Blowing off some steam... (PRIVATE: Anime)

Zahra squirmed even more as he tickled her, peals of laughter emanating uncontrollably from her thin frame.

"Your reading glasses?" she asked him breathlessly, amusement in her voice. "You're such a nerd, Jance. Who needs reading glasses under the age of 40?" she teased. "You wouldn't dump me in the ocean, though. I can't swim," she said shortly. She'd been born and had grown up in the city, and there'd never been any chance for her to learn. She would have liked to, had she gotten the chance, but she hadn't. She was starting to grow lightheaded from her position; however, and she squirmed, her fingers trying to gain traction on his body so she could free herself. "You do realize how uncomfortable this is, right?" she murmured, laughing lightly.

--

Riley watched as Salone took his hand, squeezing it and comforting him wordlessly. He held it for a moment, not wanting to let go, but she pulled away and he let her. He met her eyes, conveying his thanks silently before watching Alison and Danielle without too much interest. He really needed to get training on his leg, otherwise he didn't know what he was going to do with himself. He hated this feeling of helplessness, even while he could walk. He should be grateful for at least that.

Meanwhile, Alison spoke to Danni, explaining what little she'd learned in her time spent with the FBI and the free YMCA self-defense classes she'd been required to take by her foster family.

"Riley was a decent teacher," she said, "But fighting against someone with a sword when you have a dagger can only get you so far," she admitted, shrugging, and Riley nodded in understanding. She needed to learn how to handle all sorts of monsters, and what he'd taught her wouldn't bring her very far.

Jance swung her about easily into a piggy back position.
"Yes I am a nerd," Jance agreed, looking up at her from his position. "But I thought you already knew that. I have reading glasses because my eye sight has gotten progressively worse according to my father. I rather like them."
He rubbed his stubbly chin against her bare leg, jokingly.
***
Danni nodded, "So armory and then going over the basics."
Danni was a fantastic teacher, she had taught Salone when she had first showed up all those years ago... when Salone tripped over the border, half starved. She didn't like dwelling upon those memories. She glanced at Riley, she guessed he was going to need help too. Salone would help if he asked but her methods were rather brutal. She ran her hand through her considerably shorter hair.

Zahra allowed herself to be shifted, and she wrapped her arms loosely around Jance's neck. "I knew it. I just didn't want to accept it. What girl wants to date a nerd? Your reading glasses are so hopelessly nerd on your hopelessly attractive face that I may have to consider breaking up with you," she teased, leaning her beside his by his neck, breathing him in. It was so odd to be with him again, after months apart, and she was just a little bit overwhelmed. She was so happy to feel secure again, to not have to worry about monsters around every corner. In truth, she'd gained a lot of good fighting experience during her time gone, but had it been worth it?

"You-" she spoke softly, so just he could hear it. "I missed you, nerd," she teased. And then: "Where are we going, anyway?"

--

Alison nodded in response. "Sounds good!" she said lightly, although in all truth the idea kind of terrified her. She hadn't encountered many monsters at all in her lifetime; she'd mostly been trained to face down people, and she wasn't sure what kind of techniques she'd need to learn.

Riley caught Danielle glancing at him as she told Alison about fighting techniques, and he broke their eye contact quickly, forcibly looking away and shifting his weight uncomfortably. He shut his eyes for a moment, as if blinking would help wash away his dread. He really didn't even want to think about what training was going to be like. After all that he'd been through, he just really didn't want to embarrass himself or be further frustrated at his incapability to fight. He'd been doing considerably well, so far, but this was different. Getting up and walking hadn't been so difficult, though it'd been harder than he'd thought originally. It was the moving further and doing more things that scared the crap out of him. He had trouble even standing up without assistance. How was he supposed to manage in battle?

"I am never going to here the end of this am I?" Jace asked casually. then his face split into a grin, "You consider me, hopelessly attractive?"
He turned his head slightly and planted a kiss on her cheek. He had no clue were he was going, as far as he was concerned he was just walking and he shrugged to show that. "I missed you too." He answered softly.
They had entered the forest by this time.
***
Danni nodded and leaned back, "Yeah, so do you just have the dagger?"
She leaned against the poll as she continued to ask questions, her eyes moving back to Alison's face. Salone could sense Riley's discomfort and she stood, holding a hand out to him as she stood. She jerked her head towards the door, her ADHD had started coming to life by sitting still.

Zahra blushed. "Maybe you are hopelessly attractive. The stubble and the reading glasses shouldn't be helping, but they are," she said lightly. "But we should probably decide where we're going, because I kind of really don't feel like facing more monsters at the moment," she said decidedly, shivering involuntarily. She didn't mean to be freaked out by the forest, but it wasn't something she felt like dealing with right now. If a monster was to arrive...

