Loukas’ mind had been racing as he felt his heart rate spike. He had no idea what her reaction would be and the second his fingers had interlocked with hers he had wondered if he’d made the right decision or not. He was committed now though, there was no turning back at this point. It was a quick relief when he felt her squeeze his hand back. She didn’t pull away! He thought to himself with delight. No disgusted or confused glances either, in fact…that looks like a smile. He could not help but beam back, a goofy smile, but one that hid none of the joyful emotion that was behind it. She liked him back!

Oh wow…she liked him back….what should he do now? He had not really thought that far ahead yet. His brain had gone to all the worst case outcomes that he hadn't planned out for it going well. That’s when all his joyful emotions were quickly mixed in with some very nervous ones. What should he do now? He certainly enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his, the softness and the way she occasionally kept squeezing it; as if she was reminding them it wasn’t a dream.

Well, if it had gone well this far, then he should ask her the question that was already forming in his mind. “Would you maybe like to go do something sometime? Like…together…as in just the two of us? I think I might like you! Like a friend…NO I meant MORE THAN a friend!” Wow……he thought to himself. That did not come out nearly as smooth as he had imagined it in his head. Then again, this was Sage he was talking to, if anyone could appreciate a little spastic'ness it would be her…he hoped.

Though generally reserved, Loukas could not help but allow some signs of amazement to show on his face as he observed the illusion dissipate before him. Amazement, and a small bit of pride in himself for knowing that all was not as it appeared to be. He could see now why the mist was a power that made other campers uneasy. For the first time that he could remember he felt himself drawn to it, wanting to understand how he could learn to master something like that. Sage was certainly right, Shadow did seem well suited as an instructor. Loukas just hoped that he could be an adequate student.

“Most of what I know just came from books,” he admitted. While much of his father’s house and belongings had been destroyed during the magical explosion, a handful of books had made it unscratched. A couple of those had made mention of this gift and the properties wherein. Lately he’d found himself sneaking off on his own at nights to try and practice what he’d read. The results had been decent, but not to the standard he hoped, not without a teacher.

“I know what the mist is and what one can do with it. But until recently I haven’t felt comfortable exploring that myself…things have changed though. And I want to learn. There’s someone I care about and if I don’t learn to use my gifts then how can I protect her?” Loukas asked, possibly admitting too much, but he hoped he’d sounded sincere, Shadow was probably his best chance to master this skill.

Loukas watched intently as the other three campers traded barbs with each other. He started to grow a little worried watching Sage get so worked up, but he also admired his friend's passion for standing up for the outcasts. After all, she had grown into one of his closest friends for that very reason. Where other campers avoided him either for his oddities or because he was a Hecate child, Sage had reached out and accepted him from the beginning without any reservations. He always looked back fondly at their first meeting, when she ambushed him one evening, pen and paper in hand; with a never ending list of questions. 

Trying to reason with the girl, he was glad to see her face calm. Besides, he had meant what he'd said about them pranking Levi back sometime; the man's ego had it coming. "Yes, let's" he responded as they linked arms again and headed off. Though this time something felt different, Loukas wasn't usually one for being arm in arm with anyone but he put up with it for Sage. This time though, he actually felt a mix of excitement and nerves as she led them to a quiet spot on the beach. Just close enough to the other campers so as not to seem standoffish, but far enough away to offer the young couple some privacy to enjoy the show. As each firework went off Loukas found himself looking less at the show and more at Sage's face. Finding enjoyment at seeing her grin, as the colors of the show washed over her face...and lips....wait...hold on...why was he looking at her lips?!?

It was like a firework had gone off in the boy's chest as he suddenly realized that maybe...just perhaps...his feelings for Sage were not entirely just based in friendship. But would she even feel the same way? He didn't want to lose the strong friendship the two had built up over the last two years. What was he to do? That's when he noticed her hand, small and gentle laying not far from his. Maybe if he..... Taking a deep breath Loukas decided to be brave and take the plunge. His hand inching it's way over to hers and then finally letting his fingers slip in-between hers as he watched waiting to see what her response would be.

Loukas’ face dropped a bit as he listened to the girl explain the history of his mother, and by extension, himself and his siblings. “Demi-titian” he said, mostly to himself. Was this why he always felt so dangerous? Was this the reason his powers always felt so unstable? There was still so much he did not know about himself, things he wasn’t even sure he wanted to know. Yet this girl, MK seemed to know quite a lot and she hadn’t run away from him yet.

