher…ise…” Her voice trailed in the end, unsure she should bring back such a wound. While he and Cherise weren't anything official, it had been evident that he at least liked the girl.

^{interactions ....|.... Daniel ............... mentions ....|.... Tapeesa, Sylas ............... collabs ....|....none}

Noct's Junkyard

Cordelia Darkvein - BOH

C O R D E L I A
C O R D E L I A

^{"You won't be able to escape me. That's a promise"}

T H E D E V O T E D H U N T R E S S T H E D E V O T E D H U N T R E S S C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y Cordelia Jensen Ammes "Cordelia Darkvein" _________________________________________________________ 31/256 | Female | Bisexual _________________________________________________________ The Devoted Huntress | Vampire A B I L I T I E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - A B I L I T I E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 🩸 ABILITY 1 - Expand on the how efficiently or non efficiently they execute it. - - S T R E N G T H S & W E A K N E S S E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - S T R E N G T H S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ STRENGTH 1 - Why and how and rinse and repeat - W E A K N E S S E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Loneliness - As it was written, Cordelia seems doomed to be alone without real sense of belonging or allies. An outcast of outcasts. Only the hunters’ pawn. Meanwhile, she’s made to go against her own kind in addition to other creatures. There seemingly is no likeness. Sunlight - Though she doesn’t suffer as much as her species typically do in the sun, she is able to tolerate it at best due to a curse. She loses her vampiric abilities and becomes more human but with lethargy. Because of this she prefers to avoid combat and confrontation in the light of day but works more on reconnaissance. -

H I S T O R Y H I S T O R Y __________________________________________________________________________________ Bound to service by a witch the hunters owned, Cordelia became another weapon added to their artillery. In exchange for her relentless hunt, she can wander in the sun though her abilities are significantly weakened. She is more human by day and vampire in the shadows. P E R S O N A L I T Y P E R S O N A L I T Y __________________________________________________________________________________ Who they are characteristically.

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CORDELIA DARKVEIN

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.....................................................	She fell to the forest floor and rubbed her hands rapidly on the wet leaves, trying to rid the stench of her most recent kill. Or at least, leave it behind in case the witch had friends and resources she didn't know about like a dog or fellow vampire. Cordelia's usual patience, taking the time taken to study her target, learn their habits and circle, had to be thrown to the wind when James demanded the witch had to die tonight. It wasn't something she ever got to discuss. Not who, why, when or how. She just did the job she was enslaved to do without blinking. But there had been a shift lately. Like the world itself was different.

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#ffc300 ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena}

“If you're talking about Sylas, I honestly don't know. I just felt instantly drawn to him because of his enigmatic persona. Charming for sure, but unpredictable. I know now he's someone I don't want to underestimate, if his trial taught me anything.”

Enigmatic, charming, unpredictable, dangerous, as proven by his trial, she rehearsed. Evelyn couldn’t forget staring at the small mountain of bodies, the cruel horror of seeing her own among them, perched on top and how Eris merely nudged her aside to send her limp body tumbling and twisting to the ground. Though, she tried not to think about it.

“Why do you ask? Have you got your eye on him?”

Evelyn’s eyes snapped back at Nelly quickly unable to hide her initial shock before they fled again. If the topic were anyone else she’d likely find herself answering with a bashful yes to test the daughter of Hermes ability to contain gossip and keep a secret. But because it was Sylas and he — they — were uncharted territory, “Just trying to see what you see,” she explained.

Thankfully, that was the last of social dilemmas she jammed herself in until her poised but slow run. The objective unfortunately not to falter on any objects but make good time. There had been many accidents and some still performed better than her, while others laughed their errors off or grinned the fatigue away. Something she could never imagine doing but somewhere inside she was inspired to see.

Daniel approached her after his round in which he came last of the impressive group. Evelyn met his defeated smile with her own assuring one. At least she hoped that’s what she radiated. Particularly when he held similarities to a dejected pup. How could she be dismissive to that? Daniel forced himself to sit without any commentary but a hiss through his teeth.

She kept her eyes on him, studying his pain. He must’ve landed right on his coccyx bone. All the while he reached tenderly for her hand. Evelyn glanced down at their hands then up at him posing a silent question, but she didn’t draw away, feeling he needed the assurance in physical touch more than she wanted to know what he was doing.

Then he shifted. At first she watched curiously, letting Daniel carry her hand along as he liked before he settled to lie beside her, deciding he wanted her hand on his chest. The harsher part of her retracted her hand. But that didn’t happen. Instead, she was stilled, and her judgment hushed, finding something about the moment warm, sweet and vulnerable. The simple gesture of lying beside her implied a degree of trust. She pat him gently, fingers lifting and tapping his chest, soothing his overdriven nerves from the pain, slowing the panicked messages that alerted his body of his impact. A temporary illusion of a fix. “You’ll still need to take care of it,” she cautioned gently.

A bottle was lifted towards her. Evelyn smiled, this time more humored and led his peace offering back down. “I should be fine.”

Her eyes lifted to River as he addressed everyone again, thanking them for participating, their drive and determination to train and bluntly, that he’d move on. He mentioned he’d announce the results out loud and Evelyn wanted to melt into the ground and hide away. But before that, “I do want to make note that you all are at different skill levels and everyone—including myself—has room to grow. That being said, I will not tolerate anyone being an asshole and discouraging someone because of their performance.”