--

"I just have a dagger, right now. I had a military issued gun at one point, but obviously I returned that," said Alison, shrugging.

Riley was startled, drawn from his reverie as Salone stood, holding out a hand to him. It took him a second to accept it, getting up easily, which was pleasantly surprising. He could feel Alison's eyes on him as he walked out, and so he murmured a quick "See you," as he released Salone's hand and exited the cabin. He watched her curiously, wondering what her motives were. She couldn't possibly have been reading his mind... but then again, he wasn't that difficult to read, considering the circumstances.

"Curse of the child of Aphrodite, but some how most people don't complain. " He shot her a crooked smile, letting her slide down off of his back. "Except you," He teased lightly. Jance took her hand as they started walking away from the forest. He pulled her in giving her a brief hug.
"How about a picnic?" He asked, "In the strawberry gardens, that way you will have a little bit of time to adjust to being back at camp."
***
As soon as Riley and Salone had left, Danni shook her head.
"Those two are impossible," Danni uncrossed her arms and massaged her forehead. "They are absolutely gaga for each other. I mean, walking in on them in Italy... that was about two weeks before Salone ended it, it was so abrupt too."
Danni didn't ask the details. In fact she never had the chance to ask with Salone going to the hospital. "In other news," She turned back to Alison. "Sword, you need a sword and a possible archery set. "
***
Salone walked quietly behind Riley. His walk was different, but not by much, just a little more stiff. His personality seemed a little harder than it had last time too. At one moment she passed him and Salone could feel Riley's eyes upon her back. She slowed down so they were even. The silence seemed slightly strained, neither really wanting to speak.
"You seemed uncomfortable in there," Salone said finally. "Figured you could use some air."
Salone still knew Riley well enough to see his discomfort.

Zahra laughed, sliding off Jance's back gratefully and allowing herself to be hugged. He grabbed his hand and walked with him, perking up at his suggested picnic. In her haste to freshen up, she had completely neglected breakfast that morning, and she was ravenous. "A picnic in the strawberry gardens? You really are a child of Aphrodite, through and through," she said, looking at him. "But that sounds nice," she replied more seriously, walking along the path back to camp.

--

"Walking in on them?" Alison asked, her voice notably sparking with interest. She quirked an eyebrow, a Riley-like interest in her expression. "I can only imagine," she murmured, laughing. "But he's crazy for her; I know that much. The romantic tension between them is tangible." The girl softened with her gossip as Danni stopped talking about it, moving on to much more boring talk of weaponry.

"Sounds exciting," she said, nerves settling in over her once more and humbling her. She rummaged in her bag for the sheathed dagger she'd stowed haphazardly within it, pulling it out and handing it over to the older girl. "It's not much, pretty standard or so it seems, but it's what they had for me."

--

Riley took a step to catch up with Salone quickly, turning his body inwards slightly to look at her as she spoke. "Thanks," he said softly in reply, glancing back toward the cabin with its wide bay windows. "You were right, as per usual. I really shouldn't be brooding so much, but I'm really dreading what's to come. I'm not looking forward to training. It's going to be like starting from scratch all over again, but it's going to be a much slower process than before. It's just frustrating to have to worry about being able to defend myself when I've been capable of doing so for so long, you know?" he asked, not bothering to withhold his bitterness.

He knew that she would understand to some degree; as she'd experienced a loss of her strength as well, even though she'd regain it with time. He supposed that he would too, but not in the same way as she. Her wound left light scars, if any, and yet his resulted in the loss of a part of himself. He'd only lost part of his leg, something most people take for granted; and yet in the scheme of things it seemed incredibly important, being a demigod and forced to fight for one's life and the lives of others.

"It's also embarrassing, even though it sounds stupid. I don't like the idea of having people stare and pity me when I fall down. I don't want to be that boy who lost part of his leg."

