Harmless Haunting (open)

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It was a weird feeling, being back. There was something about being dead that just made everything appear in a totally different perspective. She sort of envied the people who were still alive, but that was beside the point. She had barely known them in life, but she had to make a difference now, or Lord Mors might take her back to the Underworld. Which was why she had already spoken to Remus and described her situation and the promise she had made to the god of death. Thankfully he had been understanding and had agreed to let her teach some of the children about adjusting to camp life and about adjusting to war. As a child of the goddess of memory, she had a way with remembering better than most did, so she could still remember sharply what it was like to be ten years old and lost. What it was like to face a war. It hadn’t been pleasant for her, but she was determined to make it okay for them at the very least.

But why was she here? Not in camp in general, but here? The archery field. The place of her death. Sitting at the edge of the field of Mars innocently, but she knew better. No, it wasn’t the archery field’s fault she was dead. It was merely happenstance that she had been here when it happened. Away from the crowds of Camp Jupiter. The perfect place to be alone, one would think, but perhaps that had been the problem. She’d thought she had been alone, until that gang had come up and surrounded her, tortured her to within an inch of her life and then finally simply just cut that inch. She turned from the archery field, hating what it represented. She would never come back here if she could help it. So instead she started the trek – so to speak, for someone whose feet never actually touched the ground – back across the Field of Mars.

Tag: open
Word Count: 334
Notes:

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ooc: yay! threading with ab <3 ic: kaylee hansen tag: 495 credit to oblivion take my hand we'll make it i swear

After third cohort training got called to a halt, Ryan usually turned right around to strip off his armor. He never planned on going back for extra practice or anything; heck, he didn't even enjoy fighting. He just looked at it as a necessary way to survive at this place. He'd train and fight on defense in his own, passive way, but that was the extent of it. And today looked like any normal day: train, then turn around and hightail it out. Normal... except for the fact that during his training session he had noticed one of their newer saplings starting to wilt. Of all places, it had to grow near the edges of the Field of Mars. Hopefully no one would ask for it to be chopped down. Poor thing just started its life that past spring! Being the son of Ceres that he was, and a total push over, Ryan had decided to take it upon himself to give it a little check up. A pep talk and healing was in order. Perhaps he could even play for it a little. He'd name it too. Gods, naming saplings could get a little hectic. How many grew around here in a year? Well, maybe this one would be the only one... oh wait! There was also one growing by the river... maybe he could name that one too! He mulled a name over as he took his armor off and changed into normal, dirt stained clothes. Should he do a unisex name since he really had no idea if a plant was male or female? Could plants even be male or female? Questions of the universe he'd have to mull over with Inek next time they decided to talk. With unisex names now tumbling around in his mind, Ryan grabbed Tumnus and started out in the direction of the Field of Mars and his new little sapling project. Maybe it was kind of bad, getting attached to the plant... especially if it was ordered to be taken, uprooted, or chopped down when it got older. Oh well, all Ryan could think about doing now was to try to heal it. He squatted down infront of it, pulling his jacket around him a bit. "Hey buddy! How ya doin'?" Talking to a tree. Totally normal occurrence if you hung out with him. "I'm going to try to get you better, alright?" He took his reed out of his pocket and put it in his mouth, giving it a few warm up blows. "Al'doe, I dee'die'ded do 'ame ou,"(also, i decided to name you) he continued, talking around his reed. "I 'ub dee," (i dub thee) Ryan looked up, still not settled on a name, and searching for inspiration. Instead, he saw something else. The fifteen year old paused, slowly removing the reed from his mouth and looking, hard. Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him, the light, or the coldness, a simple flare. But no... it was walking, and recognizable. "Kaylee..."

[Deleted]

The living looked different when you were dead. It was like you could see the life in them. She vaguely wondered if Mors saw things like that too. If it ever made him sick to his stomach maybe, because she was still getting the hang of it herself. Though after the incredibly long time that Mors had been at his job, she figured he was probably a bit more used to it than her. She was only dead, what, a month maybe? Hmm. She’d managed to forget her death day. Was that good or bad? Was it really something you celebrated like the ghosts in Harry Potter did, or was it something you shied away from? This was going to take some getting used to.

