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[6R] Any Excuse for a Party


z-Tintaya Allauca

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Between the shock of hearing who 'Thrud' really was...the only way THAT could have been worse would have been if she'd been standing there the whole time...and the bizarre spectacle of 'Grim' and his eponymously-nuanced pronouncements, Ariel decided the best policy was just to shut the hell up for a little while. It seemed to work. People focused on Thrud, and Nadya went off to pry into Grim, which suited Ariel fine. Not because she had a problem with either, exactly...she just didn't know what to say to a girl struggling with such loss, and a boy who seemed so determined to be impenetrable.

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She had no idea what to say to any of this, really. Even with everything that had happened, this camp was in some ways scarier than being stranded in the wilderness, looking out for hikers while monsters stalked them. The stakes felt somehow even higher, and she felt considerably less able to manage the situation.

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Of course, Ariel reminded herself, when it had been happening, she'd felt completely overwhelmed then too. It was only in hindsight where that changed.

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So she'd get through this. It was just another mountain to climb.

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"Right, well...will there be some kind of orientation or some handouts or something so I don't make myself look like a colossal idiot again?" She kept her tone light and joking as she said it, even if she was privately rather convinced it wasn't a joke.

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As if nothing untoward whatsoever had transpired with Nadya or Grim, Makaela simply blinked at Ariel's attempt at levity, and then laughed, nearly wearing her soda as she instinctively brought a hand up to cover her mouth out of courtesy- and it happened to be full of red plastic cup. A fairly comical expression of surprise ended her giggling almost as quickly as it began, and the nimble daughter of Poseidon hopped back a half-step while thrusting the cup forward so that it sloshed on the ground, and not her feet.

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"Who's a colossal idiot?" the blonde sighed, shaking her head at the orange mess even as her smile returned. "Look, don't worry about it. You just trotted into the bloody camp, so I doubt anyone's gonna make fun o' ya for not knowin' all the intricate little details of the place. I've only been here three days, and most o' the other kids are aces so far. Besides," she added, eyes bright over the rim of her glass as she took a drink. "Can't learn to swim 'til ya jump in the water, yeah?"

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Tintaya had put Emile down to let the boy get his own food and eat. He’d remained close to her and picked the same food as she had, without hesitation. Of course, all of the food was new to him, and he had no guidance on what to eat, beyond mimicry. Taya focused on picking out things she thought he might like, too. In truth, from what Erzulie had told them, Emile had lived in poverty. The young scion thought he’d probably like anything that filled his belly.

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The young boy who drifted past in the crowd caught her eye. Taya’s eyebrows rose as she realized it was the Scarred Boy. She had no other name for him; he lurked around the alpaca pen and had tried to make friends—with them, not her. He ran off anytime she approached, which was a little concerning at first. Waskar didn’t believe that the young man meant any harm though and Taya had allowed him to continue his spying. It wouldn’t hurt anything; so long as boy didn’t mean any intentional harm, Waskar wouldn’t pound him into the earth or let him hurt one of the females.

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Tintaya was very curious about him. The scars on his arms were interesting; they were a story, woven into his very skin. He was clearly unfriendly, as he never smiled or made any attempt to talk to anyone. However, he was here, which meant that he was somewhat social.

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One of her rules since coming here was to not aggravate anyone. She didn’t know enough about the other gods to know the dangers of dealing with them, and so she’d remained unfailingly polite. She’d minded her own business, stayed out of others’ ways, and had gone out of her way to avoid conflict.

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Now she wanted to violate that rule. Months of being good and polite had left her with the desire to break her own limitations. Quickly, she moved toward the boy, leaving Emile and her plate with John. Before she got to him, another girl blocked his way and started to talk to him. Taya immediately pretended she hadn’t been chasing after him, continuing past them a few more steps to peer closely at a wooden carving. As she acted like that had been her target all along, she shamelessly eavesdropped on their conversation, emulating interest in the sculpture for several beats after the girl followed the boy into the night.

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To follow or not? Taya hesitated, caught in indecision…

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"Let him go." Corbin said softly. Eerily the Scion of Darkness's voice carried over the party. Not in a commanding way but in a sympathetic tone that seemed to carry with it the lesson that should Taya follow, she'd only make things worse. "Grim will only grow angrier. He walks his own road and a lonely one it is. Words will not avail you against a sorrow as great as his. If you follow you will mean well in your intent but you will deliver to him a great insult: pity, and it is pity that fans the fever in his breast."