"Guilty as charged, besides I like strawberries," Jance said, giving her a very fake wounded look. "So, should we have food? Or behave like total mortal teens and pig out desert?"
Jance had a soft spot for oreos himself... and ice cream, Jance loved ice cream. Zahra no doubt had noticed Jance was also a hopeless romantic and the reason he thought of the strawberry fields was because most of the bushes up there were blooming.
***
Danni couldn't help but laugh at the expression of curiosity on Alison's face, "Yeah. Salone had been drugged or she wouldn't have behaved the way she did. You could say Riley was... coping with it. Salone getting her wisdom teeth out was very amusing to say the least."
She took the dagger and examined it. She unsheathed the blade and looked at it. The handle was quite worn suggesting it had multiple owners in the past.
"Yes, the weapon is quite sturdy and will be useful through out the duration of the stay here at camp."
***
Salone listened to Riley speak, "It doesn't matter what other people think Riley."
Suddenly, Salone had an image of a scarred girl holding hands with a wrinkled old man in the rain underneath an massive oak tree flash through her mind. The girl repeating those exact same words to the old man.
"What matters is what the fact you fought in what you believed in. You aren't the boy with the missing leg. You are Riley Peterson, the boy who would do anything to save his friends and family. Along with the fact you will do what ever it takes to keep the people you love safe. To them you are a hero. "
There was the old Salone, the one who spoke with fire and wasn't scared of what others thought.
"I know what is it like to be stared at the looks of pity I agree are humiliating. But you will get over it and people won't be able to tell in about a year, unlike the person who had their face slashed open. What ever you do, don't ever feel sorry for yourself. It is the thing that will hinder your progress the most."
In a softer tone she added, "the young man I see standing before me has the admiration of his younger sister, who he saved. You. Riley Peterson, are the most amazing person I ever have had the opportunity to meet."
At the last sentence Salone's face turned scarlet and she looked down at her bare feet. She waited a few moments before looking up at Riley for his reaction, her cheeks and ears still red.
((There is the Salone rant I was looking for ))

Zahra almost made a comment about how of course they had to have food on a picnic, when she realized he meant substantial food and not dessert. She brightened, perhaps overly excited at the prospect of dessert. Then again, she hadn't had any form of junk food in over two months and the idea of dessert made her want to drool. "I don't think it will hurt us to be normal for a little while," she said, grinning at him. She noticed as they came closer to the strawberry garden that the bushes had begun to bloom, sprouting little white-petaled flowers along with plump, rich red strawberries. They were also fragrant, not smelling so much like strawberries, but they had a different, pleasant flowery sweet smell. Of course Jance would take her here.

"Shouldn't we stop off at the mess to pick up supplies?" Zahra asked, somehow the logical one in this scenario.

--

Alison laughed, watching as Danni examined her weapon.

"It sounds fine, but I'll probably wind up using something else. I like the idea of a dagger, but this one... I don't know. It doesn't really cut it for me; no pun intended,
she said, chuckling slightly. She turned, glancing out the window curiously. She wasn't able to help herself; she had to look out for her brother's well-being, didn't she? It was quite a sight to see.

"Well, I didn't see that coming at all," she said, raising her eyebrows. "Honestly, I'm shocked he didn't grab her the minute he saw her. I think the Aphrodite boy deterred him; Riley's too impulsive for his own good, though," Alison turned away from the window, feeling slightly uncomfortable watching the love fest that had ensued outside... especially when it involved her brother. "Anyway, where can I get some decent weapons?"

--

Riley just stood for a moment gaping at her, awestruck. Did she really just say all of that? The meaning was clear in her voice, and he didn't question it. "I-" he began, at a loss for words. He recalled the moment when he'd stood in front of Salone in the woods, her gaze filled with confusion and awe after he told her she was beautiful. The scarred girl was used to being disregarded, pitied, and his statement had shocked her. She'd lost her scars, and it was all too easy for him to forget what it had been like for her when she'd lived with them. She knew exactly how he felt, and he felt the slightest twinge of guilt for complaining about something he could deal with. He'd spent his whole life worrying about what'd happen if someone found out about his shifting, and he'd fallen into self-pity again, and he should have known better. She showed him this, and as she looked up at him, cheeks glowing feverishly pink after her speech, he leaned forward and kissed her without even thinking about it, on impulse.

He pulled away from her breathlessly, reaching up to trace her cheek with his fingers, his thumb making a path along her cheek near where her scars had once been. "You-" he breathed. "You, Salone Newton, are pretty darn incredible as well. Thank you."

Jance nodded, "yeah, that is probably a very good idea."
With that they two started towards the mess hall chatting idly about unimportant things. While they were walking Jance let go of Zahra's hand and slid his hand around her waist. They stopped briefly at the Aphrodite cabin and picked up a picnic basket. The basket swung from Jace's fingers as they walked to the mess hall. Jance made sure they packed oreos into the basket.
**
Danni glanced outside just in time to see Salone look down at her feet, red faced. Danni grinned crookedly.
"Well then," She muttered. "About time."
Personally the whole romantic tension had been driving her crazy. She had been about ready to go get one of her Aphrodite friends and make Riley and Salone kiss. But she guessed neither of them would thank her for that.
The redheaded girl handed the dagger back, "I am guessing you will want a dagger a little more attractive and easier to use in close hand to hand combat."
Danni looked at the back door and then the front door. "Should we be good people and take the back door or rudely interrupt them."
Danni would go for either, she was quite a stinker after all.
***
Salone looked at Riley feeling slightly pleased with herself that she had rendered him speechless. But her cheeks still burned with red. She was about to look back down at her toes when Riley kissed her. This possibility had not crossed her mind and now Riley had wiped it strategically blank with his kiss. It was like that fist kiss at Salone's abandoned house all over again. Her heart raced in her chest and when they broke apart Salone looked up at Riley, her brown eyes wide.
"You, Salone Newton, are pretty darn incredible as well. Thank you."
Her hands had fastened onto the front of his jacket during the kiss.
"Let us agree to disagree on that sentence," She said softly. "Because I am a pretty big failure at incredible."
She didn't give Riley a chance to answer because she pulled him down to her level for another kiss. Her hands relinquished their hold on the front of his jacket as her hands traveled upwards to link around his neck.

