fire hazard in the sauna [chris]

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It was really late at night, but if Erich was going to be perfectly honest, most of his best work was something that was a product of night. The New moon was coming and that's when his powers were the strongest. He had a formula he wanted to work out before the new moon. It was a formula that was supposed to help him be able to combine a few spells to create a larger and more powerful. Ever since he was able to combine three elements in battle, well he wanted to harness the power. He had tasted the power and had been burned by it. So the next step in his mind, he had to master it. Erich also noticed that his focus staff wasn't as powerful as it had been. He was trying to find a good conductor for his power and energy before the new moon as well. He didn't want to hazard a chance at something going wrong. He couldn't have a chance to mess up. He had spent so much time pouring over books in his spare time, even talking to his mother once or twice. She was able to point out a miscalculation in his notes, which once he corrected, it came out to make the theoretical formula much more simplified. Even though his mother said he could ask her anything he needed, he still wanted to write Anders to have him send that primer book to him for reference.

Erich raised his hand and looked at it. The scar hadn't done much to hinder his ability to fight or cast his spells, it just looked horrible. Sometimes it hurt, but only when he had bad dreams. Erich wrapped a towel around his midsection and stepped into the sauna. With him he toted a water bottle. He was trying to relax, every time his mind seemed to get too wound up, if he relaxed and stopped working on his projects he managed to find a better or different way ob done that he was trying to accomplish. If he just left things alone, they generally worked themselves out. He wasn't quite sure where he had gone wrong, but he would figure it out. He had his trusty pen and notebook sitting on the bench beside him as he tossed the water on the burning coals. His notebook was precious to him. He was always writing thing in it, trying to find one way or anotehr to do something better. The notebook contained on the first page the seven laws of magic that he was bound by. Over the years, the laws had fallen by the wayside. Since he had spoken to his mother, the laws made more sense. They were more in place to protect the spell casters than other people. Erich still had guilt about the deaths he had caused in the war. Most of them were by the point of his sword, some were residual effects of his magic. The volcanic lightening, it had gotten out of control. That's how he ended up burning his hand, the power  was too much for him to control. He didn't like loosing control.

Erich closed his eyes and tossed some more water on top of the hot coals. The steam rose up and he inhaled deeply. The moisture opened up his lungs and made it much easier to breathe. He could only imagine the price that would have been on his head if there really was someone out there to enforce the laws. He never intentionally wanted to kill someone, he was too much of a gentle soul for that. Now it wasn't to say he wouldn't defend himself or was afraid of jumping into a fray, he trained hard in his roman training. He wanted to set himself apart from his sister. Rhiannon. That stupid girl started that damned war. He knew good and well his sister was guilty. Did he think that as a traitor that she should have been executed? Yes. As her brother did she deserve to live? yes. It was an internal struggle he dealt with when he attended the trials. He did everything he could to set himself apart from his fruit cake of a sister. But he knew that people talked, spread vicious rumors and lies. people were stupid, they were mistrustful of what they didn't understand. It was like that through history. The witch trials, the spanish inquisition, all of it started by paranoid fools. Not that Erich was up for standing over a cauldron, cackling evilly and riding a broomstick off into the night sky anyways. Maybe for shits and giggles  he would dress up as a warlock for halloween just to really mess with people. Maybe he could talk Arden into letting him transmogify him into a black cat. Oh wait, scratch that, his transfiguration spells were horrible.

But the sound of the clicking latch of the door of the sauna made him open an eye as he was leaned back against the wooden bench. If it was some sort of ass hat that wanted to heckle him again, well he wouldn't be above giving the kid a fireball to the foot. Or at the very least shoving him out the door with his force spell. HE felt the steel chain and crossed torches on his chest. It was growing warmer by the moment. It was a mundane item in the hands of anyone who wasn't a child of trivia. Erich could tell it was absorbing thermal energy from the air. It was growing slightly warmer to the touch. He could store the energy and unleash it later. Though maybe he should have left in the locker. But he had come across a problem that when he took the necklace off, the energy fizzeled and left it's container. Why it did that was still a mystery to him. Erich remembered taking off the necklace after war and accidentally dropping it into the pool, he nearly got electrocuted by it. It must have been the amount of electrical and static energy it had syphoned off of his friend Chris, the son of Jupiter. He couldn't believe he lost all that energy.