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She could see him now, he'd walked out along side her, having moved away from everyone in the middle of the drama that unfolded. He was as silent as death and the shadows seemed to bend to keep him hidden, or perhaps they just desired to touch him, to serve him. "I know you mean well, I can see the desire to help him in your eyes, but mark my words, Taya, you will cause him more pain. Grim will come around, but it shan't be tonight, not like this. Not by ones such as us."

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Taya hid a smile as she glanced up at Corbin. For a boy that thought he carried the wisdom of the world on his shoulders, he didn’t know everything—and he definitely didn’t know Tintaya Allauca.

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Adopting a concerned expression, she peered after the dim forms of Nadya and Grim, nearly lost to shadows. Why women chased after depressed bags of sadness was beyond Tintaya, but it was something that enough women did that she could use it to her advantage. However, at this second, she wasn’t seeking advantage over Grim, but over the young man next to her. The topic of Grim would keep him engaged for a moment…

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Finally, she swung her large, dark eyes up to Corbin, turning the full force of that gaze on him. “But he seems so sad and lonely.”

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Corbin shook his head. “Grim will find his own way, in his own time. Probably with the help of someone like Nadya.”

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Privately, Taya doubted that. The girl with the wrong hair was taking the erroneous route with the young man, if she wanted to catch him. And there was the fact that Taya didn’t really want to catch Grim, or save him. She just wanted to know about the scars, and if that meant playing at friendship with Grim, she could do that.

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Now Corbin? Him she wanted to catch, him with his dark hair and eyes and loving shadows. The way he feared her power as a woman appealed to her sadistic side and men as prey was not a new concept for her. “I see,” she said softly, pretending defeat. “I’m glad you talked to me again. I thought you might have been scared off by me. I didn’t mean to insult you by implying we should date.” She let him relax, let him think he’d avoided the trap from earlier, just before she sprung the true trap. A half-step put her close enough to touch and she reached for him, her fingers brushing over the front of his shirt, near his waist. “I was just talking about having sex.”

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Corbin smiled as well he could. Already the tingles in his stomach were beginning to knot and twist. Thankfully her lack of interest in him made it easier to deal with her, romantic attraction was his Achilles heel, just dealing with women who wanted a distraction was something much easier. Their interests were shallow, greedy and self absorbed... like the rich and upper class his mother had weaned his social skills on. While he didn't know Taya well enough to judge her as shallow, greedy or self-absorbed he knew of her lineage. Erzulie and her Scions were nothing if not seductive and to the Loa, sex for the simple pleasure of sex was not uncommon. Something the Greeks and Romans seemed to have in common with... well, everyone.

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"I assumed as much, and I'm flattered you would consider me," He managed a shy smirk. "You'll have a hard road ahead of you as well then, Grim is Lord of the Gloom in these parts and I'm Prince of the Chaste. Don't get me wrong sex sounds like a great way to pass the time, but I'm uh, how can I put this..."

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"Gay?" She helped him along with a completely non-judgmental expression.

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"Gods no," His swift defense almost made her burst into laughter. Why did guys always do that? "I'm just... I'm focused on my studies, my training, and I learn from those before me. Bellerophon, Odysseus, Theseus, Indy. They're lives ended in tragedy. Companionship, sexual or a relationship inspires hubris. I've been taught to avoid such things."

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She quirked a brow and had to ask. "I'm no scholar, but I'm not famiiar with the legend of... 'Indy' was it?"

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He shrugged and grinned mischievously. "Indy? Yeah... he was very underground, you probably haven't heard of him."

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Through a tight smile she nodded at the terrible joke. "I see what you did there..."

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“Explain to me this hubris.” Taya hadn’t expected it to be easy and she eased forward, her other hand joining the first in tracing tickling paths on his skin through his shirt.

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“Uh, it’s when a man’s pride causes him to fall. It’s from the Greek hybris, the ancient Greek ὕβρις. It often means that someone is so proud that they’ve lost contact with reality.” Corbin managed, falling back on his studies. Somehow, discussing the dry literary connotations of the word made what she was doing with her fingers worse, more distracting, somehow. “It used to mean assault and battery, when the attacker shamed and humiliated the victim. The base meaning of the word from someone to debasing someone else to make themselves feel superior to overweening pride. Now, in modern times, it’s used to imply that someone has way too high an opinion of themselves. You see the gods strike down people for their arrogance.”

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“You don’t think you’re too arrogant?” The question was asked innocently enough but Taya’s large eyes were meeting Corbin’s with intensity. “That you know that a relationship will bring hubris? How can you not think that is arrogant when you won’t allow yourself to experience it? You can name men who lives ended in tragedy because they dared to love, but you can name men who prospered from companionship.” Perhaps she needed to study some of the Greek stories for ammunition against Corbin’s strange ideas. Her fingers looped close to his fly, her forefinger grazing the button of his pants firmly. “You proudly deny yourself based on what others have told you, without knowing what it is for yourself, and you don’t think that’s arrogance?”

