Dented Helmets (open)

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Charlie pulled off her helmet and looked at it. She has a splitting headache and there was truly a good reason for it. Her helmet had a massive dent in it from where a son of Jupiter had sprawled her out on her podex with a club. Her hair had even frizzed out from where he had charged the mace with lightening and even worse, she smelled like ozone. First things first, she had to find another helmet, this one was utterly useless to her now. In her mind she could hear her kung fu master's chiding voice telling her to better watch out for next time and that she would have to be doing knuckle push-ups for her mistake. Charlie had already punished herself with a hundrred push-ups and now it was time to do something about this armor and hemet.

Charlie-mack cast her helmet aside, tossing it into a bin with other people's discarded and messed up armor sets. Charlie-mack frowned and clinched her jaw tightly. Her eyes traced over the line of helmets that were neatly stacked in a row. She picked up each one in turn, runnig her hands over the metal, feeling it and weighing it. Helmet after helmet she placed one back after another. There was just something off about each helmet she picked up. It didn't feel quite right and didn't give her a good feeling. She wasn't like a child of Vulcan, she didn't have the same sort of armor sense that they did. Charlie knew how to use any sort of weapon you placed in her hands, but ask her about armor and all she knew was the right way to put it on and how good it felt when it fit perfectly.

Then Charlie-mack spied the perfect helmet. It called to her from the very end of the line. It was a little dusty, as if it had set for it's entire life upon the shelf. A little bit of polishing and it would be perfect and ready for use. Excited, Charlie-mack plucked the helmet from the shelf and grabbed a rag with some polish. She started to hum an old irish lullaby that her grandfather used to sing for her a long time ago. A hour or so passed by and she looked at her work with pride. She ran her fingers over intricate work that had been inlaid in the helmet. Charlie-mack felt ow supple the leather chin straps were, maybe this time she wouldn't have to worry about the scar on the underside of her chin.

Happy with her find, Charlie-mack picked up a whet stone and pulled out her gladius. She managed to clean the last bit of blood off of the blade before putting it to the whetstone. The rhythmic sound of the whet stone on the blade made Charlie-mack feel as if she must sing an irish drinking song to match the pace. She tapped her toes in time with the whet stone. After a while, Charlie-mack had honed her blade to perfection, the same way that she learned during her first few weeks at camp. It seemed like it was ages ago when she came through that tunnle with her back pouring blood and exhausted from running as fast as her feet could carry her. But as she was honing her blade and off in her own little world, she didn't hear the door swing open behind her.

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There were a few places that Remus sincerely enjoyed being. Usually they were things that involved fighting. There was the field of Mars, the armory, the obstacle course, his father’s temple. Places that made your blood run faster and ever nerve to go on the kind of alert that was what made a good fighter worth anything. Then there were the rather useless places. The coffee shop on the Via Praetoria? Only about useful when he’d pulled an all-nighter and needed an extra assist getting going. Not the fluffy creamy fun-flavored junk so many people spent all their denarii on. And the baths. They had their purpose and their time, but he had no reason ever to visit the spa and frankly, wasn’t sure anyone minus the shallow Venus kids had any reason for that nonsense. There were a few others, but honestly, he didn’t care to dwell on the pitfalls of this glorious Roman settlement. There were far too many good things to dwell on. This place was a well-oiled machine, and only getting to that after countless years of perfecting itself. Each generation, each demigod and legacy to come through this place added their touch and fought their fight to make New Rome and Camp Jupiter what it was today. And he was proud to be its leader.

And he was also happy to have a little time off between training and regularly scheduled duties. Usually that involved more fighting or more working, or even the occasional going back to his own room in the principia and crashing for a bit. But today, it was time to go to the armory. Last he heard, there was a new set of weapons courtesy of Vulcan’s kids – and grandkids for that matter – that he was quite looking forward to inspecting. While he wasn’t the metal nerds they were, he knew how to appreciate a good weapon when he saw one. Which brought him to the door of the armory and the sound of someone at work inside. He carefully pushed the already ajar door open, to be met with his younger sister, Charlie-Mack, working away at her weaponry.

