Open Of Forge and Fury

[Axel Gauthier]

Axel Gauthier was good at a lot of things. He was a fine archer, a quick runner, and even among his fellow halfbloods, his combat prowess was nothing to sneer at. If ever a competition occurred, the small ginger boy was surely the first to sign up. He was also quite likely to win. But if there was one thing the child definitely wasn't good at, it was communication. He spoke hastily and bluntly, often accidentally insulting the others around him. Still, he'd been improving. His fellow campers had thus far proven far more understanding than his classmates back in the outside world. He'd even managed to make a few friends. But there was a single form of communication that he dreaded above all others: asking for help.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what he needed to do. Just a few hours prior, he had been making his usual rounds in the armory shed in search of a well-balanced weapon to train with. As usual, the effort had been fruitless. The celestial bronze training swords were all... well-loved, to put it kindly. But this morning had really set him over the edge. His favorite training sword - the one that closest fit his weight and had previously been less damaged than the others - had a massive dent in the hilt. No doubt a result of someone else's training.

Axel had long wanted to consult the Hephaestus cabin about getting a weapon of his own, but his awkward nature had stopped him thus far. The dented sword was just enough motivation to push him in that direction. Still, it was... absolutely terrifying. So it was with baited breath and wringing hands that the young man approached the cabin door. He took a deep breath. In. Out. You got this, Axel. It's just a question. Before the doubt could fully take hold, he forced himself to knock on the door.

[Devon Long Rare]

Devon would be in the forge for most of the morning like a lot of his days but he was starting to get hungry and wanted to head home to shower before he went to the mess hall for some food. He would be walking back to his cabin when he would see a very young kid at the door to his cabin. “Hell there, You lost? No offense but why are you here? I am just gunna change and head to mess hall. You can feel free to join me. Whats your name? If your infront of the hephastus house you must want something made or built.” He would quickly go and change washing up a little bit and then step out of his room “my name is Devon, i may be able to help you or might see if maybe kenna or one of my brothers or sisters want to help but i can at least help you decide what you want or should ask for?”

[Axel Gauthier]

To Axel's surprise, a response came not from behind the door, but from behind him. His anxiety was already through the roof. He spun around a bit tooo quickly for casual conversation and found himself face-to-face with a man covered in the soot and sweat of the forge. No doubt one of the Hephaestus kids he was looking for. The guy seemed friendly. Friendly enough to address the random kid at his doorway anyway. Though it appeared that he - like Axel - was a bit of a fast talker.

"Not lost. Axel." The ginger boy managed to mumble in response to the man's questions. He followed him into the hallway, hanging back a bit a the older boy went in and out of his room. Axel hadn't been quite certain how to initiate the conversation, but it looked like Devon - as the man called himself - was already aware of what the boy was after. Well, he supposed that shouldn't be surprising. People probably asked the Hephaestus kids for favors of this sort all the time. "Sure, I'll follow ya."

As the two set out toward the mess hall, Axel awkwardly explained his weapon predicament. HE described the dented weapon he'd found this morning, along with his general frustrations with the training swords.  "Most of 'em are off balance. Just real old, y'know. An' I'm... well I'm pretty short, so a lot of 'em are big for me. I- it's not like I can't handle a bigger sword! But it'd be better to have my own. I ain't that good with the forges though." He spoke quickly, half out of nervousness and half to quickly move past talking about the things he wasn't good at.

"I ain't got any money... but I can find a way to pay ya back. I'll do all your camp chores for as many weeks as you want! Or whatever y'all require, really..." 

[Devon Long Rare]

“Of course they are bent and dull, the ares and Athena kids beat the crap out of them. And you’ll grow into them. But they are training swords; they are not meant to be the best. Unless you have a quest or something coming up.” He would continue walking to the mess hall and then when they got there he would say “ooooooo it’s fish for lunch. You can go first kid.” He would walk them through the line and find a seat. Then he would continue “please kid I do not think I have any chores for the next year and half fixing ares kids armor. But what kind of weapon would you want? Maybe Kenna would be interested unless you have something that’s usually hard to get at camp like gold or electronics, rarer stones stuff like that and I will definitely make you a blade, maybe even add some unique stuff to it help you out give you an edge especially against some of the ares.”