Beautiful firm disclaimer. Still, it couldn’t stop the silent judgements and feelings of shame. As names and times ascended, Evelyn equally held onto and feared where hers would fall.

“15:57 : Evelyn Masters, Wesley Preston…”

She blew out her lips, at least 20 names coming before hers and replaced the hand soothing Daniel to run back along her secured hair. Evelyn gave a tight smile to the son of Aphrodite who she shared a time with, trying not to appear openly discouraged when she obviously wasn’t the only one with an unsatisfactory time.

“Anyone who finished in under fifteen minutes is excused for the rest of the day.” Evelyn invested in the other side of the coin, leaning forward like it helped her hear and learn news of those that didn’t faster. “For everyone that remains, you will run the course a second time.” The leader’s announcement, while suspected that she performed poorly, acted as a slap to her face. Her mouth fell agape, being handed the biggest insult. How humiliating having those results stated out loud and having to stay back to run the course they all struggled at again.

“You won’t be timed, so you can complete it at your leisure. It isn’t about speed, but practice, learning, and muscle memory. Powers are still prohibited, but you’re welcome to help each other.”

She should’ve taken some solace in that but the damage seemed irrevocable. Evelyn took the water Daniel offered her earlier, having a swig or two that she needed more than him and replaced it beside him harder than she meant. “Excuse me.”

Despite her disbelief and chagrin, she headed back down to face the course once more, almost in a trance state.

Her eyes flickered constantly to River in wait for him to call it off. But he didn’t, leaving her and the others to run it again. Or at least try. Her muscles promptly ached in fatigue from the first round, managing the tires once more, missing a log and grappling it awkwardly to save herself from a fall, puffing away dirt on the crawl. She was lucky to get half way up the rope, no matter her self talk and persistence before slipping down. Evelyn paced around the obstacle she was stuck on, shaking off her raw hands. All the naive ingredients it took to persevere were running thin.

She jumped on it once more and tried to pull herself up with all her might. But failed again for the last attempt deemed a ‘move on’.

Evelyn made it through the net bridge, the swing and the beams in one piece.

Facing the pool again, she stopped, really needing to gather her breath before she attempted to swim again. Unless somebody wanted to start fetching damsels. Evelyn closed her eyes, a new anxiety awakening near the pool with her sore and tired muscles and heavy breathing. No one’s going to let you drown. There were a number of people doing the course again that had their plus ones and River himself. She only had to blindly trust that they would help.

1,2,3. Evelyn sucked in a gasp of air and dived in. She broke surface and freestyled across the length, the need to keep form vital or she would flail and then start losing control and sinking. Then, it happened. She lost beat, her strokes faltered and she swallowed water. Her muscles struggled to keep her afloat with the other end nearby. She stretched for the edge and weakly paddled as her head dipped under. The second her fingertips made contact with something solid, she grabbed onto the ledge desperately, crossing her arms on the platform to keep her head safe but without strength to heave herself up.

“River, please!” Her outcry managed to startle even herself. Briefly, she had caught herself wishing a seductress or manipulative person would enchant River and bring an end to this nonsense. The more she did, the worse she performed and she no longer knew what he was trying to accomplish. She was trying to be on his side. Disallow people to see his social inadequacies and therefore weakness so the vultures in camp wouldn’t get him but now she wasn’t sure. His training reached the point of ridicule. When lungs were burning for air and limbs felt like disconnected weight, there was no more pushing. The humiliation and fatigue had festered into an outburst and came out loud. Something she knew better than to do.

Just as she knew he was doing his best too.

River leaned forward where he sat, elbows resting on bent knees as his attention was drawn toward the pool. Whether or not her cry for help was a genuine plea for assistance or frustration, he waved two fingers in her direction. A current of water like a guiding hand rose her up above the side of the pool and set her down on the edge with a gentle ease. "Do you want help?" he asked, genuine in his offer with no mockery or judgement.

She coughed and pinched her nose, embracing the embarrassing fact that she couldn’t even crawl her way out of the pool to retain some dignity. Evelyn shook her head to his offer. It wasn’t that she didn’t want help, it was that she couldn’t. Not now. Especially not after that.

"It’s not a race. Cut yourself some slack and take a breather."

Taking her time wasn’t the issue. There had been plenty of that. But she had to sit there for a moment regardless, gather herself and catch her breath. She only had two more obstacles. Evelyn looked at the giant ladder that seemed to look even larger than the first time she had climbed the wooden structure. Dauntingly so.

There was a part of her that wanted to quit and leave that grew increasingly enticing. She was sure she could get away with it easily enough. But, even when she owed River nothing, there was a component of respect in following his authority and spitting on it by walking away.

She began the climb for the second time, drenched and sapped of energy but as she was obligated to do. She fumbled the last few rungs on the way down, able to land on her feet, but that was it.

Evelyn turned to the supposed lucky last long jump. She looked around at those that had a support person coaxing them through the course and obstacles. But this was hardly the time to let her mind wonder. Teamwork and support was nice and lovely, but eventually everyone had to do things by themselves. On their own.

She locked on the target and ran at long jumped one more time, heels clipping the shallow water and stumbled out of her landing.

At the conclusion, Evelyn let her knees buckle and let herself fall to a sit on the arena ground. Somewhere inside may have been the faintest hint of accomplishment but it was buried deep deep under layers of heaviness and panting breath, and the relief of knowing she’d never deal with this course again.

