Springtime (OPEN)

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Proserpina was dressed in blue jeans and a soft blue blouse, trying to look as non-goddess-y as she could here in Camp Jupiter. Only Evelyn would recognize her anyway, of the campers. Her only surviving mortal offspring, her granddaughter. She didn’t have demigod children very often at all, something she took great pride in. She was quite faithful to her husband. She loved him dearly. That one time she was pregnant with her last demigod daughter so long ago, she was ridden with crying spells whenever she thought of her husband and how she had betrayed him. Then again, every time she heard he’d gone and gotten a mortal woman pregnant… well, to say hell hath no fury was an understatement. He currently had one daughter, one son, two granddaughters, and a grandson. Not that she was counting. Yet the two of them only shared one child and it seemed it would forever be that way because of how badly she ended up.

Deep breath. She did not need to get upset now. She’d had too much upsetness lately. So she just walked along the edge of the Little Tiber and admired the plants brave enough to grow close to it and its raging current. Thankfully it didn’t storm much here because of the barriers, so the river never flooded. She knelt next to it and dipped her hand in the cool water and even the top where the deeper current raced. It took considerable attention to keep her hand in place as the dancing waters beat against her palm. It felt good. Like a little massage. She smiled and wiped the water off in the grass, leaving a trail of clover flowers springing up. She straightened up and smiled. It was a nice day indeed.

Words: 296
Tag: @ OPEN
Notes:

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Erich had found that today was a really nice day. Despite the previous injuries that he had garnered by the whole binding of the elements things, spirits of fire were so easily spooked. The earth elemental was much easier to speak with, though harder to bind. Scars crossed up and down his arms as he walked in a tank top around the river. It was a nice day, there was a cooling breeze that made the hairs on his arms pricked up. the wind had this scent of rain on it and far off in the distance, he could even see a few storm clouds off in the distance, but they wouldn't reach here. They never did. It never really stormed here and while it was nice that he didn't have to worry about a few rain clouds, he liked to see the rain, and hear it while he slept in the barracks. It would beat out a nice rhythm on the windows and roof. It was some of the best water too to use for his spells too. Rain water was hard to come by but when it did rain, he would collect as much as he could.

He came upon someone with their hand in the river. She was quite beautiful but at the same time, it was a fresh look. She looked like spring. He watched her for a moment before smiling. Maybe he should talk to her. The thought rolled around in his mind before he felt as if it was a really horrible idea. But shoving that anxiety aside, he approached. "Careful, the river might sweep you away if you stray too far into it." he said as he announced his presence to her. HE didn't want to startle her or make her do something crazy. Erich knelt down in the river bank, drawing something in the mud of the bank. He stood then atop the drawing as he muttered a few words, water trailed out of the stream to make a water lily, he held it in his hand, offering it to the woman with a smile on his face. "I'm Erich."

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Footsteps were hard to hear over the considerable noise of the river. Thankfully for her, she didn’t need to hear them. She sensed the demigod before he spoke, though, so as not to give herself away, she waited until he spoke before showing signs she knew he was there. When he spoke, she pulled her hand from the water and smiled at him. “Too true. Doesn’t hurt to be careful.” He seemed nice. She didn’t know him, and of course planned on him not knowing her. Her true self, that was. She would be… a daughter of Ceres. Let him figure out which one. The thought brought the hint of a smile to her face. Of course, it was true, her mother was Ceres. Everyone knew that, seeing as the grain goddess stuck to her daughter a little too overprotectively during those 6 months sometimes.

She stood and watched him curiously. What was he doing? Then he stood over what she could now see (kind of) as some doodles in the mud, and spoke words that sounded almost eerie. Then something amazing happened. The water, it moved to him, and turned into a delicate water lily. A small laugh of delight escaped her. “Magnificent!” She took the offered flower gingerly and smiled. “Quite a pleasure, Erich. I’m Samantha. And thank you for the lovely flower. Though, if I may… how did you do that?” She could think of a couple immortals who might have the power, or mix this and that in a legacy. Neptune came to mind, but she thought he only had two girls here. Trivia was powerful, but knowing that unusual woman, the nut would have to have fallen decently far from the tree for the magic to be used for something like this. At least, from her limited knowledge of the woman. And then herself, and she was positive she only had Evelyn alive right now. It was all rather curious.

