ᴄᴀᴍᴘ ʜᴀʟғ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ;; ᴀ ᴅ ᴠ ᴀ ɴ ᴄ ᴇ ᴅ discussion

...

Janelle finished tying the bow around her messy bun, smiling in the mirror at the final product. The bow was orange, which matched the camp t-shirt she had ripped and cut to be a tank top that doubled as a crop top. Plus, she thought it was cute with her white shorts she'd been dying to wear. With a final touch of lip gloss and white high-tops, Ellie was feeling good and ready to go. She left the Aphrodite cabin with a smile at each of her half-siblings who were still there and started walking around. She wasn't really sure if there was much to be done, since her training wasn't until later and the cooking staff didn't like to be bothered. Ellie certainly wasn't doing chores.

She only had to walk for a short distance before she was in the center of camp, looking over all of her options. She could always go back to the cabin, but she didn't feel like talking about whether Maybelline or Covergirl had better mascara (especially since the answer was obviously Covergirl). Normally she wouldn't mind, but today she wasn't in the mood. The scent of strawberries drifted her way, the ones that they grew at camp, and Ellie just couldn't resist. She loved strawberries, but especially when they were in smoothies. She turned in the direction of the large plantation housing one of her favorite fruits and strolled towards it, obviously not in any rush. Camp was big, but the walk there didn't take more than a couple of minutes. Besides, the reward of arriving was enough to compensate. She picked one of the strawberries and ate it, savoring the sweet and obviously fresh taste.

Romeo walked away from the forest with a bunch of flowers collected in his hands. Returning to his position in the strawberry fields he began to work with the materials he had already gathered before muttering under his breath. "It can't be that hard." Of course when watching videos of how to make a flower crown on YouTube it seemed easy. Faced with all of the stuff needed he realized he was in over his head. It didn't take a child of Hephaestus to make one, but two things he lacked were the creativity and patience. Luckily he had a good memory though and if he moved quickly enough he would be able to put it together in no time. Biting his lower lip he leaned forwards on his knees before beginning to work on it intently.

A few tears and bloody thumbs later he finally had it finished. Perhaps he really shouldn't have gone with Roses but they went perfectly with the Frangipani. Making sure there weren't any thorns within the inner crown he placed it atop his head before laughing at himself in a giddy manner. The likelihood of him not throwing the thing away as soon as he reached his cabin was zero percent. He didn't know why he bothered with making such things when he knew they wouldn't last. He perked up slightly when he heard movement over to his side. Due to the lack of conversation he could presume that the person was alone. Gathering himself together he stood up before he spotted Janelle just a little ways off. He reached for one of the thornless pink flowers before making his way over towards her. Kneeling besides her he smiled. "For my gorgeous sister." Romeo said, his tone playful as he presented the flower with a small bow of his head.

((XD right now I'm just picturing her and Gage))

((Now I am too XD))

Ellie was slightly startled by the camper who approached her, but any fright fizzled away as soon as she caught a glimpse of her half-brother. She had always thought that his name, Romeo, was so ironic, but she loved it all the same. She smiled at the sight of her sibling, who was kneeling on the ground and offering her a flower. She chuckled softly, placing a hand over her heart and pretending to tear up. "Why thank you, my handsome brother," she said, graciously accepting the flower. She gazed at the flower for a moment, touched by how simple it was, yet how beautiful it looked. Her gaze flickered back to Romeo, and her expression turned to one of mock worry.

"But I don't have anything to give you in return! How can I accept such a beautiful gift-" she exclaimed, bending down to pick a strawberry, "-when all I have is this plain strawberry?" She continued the playful bantering, dipping into a curtsy and holding the strawberry out in front of her. Ellie felt laughter beginning to rise in her throat, and she did her best to stifle it. But despite her best efforts, it escaped, and several giggles filled the airspace for a few moments until she managed to contain herself again. She glanced up at Romeo again, noticing the flower crown atop his head. "I love your crown! The flowers complement each other really well," she praised, smiling up at her sibling.