^{interactions ....|.... Nelly (backpost), Daniel ............... mentions ....|.... Sylas, Wes, re-runners with support ............... mini collabs ....|.... mjolnir (River)}

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#66356a ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena}

Beside Wes, it occurred to put his nose back in place. She should’ve. Would’ve. Could’ve. But given she was close to the shitlist for her poor responses last night, and they sunk back into something comfortable, she voted not to access the Ares in her and cause him more pain, even if it was for the better. She also thought to start cleaning his gorgeous though apparently “a little less pretty” face but chose not to fuss over him in the arena. And that’s when a blessing in black braids arrived. A daughter of Apollo.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” Wes bumped her. “It’d put Trinity’s mind at ease.”

“You’d be getting it anyway,” Trinity assured him. There would be no turning down healing when he needed it regardless of her.

“Trust me, if I minded I wouldn’t have climbed all those stairs,” the healer replied. That was quite a feat after an obstacle course. For normal people. “I’m going to have to set it or it’ll heal all wonky like Owen Wilson.”

Wes took her hand. Trinity took a quick glance down at their conjoined fingers like it could be a mistake but squeezed him reassuringly. “Do what you have to, doc.”

The girl braced, counted and snapped it back in place – a satisfying crack sound resonating with her, all which Trinity sat an attentive, fascinated witness to. He groaned and flexed his hand in hers in response. Trinity’s other hand came to comfort him, rubbing his arm and cupping over their entwined hands while that fresh surge of pain took over.

But the child of Apollo’s work wasn’t done. She rested a hand along his nose where a light finally emitted from, though the light seemed to struggle, flickering, holding strong for a moment then dimmed. Trinity’s brows pinched in confusion before the same expression reached the healer. “What the— ” She studied him more intently and held her hand over the bridge of his nose, nothing glowing from her hand this time. Trinity looked between them worriedly. Was something wrong with Wes? “I’m sorry. I fixed the break but I think I’m too tired to—” She stood up unsteadily.

Knowing what was coming, Trinity jumped out of her seat reaching out for her, but Wes caught her first. “Don’t worry about it. I can live with bruises and rope burn. You need to rest.” Trinity confirmed it with a couple of nods. She could take a break. “I can walk you back to your seat,” he offered.

“You can crash by us for a beat if you want?” Trinity tried to offer too.

She shooed away their aid, albeit politely, Trinity just wasn’t sure it was wise. Wes sat back in his spot which Trinity had a small suspicion about, even as he grumbled about how stubborn demigod women were. “Can I at least know your name? You’re obviously new—Well, not obviously. I just mean… Trinity and I have been here for a while and you’re a new face.” Trinity arched an amused brow unsure the girl would ever be offended at ‘obviously new’ anyway, but let him get it out of system. “I’m Wes and this is my girlfriend Trinity.”

Trinty smiled stiffly and raised a hand as a small wave. “Hey.”

“I’m Tapeesa. Just, you know, try not to break any more bones today. Give me at least 24 hours to recharge before I have to heal you again.”

Inside, Trinity could feel the internal wince. In future, Tapeesa was going to have to make some rough calls of prioritizing her healing if she ran out of juice after exertion. In other cases, she’d have to outright refuse healing others.

The other two seemed not to acknowledge it as a later problem.

“You got it, boss.”

“Ok, cool.”

Wes unsurprisingly shadowed her to her seat while Trinity settled to track them both via hawk like vision. He just got healed and she was worn out. They both needed to take it easy and if one toppled, she would be there in a flash.

Thankfully, it was a safe journey to Tapeesa’s returned row and back. “Why couldn’t Apollo have sent her like a year ago?” Wes nudged her. “About time camp had a healer. Maybe you’ll worry about me less… Like a little bit?”

She caught him mimicking her earlier gestures and couldn’t help but grin. “Maybe like two percent?” Trinity suggested, bumping him gently back with her own shoulder.

* * * *

The first time paired with her name made her smile. “Knew it.” Wes’s voice beside her bolstered the feeling of pride in her results and she smirked before quickly wiping it from her face. Mr. River over there had said everyone could grow and do better. He had half a point. But her eyes still narrowed to slits on him like he made some personal challenge and deprived her of a sense of achievement. Do better then, chief.

Absorbed in how she could do better and wanted to do better to absolutely obliterate other times, Trinity almost missed Wesley’s time. Almost. River dismissed the people who performed under his 15 minute target window.

“Looks like you’re free to go,” Wes added, nudging her again.

She flashed him the same weak smile he had given her and robotically gathered her jacket, wrapping it around her arm slowly. So where did that leave…?

“For everyone that remains, you will run the course a second time,” River answered the unspoken question.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Wes reacted under his breath.

Trinity froze uncertainly on how to be a supportive person. She couldn’t relate to despising the course but she understood where Wes was coming from. The whole thing was a damn nightmare for a one armed individual. As she finally gathered a maybe appropriate reaction and comfort, he reached a decision. “Yeah, fuck that,” he said and shot off.