A smile crossed his face. Remus was not the sentimental type at all, whatsoever, but there were very tiny, very rare exceptions to that rule. And it just so happed that the current one was names Charlie-Mack Jolly. Though he’d never admit it to anyone else but her, he’d do anything for her. Family was right up there with personal pride and Roman pride, which was certainly saying something. There were actually times where Charlie helped keep him in line, from being too harsh or quick to jump the gun – or the sword? – whether she knew it or not. He’s seen her grow up here in their shared years, and it was always encouraging to see her rising above the status quo as she almost always did. He watched her from the doorway for a moment, occasionally glancing around at the rows of weapons gleaming invitingly to the sound of the whetting stone. Finally, he walked up behind her, clearing his throat before he got too close. If there was anything that could end your life in a hurry, it was sneaking up on a Roman, especially certain more violent and/or capable Romans. From the nearer distance, the perfect polish she was putting to her sword was all the more evident. “So, Charlie, who is the unlucky one to incur your wrath enough that you are going to all that effort to make sure nothing can stand up to that?” Even though he knew perfectly well the idea of keeping such meticulous care of his own weaponry and didn’t doubt for a second that Charlie was any different.

Tag: Charlie
Word Count: 626
Outfit: purple t-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes
Notes: children of Mars, ftw!

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Charlie-mack’s mind was focused as her whet stone scraped against the blade of her Gladius. It was her trusty sword that had been with her from the beginning and to this day it had been her most trusted friend. She gave the sword a few experimental swings before sheathing her sword and turning to her dagger she kept strapped in her boot. Charlie always believed in being prepared for any situation and making sure that she was ready for action at any moment in time. Her mind replayed the battle with the son of Jupiter, it was a ferocious battle and she had come out on top of course. But in the process she had really gotten her rear through a beating. After she had been knocked flat, she took advantage of her opponents momentary victory to knock him down and place both of her weapons, both gladius and dagger at the throat of the Jupiter kid. Her victory was much truer than his was. It was a good lesson for him to learn that the battle is never over until someone concedes defeat. Charlie-mack never backed down from a fight and never relented when it came to training on the battlefield. But like the child of Mars, she was good a picking her battles and knowing when the time and place was for a good fight. Two romans going at each other over classless comments? She’d step in to defuse the situation in a heartbeat. Hurt her siblings, insult her honor, or get between her and her duty? You had better be ready to throw down.

The sound of a clearing throat brought Charlie-mack back to the present world. She turned to look at the person that decided to approach her from behind. The people of New Rome truly seemed to understand her and she was much more comfortable around the people that called themselves Romans. It was her older brother, Remus. Praetor Remus to be much more proper. She was so proud of him for being raised to Praetor. Feelings were never really a strong suit for the children of Mars. Many people considered them to be emotionally constipated since they never really gave a crap about most things. She smiled up at her big brother and continued to work the whet stone over the dagger’s blade. “Hey Remus. What brings you to this neck of the woods?” She casually asked as she continued to work the blade in her hands. They were practiced and used to doing what she was currently doing. Caring for the weapons and gear was something that she had learned throughout her time here at camp. Truly she was proud of her older brother. She put her dagger back into her boot and made sure that it was all the way in its sheath so she wouldn’t gash up her legs.

“Actually I did some training with a son of Jupiter. He thought he would be smart and lay me out flat, cracked my helmet with a club charged with lightening, so sorry for the smell. But I got him good. He’ll learn that I’m a child of Mars and I won’t concede a defeat unless I’m disarmed. And I mean in the literal sense, without arms.” Charlie gave a dark laugh as she then started on polishing her breastplate. It was such a wonderful fit and after having to get it refitted throughout the years to accommodate her growth. At least for the most part she was finished growing and unless her breasts got bigger, she wouldn’t need a new set of armor. She enjoyed the time that she spent with her brother. Maybe one day she would be strong enough to be a praetor, but for now she was happy that her brother was in such a position that he could truly help her become more than just some child of Mars. She wanted to be the best legionnaire that she could and to help bring more glory to her cohort. “I think I’m gonna need a good sparring partner and I need some work with the Pilum if you need some time for fun.” Charlie said with a huge grin on her face.