((That moment you forget to turn on your notifications >.< All I have left for him too is history and a couple of gifs ^^))

Romeo smirked as she took the floor before getting back to his feet. "Anything you wish for and it shall be yours." He told her whimsically before biting his lower lip and watching as she extended the strawberry over in his direction. "Ah, what a lovely token." He replied, fighting back his own laughter as he reached for it. Slowly he took a bite before making a noise of contentment. "You sure do know how to pick the needle out of the haystack." While he didn't know if he was using it in the correct context he just rolled with it as he teasingly splayed out his arms to gesture at the fields around them. Sitting beside her he fell onto his back to look up at the sky, caught up in laughing the sound of her own was rather contagious.

"Why thank you." He said, while gingerly touching the top of it. It wasn't the most original, but he would be lying if he said he didn't like it as well. "So what're you doing out here all by your lonesome?" He asked with a raised brow as he peered over in her direction, one of his eyes slightly squinted due to the sun above. As he waited for a reply he continued to quietly eat his strawberry. Some people could easily finish it in one bite, but for some reason he found himself to always nibble at them. Now if it was a chocolate strawberry that thing would be consumed in a matter of seconds; no questions asked.

((Haha don't worry about it YAAAAAAY))

"Well I certainly like that motto," Ellie said playfully, thinking about how nice life would be if she just had to wish for something in order to get it. But of course, that would make everything boring, and nothing would really mean anything. Besides, she already had an advantage over most people when it came to getting what she wanted. She picked another strawberry for herself and ate half of it in one bite, but nibbled on the other half to make it last. At Romeo's comment about picking a needle from a haystack, Ellie's laughter only continued. "I dealt with what I had!" she protested in between her giggles.

She followed Romeo as he sat down, then leaned back to look up at the sky. It was a very pretty day, and the clouds took a recognizable form in Ellie's imagination. One was a dog, another a dragon, and a knight in shining armor. Her cloud identification halted when Romeo asked why she was alone. "Oh, uh... I didn't feel like arguing over mascara brands today," she said, only partially joking. It was something that happened within the Aphrodite cabin, and while it wasn't every day, it was more often than one would think. "Plus I didn't have anything I had to do today, so I just thought I'd chill with the strawberries."

"It's okay Ellie, it was sweet, you must've gotten that trait from me." He couldn't help but to tease her. Being the goddess of love their mother didn't have such a good rep when it came to her own traits. She could be known for her evil streaks and her need for vengance, which were two things he could never really understand when it came to her title. Either way he was just happy to have acquired her high cheekbones and good looks- something his father didn't seem to have at all. Maybe back in his day when him and Aphrodite met he'd been a sight for sore eyes, but now he didn't hold a single glimmer of handsomeness. Maybe the soccer moms from elementary school would argue, but they were either divorced, desperate or all of the above.

At Ellie's mention of their sister's petty debates he laughed softly. "That's only some of them." He said as he brushed a piece of hair away from his forehead. "I'm sure if you went at them with a sword they'd shut up." He grinned at the thought. While he loved gossping with his sisters he also understood them getting on ones case. Not too many of the other campers took the children of Aphrodite seriously which often bothered him, but he learned to find joy in spending time with his numerous sisters. Plus they were always free to squal and talk about guys. "Aww, that's so sweet of you to spend time with them. They have feelings too after all."

((Yesss, hoping to have him done later tonight or tomorrow.))

"Of course," she said with a smile, turning her head to look at her brother. A twinge of sadness shot through her when she realized, yet again, that she had never met her mother. She didn't know what she looked like, although she was sure that Aphrodite could change her appearance, or how she acted. Sure, there were the stories and legends, but there wasn't any way to tell if those stories were true, or held even the slightest bit of truth. If she had to guess, her mother was blonde, because her father wasn't, and had a similar frame. Her father was more stocky and muscular, whereas she was thin, with leaner muscles. However, in terms of personality, Ellie could only guess as to what she inherited from her mother, if anything.

