A for effort (open)

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She braced herself for the torment that was running the obstacle course. And to think, she wasn’t even at the hardest. Work your way up, Amelia, you can do this. Amelia MacArthur had for once traded in her designer outfits for something a little more campish. Her purple camp shirt over jean shorts and tennis shoes. Along with one of her favorite little heart necklaces just to accent it. And her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. She was on a mission. All the goings-on lately had even her worried about the near future here at Camp Jupiter. Or the world in general. All this talk of Saturn was worrying for anyone. The damage he’d done last time was enough! The last thing anyone needed was to have it repeated. Then again, there were some here that seemed to want it repeated. Take Rhiannon for instance. Not only did she have no clothes sense, but she’d overheard her spreading rumors worse than Annaleigh Jordana. And then there was Vivian Lopez, the retired girl making a name for herself by apparently hunting down current campers and causing a ruckus in New Rome as well. Great. So with all that told, Amelia was feeling the need to get better at fighting. Take things more seriously. Hold her own. Actually train without being forced into it.

Which brought her here. She steeled her nerves and made a run for the course as soon as there was an opening. She grabbed ahold of the monkey bars and prayed she didn’t fall off. That would be just her luck. But so far so good. Piece by piece, she got further, if not all that faster. Slow and steady for now. But she was gaining in confidence too. This was actually going well! She finished the first course with a surprising amount of ease. Maybe being forced into training here for eight years had actually come in handy. She smiled to herself as she landed on the ground steadily on her own two feet. Yes, she was going to keep training on her own until she was a force to be reckoned with not only in the battle of snide remarks but also of more physical combat. She could do this. She was determined.

Amelia ran the course again another two times until she was sure she had it sufficiently down for now and decided to move up a notch. Though the trouble with Amelia was when she got confident about something, she could get a little carried away. It was a flaw of hers, among many. But thanks to it she decided to take on the toughest of the courses. She was an eighth year, after all. She should be able to do this.

She made it about halfway and was really starting to think that she could do this when it happened. For a moment, she forgot the moving part of the obstacles. And a moment was all it took. Something slammed into her from the side, throwing her to the ground hard. She slammed into the packed earth to the sound of laughter all around her. After all, who didn’t like to see the stuck up daughter of Venus fail? She did her best to ignore them as she got up, but everything hurt and she was covered in dirt. And to make matters worse, she gingerly touched her nose. Broken. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me…” she muttered, her shoulders slumping. So much for being on a roll today.

Tag: open
Word Count: 590
Notes:

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It would seem that there were more than monsters and spooks lurking this time of the year. There were plenty of nasty rumors floating about that was enough to give even the strongest of demi-gods pause. Even the Lares seemed a bit uneasy, and they normally didn't get ruffeled up over much of anything. Lares were about the only thing he could summon. He worked hard on his necromancy, but as the end of the year drew much nearer, his abilities seemed to be getting stronger. Death was all around and like every year since he came into his powers, he felt stronger, much more powerful, in control in ways that was much akin to being the only one not drunk at a party. Okay maybe that was a bad comparison. Just, in short, this felt good. Maybe there was something about the children of death and the underworld that allowed them to become stronger during the time of the year when the earth went into hibernation and literally everything around him was dying. Empowering? A bit. But the cold air and the cool weather was extremely invigorating. Gabriel had left an offering of candy corn at his father's temple just the day before. Maybe later today he would go back and see if his father had gotten it. His step-mother, Persophina, had confiscated the last offering of candy to his father. Pluto had said that she had been complaining that he was getting a bit too big around the middle. The thought made Gabriel chuckle as he laced up his boots.

He was heading towards the obstacle course. His Cohort had the day off, it was nice. But for all of the stuff that he could have been doing, catching up on the latest Dresden Files book for instance or even reading one of his favorite books over again, he decided that with all of the nasty things floating about, he had better do some training on his own. He was never going to get good at things that weren’t his strong point if he didn't practice. Necromancy was supposed to be a child of Pluto's bread and butter. Maybe, maybe not. Gabriel didn't feel much need to use it often. The dead tended to be a bit unruly especially this time of the year. If he could lay this part of his power aside forever, well it wouldn't be any skin off his nose. He didn't use it as much as Felicity did and he really thought that using it so often was a crutch. It didn't take any skill to have the mindless zombies fight for you. No that was..... pitiful. It lacked discipline and willpower to do your own dirty work. Speaking of dirty work, Gabriel took up position on the dummy nearest to the obstacle course. He probably should have been paying more attention to the knife work he was doing, but there was a rather fetching young lady on the obstacle course.

