Looking for a weapon!

[Caroline]

Caroline ran her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit of hers. She had no idea what to do with all these weapons, she's never even held a sword or one of those long sticks with a blade on the end. Sure, she's held a gun before, but nothing this.....medieval. Closing her eyes she recalled what the goat man said to her, she had to have a weapon, that is was crucial to her survival from now on. Little melodramatic, but after the journey up here, she couldn't deny that he was probably right. She even had the scratches up and down her arms and the gross cut above her big, round brown eyes to prove it.

Letting out a sigh and knowing that she couldn't just stare at a weapon until it called "PICK ME!", she got to business. With one swift motion, she pulled her brown hair into a pony tail and began to scavenge through the weapons.

[GeneralArin]

Since Jake practically lives in the armory, he happened to walk in on this new girl.

Well, people needing weapons wasn't anything new, and especially now with the increased activity he had more work repairing and forging new weapons. Though that didn't quite stop Jake from getting at least a bit defensive at someone rummaging through the arms. He did manage to get himself to calm down about it. So instead, he asked:
"Need any help?"

[Caroline]

Caroline jumped at the sound of someone else's voice. How did she not see him there? She really needed to work on that. Catching her breath and straightening her back, she gave a quick flash of a smile, nervousness and embarrassment clearly displayed all over her face.

"Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

[GeneralArin]

Jake gave a friendly smile and walked the rest of the way over.
"Well, I'm going to assume that you're looking for some sort of weapon." He said wryly. He looked her over for a moment, then leaned over to the weapon racks/cases/whatever. He pulled out a medium sized sword, one that he figured would be a decent size and weight for her. As he did, he started: "There's a lot of different types to choose from, most people go for a classic sword." He said, holding it across both hands. "A good balance of reach and power, with several different techniques to choose from." Jake gave one of his crooked grins. "Besides, it looks heroic."

[Caroline]

Caroline reached and gently grabbed the weapon from Jake. Her mind going a million miles away, trying to picture herself using this sword. She thought of battles she would fight, monsters, like the ones she saw on her way up here, cowering in fear as she held the sword triumphantly in the air. A confident smile, maybe even a heroic cape with some background music, yeah, it really does look heroic.

Snapping herself back in reality she realized that the girl in her daydream was not who she was. She was holding the sword as far away as she could from herself and having the blade point straight to the ground. She didn't feel very heroic at all. Staring at the ground, not wanting to look the guy in the eyes because of how dumb she felt, she gingerly handed it back to him. "I'm sorry." Her voice was barely audible as she shifted her weight back and forth on her feet and crossed her arms. How could she ever expect to fight a monster when she couldn't even hold a sword right without looking like a dork?

[GeneralArin]

Jake shrugged. "It takes practice." He said. He hesitated before taking the sword again. Though he didn't put it back on the rack, he set it on a nearby table.
"Well, as another popular weapon is the spear." He said, pulling out a spear around the same height he was. "You've got a pretty good reach with this, and can transfer a lot of the moves to quarterstaff fighting, and it's got the pointy bit on the end for extra damage. You can't get as much power out of a spear or staff, though." He held it out for her to take a look at.

[Caroline]

Caroline grabbed ahold of the stick with a blade at the end, what did he call it, oh yeah a spear! Not really knowing what to do with the stick thing, she held it just straight up and down. The spear was clearly taller than her by a few inches making her look like a little kid playing with a toy. Even so, she kinda liked it. It felt more natural in her hand than the sword did, but the height thing felt like kind of dilemna.

"How would I carry this around?" She sounded kinda sheepish as she finally met the boy's gaze. She pictured herself dragging the end of the spear around as she walked to and from places.

[GeneralArin]

Jake grinned. A pretty logical concern. Most people didn't think of that until they had to walk for hours with the thing.
"Magic." He said, only half-joking. "Normally people go with some illogical transformation, though I can manage custom-making a slightly more logical one."
He made his mind move on before he distracted himself and bored her with exactly how things could work.
"Do you like this one, or should we keep going?"

[Caroline]

Caroline shaked her head fiercely making her pony tail slap herself in her face. Again she embarrassed herself, but hoping that he didn't notice, she casually pushed some of her hair out of her face and flashed a tiny smile. She adored this weapon, it was simple yet kinda elegant.