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"I call it caution." He corrected her, slowly pulling himself away from her affections. He wanted to flee. Every fiber of being was telling him that this is something he wanted, needed. His rational brain told him it was simply hormones, pheromones, and the body's chemical cocktail assisting him in her seduction. "Were I to enjoy the pleasures of a woman's company, I would prefer it be in the arms of one who wanted me, not just wanted to use me."

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"If all you want is sex, Taya, you can take your pick of any man, or woman here." He waved his hand and put the part on display for her. "You don't want me. You want the idea of me. Noble, strong, handsome, respected. If that's all you desire simply mount any horse you choose, close your eyes, and I'll be right there with you. If anything, when you're in your bunk later tonight just close your eyes and bite your lower lip and dream blissfully knowing that that's the closest you're ever going to get to me." He smiled politely like he'd said nothing wrong at all. "Would you like some refreshments, I'd be happy to get us some food and drink and we could talk about something other than my pants and what you hope to find in them."

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Corbin could tell he was getting to her; her expression lost all good will and was replaced with ire before he was more than halfway through his statement. As the last word cleared his mouth, Taya’s drink caught him in the face, splashing sticky, syrupy soda onto the young scion. As Corbin blinked at her and dripped soda, Taya hissed, “Don’t you ever compare the sacred act of communion between god and follower to fantasizing about sex. Am I supposed to be thinking of you, during that act? To close my eyes and think of you as if praying?

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“I don’t want you. Not anymore. Noble? Please. Strong? Only in your body. Handsome? Who cares, when the inside is ugly? Respected? Not by this girl.” The now-empty plastic cup clattered loudly to the ground as Tintaya spun on her heel and stalked away from the arrogant man. He was full of hubris, and some goddess of love was going to strike him down for it.

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Even as she was storming away, Alexis hurried over, her expression concerned. “Taya, wha—?”

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“Don’t. Ask.” Taya didn’t slow down in her march to John, who raised an eyebrow when she walked up, reclaimed her plate and got another cup, and announced, “I’m leaving.”

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“Wha—?”

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“Don’t. Ask. I’m going to cool down somewhere by myself.” The young woman made her exit, aware that two burly sons of Ares followed her to the edge of the party to make sure she wasn’t going to cause trouble. She wasn’t interested in that, and they left her alone at the edge of the gathering. The night pressed around her, full of silence and solitude.

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She was still angry as she found her way to the lake and perched on a rock, her plate in her lap. Taya couldn’t have said why she was so angry, but she was furious. From the moment he’d said “horse”, she’d been fuming, which made no sense. It wasn’t her religion, her faith, to believe in the sanctity of the god riding the worshipper. When Corbin had spoken of it so callously, it had sparked real anger in her.

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Moodily, she stared at the lake and ate, trying to calm her anger. When she realized she wasn’t going to calm down soon, she decided that it was just as well. Rising, she went to find the Aesir and Odin’s hall. She wanted to have some words with Scarred Boy, and she might as well do it when angry. He hadn’t replied well to honey—perhaps he liked vinegar better.

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When Alex patted her on the shoulder, Nadya pulled her eyes off of Grim disappearing through the press of bodies, and glanced up at the blond, a furrow between her dark brows. Despite an inordinate love of any type of reality show, she only understood about half of the words Alex was spouting, but she got the gist and gave a sharp sniff.

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"Pfft! I am not taking it personally. Try being a Romani girl in France, or many places Europe," Nadya scoffed. "I've heard worse than being Grim'd." Her jaw tightened as unblinking green eyes pierced the shadows, tracking the lanky figure. "And he has not been Nadya'd yet. Thanks to you and your sister for inviting me to the party, but I have words to say, yet."

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As Nadya slipped deftly through the party, moving on a route that would take her parallel to Grim with trees to between them to provide her some cover, Alex just shook his head. He'd wish her luck, but Grim was just too obstinate. He hoped he didn't bruise the new girl's ego too much.

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Nadya stalked through the camp after Grim, at one with the shadows, swift and silent. She argued with herself, asking herself why she was passing up some fun and dancing at a party (for the moment) to chase after the prickly boy. Part of it was just being annoyed that being nice was thrown back in her face. Another part was since attending the camp and realizing in the fight against the Titans, she might have to rely on her peers at times and wanting someone willing to live rather than just kill or die at her side.

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But mostly, she'd be damned if she was going to back down to that boy's gimlet, mismatched glare. And this was fun, of a different sort, one she found oddly comforting and complementary with her lingering grief.

