A New Learned Ability.

[Dustin Graves Rare]

The trip out of the graveyard had been a pretty easy one and once they got to the street and sidewalk that they were on, they all felt a little more relived about the whole thing. However, they still held their swords closer to them as she made their way all the campsite. Once they passed the border, Dustin headed right for the big house as his brothers left for their cabin. Dustin knew that Lilythe was still very much working at the moment. He walked up the stairs and into the big house with a small frown on his face. He knew that she was going to be worried about everything that happened. It was mainly one of the reasons that he didn't go out in the first place. He walked into the kitchen, holding his shoulder as he gave her a small smile. "Think you can heal me up?" He asked as he placed the sword down against the counter.
 

@ Lilythe Rayne

[Lilythe Rayne Rare]

Leaving the camp was ill-advised in most instances. Leaving in groups of more than two or three, even more so. That being said, it wasn't a prison. Lilythe wasn't a warden. So when the Ares boys said they were going to the movies, she didn't really have a leg to stand on with her objection. Chiron had even granted them weapons to defend themselves if necessary. Lilythe could not reasonably object. Even if there were plenty of red flags, the boys needed to be allowed a life and Lilythe understood that too. So all she could do was sit in the big house and worry until they returned, hoping that it would be a waste of effort. Unfortunately that was not the case.

It was a little after eleven at night when she heard a voice at the kitchen door while she poured herself a cup of coffee. She turned around to the familiar sound of Dustin, ready to give him an 'I told you so' lecture, until she saw him. Lilythe's eyes widened as she saw the state of Dustin's shoulder. The gash was definitely deeper than any of his roughhousing brothers would have caused. It was clear they had been attacked by something. Lilythe simply nodded and went to the storage room to grab some nectar out of the stores.

On a shelf in the cupboard, several small phials containing a golden translucent liquid sat. Plucking one of them, she stowed it in her pocket and grabbed the first aid kit off the counter below before returning to the kitchen. She quickly washed her hands and returned to Dustin's side. "What did it?" She asked, grabbing a bit of gauze and some antibiotic ointment. They were out of gloves, so she used a cotton swab to apply the ointment onto the gauze. Lilythe placed it on his skin and adhered it with some medical tape before pulling the nectar out of her pocket. "One sip. It's not a mortal injury, so this bottle should be enough for the week." 

She didn't mean to be clinical at this moment, it just happened when she saw injured demigods. Having survived the Second Titan War, the Second Giant War, the Second Demigod Civil War, and the events with Nero, Lilythe had quite a few traumatic events that caused her to half-dissociate at the sight of injured campers. Those who knew her well, knew exactly why this was. She didn't have to pretend around Dustin. So she just quickly went to work. Now that he was bandaged, however, she wasn't sure what else she could do but sit and listen to him. Comfort wasn't exactly something that would come easy until she was able to ground herself back to the present. She began a deep breathing technique while she listened, trying to center her focus. 

[Dustin Graves Rare]

He watched as Lilythe's eyes widened at him. He knew that this would cause some issues with her. He let his head fall a little. Knowing that he would get a slashing from her once she was ready, but when it didn't come he blinked up and watched her curiously. What had he done? Maybe he should have gone to one of the Apollo kids to help him out. He had nodded and went off to the storage room, grabbing things to help him. He knew this was going to go around the camp soon enough, and he only hoped that it didn't cause a lockdown for others that wanted to go out. 

She was quick with what she was doing, having been back into the kitchen within record time. She asked what did it and he sighed hard. "It was some Karpoi," he told her as he hissed a little, but didn't make a move. Knowing that it would be done within the moment. He turned to her as she handed him the nectar and nodded as he took a sip of it. It tasted just like his meatloaf, which he always thought was strange because meatloaf in liquid form couldn't be good. He put the cap back on and placed it in his pocket before looking back at Lilythe again. Noticing that she was lost in her own thoughts. 

