Jazz : D ((Open--anyone?))

[Estelle]

Surprisingly, Estelle enjoyed jazz. Maybe it was because it was so different from other genres of music. Emphasis on the second and fourth beats, while everything else was on the first and third. That laid back feeling. It was flexible, too, because almost all songs in the world could be made into a jazz style. What interested her most of all were the solos. Each solo was made up on the spot, the musician simultaneously composing and playing his or her part impromptu. She respected that. Thinking on the spot was a hard thing to do, especially when under extreme stress. Estelle was familiar with that feeling, though really, messing up a jazz solo didn't mean that someone might die.

She was alone in the cabin. They had all gone for lunch, but she had stayed behind to finish the last paragraph of a paper. It was about OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. She had read an article about it in Newsweek a few weeks ago, and it had sparked her interest. Originally, she had planned to grab some food after she was done. But now, listening to jazz and kicking back, food didn't seem like a priority. There were few moments when the counselor had the whole cabin to herself, and Estelle was determined to enjoy every moment of it. She could always strike up a deal with a Hermes kid for food if she got hungry later.

Humming along to one of her favorite tunes (Green Onions, for people who were curious), Estelle laid back on her light grey sheets. Yep, she still had some time before her cabinmates came rushing in. What did she have next... A bit of free time. Maybe she'd go visit the arena, or the Hermes cabin. She had archery after that--Estelle almost groaned out loud. Archery was definitely not one of her strong points. Thinking, yes. Poisons, why not? Darts, knives, swords, yes. Few thought of her as a stuck up, perfect child. Wait until they saw her with a bow and arrow. Pushing the unpleasant thought out of her mind, Estelle resumed her kick-backing.

[Cerulaen]

((I'm going to find a reason to be here because why not.))

It was lunch time. Ergo, one of Daquiri's least favorite times of the day. If she was actually feeling hungry, she would normally just grab something from the Mess Pavilion real quick before anyone could attempt to talk to her. Even though she'd become more...familiar with being around people on a regular basis, and some of them weren't half bad, she still wasn't used to interacting with them. She still preferred to be alone with a good book above anything else.

Ergo, the reason she was about to sneak into the Athena cabin to pilfer a book that looked interesting. She'd run out of ones to read several days ago, and since it was the beginning of a long 2-week break for the holiday, she needed to stock up again, else she'd be bored out of her mind.

She'd expected all the Athena kids to be at the Pavilion, so when she walked in and the cabin leader, Estelle, was sitting at one of the many work tables writing, things were kind of... awkward.

She pursed her lips when Estelle looked up and raised a brow at her unannounced entrance. Daquiri paused for a moment. "...no one is usually here when I steal books." At least she was being honest for once? Yeah...

[Estelle]

Estelle turned the jazz volume down as her grey eyes caught Daquiri sneaking into the cabin. Though she wasn’t surprised at the act of stealing books--someone had been taking books from the Athena Cabin--she was slightly taken aback by the culprit. She hadn’t minded the book thievery much. The thief (Daquiri) had always put them back, and that was why there were no surveillance cameras yet in the cabin. Still, she raised a delicate eyebrow at Daquiri’s entrance.

“It’s a pleasure seeing you here, Daquiri. I was rather wondering what had happened to War and Peace.” Estelle said with a small smirk. She couldn’t help but approve the girl’s taste. The books that have been missing were all excellent books. Of course, that made it even easier for her to spot their absences. “I think Heather wanted the book.” She got up and plucked the book from Daquiri’s arms, putting it back on the proper shelf without comment. She might not be the librarian, but she still knew where things went. After all, she’d been here for years now.

After she had done so, she turned back to Daquiri. “Which books would you like next?” Estelle began to ask, but thought better of it. Instead, she made a sweeping gesture toward the interior of the cabin. “Come in. You can grab a book while you’re at it.”

[Cerulaen]

Daquiri stayed her guarded self as Estelle greeted her, before walking up and plucking the book out from under her arm. She wasn't sure whether to scowl or play it cool; albeit, her default expression was usually scowling, but considering the way Estelle was responding to the entire situation...

    But, she decided to scowl anyway. She'd never really been one to discriminate against nice people and always tried her best to treat them the same way she treated people that were a**es. What could she say. She was all for equal rights.