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The boy had a good sense of awareness, but he was angry or glowering or whatever in his martyred solitude, but one of Nadya's gifts was seeing the dark, and with an acute sense of hearing, she barely had to keep eyes of him, picking up the distinctive sound of his tread. She followed circumspectly to the rustic cabins of the Aesir encampment.

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While Grim moped his way to the front of Odin's cabin at the head of the horseshoe of cabins, Nadya came at it from behind. Seeing the wings of a grey bird of prey flare pass the edge of the cabin, Nadya paused for a moment, then her lips pressed tight. It was just a bird, if a big one. It wasn't like it was a serpopard or the like.

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The Romani Scion tied up her skirts, then with uncanny strength and grace, effortless climbed up to the roof of the cabin. On the peak, she crouched low, listening for any signs that she had been noticed, then prowled forward, using her fingertips for unneeded balance. One would think high heeled boots would make being stealthy more difficult, but sneaking was really more about how you moved, rather than in what you moved, and she had had practice.

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Peeking over the edge of the roof, Nadya watched Grim for a while, sitting in lonely silence with the large hawk. She considering pulling the shadows of the New Moon about herself and walking right up to him to thwip him on the nose, but resisted the urge. Instead, when he shifted, appearing maybe to go inside, Nayda spoke.

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"You are not knowing me either, you know."

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Strabo screeched, pinions flapping at finding someone intruding. Grim in his pride wouldn't deign to show surprise. After a moment, he relaxed his tensed shoulders and slowly looked up, to find Nadya perched on the top part of the roof, legs crossed, pale face peering down at his with cool interest pass her knees.

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"Nor do I want to," Grim retorted so coldly it should have begun snowing.

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"Too bad. Me, I am going to explain some things. First, I know very well what you said - I make tease, er, joke, to try encourage to dance, whether because you find me pretty or prove that you can, or whatever. Humourless you, you choose to give grammar lesson instead." She ticked off her point on a finger, then ticked off another. "Two, you think highly of yourself if you think I was flirting, or just have no experience with women. I buried my husband a week ago - I have no romantic or sexual interest in a boy like you or any man at the moment. I just dancing."

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Nadya ticked off another point, leaning down even further, though she didn't appear to be in any danger of losing her balance, mouth tight and a stubborn set to her jaw. She certainly didn't look sympathetic or pitying. "Three, because you are seeming to think there must be greedy motives behind any action, the self-interest part. I am being told this is a place for the children of gods to train in relative safety to fight the Titans and titanspawn. Me, I am thinking some of you are training so hard and so long, that you don't even know what you are fighting for. How am I to trust my life, the lives of those I love, or maybe even the world - if I am being proud - to someone who has no connection to it, no vested interest it?"

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The short, wiry woman snorted in contempt, but not cruelly. "I think I know what you are doing - it is obvious. You push others away, get close to no one, form no attachments, and you think this a strength, allowing you to 'do what must be done.' I have known men like that. The world they would 'save' or 'make' is usually not one I would want to live it. Ones who hide or fear connections with the world and those who live in it are hardly ones who should be making decisions affecting it."

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"I don't-"

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But it was Nadya's turn to talk right over him. She gestured down at him, having a better view of the scars trailing down from his neck from her vantage point. "We all have our own scars. Living scars us, leaves a map of our hurts - you just look like you have more than most. But if you let the scars grow into callous and hard, you might not feel the hurt anymore, but you won't feel the joy and pleasure that life can bring either. My people have a saying: Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today. And that is being why I asked you to dance."

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He sighed then, his head hanging as his skinny shoulders went from being braced for a fight, to sagging in weary resignation. For a moment, he didn't seem fierce or vicious. In the small semi-circle of light on the porch of Odin's longhouse, he looked his age. He looked like what he was, a boy barely developed enough to be called a 'young man', carrying too much weight on shoulders not yet broad enough to bear it. A boy who'd never known a mother's love or a kind word from family, to whom kindness was synonymous with pity.

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"You're not wrong." he said, his voice soft enough that Nadya had to lean forwards a little to catch it. Grim bent down and offered the large hawk his arm, Strabo shuffling daintily onto the slender forearm and gripping very slightly as the boy lifted him back to his well-scarred perch by the doorway. The raptor shuffled off Grim's arm as carefully as it had climbed aboard it, leaving no wounds behind, then submitted to a gently stroking with good grace. Delicate forefinger smoothing the feathers of his friend's head, Grim looked up to meet Nadya's eyes again.