Words: 325
Tag: @erich
Notes:

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Erich had heard many stories of people that had been swept away by rivers. Whether or not this particular little river was rather vicious or too fast moving. Erich could remember times of hopping across rocks and playing in the water when he was little here, trying to shirk the training and duties that befell being in the legion. Times in the summer where he would walk around barefoot and stick his feet in the river when it was too hot out. The minnows would nibble on his toes and he would try to catch tadpoles. The Legion wasn't too bad, but it did not let him have much of a childhood. Not that he had much of one to being with his brother for too long. His brother had trained and drilled him from an early age and it wasn't exactly the whole fun thing. But now he was making up for it in a way of sorts. The Legion wasn't childs play still, but now that he was older and wasn't being forced to to much in the way of anything else. So now he was getting the chance to play a little per say.

"Samantha, nice. It's always a pleasure." He gave a small short bow, much like one of those corny stage magicians. "Magic, that's what it is." Erich said as he tilted his head back and forth, trying to figure out the best way to explain how his magic was. "Magic is something that belongs to my mother. Trivia. But each person has it in a little bit of a different way." He then gestured to the ground where he had the doodles drawn in the mud. "I work with transmutation and battle magic. But it's bound by it's own laws. This one is based upon the alchemical law of equivelant exchange." Erich's face flushed red as he realized that he had been rambling and she was probably not interested in what it was that he had to say. He tended to get overly excited about explaining things. "I try to make it more scientific than magical." He said as he wiggled his fingers for effect. Okay that was way too corny. "So, new to camp? I haven't seen you around before. I'd remember a pretty face like that."

Tags: Proserpina
Words: 387
Notes: he's such a cornball

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She watched him curiously. He was handsome and cute at the same time. Reminded of her of a great dane puppy (hey, goddess of youth, she knew her puppies). That was to say, he was a little quirky, but also strong and with a lot of promise to be quite noble. Strong features, slightly wild hair, and a gleam in his eyes. He was an interesting one, to be sure, and she was rather glad he’d come to say hello. A new friend never hurt anyone and he seemed like he’d be a good one. He said her ‘name’ and she kind of wished she’d told him the truth, but that would be foolish so soon. She was young for an immortal and, outside the bounds of the Underworld where she at least got some respect, people really didn’t look up to her. On Olympus’ she was ‘Ceres’ daughter’. Those six months she could never escape her mother’s shadow. Her father didn’t care at all, but her mother was clingy. When Proserpina had been down ill for a while with the springtime battle against whatever the heck Boreas thought he was doing with all that cold weather, well, her mother had attempted on more than one occasion to cure her downs with Wheaties. Because of course, whole grain cereal just cured everything. On the bright side, when mother dear would leave for her random duties, Proserpina could get her mortar and pestal out and grind the hard squares into small enough bits that the birds in her own personal garden could enjoy them.

Where was she going with this? Right! She wasn’t that experienced, but she knew enough not to reveal herself immediately. Yes, that was the point of this. When he explained it was magic, she smiled. Ah yes, she could almost see the family resemblance now. Trivia had that same gleam in her eyes that he seemed to have inherited. Should have known. That and he was really excited about this, which made her happy too. To see young people thrilled by their art. “What do you mean, every person?” She nodded thoughtfully as he explained his magic in the form of laws of alchemy. Then he flushed and she wasn’t quite sure why. He had been telling her something really interesting though. He couldn’t be embarrassed, could he? He said how he tried to make it scientific, then added a finger-wiggle that made her laugh. “The finger wiggle was corny, but added a nice effect. The rest, I honestly do find interesting.” And here the inexperience kicked in. She knew her current appearance was not of the normal new-to-camp age range in the slightest, so what on earth was she supposed to say. It must have crossed her face. She could mingle with mortals all she wanted and say she was visiting town. But here they had a community that did not intermingle with surrounding towns. She fidgeted (carefully) with the flower he’d given her. Then he complimented her to boot. She let out a soft laugh and plowed ahead with her new story. “Very new, actually. I have no clue where to go or what I’d find there. Except that.” She pointed at the ramparts of the military base and the towers with ballistae on them. “That is hard to miss,” she said, trying to joke.

Words: 560
Tag: @erich
Notes: I just love this thread, okay!? (PS Cornball Erich is cute!)

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There had been gods only knew how many times that he had been told that people didn't care about what he had to say or what he was interested in. He had always been told that there was no interest in what he had to say or what he was doing. That his interests didn't matter. So to find someone who actually had taken an interest in what he was saying was something that really made him just blink. He had just been so used to being told to shove off that he had quite a literal brain fart. His mind was just not processing what was actually going on. But Samantha seemed to really be interested in what he was saying. "Every one has their own magic. Umm their muchness. It's a special magic that makes someone special, their own abilities and likes and dislikes. It's their spark." HE said with a smile, he was sort of tripping up over his words.