Needing say or do no more, Trinity left slowly for the exit but when she took a last look at Wesley, she paused in her tracks as he negotiated something with River. Curiosity getting the better of her, she stopped and lingered. It looked like a non-combative converse which was good. When he made his way to the centre and dropped to his knees, her head tilted, having an inkling of where this was going. He extended his legs out and controlled his weight down then back up. Trinity found herself creeping towards the spectacle, leaning against the stone of the outskirts of the arena, out of the way of people filtering out and the repeat course attendees. Trinity tried not to stare at the muscles emboldened by sweat and the work of pressing him up and down. His firm sculptured back, shoulders and arm, even his taut behind. A minute ago, she felt sorry for him, now she wasn’t sure she wanted the show to ever end.

After all this time, having him whenever she wanted as much as she wanted, she still wasn’t immune or better than anyone else when it came to admiring the son of Aphrodite. So while her eyes drank in every bead of sweat, every muscle tension, she only restrained in not creeping right up to him and sitting cross-legged for a front row seat. Though if anyone had rights to, she did.

Tempting, but overbearing.

^{interactions ....|.... Tapeesa, Wes ............... mentions ....|.... none ............... collabs ....|.... none}

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#66356a ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena}

She saw Wes approaching and braced herself with a warm smile trying to be encouraging and approachable. Though in reality, the warmth nor smile quite reached her eyes only outdone by anxiety. She didn’t know what to expect from him. Yet, all that landed was a tender kiss. “Good morning, beautiful.” She closed her eyes part relieved they hadn’t broken their trusty routine of wishing another a good morning. Part disappointed they couldn’t be in each other’s arms when they said it.

“Morning,” she mumbled softly in turn.

Trinity’s eyes followed him to his own perch then tore her eyes away to focus on the centre of the arena. As much as she was tempted to sit by him, even lunge on his arm and tug him to sit by her and hash things out, now wasn’t the time. She was sure they were close to starting and the course needed to be in the forefront of her mind. That wasn’t solely her competitive spirit making decisions but pure logic. The more energy she spent, the better. The safer! Even he must’ve got that to a degree by sitting elsewhere. Or he was in a similar boat himself looking to expel energy though she couldn’t imagine Wes ever hungry for training.

Anyway, she had to get that man out of her mind. But eyeing the course again that’s exactly where she thought of him again. How in the worlds was he going to climb, navigate or otherwise hurdle over objects with one arm or balance himself nimbly?

She risked a glance at him from the corner of her eyes. Wes was physically fit, she was no stranger to his physique and coordination and what he could do but some obstacles seemed to do him a disservice of his capabilities. But.. ‘that was war’ a voice in her seemed to press. Things weren’t fair.

This was exactly why I wanted you to train and pestered about another arm, a snider thought joined the fray. And she hoped he fully received her ‘I told you so’ telepathically that she was sending.

Ergh! Trinity rolled her neck out. People could learn the hard way. She wasn’t going to say I told you so out loud or send a look. Just think it to shit.

She crossed her arms listening to the speech the newbie decided to give them. Trinity only thought it was funny due to him making these requests, and dare she guess, demands of them out of nowhere. Who was this guy exactly again? Why did he take Andy’s place again? But if he wanted to test them, she would oblige for the sake of peace and to showcase who he thought he was barking orders at. She could jump hoops in the meantime for another one of the god’s lapdogs. Trinity just hoped he had some self-awareness of how gods liked to demand things with no reward in turn.

Admittedly, River got some brownie points for running the obstacle course himself. A lot of others might’ve just blown the coach whistle and scribbled something on their board as everyone else ran it, but props to him. Trinity studied the way he took certain obstacles and his speed, never slowing to a trot or walk or over hesitating on his grabs and foot placements. He was doing really well throughout it but he covered wicked ground in the pool that the ladder and final jump made him seem human again.

At least he practiced what he preached.

Trinity listened in for his official time. “9 minutes and 37 seconds.”

Yikes. That was a tough one to beat.

He addressed the general crowd again stating a cap at 15 minutes and no cheating, etcetera. Trinity’s leg bounced in anticipation. She was ready.

Then, disappointing news. “Alright then. You’ll run the course in groups of five. First up is Sloane, Sylas, Nate, Maylisse and Andy…”

Somewhere inside she could feel a child tantrum go off. The temptation to throw her head back and scream into the sky in impatience. Screw groups, let’s just go, survival of the fittest. If you weren’t at the front of the pack and couldn’t wriggle your way up, too bad.

While people shifted around, her eyes found Wes creeping to the back. Her brows pinched together briefly but she let him be. Let him focus, do his own thing, and let her focus.

She sat for a moment shifting in her spot, crossing her legs, bringing her feet up, trying to seemingly get comfortable before giving up. She could sit and watch. Some people nailed the course. They moved more naturally through the obstacles and swiftly. Competition that even bred doubt in Trinity’s mind. While others really struggled. They couldn’t bring their bodies to leap, run or heave themselves on demand.

When Wes was called, a pit of dread reformed in her stomach. She fought the urge to turn to him and watch his descent into the arena for all to see. But through her sitting still as stone, training her eyes forward, she heard his voice before she saw him.

“Hey,” he offered quietly, causing her to swivel to him. “Could I get your help so I don’t flash everyone?” He pulled at the strings on his sweats in show of his dilemma. “Please.”

Trinity lowered her gaze at first in attempt to hide a humored smile she shouldn’t have had before glancing up at him. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.” She was sure a flash of the son of Aphrodite’s business would serve a treat to half the campers.

