A little walk (open)

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Allan woke up in the third cohort looking at the ceiling above his bed. His mind was racing, ever since coming back, the boy had been attacked and everyone was asking him about his old allegiance. The son of cupid could partially understand why. People wanted to know why he chose to side with a titan, whose goal was to destroy Olympus. It's not that he didn't have answer, it was more along the lines that the son of Cupid didn't want to to discuss it and try to bury his past. The rest of his cohort was still sleeping as it was still evening and well Allan couldn't sleep. The man couldn't help but feel that there was still some people in his cohort would rather see him dead for his actions. It however felt good to make up with Ronan. The son of Vulcan had been Allan's good friend before he went to Saturn's side.

The man had remembered what Allan was like before the war and Allan couldn't help but revert back to his monkey boyish ways with the man. Allan got up and deciding Somnia wouldn't be helping him sleep tonight. Allan sighed slipping on a pair of pants and white t-shirt. He sighed and walked out of the barracks, He was part of the middle of the road cohort. They weren't the best but nor were they the worst. Allan didn't mind for it was good because he could train and help those he could. The night air was cool and it was slightly warm despite it being close to winter,, which meant Proserpina was back in the underworld with her husband. Allan shrugged as he walked around the camp and looking around seeing a few animals skitter around and the dim light of the forges. It made him wonder if Ronan was still awake. The last time Allan talked to him the tall man had grown and well he was overworked. Ronan was one of the only Vulcan kids left since the quest began. The fateful quest he pretty much knew all about.

According to what his praetor had confided in Allan, his old master was returning. Allan didn't like the idea of another war, it would test his loyalty to the max. He was not for the gods, but he was also not for the titan. How could keep to the middle of the road but yet keep his Styx promise. Allan Finally found himself on the banks of little Tiber. He sat down looking at the water and sighed. "Well it seems like tough times ahead." Allan muttered to himself and sighed. He was not usually down and glum, however with men attacking him left and right. Along with the seeing happy couples, Allan couldn't help but feel a little down. He was happy being single, for now, However it felt good to have someone beside him when he needed support. Allan sighed as he thought about the troubles about to come.He wondered could he survive and could he truly keep his promise. This would be the hardest battle he had ever fought, this time his opponent was himself.

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Ronan felt exhausted. He had been working hard in the forge for days, trying to meet demands and quotas while keeping his brothers and sisters in line. There were times when he thought about how much work he had taken on, all of the responsibility and power that came with his new positions, it was overwhelming at first but now he had gotten used to it. Hell come to think of it, he really depended on the predictability of what was to come. Ronan flipped the switch that allowed a projector to flit images of the night sky across the ceiling. He probably should have slept in his barracks bunk, he couldn't bring himself to sleep there any more after all of the nightmares that he had before. They were still prevalent in his life, but he was able to control them. Now that he had a lot of things to do, he went to bed tired and exhaustion managed to put him in a deep sleep that meant little dreams. He also had been drinking that tea that Tessa had made him. It was the same stuff that was given to his little brother. Edmund might not have seen Ronan as family, but he was. He knew that his brother had a problem with the gods.

The Gods.... The thought was bitter in his mind. Ronan didn't care for most of the gods. Mors, was alright, but it was one of the few gods that he had met. But after the talk he had with the god of Death, Ronan was much more comfortable about himself. But while he didn't care for some, the ones that he did like were nice. With the coming war, Ronan had been working hard to whip the fifth cohort into shape. There was one thing that he had resigned himself to fight for. He wasn't fighting for the gods, he wasn't fighting for the Titan either. He was fighting for his family that was here. HE had never had a real family, being an orphan for most of his life. He knew that he was fighting for a place where people like him who had no family could be safe. A place where unwanted people could learn to be a part of a society that accepted them. He felt safe here, that he had a home. He didn't want this place destroyed. If he did one thing with his life, he wanted to sacrifice so much for these people even if they didn't want him around.

Ronan squinted around the dimly lit forge. He sat there in a pair of pants, minus his shirt, in the overly hot forge. After rummaging around, he pulled on a glove to his right hand. It came up to his wrist to allow for freedom of movement. Then came the arm guard of his left arm. His left shoulder was covered in plate. Closer to his skin was some scale mail, banded together up till it hit the bracer of plate. The leather of glove was soft and supple, covered in more plate that would protect him. It was a metal with a high tolerance of heat, something that worked for him and his high body tempreature. He picked up his hammer after slipping on his boots, Then came the metal plating to cover his calves and feet. That's all the armor that he required. From the moment the hammer touched his finger tips, it came alight with a dancing flame. He couldn't believe how comfortable he had become with the flame. Before it was a sense of tension, something that he couldn't control. Now it was a tool. He knew he could use it to help him in battle, in the forge, in making and creating things.