    Eyeing Estelle warily, she walked over to the bookshelves and browsed over the selections. Since it felt a bit weird with Estelle watching her as she looked, she sort of idly asked Estelle, "What were you writing?" in a tone that didn't actually convey much interest. What classics hadn't she read yet...

((By the way, Stelley, I invited ShadowNinja to join us in this topic for his starter post, juuuust so you know. :3))

[ShadowNinja]

(OOC: hi, guys. sorry, my computer was being a jerk last night. XD thanks for having me!)

Wesley walked through the new camp, trying to decide whether to smile and wave at everyone he saw, or pull the hood of his grey hoodie over his head and sulk all the way to the Athena cabin. is it sad the latter was his usual reaction to people in general. he couldn’t help but think about his new step siblings. he had decided to spend the time he'd spent traveling to camp reading up on all things Greek Mythology. to be honest, he was pretty surprised when he was claimed by Athena. Granted, he wasn't exactly expecting any male gods to claim him (at least he hoped that wasn't how it worked, considering his mortal parent was his father), and he certainly wasn't expecting something like Aphrodite, (looks definitely weren't his strong suit), but...... Athena? The Goddess of Wisdom? Shouldn’t that make him, you know, wise? shore, he knew a few random history and science facts, but he was far from being any sort of genius. he recalled the centaur Chiron (yeah, THAT wasn't going to take getting used too AT ALL,) that the Athena cabin was the sixth. he counted silently as he passed each one starting at Zues's until he came to a blue and gold building, with an owl carved over the doorway. The door was open with two girls inside. the one he could see better had grey eyes and black hair. The other had her back to him, but she had strawberry blonde hair and an athletic looking build. He took a deep breath and said, "Uh, hi. This is the Athena cabin?"

[Estelle]

((Yays! The more the merrier : D))

Estelle shrugged at Daquiri’s inquiry. “Just something on psychology,” she said vaguely. It was quite obvious that the Aphrodite girl wasn’t much interested, and Estelle replied appropriately. “There are more classics over there,” she added absentmindedly. Estelle could hardly be described as nice and helpful, but she did have respect for books. And people who liked them.

The ravenette noted yet another person peek into the cabin. She instantly recognized him as a stranger--probably a newbie. He had been to Chiron already, seeing that he knew that this was the Athena Cabin. Estelle instinctively regained her authoritative behavior. “Yes, it is,” She said, her grey eyes giving the boy a run-through. “Are you new?”

[ShadowNinja]

he nodded to the girl. "Yes. i mean, Y-yes, ma'am." he said, a bit offput by the young girls authoritative tone. he shouldered his backpack. ever since he'd gotten it from an unmarked box on his eighth birthday having it with him made him feel strangely safer. he looked around at the cabin, looking for anything to look at accept the girls intense grey eyes. the place looked like his dream home, lined to the brim with maps books and scrolls.

[Walt]

James was making his way back to the Athena cabin after his spar with Alex. He was exhausted, covered in sweat and cuts, and smelled like a high school gym locker room. Nevertheless, he walked with little difficulty back to his cabin after stopping by the Mess Pavilion to pick up an apple. He figured since it was lunch time, the cabin would be empty and he would have a little time to himself. He was wrong.

As he got nearer to the cabin, he started to make out a few figures inside. He recognized Estelle, his half-sibling, but not the other two. One was a girl, pale-skinned and much shorter than him with waist-length blonde hair. The other was a boy, tall and skinny, who seemed nervous in the presence of the two girls.

So much for first impressions, James thought as he noticed his trashy appearance. "I'm gonna assume you're new," he said, walking up to the door and noticing that the boy wouldn't meet Estelle's glare. "You, on the other hand," James added, addressing the blonde girl. "You look like you've been here before. I'm James. Nice to meet both of you." James finished his apple and threw away the remains. "Hey Estelle, is the shower free?" James asked, still sweaty from his fight.

[Estelle]

Estelle shrugged away the formal title (referring to the ma’am here). Her normal poker face cracked into a little smile as the new boy’s eyes wandered around Athena Cabin, obviously falling in love with the place. It seemed such a long time ago that she herself was in his shoes. Her marveling wasn’t quite so open, though. She had her poker face back then, too.