[Axel Gauthier]

Axel's eyes sparkled at the thought of taking on the Ares kids. While he and his Nike siblings were unmatched in combat prowess, the Ares children often outpaced him in raw strength alone - especially the older boys. One particular bully came to mind... one he'd take great satisfaction in showing up.

"Thanks, man!" he piled his plate high with fresh fish. The Dining Hall was one of his favorite places at camp. Second only perhaps to the training fields. Like most teenage boys, he was fully capable of eating his weight in food. Though before coming to camp he'd scarcely had the opportunity. After his dad had gotten sick, the family finances hadn't been in the best place. Even if they had it was doubtful that his stepfather would have given young Axel more than the bare minimum. So the piles of fresh meats, fruits, and cheeses that filled up the Dining Hall had been enough to bring the boy to tears when he'd first seen them.

Following the line of campers, he approached the fire. By now the procedure felt more like habit than a true act of reverence. "Nike," he whispered as a chunk of fish descended into the fire. He'd long ago stopped expecting it to smell like burnt fish, but he doubted he'd ever get over the wonderful smells that did rise from the flames. The smell of god food... he dreamed that perhaps one day he'd taste it. To dine with the gods as a true Demigod Hero like Hercules did in those old stories. But for now he was more than grateful for the fish.

He waited for Devon to finish his offering and joined him at the table. "I don't need anything fancy," he explained through mouthfuls of meat. " Just somethin' weighted for me, y'know. Somethin' that won't break down from training every day. Gods, I'd love to go on a quest. It could happen you know. I've heard the Oracle can send anyone anytime. Even kids my age." He washed down his meal with a goblet of conjured root beer. "You ever been on a quest?"

[Devon Long Rare]

He would sit across from the young man and start eating his fish.  He would say to him. “I see you still burn some of your food for them.  That’ll pass when you realize what the rest of us have.  I can see what I can whip up in my free time but I am quite busy.  You can ask one of my brothers and sisters but they are busy too but let’s say that I were to make you a weapon what kind of weapon would you like?”  The young man would go on about questing “me personally no I have not been on a quest but some of my weapons and other machines and things have been.  But I would rather not go unless it would be absolutely necessary to.  Because be careful what you wish for quests can be deadly and some campers don’t make it back.  But they are rare and not usually worth the hassle.”  

[Axel Gauthier]

Axel's eyes fell back on the fire. It hadn't occurred to him before that some of the kids didn't do their offerings. "I-I guess..." he gave a small shrug. "I mean, that's just the rule, ain't it?" He wondered what Devon meant by "what the rest of us have." He'd had his share of hardships long before the monsters started showing up. Still, he'd never blamed his mother for them. Not since... his mind flashed back to the place he'd once called home. There had been a time, he supposed, when he'd been angry. When he'd wondered why he didn't have a mother like other kids. But when his stepdad came into his life, any vitriol he'd held had found a new and more worthy target. And once he knew that his mother was a literal goddess, it had been no surprise that she hadn't made it down to earth for visits. He wasn't worthy of a gods' attention, was he? Not yet at least. But he'd keep practicing, keep getting stronger, and some day...

The mention of quests brought his attention back to the conversation. "Whoa, really!? That's awesome!" his mind spun with pictures of young demigods fighting epic battles with the weapons forged by Devon. The "camper's don't come back" part was unfortunately lost on him. He wanted - no, needed - a blade like that. "I'm a sword man myself," he said, feigning more confidence than he felt. "My favorite from the training hall is - er - was a xiphos. Now it's kinda just a hunk of metal." He scratched his head and paused to down another mouthful of fish. "I get ya. I know you're busy, it's totally fine if it takes a while!" Impatient as the kid often was, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth either. "I'll figure out some way to pay ya back, promise!" He wasn't sure exactly how, but there had to be something. Maybe if he could get ahold of some of those rare materials? Though how one would obtain such things he had no idea. Still, he'd figure something out. He just had to.