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Remus gave his sister a small smile when she noticed him there. “Eh, you know. Heard there were some shiny new toys here and thought I’d come check them out. You know me, can’t resist that sort of thing.” As he spoke, he strolled over to one of the walls and lifted a rather wicked-looking short sword from the racks and looked it over. The Imperial Gold gleamed and reflected his face like he was looking into a calm pool of liquid precious metals. But he wasn’t interested in his appearance. Rather he was already running his fingers along the various surfaces of the blade and hilt alike, admiring the craftsmanship and looking for any imperfections.

He was weighing it in his hands and checking the balance when Charlie-Mack spoke up again. Casually setting the blade back in place, he turned to regard her. A fight with a son of Jupiter, especially if it was the one he had a feeling it likely was, was nothing to sneeze at. They weren’t as skilled as the kids of the war gods, or as fast as the kids of Mercury, but the whole controlling electricity and winds thing made them nothing to dismiss. He smirked a little at the smell comment. “Was sort of wondering about that. Bad luck there, Charlie.” But his smirk turned into a full smile as she recounted her victory. “Excellent. Wish I’d been there to see it. I imagine the look on his face was well worth it. Though somehow I think even armless, you would not be beaten. Armless and legless, maybe.” There were some things, like talking casually about dismemberment, that seemed a uniquely Mars thing. He tried to imagine a few of the other gods’ children in this sort of conversation. Venus’ brood would no doubt be horrified, which might actually be fun to watch. Ceres would likely be right there with them. Mercury would be likely less nauseated, but not too enthusiastic. All in all, it would be rather entertaining.

He walked over and grabbed another one of the whet stones from the small supply before taking a seat near his sister and pulling out his own gladius. It was already in good condition, but why not make it perfect condition while he was here. Besides, nothing said Mars kid family bonding like preparing your weaponry for kicking some sorry excuse for a demigod’s butt. A little late, he added, “Hope you don’t mind if I join.” Which was actually only something that Charlie would get, as most other people here, he couldn’t really care less what they thought. He looked up from what he was doing when she mentioned wanting to get a good spar in and had to smile. “I always have time for that. And fun indeed. Haven’t worked with a pilum in a little longer than I like, so I could use the practice as well. I believe you have a deal. Name the time and place. Except four to dinner time, I’m free.” The smile still on his face, he looked back to his gladius. “Always enjoy a round or two with you, Charlie.” After all, it was a learning experience for both of them. And, naturally, a good deal of fun.

Tag: Charlie-Mack
Word Count: 544
Notes: Sorry it’s a bit short. Muse stopped cooperating after a bit.

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“Oh yeah? I did notice some new sparkly things in here. I can’t wait to give them a try. But as always I gotta take care of my weapons and armor first.” Charlie grinned as she went back to polishing up her breastplate. It was so relaxing to end the day with a good armor polishing. She didn’t much understand the whole concept of the spa that all the Venus kids went to or all that time spent piddling around in New Rome spending Denarii on coffee and sugary junk that was super horrible for you. Charlie wasn’t a vegetarian, but she made sure that her diet was a good protein packed diet without all of the bad fats and sugars. Her grandfather used to always say that food is fuel, if you put junk in your tank, your engine is going to die. Charlie-mack did everything she could to make sure that she was in top form for any sort of physical activity. She popped the top of a water bottle and took a deep drink from it. Her throat was scorched and the cool water felt good after the long and intensive battle against that son of Jupiter.