“Right,” she said, “No need for the titles. You can call me Estelle. Your cabinmates--” Estelle’s words got cut off by James’ entrance. “Well, there’s one of them.” Her eyes flickered towards her watch, this time addressing James. “You can take a quick shower. We still have some time before lunch is over.” she replied, refusing to respond to the horrid smell. Few years at camp, and you kind of got used to it.

[Cerulaen]

((Oh-kay, guess I shouldn't wait so long to post... Just a tip for the newbies, try to remember posting orders so others don't get left behind in the dust posting. Also, for Walt, we're all perfectly okay with you joining here, as you can see, but as a general rule try to ask before joining a topic, just out of politeness.))
((Heh, no one's actually called Ri a blonde before...she's more a redhead. xP And derp, I was hoping you would answer with it being about OCD, Estelle. xD With Ri having obsessive-compulsive personality and all...but there's more people here now, anyway.))

Psychology. Of course. What else... Daquiri thought. She glanced at Estelle when she seemed to read her mind, however, and moved over to the bookshelves she gestured to. She hoped that would be the end of her interaction with human life for the day, but of the course the universe had planned for otherwise.

Looking up from the back of a thick book at the sound of a new voice, Daquiri saw a kid that looked somewhere between goth and emo. She'd never really been sure where to draw the line between the two. From his shaggy hair to the zits on his face, however, he didn't look like the most orderly person. She wrinkled her nose. From his question, it was pretty obvious he was a new kid. At the beginning of Christmas break? Really? Unless he was a runaway orphan bada** like her (which she seriously doubted), his parents had a pretty obvious way of saying, "Hey! We don't want to deal with you anymore!" if they made him leave during the holiday season.

When it was confirmed that he was in fact new, Daquiri gave Estelle a sidelong look. "This time, the new kid really is all your problem," she said, maybe a bit louder than would normally be considered polite. She remembered the last time she dumped a newbie half-blood on Estelle's hands. At least this time she had a pretty solid excuse to not have any part of it.

She had gone back to browsing the books when another Athena kid walked in. Seriously, this was supposed to be lunch time. Get with the program, Athena spawn. If she had thought the one kid was unkempt, this guy was a gross mess. Daquiri almost openly covered her nose at the stench of man-sweat that he brought with him. She thought Athena kids were supposed to be more... well, professional. Or something. As obnoxiously annoying as her own half-siblings were, at least none of them had the indecency to come into their cabin like that. It was making her OCPD itch.

She hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on in the conversation, but when the sweaty newcomer addressed her, she looked up and narrowed her eyes. One of her brows raised at his apparent observation. "Congratulations for noticing I've been here since July," she said dryly, only half muttering. She looked back to her book a bit dismissively as he gave formalities. "The feeling isn't mutual." She didn't bother giving her own name.

((...3:30 in the morning is still "today," right? I swear I started this at like, 11:00pm...))

[ShadowNinja]

(woops, sorry about the late reply XD and thanks for pointing out his "emo, goth" appearance. that's totally what i was going for and was worried i hadn't gotten that across XD)

Wesley nodded to the new guy, resisting the urge to say, "Please" as he asked the girl if the showers were free. seriously, there's this amazing new invention called deodorant. and the girl by the bookshelves...... he bit his bottom lip. he wasn't usually one to stereotype, but from the way she carried herself and the way she seemed to be avoiding him, his mind automatically braught up the images of some of the "popular" girls back home: fake tans, long dyed hair, avoided him like the plague. he had sort of been hoping this place would be different...... he smiled to the her. "Well, 'The new Kid' has a name. Wesley. Maybe i could get your'se?" he forced himself to say. he usually wasn't so open to people when he first met them, but he'd promised himself he was going to change at this "camp." he then turned back to the other girl, who had introduced herself as "Estelle." "so, are any of those rooms free?" he asked, gesturing to the rooms he guessed were bedrooms.

[Estelle]

((I don’t think there are rooms in the Athena Cabin, like private ones. They’re most likely bunks. After all, this isn’t the Hephestus cabin.. xP And 3:30 in the morning, Ceru? This close to Christmas?? D:))

Estelle sighed a little. Daquiri wasn’t wrong, and somehow most of the newbies seemed to come her way. Which was strange, because she’d think that Chiron would want nice people to guide the new ones around, right? Apparently that didn’t matter, but she didn’t complain.