She tugged both sides to secure the band to his form then did a double knot, the back of her fingers grazing him gently as she tied them up, silently cursing herself for those unshakeable little flutters she still got around him. She got a quick kiss for her efforts, stunning her. When she was able to find relief in his gesture, she smiled gently after him. Trinity watched his group with more intent than she had the others, body angling forward in anticipation.

He seemed to do the tires with a big fat green check, even the giant hurdles. The crawl, yes, even though he lost the speed, but the rope climb was the doom and gloom of the course as he circled it for a moment, studying it. “Come on, come on,” she muttered, hands gripping her own knee to contain anxiety and excitement and anything else that would make her bounce restlessly in her place.

Wes found a method that forced him upwards, albeit a slow progress, but it was perfect for what he was working with, rope coiled around his arm and nudging up with the strength of a acrobat. “Come on, come on, come on,” she kept muttering. Not to hurry him along but quiet encouragement to take down the obstacle.

He slipped down, redeemed himself a moment then tumbled and span out the rest of the way down, landing face first. Trintiy inhaled quickly through her nose as a suppressed gasp. “Shit,” she whispered. Not only was the impact clearly intense but she feared every moment Wes was hindered by his missing limb, it would emphasise what he lost at camp. Alter him in some way or encourage him to leave this forsaken place where terrible monsters infiltrated and there was a horrible training regime.

He soldiered on and Trinity smiled sadly. People tended to put determination pass Wesley. Even she was guilty of forgetting how driven he could be sometimes but she was glad for the reminder. As long as he didn’t hurt himself more in the process. He didn’t have to appease this River guy, he didn’t have to appease her or prove anything to anyone else, just himself.

There were a few fumbles and Trinity wasn’t tracking his time but he made it. With blood persistently trickling down his nose. Dammit, could anyone get him an icepack and put it back in place at least? She waited for the next round to be announced and when the last name wasn’t her name, she sprung from her spot she had seemed to be rooted in the past few minutes and joined Wes.

Standing before him, she had a moment where she didn’t know what to say but her eyes blazed with admiration. “You did amazing.” Though he probably didn’t feel like it. She scanned him frantically. Trinity pulled his shirt he was using as a cloth aside and planted a kiss on his lips before he could talk. She drew back, hands on his shoulders, holding him square in place. “I mean it.” Then the recognition creeped in, how she was crowding the poor guy and assuming it was okay to just attack him with a kiss when he was bleeding and sore. She withdrew her arms slowly and sunk into the spot beside him, opting for a quieter and less intrusive support.

While she tried to feign mild interest in the group in front of them, she kept glancing at Wes and smiled slightly and guiltily for being caught. A. He was shirtless. B. He was covered in rope burn and had a broken nose. For a daughter of Ares who thrived in violence, pain and war, she didn’t like him in pain or bleeding. “Just 2 percent concerned,” she explained, measuring that inch with her thumb and index finger.

It seemed impossible and like she was forgotten but in time, her name was called by a foreign voice. The new leader’s like an awakening. Finally. Trinity clapped her hands on her knees and rose to her feet. “Wish me luck?”

She headed to the tires. While she didn’t engage in eye contact or look directly at anyone, she did clock her opponents trickling towards the start with her. A pack of unknowns. There was Daniel of course but he was unpredictable and had a little speedy Gonzales in him. The rest she couldn’t say, but Trinity was excited to find out, lighting a fire in her belly once again. Best she really see what they could do and aim to beat River.

Go! Trinity pushed off the start line and tackled the tires with high knees and fleet footwork. She ran at the log jumps, using each as a stepping stone, from the little first one, straight to the second, third, fourth where she wobbled and flailed her arms a moment then jumped to the last, landing in a crouch with her hand steadying her then springing down. She moved with absolute purpose, like hunting down a force in front of her. Trinity dropped straight to her stomach and army crawled her way through the dirt, arms and legs working briskly to stay low and quick under the wire. She rose straight to her feet once in the clear and ran at the rope climb with a jump to spare herself a distance off the ground. One arm after the other with ankles locked around the rope and her core engaged, she began her ascent, nose flaring and teeth gritting to push herself. She wouldn’t allow herself to run out of steam. Trinity reached the top, lowered herself slightly, glanced at the ground below, lowered herself further then unhooked her ankles and released her grip to drop the rest of the distance down. Her muscles vibrated on the impact with the ground, holding her arms out to steady her landing then she was off to the next obstacle.

The rope net bridge, she watched her footwork but sped across it, wobbling on the other landing uncertainly like her head just caught up with the imbalance of the rope. Slow down on the balance tasks. But another voice fought such advice. More, more. Harder, harder. She rolled her shoulders and grabbed more rope, backing up then forward to clear the swing as she lifted her legs up for good measure, then dropped on the other side.

She approached more balancing acts. Trinity huffed out her nose facing the beams. She ran for it but a couple steps in, she felt herself tip off balance, kicking up a leg and her arms waved out erratically until she crashed down. Thankfully, on the horizontal beam, groin making a rough landing but torso and arms coming to brace along the beam for balance. Fuck. Looking forward she still had the descent one to go. Now she was mad. She pushed her torso up, braced her hands on the beam and crept a knee up to rest along the plank and push back to her feet from there. She got to her feet, eventually, which felt like an eternity and precious time wasted. With slightly more caution, she made it past the last beam.