In fact, he couldn’t help but let a smirk spread over his face now that he saw how to get under her skin a little. His father had a way of reading people to get what he wanted, while Loukas vowed he would never manipulate people in the same way, he had developed the same skill. “Anytime, anywhere huh? I’ll take that challenge!” he grinned. Confident in himself and the athletic skills he worked very hard on, often at the expense of magic practice. That’s when he remembered the unique rule of his abilities. “Well, almost anytime” he corrected himself. “Well…specifically at night time….BUT I did mean anywhere. You name it and I’ll be there!”

He was beginning to warm up to this girl, while she seemed fierce it wasn’t in any sort of mean or rude way. In a way, it seemed like she might even be able to relate with what he was going through. “It’s nice to meet you MK…would you…be my friend? I promise not to hex you. At least not tonight” he winked, teasing his new friend.

Loukas, looking to defuse the situation was grateful for MK speaking up. However he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward now, both Sage and MK were two of his closest friends and he was hoping a fight wouldn't break out now between the two girls. 

Putting a hand on Sage's shoulder he gently tried to pull her back a step. "I think it's over Sage, we were here too late. Let's not let a bully like Levi ruin the show for us. See? The fireworks are starting!" Loukas hoped this would be enough to persuade her that it wasn't worth escalating the situation any further than it already had been. Maybe the loud noise of the fireworks going off and the beautiful displays of color would be enough to distract her. "Besides" he whispered, leaning in so that only she could hear. "We can always come up with a way to get him back later?" he winked. Trying to turn up the charm the way he had seen his own father do so countless times before.

Loukas was looking forward to the opportunity to meet with Shadow. Even though he had been at camp for a few years now there were not too many campers he considered friends. But those few he did had been encouraging him to branch out and get to know people better; especially his Hecate half siblings. His close friend Sage had been poking him all week about it, telling him he’d never get over his blockers with magic if he never reached out for help. Most of the other Hecate children seemed to really enjoy learning and expanding their gifts and Loukas had to admit he kinda wished he could too. Out of all the abilities Hecate had gifted her children, the one that intrigued him the most was the mist.

Again he had Sage to thank for that too, she seemed to have a knack for reading her friends and knowing what could be good for them. It also helped that she was a bit of a stalker too, she collected her “files” on many campers, collecting information about them. So when he agreed to the idea of learning to better control he mist she already knew exactly who he should ask.

So that is how Loukas found himself out late at night by the lake, a spot he had often visited on his own. Seeing that Shadow was already there he picked up his pace wondering if maybe he had gotten the time wrong. “Sorry if I’m late!” he apologized as he walked toward the bonfire excited to feel its warmth. As he approached it though something seemed off, if they were to meet in private why light a very noticeable fire? Beyond that though something else seemed off or strange about it. Loukas could not say what exactly but this sense was trying to tell him something. “That’s not real is it?” he asked Shadow, pointing at the fire.

Loukas had only been at camp for three years now and though that first year had been incredibly difficult, the subsequent two had not been as bad. In part because he had slowly gotten to know which of the campers to befriend, and which to avoid. He was surprised how well he had gotten along with his half siblings too. Though strangers at first he had slowly developed a kinship with them due to their shared parentage. The one thing he still could not stand was the classes revolving around magic and using his unique “gifts”. He still struggled to accept this part of him, this part that had denied him a normal childhood, that had gotten his father killed. Loukas did not understand why it was so important to the staff that he attend these and frankly he did not care to know. All he knew was how way behind he was with whatever perceived standard the camp staff had set for him.

This was the state of mind he was in as he opened the Hecate cabin door storming into the room in frustration heading toward his bunk. He had been “strongly encouraged” to practice after hours, something other Hecate children seemed to enjoy, but he tried hard to avoid doing. Loukas had actually tried to practice just an hour ago, the results had been…less than desirable.

“Hey, what’s wrong with Hecate kids?!?” Loukas retorted defensively. It’s not that he had any strong sense of pride for his Cabin, on the contrary his unique partentage had only made life more difficult, but he did not understand the reason for the tone this girl was taking. Was there something untrustworthy or even dangerous about him? He knew the harm his magic could cause so this girl’s fear made sense even if he did not know his own mother’s history.

“And I wasn’t casting any hexes on you! I was trying to stop that branch from falling…but I ended up falling instead.” That’s when it hit him. “Hey! You only caught up to me because I was out of breath from falling down. I bet I could beat you in a real race…Nike kid or not.” He smirked, curious now how she would react to that. She seemed like the kind of person who would not back down from a challenge and Loukas was still not ready to admit that a girl could beat him…at least not during the nighttime.

“Besides, maybe I’m out here for my own secret reasons…but if you must know I wasn’t trying to spy on you…I…I don’t know how much I actually like being here and sneaking away to the lake at night is the only time I feel normal.” Loukas shocked himself at that statement. Something he had not even acknowledged to himself let alone a stranger he had just met, but something inside him assured him he could trust her.

