Alyssa James

A party? Say less! Alyssa lived for parties. Really she lived for anything that helped her really embrace her youth. Teenage parties were part of the quintessential teen experience, were they not? And as a child of the goddess of youth, Aly was drawn to these kinds of activities. She couldn't help herself. Of course, the extra added perk was that there was a chance that she might run into a certain Son of Iris that she had taken to spending time with recently. Alyssa had determined that, despite her better judgment, she really had developed a crush on Finley. She wasn't about to go out of her way to gain his attention, of course, but it didn't hurt to make sure he had more opportunities to see her when they presented themselves, did it? Alyssa let her hair down. The waves rippled around her face as she adjusted her crop top and checked the fit of her pants. Her look was complete, and once she was satisfied of that she found her way towards the Dionysus cabin. Aislynn's parties were always ragers. They lasted far longer than they should, had more alcohol than was advisable for grown adults let alone teens, and the music was on-point. She definitely inherited her father's flair for parties. Aly poured herself the first glass of Jungle Juice before letting her eyes float around the room. As she scanned the crowd her gaze first fell upon the one guy she had hoped wouldn't show up to the party, Damien. After his willingness to help her with her archery, Aly was willing to cut him a bit more slack, but she still couldn't stand his ego. She did her best to look away quickly, hoping he didn't notice her and seize the opportunity of finding her by herself to chat. Unfortunately it was pretty hard to look away completely because he was right next to the one person she wanted to look at, Finley. Fuck...

Alyssa shrugged at Damien's comment. "Consider me not your typical person, then." It wasn't that his abilities weren't impressive. That she couldn't deny. If he hadn't acted like he was the gods gift to the other campers, Alyssa might have realized that he was conventionally attractive. If he hadn't basically talked down to her like she didn't know anything about archery, she might have been willing to find out more about him. As it was, she was grateful for the lessons he was willing to give, but that was about all she could bring herself to be. "Takes more than talent to pique my interest." Damien positioned himself behind her and she could feel his hands guiding her arms. His breath was warm against her ear, and Aly had to admit that she was finding it hard to focus. Regardless of his personality, Damien was still classically handsome and she was still a hormonal teenager. Her mind drifted briefly towards the intimacy of the moment as he repositioned her arms. When he finally stepped away, she took a deep breath to steady herself. She drew her arrow and let it fly. It landed in the inner circle. It wasn't a perfect bullseye, but it was a definitely improvement. "By 'worthy' challenge, you mean that I suck?" Alyssa said with a chuckle. He was still arrogant, he was still cocky, but at least he was reframing it on how he could use his skill to help her, at least mostly. It was an improvement, no matter how minor. She would take it. She returned his soft smile. "Thanks... it, uh... it's important that I get better. That's the most improvement I've had all summer."

Alyssa just looked at him. She marveled at the audacity that he had to treat her like she didn't understand basic combat dynamics. Of course hitting a moving target is better. Does he think I'm an idiot? "You know I've been at Camp Half-Blood for a few years now, right? I know that the monsters will be moving. But you have to start somewhere." She said as she nocked yet another arrow and fired it at her target once more. This time it was just slightly too far above. She heaved a sigh of frustration. All her efforts and practice felt like they were amounting to very little. Much as she preferred to avoid the company of guys that were full of themselves, she wanted to see her dad more than she wanted to avoid Damien. And he was one of the best archers at Camp. He took the time to demonstrate that by launching his arrow effortlessly into a moving target, square in the bullseye. At least it isn't all talk. Though, that might make it worse... "If I let you give me pointers, do you think you could tone down the self-ego-boosting a bit? I don't know who you think you need to convince of your talents or impress but... it's not me. I know children of Apollo are some of the best archers. And I know that even among them you're considered talented." She looked at him, set her bow down, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Let your talent speak for itself. Stop talking it up." She didn't know why he seemed so keen on helping her. Alyssa wasn't even sure that she cared why he wanted to train her so badly. And she would be stupid to turn down lessons from one of the best archers at camp. But the bragging had to stop. There was no way she could put up with hours of that during a training. "I'm more of an 'actions speak louder than words' girl." She offered him a soft smile to show that she meant no ill-will. She was honest, but had no real reason to dislike the guy. Except that his self-commendation just rubbed her the wrong way. If he could stop that though, maybe she could bring herself to forge a friendship. Or at least deal with him long enough to tutor her. The last thing she wanted to do was actually upset him when he seemed to be trying to connect with her. "Why do you want to teach me, anyway?"