"Of course the Aphrodite cabin would have picnic supplies; go figure," Zahra murmured as they made their way to the mess, laughing lightly. Once there she assisted Jance in gathering the materials they'd need for their outing before leaving alongside him back toward the strawberry garden. Then were engaged in a pretty vanilla conversation once more, speaking of not much of interest. Zahra spread out their red and white checkered blanket, allowing Jance to set down their basket.

--

Alison nodded. "Definitely something more stylish than this," she said. "Not that I'm so picky." She laughed as Danielle suggested they interrupt Riley and Salone. "Oh, we're definitely interrupting them," she said, "Forget being polite." She opened the door to the minor gods cabin. "Well, that's inappropriate!" she called, stepping out with laughter in her tone.

--

Riley was about to protest against her statement when she kissed him, and his words were caught in his throat, forgotten quickly and wrapped his arms around her torso, pressing a palm flat against the small of her back, deepening the kiss. He'd just about deepened the kiss when there was a commotion in the direction of the minor gods cabin. He just about jumped away from Salone, losing his balance and just barely stopping himself from falling onto his butt but grabbing on to the fountain's ledge. His hands were going to be scratched up, but at least he hadn't fallen completely. He lowered himself to the ground gently, adjusting his prosthetic so he'd be able to get up. "Real considerate, Alison!" he called, and she laughed, though she sounded guilty.

"Not my fault!"



((Jance/Zahra portion of this RP is filler at the moment, I apologize. XD We'll make it more interesting within a post or two.))

"You forget who my mother is, we have everything for romance, " Jance rolled his eyes slightly, Unable to help himself. He flopped down on his side and unpacked the teenage sustenance. He put the oreos and the massive thing of ice cream out with spoons along with all the other delicious tooth rotting foods of mass destruction.
***
Salone whipped around wide eyes and spotted Danni and Alison giggling slightly. She turned backed to Riley and helped him up.
"You okay?" She asked gently. "I promise I shall kill Danni later."
Then she spotted his hands and she examined them. Danni walked out of the cabin, bringing Alison with her and led her to the weapon shed. Salone took Riley's hands gently and led him back to her cabin. Once inside she sat him down on the edge of her made bed and she got out the first aid kit and smeared triple antibiotic ointment on the worst scrapes.
Her bedside had change a little bit, gone were the Harry Potter books and her piles upon piles of spiral notebooks. Instead replaced with a leather journal and a small jewelry box. Also gone were the elephants... well not completely. Mr. Peanut sat on what looked like a little girl's unmade bed and the pillow pet was buried under all of Salone's pillows, out of sight.
"I am pretty sure," Salone said, putting the first aid kit on her bedside table. "Danni is Alison's long lost evil twin."
She sat down next to him.
***
Danni took Alison to the weapons shed and proceeded to start with the daggers, slim to wide bladed daggers. To daggers with jewels and other adornments. After that they went to swords and bows and arrows. The bow was almost as tall as Alison but it was light and flexible.

"Of course," Zahra murmured, lying back on the picnic blanket and looking up at the sky for a moment. It was beautiful outside, and the clouds were so perfectly formed that the sky looked like a painting. She loved these kind of days, and there were many back in Norway. They'd comforted her in Jotunheim, on the days when she'd thought she'd never get home. She forced herself to sit up, grabbing a spoon and digging in to the ice cream. It was one of those Neapolitan cartons, with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry all together. She scooped out a chunk of chocolate and popped the spoon in her mouth, and she wanted to cry it tasted so good. "Oh my gods," she exclaimed after swallowing. "That is incredible."

And it wasn't, not really. But to her it was great, as she hadn't had ice cream in gods know how long.