Gabriel turned from his work and walked through the crowd, just so he could get a better view. It was Amelia, the wonderful young lady from the other day. He watched her run the basic part of the course twice, rather impressive. Most of the people thought that she was just a pretty face, or that was the gist that he got from the gossiping guys that were standing around. Something hit her as she moved on to the harder part of the course. It was too fast for Gabriel to see. She landed hard on the ground, it looked so painful. Gabriel shoved a guy to the side with an angry protest as he watched her pull herself up. Stupid idiots, he thought with conviction as he heard the laughter. “Hey, you alright?” He asked as he took one of his knives and took the bottom bit of his shirt off. “Here, hold this to your nose and lean forward. Don't want you to choke now do we?” He smiled at her. “You need any help?” He offered. Gabriel had been told for years on end by some of the older students at his mother's job and his time in the legion that it was an insult to a pretty girl to not flirt with her at least a little. Right now probably wasn't the best of times to do it. But it was alright if it was to lighten the situation right?

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So much for trying to act tough. She’d been doing such a good job though. At least, in her opinion. She’d ignored the group of guys watching her and successfully run the easier course not once but twice. And gotten so close on the harder course. Well, about a third the way, but still. That was closer than she normally got. And now she had hit the ground face first like the complete worthless warrior that a lot of people thought of her as.

That was one of the things she hated most about this camp. She tried not to let it bother her, but there were some nights she’d lay awake and just worry about things. And no, not the sort of things that people might figure for a daughter of Venus: what was the right shade of mascara to use tomorrow, would this blouse look okay with that jacket, were heals okay for a day with only archery. That sort of stuff. Not that she never pondered that. Her mother would be ashamed of her if she didn’t! Plus, it was useful information in her own little world. Just not right now. For a while since Orthys, she’d worried about her place here. She wasn’t a good fighter like all the others. She was a fashion adviser. And a mean one at that. How many times had she teased and taunted other kids’ appearances? Part of her felt at home doing it, but part of her didn’t.

And then there was the more recent stuff. Whispers of Saturn and the other Titans. Just like before the first war. As if one wasn’t bad enough! So that just brought back memories of the terrible job she’d done at Orthys, ending up dressing wounds – which made her slightly sick just thinking about it – and hardly managing a weapon. What if it did happen again? Were they all ready? Was she?

But to matters at hand. She got up and carefully felt at her nose. It was all she could do not to cry out even at so light a touch. Ouch ouch ouch! She was in the process of considering going to the infirmary when someone called to her. And not a harsh, mocking tone, but a kind one. And a familiar one. She looked over to see Gabriel… destroying his shirt. Well, that was a new one. “I’m fine… but what on earth are you doing to your shirt?” Even in a moment of pain, her daughter of Venus mindset kicked in. He would look terrible with his shirt all torn up like that! Well, not terrible strictly speaking because in reality he was gorgeous even in a torn shirt. But still! Then he went on to basically tell her why he was ruining his shirt and she felt her lips tug into a smile. He’d ruined his shirt for her? It was so sweet of him. "Thanks." She gratefully took the piece of shirt from him, noticing that when she took her hand away from her face, it was near well covered in blood. Ew. Great. She pressed the clothe to her nose carefully and leaned forward a bit like he’d told her to. Though she stood so that she could still see him well enough. He had a nice smile. It made her smile in return despite the unpleasant situation, though the gesture was likely too hidden under the piece of fabric. “Well, if you can magically make me good at this stuff that would be excellent,” she joked. “But I could go for getting out of here too…” She hoped he wouldn’t leave her any time soon. Him being around was a comfort. And he was so nice, not like the group of stupid guys – who she now decided she hated – who had gone from laughing at her to watching the pair with varying expressions. She hated being humiliated. But at least Gabriel – if she remembered correctly on that one… - wasn’t being a jerk about it like the others were.