Aware that it was lunchtime, Estelle fished around her backpack. She found a granola bar and tossed it to the new boy. “Eat,” she said, “unless you’re allergic to nuts or something. You’ll need the food.” She mentally went through the things that she had to do for the newbie. The tour, she supposed, and maybe the video showing...no, she didn’t have to do that. At least, she hoped not. There were so many things to do…

“First of all, before we assign you anything.” Estelle said calmly, pushing away her thoughts, “What’s your name? You look about 14, 15 or so. It would be helpful for me and you to tell me your background, where you came from, et cetera.” She glanced fleetingly at Daquiri. “I’m sure Daquiri will not eavesdrop,” she said dryly. She had learned to hear a newbie out before assigning bunks. That way, there were less fights that she had to sort out.

((Haha, I love how Estelle is being portrayed as the nice one. Normally she would be just like Ri, but I guess not. xP))

[ShadowNinja]

Wesley took the bar, realizing for the first time how hungry he was. he sighed. typical of him, to get so caught up in basically anything that he forgets to eat. was that common with Athena kids? he shrugged it off and bit into it hungerly. "Well," he said in between bites, "my name is Wesley Majors. im from Georgia. um, im fifteen, i have a ahlf sister back home, but i think it'll be cool too...." he suddenly stopped. for the first time, the true gravity of what this camp was weighed on him. he had siblings from his mother's side. these kids were from the side of him he had never known. these kids had the same problems he had. the problems that his dad and stepmom could never understand. the part his father had worked so hard to hide. he shook his head, fighting down emotions. "i think it'll be cool too get to know my.....siblings." his voice broke as the final word left his mouth. "i...im sorry....." he said, turning to the door, trying to get a hold of himself.

(oh, my gods, were all online at the same time....... O.o XD)

[Walt]

((Sorry, I'll be sure to ask before joining any other threads. And sorry for the late reply, been on a plane all day.))

James quickly grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. "Rude," he muttered under his breath at the unfamiliar girl's response. After a quick shower, James emerged from the bathroom looking and smelling fresh and clean. "That's better," James remarked feeling refreshed. However, the new kid looked like he was about to cry. "Whoa, what happened while I was in there?" James asked, concerned about the new demigod.

[Cerulaen]

((Pfft, the closer it gets to Christmas, the later I tend to stay up, Stelle. xP It's break! And ha, I like how you guys are apologizing for posting late. In RP terms, it's a miracle we're all even posting in the same day.))

    Daquiri snorted at James’ comment as he walked past her to the shower. ‘Rude’ was basically her middle name. If kids at this camp hadn’t heard of her reputation with people interaction, that was their own problem
    She looked at the new kid with distaste when he addressed her, seemingly a bit indignantly giving his own name and then asking for hers. “I think I like the impersonal feel of ‘new kid’ better,” she replied dryly. “And my name is irrelevant at this point. After this, I doubt I’ll be talking to you again.” She started flipping through books again dismissively. She was back to ignoring the conversation again, including the remark Estelle made to her, until all of a sudden things got uncomfortably, and randomly, emotional in the cabin.
    “Oh-kaaay,” she drawled, snapping the book she was holding shut and tucking it under her arm with a few other books. “New Kid’s inner cry baby showing would be my cue to leave.” She glanced at Estelle. “Thanks for the books,” she said a bit shortly. “Have fun babysitting.” She started to make her way to the door.

((Well, unless someone can find a reason to stop her, Ri doesn't have much more of a reason to hang around. And Estelle is nice in comparison to Ri, Stelley. xP))

[ShadowNinja]

Wesley chuckled as he got a hold of himself. "Sorry guys. i guess whats happening just caught up with me." Turning to James, he said, "Dont worry, man, im not usually like that." he chuckled. then, to the other girl, "its nice to meet you, 'Irrelevant.' i bet your a riot at parties." he let a small smirk on the corner of his mouth.

[Estelle]

((Heh. No one notices that Estelle called Ri by her name a moment ago xP))
To be honest, Estelle wasn’t exactly glad that she’d gone through a lot of these kinds of kids. That was probably the reason why Chiron kept dumping newbies on her, she figured. She briefly wondered who this “responsibility” would go to if she suddenly disappeared.