"It's alright to be new. People have special circumstances." He said with a smile. "My cohort just got a new kid who's a year younger than me. HE was out hunting monsters with his brother for seven years so it's all kinds of people." Erich didn't judge people. He was raised by his half-brother prior to coming to camp. "Yeah, it's a military camp, though you couldn't be more obvious about it with one of those balistae just sitting there." He shook his head. "But Roman's are conquerors!" He said in a joking fashion as he motioned to the massive weapon. "I promise we aren't all about taking over the world." He gave a bit of a crooked grin. How many times had he been in war exercises where he had to march and stand and pretend to stab stuff with his spear. Then there was the war, the singular time where he was more than grateful that he had this training. That his magic was as strong as it was. That his magic and his training had saved his life where he was so grateful that he was a Roman. "we're strong, but we're a bunch of weirdos when it comes down to it. All of us are weird, saving the world and doing it all before college." He said, in a joking manner. He was probably talking himself into this thing where he was coming off as horribly awkward. He hadn't done much with talking to girls or talking to people that he didn't always interact with. New people always gave him anxiety that he was going to mess up horribly and people were going to think he was stupid, or worse, shove his head in a toilet again. Bullies were just something he dealt with before and while it was better here, he still couldn't help but think that there were people out to get him because he was strange.

Tags: Proserpina
Words: 489
Notes: awkward erich is awkward

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He seemed awkward. Or was it just her. It just seemed like he was processing a lot, but the way he had spoken a moment ago made it seem like he was completely and entirely in his element. The change of manner brought a small smile to her face. It was kind of cute, not that she would ever dream of mentioning that. To anyone, ever. “Really? Sounds interesting. I never would have thought about that as being magical, but I suppose if anyone knew about it, it would be you. You seem quite knowledgeable.” She nodded. “Spark. I like it.”

She semi shrugged and nodded. “I suppose so. I just always feel awkward. I’m not very good at finding ways to fit in.” She nodded thoughtfully at his words. “Well, that does make me feel better.” She looked to the camp’s barracks and neat streets and all very stiff appearance. “No, hard to beat this place in obviousness.” She looked back to him and had to laugh at his joke. “Then I definitely won’t fit in well!” There was that funny little grin of his. But it was shortly followed by something else. Some shadow crossed his eyes and she was about to inquire to it when he continued, though now his voice was once more joking. It made her smile. “Now weirdos I can get along with. If everyone was as stark and imposing as the architecture, I’d head back to that tunnel and take my chances! You are a good example that this place has hope though. You seem quite pleasant.” Yes, she was happy she had visited today. This young man, Erich, seemed positively delightful. She’d been to the camp a few times in its many years at this location, of course, always appearing different, just to check on it. Usually she would be unlucky enough to stumble upon trainings or that one awful time she was almost roped into a war game. Or the other time she’d gone with the new girl story and had been marched to the principia for the orientation immediately. All in all, she was not overly fond of this place. This particular visit though, this one had promise. As long as Erich didn’t believe in immediate immersion as well, though it seemed like he had no intention of getting her fitted for armor right away, so there was that. And he had given her a flower. Obviously that meant he was a good guy. A man taking to springtime wildlife was usually a good sign in her book.

Words: 470
Tag: @erich
Notes: I just really love this thread, okay!?

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Erich knew how important the spark was. His magic, everything that made his magic his own, every little nuance and gesture was his own. When he was depressed or had lost his spark per say, it was his magic that suffered. Just like when Chris got down and Erich couldn't cheer up his best friend, he would do everything he could to cheer him up. He cared about his friends deeply. Then she called him knowledgeable, which made his ears go red as he blushed slightly, giving Samantha a goofy grin. "My mom knows more, so does my brother Anders. I hope to know half of what they know some day." He said in a wistful manner. Erich wanted to know everything and wanted to experience everything that he possibly could to make his time on earth amazing.

"Someone as cool as you should have no problem fitting in." Erich said as he nodded. While for the most part Erich had seen all kinds of people in the camp, they had always found their niche. "Everyone finds where they belong being at camp. Even if it isn't here supporting camp directly." He had seen people that were amazing at this camp life, like Remus and Ronan and Chris and Charlie, then he had seen people who, while they weren't directly cut out for camp life, they had found their place in New Rome or outside of the boundaries where they were able to assist from the outside. Like his older brother did, he helped find demi-gods and was able to teleport them when they were ready for the wolf house.