She sprinted to the pool to make up for lost time and dove in. The beaches she had back home and the tides she used to tackle, her swims in the camp lake, all of it kept her swimming skills sharp for this pool as she freestyled across the length flawlessly. Trinity came out drenched and sucking in air for breath, but there was a fierce unyielding determination in her eyes. Trinity ran hard for the ladder. That time and force she was hunting down, was in front of her and getting away. Her enemies were hot on her heels. She ascended rapidly, propelling upwards finding a rhythm in her placement carrying her all the way to the top. She swung her legs over and climbed down until it was a safe distance to spring off to the ground.

With the final obstacle in sight, she conjured the extra push to sprint faster like she was some Olympian or the embodiment of hell breaking loose and hurdled over the pool of water. On the other side, Trinity slowed her momentum to a trot before turning to the finish line to see how her peers faired, hands on her head trying to control her breathing and angry muscles that she could now pay attention to. Close to her tail but with a marginal gap was the black haired guy of the group. She held out her fist to him for knuckles. The rest filed in shortly after. She nodded to them, still puffing, commending their placement and the extra push they gave her. As a group they had to be the top dogs. Not that it was a team assessment or a competition in the first place but where was the extra drive without it?

With her chest heaving, she glanced at River, daring herself to bother to inquire how she did. On the other hand, she was sure everyone wanted their results so it would come in time. Hopefully. She made her way back to the stands in wait of his next official announcement.

^{interactions ....|.... Wes, Elias (knuckles)............... mentions ....|.... River, Theron, Daniel ............... collabs ....|.... none}

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#ffc300 ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena}

Heath and Iliana wore some confusion while Nelly only giggled knowingly.

“Poorly, but it was my doing. See back when we did Seven Minutes in Heaven at the previous party, my bottle landed on Sylas.”

Evelyn’s brow arched surprised involuntarily. The bottle blessed or cursed, depending on the outlook, to point to the one you desired? But Evelyn didn’t interrupt and let Nelly continue.

“Sadly I don't have any of my parents' charms, so I was clueless on what the rules were and made a fool of myself with Sylas in there. Didn't know you were supposed to make out in there.”

Evelyn opened then closed her mouth, almost rebutting that she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want and there was no official rule to it. It was a common occurrence and opportunity but that was as far as it went. Her eyes flickered to Heath expecting him to interject and correct Nelly that that wasn’t the case, but he didn’t. Who exactly was Nelly’s source to figure she had to make out?

“So to remedy that here, I basically asked Sylas if I could kiss him, that was all. He flat out rejected me. It's fine though. It's pretty clear I get on the guy's nerves too, but I am used to it.”

Evelyn inclined her chin in silent understanding. Then grimaced slightly. She couldn’t imagine Sylas’s rejection as anything but harsh. Similarly, she couldn’t imagine standing before his daunting figure and asking for a kiss out of the blue. That was brave. For some reason she didn’t take Nelly as an initiator either but, good for her. Evelyn gave a small approving nod giving credit where it was due.

“But yes, sorry for any confusion, Evelyn, and thanks for checking up on me. You just take care of yourself too okay?”

It was more curiosity and a mini catch up than a well-being check but she wasn’t one to argue. Evelyn flashed a smile. “Just wondering how it went is all. You’re very bold to try to get your lost kiss back.” Or ignorantly unaware.

She watched Andy in the first group pull in front and overall stay in front, until the finish line. Next Sylas passed, kicking at dirt with some expletives. Of course, she couldn’t hear from where she was sat but there was a way that people moved at the end of a task that you knew they didn’t like the outcome accompanied by a ‘fuck’ or the like.

“Though, he might need a kiss now,” she joked to the daughter of Hermes.

As she sucked in a breath to say some more, perhaps the most important question, Nelly started stretching as the second group was summoned. The other two had their own issues and didn’t offer conversation at all.

While it was an obvious chance to leave, she had one more burning question. “What do you find appealing about him?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. For once, there was no judgement attached, rather, she was looking for sense in herself. Maybe Nelly saw the same thing Evelyn did or something different altogether.

After their small chat, the trio was evidently much more absorbed in each other, watching the prior groups or themselves, which she couldn’t blame. She slipped a couple stands away to leave them to it and view the groups on her own until the time came where she was inevitably called.

Evelyn re-did her ponytail to a lower kind and faced the daunting course.

The tires were simple enough but by the time she found a faster rhythm, they were over. The increasing height of the logs were a pain, only when she had to start clambering over the last of them. Her balance was sound as she climbed on the fourth as River had, but she hesitated to jump to the last one, then jump back down, dropping herself and heading for the next obstacle. She crawled through under the rope as required feeling like she was nearly eating sand, adjusting her head forward then sideways trying to find a good position as she pushed forward with her elbows and legs. Some people had made it look stupidly natural but she could assure, it wasn’t.