"Lilythe.." he started as he as he watched her carefully, knowing not to touch her because he could be hit and he didn't want that at the moment. Hell, he didn't want to be hit by Lilythe at all. It wasn't on his bucket list ever. "I... I think something else happened as well.." He said to her hoping to bring her out of her thinking. "I was fighting alone for the first bit of it..." He started before he blinked and fixed his statement. "Me and the guys were playing truth or dare, and they dared me to go into a graveyard," he told her again. "That's why I was alone, we thought nothing of it. It was truly a stupid thing." he would admit that but what happened shocked him to no end. "When I was fighting, some of the skeletons came out of the ground and started helping me." He said with a curious tone in his voice. "I know Ares can do it, do you think he was helping me?" he blinked but shook his head. "There isn't any way he would help out right..that had to be me..I summoned them.. right.." his voice began to go a little higher at the moment. He hadn't shown any kind of promise for an ability that was his father's let alone one like that. He had to be given it by his father right or is that how it worked? He began to fidget with his shirt and waited for her to say something back to him. He had learned his lesson. He could have very well not come back to camp tonight if he hadn't well, he didn't want to think about it.

[Lilythe Rayne Rare]

Lilythe continued doing the deep breathing as she listened to Dustin tell his story. As she did she tried to focus on the air entering her lungs. The cool chill that began to warm before she breathed out once more brought her a little closer with each pass. She counted the seconds it took for each breath to cycle in and out her lungs. Eyes closed, she was slowly able to process more and more of what her friend was saying. Finally, she returned to the moment and opened her eyes. 

"That was stupid Dustin." Lilythe said frankly. Rarely did she actually scold the campers, but this time it was deserved. "You are the leader for the Ares cabin. You should have been putting a stop to that instead of letting them rile you up. Truth or dare in public? Are you insane?" Lilythe crossed her arms over her chest as she looked him up and down. His wounds were healing. Thank the gods. And it seemed like he was going to be fine in a few days. That gash in his shoulder was pretty gnarly, but the nectar would help. "Your pride is not worth losing half the Ares cabin in one fell swoop." She had heard the rest of what he said. And she would get to it in due time. But first she needed to stress the importance of what a dumb decision he had made. "How would I explain it to Clarisse or Sherman if they ever came back to check on you guys?" Clarisse and Sherman were the two cabin leaders previous to Dustin, his half-siblings. 

She rubbed her temples stressed beyond belief in that moment. It was too much. Trauma-triggering, frustration, and a new power all in one night? Lilythe was going to need a stiff drink to make it through the rest of this conversation. She went back to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of vodka she had hidden away and poured herself a couple of shots into a glass, grabbing some cranberry juice and  lime to top it off. There was no way she was finishing this conversation sober.

Bringing her drink with her, she returned to Dustin. "About the rest of it. I don't think it was Ares... Clarisse could do it too." Lilythe reminded him. She had seen the previous cabin leader leave on a quest with a small army of deceased soldiers. It was creepy, but it could be done. "You would have had a fiery glow if it had been your dad's blessing. That's what I've always seen." She sighed softly before taking another sip of her beverage. "But demigods getting more powerful is very rarely a good sign around here."

[Dustin Graves Rare]

Dustin couldn't help but take a step back when she told him what he did was stupid. He knew that. Honestly, he did, but he was still just a kid himself. Hell, he hadn't even turned eighteen yet and he was pretty sure that he would grow up soon enough right? When she brought up the fact that he was a cabin leader again for the second time he let his head drop more. "I know. I didn't want to do it in the first place..." He tried to defend himself but it wasn't going to be any use at all. She was right. He should have done it, not thought about doing it. Hell, he should have control over his siblings then this. Would this be the night that he straighten his shit up? More than likely, he hoped anyways. He was going to try harder and not let his pride get the better of him. He was lost in his own thoughts when she brought up his older sister and brother. He winced a little at the thought of them coming back into camp and kicking his ass. They would do it, just to prove a point. He sighed hard as he didn't want to think about it at the moment. He knew he had nothing to say to Lilythe but she keep going. "I'm here now." He said and lifted his head up a little more, trying to show that he was proud of that fact. As stupid as it was, he was alive. "I'm not going to do it again." He told her and he was telling the truth. Next time he might now be so lucky at all and what would happen if he didn't make it? There was always so many death and all that at that. He would end up just being another number and he didn't want that. He hadn't even done anything special to even get something good on his grave. His father wouldn't be proud of him. Hell, he doubted that he was really even proud of himself at the moment. 