"Some people are like the architecture, Imposing, scary, but it takes all kinds of people to make the legion work. People don't get that all kinds of people make things work. You need people with tender hearts just as much as you need people with stone hearts. Balance." He said. He was what his brother called a war mage. His talent was mostly in casting offensive spells though he was hardly one for defensive magic. He had a few defensive spells and try as he might, one could use an offensive spell for defensive maneuvers. "I'm just me. No where perfect or too Roman. Guess that's why I'm in Third." Which was a huge step up from where his sisters were. He didn't know why he was in third, he was a bit of a huge goofball. But he was getting better with age. "But the camp takes some getting used to for sure. My brother was in the Legion, but it was still such a shock going from having freedom to being like in boot camp. It's home, so don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to have a place where I'm safe from hungry monsters. Have you seen the city yet?" The last thought came with the beautiful shops lining the cobblestone roads and the old architecture was much more beautiful than the imposing edifice of militaristic camp itself. "There are beautiful gardens and amazing shops and the fountain is amazing too."

Words: 514
Tags: Proserpina
Notes: sorry it took so long!

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He was kind, that was for sure. And honest and wise. He dismissed his knowledge so quickly, though, comparing himself to family members. She attempted a jokingly stern look, yet couldn’t cross her arms to get the full effect, seeing as there was a delicate lily in her palms. “Erich. Stop that and listen here. Weren’t you just telling me about how everyone has their individual spark? I believe you whole-heartedly. Which is why I must stop you from comparing yourself to even kin. You are meant to be different and are doing it splendidly. I bet you have hidden talents you don’t tell everyone about that your mother and brother couldn’t even dream of having.” She gave him a warm smile to assure him, or try to. “So be proud of who you are. Keep striving and trying your hardest, but don’t try to be like them. Because if you succeed at that, I would sincerely miss my new friend because he turned into someone else.”

She laughed, embarrassed, as he called her cool and said she would have no trouble fitting in. And it felt warmer out by a smidge. Little did she know, that was actually her cheeks flushing slightly. “If this place can house someone like you, then I feel I have hope too. Now to find my own spark!” She frowned slightly at the idea of supporting the camp from the outside. “How could you support it… without being here?” The thought had never occurred to her. Though it made some sense now that he said it. She thought of all the times she or someone else had been supportive without being truly involved. Interesting thought.

Her silky brown hair attempted for her face as she nodded, so she tucked it behind one ear. “That is a very good way of looking at it, Erich. Balance. Now that I can empathize with.” Empathize because she was the gods’ best example of balance, at least in her own thought. Born to be spring, wed to help rule death. Life and death were both part of her. Yes, she liked this Erich fellow quite a lot. He knew his stuff, as the kids said these days (or was that a few decades ago? Oh, bother). Then he went on to say he was just himself. He was not perfect, he was not all Roman. No. Honestly, not even the gods were. Her tongue moved before her mind did, betraying her youth. “Honestly, no one is. Not even the king of the gods. No one is perfect or totally Roman. Everyone has their quirks and moments where they fall short. Being in third cohort means little to me. All I care about is your character, something you seem to have in abundance and of good type.”

He went on about getting used to the camp and she nodded here and there, also throwing glances around them at what he was referring to in this place that he thought she would need to get used to. He was quite right; it would take getting used to. It was almost a shame she couldn’t stay. The thought of having her mother’s symbol tattooed on her arm made her want to heave though. No, she would not stay long enough for that. She would only stay long enough to spend time with Erich. Then, seemingly out of the blue, he asked if she’d seen the city yet. She usually avoided it, to be honest. She might have her appearance disguised, but Terminus was – for all his faults – a god. And gods could sense the presence and identity of each other. She would have to find a way to communicate to him not to give her away. Her naïve mind agreed to the challenge and was assured that she could do it. So she started to say no, but he was already speaking. And his words caught her attention quite well. Gardens. Shops came a close second. And fountains were needed to provide water, and they were usually pretty. So, all in all, she was sold. She smiled brightly. “No, I haven’t seen! May we go?”

TAG: @erich
WORDS: 694
NOTES: Officially my new favorite friend duo. Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy!