She ran up to the rope climb and paused, suspecting how it would end. She hesitated for a puffed second then tried to clamber up the forsaken rope with the muscles and technique she didn’t have. Her face contorted in concentration and strain, trying to conjure the strength as she seemingly slowly made her way gradually up. She didn’t have the control to delicately slide down, her hands burning against the friction of the rope and landing with a bigger impact on her legs than she’d like. Evelyn shook out her burning hands to confront the next obstacle, then another and another. She was shaky on the rope net bridge and a spare hand would fly out to balance herself but she wasn’t bad. The swing was much the same, more rope she didn’t want to touch but had to pry from where it rested. She grabbed the rope, backed up a few steps and tried to swing with momentum and tuck her legs up. Evelyn landed on the other side, narrowly avoiding the water’s edge and leant forward to avoid falling back

Approaching the balance beams was where she accelerated. She had an acute awareness about her balance and body, and logic always helped, so she was able to tackle the beams with deft feet but they required full concentration still.

She could feel her breathing getting harder and fatigue set in her muscles. Something she didn’t need when coming up to the pool. She also didn’t want to particularly swim in her clothes. Nonetheless, she dove in, gasping hard trying to snatch more oxygen when she came up for air in her freestyle.

Despite the light material she wore, she felt heavier, carrying along extra unnecessary weight. Though, that likely was her muscles protesting. Evelyn propelled herself up the ladder, treating her hand and feet placements like rock-climbing. Curses, it was tall and never ending. For a moment Evelyn found herself pausing, wrapping her arms around a log and resting her chin on it to try catch her breath and gather herself before continuing forward stubbornly. Evelyn didn’t want to be the one who stopped mid-course and didn’t finish or gave up. She mounted the top, brought her other leg around and climbed down to a distance where it was safe to drop.

One more. The final one. Looking at the obstacle she knew she needed real momentum for the last jump. Her jog transformed to a hard run, forcing a last burst from somewhere inside and she leapt off. Another clearance but only by an inch.

She doubled over, hands on her hips, cheeks tainted red while the rest of her body was tainted in sweat and panting like she had finished running for her life from a grizzly bear.

Her technique was to pretend there was no group running alongside her and focus on herself and the obstacles, hard as that was when people passed her or were right beside her. Regardless, she had a solid hunch that the results were not satisfactory. She didn’t even bother asking or catching River's eye; in fact she actively avoided forms of contact and acknowledgement. She wasn’t in the state.

Evelyn shook her angry and persistently burning hands out again as she returned back to the stands with heavy steps and settled for a spot close by. The thought of more steps was horrifying right now.

^{interactions ....|.... Nelly............... mentions ....|.... Sylas, Iliana, Heath, River ............... collabs ....|.... none}

Camp Athens - Closed

Evelyn atm is mostly REactive stuff, but she wasn't turning off for me so I ran with it.

*She just has a lot of feelings xD

I'll chuck her obstacle course in her next one.

Camp Athens - Closed

^{#ffc300 ....|..... outfit .....|..... Arena}

Disturbing her deep people scanning, placing them into categories of brain teasers, amusers and otherwise, was Sylas yet again by placing something on her lap as he passed wordlessly.

She glanced down at the burrito. Evelyn’s face wore equal parts amusement and confusion. He had ample time to offer her breakfast in his cabin. She could have cooked for both of them if he had permitted her to operate his kitchen, or, accepted his generosity there.

Her head half turned to where he took refuge at the back before returning her gaze at breakfast. Now the great debate began: While she was hungry and her stomach churned at the readily available food and the delicious aroma wafted up her nostrils, she didn’t want to risk it coming back up. With training minutes away and especially being something physically demanding, eating seemed unwise. She also considered how turning away the burrito would be perceived to the certain pair of green observant eyes.

Slowly, she brought it to her mouth to have the first bite. It was nothing special by appearance, yet, because there had been substantial gap between her last meal, the burrito seemed heavenly. She didn’t even know she was tense until she felt her shoulders noticeably slacken. Evelyn wiped the escaped contents around her mouth with her fingertips and continued to eat contently, keeping herself at a delicate pace while browsing people. There appeared to be a few newer faces than last night’s and simultaneously, missing people. One or two she would put down to a sleep in and lack of punctuality but this many almost made her believe she missed some catastrophic event.

She dusted the crumbs from her fingers having finished her spontaneous breakfast and brushed down her pants for good measure. Catching movement in her peripheral, her eyes found Sloane sitting initially alone before being flanked decidedly by two dark-headed demigods as a unit. There was a flicker of surprise. Not that Sloane couldn’t make friends, it was simply since the son of Ares’s disappearance, she seemed to throw herself further into reclusion. It was hard to see her not indulged in a book or with someone when she was out occasionally with her pup. But it was good she was being more open, or they, gently prodding at least.

While it was one of the most interesting developments in Evelyn’s eyes, Evelyn forced herself not to get caught staring and continued to pan across the arena crowd.

"Good morning everyone. If it wasn't already obvious, I am River, your new leader… And son of Poseidon, if that matters.”

Evelyn leant forward, elbows on her knees and her thumb tapped her lips as to remain thoughtful, patient and keep herself hushed while River plunged into his leader role. The thing about leaders appearing from the blue was that there was no established trust, no indication of intent, nothing. Which made it challenging to simply take his word and carry out his exercises. Still, she supposed there was no choice but to believe in River’s process, or at least, conform to him in the meantime. He didn’t warrant anything confrontational thus far. Somewhere internally, she was even rooting for him.

“Per my father’s orders I’m here to help get camp back on track. Ajax let camp fall into disarray and my late brother was not around long enough to accomplish much. Andy stepped up when no one else did and helped rebuild… Which isn’t a small feat and her efforts shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Evelyn’s brow quirked slightly. So he knew about the past leaders’ history and received a disclaimer before camp. Still, she had to wonder if he knew the specifics of Nick’s short rule. Leaving versus killed by a monster were universes apart.