Remus remarked about the smell of the ozone. Bad luck? Yeah it tends to happen on occasion. For all of the skill and abilities that many demi-gods have, bad luck could always be the downfall. “I wish you could have been there. You would have been proud.” Charlie said. Charlie snorted with laughter as Remus started in on the whole dismemberment. Yeah it was a trait they shared with their father, speaking so casually about a topic that would make just about anyone else queasy. “Armless and Legless might prove to be a difficult fight. But I’d bite anything that got near me with the vengeance of a hydra.” She stated in a matter of fact voice. There was no getting around it, even if she was on her deathbed she’s try her hardest to fend off the death god with the best of her ability. Stubborn dedication was something Charlie prided herself on to a degree. “I’m a bit scared to take a bath and wash off this ozone scent, I might get electrocuted and shock the hell out of anyone else in the bath to boot. That is a mountain of paperwork I don’t wish on anyone, especially you.” Though to be quite honest, shocking a few people in the roman bath could prove to be quite amusing. It would make some of those vain Venus demi-gods look like the bride of Frankenstein.

“Sure,” Charlie-mack grinned. “Pop a seat where ever you want. I love hanging out with my favorite brother.” She said as she pulled her shin guards over to start on them. They gleamed and glinted in the light. Perfect. That was perfect. Charlie loved how they glinted in the sunlight. There was nothing more satisfying then a perfectly polished piece of armor or a perfectly honed blade. She could appreciate the down time of hanging out with her brother. Charlie worried about Remus sometimes. He could be such the stereotypical Mars child sometimes, but if she could get him to smile on occasion then she felt accomplished. “Awesome. I’ll have to check with the Cohort schedule to see when I have some time off if it doesn’t conflict with your timing.” She said as she then turned her attention back to her shin guards. She concentrated hard on making sure that she didn’t miss a spot. “I seem to put more effort into the up close style of melee. I need to work more on some long distance melee.” Her pilum didn’t gather dust by any means, but it wasn’t getting used in anything other than during Muster.

“You doing alright Remus?” Charlie asked as she peered at her brother. “I don’t mean to pry, but I worry about my big brother.” She said as she found her bracers to get started with their shining. Charlie’s lips drew tightly across her face as she knitted her eyebrows while she took a look over the bracers. They were scoured with gashes from where swords had gouged out chunks out of the metal. She stood up and tossed them into the repair bin and looked along the shelves for another pair of bracers.

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Remus smirked as he looked around at the indeed ‘fresh batch of shiny things’ as his sister so gracefully put it. “Nothing like a few new toys to make you day.” Especially a little multi-purpose number he noticed. Picking the shield up, he examined the odd notches and etched designs. And the latch in the back. He slipped his arm through the straps on the back and the latch in question sat perfectly where his hand rested. So he did the only natural, curious son of Mars thing to do, and pulled it. With a thunk that jolted his arm slightly, thick one-inch spikes slid out from each of the notches so the thing looked like a large metal and imperial gold Frisbee of death. Remus gave a satisfied smirk. “Now this is more like it. What do you think?” He held it up for her to see before pushing the latch back and the spikes slid back into the shield with another thunk. “Not bad at all.” He set it back down where he found it, careful not to trigger it in the process. A spike through the hand or arm was not high on his want to do today list.

Remus had to laugh at the idea of Charlie biting the heck out of anyone, wobbling on no arms and no legs. “Only a flesh wound, right?” he asked with a smirk. At her comment on taking a bath, he chuckled. “I seriously doubt it’s lingering that much, but some Fabreeze at least probably couldn’t hurt. And yeah, incident reports… not my favorite thing. So appreciate the thoughtfulness there.” The last time someone had had an unpleasant bout of not paying enough attention in the war games, the kid had ended up in the med bay for four days and Remus got all sorts of forms to fill out and file for the kid’s lack of attentiveness. Idiot.