As Daquiri left, Estelle glanced at the bookcase, reviewing what books she had borrowed. Yes, she was trying to put off the case of the crying child for a while. And why shouldn’t she? She had been listening to jazz about 15 minutes earlier, kicking back. Now, not so much.

Apparently she had done well to wait, because Wesley at least quickly recovered himself. “James, you can go to lunch if you haven’t already,” Estelle said, not taking her eyes off the newbie. “Wesley… Since you’ve already met James, you can take the bunk next to him. It was empty, anyway.” Her tone dared him to argue, though really, James’ personality didn’t lead her to believe that he would. “Wesley, you can unpack quickly. Just grab the stuff you need.” Her eyes trailed to his backpack. “I’m glad you didn’t bring seven trunks of clothes,” she commented. It wasn’t sarcasm, either. Some Aphrodite kid had once done that. As brilliant as she was, Estelle could not find a reason for seven trunks of clothes.

[ShadowNinja]

"Right." he said, throwing the bag on the bunk, then grabbed a random pair of cloths, (a plain red shirt with jeans) then came back out. He closed his eyes, mentally willing his sword to appear in the bag. shore enough, when he reached in he felt his fingures brush the leather grip. he grabbed hold and pulled the whole thing out. he gave Estelle a curious look. "Hope you dont mind, i brought my own toys."

[Walt]

James swallowed a protest when Estelle assigned Wesley to the bunk next to his. Respect the chain of command, James, he told himself. Estelle's the cabin counselor, like it or not, she makes the rules. Besides, it's not like you're saving it for anyone. "I'm not hungry, but I'll get out of your hair," James said instead. He whistled at Wesley's sword. "Nice. I'm more of a knife guy, myself. More personal. Just don't go waving that thing around at people. Lemme know if you need something," James said, slowly backing out of the cabin.

[Estelle]

Estelle raised an eyebrow at James' apparent hesitation. When he assented, however, she nodded curtly to herself. As he walked out, she stepped toward Wesley. "May I?" She picked up the sword and examined it carefully. Using both sword and knife herself (not counting the darts), she had seen quite a few weapons. "It's celestial bronze, so it should work," She commented, casting a calculating eye over the sword. Unconsciously she reached for her own knife strapped to her belt. There were few newbies who brought in their own weapons. She herself had been one of them, having been bestowed with a sword before coming to camp. Though, really, she was slightly better with her knife... It would be interesting to see what kind of kid Wesley turned out to be.

"You can keep that," she told Wesley, a new glimmer in her eyes. Perhaps she wouldn't need to teach him the basics, then."How many years of experience do you have with it?"

[Alex Granit]

(would you mind If I where to just pop in?)

[Estelle]

((Go ahead, Alex))

[ShadowNinja]

He took the sword back from Estelle. "um, i'd say.......... six? seven?" Then, something accored to him. "Hey, is there anywhere i could maybe practice a little?"

[Alex Granit]

Conrad strolled on down the path to the training arena, his stomach wasn't in the mood to be stuffed with food, as was the usual with Conrad, and his body yearned to escape the reality of life and trash talk some training dummys while stabbing  them in the face repeatedly. it was  a favorite past time of his.  Though once the teenager spotted a certain Athen girl, he decided to push aside his restless mind and say hello.
"Hey Estelle!" He waved, one hand holding the back of his head, with a smile.
"Long time no see, huh?"
The ares kid completely disregarded the two new campers as he spoke, welcoming new people was not one of his strong points as of late; He'd gotten tired of answering all the questions they'd usually have have so he eventually just gave up with that area of "expertise"   (I'm going to assume both of you are new since I haven't been on in a while, correct me if I'm wrong and I'll edit it )

[Estelle]

Estelle raised an eyebrow yet again. "Six to seven?" She repeated, a small smile tugging at her lips. The smile disappeared at a 'Hey Estelle.' She thawed when she was with her cabinmates, but her characteristic coldness still lingered around her when with others. "Hello, Conrad," She said with a nod. "I haven't seen you in a while." The counselor turned back to Wesley. "You're allowed to practice in the arena," she said, a slight spark of interest arousing in her mind. "I'll show you where that is later. There's practice right before dinner, anyway."

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