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"I didn't think you were flirting. I just wanted to be left alone." he explained without any particular rancor. In some ways it was worse - angry, disdainful Grim was at least something to rail against, whereas this lonely, withdrawn boy tugged at different emotions. "I go to those gatherings because I like to sit and watch people, to draw comfort from it. I don't cut myself off from the world, but nor can I afford to become attached to individuals. I..." He looked down again. "I do not have the courage to risk loss, or rejection, or heartbreak, or betrayal from those I love. And so I keep such things at a distance. I have no one, and that is where I draw my strength from." His shoulders squared again, and he lifted his eyes to meet hers, his resolve back. "You're wrong about me on one score. Because I can care for the whole, because I want the laughing, the dancing, the music and the flirting to continue around me while I sit by the fire and let the noise wash over me, and I will fight and die for that." He smiled then: a thin, fragile smile that barely reached his eyes, but a smile nonetheless.

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"I was harsh to you for my own reasons, and for the unfairness of it, I'm sorry. For what it is worth, thank you for the invitation to dance." He paused, and his smile turned wry. "Of course, if you tell anyone I apologised, I'll deny it." he joked. Or at least, probably joked. It was hard to tell now that the armor was going back up.

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Nadya could tell it was difficult for Grim to reveal even this much of himself and she was pleased her persistence had paid off, but she wasn't ready to let him fully off the hook yet. She still personally found it a little horrifying that Grim would say he could care for the world while remaining apart from it. To her mind, if he didn't have the courage to risk loss, rejection, or betrayal, how would he have the courage to face what Titanspawn could throw at him.. or what they might offer (false or not) to sway a Scion to their side.

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But she still had hopes teaching him there was strength in opening up to others, in knowing what you were fighting for. She wasn't going to let him cloak himself in solitude just quite yet. She returned his vulnerably wry smile with a teasing grin that suggested she appreciated his candor, then slipped off the roof, landing with preternatural ease next to Grim on the veranda. Strabo hopped on his perch, beak parted fiercely as he eyed Nayda, who gave him a wary glance before turning her eyes up to Grim, who still was quite a bit taller than her despite her completely inappropriate heels.

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"I accept your apology and thank you for it, though it is not really necessary." She shook her head in amused resignation, a streak of red hair falling over an eye. "So many see the Romani as all being shiftless liars and thieves, and that is far from truth." Her green eyes sparkled mischievously as her lips curved up in a smirk. "We are not all liars and thieves. Thieves are hardly shiftless, it takes real work to be any good and we lie less than most gadjo."

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The young woman took a step back and planted a hand on a cocked hip. "But know this for true, I will keep your apology and what you have told me tonight secret, if that is your wish, in exchange for something else."

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"What?" Grim demanded suspiciously, his social armor nearly back in place as Nadya fished something from somewhere inside her clothing.

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"You accept my invitation to dance, a single dance," Nadya said, leafing through the extensive song list on her smartphone. Balancing the smartphone on the railing, the strains of delicately strumming guitar flowed around them in the night, Nadya offered him a hand, slighted tilted, whether to shake on a deal or to accept it as a lead into a dance was questionable.

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"Just here, just us two, and kept as a secret as your prefer. But if you are wanting to fight for those who dance and laugh and flirt, and more, than you should know what you are fighting for, rather than just observe. Are we having a deal?"

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Song
Thanks to Centimane for linking me this guy and his guitar months if not over a year ago.
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"I said no." And like that, the shutters came down. Grim closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath, then opened them again and slowly shook his head.

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"I said I wasn't interested. It wasn't a ploy, or a guise." He reached out and took the wrist of the proffered hand, and moved it back towards her gently, stepping close to her as he did so. "I paid you the compliment of explaining myself to you, something I do not bother with as a rule. And yet you are still being pushy."

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"I want you to leave me alone." He stared down hard into her eyes, his severe features hardened once more. "We are on the same side. We are allies. When the drums of duty and battle sound, I will fight at your side. But we are not friends, Nadya of the Pesedjet." He stepped back again, picking up her phone and handing it back to her.

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"I have no friends." He turned his back on her and stared out into the darkness. "Please leave."

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"I see our Dark Prince is ever the lady killer," Atticus said as he approached his sometime friend, sometime rival Corbin. While Atticus hadn't been at the camp nearly as long as Corbin, they were both lifers and the handsome Greek boy had taken to his combat studies like a fish to water. He was a natural and the two boys were roughly equal in skill; thus the competition.