"I know, and I even argue with them sometimes," she explained. "It just gets on my nerves every now and then. But hey, a family's a family right?" She looked over at Romeo and smiled, happy to have escaped to somewhere where she felt wanted was able to be happy. Her old house wasn't a good place for her, and she didn't even consider it to be home. To her, camp was home. She remembered how scared she had been when she'd first arrived, but how at home she felt in the Aphrodite cabin with her real sisters, the ones she'd always wanted. At the comment about a sword, she chuckled. "I think anyone but an Ares or Hades kid would shut up if you went at them with a sword." She smiled and glanced back at the strawberries, the spots of red among the sea of green. "Of course! They're really good listeners and they have great taste in music."

((YAY! I'm really excited to have them interact :) ))

"A family is a family." He replied. "It's funny. I always wanted siblings growing up as an only child with just a dad, and now I have more than I can count on my two hands." Romeo laughed softly under his breath. Though he knew all of his brothers and sisters names he didn't really know many of them. He could claim to all he wanted, but it would be a god awful lie to tell. Even Ellie, he didn't know her on a personal level, but he still would talk to her as he did with anyone else he came across. "And though they get on my nerves there's still a part of you that has to love them. It's all unconditional." He nodded his head as if to confirm this fact. Resting his arms behind his head he peered over at her.

"I think even the Ares children would be threatened by my awesome swordsmanship. Don't doubt that." He told her. Truthfully he wasn't very good in the weapons department, especially when he could so easily get what he wanted by simply talking. Over the years he'd learned to handle a couple daggers. His favorite weapon was the ninja stars. As for how to use them properly he had no clue, but just holding them made him feel a little bit like a badass. He followed her gaze towards the fruits. "Oh, yes! Clearly they are the children of Apollo with such splendid taste." Having already finished his first strawberry he reached for one behind him before bringing it back to his lips.

((Haha more like him being "who is this girl and why is she talking to me?" <.< BUT I FINISHED ^^ I'll have him up in a minute))

((YAAAAAAAAY and sorry my sister wanted me to play video games with her XD))

"I didn't have any siblings for the longest time until my brat of a little sister Jessie came along," Ellie said with a roll of her eyes. "I loved her... But I didn't like her, you know? I don't know, it's hard to explain." She said, nodding when Romeo mentioned the "unconditional love" thing with siblings. "Exactly," Ellie replied with a smile. Romeo was pretty much dead on with how siblings worked, to the point where it was almost frightening. Especially since he hadn't had any prior to his arrival at camp. She smiled at him when he looked over at her, and her smile widened when he made the joke about his swordsmanship.

"I'm sure they would," she replied, nodding her head with a grave expression on her face. "They'd better watch out." Her false serious attitude dropped and she cracked a smile, yet again gazing upon the strawberry fields. They were quite good this time of year, when they were ripe, which was why this was the best time to visit. She sat up to pick another strawberry and eat it, her lips beginning to turn a bit more red from the juice. "Clearly," Ellie agreed, picking another one and pressing it to her lips as though she were giving it a kiss. "Apollo boys are-" she cut off and fanned her face, the motion explanation enough for what she would have said.

((AAAAAH HIS FATAL FLAW *cries*

and I have to sign off for tonight but I'll be back *does terrible Arnold Schwartzenegger impression* tomorrow))

"That's a serious case of unconditional love, right there." Romeo noted with a raised eyebrow. A small part of him told him not to question it, but then again he was known for pushing all types of boundaries. "Why didn't you like her exactly?" Her history was a bit blurry when he tried to recall it all that came to mind was a blank slate. And since they were here now he mind as well get to know her, especially since they were siblings Hopefully they'd even become friends.

"They would!" He said, his voice almost cracking at the slight whine in his voice. He could tell she was pulling one of her more serious faces. No one should doubt his skill, or lack thereof. He rolled over onto his stomach and propped his head up with his palms. Seeing her fan her face he laughed softly. "I have to agree on that one." He replied as he finished off yet another strawberry before nudging her in the side with his elbow. "Do you have your sights on a certain Apollo boy? Or is that just your general reaction?" He asked with a teasing tone.