I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE! Alyssa James

Alyssa jumped when she heard a voice. She hadn't heard him approaching so she was a bit startled when suddenly she heard his voice. Alyssa was fairly athletic, but she was much more of a hiking, rock climbing, and yoga kind of athlete than archery. She preferred hand to hand combat over weapons most of the time, so her skills with weapons were fairly rusty. Still, she figured if she was ever going to be able to go and see her dad, she should probably be able to use something made of celestial bronze someday, and if she joined the hunter the bow and arrow would be the obvious choice. However now, in this exact moment, she was starting to regret that decision. Not because of her skill, but because the last thing she needed was a carbon copy of Apollo, down to the egocentrism, trying to worm his way in under the guise of tutoring. It took everything in her not to visibly roll her eyes at his words. Damien Dawn. It was a name that was known around camp. Sometimes highlighting his talents, and sometimes highlighting his self-aggrandizing manner of speech. Alyssa truly believed that everyone had redeeming qualities and that part of youth was making mistakes. That didn't mean that just because she could accept and understand someone being a bit cocky and arrogant, that she would condone it. Still, he hadn't done anything to deserve vitriol either just because she found his self-importance annoying. She would be civil until he gave her reason not to. "Yeah... You being talented doesn't help me when facing an opponent." Alyssa said by way of dismissal. Taking a deep breath, she nocked another arrow and let it fly towards the target. It was a bit closer but still just off the mark. For a moment she thought she should call it a day, get away. But that wouldn't help her get back to visit her father. And that goal trumped most things. And honestly, how bad could Damien really be. Perhaps the stories she had heard from the other campers were exaggerated. Though, it didn't seem like it yet...

Summer had seemed to linger a few weeks later than usual this year. The summer campers had long since gone home, but the weather had stayed warm. This morning, however, there was the first frost on the grounds. Alyssa went for a walk down to the Archery range. She had nothing better to do that day, so she decided to get a bit of extra archery practice in. Truth be told, she was contemplating whether or not she wanted to join the hunters of Artemis. All the girls her age were finding themselves falling in love and she wasn't sure that was something that interested her. Especially after the brief fleeting moment of attraction she had allowed herself to feel hadn't really panned out the way she had hoped in the end. She was a very go with the flow individual, and believed that if she was meant to find love it would happen in its own time. So she wasn't chasing it down the way her friends all seemed to. Unfortunately, that meant that she had a lot of free time when they decided that they were going to sit and gossip about their various crushes and who was dating who. Aly had no interest in that kind of gossip and was most content when she could actively do something. Whether that was reading, crafting, or trying to stay in shape. She had just excused herself from one such conversation over breakfast and grabbed a bow from the armory to head out for some practice. As she arrived she drew up the bow and aimed for the first target. Her arrow embedded itself into the haybale just an inch or two away from center. Unfortunately that was far worse than she had been at the start of the summer. She could already feel herself getting grumpy that she had let herself grow distracted and lose focus. Hebe campers didn't have the wide range of gifts that some of the others had. Their mother was the goddess of youth. All that really granted them was flawless skin at this age. Everything else they had to work for on their own. No natural talents given. Sure, she could make someone else look younger as well, but it wasn't going to exactly help her in combat. As such, Alyssa took her training seriously. She wanted to be able to defend herself if she went out into the world. She was lost in her focus when someone else joined her. @ Damien Dawn

