Open Chaos Returns

[Elliot Payne]

Camp Half-Blood: a sanctuary for descendants of the Greek pantheon. Here the children were free from the dangers of the outside world. A powerful barrier protected the place from monsters, and the daily schedule looked quite a bit like a normal summer camp. Campers of all ages raced around in their telltale orange shirts. They laughed, played, and trained together. For here they were safe from any real danger. Games, activities, cabins - it was so all completely, utterly, devastatingly... boring.

Elliot made an active effort to keep from rolling his eyes as he crossed the border. Was this really the place his dreams had called him to? This simple little camp? Of course, it wasn't unheard of for war and strife to breach the barriers of Camp Half-Blood. Any place that gathered so many godlings was bound to have it's own share of troubles, and of course there was that whole matter with the war. A tiny smirk breached his lips. Now that would've been fun to see. There had admittedly been some tension during his only summer here as a child. Something about some famous heroes falling into Tartarus or something? Nowadays such an event would immediately pique his interest, but back then little Elliot had thought it best to keep his head down and stay out of any drama. A naïve attempt at fitting in, he supposed. Not that there was any chance of that once he'd been claimed at the bonfire. Thankfully he'd long since given up on searching for acceptance and had allowed his true nature to thrive. But despite that small period of turmoil, the camp seemed to have returned to its cozy, welcoming appearance. At least from the outside it seemed dull enough. But something big was going to happen soon. He'd felt it, dreamt of it. And the child of chaos trusted nothing if not his instincts.

His motorcycle jacket looked out of place, weighing heavy on his shoulders in the bright sunlight. Though he'd take it any day over the garish orange monstrosities the other campers wore. Where to first? he thought. It had been over a decade since he'd last set foot on the grounds. When he'd come here before, the goat-man had taken him to a large building toward the center of the camp to get registered. Perhaps he should go there? Would they still have a record of him from all those years ago? Maybe, maybe not. But either way, the man figured he should make himself known. They'd probably send him off to the Hermes cabin or something. Whatever the case, he wasn't bothered. He'd just keep his eyes open and wait for something interesting to happen.

[Lydia Hawthorne Rare]

Lydia often wandered the grounds alone. Occasionally her friend Abigail would join her. She didn't mind. At this point in her life, she was used to it. She was the spooky girl that could talk to the dead. Dead that most people couldn't even see. Ghosts. Most people found her a bit strange at the minimum, and terrifying at the worst. So when she saw someone arriving at camp that she hadn't seen before, she kept her distance and watched from the sidelines so she didn't get in trouble for spooking them off. He wasn't likely to be a new camper, too old. But she hadn't seen him before.

As she stood near a copse of trees, she could hear the spirits whispering. Some tried to comfort her, some to encourage her to talk to him, and a few of the more angsty ones just reaffirmed her decision to stay put. Normally their company was fairly manageable. They typically kept to one or two at a time. Today had been different. All day long, every spirit on the grounds had been vying for her attention. She wasn't sure what it was about the day. Perhaps a full moon was incoming. She hadn't really paid much attention to it to know. Whatever it was, they had been all around her today, and it was starting to get overwhelming.

Looking at the closest spirit, Lydia sighed. "Do you think you could be just a little quieter?" She spoke aloud, forgetting that the new person could likely hear her from where he stood. If he looked, it would look like she was either talking to nobody, or to him, as the ghosts typically weren't full bodied apparitions unless Lydia made them be so.

[Elliot Payne]

 "Do you think you could be just a little quieter?"

Elliot paused, turning to look at the source of the voice. It was a white-haired, beautiful woman dressed in lace. It seemed she was as uninterested as he was in the camp activities, seeing as she was standing by a clump of trees far from the playing children. The man studied her face for a moment, trying to determined whether or not she had been speaking to him. She wasn't looking at him. And he hadn't been making any significant noise. Perhaps his very existence was putting her ill at ease. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. Being near children of Eris was not a pleasant experience. If he'd done even the tiniest thing to offend her senses, it would no doubt have been amplified tenfold by feelings of strife. But something told him this girl was talking to someone else.

Yet if that was the case... who? A forest creature? An invisible camper? Already Camp Halfblood was proving itself a land of possibility. Perhaps it wouldn't be so boring after all. Whatever was going on with this chick, it was more interesting than his current quest of figuring out where he'd be sleeping. He approached, raising a hand in greeting. 

"Hey, you there!" Elliot called out. "Who ya talkin' to?"