At first, he thought to go to the field of mars. But after seeing that someone was doing a night time drill, Ronan decided to avoid it. He walked along the banks of the river. He had learned that he was a descendant of Neptune, the god of the Sea. Or at least that was the story he had found out about his mother. He had found her file while he was trying to clean out the boxes of the fifth cohort file room. It was a shock to see, but again it was comforting. He now knew she had died, that she really wanted him and that she cared for him. There was some unanswered questions he still had, but he would ask them later if he could ever find a way to. It was never a good time to loose someone, but at a young age, Ronan had never know anything but being alone. He always knew he was different and he always knew that to a degree, something wasn't right about him. Even the people here who learned about his pyrotechnic abilities, they pushed him away, calling him a curse. People had nothing but horrible things to say about those that could manipulate and use fire.

Ronan continued to walk, but wander was a more accurate word. But as he heard some noise, he looked up. There was a smaller, much more slender male up ahead of him. Ronan couldn't help but crack a small smile in his stone like facade. He knew that silhouette anywhere. It was his little buddy. He had missed Allan so much when he had vanished. But maybe he wanted to be by himself, to think things over, Ronan probably shouldn't be bothering him. Ronan turned his helmeted head away as he watched the smaller figure ahead of him in the distance. But he should at least say something right? “Hey, little buddy.” Ronan mumbled as he approached. Okay so this was much against his better judgement, bothering people when it looked like they wanted to be by themselves.

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Allan was sitting and looking at the stillness of the water thinkign about the road ahead. He thought about how some would be expecting him to return back to being a traitor, while some were fully trusting him. Allan also thought about his buddy Ronan, The man had grown up to be really handsome but to top it off, his best friend had welcomed him back. They had a huge heart to heart and Allan liked that He could give the big man a hug no matter what. The two were in separate cohorts but what Allan found disappointing was that Ronan was among what most would consider the rejects. Allan never thought of his handsome friend as a reject, he just had a power that sometimes decided to go haywire. Allan sat there contemplating things andd somehow thoughts of his dear friend kept coming to mind. Allan couldn't help but smile.He jumped slightly when gruff voice came from behind him. Allan looked back and laughed a bit, only because it was Ironic that he would be thinking about Ronan and the tall man would show up.

Allan quickly got to his feet and hugged the man standing behind him. Allan couldn't explain but just when he needed someone most his best friend would show up. "Hey buddy, Let me guess, Somnia wasn't visiting you either and you were being mister busybody. Allan smiled. He meant no disrespect to the man, in fact the opposite. He was worried that Ronan was overworking himself. It took Allan a minute to grasp the concept of he had just hugged a shirtless man. It made his cheeks turn a bright pink. In the last war, Allan had several fake boyfriends. However, that is just wha tthey were, Fakes. People only influenced by his love powers and none wanted to be with him after it wore off. Allan knew what these feelings for his taller friend were. The endless worrying and wanting to be with him always. Yes Allan knew these feelings but was not opening himself to that again. Instead he was sticking to training and just helping prepare his cohort for the war ahead. "Ronan, bud what brings you out my way? Myself i couldn't sleep and with this news of my old master planning to rise again. It is one of my toughest fights. Some people are thinking i will go back. However people like you, have my back. I won't go back it was a dark time but Saturn can be convincing." Allan spoke showing some of the inner turmoil, he was struggling with.

Allan sighed feeling bad to burden his friend with his emotions. Romans were warriors, they did what needed to be done. They didn't have time for petty emotions, or so Allan was taught. The son of Cupid looked at the ground as he stood in the cool night air which had become slightly warmer due to his buddy producing heat more than the normal person. Ronan was Allan's best friend and no matter what happened,, the son of cupid would always be loyal to his friend. He just needed to prove a change of heart to people. This would be on tough challenge.

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Ronan removed his helmet, allowing the dirty blond hair to cascade down his face in a rather unruly fashion. He brushed a strand away as he thought about things. Recently, and by recently it was within the past few months, he had a talk with the god of Death, Mors. The god was one creepy dude. But surprisingly enough, the deity was gentle and cordial. Not quite what Ronan had expected, to be honest, he thought the god would be more like Mars. It led him to accept the role of Centurion of the fifth cohort. The leader of a bunch of misfits and weirdos, but it was a responsibility that for some reason, made him feel at peace. That there was someone who finally depended on him to do something. Before coming to camp, before finding out he had brothers and sisters, he had no one. He felt as if his own mother hadn't even wanted him. Only recently had he found his mothers file, after a bit of digging he found out that she had died under mysterious circumstances. She had been in the second cohort and centurion before she left. It was something to be proud of, but at the same time, he deeply wished that she could have told him all of these things he found out herself. It was hard to get the dead to talk, unless you were a child of the gods of death. Sometimes the Lares would talk, but they were too old.