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Gabriel's skills in melee left much to be desired in his opinion. Of course he was as good as any other Roman, with maybe the exception of Remus and Charlie, even Ashby was half decent at this whole being brutish and bashing things in with a shield. There was grace and poise and dexterity that came with fighting with a bow. Now don't get him wrong, he had dispatched many people with his knives at close range, but it was never as comfortable as holding his recurved bow in his hands. The smooth white wood with the elvish lettering spelling his name out down one side, the soft and supple leather for the hand grip and the twang of the bow, almost like it had sang at the chance to spring an arrow from it. Back in primary school, he had learned to play the violin. It had been years since he had picked up the instrument, as it sat lying in his foot locker down at the bottom. It was needless to say it needed to be taken out and polished and probably restrung. It was somewhat painful to look upon the instrument. It held memories, happy memories that he sorely missed. He had tried to play his violin once, but was far out striped by the Apollo kids who decided to make that particular instrument theirs. Maybe if he had bothered to practice with it, he wouldn't be so embarrassed. Gabriel knew that now was not the time to practice something of that nature. There were other things that so desperately needed improvement on.

The leather of his boots cracked as he moved, he would have to polish them later, it would not do to have creaky boots. But he kept his eyes on Amelia, making note of those he would send ghosts after later to haunt them in their sleep for a week or so. He'd see how happy those idiots were after a week with little to no sleep. Lord Somnus would probably tear his figurative hair out over the lack of sleeping that went on in this camp, not that he probably wasn't already. Even in her time of pain and when he was trying to help her, she was worried about the state of his shirt. There was always times when his Pluto side kicked in, so why would it be different with other demi-gods? This must have been her Venus side getting the better of her. Worrying about his shirt, it was nice, sweet that someone cared. “It's alright. I've been needing to get a new shirt anyways, this one has holes.” He pulled the shirt over his head as he wiggled a finger through two holes on the sleeves and one on the seem on the other side with a grin and a mischevious look in his eyes. “Besides I think I might have hit a growth spurt, the shirts are starting to get small around the bottom.” He shot a glare at one of the younger Mars boys who was still being rather obnoxious and laughing, there were times when people in his cohort had said he was scary enough to make the dead quiver in his looks alone. It shut the boy up for now at least. “I don't know if I can magically make you better, But I'll help you practice if you want.” He offered. Maybe he wasn't the best at running the obstacle course, but he could at least do it without his centurion chafing his ass every time he made a slip up. Gabriel stood and offered Amelia the crook of his arm before he walked to his intended destination of a shady tree, just beyond the obstacle course.

“You were doing really well. I'm sure those bloody louts have fallen at least once or twice. Other wise the would never have brain damage to laugh at a beautiful woman like yourself.” Gabriel stated. His features glared over at the group of boys, but his eyes were kind and soft towards Amelia. It was taking all of his will power to not open up a fissure of black hellfire and send them strait to Tartrus. Bastards. Gently, he pulled his bow aside and set it against the tree. Then he removed his knives. It wasn't polite to be armed to the teeth in front of a lady. He set his long and delicate blades to the side, just in reach if someone or something decided that today was a good day to make him a snack or if he had to jump to defend the lady's honor. “So other than present events, how goes your day?” Gabriel asked with a smile as he looked at Amelia. “Anything I can do to make it better?” He offered.

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Amelia was not built for combat or speed or anything deemed useful here. She was built for… something else. Maybe being a model, or at least she liked to think that much. Or there was always a designer. Or, ooh, if Rome ever made its own version of her favorite show, What Not To Wear, she could so stand in for Stacey London! What a dream job that would be! But fighting? Not so much.

But that needed to change. Given the way things had gone in the last war, she wasn’t about to let another one sneak up on her and catch her unawares. She was going to be ready this time. She was going to be useful. She was not going to be pushed to the background again! Heck, she might even help change a bad situation into a good one for their side! You never knew! She could do this! And dammit, she was not going to lose a tooth to an obstacle course in the obstacle course. She checked them all with her tongue and was pleased to find they were all firmly still in place. She turned her attention back to the handsome young demigod helping her out. She smiled at him, however visible or invisible it might have been from behind the clothe that was once his shirt. “Well, I’m glad it ended up going to some use then. Even if it meant getting torn and bloodied. Then again, I think holes or cuts are fairly normal with all the training here.” She herself, being one for perfection, stitched up countless cuts in her training gear to keep them presentable. The worst cases were donated to whoever could want them. Maybe that Tessa girl in the infirmary… She sewed right? After all, all those little stuffed toys in the infirmary couldn’t come from nowhere. Maybe Amelia would donate her old shirts to go towards making little shirts for the teddy bears and whatnot. Might be a cute idea. She’d pitch it to Tessa next time she saw her. Assuming she not in one of her moods. It was a peace meeting, after all, not a critique your clothing one.