Pleased to see that her younger sister seemed to be settling in well enough, Alyssa smiled. "That's not even the best part. Watch this!" Once she was sure she had Julia's attention, Alyssa grabbed her goblet and said, span class="hebe">"Sweet tea." And within seconds her goblet was filled with sweet tea. Alyssa showed the glass to Julia before then chugging the goblet's contents. After a minute she set it down and placed it on the table. The goblet was still full! "The goblets are enchanted. They'll fill with whatever non-alcoholic beverage you tell them to, with an endless supply. It refills immediately. Pretty neat, huh?" In the back of her head, there was something that told her that it was probably not the best idea to let a young child with little to no willpower know that there was endless sugar and caffeine at her disposal. But Alyssa wasn't her mother, and it was a right of passage for youth to overindulge in sugar and caffeine at least once, right? Surely their mother would understand if she had been there.

Alyssa had to admit, if Finley kept playing his cards like this she could probably understand the girls that swooned over him. She had always been a 'make them work for it' kind of girl, but that didn't mean she didn't recognize what others saw. Being careful only meant that she didn't fall easily, not that she didn't understand why others fell. "What kind of adventure are you hoping for?" Alyssa smirked. She swirled the beverage in the cup she was holding onto. Watching the drink spin around her cup, Alyssa heard him ask if she was here alone or not. She couldn't help but feel a bit pleased that he seemed just as curious about her as she was about him. She was finally at that age where she wanted to do more than just think a boy was cute. She wanted to start experiencing those things that the songs wrote about. Still, she wasn't going to just run off with the first person to show interest. So she enjoyed the back and forth they seemed to have going. It helped give her a feel for the situation. "I came alone, too." Giving him a playful smile, she continued. "You can keep me company as long as you keep up the interesting conversation." She then returned his wink. Tonight's shaping to be better than I thought.

Alyssa's eyes went wide when she saw Tempest stride over to Finley after getting her dare. Part of her was curious what the story there was--why would Tempest hate Finley?--and the other part felt a bit disheartened that he seemed to be getting so much sexual attention tonight. He clearly had his options open, and if she decided to let herself admit she might have a crush on him she wasn't sure what chances she would actually have. Turning her attention away from the scene she saw Mila join the group. The game was definitely drawing a crowd, she could tell. Before long the dance was over and it was Celeste's turn. Naturally the child of Hermes had picked dare. Alyssa would have been surprised if she had chosen anything else. The dare that she was given, however, was beyond crazy! Alyssa was suddenly very glad that she hadn't received her dare from Tempest. She wasn't sure she would have been able to complete that one. Celeste however, seemed all too eager. She even suggested the next person to be dragged into the game. Sitting back, she watched again. Content to observe once more.

Alyssa playfully rolled her eyes at him, but she had to admit that she found his particular brand of confidence to be refreshing. In most guys it was arrogance, and quickly melted away when they received any form of rejection no matter how mild. Finley had just brushed it off as if it were nothing and continued to play the game. Okay pretty boy. I'll give you a point for that. She thought to herself. Her eyes drifting over his body once more. Giving him a smile, she replied, "So your vote is for 'not spiked yet' then?" Taking another sip, she looked out to the bonfires and the small area in the middle, already filled with a couple of dancers. She wondered if she would have to ask Finley, or if he'd have the notion all on his own to ask her to dance. Alyssa was a modern girl. She did not subscribe to the idea that men always had to initiate things where flirting or romance were concerned. Women were just as capable, and probably stood a better chance of landing a decent man if they would initiate. But she also found it interesting when meeting someone new to see what the boundaries of their comfort were. Finley seemed like someone that would have pretty open boundaries as far as that was concerned. She smirked to herself. Let's see how long you can keep me this intrigued. Sipping on her punch once more, she began to hope that Finley's guess was right. That the children of Cabin 12 just hadn't gotten to the punch yet. Because at the rate she was drinking it, if they had she would be fairly tipsy before long. "Did you come with anyone tonight?"