“Yo..your face?” Loukas responded as he tried to unsuccessfully push the girl off of him. “What’s wrong with your face?” That’s when he actually decided to study her face, pausing a moment as his eyes glanced over her. It was kind of a cute face…..oh gosh why did that thought pop up just now! If it was possible to turn even more red he certainly must have. She must have noticed this too as her own face blushed to match his as she lifted herself off of him.

“Don’t worry…I don’t think I can…manage to run anymore” he assured her in between taking deep breaths as he stood up. This had been the hardest he must have ever run and he was forced to admit it had been kind of fun, she had pushed him to limits he did not know he was capable of. “Sorry, if I scared you, and for running. I thought I could easily get away before you had even noticed what happened. Also…who are you? No wait, why were you at the lake? Were you following me? More importantly…HOW ARE YOU SO FAST???” Now that he had had a chance to calm down the questions came rolling out. He was very curious about her now and much less embarrassed.

The scenery of the woods flew by him in a blur as he pushed himself to the limits of his speed. Normally he would take some peace in the still beauty of the surrounding nature, but this night was far from normal. Why was this girl so determined to chase him? What did she want? Was she just that stubborn? Whatever fear she seemed to have first had of him was certainly gone, that much was apparent. His breathing was more strained now than it had been at the start, he could tell he was starting to slow down. That’s when he felt a pair of thin but strong arms wrap themselves around his waist as he and the stubborn girl flung to the ground.

Everything was spinning around for Loukas as they tumbled through the woods, thankfully avoiding any trees or stumps that could have done any harm. By the time he could collect his senses she was on top of him holding him down. A grin on her face, she clearly took pride in finally catching him. As she sat on top yelling at him he blurted out the first words that came to his mind. “BECAUSE YOU…WERE….CHASING….ME!!” He knew this response did not make complete sense, he had been the one who ran first but by this point he was so tired from running he did not know what else to say. That is when the realization of the moment fully hit him. This brunette girl who had drawn out his curiosity was now straddling and holding him to the ground. This caused Loukas to begin to blush…hard. Most of the girls he had gotten to know in his first couple weeks were Aphrodite kids and he found them annoying. He could not picture any of those girls running through the woods like this.

Still red in the face he responded again, a bit calmer this time. “I don’t know, you were kicking and punching and I thought….” He trailed off, his mind was a little too distracted by the situation and that made thinking difficult right now. Using his strength he tried to push her off and onto the ground, he was not used to being tackled, let alone tackled by a girl.

[GM rights on if MK is strong enough to keep him pinned]

Loukas was excited, the annual fireworks show was one he looked forward to every year along with any event that took place after the sun had set. It was one of the few times where he felt like he could keep up with the rest of the campers. Plus this year had the added bonus of going with one of his oldest camp friends, Sage. Being a year around camper like him meant that he felt less alone when his other friends had to leave back to the real world. His first year at camp was hard, Sage had made the second year much better. “I don’t really know” he replied to her question. For him the surprise was the best part of the experience.

Smiling, he watched her walk backwards and continue the conversation with increasing enthusiasm. His energy was rising with the night, Sage seemed to have energy 24/7. Her bubbly demeanor had been a little overwhelming when they first met years ago but now he had grown accustomed to it. The loud BOOM of a firecracker broke him out of his thoughts with the sudden realization that they were late. “Let’s go then!” as he linked arms with her and began to brake out into a fast walk, almost a run as the friends hurried to not miss the show. “Who should we sit with?” he asked.

Could this night get any worse Loukas thought to himself as he sprinted off, hobbling at first, he should have given himself more time to recover from the fall. He was lucky it did not knock the wind out of him. Thankfully the night was his and he soon picked up the pace into a very fast sprint, leaving the lake behind as he entered the woods. His thoughts raced nearly as fast as his legs did. Why did he run away from her? True, she was kind of frightening the way she cut through the air with her combat moves. Then again, she did seem frightened of him actually, what was it she had said? Something about not hexing her? Like that was even a possibility, he’d sooner have attacked her with his fists than ever use his magic. Now that he thought about it, she had not seemed so scary when he looked up at her, she almost looked concerned. Oh well he thought, it does not matter now because at this point she must be far far behind him…right? He afforded himself a quick glance backwards. Oh no.

Far from falling behind this girl had not only managed to match his pace but it was apparent she was actually catching up to him. Trying to manage his breathing he dug deep and sprinted even faster tapping into the power granted by his mother. No one should be able to match his speed he thought, not at the height of night, yet this girl only seemed to be getting closer. He knew this by the sound of her breathing, matched and even, getting ever closer until he was sure she must be right at his heels ready to pounce at any minute.