Either way, she spotted the warm body that was Ryan Ruckshack before he spotted her. After all, he was off on his own, away from the groups of training demigods and legacies. But… what was he doing? It looked like he was talking, but there wasn’t anyone anywhere near him. Odd… She didn’t know a lot about Ryan, except that he was a son of Ceres and a bit of an eccentric, though not in a bad way. Word had always been that he was a pushover of a Roman, but she had always chalked it up to bullies being themselves. Especially as she really wasn’t much good at fighting herself, so who was she to judge? The few times she’d seen him, he’d been smiling, which was probably why the idiots didn’t like him; gods forbid there be any fun at this place. He seemed friendly enough to her though. Come to think of it, she wasn’t really sure why she’d never spoken to him. Though at the moment, he did appear to be a bit busy with… something. So for a minute, she reverted to her old ways: leave them to their own thing and just keep going. She turned away and kept going, not really sure where to, as she didn’t have a lesson today, but going nonetheless. Maybe she would spend time getting to know the other lares. No harm in getting on friendly terms with people who might be able to help her adjust, right? And she had nothing against the other lares that inhabited New Rome and the legion.

Until she heard her name. It wasn’t loud, but when someone says your name, even in a crowded room, it tends to get your attention. She stopped and looked over to Ryan again. Sure enough, it was him. Whatever had been holding his attention before appeared to have given it up momentarily. Though her nerves started prickling – why was she so horrible at socializing? – she walked over. As she got closer, she spotted the sapling he was kneeling in front of. Son of Ceres, saplings; she supposed it went together. “Hey Ryan. How are you? And, if I may ask, what are you doing all the way out here?” She hoped he wasn’t spooked by talking to a lar. She remembered when she first got here and she’d considered them scary. Something that she had already run into in her first class, where several of the kids were none too pleased to learn that their teacher was dead.

Tag: Ryan!
Word Count: 548
Notes: threading with Ellie! <3 Sorry this is late! Also, Ryan is officially adorable. Can I please hug him?

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ooc: pft, it's fine! sorry for my lateness! yayayayay threading with abbb!! aww haha thanks! yesss you can! he loves hugs! ic: 557 tag: kaylee hansen credit to oblivion take my hand we'll make it i swear

Ryan didn’t necessarily have anything against lars. Spirits of the fallen that had decided to stick around in the land of the living. They probably had specific purposes. Did they have to check in with Mors and Pluto about this? Get special permission or something? He knew of one lar that stuck around earth to become (or remain, he wasn’t sure) a teacher at the Legion. Now that he thought about it, having ghosts lurk around was cool, in a sort of morbid way. They could be awesome sources of advice and great storytellers, especially if they had stuck around for centuries. Maybe some of them could’ve even seen the actual Roman Empire! Then again, Ryan didn’t remember seeing any quite that old yet. Either that, or they didn’t want people to know their exact age, which was respectable. Adults… If all else failed, they always had the children of Pluto to help summon the dead for counsel. Goodness knew they all needed help and advice every now and again. Even though they were all proud, Roman soldiers, there was nothing wrong with asking for help. In fact, it showed strength. It was becoming especially crucial since the thought and possibility of war was slowly starting to become imminent. People were being murdered. Campers were jumping ship. Paranoia and prejudice started to grow: tell tale signs of the beginnings of a war. Then there were the people like him who tried to stay optimistic. If people started turning their backs each other just because of suspicions now, how on earth would they ever band together to fight Saturn’s crew? When he really thought about it, they were all just kids who grew up way too fast. The two heads of camp, along with its soldiers, were mostly kids under twenty. Under. Twenty. Competent? No doubt. But still. Kids. Kids who had been seasoned to fight, take orders, all to prepare themselves to die for “the cause” (whatever it was in this war. Keep camp safe? Keep Saturn from over running the earth? What the heck was it, exactly?). And to think! Normal, mortal children in school: hanging out, and playing regular sports like he used to, just a few miles away. He offered Kaylee a smile as she heard his call and approached him. “Heya!” he greeted happily. “I’m alright, thanks. Yourself?” It was nice to see her, no doubt. Good to see her… but not like this. He much preferred her being alive. He had always thought that Nick and Kaylee had made a good couple. They were so cute around each other, and they seemed to make each other happy. In essence, only a few things were important a relationship: love, making each other happy and being there for each other. Love. Yay! She had seemed like such a nice girl. Such a shame something so horrible had to happen to her. It sent Nick into a frenzy, a frenzy that eventually led him to leaving the Legion. “Oh! ‘course y’can! I’m just looking after this tiny here,” he said, gesturing to the small tree that had started to grow on the edge of the Field of Mars. “I’m naming her after you…” he said with a slight smile. “An'what’re you up to over here?”