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As he strode forward, the crowd parted to let him pass. It was a deference that had start several moths ago after Atticus had been part of the team that had slain Nemean Serpent that had come dangerously close to the camp. Of the three student who had accompanied the counselors who fought the beast Atticus was the only one to survive. To some at Six Rivers, that gave Atticus a reputation, or some sort of Status. To those that didn't put stock in such deeds, his appearance alone was enough to motivate them to give him room.

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Atticus looks like hell. his clothes and practice armor were rent and blood could be seen underneath. he was slightly limping and favoring his left arm. As always his sword, which had been specially forged for him by Tod the Cyclops. His face was bloody, bruised and beaten, looking like he'd taken a giant club to the face which, ironically enough, he had not a half an hour before. He and Corbin clasped forearms in greeting. "Welcome back. How was your trip? And what did you say that girl?"

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As if nothing untoward whatsoever had transpired with Nadya or Grim, Makaela simply blinked at Ariel's attempt at levity, and then laughed, nearly wearing her soda as she instinctively brought a hand up to cover her mouth out of courtesy- and it happened to be full of red plastic cup. A fairly comical expression of surprise ended her giggling almost as quickly as it began, and the nimble daughter of Poseidon hopped back a half-step while thrusting the cup forward so that it sloshed on the ground, and not her feet.

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"Who's a colossal idiot?" the blonde sighed, shaking her head at the orange mess even as her smile returned. "Look, don't worry about it. You just trotted into the bloody camp, so I doubt anyone's gonna make fun o' ya for not knowin' all the intricate little details of the place. I've only been here three days, and most o' the other kids are aces so far. Besides," she added, eyes bright over the rim of her glass as she took a drink. "Can't learn to swim 'til ya jump in the water, yeah?"

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Ariel nodded absently as she watched the two dysfunctional dramas unfold, even if it was at a distance. It wasn't hard to work out what was going on. Two guys and two girls in separate pairs, royally pissing one another off.

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"Doesn't mean it's not good to have floaties the first time in or two," she says, returning her attention to Makaela with a smile.

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"Though I'm starting to feel a little better about this. It seemed weird at first, but it's starting to feel exactly like high school. Which probably shouldn't be a comfort, really, but any port in a storm. Honestly, coming here I was half-expecting Hogwarts or something. People levitating around and throwing bloody great balls of fire...and here's me with this silly little bow, and what do I do? Shoot pretty well. That's all."

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Ariel shrugs and chuckles. "So as confusing as it is, it's also a bit of a relief in comparison."

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"Not yet, perhaps," Nadya countered with a frown to Grim's back, blowing the hair from her eyes with a sharp breath as her fingers worked at her smartphone. The obstinate tâmpit might have won this round, but she was stubborn too and had every intention on coming back for another round, but any further effort on her part with just raise the walls more. She added to herself, "And I am being persistent, not pushy."

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Nadya surreptitiously removed the SIM card from the smartphone, switching it with one from another smartphone and plunked down the phone back on the railing with a sharp click. "I will go," she said, trying to make it sound like her idea, "but keep the phone. It will keep you and your bird company and maybe give you some music in your life that you desperately needing. Besides, I am having another." And if you don't throw it away, it will be a way to reestablish contact during this extended game. "I will be seeing you around, not-friend Mr. Grim of the Aesir."

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With one more perusal of the rigidly restrained boy and sharing an exasperated glance with the large hawk, Nadya sauntered down the steps, hips gyrating as she danced to the music on the way back to the party. There was dark and danger enough in the work, and while she was comfortable in the shadows, she wasn't like Grim and would add to them.

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Grim and Strabo stood in a thunderous silence as the strumming acoustic guitar faded away, to be replaced by the thrumming electric bass of the next song shuffled onto the playlist.

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Grim sighed as he heard the girl go, the faint sound of audible relief lost against the backdrop of the music she'd left behind. Turning, he went into the cabin, only to emerge after a moment with a thick, leatherbound tome under one arm, borrowed from the camp's underused library. An examination of the occult rituals of northern Europe, with particular emphasis on the pre-Christian, it was his self-set homework. The magic he wielded was rudimentary at best, and he would need to have a much deeper understanding. Every ritual, every spell was in itself a story, with it's own power distinct from the effect. He leaned over the smartphone and jabbed the 'off' button, otherwise not touching it, then sat down on the well-lit porch to catch up on his reading.

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It was a warm night, and even though there was the distant noise of the party and the lapping of waves on the shore nearby, it was peaceful here, his little island of quiet. He leaned over the tome and traced a line of runes inscribed in a margin with one finger, his mood calming further as he turned his mind to old death-rites. There were clues here, tantalising him, distracting him from the self-imposed solitude. Hmm, there... a snippet of truth amidst the detritus. He pulled out his own well-worn leatherbound notebook and made some notes as he continued to read.