But for the moment, there were more important things happening. Like Gabriel taking his shirt off. She tried to pay attention to what he was saying instead of how incredibly toned he was. Though the fact of the matter was, she respected him a lot more than the majority of the idiots here, so it was surprisingly easy to pay attention to him. She laughed as he wiggled a finger through one of the holes. “Okay, I see what you mean then.” She was about to comment on his height – which she found to be perfect, but that might just be her – when he looked back to one of the boys still laughing. She had tuned it out ages ago, but apparently by the look on his face, Gabriel hadn’t. The boy shut up fairly quickly. Amelia looked to Gabriel with a heightened respect. Obviously, he pulled some weight around here. She smiled. “Practice would be great. I’d really appreciate the help.” She gladly took his offered arm and followed him, her free hand unfortunately stuck with the task of holding the piece of his shirt to her face. “Not to sound whiney, but how long should I hold this here?”

She blushed at his compliment. Or rather, compliments. “Thanks, Gabriel. That’s really sweet of you.” She watched as he unloaded a good deal of weaponry. It was surprising just how much he could keep on his person. She took the shirt-gone-rag away from her face and poked at her nose gently. It wasn’t hurting as bad as before. That was something right? She put the clothe back to her face and looked to him with a smile. “Actually pretty good. Especially now. Well, minus the bloody nose.” She gave him her best coy smile. “Well, if you’re not terribly busy, I wouldn’t mind some company. Especially company as good as yours.”

Tag: Gabriel
Word Count: 677
Notes: I’m assuming they know each other’s names from the last meeting. I don’t have it saved or anything so not sure

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If there was any animal that Gabriel had been compared to, once or twice it had been a tiger. Rather feline, coiled muscle and athleticisim that was ready to strike with the grace that was rivaled by those that were children of Mercury. A few times before someone suggested that he should take up gymnastics, but Gabriel declined. He wasn't the person for something like that, besides he had heard that males that had participated in that particular sport ended up with problems reproducing in later life. Whether or not it was true, he wasn't sure. Gabriel wanted a family some day, but till this whole mess with Saturn was sorted out, he didn't want to think about the future. There was a time and place for it, but right now wasn't that time. He didn't envy the job that his father was going to have on his hands with all of the rumors that were floating about his little sister. They were a bit much and as much as he didn't want to believe them, he couldn't help it. They sounded like exactly something that his stupid sister would do. She had a chip on her shoulder that could easily be gotten rid of if only she would just open up her heart to people. And not just to that “beloved praetor” of hers.

Gabriel's eyes wandered back over from the horizon line to the woman speaking to him. But even with most of his attention on the beauty that shamed those other females around her, his eyes darted upwards and scanned the horizon every moment or so. Damn that ADHD, he thought as he mindfully kept his eyes on hers as she spoke. She smiled, though it was hard to see through the cloth, he could see it through her eyes. Wow, they were gorgeous. More beautiful than any precious gems in his father's entire kingdom. Now stop that, he scolded himself and forced his eyes downwards to his feet. He pretty much wore his training clothes till they literally fell apart. But at least he was able to make her smile, that was worth it's weight in gold. “Yeah, holes, rips, tears, all that fun stuff.... But I'm no good with a needle and thread. The last time I tried to stitch my clothes up, I accidentally sewed my shirts together.” He gave a small laugh as his eyes rose to meet hers once more. “But I was always told by my centurion that the best defense in taking a blow is to not be there. I guess these holes can atest to that theory.” What was his point to this conversation again? Damn loosing track. But never the less he smiles as he stretched his arms. Now he was probably starting to get boring. He probably was boring her. He had to make sure she wasn't getting annoyed with him.

“but me and lucky seem to go together and not die.” He said as he pulled a hand out of the hole in his shirt. Maybe he was exagerating a bit, but all guys tended to do that when they were talking to amazing women. But at least it wasn't one of those 'mine is bigger than yours' sort of incidents. But she accepted his help. That was nice to not get shot down instantly. He was happy to help her in any way he possibly could. “Just till it stops bleeding.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes as she questioned to whether or not she would be holding the piece of cloth there forever. “It's probably going to be tender for a good while. I've been smacked in the face with a shield a time or two in training.” There had been many times when he had gotten his rear handed to him because he wasn't paying attention to what was being said. He had the scars and cuts to prove it. You wern't in first cohort without getting a few scrapes, bruises, broken bones and concussions. It was like a right of passage. But he trained hard and did the best he could with what he was able to. Maybe he should start lifting weights or something, not that he wanted to bulk up or anything, he just wanted to be able to yank his sword and knives out of bodies and training dummies without using his boots to brace down the skewered target.