He was glad she didn’t mind him staying, though it would have been a strange thing if she’d said no. It wasn’t often really that either of them pushed the other away. He was sure it was possible, just not common. “and a little time with my favorite sister, surrounded by weaponry… sounds like good times.” He looked his blade over for the areas that needed the most help and set to work on them first. He took his eyes off his gladius, his hand so used to the motions of this that it hardly mattered if he wasn’t looking all the time, and looked back up at her when she mentioned checking her schedule. “So long as there isn’t some camp crisis, I can usually free up some time.” After all, all the research and extra training he did was almost always voluntary. A lot of people didn’t even know about the research part of it. They just sort of figured he was the lunatic waving a sword around and pretending to be a leader, when the reality was he really did care about this place and what happened to the people here. He figured they hadn’t made him a praetor for no silly reason, after all.

Without noticing, he’s turned his attention back to his work and didn’t notice it until she spoke again. Nodding, he ran his fingernail across a spot to check what he hoped was not a chip. Thankfully it wasn’t. “Always a good idea to keep yourself well rounded on the battlefield. You never know what will come next.” What did grab his full attention was when the topic went to something other than battle. He stopped what he was doing and looked up when she asked if he was alright. It was certainly the last thing he’d been expecting. He took a minute to watch her examine her heavily war-worn bracers. “Yeah, I’m alright. A little tired. No big deal.” That was all she needed to know really, right? She needn’t worry about his possibly less than healthy study habits. “How about you? Keeping that cohort in line?” he asked with a slight smile. His sister’s position as centurion of the first cohort, one that he too had once held, made him prouder than he showed. He liked to think they were both doing their father proud too.

Tag: Charlie-Mack
Word Count: 715

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“Nothing says bonding time for the children of Mars like sharp objects, shiney armor and no small amount of blood.” Charlie quipped as she pulled her shield to her and went to oil the leather arm straps that aided in the use of her shield. She needed a bit of extra help keeping her shield strapped to her arm, or else she inclined to throw it like a captain America shield. “Very nice, but if you impale yourself on your shield, I’m going to laugh.” Charlie-mack stated. Her shield was simple, sure she had her standard issued Legion tower shield, but this one was her favorite. It was made of steel, backed by strong oak wood, circular in shape and the front was meticulously painted to look like worn wood. On top of the worn wood print was painted blue and in white outline was a bear. The bear wasn’t an animal sacred to her father, but Charlie thought it was fitting that she took up the bear as her mantle. Nothing was more ferocious then a mother bear protecting her cubs. “I think I’m going to need to send my shield in to get another clear coat of sealant placed on it.” Charlie mused as she tilted her shield back and forth, giving it a good look over with a practiced eye.

“Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you Remus?” She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something that told her that her brother wasn’t being totally honest. She would let it drop for now and maybe harp upon it again later. Family was important and her brother was one of the most important family members she had. “A camp crisis would be….disastrous. But I’m sure I couldn’t imagine what sort of crisis would befall the camp.” Her eyebrows knitted together, she didn’t know what she would do if something bad was to happen to the camp. This was her home and her life. Once or twice she had been outside of the camp and it made her much more grateful that her home and place was here in the Roman legion. People looked to her for leadership in her cohort, as a daughter of war; it was more than natural for them to look at her and her siblings for leadership. Even though it was a natural ability for the children of Jupiter, Charlie had taken the position of centurion seriously. “Well considering it’s the First Cohort, most of the people are good and well disciplined. There’s maybe one or two problems with some of the younger members, but that’s nothing new.” Charlie shrugged her shoulders. “It’s nothing that a good thrashing wouldn’t cure.” She stated.

“Oh hey look at that!” Charlie was distracted by a massive great sword sitting off in the corner, hidden by unused pilums. “Oh wow this is cool.” She picked it up easily in a single hand and gave it an experimental swing. “It certainly isn’t much in the way of Roman fighting, but I think anyone who charged into battle wielding this would certainly look terrifying.” Charlie nodded her head as she set it back down against the wall. “But you know me, I’m more of a sword and shield woman myself. Occasionally I like to go big and out there with two of my swords instead of the shield. Good mobility, not enough defense. But I think I’ve gotten to the point where I can easily switch between shield and offhand.” Charlie said as she pulled her other gladius out to hone the blade on it. On her left hip was her favored gladius, Lo’gosh, or wolf fang. On the right she wore Kodaav, it meant the bear in an ancient tongue, it was either Celtic or Norse, Charlie couldn’t remember. But it sounded totally awesome. “I worry about you, you know that right?” she said looking up at her brother.