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Tintaya came out of the dark quietly. She’d finished her food on the walk and stuffed the plate into her cup before dropping them in a trashcan along the way. The young scion hesitated when she found the scene before her: the boy hunched over his book and the looming hawk alertly watching. The bird immediately locked its eyes on her and gave her an evil glare. Tintaya was somewhat impressed by the force of will in that gaze but she had some experience with Companion-animals to Scions, given that Waskar was one. The predatory bearing of a hawk added to the animal’s gravitas in a way that adorable Waskar couldn’t – not that Tintaya would ever tell him that. He had his pride.

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Still she squared her shoulders and marched up the stairs, ignoring the warning screech from the bird. Sitting down on the steps, she ignored the glare from the bird’s human master, too. “I am Tintaya, scion of Eurzulie. I want to know what your intentions toward my alpaca are.”

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It was going to be one of those nights. Somewhere, a god was laughing - Grim silently mused that it was probably Loki.

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"Hello Tintaya, scion of Erzulie." he delivered in a sing-song cadence that dripped irony whilst fixing his eyes on hers in a stare that could peel and core an apple. "Welcome to the house of Odin. Do have a seat and make yourself at home- Oh, you already did. Never mind then."

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"I asked you your intentions-"

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"Towards your alpaca, yes yes." He turned back to reading the forbidding-seeming tome on his lap. "If you must know, I fiendishly intend to feed them carrots and celery now and then, evilly watch them move around in well-kept happiness, and most nefariously of all, I hope to pet them from time to time." The son of Odin turned a page carefully. "Horrible, I know. I should be ashamed of myself."

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Tintaya felt her anger start to rise, but she didn’t want to give the expected response—except when working, of course. Then the expected response was often the necessary response to slip close and get the job done. Instead, she forced a lightly teasing tone. “You should be. Everyone knows that alpaca like fruit.”

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He glanced up at her, his eyes narrowing at her attitude. “What kind of fruit?”

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“The hembra, the females, will probably let you pet them if you offer sliced apples. And Waskar, the head macho or male, has a weakness for grapes, green grapes.” Taya rose and brushed at her dress as she instructed, “Please don’t overfeed the cria, the ones less than a year old. It might make them sick.”

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The boy was still watching her with his mismatched eyes, as if assessing her. Taya didn’t give him time to contemplate for too long and added, “Your bird is beautiful. What is his or her name?”

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There was some more of that staring that might have cowed a girl who didn’t have Taya’s particular background. Finally, he shrugged and said, “His name is Strabo.”

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Tintaya smiled. “Good name. Goodnight, Boy of Odin. Goodnight, Strabo.” Turning, she started to leave the unpleasant little creature to his bird.

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To her surprise, he called after her, "Goodnight, girl of Erzulie." Tintaya looked back and flashed him a slightly mocking smile at his choice of address, but didn't attempt to talk to him anymore. From his reputation, getting a civil greeting or parting was probably shocking enough that she should leave it there.

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The good thing was that she was now calmer. It was time to go back to the party, find John and the others, and see if someone could piss her off again.

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Corbin sighed and massaged the bridge of his soda soaked nose. He'd already regretted the words even before she took offense. Now, however, the damage was done and already the pang of guilt was washing over him.

"I see our Dark Prince is ever the lady killer," Atticus said as he approached his sometime friend, sometime rival Corbin.

He and Corbin clasped forearms in greeting. "Welcome back. How was your trip? And what did you say that girl?"


He thanked Atticus for the welcome, forcing a smile as he told his friend what he'd said, with appropriate back story as to how strong Taya came on to him, offering him sex before they'd even been in one anothers company long enough to be considered an appropriate introduction. "...I panicked. I didn't know whether to shake her hand or just start stuffing singles in her underwear. What sort of greeting id appropriate for a woman like that? How do you get them back off?" Atticus tried not to laugh. Corbin's awkwardness and terrible luck with women was almost a legend unto itself at camp and the son of Apollo was pretty sure only his father was the only one he could imagine whose love life was more doomed to fail than Corbins'.

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"Corbin, I'm so sorry..." Alexis approached hastily, like a business woman trying to save the deal of an insulted client. Worry and sympathy were washed over her expression. Neither Atticus or Corbin were least bit surprised however when she just walked up and began undoing the buttons on Corbin's shirt like a smothering spouse. "You're soaked, and sticky let's get you out..."