“Now that everyone has had time to recover from the horrors of Pandora’s Box, my focus is going to be on training, the original purpose for camp… Not parties every night or the Greek tragedy that was the Valis’s chokehold on this place. No one likes training, but it’s important. The world won’t forget you’re demigods just because you ignore it. We can’t stop things from happening, but I can help prepare you all so if the time comes, you can defend yourselves.”

He had done his homework indeed. Good, good. He was hardly after her praise or approval, but Evelyn was impressed. This was a great introduction speech. His social oddities buried under the thick of responsibility, nowhere to be seen.

“Alright.” He tucked his trusty clipboard away and clapped his hands. “Because half of us here are new and I don’t know your capabilities, the first three days of training will be assessments. This will help get a baseline for where everyone stands so I can better tailor the training to you specifically. Today’s test is agility.”

Her eyes narrowed into a scrutinizing squint on him. This wasn’t solely training; this was an assessment and not just one but there would be a series of assessments. He was going to judge them alone on assessments with what? Some score system, jotted down notes, all that he dictated? Tapping her lips turned into a defeated rub and sigh, looking at the stone structure by her feet. Nobody liked to showcase their weaknesses. She appreciated that he’d tailor to them specifically at the end, even if she predicted that would overburden him, but in the meantime what a horrible thought running tests in front of your peers. It was very high school.

“There are ten obstacles, starting with the tires and ending with the long jump.” There was a small silence, but Evelyn had disengaged. “And while I could try to explain each one to you, I feel leading by example might be the best approach.”

Evelyn perked up slightly, watching River intently once again, relieved he wasn’t the kind to command them from some mental throne. But be among his peers in a way and earn some respect. With no one to converse with, Evelyn’s eyes travelled with him to Andy then across to his start line. He took off his fitness top in one fluid motion and what was underneath had to be admired. Objectively. But it was clear he made a religion of working out.

While Evelyn tried to convince herself she was only admiring professionally, he took on the obstacles with genuine effort, and the more he did the more his muscles became accentuated. Somewhere in the rope climb the fight with herself came to an end via self-admittance that his body was just straight out great and she was half enjoying the show due to how physically attractive he was. The other half was grounded in reality and doom knowing she was expected to do this all next. An assessment she would inevitably struggle at. Potentially fail at.

She shivered. Gods, she hated the concept of ‘failing’.

River traversed through the water like some merman or fish, gliding along the surface, true to his heritage. She would have thought he shape shifted some gills or a tail and fins if she wasn’t watching him. Two more obstacles then he finished, chest rising and falling rapidly, giving himself a beat to catch his breath. She waited for some verdict or telling remark of how it was that never came.

Instead, when he addressed everyone again he said, “You have 15 minutes to complete the course—” He broke off to compose himself through breathlessness. “—Because this is an assessment, there will be no skipping obstacles, no cheating, no powers, and no helping each other. Break any of the rules and it is an automatic failure.”

There he went. Just throwing around the f word like it had no daunting black and white meaning. Unbelievable.

“Alright then. You’ll run the course in groups of five. First up is Sloane, Sylas, Nate, Maylisse and Andy…”

That gave her more time to digest her food at least. That was the only perk she could find.

Somewhat guessing, her eyes drifted to Daniel as the first group set themselves up. She wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of him summoned a betting ring as a sideshow. The thought brought a crooked smile to her lips.

If she had to bet on a horse per group, the first one proved challenging enough. Two unknowns that both looked physically capable. Even if one did dress more for tennis than an obstacle course. Though, how they dressed and body proportions didn’t necessarily hold relation to how they performed. Andy had a way of holding her own. Sylas was ambitious and had dexterity. Sloane wasn’t to be underestimated.

In general, Evelyn tried to make it a habit not to underestimate anyone.

She watched the first group as if she had an investment in them. Being the first, they’d demonstrate how the course was handled in a group setting. How competitive one another got and…well, who was the most agile within that group which frankly she was plain interested in. There was Sylas of course who she was always curious about. And to see what Sloane could do was interesting. But also the red-headed guy, Nate, by process of elimination — thanks, River — There was a thing about him. Not that the thing would be discovered via an agility course but she still watched them.

In fact, she should kill two birds with one 15 minute time frame. Evelyn moved from her spot slowly towards Nelly and Iliana with a smile. “Hi girls.” Her smile brightened, keeping her voice low like it would disturb the people running the course otherwise. She sat down a step below them, keeping her body sideways to track the course and engage with the girls.

“How are we feeling about this?” She gestured to obstacles. “You shouldn’t have too many issues.” She nodded at Nelly next, imagining the daughter of Hermes would breeze through most of it, even without powers.

She smiled contently, keeping her hands tucked under her legs as she watched the group though naturally a thousand thoughts rushed through her mind at once. “Oh, how did your, uh, rectifying regrets go?” Evelyn asked towards Nelly.

“What was that even all about?” She squinted in confusion.

^{interactions ....|.... Iliana & Nelly............... mentions ....|.... Sloane, Katryna, Kacper, River, Sylas, Daniel, Nate, Maylisse, Andy............... collabs ....|.... none}