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Remus couldn’t argue with her logic. Sharp objects, shiny armor, and possibly some bloodshed. Yep, that fit the bill alright. He set the shield he’d been looking at back down and glanced over the rest of the weaponry. He could spend ages in here. It was like the proverbial candy shop, only nothing in here besides the helmets did he particularly want near his face at all. He looked over at Charlie-Mack as she, unsurprisingly, stated that she would find his impalement humorous. Ah, that was what little sisters were for, right? At least, in the family of the kids of Mars. They had a unique dynamic that would likely seriously worry anyone else and, if out in the mortal world, would likely lead to more family bonding in jail or therapy. “Yeah, that would be pretty pathetic, wouldn’t it? I’d never forgive myself.”

He walked over and took a seat, checking out her shield she was working at before getting to his own stuff. He’d seen it a thousand times, could remember back to the first time she’d used it even. It had always struck him as an unusual choice of decoration, but fitting nonetheless. At least, for Charlie it was. At least from what he knew of them, which may or may not be one hundred percent correct, they could be fairly peaceful most of the time really, but gods forbid you tick them off. Which was a lot like Charlie. She was a heck of a lot nicer than he was, and didn’t really actively seek fights. But if there was some reason for her to join the fight, she was a force to be reckoned with. While he didn’t see anything about the shield that suggested it needed extra care right off the bat, he knew that if anyone could pick out details like that, it was Charlie.

Remus paused in working on his own gladius when she asked him again about what was bothering him. Sometimes she could be a little too perceptive. Then again, there was a part of him that was glad to have someone he could confide in who didn’t let things slip past unnoticed. Kept him on his toes, and if nothing else, that was a good habit to have. “Oh, you know, nothing unexpected. Just all these unknowns we seem to be plunging head-first into lately. Worried I may not be an effective leader against something I have no clue about. “ Which was something he would never confess to anyone he didn’t utterly and completely trust. And considering this was him, that was a ridiculously short list.

Crisis, war, destruction. A lot of people would likely assume that kids of the war god wouldn’t be so concerned about these sorts of things, but in all actuality, it was quite the opposite. In order to know the ins and outs of war and battle, you had to accept the risks of it as well, and no one knew those better than the children of the more warlike gods. “Yes, let’s hope things are being blown out of proportion and we’re actually safer than we think.” If something happened to this place, he didn’t know what he’d do. The Battle of Orthys had been one thing, but that never struck Camp Jupiter. Sure, Mount Tam had still been pretty close to home, but no harm had come to this camp itself. Well, besides loss of life.

He was grateful for the distraction talking about the cohort, and nodded.“Good point. You have the best of the best under your command. Which is only fitting.” He smirked. “Yeah, the little ones can be a handful. We just got one arrive the other day, got to welcome to the camp. Swear the kid looked like he was ready to wet himself. Apparently he met some, ahem, friends on the way. Leave those ones to Zidane mostly.”

He tried not to laugh, he really did, when her ADHDH kicked in. It happened to everyone here, but that didn’t take away from the fact that his sister had just gotten distracted completely by something shiny. Then again, when he saw what she was so distracted by, he more or less forgot about what he was talking about. “Ooh, now that’s a sword. Yeah, not very Roman, but it does have the shock factor. How’s the weight and balance on that thing?” He couldn’t say he had ever really wielded something that monstrous. He chuckled. “Yeah, and I don’t think you’ve really had to worry much about someone landing a blow against you for a long while, have you?” Which was true enough. She was definitely one of the best fighters this place had, and considering it was Camp Jupiter, that was saying something. And in yet another bout of ADHD, she was back on a previous topic. He shrugged. “Don’t worry so much, Charlie. I’m fine. Appreciate the thought, though.” He gave her a reassuring smile. Honestly, he was pretty sure Charlie was the best sibling anyone could want.