Any impressions he had made of this young girl instantly obliterated from his mind once the branch broke. In dismay Loukas instinctively jerked his arm forward to try and catch it. Unfortunately, it slipped right through his fingers and that is how McKayla first met him, hiding in a tree hand outstretched toward her. It was no wonder she assumed he would hex her from the way he surely must have looked.

“H..he..hex you?” He asked dumbfounded, he was not the most social child and certainly did not know how to respond to mysterious warrior girls. Come to think of it, he didn’t even know her name. There had been so many kids at the bonfire and he had not exactly gone out of his way to introduce himself to them in the weeks that followed. Was it Maya, Maria, Mckenna? None of those sounded right. This was the worst thing that could have happened to him. The next moment proved that false.

With another even louder SNAP the branch he was straddling over snapped in half; he realized too late that he had shimmied too far. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” was the short surprised scream that served as his response to McKayla. With a thud he ungracefully hit the ground in front of her. Looking up at the girl, still confused but now also embarrassed and red in the face he quickly decided on his best course of action. Bursting up he pivoted and ran away thinking maybe he was lucky and she had not had time to clearly see his face. If so he was surely in the clear, how fast could a girl even run? Not as fast as he could he assumed.

Loukas was replaying a conversation in his mind from earlier in the week trying to process through the uncomfortable memory. It was assumed by most of the camp staff that being a child of Hecate he would eagerly pursue the opportunity to learn more about his magic abilities; they were mistaken. Instead he had unintentionally become somewhat of a stubborn student, not on purpose, he just did not want anything to do with magic after it had consumed and destroyed his childhood. Because of that he was uncertain just how he would fit into this group, or even if he would. The only solace he had taken lately was in the few nights where he felt brave enough to sneak out and walk through the surrounding grounds. Here there were no frustrated instructors, no sneering campers, here he could enjoy pushing the limits of his enhanced abilities he coul……What was that!?? he thought to himself as he saw a form take shape below him.

Gripping the branch tightly he leaned forward to see what or who was invading his quiet place. For a brief moment he feared it could be one of his father’s men, or worse, his father himself back from the grave. Oh….it was just some stupid girl, she probably got lost trying to find the meeting place where she would make out with some guy; Loukas knew the reason most campers liked to sneak out at night. Except, upon closer inspection he noticed she was punching and kicking, it actually looked pretty cool. Without really thinking he climbed out closer on the limb to get a better view. *SNAP* The branch that he thought would support his arm broke and fell to the floor beneath right in front of the mysterious girl. “Shit…” he muttered out loud.

Loukas: 13 years old

As Loukas silently made his way through the woods he wondered if he had put enough distance between himself and the cabins where he would not have to worry about making as much noise. He had only been at camp for a couple weeks and it already seemed like several campers snuck off at night on occasion. Still, he would rather not be caught this early on in his stay at camp. He did not think he would be kicked out, but with nowhere else to go he certainly did not mind being extra cautious. With the coast clear he set off at a light jog, the moon was bright tonight and as it lit the way he felt truly alive for the first time that day.

The first couple weeks acclimating to camp life had been tough, there had been a few campers he suspected would have doubted his demi god status had Hecate not claimed him as her own during the bonfire. For good reason, while the other campers seemed to revel in their gifts, his own were less apparent. He mostly shunned his magic, too afraid he might lose control again and as for any enhanced abilities…well those only seemed their strongest at night. This had always puzzled him but thankfully he preferred the peace that came during nighttime anyways so it never bothered him too much. It was not like he carried to show off to any of the other children anyways.

As the woods broke and the lake came into view he was relieved to see he had gone in the right direction after all. Earlier that day he had noticed a certain tree by the water that was practically begging him to climb up onto its branches. Reaching it he lept up and gripped the first limb, smiling to himself as his enhanced athleticism allowed him to do so with ease. Had he tried that when he found the tree during the day he would likely have missed and fallen on his face; that would have been embarrassing. Halfway up the tree he stopped and shimmied his way to the end of the branch. This afforded him a view that stretched across the lake and field, all beautifully lit up by the moon’s light. With a relaxed sigh he settled into his position and allowed his mind to wander.

@ McKayla Johnson

Name: Loukas Makris

Face Claim/s: Timothee Chalamet

Type of Graphic: Sig,

Images: anything you want

Text: My name

Mood/Colors: Dark, moonlight

Other Specifications: No

Theodore Thatcher (Hermes) ~16

This is where my future characters will be stored! More to come!