When she left him to move into the kitchen more he sighed harder. He didn't know if he caused her to want to leave him or not. He didn't want her to, since she was the only one that he wanted to talk to at the moment. He knew that she would be able to get things going better for him. It was when she brought at drink back that he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He had caused her to go grab a drink. He sighed harder than he did the last time. "I'm causing you to drink." He shook his head and move to lean against the wall more with the shoulder that wasn't hurt. When she started talking he was told that his older sister could do it too. "Oh." He blinked now listening because he was curious as to why he had it. When she talked about his dad's blessing he nodded. He had always heard that it happened like that but he had never seen it. "Well, I wouldn't expect dad to help out anyways. He's probably off with someone too busy to be bothered." He told her with a small shrug but what she said next made a chill go down his spine. "You think because I got this that something bad is coming this way?" He asked curiously. "Do I need to hide the fact I have it?" He didn't want to be known as the boy who started something, okay a worse something than he normally did. "Will I have to tell Mr. D or Chiron?" He honestly didn't want to talk to either of them. If he thought getting this from Lilythe was bad, he could only imagine what it would be like coming from one of those two.

[Lilythe Rayne Rare]

Lilythe bit her tongue and didn't remind him that if he didn't want to do it he didn't have to do it. The many joys of being a cabin leader is that you got to make the rules for your cabin. She also knew, however, that Ares children were equally likely to spar over the position if they thought their leader was weak. He didn't have anything to prove to her or the other campers in the other cabins. However, the Ares children may feel differently. She didn't have to like it to understand that this was the case. But she also didn't have to condone it either. 

As she returned with the drink, she heard him state that he was causing her to drink. "Let me clear something up right now. You did not cause this." She raised the glass. "Stress and my poor decision making caused this. I know I'm the stable grown up here, but I'm still pretty young myself. So... my turn for a dumb decision." The last thing she wanted was for Dustin to feel responsible for her choices that night. It certainly wasn't his fault. It could have been any of his siblings in here tonight. "You do not need to feel guilty for this. Nobody is responsible for my choices except me." She said with a note of finality that implied there was no room for discussion. 

"Aphrodite probably." Lilythe agreed that Ares was likely off with someone. He and his sometimes lover, the goddess of love and beauty, were often together when they could sneak the time. 

Lilythe sighed as Dustin began to worry. "I don't know. In my experience rare gifts usually mean trouble for us. But maybe that was all just bad luck and bad timing before. I'm not that much older than you after all." It was only six and a half years or so difference between them. She knew why all the kids treated her like she was older. For most of them she was the only stable adult figure in their lives, and had been since they were in their early teens or even pre-teens. But she was still pretty young herself. Sure, she had lived through some pretty interesting times in Camp Half-Blood history. She also hadn't lived through any 'normal' times before that. "I don't really have a large basis of comparison. Either way, I don't think it hurts to be cautious, but I don't think it needs to be a constant worry either. Not yet anyway."

As he mentioned Chiron and Mr. D, Lilythe shrugged. "I think it's up to you. But don't you think it's best they know when they get back?"

[Dustin Graves Rare]

He knew what he did was wrong on so many levels. But he needed a break sometimes too. He knew that he needed to have those nights away. He was stuck at camp the whole year around. Mainly because it was easy for him to attract those stupid monsters. He sighed hard as he though more about the whole night. This whole thing was bad, he already knew he was stupid. He knew that this was going to be the last time for a long time until he got to go out again. Especially if he told Mr. D and Chiron. 