He grinned as she thanked him for the compliments. He couldn't help but compliment such a wonderful lady. “I'm glad your day is going well.” He said with a smile. Gabriel brushed a stray strand of curly dark hair away from his face. His hair was getting long and a bit unmanageable. If he let it get a bit longer he might be able to pull it back into a pony tail. He ran a hand over his unshaven stubble that was starting to come from his chin. Gabriel had thought about growing a goatee or something, but if he did, it would be because he was too lazy to shave. Nah he wasn't lazy, he did stuff because there was a reason to do or not do something but it was never out of laziness. “Company huh?” Again he flashed a grin. “I think I can do that. I've got the day off today.” Surprise surprise, first cohort had been given the day off. “we can do whatever you wish, I am at your disposal m'lady.” He said with a seated bow towards her. Briefly, he thought about acquiring another shirt, but it was only a passing thought.

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He was thinking about something completely unknown to her, she could tell that much. But oddly, she wasn’t offended by the way he kept looking elsewhere. It was like one of those nice little quirks about a person. She figured everyone here was ADHD, so maybe that was it. Just a demigod thing. Certainly not his fault. When he did meet her eyes, she paused a little. He really did have stunning eyes. So dark they were almost black. Which might have been considered creepy by some, but she found it… mysterious. Beautiful. It made her want to get to know more about the man behind them. Well, that and a few other things. Like the fact that he was really kind and such a gentleman. It didn’t escape her notice that he was the only one to come to her aid just now. That, and he was gorgeous himself. She blamed her mother’s genes for having picked up on that one pretty fast, but then again, what girl wouldn’t? He was like a god or something, with those perfect brown curls, the angles of his face, the tone of his body. She found herself staring for a moment before snapping out of it. She had to keep mind of that, as she had a feeling it might be a problem if she didn’t. Focus, Amelia.

She laughed when he talked about sewing his shirts together. “Well, if you like, maybe I can try my hand at fixing your clothes.” She’d taken up sewing a year or so ago, figuring if she wanted to be a designer, she’d have to learn the trade sooner or later. Even had her own portable sewing machine. And besides, it would be nice to help him out. Not just because she really liked him. Sort of repay the favor. She smiled as he went on. “Good point. That’s very good advice. And yeah, I guess so. As long as they didn’t hurt you, that’s the important thing. The shirt can take a few blows.” She laughed lightly as he commented on getting along with lucky and not dying. “Well, that much is good. Not dying is usually preferable.” Nodding at his words concerning her nose, she took the piece of shirt away for a moment and checked it by gently prodding it. It hurt, that was for sure. But she didn’t feel any blood, and when she took her hand away, she didn’t see anything that looked fresh. She turned her attention back to him. “Okay, how horrible does it look?” She didn’t even want to imagine. Broken and just finished bleeding, it probably looked like a terrible red busted lump or something. Her eyes got a little wider. “You got hit in the face with a shield? Are you okay? That sounds horrible.”

She held his arm close as she smiled at him, glad to have the rag away from her face this time, though she still worried that her face looked terrible. All the while, it was nice that he accepted the request of spending time with her. “Off the entire day? Well, that’s lucky. For both of us. Do you like a nice walk around New Rome? I’d want to freshen up first though. If that’s okay.” She was afraid she smelled like sweat, and that was inexcusable. And besides, running a damp clothe over her face might be a good idea.

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Gabriel's eyes searched over the beautiful daughter of Venus. The young woman that was before him had the most beautiful eyes and quite a gorgeous smile. All of her facial features were, perfect. It seemed that everything just fit so well together with her. It was like someone had taken everything that was perfect about all of the movie stars in hollywood and threw them together on one female. It just so happened that this woman was a demi-god and Gabriel was lucky enough to be here in camp with her. To watch her train on the obstacle course was amazing. She had dexterity and agility that was uncommon in campers, save for the little sneak thieves that were the mercury kids. Okay maybe he shouldn't be sitting there with his mouth slightly open like he was some sort of fish. He wanted to say something but his mind just went completely blank. What was it he was going to say again? Drat, damn this ADHD to hell with his mind going in so many places at once. Maybe he should compliment her on the technique in the first part of the obstacle course, it was really good. Okay that sounded a bit creepy. She probably would think he had no taste in something other than training.