Ronan was assaulted by a big hug from the smaller male. He had never been good with people, been good with dealing with these emotions, but he tried hard to put everything that he couldn't put into words into the hug. Allan had been going through a lot, there were people attacking him left and right for his betrayal. Allan had hurt him bad by running off like that. He was the only person that Ronan felt as if he could be himself around the son of Cupid. Allan felt similar to what Ronan had felt, unwanted as if he was just a piece of rubbish meant for the trash bin. But that was where their paths diverged. New Rome and the Camp had always been his home and Ronan would defend this place to his dying breath. He didn't care for the gods or the titans, but if his home was threatened, he would fight tooth and nail to make sure there was a place for people like him. A place that people could be safe and free from worry, a place to call their home. Allan spoke, the younger male voicing his worries in a chastising manner. Ronan half expected to see him wagging his finger at the over worked son of Vulcan. He shook his head. “Couldn't sleep.” He grunted. Anyone else probably would have thought that it was ridiculous to see such a smaller male harassing the much larger male. But Ronan knew it was out of worry, not out of being a jerk. “I was gonna train... but it looks like second cohort has taken to using the field of Mars tonight.” Again it was a grunt. Allan spoke once more, voicing concerns about the growing problem that was spoken in hushed tones. Ronan knew the rumors, even though most people spoke of it in the shadows, he wasn't as stupid as everyone thought he was. “I know you're gonna have a hard time,” he started to say as he ran a hand over his chin. “but I trust you to make decisions with your heart.” Ronan said, prodding at the smaller male's chest with a large hand.

Ronan believed in Allan. He really believed that the tormented son of Cupid had a change of heart. Other people didn't see it, but he did. He knew that his friend would keep his word. Ronan didn't like the idea of saturn coming back, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Except for burn his way through a swath of enemies. No one would harm his friends, his home or his home hearth. He was bonded to the fire in the forge. Even now to be so far away from it, was a bit lonely. It was a nice change to be out and about though. Ronan looked up at the stars before looking back down. “So of all the places you could have wandered to, you decided to walk the roads? Please tell me you at least are armed....” There had been whispers of attacks on campers. The last thing that Ronan wanted to do was get discharged because he had killed someone for hurting his friend. But Allan was smarter than your average camper, or at least the ones that liked to wander around by themselves and be unarmed. Who does that?

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Allan smiled seeing the beautiful locks cascade from Ronan's helmet. The son of cupid tried to keep his face from blushing as he looked the handsome man in the eyes.What the hell was wrong with him, why was he feeling this way towards a man he betrayed years ago? Allan remembered his past and how he could be the hyper boy around the son of Vulcan. People had loved him an he was too selfish to think about them. Saturn had him so convinced they were lying to him that he could trust no one. Allan shook his head getting out of his thoughts when he heard Ronan speak about being unable to sleep and planning to go train. "You overwork yourself Ronan. You worry me, I know my combustible friend when you get exhausted your powers like to act up. I am not telling you what to do since you are technically my superior officer being centurion and all.However i would suggest getting help having someone to come alongside you so you don't overwork. Then i am talking to the king of being busy." Allan smiled as he gave Ronan a gentle pat on his back but being smaller probably reached his middle back.

Allan sighed when Ronan responded to Allan's concerns about the future. The son of cupid knew about his past and remembered his promise, however he was still mad that cupid didn't see it fit to claim his son til after thee war. His own son could have died and cupid probably wouldn't have cared. "Thanks Ronan, your confidence in me means more than you might think it does." Allan blushed for it felt good to have the man he cared for believe him. Sure, the praetors believed him but to have Ronan believe him felt much different. Allan wished he could express his feelings for the man but really his brain was tellng him that Ronan deserved better. He wondered what the son of Vulcan could ever see in a traitorous boy like Allan. Allan then listened to Ronan voice concern for Allan and his being armed, little did people know Allan was always armed for he kept his trusty dagger hidden and well sheathed as not to accidentally stab himself. "Yes, I am armed. Since I am a traitor come back i feel ike it is best to remain armed. I never know when someone might lash out at me. Also, I might add that I do know about the attacks on campers. I know that poor girl was found dead. I can't say for certain it was Saturn's influence but I would like to believe I know the titan decent enough to recognize his influence. Then again it could just be a random attack. I am not foolish enough to go unarmed, ex-traitor or not. In these dark times we need our weapons." Allan commented. He was merely speculating the influence of Saturn behind the death of the poor girl. He also remembered seeing the Trivia Daughter bring an injured Remus to the infirmary. So he knew abut assualts on people. Allan just hadn't told anyone but Remus about Rhia's actions. This was confusing times and Allan wanted it to end, for he had hoped that Saturn would remain in Tartarus but he knew there would be no such luck. Allan sighed as he pulled out his dagged from his side smiling. "This is my trusty dagger served me well in the last war and would serve me well in this one I hope." Allan smiled as he looked it Over. His time with Ronan was precious and he would admit he loved this walk and wished it would never end.