--

Alison had taken a few steps forward to help Riley before Salone was there, helping him up and fussing over his hands. She was confused for a moment before she stopped herself. HE was fine, and she should go. She'd caused this. A slight bit of guilt settled in as she processed the glance of shock Salone had made in their direction. It hadn't been intentional, but it unsettled her. She met Riley's eyes for a second and felt guiltier as he smiled at her, dismissing her actions. She was so much younger than him in his eyes, and her actions were easily excusable. She forced herself to turn back towards Danni as Riley went with Salone, following the girl to the weapons shed. There, she busied herself examining all of the daggers. There were too many to choose from, and it was difficult to choose, mostly because they all felt awkward in her fingers. The choice of weapons was overwhelming, but finally she found a dagger she liked, lightly adorned with some form of crystals in its hilt and just long enough for her to be able to use it offensively and defensively. It shone prettily in the light, and it was lightweight and less awkward than the rest. She had no idea how to use a bow, and she just gaped at the one that Danielle had offered her. "Is it supposed to be so large?" she asked. "Somehow I can't see that being easy to use in battle..." She was more resigned after the incident before, pensive as she'd gotten often while living in foster care. She'd only just recently started to come out of her shell more frequently, and now that she'd somehow messed things up she felt less sure of herself.

--

"I," Riley began, allowing Salone to help him up, "am 100% okay. No killing necessary," he said, glancing humorlessly over at the two girls. He didn't really care about what they'd did, but it was still kind of embarrassing that he fell over. Things like that were inevitable, though, especially when one was as clumsy as Riley. He'd get over it. He didn't have a choice. Alison met his eyes guiltily and he shot her a forced smile, letting her know that it was okay. "I'm fine," Riley insisted, calling to Alison as Salone examined his hands, dragging him to her cabin for medical attention. He did need to wash his hands, but she was fussing over him just a little bit. He let her, obliging her as she applied antiseptic to them, mostly because he knew there was no point arguing with her. He noticed that her bunk was pretty bare, all of its disorder gone. Her stuffed elephant was curiously placed on someone else's bunk. He took in the cabin for a moment before she sat down beside him. He looked to her, laughing at her remark.

"Oh, they are definitely alike in that way. I'm just glad Alison's happy. Hopefully she'll make more friends here; I don't doubt that she will, I just want her to be happy," he spoke. "She seems to have been a little homesick since she was taken from her 'normal' life, even though she's glad to finally have someplace permanent to go." Riley shrugged, looking down at his hands. The cream must have had some godly healing properties, as his scrapes had begun to close up slowly. "You know, I was going to apologize for kissing you before, but I don't think that's necessary anymore," he said, smirking slightly. "I didn't mean to do it, it just sort of happened. You know me."

Jance chuckled at her reaction to the ice cream. He helped himself to a spoonful before opening the package of oreos and offering her one. He ate about two before searching for the rest of the chocolate that had managed to make its way down to the very bottom of the basket. He flicked a chocolate square at her.
"Good to know your enjoying yourself," He grinned crookedly, eating a few more oreos.
***
"It is large because it has power and you can cover more distance with a projectile," Danni answered looking at her with a bemused expression. "But I can find a smaller one if you like."
She found a birch bow that was smaller and even lighter. Danni tugged at the bow experimentally before handing it to her.
"This is for closer combat but it is easier to wield."

***
Salone smiled slightly, noticing him glance at the elephant.
"A little girl moved in about a month and a half ago. She suffers from nightmares, she took a liking to him. "
Almost instantly she felt guilty for taking care of Riley's hands. He had complained earlier of feeling weak and her actions probably had amplified the emotions.
"You are pretty impulsive after all," She said turning her head slightly so some of her hair fell between them. "Besides I wasn't going to complain, you are quite a good kisser."
Salone looked down at her callused hands. Peeping out from the collar of her shirt a scar could be seen, it was pale and light. It curved around her collar bone.

Zahra took an oreo and ate it slowly, savoring it even though they had a whole sleeve of the cookies. "Enjoying myself?" she said amusedly. "I am not simply enjoying myself. I think I have fallen deeply in love with this situation," she said, taking the piece of chocolate from him.

"I'm sitting here, at camp, and it's warm outside, in a beautiful garden of blooming strawberry plants, with my gorgeous boyfriend and all of the dessert I could ever want in the world, and I'm not in Jotunheim in the snow with a brute, eating plant roots. I am ecstatic," she said, popping the chocolate in her mouth. She hadn't eaten much, but she was regrettably already starting to grow sick of the dessert. She wished she could eat more, but she felt the slight wave of sickening sweetness that always overcame her when she'd had too much chocolate, and she thought it'd be a bad idea.

--

Alison blushed slightly, embarrassed as Danni gave her an odd look. Her practicality and uncertainty had manifested themselves in her words, and she had been trying her hardest to branch out and be more open to change, less apprehensive about things. She hid her blush as best she could, taking the bow from Danni as she returned and turning it over in her hands. It was lightweight and something she could see herself using, unlike the other bow which seemed bulky and uncomfortable. "It looks good," she said lightly, looking up at the older girl, even though she really didn't know what she was looking for. She was a bit lost in all of the weaponry, but she was trying her hardest to keep up. There were some obscure weapons lining the walls as well, including whips, mallets and maces. She looked at them curiously, her eyes widening. "Do people actually use those?" she asked. They didn't seem like they'd be very effective, but one could never be sure.