He jumped back a little bit when she started to raise the glass that she held in her hand. He watched her carefully as he listened to what she said. He knew that there was more to everything and of course knew that he had more than likely hit a nerve that was heading her way anyways. He was told to not feel guilty about her drinking. He let his head drop some. How was he supposed to let it all go when he knew that he had caused this part at least. He gave her a sigh and nodded his head. "Fine. I wont let it get to me much." He told her with an honest look. Though he knew that it was going to be sometime before he got back to the outside, he didn't want to have Lilythe look like this again. 

The Ares child couldn't help but snort at the thought that his father was with her. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise him at all. Sometimes he wondered why they even had children if they were going to be sneaking around with each other all the time. It wasn't like it was a secret at all. 

Hearing her thoughts about special gift only made him lower his shoulders some. He didn't know how he gotten it or even why, but he knew that demigods getting more powerful was a bad thing. He sighed again like the many times before now. "Right. Maybe I've always had it and never got to use it." He thought of that but that didn't make it any better. Still mean that he was a little more powerful. Which again wasn't a good things to be out in the real world. Though he couldn't help but feel a little excited about having an ability that his father had. 

He nodded his head and wanted to put it behind him but he had to go and bring up Mr. D and Chiron and she had to agree, if not to let them know that he was back and maybe even letting them know what had happened. Who knew what they would do to him. Punish him for being so reckless with his life. Well that would be something. "You're right. I should go and talk to them after this." he started and looked at the time. "Think they would be up at the moment?" he didn't want to wake the two.

[Lilythe Rayne Rare]

Did she regret showing Dustin her more weak side? Sure. The last thing she wanted was for him to blame himself for her choices. That being said, Lilythe wasn't in the most emotionally stable place right now. The trauma she had experienced had been significant, and his injuries were highly triggering. While she knew it wasn't the best course of action, she didn't have a better one. She was still pretty young herself. She couldn't change the decision she had made, so instead she just continued to sip on her drink as she watched Dustin.

"You were probably born with it." Lilythe agreed. Honestly, she was pretty certain that everyone else's special abilities had also been things they were born with. It wasn't like you signed a package for powers later in life--well, perhaps the children in Cabin 20 did, magic was weird business that Lilythe didn't fully understand. She honestly couldn't say that she knew for certain whether or not these powers were a bad thing. It was possible that everything before had just been bad luck. "Helena has Charmspeak, you know... and she's had that for as long as we can remember her being here. Nothing bad's happened yet. I wouldn't worry too much." Lilythe said, trying to fix some of the damage she had done.

"They're both off-site for a bit. But I'll make sure I let you know the instant they're back."

[Dustin Graves Rare]

Born with it. It made sense to him. Being born with it sounded like something that could happen but what he didn't understand was how come it came out now when he was attacked but not when he was attacked when he was helping Octavia and the satyr. It would have been very helpful if he could have had them then. However, that wasn't what it was about at the moment. It was the fact that he had now gotten himself an ability that was going to be used for the greater good. He smirked at the thought and turned his attention back to Lilythe who had brought up the fact that the Aphrodite girl had had her ability since gods knew when. He nodded his head in agreement. That much he understood. So he was going to take it. He had an ability now. Now to not misuse it. He shook his head as she told him that nothing bad was going to happen, well he hoped not because honestly who really knew what was going to come out at them later. 

He stifled a yawn and nodded his head. "Thanks for that." He told her honestly. He didn't want to have her worry about him anymore. Though he doubted that it was going stop her from doing it. He gave her a small smile letting her know that he wasn't going to do it again. "I think I'm getting tired." He told her knowing that he was going to have to go and call lights out for the cabin soon enough. He was after all the cabin leader. 

[Lilythe Rayne Rare]

Lilythe nodded softly. "Yeah, you should probably get some rest." She conceded. "I'm sure it's been a hell of a day." She would make sure to have a talk with the entire Ares cabin about the limitations of their outings moving forward. That entire cabin needed a hefty reminder that going out in large groups like that was beyond dangerous. But for now she just wanted to make sure that her friend would be okay. "If you need me, I'm on the night shift tonight. So... Barring any other insanity, I'll be here."

She ushered him towards the door. Giving him a hug, she nudged him towards the cabins. Interesting times we're living in.

~~End RP~~