[Deleted]

Kaylee knelt down next to him and smiled. It was impossible to not smile around Ryan. He was just one of those smiling sorts. She really wished she’d known him when she was alive. Then again, what was the harm in making a new friend even after she was technically not breathing anymore? No reason at all they couldn’t be friends. And the gods knew, she needed friends. Especially friends like Ryan. They made being dead – and being away from Nick – a lot easier to handle. Before today, she’d been sort of swimming in a sea of nothingness, it felt like. She had no anchor to keep her steady. Sure, she had her new job as a teacher, but it wasn’t the same. She, oddly enough, wanted to train again, like the other kids her age. She wanted to enjoy the feeling of the warm sunlight on her skin again. She wanted to smell the flowers. All of those things were denied to her now. She held in a sigh that threatened to escape. And more than that. When she first had come back to ‘life’, she had found a dark place in the forest and merely cried for hours, part of her wishing to be found – preferably by Nick – and helped, but part of her wanting to be alone. It had been a difficult transition, that was for sure.

But kneeling here next to Ryan made her feel better. Feel normal. Almost alive. She smiled at him. “Not too bad. It’s a nice day out, isn’t it?” The birds were singing, the sky was brilliant blue and littered here and there with little puffs of cloud. All that sort of thing. She couldn’t tell what the temperature was, but it looked nice at least. And judging from what the live campers were wearing, it appeared to be warm enough. She wondered what it would be like in the winter, when the snow came, and she would still be in the same springy clothes she’d died in. Thank goodness they didn’t still have the blood on them at least, or the cuts. She had a feeling no one would dare talk to her if she looked like that. Teaching children? How about giving them nightmares?

She looked at the young sapling he was looking after and smiled. Well, that was sweet of him. Then he said he was naming the plant after her. She couldn’t help but smile a little wider. “Really? Well, I’m honored. Thank you. I’ll be sure to help you look after her then. It’s the least I can do.” She glanced around at his question. “I was just… walking. Nothing much I can do in off time really.” She decided not to mention the part about being around her death site. That was a little morbid.

Tag: Ryan
Word Count: 470
Notes: *hugs Ryan!*

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OOC: *hides in shame* i'm so sorry for the wait IC: 521 seeing a smile on anyone was a blessing. people just looked so nice when a smile graced their face! it certainly made them look friendlier. definitely more attractive. it put other people in a better mood; heck, it put the smiler in more of a good mood, even if they didn't realize it. plus, roman soldiers smiling at camp jupiter? all the more reason to celebrate it. all the more reason smiling became special. smiling on a day to day basis could be considered a rarity here. so yes, ryan did like seeing people smile. count in the fact that kaylee was a lar, and she was golden. she had the guts to come back into the living world. she would've gotten somewhere nice when she died, ryan was almost certain of that. sure, she may have been a bit quiet and private in life, but she certainly had never done anything to warrant the way she died. heck, just the way she died called for an eternity of peace. but she decided to come back to help. quite brave of her in his point of view. she had to face the reality that she was dead, for one. second, she had to "live" with the knowledge that everyone else around her lived and breathed and carried on life as normal, whereas she couldn't exactly experience anything. he still couldn't believe anyone would want to harm her. she seemed like a sweet girl. then again, war mentality did horrible things to people. made them see enemies where friends once stood. internal conflicts. paranoia. he had seen them all since the last war. the civil battles that happened before the actual battles against the enemy began. he decided that calling the little sapling kaylee would be nice. give her a living counterpart. sure, she was here, but still... it'd be nice to have something physical to memorialize fallen campers. something besides a burnt pyre and grave (which were more depressing than comforting, to him at least). maybe he could start a little tree grove. maybe he'd name that growing tree by the river valerie. he looked over, offering her a smile. "great to hear!" at her question, he automatically gazed up at the sky. clear, with some puffy clouds, a gentle breeze, and over all warmth. "yes, it is... a nice spring day by my definition. even better with the birds!" birds, insects, and plants always made any day better for him. count in new friends, and the entire day was made. "yup!" poor sapling had grown beside the field of mars. all he could hope was that no one would decide to chop it down just because it was "interfering with training space. he'd probably start a petition if that happened. no matter though... he'd stay around to guard it against that happening. "aw, you're more than welcome! you deserve to have something nice named after you." he gave a grin. "my turn to thank you, then! i'm sure she'll love her counter-part's company." he nodded slightly. "walking around's nice... get to see things." he tilted his head slightly, courious. "off time?"

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Kaylee was really glad she’d been in this particular area of Camp Jupiter now. Otherwise she wouldn’t have met Ryan. And she probably would have stayed her introspective self for the day if not for the smiling, happy young man in front of her. If people didn’t see he was a blessing to this Camp, well, then she would at least enjoy his company. Was it possible for a lar to be best friends with someone living? She didn’t think she’d ever seen it with any of the other lares who roamed Camp Jupiter. Then she would just be the first! Because already she could tell that Ryan was good best friend material. She just hoped he possibly felt the same about her. She hadn’t had many friends during life. And it was a shame Ryan hadn’t been one of them. But better late than never. Besides, anyone kind and gentle enough to take care of a little sapling had to be a wonderful person. She wished she could whisk him away from this horrible war on the horizon, but she was here with a purpose: to guide the younger kids and to try to save Nick. Okay, so the latter was more of a personal agenda, but it still counted. Then there was the fact that she physically couldn’t leave Camp Jupiter and New Rome. So the best she could do to help Ryan would be escort him to the tunnel or help him hide in the city. But that would also be breaking the rules of the camp and service time and all that. Oh, why did there have to be a war at all? Everything would be so much better if there wasn’t! She’d even be alive, and Nick safe.