[Mila Rogers]

Mila who was feeling bored these days apart from getting to play makeover and sharing all her favourite activities with her siblings and friends, she was hoping to find something more interesting to attend. She was also in a midst of a crush over someone these days so getting out and walking keeps her head clear and not overly congested with those thoughts. She was looking forward to some meeting with new peeps today, walking along the grounds, passing by other campers as they were all attending to their Fall activities. Speaking of Fall, it was a season for all sorts that weren’t outdoors mostly now, but there were those who liked to be outside a lot. She was passing by this tree when she heard voices coming nearby. Curious she went that way to find two campers near her, seemingly trying to talk, or probably chatting with something not visible. She stood there, scanning the situation like a Nemesis would do, arms folded as she was thinking deep, and will begin talking any minute soon. 

[Lydia Hawthorne Rare]

The spirits did oblige her request, but she had managed to catch the attention of someone else as well. Blinking her eyes and staring briefly it took her a moment to process that the new guy was, in fact, speaking to her. It was a rarity and something that didn't come very often at camp for her. "Oh you meant me. I... uh... well, the spirits." She said honestly. Lydia didn't hide her gifts. Her mother was the goddess of ghosts and nightmares. What other powers would she have? How other people responded to her honesty was on them. She was used to fear and ostracization.

She looked over at him and offered a gentle smile. "I'm Lydia Hawthorne, and... you are?"

[Elliot Payne]

"Spirits, eh?" It certainly wasn't the strangest thing he'd heard since learning of the Olympians and their influence on the world. A mischievous smile flitted across his lips. His mind spun with possibilities. A whole world of once-living beings that were invisible to all but a select few? The kind of damage he could do with such a power. The utter chaos he could sow. The young man practically drooled at the prospect. Of course, he had no such impressive power. But this girl did. She could prove to be a valuable asset if he played his cards right. Or at the very least, someone fun to play with. The smile widened, and he extended his hand. "Elliot Payne, at your service!"

A rustling from the foliage caught his attention. With a trained hand he reached for his pocket knife, only to recall that he hadn't brought it along. It'd be awfully suspicious to stroll into camp for the first time in years with a regular human weapon. And what would he need to fight off within these walls anyway? A gang of twelve-year-olds? Still, it was clear from his posture that the defensiveness he'd learned on the city streets had far from left him. His friendly greeting dropped to a low whisper. "Someone's watching us," he warned his new acquaintance. Though there was tension in his stance, he couldn't stop himself from giving Lydia a wink. "And I think they're here on the physical plane."

[Alexia Bluesea]

Alexia was walking calmly undisturbed, she was going towards the lake like most days but something, or rather, someone caught her attention, she a boy and Lydia near her who were talking, she had already seen the girl because they lived in the Hermes cabin for many years. Instead, she had never seen the boy, who seemed older than her, strange though... he decided not to mind her business because she was now curious and approached them smiling. "What are you doing? Ah... I'm Alexia, nice!". She saw that they were looking at a point among the trees, the opposite of where she had come from, well, the boy was looking at him, Lydia seemed more distracted, as if she was doing something else, maybe talking to the ghosts? She knew Lydia had this strange but cool ability... she had a feeling of being observed, how strange, true. But now she was curious....

"What are you two doing? Is there something over there?" she said pointing to the place they where watching

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Alexia Bluesea

[Lydia Hawthorne Rare]

Lydia extended her hand to shake Elliot's as he introduced himself. "I'm Lydia. Pleased to meet you." Beside her she could hear the spirits commenting. 'Oh he's back?' 'Never thought we'd see him again.' And other similar phrases. Forgetting that other people don't hear the spirits unless she properly summons them, she spoke as if she was just continuing off their comments. "So what brings you back to Camp Half-Blood?" completely forgetting that it would be weird for her to know that he's been here before, since they had never met.

She didn't really have long too long for the mood to change however. Elliot shifted and commented that someone was watching them. Lydia's head tilted curiously, and she looked at him. "Is that... not common?" She was fairly used to awkward stares from other campers. Sometimes the more mischievous ones would follow her and try and see what she got up to. People were often curious about her, but unwilling to talk to her. Something about being the daughter of the goddess of ghosts was apparently a unnerving to most. For Lydia, it was Tuesday.

The mood shifted again as another camper walked up. Today was a day full of surprises. Not one, but two campers had come to greet her. "Oh hey Alexia." Since Alexia's parent was also a minor deity, and they were near the same age, they had both been staying in the Hermes cabin for some time now. Lydia was fully aware of who Alexia was, in passing, even if they hadn't really interacted much beyond that. "The spirits say it's nothing, but Elliot here seems convinced it deserves our attention." Lydia said with a shrug.