((OMG I figured out my reason for confusion >.< I thought her name was Aurora at first 'cause that's her FC oh lord my brains is so mixy-matchy sometimes. And yes his fatal flaw =P considering he's had a total of one girlfriend))

((OH yeah that confuses me sometimes too XD))

"She was my stepmother's daughter, which means she was a total jerk towards me no matter what I did," she said, rolling her eyes at the thought of the two. She didn't mind telling people about her history or her past, it wasn't like it was something she wanted to hide. The anorexia wasn't something she mentioned though, that was one aspect she'd rather keep a secret. None of her siblings knew about it, and none of the other campers knew about it either. She paused for a moment in thought before she spoke again. "But what about you? What was your life like before camp?"

"I'm sure!" she said, her spirits lifting from when she was thinking about her nasty step-family. "I bet you're better than me with a sword." She knew she was absolutely awful with pretty much every weapon but a bow. She was alright at archery, at least, she was better than most people but the Apollo kids. She'd been practicing it for as long as she'd been at camp, after all. There had been something about the calming sensation of shooting arrows that she had loved, and while she wasn't super passionate about it, it was something she liked. "No!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "I don't have my sights set on anyone right now. It's a general reaction... But especially when they're playing games and they do shirts and skins."

"Ah, so you were just there? Even A a kid she wasn't nice to you?" Romeo asked softly as he began to run his fingers through the grass in attempts to find something to do with his hands. He was a huge talker of the hands person, but laying down on his stomach forced him to suppress the urge to do so. When the question was turned back to him he just made a small noise before answering. "My life was pretty average. I had everyone wrapped around my little finger since I was about two and had learned to talk. Got away with lots of things in school." He said this with a subtle smirk before continuing. "Otherwise nothing big. Dad never got re-married, though he is known to charm some ladies." He said, crinkling his nose in disgust at the thought.

"Well we can practice together." Admittedly he said this a bit shyly but would never say so out loud. Usually when dealing with weapons he'd walk off somewhere desolate to avoid snarky comments from the all knowing children of war. He'd had a few lessons publicly when he was younger, but those hadn't gone over so well. Practicing on his own he'd built his own skill, but he hardly knew whether or not they were proper. When the subject was turned back to boys he have her a cheeky look. "Sure." He replied teasingly. "I bet they all have their eyes on you and your just having a difficult time choosing. And next time they have one of those shirts versus skins you must invite me."

"Yeah. She's been rude to me for all six years of her life," Ellie said, shaking her head. She was surprised she had even remembered her sister's birthday and how old she was. But like Romeo had said, you unconditionally love your siblings, no matter what. She looked back towards the sky and listened to Romeo's history. She glanced over at him as he spoke, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Well you haven't lost that ability for sure," Ellie said teasingly in response to his remark about having everyone wrapped around his finger.

"Sure!" Janelle replied cheerily, accepting his invitation to train together. "Although I'm really quite awful with a sword, so you'll have to teach me some tricks." She smiled at her brother, hoping that she really would be able to learn something. She could always improve on everything related to weapons, and she felt like she probably should. After all, she was getting sick of being one of the weakest members of the team during capture the flag. "It's true!" she protested shaking her head. "I wish... But totally, we'll definitely have to watch them next time. So-" she poked Romeo in the shoulder and grinned, "-is there anyone you have your eyes on?"

"All six of them." Romeo reflected with pursed lips, not exactly stating it as a question. For some reason he couldn't believe all six of them had been like that. He'd seen his fair share of children and they seemed pretty loving to almost everyone. Not to say he loved them back. To him they were just slobbering pooping lumps with faces. This sounded weird coming from a person who was once a baby, but also a son of the goddess of love. He had much love to give, he just preffered toddlers, who could walk and poop on their own. "Psh, I'm sure if there was no such thing as charmspeak I'd just be ignored." Most of the time he didn't like using his gift for frivilous things, but occasionally he had the problem of impulsiveness. "What about you? How well has your gift helped you with certain things?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Despite how perfect and beautiful Aphrodite's children may look on the outside they could be quite manipulative.