Amelia then offered to fix his clothes as he made a fool of himself by sticking a finger through a hole in his shirt. He blushed at the offer. “That... it would be nice.” He said, looking down at his knees. HE hoped that she didn't think he was some sort of lecherous idiot. “though I think that seamstress in New Rome might be a little disappointed, she made good money off of me. But I'd rather have my clothes in the hands of a beautiful lady like you instead of an old spinster.” Gabriel glanced down at her hands with a smile. Delicate and beautiful hands could do wonders, like all of those wonderful things that the girl in the infirmary made. The stuffed animals that helped the younger and more skittish campers that had a hard time adjusting to camp life, it made them feel better. Of course he never received nor needed one. But it was quite an adorable thought. “I think it might have been Charlie that said it.” Gabriel said tapping his rough chin with a finger. Hmm maybe he should grow him a goatee or something. He blinked as he looked at Amelia with a slightly strange passing thought. “Dying would suck.” Gabriel said, as he looked down at the earth. “It's not cool to see Lord Pluto before time is up. Or due to doing something stupid.” He couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Seeing his own father, the lord of the dead, before he was supposed to because he did something so stupid it was enough to get him killed.

Gabriel waved a hand as he smiled when Amelia asked about her nose. “It's not horrible at all. It will just take time to heal. It's a little red but nothing to worry about.” A few little flecks of blood here and there, that was a normal thing. Well it was for someone who got their face smashed in by the ground, or a weapon, or anything really. Even a busted lip was really nothing considering some of the injuries that Gabriel had seen while practicing in the arena or during one of First Cohorts infamous drills. “Yeah it was a couple weeks ago. It wasn't a big deal though. Arena practice that's it.” Okay he ended up in the infirmary for the next day or so under watch for a concussion, damn that Charlie had a hell of a shield bash. At least this time it wasn't the spiked shield she normally trained with, that could have been... problematic.

He smiled as she seemed happy that he accepeted her request to spend the time with her in New Rome. After all he had a book he wanted to pick up later that day. It was a special request of a leather bound copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula. “Go ahead and freshen up if you'd like. But I'll have to go find a new shirt too.” He flashed her another smile. He would also have to drop off the rest of his weapons in his barracks because the gods only knew that Terminus was such an OCD idiot. He was useful at times, but at the same time it was such a pain. After that stupid incident with his little sister, he felt more comfortable with a weapon on him. Though it would seem that there was nothing more uncomfortable than being unarmed while in a place where people didn't like him, his dad, his sister or his lineage. Stupid being bad luck.

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Gods, he was cute. Or handsome, both fit him really. Those gorgeous dark curls framing his angular face and equally dark eyes. She could positively melt. He was like Adonis or something. And he was sweet to boot, which was just bonus! His type were few and far between. So she’d be damned if she didn’t at least flirt with him. She employed her best smile, which didn’t take much effort because he had certainly earned it. That and he was blushing, which only made him all the cuter. “Well then, I’d be happy to help. I can’t promise it will be as good as the seamstress in New Rome, but I’ll do my best. You can always rip it out and take it back to her though if you like, I won’t be offended.” Normally she probably would be, but in his case, maybe not. She didn’t want him to force himself to put up with her or her shaky stitch work. He was one of the few she’d yet met who wasn’t family, who she genuinely wanted to be happy. Happy and with her, preferably, of course.

She nodded. Charlie, not a name she was particularly fond of, but then again, she wasn’t particularly fond of kids of mars as a rule. Too rough. Well, except her brother/nephew/whatever, who was one quarter Mars. Nick was a good guy. But people like Charlie and Remus? No way in heck. They admittedly had looks going for them, but she didn’t bother getting to know either enough to see if they had any other redeemable qualities. And she wasn’t particularly interested in getting to know them that much. They left each other alone and that was good enough for her.

She paused when the dying topic came up. Not one she usually thought or talked about, but she supposed him being a child of the god of death made it sort of a big deal. She frowned slightly and reached up, fingers under his chin, trying to get him to look at her instead of at the ground. “Hey, just be careful, okay? Besides, I’ve seen you train.” She hoped he didn’t think into that too much, lest he find out she had actually been sort of spying on him. “You’re really good. I’d pity the one who had to meet you in battle. So no dying, okay? Or I’ll go to the underworld and have a little chat with Lord Pluto myself.” She let her hand drop. Well, at least he’d laughed, right? But she still didn’t like to think about the idea of anyone she knew dying too early.

Poking at her nose a little, which she didn’t do for long as it hurt, she cringed, which also hurt. Okay, enough of that. She turned her expression into a smile instead. “Thanks.” She watched him with concern as he talked about his incident before. It made her happy not to be in first. “I’m glad you’re alright then.”