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Tag: @erich

Word: 552

Notes: ok, descent one XD

"Agh... stupid Leg!" Chris growled and cursed in Irish as he threw his armor on the ground by the place where his bed was. He would have to clean it later, he was in a very bad mood in that moment to clean anything! Even sparkles popped from his finger tips as he had touched the armor, it was good the leather wasn't an electricity conductor, if not he would have had electrocuted that guy from second. It hadn't even being his intention, but he was in a very bad mood.

But why in such time of peace would the Centurion be so upset? well... it was a very easy answer to that, but it needed a slight story behind it. Chris had been wounded in War with a spear in his right thigh, according to the healer O'Brian, it was going to heal perfectly, if and only if Chris rested enough to let it heal. But as a good Roman and Centurion of the First cohort, he didn't let it heal properly. Chris got up from bed to go check on Marie, his girlfriend. So he opened the wound again. Then he was released but with the warning of a very slight exercise for at least two weeks... Never happened.

He let the cohort have some time off, they really needed it, even Charlie rested a bit. But he couldn't! For some weird reason, well it was in his genes. He considered himself the protector of Camp Jupiter. His father was the God of Gods, their leader! So even if Chris never got to be a praetor, in his mind it was his duty to keep everyone safe and protected. and it couldn't be done by someone that was weak and out of shape! So he rested two days and then he started training again, personal trainings, high level drills that usually would beat up a group of legionaries, well he did it by himself, but it also charged him with a very high bill... His leg was hurting like hell and it didn't let him move in the way he wanted when he wanted.

He took off his clothes and threw it to the basket where a nymph of air came everyday and took them to the laundry, where water nymphs, or punished campers, washed the clothes. Then, wearing only his boxers, he walked to the Baths, maybe a hot sauna would relaxed his injured muscle and tendom, maybe there he would relax too... then he would go see Marie, he hasn't seen his princess in such a long time... 2 days in a row was an eternity for him.

He took off his boxers and walked into the sauna wearing only his towell, then with the steam all around him he just took it off. it was a males ' sauna, so no females' eyes peeking. He noticed he wasn't going to be alone though. He stopped a second and then smiled when he noticed it was his friend Erich. "testing the humidity for a new spell or just relaxing?" he asked and then sat a couple of seats far from him and threw a bit more of water to the coals, if he let the humidity went down, the static would be enough to fry people in there.

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Erich had closed his eyes once more. He had been tired, working hard on learning his sword practice. He really didn't like nasty slash and dice weapons but they had their place. Everything in the world had it's place. But he wouldn't be able to stay alive if he didn't train with Chris. His training with his good friend had saved his hide on many occasions. Especailly in the last battle, gods had he been grateful to have a sword to swing. Erich had to rely on his sword more than he was willing to admit this past war. He didn't like it one bit. He had to be more mobile when he was casting spells. Erich had to find a way to do it. He hadn't been training with Chris lately, he heard his friend had been wounded in the war. But he took it upon himself to keep up the training and drills that he had relentlessly drilled in him by chris and the cohort to which he belonged. There were always some deadweights in the cohort. But there were those that really tried. Even in the legion you could tell who was a good roman, who fought for their camp, who was stronger than your average demi-god and then there were those that didn't care. Oh he cared alright. He had even really examined why he stood where he did in the war. The titan encroached on his home and needed to be stopped. This was his home and he wasn't ready to give it up so easily. He was like a dog with a bone at times, very tenacious and he never let it go.

Erich raised his head from it's reclined position as he sat up at whomever had decided to intrude on his solitude. Speak of the devil, it was Chris. Hadn't he just been thinking about him? Did he unknowingly cast a summoning spell or something? Nah, he had never been good at those to begin with. The last time he summoned something from point A to point B, he lost half of it. Now he could do a basic summoning spell as described in the primer book of spells, but past summoning small objects from the next room over, well that was a bit of a mystery to him. Don't even get him started on his teleportation spell. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere relaxing?" Erich stated with a smirk on his face. His smirk was a signature, but he was always up to something after all. "or schmoozing with your girlfriend?" Oh he knew about Chris and MArie. Hell his own mother had been harassing him about having children. Not that he didn't like girls, no, he was just busy with his research and his work. And if you wanted to get technical, the girls always thought of him as a bit of a nerd. He was geeky and bookish. He wasn't super strong or a good leader. He had his brains and his spells. He even had his familiar. He had his friends, that's all that he felt like he needed. Well there was that one girl.... but that was beside the point.