"No, I love it, I just don't understand. Magic?" Her cheeks flared up at this one. She was told she was the daughter of the goddess of magic, yet she did not know a single thing about it, and she had so many questions about it. "How does it work? Can it do anything? Can anyone do it?" The questions rushed out of her mouth and she just couldn't seem to stop, and it was totally unlike her. Usually she was quiet and kept all her thoughts to herself but she had to know. Since she was the daughter of the goddess of the stuff, could she do magic herself? Would she be good at it?

[GeneralArin]

Jake just blinked at the rapid fire questions. He wasn't really a 'magic' sort of person. It didn't make any sense to him, and wasn't something he could just piece together like a machine. In fact, he would be apt to deny it all together if he hadn't seen it first hand on several occasions.

"Uh... I'm not sure." He said, something he didn't like saying himself. "I'd assume anyone could do it, like most things, and I'm sure there's certain limitations as well, but I'm not really the person to ask." He said, with a broad shrug.
"I just hit metal and play with mechanical things."

[Caroline]

Caroline sighed, she should've expected it wouldn't have been as easy as just asking someone all the questions she was dying to know. She could always find a few books are maybe she'd have a sibling who could teach her everything, either way she was dying for answers and she would have them. Bringing herself back to the task on hand, she noticed that the boy said something about playing with mechanical things. She knew there was a god for that, I mean there's a god for everything, but she knew the name to this one...it was the one that got thrown off Olympus....Heifer? No...Hephaestus! Yeah, he must be a son of Hephaestus.

"You're a son of Heif....Hephaestus?"

Her cheeks flared up again as she almost called him a son of a cow. She could be so dumb sometimes, she didn't even know the guys name and he was being so nice in helping her out and here she was being rude and ditzy. She really needed to study up on her Greek mythology.

[GeneralArin]

Jake smiled at the flub. He nodded. "Yep." He confirmed. He laughed. "Sometimes I wish I was Roman instead of Greek, Because 'Jacob son of Vulcan' sounds much cooler." He joked. Because seriously, who can spell Hephaestus? (I say as I misspell the name yet again.) He leaned against the table behind him, sliding the sword he had put there over.

"So, I can help you get a good weapon and decent armor, but I'm afraid I'm no magician."

[Caroline]

Caroline grinned a big cheeky grin. Did he just say son of Vulcan? That sounded more like Star Trek that Roman or Greek Mythology, but hey what did she know? She saw a lot of studying in her near future if she had any hope of keeping up the terminology the kids around here through around. She was extremely thankful, to what did he say his name was...Jacob, yeah that's it. She would of probably stabbed herself looking around for armor and a weapon, but thanks to him she's completely unharmed and learning a lot actually.

"Thank you so much. I will take any help I can get! Jacob, right? I'm Caroline, daughter of Hecate. So, what do we do next?"

[GeneralArin]

"Just Jake's fine." He said, running a hand through his hair. So, what was next, a good weapon was a good start, he guessed. "Well, I guess we can see if you want to try a shield as well. You can get by without custom armor for a while." He finally said, with a shrug.

He pushed himself up and grabbed a shield that had been recently crafted, since most of them had been raided or broken from the last attack. It was a small buckler with leather straps to fasten it to your arm.
"A shield can offer more options when you're fighting, and of course, a second line of defense. It adds a bit of weight and takes some more training to manage efficiently." He explained, handing the shield to Caroline. He grinned again. "I say it's worth it, but I'm biased."

[Caroline]

Caroline reached her arm through the shield and silently inspected it, not really knowing what to look for she just trying to see if it felt comfortable on her arm and if she had pretty good mobility with it. She did, but she didn't really know how she felt about that shield. After a few minutes of thinking it over, she decided that he was right, the shield would help her in the long run and it was worth it.

"So, do I look heroic yet?"

A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, if only her dad could see her now. Holding a spear and shield, in a camp full of warriors, full of half bloods.

[GeneralArin]

Jake gave a grin. "Definitely." He was a bit happy she took the shield too, partially because that meant that it would do something other than sit in the armory and partially that someone else would work with shields.

"Like a real Greek hero." He added, glad he could help out. Heroine was probably the better word, but Jake's not as good at working words as he is working metal. He thought for a moment. He could also get some armor going, but she didn't really need one yet.