--

"Saying that I'm pretty impulsive is an understatement," Riley said lightly, frowning as she shifted and effectively created a wall between them with her hair, looking down. Once again Riley was disconcerted, uncertain as to what she felt.

"You are quite a good kisser," she had said. She'd called him amazing, but now she wouldn't look at him. He knew that he had to give her space, but he was aching to figure things out with her. Impulsively he brushed a bit of her hair away from her face, and as he did so he noticed a long, faint white scar that stood out against her collarbone. The light fell on it at an angle, and without it he probably wouldn't have noticed. It wasn't something he'd noticed before, but in an effort to break the silence and the awkwardness of him touching her hair, he spoke.

"Sorry," he murmured as he pulled away, speaking quickly. "Where did you get that scar from, by your neck? I don't remember noticing it before, but I probably wouldn't have," he said, feeling slightly creepy.

Jance could not help but laugh at Zahra's enthusiasm. In all honesty he was delighted to have her back. He ate the rest of the ice-cream like a pro.
"You are quite gorgeous yourself," He said brushing a strand of hair out of her face before tickling her nose with it. He started packing away food seeing Zahra was finished. He left the package of oreos out though for his own snacking purposes.
***
Danni watched the young girl take the bow and look it over. Danni smiled slightly. Then Alison spotted all the complicated weaponry. There were several odd looking weapons. A massive hammer, maces, and several other items Danni could not name.
"Yeah, but Salone is a better person to ask about exotic weapons. She wields one on a regular basis, she is rather terrifying with it. There is a sickle and chain there." Danni pointed out. It was much bigger than the one Salone used and the ball had spikes. Danni shuddered in-spite of herself, her hand sliding to the scar on her stomach.
***
"But you get the idea," Salone said, offering him a small smile. Her hand at the exact same moment went up to brush her hair way, her fingers brushed Riley's. When he mentioned the scar Salone couldn't help but grin at the look on his face.
"Oh, I when I fell at the cafe I was wearing my tank top and I sliced my neck when I fell." She shrugged, "No big deal. It wasn't deep, just wide."
Salone fingered it absentmindedly.
"Hows you mom?" She asked abruptly. She liked Mrs. Peterson very much. Salone looked at him, cocking her head to the side slightly.

Zahra laughed as he tickled her, feeling relief wash through her once more. She was here, and she was home. But she couldn't help but wonder what she was supposed to do next. It felt like she'd been on edge for the past few months, and now that she could relax it was abnormal. Zahra laid back next to him on the picnic blanket, propping herself up on her elbows. A question struck her, and so she asked.

"Have you ever met a troll?" she asked him, looking at him curiously. "Or is that just a Norwegian thing?"

--

"Salone fights with a sickle?" Alison asked, even though she was pretty opposed to using abnormal weapons at the moment. "I can't see them being very effective... maybe, if your enemy doesn't know how to defend against them." She shrugged. "I think I'll stick with a dagger, for now," she said, moving toward the entryway of the armory.

--

"I see," Riley replied, nodding. "My mom? My mom is good. She didn't want me to return to camp so soon, but you know how she is. Alison and I couldn't stay there much longer without attracting trouble... we face a few minor monsters as it was, but Alison was mostly able to take care of those. My mom was thrilled to have us home safe, even if she wasn't happy about my injury. She was worried sick after I told her that I'd gone to Italy in the first place, and I couldn't explain any of it to her until after I got home. She understood, for the most part, and she was on top of me for most of my stay at home, playing nurse." Riley laughed lightly, remembering how she flitted about trying to make sure he was alright.

"I love her, but I'm glad I'm back here now. I was going a little nuts between her and Alison on top of me all the time."

Jance arched an eyebrow, "A troll?" He asked, half laughing. The boy scratched at his stubble, "I would imagine it is a Norwegian thing."
He pushed hair back from Zahra's face again, his fingers lightly trailing her jaw.
"You sure your okay? You seem a little... " There were a lot of words he could have chosen. "Jumpy. Like its illegal for you to relax."
Jance mentally kicked himself, he was starting to sound like Salone.
***
Danni grinned crookedly, "It is actually quite effective, You will have to ask her to show you some time. She is quite amazing with it."
Danni followed the young girl out and she shut the door behind them.
"So, what do you want to do now?" She asked softy. "Go gawk at a pegasi or try and tame a dragon?"
She said the dragon part jokingly but she could introduce her to the resident Guardian of the Golden Fleece.
***
Salone listened quietly and couldn't help but remember her own stay at Jance's fathers house. Being flustered over and Jance and his massive stash of oreos.
"Let me guess, it was like you had no breathing space."
It had been like that for Salone, every time she sneezed or coughed she was examined all over. She couldn't escape anywhere because Hound would have followed her and dragged her back.