At his smile, she could only smile in response. It was contagious. “Yes, the birds do make it a lot better. Their songs are beautiful and I’ve always loved the bright colors of some of them. The bluebirds, cardinals, goldfinches. Like pieces of the rainbow itself winging across the sky.” He was right, of course. She’d always loved the natural world. Not as much as himself or his siblings, probably, but especially like the heavens at night were a wonder to her. Nick knew well of that one, seeing as he’d first met her when she was stargazing.

She knelt beside Ryan and the sapling and took a closer look at the baby tree that now had her name. It really was a wonder that so small a plant could, over the years, grow to be taller than Jupiter’s temple and, in her opinion, just as magnificent. And now that she was a lar, she would be around to watch it grow to that towering height. And her and Ryan could tend to it the whole while. That thought made her smile. That, and Ryan’s kind words. “Then I’ll come every day. I read somewhere that talking to plants actually helps them grow? Maybe I can read to her or something.” She nodded. “Yes. It’s funny, really. Over the years I’ve been here, I thought I knew the place. But being, you know, dead, brings a whole new perspective to things. To everything.” She smiled at his curiosity. “I work for the camp. Helping the youngest campers to adjust to camp life and being sort of a mentor for them. So I just mean, when I’m not doing that.”

Tag: Ryan! <3
Word Count: 572
Notes: I still can’t believe Ryan died! And sidenote, Ellie, you are such a good writer!

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OOC: dawww *blush* thankie <3 IC: 599 ryan really didn't want there to be a war. not just because he didn't like fighting, but because of all the heartbreak and destruction it would cause later. heck, they already had Kaylee as a casualty of war paranoia. From there, they had lost nick to the other side. nick, and countless others. people already leaving and the physical fighting hadn't started. shame. when the actual fighting did start, it'd be ten times worse. more lives. more pyre burnings. as if he didn't remember what it had been like three years ago. seriously. what had they done to tick off the fates so much that saturn came back twice in three years? after this, hopefully they'd get a century of peace. everyone deserved it. but before that came, thee had to be a stupid war. sigh. if it had to happen, ryan would participate (as if he had a choice), but not like last time. for this war, ryan wanted to be a field medic. no reason for him to be fighting when he wasn't a great solider or anything. he'd just get in the way. no, this time, he'd dedicate himself to saving as many people as he could: camp or saturn side. maybe that's what he could do after his service terminated. become a doctor, or a plant shop owner, ... or follow in robin's footsteps and come a counselor. gods knew they needed more in new rome, and ryan liked helping people. he sure knew that, in a way, they all needed help, even though most of them were too proud or stubborn to admit to it. most of them had gone through hell three years ago, and they were all about to go through it again. one could only imagine the mental scars. in way, he kind of wished that he had been kaylee's friend in life. maybe she would've... y'know. not died. then again, she was here now, so they could be friends, right? ryan didn't care that she was a lar. "they do sound nice... especially in the mornings." he gave a slight grin. "yeah, they look stunning... oh oh! y'know what? we should do an exotic birds show one day. i saw different types of birds, all different colors at an exhibition once, when I was real little. we could petition the praetors to have one come. surely some discharged legionary got a job there... maybe," he laughed. Kaylee was right, they were all so colorful. rather lovely, especially when they flew. "i remember being in... eh, i think third grade? year before i got sent to the legion I think. my school had a student appreciation day or something... and they brought a bird show. mostly owls and hawks, but they were beautiful!" he watched her kneel down near the sapling and grinned. amazing really, how a tree started out so tiny, but then ended up growing into something much bigger. Kaylee would probably be able to watch it much, much longer than he'd be able to, but it'd be exciting to watch it grow, nonetheless. "yup! talking," he held up his duduk. "music playing." he gave a smile. "i'm sure she'd love that!" he nodded. "sounds about right. suppose that'd be the case for a lot of people. think they know a place, but then if given a lot of time, they find different things, or things they never thought about. new perspective's cool." at the mention of what she did, his face lit up. "That's sounds amazing. Kudos to ya." or he could become a teacher. he did like children too.