"Awesome." He replied back with a grin, glad to have plans with somebody. Most days he was just left on his own to do nothing all by his lonesome. There was the off chance he'd strike up a conversation with someone and they'd spend the whole day together, but it wasn't an event likely to repeat himself. "I've actually got this son of Hephaestus making me a new sword. He told me the one I was using didn't really balance with my weight and he couldn't not make me one. I've heard all he does is spend time in that little forge making new things, ever since last year that is. I'm surprised he even talked to me, he doesn't seem overly chatty." Romeo said while spinning a blade of grass in between his fingers. "Anyways he said he'd have it done later today, but we can start tomorrow?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. At her protest he just continued to shake his head. When she asked him the question he made a face. "Nope. Not yet anyways." Boys were just complicated, and most of them just wanted to get close with his sisters.

((Subtly mentions Gage xP))

((MAYBE THATS HOW THEY MEET WHEN ROMEO GOES TO GET HIS SWORD))

"Maybe it was more like five out of the six," Ellie said, tapping her chin. "But it was the majority of her life." She thought of how she used to braid her sister's hair, when she actually liked her and she hadn't been totally influenced by her mother yet. Jessie was still pretty rude, but it was more like a toddler sort of rude. It really sucked when Jessie would want to braid Janelle's hair, because she would just end up yanking on it instead of actually doing anything to style it. "I doubt that it was only the charmspeak," Ellie said with a grin, glancing upwards as the question was returned to her. "Other than persuading people to leave me alone or hang out with me... I haven't used it for much. Actually... I used to make the guy at a cupcake shop give me free cupcakes."

She laughed at the thought of it, and felt a twinge of homesickness. There were things she missed about her home, other than her home itself. "Son of Hephaestus huh?" Ellie asked tapping her chin. "Is he cute?" She broke into a grin and laughed glancing down at a strawberry before her gaze returned to her brother. "Just kidding. But that sounds like a plan!" She smiled again, hoping that it would be a good experience for both of them. Who knew? Maybe she would learn something. She gave Romeo an expectant look, similar to the one he had given her when he said he didn't have anyone that he liked. "Riiiiight..."

"Do you have a good relationship wth your step mother or is it the same way as with Jessie?" He figured the likelihood of the older woman being nice was zero percent. After all the young girl must've got her attitude from some place. From what he's learned the apple didn't fall far from the tree. The same went for him and his dad. Apparently he used to be quite the player back in his day, and now Romeo was almost the same way. He flirted relentlessly, but whether or not he broke hearts was the question. During camp he would talk about boys, but he never really approached them or sparked relationships during the summer. It was just his time to relax. "Are you coming onto me Ellie?" He asked playfully as he glanced over at her from the corner of his eye before laughing softly at her response. "Oh your so innocent." Romeo cooed. "Freecupcakes sounds like a nice deal. I'm sure he would've given them to you anyways."

"Are any sons of Hephaestus cute?" He asked wrinkling his nose slightly. It was strange for being one of the ugliest gods he sure made some good looking children. Romeo would bet that it was all due to their mother's gene pool. "But I guess he is? He has a nice jawline." He shrugged not wanting to go into too much detail. "The jaw holds the key to my heart! And great, if you want to stop by his cabin with me later you can get a look for yourself." He teased, relaxing slightly as the son warmed up the back of his neck. When she gave him the same attitude about whether or not he liked someone he just shrugged his shoulders. "Just got to wait for the right one to come along."

((Haha yes ^^))

((My shows about to come one <.< so I'll probably be ghosting for the next 1-2 hours))

((That's cool. I'll be on and off too, most likely. Depends on what my sister makes me do...))

Janelle shook her head vigorously, making it obvious that she didn't like her stepmother whatsoever. "No way. My stepmom is like Jessie on steroids," she said with a slight hint of disgust. "If she could that woman would have thrown me out a long time ago." She shook her head sadly at the thought of her relationship with her stepmother. It wasn't like she hadn't tried, after all it was her stepmom who made it clear that no matter what, they wouldn't get along. "Ew no," she said in response to Romeo's joke, her face scrunching up for effect. "He was a pretty mean guy actually. Really big too, like buff, you know? Not the kind of guy you'd expect to run a cupcake shop. So honestly I'm not sure if he would have."