"Nah, just relaxing. I've been working on a project non stop and thought a bit of relaxing was what I needed to look at this equation better." He said as he motioned to the trusty notebook and pencil sitting on the bench beside him atop a towel. Though it wouldn't matter, the book itself was enchanted to be water proof. You could find just about anything in that Apothecary store that was ran by that Mercury kid and his older brother. The notebooks that Erich filled up were fireproof, waterproof and one of them was even unreadable to anyone other than himself. "Gotta have the new rod done before the new moon. Got something big for it planned. Or at least I have to have all the materials before then. I wonder if it would be stronger if I made it on the new moon instead of before...." He mused aloud to himself. He always valued Chris's opinion. He valued the opinion of all of his friends. There were so little of them, he had to value them.

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Tag: @erich

Word: 458

Notes: Sorry the shortness.

Chris looked at his friend and smiled at him, he knew the spell caster very well.  He was one of his best friends. Yes, he was a powerful demigod and it would be normal to see Chris accompained by someone like Erich, but they weren't friends because of that.  In fact Chris met the son of Trivia long ago, before he was a Centurion and before Erich got so good at his spells. Maybe it had been that chris had never called him with weird names, He had lived in New Rome since 5 and that helped him to know other spell casters, so when he met Erich, he called him like that, never Wizard or Warlock. And Erich had always treated Chris as a normal regular demigod, that gave Chris a better feeling around him. 

He looked at the small spells book that Erich brought with him to everywhere, He knew that if he considered that his new rod must be finished by New moon then it must be finish by then. Chris had never understood very well the spells and magic, he only knew that his friend had amazing powers and that being son of a minor god didn't make him weaker, but maybe stronger than him who was a son of Jupiter. Also he knew that if he wanted to protect Camp and romans as his father leadered Olympians, he had to be smarter than his father, if that was even possible. Erich, ronan, Charlie, Remus, his Marie... Tessa and others, all of them were needed to keep Rome safe.

But he couldn't help but smile at his comments, maybe one of the few romans that could speak like that about him and Marie. "Well, I know right? That's why I'll go meet her later, I'll take her to a nice restaurant and then we'll go to the lake." he said and relaxed his back against the wall behind him.  "I just needed to train some more..." he said and then shrugged. "but my leg decided to make a pause." also there were maybe only few ones who he would admit weakness, Marie first of all, but then Erich and ronan. He knew they wouldn't laugh or mock, they would joke maybe but then they would be understanding and would try to help.

"you know I've never understood your spells... but I'm sure that if you have already settled that date to be the one to do your rod, then you'll make it." he said and then smiled with his eyes closed. He totally trusted Erich could do it. He relaxed and let the heat covered his body, not too pleasent for an Irish lad, but his sore leg was really relaxing at that point.

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Chris was the best friend that Erich could ask for. The son of Jupiter was strong and powerful. And Erich knew that the man was strong, his power was amazing. Erich could sense the energy easily. And when the son of Jupiter fought, the amount of energy that he put out was enough to power his necklace for days. Erich was never good with people and words, but he had hoped that Chris knew that he was grateful for his friendship for all of the years. He was proud that his friend had become Centurion of the first cohort. He deserved it. Erich knew that Chris was a good leader and he was powerful. Someone that was born to lead. Erich couldn't do that. He wasn't the type of person that was into leading. One of these days, Erich would be able to repay Chris for the years of friendship, for being there when he needed him the most. Some day he would repay him. Right now he wasn't strong enough, he had to do better. His friend deserved someone stronger, someone who could really look after his back. But Chris had Charlie, Marie, Ronan, the other centurions and the praetors. Sometimes Erich felt as if he wasn't good enough to be Chris's friend. But the son of Jupiter took him as he was, oddball qualities and all. for that, Erich was eternally grateful.