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He clasped his sticky hands in hers and offered her a warm smile. "There's nothing to apologize for. The fault lies with me. I was discourteously blunt with her and I deserved exactly what I got, I just wish it'd been water." He and Atticus shared a laugh but Alexis wasn't in on the joke. She sucked the syrup off her fingers and did her best to dismiss the disruption but it looked like her party was quickly degenerating into a vat of volatile teenage angst and drama and resembling nothing close to an actual party. "You missed Grim."

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Atticus snapped his fingers ans sucked his teeth. "Oh, damn. There goes my night. How ever shall I sleep. Did any of the plucky new bleeding hearts chase off after him in a wild attempt to save him from himself?"

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"Yup." Alexis smirked, crossing her arms. "I have to admit, we could start warning them, but it never gets old. Sif Cabin's pool to get Grim to be a decent human being is only about hundred fifty dollars off from Aphrodite Cabin's pool of who'll pop Corbin's cherry. Some serious dough to whoever can do both."

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"Hear that Corbin?" Atticus looked to Alexis and the two were already trying to hold back the laughter. "All you have to do is show Grim the value of humanity and let him pop your cherry and you two'll have it made."

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"More than enough for a romantic honeymoon..." Alexis broke and Atticus quickly followed suit. Corbin chewed his tongue and nodded in that 'yuck it up' manner while his 'friends' shared yet another joke that he was the butt of. A few moments later she patted Atticus on the chest and took Corbin by the arm. "C'mon guys you look terrible, lets get you cleaned up. Can't have you screwing up my party by looking like hobos."

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  • 3 weeks later...
,, "Though I'm starting to feel a little better about this. It seemed weird at first, but it's starting to feel exactly like high school. Which probably shouldn't be a comfort, really, but any port in a storm. Honestly, coming here I was half-expecting Hogwarts or something. People levitating around and throwing bloody great balls of fire...and here's me with this silly little bow, and what do I do? Shoot pretty well. That's all." ,,

Ariel shrugs and chuckles. "So as confusing as it is, it's also a bit of a relief in comparison."

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"I hear ya," the bronze-skinned blonde nodded, laughing. "Least it gives us some idea how to navigate the social scene, I guess. Looks like things are just as hormonal for the divine set, yeah?" She shook her head and took a healthy bite of what was probably a sandwich- if you happened to be a character in 'Scooby Doo.' "Mfhhm-" Realizing it was probably a major social faux-pas to talk around her food to a stranger, Makaela chewed quickly as she bobbed her head to the music playing nearby. After swallowing, she tried again. "Sorry. I was gonna say, it really is nice to meet you. A sort of normal person, I mean- not that I'm not a total freak of nature m'self, but then this whole hemisphere's arse-over-teakettle anyway, so I sort of expected it. You seem pretty down to earth, though, which is awesome." Another cheeky grin followed, showing even white teeth that fairly gleamed in the half-light.

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Ariel smiled self-consciously. "And you're probably the nicest person I've met yet," she returns, "Not that the others are mean. You're just...very nice." Abruptly she fixated on Makaela's sandwich and asked, "Where did you get that, exactly? Are there more? I don't think punch and appetizers are going to be quite enough for me."

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“Wow, I didn’t expect to see you back.” John trailed after Taya as she beelined back to the drink table. “I also didn’t expect to hear you dumped a drink over Corbin’s head. Do the Greeks know you’re in here?”

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Tintaya turned at his tone, narrowing her eyes. John had Emile on his back; this time, the boy was sleep, his dark head rolling on John’s broad shoulders. Her ‘brother’ was angry at her and Taya recalled his warm greeting to the Greek man-child earlier. He liked Corbin, so of course, she had to set him straight on that immediately. “He compared fantasizing about him during sex to Riding a Horse.”

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“Whoa… what?” John asked, completely taken aback by her statement. “That… that doesn’t sound like him at all.”

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Tintaya saw red again. “Go ask him yourself if you think I’m a liar!” she exclaimed hotly. She was a liar, but not about important stuff like this. She only lied when seducing men. The drink she’d just claimed almost ended up all over John, but she would have gotten Emile, too, and he didn’t deserve that.

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“I don’t think you’re a liar. I just don’t think Corbin would have said that!” John protested, taking a step back.

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“Well, I don’t care what you think.” Taya spun and marched through the crowd. She needed to calm down, and nothing worked better to draw down her mood than alcohol. She drained the soda from her plastic cup, then claimed some of the beer one of the kids was dispensing. The first taste of the brew had her wrinkling her nose at the bitter taste but she finished it all. After she’d refilled her cup, she walked deeper into the party, steering for the first group she saw that was all girls, a blonde woman who looked like an American television star and a cute brunette. “Hello,” she said to them, managing a smile, “I’m Tintaya. May I join you and talk with women instead of stupid men?”

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