"Thank god," Zahra said in response. "I met... maybe six trolls in Jotunheim, and I've had enough of them." She sighed, looking to Jance. He'd noticed the tension in her posture, and as he addressed it she looked away, gazing up at the sky for a moment. The clouds moved slowly, wisping past the sun. She grabbed an oreo, unscrewing it and popping half in her mouth. She swallowed, taking a swig of water before speaking.

"I'm just not used to being able to relax, I guess," she said, after a moment. "I've been on edge a for nearly a month straight. I need to relax, but it's difficult for me to sit still, not anticipating anything. I've never had bad ADHD, but I think it's kicking in now, in an odd sort of way." Zahra shrugged. "I suppose it's a good thing... I won't be needing any coffee for a while," she said with a wry smile.

--

Alison froze, eyeing the girl carefully. She'd heard about the pegasi part from Riley, but dragons? It shouldn't have surprised her, after everything she'd been through, but it sounded so far-fetched, like something from a fairytale. She could've been in Harry Potter, but worse because she had very selective magical powers and it wasn't just a story anymore. "You're not kidding, are you?" she asked Danni, a flicker of curiosity in her gaze. She didn't think she'd ever want to meet a dragon.

--

"Exactly," said Riley, looking at her. "Let me guess, you were in a similar situation? I can't imagine that Danielle would be the most hospitable nurse, but I can see her standing on top of you the whole time," Riley said, chuckling lightly. "It was so irritating, though. I was glad to spend time with my mom and to be able to get to know Alison more thoroughly, but there was time when I just wanted to be alone, even if all I could really do was read, eat and watch TV."

He remembered when he'd just wanted to be alone to deal with his emotions and how he'd constantly have someone checking up on him or sitting by his side, keeping him company. When he'd started therapy it'd gotten better, but it still wasn't great. Alison took it upon herself to try and be his personal psychologist, and it was awful.

"Do they steal socks?" He asked jokingly, referring to an children's book he had heard when he was a child. Something to do with doing laundry. "Coffee does weird things to a demi-god."
Jance remembered the first time he had coffee, wasn't a good thing and when he had come out of the haze more than half of Starbucks had been destroyed. Needless to say he has not had coffee since then. He placed a comforting arm around her, drawing Zahra in.
***
Danni chuckled at the girl's wide eyed look.
"Yes, Dragons. I take it you missed Peleus on the way in." Danni spun around and started towards Thalia's Tree. The dragon was copper colored with yellow eyes, he was snoozing in the sunlight. His snores low and rumbling.
***
Salone laughed at the image of Danni in a nurses suit, scrambling around to suit her every need.
"Naw, defiantly not Danni. It rotated between Jance and my uncle. I think they are why I started climbing trees again. Because I couldn't deal with the stress. "
She looked over at Riley, examining him. He had changed a great deal. But then again, so had she. Then she voiced her thoughts that had been pestering her, "I think... i think Danni lied about the scar on her stomach."

"Steal socks?" Zahra asked, looking at him confusedly. "Not that I know of, but maybe. They like to steal things," she answered, even though she knew he was joking around. She leaned into Jance's side, wrapping an arm around his waist as he drew her into his side. "Coffee... is a bad idea," she concluded. She sat pensively for a moment thinking back to last year, when she'd started drawing pictures of her mother subconsciously, and the newspaper article that had reported her missing, possibly murdered. She wondered vaguely what that'd all meant, and while she'd stopped having such frequent nightmares on the subject they'd started slowly creeping back into her mind while she was in Jotunheim. It was kind of bizarre.

--

"Oh my god, she is serious.." Alison murmured, walking quickly to catch up with her. "I missed him. Riley had to go be superman and so we took a detour through the woods, so I never really got a proper introduction to camp." They approached Half Blood Hill, and at its peak Alison could see the dragon clearly, curled protectively around a pine tree. She kept her distance, keeping close to the other girl and trying to avoid making noise. Her body was rigid. She hated lizards, and she didn't like this thing either, even if it was sleeping.

--

"Jance. Jance is a good guy, though. I'm sure he wasn't too happy that you were climbing trees when you were supposed to be resting," Riley said, laughing lightly. "Though I might've been climbing some trees of my own if it weren't for my leg." He looked around the cabin for a moment, acutely aware of her gaze on him. He looked back to her as she spoke, raising an eyebrow. He thought for a moment.

"She might be," he said. "But I can't imagine how she may have gotten it. The only way to find out would be to confront her about it, and she still may not tell you."