Smiling over at Tempest Alyssa pressed her finger to her lip as she thought. And then, it came to her, "I dare you to give a lap dance the person you like the most here. Minute and a half, minimum." Alyssa tried to keep it reasonable. The last thing she needed was a child of the goddess of revenge as an enemy. You didn't survive as a child of Hebe by your martial prowess, you survived by being clever and cunning. By at least letting her pick a favorable target, she hoped to draw the least amount of ire from the girl. Alyssa tried not to look at Gael and ignored his question. If he wanted to talk to her after the game, sure she'd tell him everything. But for now, she could just pretend to be wholly embarrassed at her confession. Rather than speaking anything out loud and making it worse.

Damn. Alyssa bit her lip pensively. She wasn't even certain herself about whether or not she had a crush on the guy, and now Miro wanted her to spill her guts before she had a chance to figure anything out? Think, Aly, think. She chided herself. She took stock of all the boys sitting around the campfire. She definitely wasn't going to tell Finley anything before she had a chance to figure out what it was. But everyone knew that children of Aphrodite could feel the smallest spark of interest. So she had to do some quick thinking. I'm sure as hell not wasting a drachma on this. If she said any of them it would likely satisfy everyone around the fire. They couldn't possibly know something that she didn't really know herself. It had to be someone good though. Someone that wouldn't pursue anything. Shi Jin was older than her, and likely the age gap would prevent him from pursuing anything. But she didn't know him well enough to feel certain that he wouldn't confront her about it later. The last thing she needed was to explain that she'd lied and have his goody-two-shoes spoil her secret. Loukas was taken, but definitely didn't want Sage and Henry giving her the side eye all night because she picked him. Silvio had plenty of embarrassment and lust for the night, she didn't feel like he needed more added onto it. That only left Gael or Miro himself. Neither of them felt like a particularly safe bet not to pursue anything. But she had to pick one of them. With a deep breath she set her eyes on Gael and said. "Sure, why not... I think you're cute." Even though it wasn't a real crush, the idea of confessing something like that in front of a group was still pretty embarrassing. Her cheeks turned pink of their own volition. Something she prayed the others would take as a sign of sincerity from her so that they'd drop it and leave it at that. At least Gael would probably understand and not rat her out if she explained herself. She hoped. "Anyway... uh... Tempest. Truth or Dare?" She said, by means of quickly turning the other campers's attention away from her. When she was sure that people had turned to look at Tempest, she let her gaze flit over to Finley briefly. Trying to figure out if her faux confession had impacted his mood at all. Not likely. She reminded herself. You play hard to get, and most boys aren't into that... Alyssa wasn't really sure what she wanted to see. If he wasn't bothered then he didn't have any feelings for her. But if he did, and she hurt him, that wasn't much better. She really hadn't thought this plan through...

Alyssa quirked her eyebrow. "You're going to have to be a lot more specific than that. Because otherwise I could pretend something embarrasses me, when really it doesn't, and you'd never know." She said with a wink. Mostly it was because she figured that he was thinking about something like flashing someone or whatever. But that wouldn't embarrass her. Hell, most of the stunts that people had been asked to do tonight wouldn't embarrass her. Not really. To Alyssa, the only things that were actually embarrassing were things where she cared what people thought after. She was bold and confident. She didn't get embarrassed by stunts. "So... give me an example of what you're looking for."