At least Chris took his jibe about him and Marie in stride. Some guys were just so uptight about their girls. Erich had nothing against Marie. In fact he thought that the two were just perfect for each other. She complimented him and vice versa. maybe one day he'd find a woman. But he knew that many girls in camp wanted those Mars boys. They wanted strong men, those who's power lay in the sword arm and not in the mind. "That's good you'll meet her later. If you ever want some exotic presents for her, I totally know a place." Sometimes girls liked those off the wall gifts. Then Chris said that he felt as if he needed to train some more. That was Chris Ashby for you. The son of Jupiter was infected badly with a case of ADHD. But he had heard one of the medics from fourth grouching and grumbling about how Chris was going to kill himself. "But dude seriously, you and Marie should go someplace for a few days, I think the medics are going to kill you if you have to go back to the infirmary." Erich said solemnly. He didn't want to see his friend hurt. It sucked that Chris had taken a spear to his leg. But it would end up being worse if he didn't let it rest and relax. "Cuz if you keep busting your leg up, Charlie will take over the legion and then we'll never sleep again." He laughed again, deep from his stomach. "And I will break the laws and drag you back up from the underworld and kick your ass from here to Ireland." But Erich tapped his finger on his chin in though. "But my brother in New Rome, Him and his wife have an apothecary shop. I go there for everything. They have a salve that might help you. I can ask when I go to pick up my reagents if you want." He suggested. Erich knew that the son of Jupiter wouldn't sit still for long. It was going to be the death of him one of these days.

"Yeah, the new moon is when my powers are at their peak. Since my mom is that of the three faced goddess, she has rites that are supposed to be done at certain times of the month." Erich explained. "Mine happens to be the new moon. Others, it's the full moon and sometimes it's the waxing moon." Erich said with a shrug of his shoulders. He tossed some more water onto the coals, the steam hissed and billowed upwards towards the cieling. Erich could feel the sweat dripping down his face. "You think we're out of the fire?" Erich asked nonchalantly. If he wanted to, Erich could have used his divination spell, but he didn't like to know what was ahead. That was August's job. Damn little skinny ass scarecrow of an idiotic augur. Erich loathed the little weasel and it was his dearest ambition to turn him into a ferret. It would suit his personality well. If only he wasn't worried about offending Apollo and breaking the law.

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Tag: @erich

Word: 649

Notes: Chris really trusts Erich!!

Chris relaxed with his head on the step that was behind him, it was great how even when the place was hot as hell, the stone seats and steps were still so cold. weird but amazing! He closed his eyes and felt how the muscles in his leg were starting to relax, they hurt a bit less and it helped a lot, but he didn't want to move the towel from over it, he knew he would find an awful puprle bruis covering his thigh, and he didn't need Erich to worry for him... well at least not more than he already was.

He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling when Erich mentioned that the Medics would kill him if they had to treat him one more time at least in the near future. He laughed a bit, not mockering of his friend's comment, but of the idea of the medics' faces if he walked into the infirmary to be healed one more time. Then he chuckled and lifted his head a bit, just to look at Erich. "it is fun! besides, I must keep training and keep being the strongest, the fastest... " He sighed and then laid his head back on the step.

"only Marie, Charlie, You... know me in this way..." lifts his head and smirks. "deeply personally, not naked." He smirks and then looked at the red hot coals. "no kidding now... Erich... I need to be stronger... I don't care if I ever get to be a praetor... that's only a position... I want to be capable to protect camp... the City..." he sighed and then put his hand on the towel that was covering his injured thigh. "I am the son of Jupiter... I feel that it is my duty to be also camp and City's leader... but in order to do that, I must be capable to protect them too, protect Rome." he looked at his thigh and then back at his friend. "how will I ever be able to be that, if an injury forces me to lay low for a while?... I should be able to be like Hercules..."

He dropped himself back again and some sparkles popped from his skin. He felt exasperated because he couldn't do anything to heal his leg faster. Suddenly Erich told him about his brother and wife. Chris lifted his head again and smiled. "so you think that could help me get my thigh better? I mean... it's not that it's baddly wounded still... in fact it is almost healed, but faster would be better." He smirked at his friend and then sat straight to listen to him about the power and the moon cicle. Chris had never understood that, but he had always tried to pay attention to what Erich told him about him and his powers, maybe Chris didn't understand it, but he definetely found it interesting. "if you need help with that, just tell me. I know a pea about magic, but maybe to find and bring a saw for that piece of wood I can be the one to bring it."