Ooh, the day with Gabriel. It was so perfect! She could hardly wait! “Then out of training clothes it is. I’ll meet you back at the gate to New Rome, how about?” She smiled brightly, then hurried off to her barrack in the third cohort area. She needed something nice, and of course fresh makeup to hopefully cover up that nasty red nose. She changed into one of her better summer dresses and heels and a denim jacket that she hoped he’d like and dabbed at her nose with concealer, all the while thinking of him.

Tag: Gabriel
Word Count: 595
Notes: new outfit plus a jacket

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“Practice makes perfect doesn't it?” Gabriel gave a crooked smile to Amelia. He had always been a function over form sort of man, so it never really had to look pretty so long as it worked. “Besides I've spent a good bit of my life being a practice guy, so if being a part of sewing practice is the worst thing that can happen, I'm good with that.” Which was true, there was so much other stuff that he could worry about, but if this was his biggest worry, Gabriel could count himself the luckiest man in camp. Hell he was the luckiest man in New Rome. Gods she was beautiful, he allowed the thought flitter through his mind like a drunken butterfly. It left a random string of thoughts as he tried to put them in some semblance of order. It was hard to do with a demi-god brain. The constant presence of ADHD and the well honed battle skills and instincts made it hard to concentrate on anything but battle, but for now, his attention was occupied by the beauty that was before him. A true daughter of Venus, she was beautiful, the curves of her body were perfection, everything about her just accented the gorgeous color of her eyes and hair..... Gabriel tore his eyes away from her for a moment, but the only thing that he could think of was a woman from a rennisance painting, delicate and beautiful, but at the same time, like Joan D'Arc, deadly and powerful.

He felt her touch his chin, gods how he wished he would have shaved today, but the stubble added to his rugged appearance. Her touch was soft, more gentle than what he was used to. Gabriel could feel the blush rising up in his ears and cheeks as he looked her strait in the eyes. She said that she watched him train? Wow, he would have to make sure that he started looking good when he went to train. It was nice to be noticed, but it was even better to be noticed by such an exotic flower. “I promise I'll be as careful as I can be.” He wasn't stupid enough to promise to not get into any pain or injury what so ever, that was the worst idea ever. He knew a kid that tried to swear on the river styx once that he wouldn't get hurt. Stubbed his toe and then died from it. The thought was enough to make him break out a small chuckle.”Thanks, though. I train so when I meet a wonderful beauty like you, I can protect her like the chivalrous knight that is much needed in the world today.”

Gabriel nodded as she seemed to be excited about spending the day with him. To be honest, he was having a hard time not bouncing up and down like an excited little school boy going to the opening of a new movie. He quickly deposited all of his weapons into the locker at the bottom of his bunk, making sure that no one would get into it while he was away. He didn't want to have issues again with Terminus. That was a guy who was wound too tight. Gabriel dusted his boots off, giving them a quick shine and making sure he was wearing a new shirt and leather vest without any holes in it what so ever. A little dash of cologne, his favorite scent, but not too much that it would make her feel overwhelmed. He adjusted his jacket and made sure to get his wallet, he was ready to get this fun part of the day underway. He walked quickly as to not keep her waiting, his mom always said that it was a bad idea to keep a woman waiting. He hoped that he would get there first as she wouldn't have to wait for him. Gabriel was excited, his goofy and crooked grin couldn't even contain how excited he was to have a date. Maybe it was a date, Gabriel wouldn't call it that until he was sure.

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“Couldn’t agree more. In all facets, too.” For example, learning how to properly match an outfit or get makeup just right; those things took practice. When she was younger, she had relied quite a deal on her older Venus siblings in order to help her get the hang of things. And Nick had been the one to help her with the fighting part, what little she did learn, since he was a legacy of Mars as well as Venus and could understand where she was coming from on the Venus side. She laughed when he talked about being part of sewing practice. “Well then, we have a deal. You have yourself your very own personal seamstress now. I’ll do my very best.” Flirting through stitching up a guy’s clothes. A new one on her, but for his case, not one she wasn’t willing to give a go. It was rare to find someone like Gabriel. Handsome and gentlemanly all at the same time, not one or the other but both.