As Silvio brought out the brownies, Alyssa snagged one. "Thanks." She said with a grin. Henry determined that the next person would take their turn. Seemed like a reasonably decision to her. Watching the group to see who would be brave enough to volunteer, she almost raised her hand herself when Sage volunteered. As she chose truth, Alyssa smirked at the question. She could think of a fair few of the boys she could have responded with. A few of them might have been around this very campfire. Of course a kiss was very different than dating. Her list would probably shrink if she had to confess who she would willingly date. As Sage answered, Alyssa nodded in acceptance. That was a respectable answer. Gael was cute enough to look at. She could see why Sage would choose him. The game continued with Sage asking Shi Jin about the darkest thing he had used his luck magic on. Alyssa had to admit, that question got her attention. Children of Hebe had very little in the way of active abilities. Many of theirs were passive. Sometimes she envied the campers whose abilities were more obvious. She wondered what she would do if she had a more active set of powers from her mother. Surprising absolutely nobody, Shi Jin's answer was almost boringly tame. Grades? Yawn. She thought to herself. Before long Loukas rejoined the group. So far, she had to admit that he seemed to be the most impressive of the bunch so far. Though the game had just started, she was sure there would be plenty more excitement to come. However her attention instantly shifted as Shi Jin made his choice. Finley. Alyssa wouldn't admit it out loud, but their last encounter had intrigued her. She was somewhere between friendly and crushing on him, and hadn't really made up her mind where it would go. His choice came as no surprise to her. Of course he picked dare. She silently chuckled to herself. As Shi Jin dared him to kiss one of the boys, her eyebrow quirked as she realized it didn't bother him at all. Either he's very secure, or he's bi. Alyssa came to the conclusion. Either way, this will be a good show. She watched as he walked over to Silvio and planted one right on his lips. As the kiss grew more sensual, Alyssa smiled to herself. Definitely bi. Poor Silvio seemed dazed after Finley's kiss. Who wouldn't be after that? Alyssa knew that she would have been after a display like that. She wasn't sure if that display had made her move more towards friend zone or crush as far as the child of Iris was concerned, but it definitely had gotten her attention. And the way he casually moved the game along after was fairly smooth. Henry chose dare as well, and Alyssa almost choked on the brownie she was eating as Finley spoke his dare to her. Well this game suddenly turned around. The way she followed through, however, was the real gold though. Completely worth the drachma that had been spent. Alyssa was certain that her threats fell on deaf ears, however. No one at that campfire was likely to forget anytime soon. The game continued with the next camper, and Petal chose truth. Her answer was fairly sad, and Alyssa had to admit she felt bad for the girl. Causing the death of a dog at only seven years old when you didn't know any better, that had to have been rough. Say what you wanted about the teenagers at Camp Half-Blood, but she couldn't think of any of them that wouldn't have sympathy for Petal after that story. Nobody enjoyed hearing when animals died. It almost felt wrong to continue the game after that confession, but continue it did. Soon enough Silvio could be seen pole dancing against a tree. That brought the mood right back where it needed to be, and the game was saved. Next up was Miro and they got two confessions for the price of one. Alyssa let out a soft chuckle. One that she regretted because she was fairly certain it is what got her noticed. Before she knew it, it was her turn. With a shrug, Alyssa answered. "Well I'm sure as hell not going to bare my soul to this cutthroat crowd." She gave a light-hearted laugh before answering. "Hit me with a Dare." She said as she gave Miro a look, challenging him. As soon as she gave her answer, Gael and Tempest showed up. The game was really growing fairly crowded. Alyssa began to wonder just how much she might start to regret her decision.

Alyssa had been on a walk when she saw a group of campers. Curious, she wandered quietly over that way so as not to disturb them, in case she wasn't meant to join or overhear. As she got closer, however, it seemed to be a bit of an impromptu game of truth or dare. Stepping out from the bushes, she grinned impishly. "Truth or Dare? Count me in!" She said and popped a seat near the fire. She could just about make out the faces of most of the campers. As the game began, she listened to the exchanges between Miro and Henry, two campers she hadn't really gotten to know much about yet. And of course Loukas and Sage could be seen together. Those two were practically inseparable. She hadn't really noticed that Finley was there, partially obscured by the fire light, until the game started. She hadn't seen him since that party in the forest a few weeks ago. Before long, Henry dared Loukas to plunge himself in the lake. Thankfully she clarified that she didn't actually want him to get fully naked, because Alyssa definitely didn't need to see that level of pale in the moonlight. "So...uh... what do we do until he gets back?"