At Zahra's confused look Jance elaborated, "It's from a children's book from when I was a child."
He adjusted his grip so his arm was more comfortably around her. There she went again, looking distracted and lost in her own head. Jance left her alone with her thoughts, just content to sit still and hold her.
***
"He is sleeping most the time. So he isn't that interesting. But when he's awake he is more of a lap Dragon. " Danni said, halting a several feet away from the creature. Silently she wondered how many more dragons there were. She tapped her chin with her forefinger before noticing the expression on Alison's face. "You alright?"
***
Salone offered him a small smile.
"If she lies about something even if you confront her about it. She doesn't say anything. Generally she has good reason, cause it's government crap..."
Danni seemed to be growing more distant through out the days... it bothered her. Salone shook her head and sighed, not quite sure what to do. Salone itched the small of her back, feeling the scar there, from the day at Disney.

"Oh," Zahra said in reply. Then it would make sense that she wouldn't understand his reference. She thought for a while longer, leaning against Jance and looking into space absently as she did so. It was only a few minutes later when she spoke again, drawn from her reverie and back down to reality.

"Do you think it's possible that my mom is alive?" she asked him suddenly, looking up at him and realizing too late that she wasn't even sure she'd ever told him anything about her mom or much about her childhood in general. Somehow, that was something that Anundar knew that Jance didn't, and it bothered her.

--

"I'm... fine," Alison said, trying to breath evenly. "I'm just... not much of a reptile person. Not that a dragon is necessarily a reptile, but I'd assume... never mind. But he doesn't hurt people, right?" To Alison, the idea of a dragon was kind of awesome, but it still freaked her out.

--

Salone seemed frustrated and confused, and Riley nearly reached out a hand to comfort her in some way before he thought better of it and it fell into his lap. The scrapes on his palms were nearly healed already, the magical salve having absorbed into his skin. "She may not be able to tell you," Riley granted, looking at her carefully. "I don't think you should be too concerned, unless you notice her getting injured more often on a regular basis. You have to trust her, at least for the time being." Riley reached out again, this time his hand landing to rest lightly between her shoulder blades.

"I know I should be the last one who's giving you this advice, but you need to worry about your own health for the time being. You can't always worry about being someone's hero, especially when they don't necessarily need one in the first place."

"I found my dad, it is totally possible to find your mother. " Jance said soothingly, massaging her back slightly with his one hand. She looked up at him and Jace pressed a light kiss to her lips. "You will find out what happened to her," He assured her softly. He didn't know much about Zahra's mother but he knew she cared about finding her.
***
Danni gave the girl an understanding look, "No he doesn't hurt people unless they are trying to harm him. He is also quite intelligent and is able to distinguish friend from foe."
The dragon woke, yawned, and then stretched out like a cat. Digging his claws into the earth and turning it up as he did so.
***
Salone sighed and didn't stiffen when Riley put his hand on his back. Instead she leaned into him.
"I'm always concerned or worried, you should know that by now. Generally Danni says she has some stuff she needs to take care of. So I know it's government stuff but now she just vanishes for weeks on end."
She rubbed at her eyes and sighed.

((No time for color)

"It's not really possible to find her if she's dead," said Zahra, resting her head against his collarbone, drawing in a breath.

"I don't know if I want to find her. If she's alive, she left me in a cardboard box on an orphanage's doorstep. If she's dead, then what's the point? At least, that's always how I thought about it. Lately, though, I've been having these nightmares that involve her, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about them. I drew a portrait of her once, subconsciously... it's all very disconcerting, especially after returning from Jotunheim. I kind of just want to relax, but I cannot. I suppose I'll have to do more research, look into it further." Zahra did not seem thrilled at the prospect; she didn't know how to feel about it. If she had a mother, and her mother was a good person, it was one thing, but she was concerned about the opposite. "I never did tell you much about my childhood, did I?"

--

Alison nodded, trying to be cool about the whole thing, but when the dragon woke up she nearly jumped ten feet in the air, stumbling backwards. The thing managed to turn up layers and layers of dirt as easily as she would pick up a handful of sand, and her stomach did flip over itself.

--

"I know," Riley replied, feeling comforted by the fact that Salone leaned into his touch. "You can still try to talk to her about it. Maybe it's something she needs to talk about, though that's unlikely."

They sat in silence for a moment, Riley absentmindedly tracing patterns on her back as he had grown accustomed to doing in the past. It was a little while before he realized what he was doing and stopped suddenly, drawing his arm away from her back tentatively and resting it in his lap. He wanted to give her space, but he wasn't sure how much space to give her. He wanted her to know how he felt, and he knew she had feelings for him, but he was confused, and he was over-thinking this for once in his life.