He said as he relaxed a bit again, but Erich asked something that made him look at his friend and Erich wouldn't have needed Chris' reply, still he voiced it. "I think we will never be out of the fire... being demigods places us in a very tricky position, either gods' tantrums, unbalanced demigods' minds or simply boredom of a god, could put all of our lives in danger again, that is the reason why I must be redy... I can't let happen again what it happened in the past wars... not again." he had mourned each death, from camp and the city. He felt they were his fault. Son of Jupiter needed to be Stronger and be a good leader... would his father be proud of him?

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Erich reveled in the warmth that permeated the sauna. It really was a great place to think and relax. Those Nordic people really knew what they were doing when it came to relaxation. Well minus jumping into a frozen lake afterwords. Now don't get him wrong, Erich was more than ready to jump into a pool and go for a swim. But now that the nights were getting longer and the days were starting to get shorter. Fall and winter were his favorite times of the year. The smell of the leaves, the crisp nights, the apples, the hot chocolate and coffee, the thought of snow. He missed the winters in Austria. The lights of Christmas, the sounds of carols, the fir trees, everything was enough to make his heart ache. He sat up suddenly. "Hey Chris, I got an idea if you feel inclined to indulge me." He said. Chris had always been up for an adventure before. Maybe he'd go along with this idea. He'd write a letter to his friend, no one would miss them for a day or two. There were always people coming and going around the holiday times so what was two or three people more?

"Look Chris," Erich started to speak. It didn't take much to have him worry about his friend. "I know you have this thing about being the pillar of camp, but you're no good to anyone injured. So if you don't sit and rest, I'm going to get Marie and talk her into helping me duct tape you to the bed for your own good." Chris said in a stern voice. Jokingly, he wagged his finger at Chris for effect and good measure. "Because my healing magic sucks, I really don't want to have to drag your unconscious body to the infirmary but so help me I'll knock you out if you don't take it easy." Erich was jealous of Chris. The kid had everything. Not that he was spoiled, he was a Roman's roman. The girls loved him, he was strong, son of the king of the gods, he had good looks, what wasn't to love? He was the centurion of the first cohort to boot. Erich wished he had Chris's physical prowess. Not that he didn't love swinging spells, but sometimes he wished he didn't have to throw bat dung around to get things done. Of course nothing beat throwing a fireball and watching it explode and catch things on fire or throwing a ball of energy around. Wishful thinking with the best intentions.

Erich snorted rather hard when Chris said he and charlie and marie knew Chris on a deep, personal, non-naked level. But he snorted so hard he ended up going with a coughing fit, taking a sip of water before throwing some more on the hot coals, listening to them hiss and spit, putting out more steam. "No one wants to see your chicken legs anyways." He said waving his hand in front of him, gesturing to all of Chris. "But you can't protect us if you don't let your injuries heal. If you don't let them heal you'll be worse off than if you just waited a day or two and now you're whole leg needs to be chopped off." Erich rolled his eyes. "And don't make me tell Tessa on you, don't think I won't." Yeah if telling Tessa, the head of the infirmary, was his biggest threat well, it was kindda sad. Maybe not, though, Tessa was pushy and probably had a tranquilizer dart just for Chris, and probably three for charlie. "But yeah I'll go get the salve tomorrow. They have my order coming in around ten. You want to get together and go get it? Or do you already have plans for your beloved?" Erich stuck his tongue out at his best friend. Erich tapped a finger on his chin thinking. "I might need your lightening. It depends on if my brother can procure Lightening in a jar, but the real thing is much more powerful, it gives the wood a good taste of the power so it doesn't break or allow the spells to go all haywire." Erich always felt better explaining things to Chris. He seemed to get it even if he didn't know anything about magic.

Erich pursed his lips tightly together, thinking about what Chris was saying. It was true, Demi-gods and legacies lived very volatile lives. They were at the mercy of the gods, of monsters, of titans. War was something that was a very real thing in their lives. Normal kids at this age didn't have to worry about things like that, they were worried about college, jobs, making money, not fighting for the very existence of their lives and way of life. "Chris, you're a strong man, a good leader. I'm honored to call you my best friend." Erich said with a nod. HE knew that deep in his heart, he would trust Chris with his life, his secrets and his deepest desires.