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"I couldn't figure out how to be someone else. I like me. Almost as much as I like German Chocolate." There were people that liked the sweet Swiss chocolate or the pungent Mexican chocolate, Erich had his love of the German chocolate. He loved it and to him it was worth more than gold. Well at least he could transmute gold, he would never dream of transmuting chocolate. Erich had heard in school about sins and he was pretty sure that to mess with chocolate was the biggest sin of all. "I like learning and I want to learn everything I can." He knew that he wasn't any where near being like his mom or his brother or even his sisters. They were different, they each had their own talents and it was something that he prided himself on. While Rhia's runes were magic and powerful in their own way, he felt his own magic was stronger. It was a bit of a my horse is better than your horse sort of thing.

She seemed a bit confused about how someone could support the legion without being physically present. Erich couldn't help but smile. "Well there are children of Mercury that help get all sorts of goods here, things that the Ceres children can't particularly grow in this climate. Extra medical supplies or even just information, sometimes it's beneficial to know what's going on in the world outside of camp. This is our home base though." Erich couldn't help but stretch out his arms, his joints popping as his shirt pulled up, showing the scarring on his stomach that looked quite like lightening. "Even those that can't fight can support the camp by being medics, helping the supply lines, running all kinds of information." It wasn't a perfect system, but for the time they had and the limit they had on technology, they did the best they could. It was hard pressed to find any sort of information without using the technology. The last thing that any demi-god, or legacy for that matter, was a wireless signal that was like a huge neon sign of 'HEY I'M HERE COME EAT ME NOW!' It would end up being a free demi-god buffet till midnight. Roman demi-gods were more than able to take care of themselves.

She seemed to speak from experience when she said that no one was perfect. He nodded his head in agreement. Erich wanted to know her story that she could speak with such experience. He wasn't someone who judge based on past experiences. Things could go wrong in the worst ways to the best of people. Erich had been in a bad situation himself, wrong place wrong time sort of deal. He wasn't a bad kid by any means. "I've read so many stories, they seem much more human and much more believable than the monotheistic religions." Erich raised his hands to defend himself with his counter point. "I don't judge on what people believe. I mean I know someone in town that believes in the Spaghetti master. Calls himself a Pastafarian I think." Erich really couldn't help but shake his head with a small laugh. Beliefs were a funny thing. Erich at times didn't know what to believe, he believed in the gods, he had seen them interact with people, after all he was a product of the gods themselves. But Erich believed in what he could do, his own spirit and the will of the gods. Heaven forbid that he might make one angry. He knew all the stories of Juno's wrath.

Woo! Erich might as well have done a little jig, or at least that was what he was mentally doing in his mind. She was pretty, don't get him wrong by any means, but what was wrong with just wanting to be friends with a girl? "The rose garden by the university is amazing. As is the wild flower garden, it's got loads of bees and some wonderful honey hives too. But my favorite place has one of my favorite flowers in the world." Sure his favorite flower was not exactly pretty, but it was a sturdy mountain flower, not overly beautiful, but it was strong and survived in places that most wouldn't grow things.

Words: 713
Tags: Proserpina
notes: I love this friendship <3

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Proserpina was rather enjoying meeting this young man. Plus his humor was fun! He let out a laugh at his German chocolate joke. “It is good, isn’t it?” She listened intently to his words. There was a gleam in his eyes that was so refreshing. He was truly excited about his work. It was good to see someone enjoying life. Even if he made precious little sense on how people could play different roles supporting a military installment. She was no fan of Mars and his ways, and he did love this place and had many children and grandchildren in here. She had one grandchild who had never attended, even if perhaps it would have been better for her mentally to have.

So she listened in. She nodded here and there. He gestured to the whole camp and she looked around, not without noticing his scars though. Poor young man. She wondered what kind of horrible things had given those to him. She didn’t want to be the awkward person who asked though. She tried the old method of locking on his facial features once she got her look around camp. Staring was rude. Besides, he was speaking again. “And what about you, Erich? At what are you most skilled towards helping the camp?”

Proserpina – er, Samantha – nodded. “Very true. All range of emotions. No telling what comes next.” She clasped a hand over her mouth to stop a giggle at the Spaghetti master idea. “Sounds like something Mercury would encourage! Perhaps the thief god actually is the Spaghetti Master!” This made her laugh all the more. She didn’t even realize in her naivety that her words could be taken as slightly blasphemous in a demigod camp. To her, Mercury was a friend with whom good jokes were shared. She didn’t even realize that this young man she was talking to might have never met the god even. Hazards of being such a young immortal.

Proserpina lit up at the idea of a rose garden. Or wildflowers! Or busy little bees! Perhaps even a couple butterflies would make an appearance. “Oh, I adore those sorts of things! Could we go see? Please?”

TAG: @erich
WORDS: 362
NOTES: They are so fun together!