"I can make a set for you in a more portable version." He said, leaning back against the table again. His mind was getting going for making stuff again. "I was thinking a wristwatch, where you hit a button or something and the buckler folds out. I haven't decided what to try for the spear yet, any suggestions?"

[Caroline]

Caroline shrugged, she couldn't think of a logical way to make the spear portable. She didn't even understand really how the watch would work, but she was never that great with technology anyway. That's why she didn't throw a big fuss when they took her phone all her other electronics away when she joined the camp, something to do with attracting attention from monsters. Another thing she didn't understand, but she figured she'd learn.

"I honestly have no idea. Maybe it could retract into a smaller rod, or something less conspicuous?"

[GeneralArin]

Jake ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "Yah, that's all that I came up with too." He said, settling into the spot where he was leaning on the table. He thought for a long moment, then he shrugged. "I'll think of something. It'll be great." He said with a reassuring smile.

"Well, Caroline, where are you from?" He asked, moving along the conversation.

[Caroline]

Caroline propped the shield and spear against the nearest wall to her, and smiled back at Jake.

"I'm from Kentucky, and yourself?"

Subconsciously she crossed her arms, looking a little guarded. She wasn't used to anyone asking her questions, unless they were going to use it as a tool against her. Her eyes glided over the place until she got a peek out the door, maybe some fresh air and a tour of the camp could help her open up a little more and not look like such a dork?

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

[GeneralArin]

"Colorado." He answered. When she suggested stepping outside for a bit. Jake gave a shrug and pushed himself up from the table. "Sure. Have you checked out the rest of the camp yet?"

[Caroline]

Caroline took a step outside and took in a deep breath. It was a little hot outside, but other than that it was a great day to be outside and not all cooped up in the armory. Besides she's barely seen the camp, just her cabin, the armory, and the Big House.

"No, I haven't really seen anything yet."

[GeneralArin]

Jake stepped outside behind her, blinking a bit from the brightness. "Well then, let's fix that, shall we?" He said with one of his crooked and slightly dorkish grins. He looked around, not very confident in his ability as a tour guide. He put a hand through his hair. "Now, where to start?" It wasn't as easy as talking about weapons.

(Man, all of these short posts. Sorry.)

[Caroline]

Caroline shrugged, she felt like she was doing that a lot lately. Maybe because she didn't know that much about this place, or even what was really going on.

"Maybe we can just walk and talk? As we pass by things you can tell me what it is and all that jazz?"

A fresh breeze blew by, but it didn't do much for the heat. She was really glad that decided to dress for it though in the typical Camp Half-Blood shirt, but this one was tie dyed and sleeveless, and black shorts that were finger tip length. You have to dress appropriately, this is a camp full of teenagers after all!

(It's alright! I'm having a tough time with it too)

[GeneralArin]

"Alright, that sounds like a plan." Jake said, running another hand through his hair. He motioned forward with a toss of his shoulders, "Well, I guess we can head to the amphitheater."

With that, they started off.
"So, do you have any hobbies?" He asked, trying to come up with something to continue the conversation.

[Caroline]

Caroline followed behind Jake, partly because she had no idea where she was going, the other reason because she didn't really like to walk very fast. She liked to take in the scenery and just look around, it was kind of refreshing. No one seemed to have the time to stop and see what was really around them, and that seemed especially true for the half bloods around here. The camp was beautiful, in its own way, and she never knew what she was going to see next.

At the mention of hobbies, Caroline started to rack her brain. There had to be something she really enjoyed to do. Movies? Tv? Typical teenage things, but that didn't seem fascinating enough, what did she do that actually kind of sounded cool to say and she was actually good at? Biting her lip, she thought back to the schools she went to before her dad sent her to the military academy. Then it hit her!

"Back at the military academy, I didn't really have much time for hobbies. Unless you count shining shoes," She half grinned at that and half grimaced, she would always hate the smell of shoe polish now, "But, before that I used to always dance. I'm probably rusty now, but if I ever get spare time I'm hoping to get started again. I also have little hobbies like swimming, hiking, reading, writing, but nothing really exciting. What about yourself?"

Caroline was half-surprised, she had never talked to someone so much in her entire life. Usually she avoided conversations, but she kind of liked having someone to talk to. It made her feel kind of normal, and she really wanted that sense of normalcy in the middle of all the chaos that being a half blood brings.

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