His chin was kind of scratchy, something that on normal occasions she might have found off-putting, but on him it seemed just right. It really added to his appearance, to just his overall impression. His good looks were natural, nothing artificial or striven for it seemed, but just normally that way. And the blush that tinted his cheeks was nothing shy of adorable. She smiled when he promised he would be careful. “Thanks. Though if you ever need mouth to mouth, sign me up,” she joked. No harm in being a little forward about the matter, right? Plus, if she could get him to blush more, she wasn’t complaining. And there was the fact that she was being honest too. Though she would much prefer him to be conscious and okay then dying. Much, much prefer.

Now it was her turn to blush. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for her to receive compliments, as she basically centered her time here around earning them – up until the whispers of war of course, and the last war. But this time was different. Usually it was some idiotic guy who was only in it for his own selfish purposes or something like that. Gabriel was totally different though. Like he said, he was the chivalrous knight. And she couldn’t help but adore him, ten times at least more than any other guy she’d met here. He was so very sweet. “You definitely fit the part of chivalrous knight.”

She went over their meeting so far over and over in her head as she changed clothes and checked her appearance with a fine tooth comb. She wanted to be perfect for him. It was hard to hurry in heals though, even for someone used to them, but she hurried none the less, not wanting to delay their day any more than it had to be. When she got within sight of the gate leading to New Rome, he was already there. She smiled brightly and made her way over. “Sorry if I kept you waiting long. Shall we?” Without pause, she took his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. Even just holding his hand felt right. Yup, she was determined now. She wanted to date Gabriel Caulder for sure. And not for her old selfish reasons, but because she just really, really liked him. Who knew, maybe today could even be the start of something great.

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In the back of his mind, Gabriel could hear both his mother and father saying 'Just be yourself'. Gabriel didn't know who else to be. He wasn't sure how boys could be something other then themselves. Why go for being a jerk or some aloof idiot that pretended they didn't care? It was a recipe for disaster and then the other boys wondered why girls didn't like them when they ended up pushing the women away. It was a vicious cycle and then the boys would get bitter and end up being real jerks. Gabriel had learned early on that being yourself was always the best thing. Child of Pluto or not, Gabriel was just that, Gabriel Caulder. He didn't want to be anything but himself. He was a little bit of a nerd, a little bit of an educated man, a bit of a gentleman, all Gabriel. He couldn't help but feel as if Lady Fortuna and Lady Venus were looking down on him, taking pity or finally allowing him to have a chance at love. To know it wasn't just something that existed for other people and in the books. Not the Romeo and Juliette type of love, that was a disastrous three day affair that killed so many people, not a real tale of love. It was enough of a thought he couldn't help but shudder. He probably shouldn't be surprised if any sort of love with a child of pluto ended up as an affair that killed a couple of people. Or zombies, if you were his sister.

Some of her comments were enough to make the Mona Lisa blush, and as he was only human, he couldn't help but let his cheeks go even redder. Even if it was unwilling. There was an awkward smile, this one reaching his eyes as he looked up at Amelia. “Then I think it's safe to say that if it ever came down to it, I know that my life is in beautiful and wonderful hands.” He said as he gently took her hand in his and raised it to his lips, kissing the top of it. He gave her a full on smile, his heart racing as he wondered if maybe this was too fast or too forward. He didn't want to scare her off. Maybe he should back off, no, maybe he should be a little bit more forward with his feelings.... no that was a horrible idea too. He couldn't help but let his heart flutter and his mind race at the same time. Again, a horrible idea to let the both of them get away at the same time, but in the presence of such a woman, it was hard to keep everything in control.

Gabriel couldn't help but smile as Amelia appeared while he was waiting. He hadn't been waiting long, that was a plus, but he would have waited a good long while for her. “Perfect timing.” He said, flashing her a smile. A genuine and true smile that he reserved for wonderful parts of books and good shots on the archery field. She grabbed his hand, his heart jumped into his throat. Her fingers entwined with his and he hoped that the rough calloused fingers of his wasn't off putting against her delicate skin. “There's a wonderful bistro that sells some of the most amazing drinks just beyond the fountain in the forum. I also know of a good place that sells some wonderful tarts.” He offered up as a suggestion. “But anything you want to do, I'm up for.” Anything short of stripping to his boxers and jumping into the frigid cold lake he was up for. Okay he would even do that, fully clothed if she asked him to. A little silly, but guys tended to do crazy things. They did stupid things once because they were guys, if they did it again, it was probably because of a woman. Or the guy was too dense and didn't learn the first time. The former was more likely than the latter. Though Gabriel was sure that he knew quite a few sons of Mars in First Cohort that the latter applied to.