She paused for only a moment before she answered his next question. "Have you ever seen a picture of Valdez?" she exclaimed in what could be described as shock. It wasn't like Leo Valdez was someone she'd want to date, but that didn't mean he wasn't attractive. "I just might have to come with you then. Plus I want to see the new sword that'll be coming at me tomorrow." She winked at him and chuckled slightly, leaning her head back so it rested on the ground. She nodded in agreement to his last comment, sighing lightly. She didn't say anything else, but all she was thinking was that she wished the wait didn't have to be so long.

Romeo laughed at the image of a small child on steriods before reming himself it was a grown woman. He never really did understand why most step parents couldn't just be nice. After all they were the adults. Sure teenagers were known for their spouts of moodiness, but if they didn't at least try then they weren't worth the time. "What about your dad? He's got to be nice, right?" He asked the last part a bit hopefully as he peered over at her. "It's okay, you don't have to lie." He teased lightly as he patted her on the head. "Ah, so you were just using him for the cupcakes." He shook his head as if he was dissapointed. "I'm sure you would've cracked him though."

At the mention of Leo he almost choked on his laugh. "No." Truth was all he heard were stories, he'd never seen real pictures that were't drawn. "You'll have to." He determined with a small smile. For a moment he sat up before seeing the sun start to sink closer towards the horizon. Maybe it was getting later then he'd though.

((Wow I'm slow but I just realized that they're children of Aphrodite and Hephaestus XD
Also would you say that Jamie Campbell has an accent?))

((Yeah definitely.))

Ellie smiled sadly at the mentioning of her dad, for she missed him quite a lot. "He was," she said wistfully, averting her eyes to the ground. "He was the nicest person I knew." She peered over at him again, scowling at him for his next comment. "I'm not lying," she said, slightly annoyed but mostly just going along with the tease. "You never know. I didn't really try very hard to not use charmspeak when I went in there, so it just kind of turned out that way."

"Seriously?" she said, slightly surprised. She knew there were at least a few pictures of the Seven, Reyna, Nico and Will floating around the Aphrodite cabin somewhere. "Someone has one in our cabin, you'll have to ask around a bit to find it though." She smiled at him, following his gaze to the sun's position in the sky. It was definitely getting later than she had thought it was.

((Haha okie I went to the youtubes to see if I could determine it and watched his funny moments. I'd say it's British??))

Romeo inwardly winced wondering if he'd stepped on a fresh wound of some sort. "I'm sorry for you loss." His words were barely more than a mumble as he ducked his head downwards for a moment and scratched the back of his neck in an awkward gesture. He shrugged ever so slightly. "And why do out dear beloved sisters have a picture of Leo floating around?" He gave her no nonsense look. "But I suppose I'll ask to see once and for all."

((Gah sorry it's short >.< want to just skip to where he gets the sword?))

((I agree. I'd say British. And that's okay, don't worry about it, mine is kind of short too [sorry about that] But that sounds like a good idea to me! Do you think we should go to the forge then? There are other people in there, so I don't know if you want to move topics or just stick with this one.))

At first, Ellie was confused. Her loss? But it was after a moment she realized she had been referring to her dad in the past tense. "Oh, sorry. I said 'was' didn't I," she said, mildly embarrassed. "He's not dead. I guess I just got so used to not seeing him..." She trailed off, stopping herself before she got too emotional. She really did miss her dad a ton, but she knew it wasn't a good idea to go home and risk the fury of her stepmom. If only she had been able to say goodbye, or explain to her father what she was and why she had to leave. "They think he's cute," Ellie said with a shrug, unfazed by Romeo's expression. "They're not wring, but he's not the kind of person I'd be, like, interested in."

((Kelly?))

((Sorry .-. Got distracted by another group. Maybe we could just go to the Hephaestus cabin or someplace that Romeo and him decided to meet up?))

((That's alright :). That's fine with me, really, anywhere is. So do you want to post first and then I'll find it?))

((posted in the amphitheater))