[Mila Rogers]

Mila couldn’t hold it any longer, as they seemed to be looking at one direction and that direction only. It seemed that there was something there, something hideous but very attractive. What was that? She was indeed curious, and being a nemesis child made her want to look more of course. She approached the little group finally, also meeting another newcomer (Alexia) on the way. So they were all looking into a direction which Mila looked as well. "Is someone there?” She looked towards that part among the trees, eagerly awaiting for it to appear. But she doubt that the figure would reveal itself later.

[Alexia Bluesea]

"Hey Lydia!" Ale returned her greeting and smiled at her, even though she never spoke to her properly alone, she thought Lydia was cool, with that unique power, even though sometimes her ghosts made her a little fear. Alexia took a few steps forward, trying to see something more but she had no idea what was beyond that point: "Elliott, I trust Lydia's ghosts more than her intuition at this point... in my opinion I don't there is nothing." She shook her head and went back, looking at the other two, when, from another part of the forest, a girl arrived, Mila, she thought her name was, Ale greeted her, her kind personality and her mother had taught her to always do so with everyone. When Mila called the entity behind that point, Ale, she had already lost hope, perhaps she had simply felt herself being observed by Mila's gaze that was coming, "I don't think that by calling him he will answer us....".

[Elliot Payne]

"Back?" Elliot was surprised. He hadn't expected anyone here to recognize him. He'd only spent one summer here after all, and he hadn't made much of an impact. There had been whispers - mostly wondering who on earth would produce a child with someone so unpleasant as Eris - but he'd expected those rumors to have faded long ago. Perhaps Lydia had been here at the time. He wouldn't remember her. Of course, he wouldn't have expected her to remember him either. As for her second question...

"Common, yes," he replied. He hadn't survived the mortal world as a demigod this long without plenty of instances of being watched. But her lack of concern was a bit troubling. This really must be a safe haven, he supposed. Somewhere that having eyes on you was merely a curiosity. "You seem about as used to it as I am." From the way she spoke, he wondered if she shared in his supernatural ability to set people on edge. Though for a woman who spoke with ghosts, it seemed more likely for her to instill fear than strife.

He intended to ask her how she knew this was his return trip to the camp, but another girl approached before he could. Lydia greeted her by name. They must be friends, he figured, or acquaintances at least. He always tried to make note of other people's connections. It was important for stirring up drama. He noted the girl's name. Alexia. She inquired about the source of the rustling, to which Lydia replied that the spirits were unconcerned. Not a threat then. Probably. Though Elliot Payne was not quick to trust people he could see, much less those he couldn't.

Curiously though, Alexia stepped away to investigate in the exact opposite direction. Then, a moment later, the source of the noise revealed itself. Another girl walked up and chimed in.

"Is someone there?"

Yes... you! Elliot cocked his head in confusion. Were they... playing a trick on him? Normally he would be the one to initiate such antics. But he realized after a second that it likely wasn't some coordinated plan to confuse him. It was probably just another instance of his abilities. Tiny seeds of chaos being sown wherever he went. This was something he was used to. Something' he reveled in. In fact, his smile broadened as he watched the girls look to and fro for something that did not exist. He might have tried to play it up further, and it not been for Lydia and her ghostly friends. With them assuring her that there was nothing amiss, it would be difficult to convince the others that something truly did lay hidden in the shadows. He relaxed his posture and let out a low chuckle.

"You must be right then. I mean, nothing sinister could be watching us here. That's what the barriers are for." The tone he spoke with sounded perfectly innocent, but he knew full well that words carried power. And in the presence of a child of chaos, sometimes an innocent word was all it took to induce suspicion. "My bad. So you're Alexia then, and... I'm sorry," he addressed the girl who had provided them with such a delicious bit of confusion. "I didn't catch your name." 

[Mila Rogers]

Mila had absolutely no idea to whom they were referring to behind those trees. She felt like she was the one who was that ‘someone’ they were talking about all along, judging by their reactions, but she was certain that there was something present as well, just not visible. She turned to the girl who she heard her name to be Alexia, agreeing to what she said. But she still couldn’t make out what that ‘entity’ was. Then she stared at the boy….Elliot was it? She had heard much enough even their names. And one of them was Lydia, who happened to be the one looking at that direction she was trying to make sense of awhile ago, and to which she was referring to when she asked if there was someone there. But oh well…..confusion happens all the time! And being a Nemesis child meant that she had to piece the whole puzzle into an answer later ."Ahh…..yeah…..” She turned to Elliot, who seemed to have mistaken her for the ‘someone’ potentially dangerous out here. ”That happens….I’m Mila. And yeah I am absolutely of no threat I hope. ” She couldn’t help but to chuckle at the whole situation after that.  This happened rarely and all was new to her to what they were doing here right now, and she was eager to find out.