Tag: Charlie-Mack
Word Count: 843

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“I mean come on, you’d probably laugh if you weren’t spilling your guts out on the floor.” She stated in a matter of factly voice. There was no debate on the sick and twisted humor that came with being a child of mars. At least Charlie had Remus to talk to and bond with, otherwise she might go absolutely nuts. Most of her siblings were younger and about six times more annoying than a Venus child lecture. Her face had a sour look on it. She had caught one of those ‘you need to wear make-up otherwise no one will want to have anything to do with a drab harpy like you.’ Sort of lecture. She despised those with a passion. It only affirmed that she was going to be the Crazy cat lady of New Rome, a crazy cat lady with a sword and a knife. You might just want to actually stay off her lawn. The thought made Charlie chuckle. That certainly would have been something to see.

She raised an eyebrow at Remus’ confession. Charlie knew what he was talking about, or at least she could sense the impending things that were ahead. She could feel deep in her bones that something was going to happen and whether for good or ill, Charlie would be right there with her brother at his side. “Unknowns can be unpredictable at the best of times.” She said slowly, trying to consider some of the other variables. “But regardless of what happens, I can guarantee that you will do whatever it takes to lead us to safety. If there was ever a leader I would willingly follow it would be you. We chose you as Praetor for a reason and we have our faith in you.” Charlie gently patted her brother’s shoulder. Of course their conversations wouldn’t ever leave from between the two of them. “I wish there was something I could do to help you. You say the word Remus and I’m at your disposal.” Charlie said with a tap of her fist to her chest in a salute to her brother.

“Sometimes I wonder how I might have been all those years ago. I don’t remember what I was like all those years ago, I’ve changed since joining the Legion and I’d say it was mostly for the better.” She mused as she polished something else shiney. She gave a small smile and a laugh. “You might want to start employing some Bacchus kids as psychologists to ready the new kids for the Legion. I’m just saying I have a rather mentally unbalanced pair of Apollo twins in my care. I’m starting to think that Venus has warped their minds.” Charlie snorted. Best let some of the idiots work things out on their own, Charlie wasn’t about to baby anyone in her Cohort. Not by a long shot and she wasn’t much of the motherly type, at least with little kids. Her mother told her that one of these days she would understand that she would love her own kids, not others, but her own would always be loved.

Charlie gave that bastard sword another look over before making sure her ADHD was reined in. “The weight and balance is perfect. You might want to give it a try, your intimidating factor needs to be driven up a few notches.” She gave a rather blood thirsty grin. “Yeah counting that lucky hit that Jupiter Legacy got, that was a lucky hit. It had been nearly three months since. But I guess everyone needs to be knocked down a peg or two every so often.”

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Remus had to smile. “Probably? I’d say that was about as sure as the sun rising,” he said with a laugh. It wasn’t that he was sadistic or something as many campers would likely pin him to be. It was in his blood. Literally. Get a drop of Mars’s heritage in your background and you likely became what was generally socially considered a bloodthirsty lunatic. Which sort of worked for the whole Roman thing. He stopped short when she got a look that seemed to be lending itself to her wanting to punch someone’s lights out. And since he was the only one in the vicinity. He couldn’t say that that didn’t worry him slightly. And the chuckle didn’t help his worries. “Rome to Charlie. You okay?”

Though when conversation continued, he had to go back on his thought that Charlie would ever consider knocking him into the realm of the unconscious. If there was anyone who knew just what to say and when, at least when it came to him, it was Charlie. And her pep talk regarding his leadership did not fall anything short of her usual extremely helpful norm. He gave her one of his rare, genuine smiles. “Thanks, Charlie. That means a lot. Even if I have a feeling you might be sort of biased,” he added with a smirk. “Appreciate it though. But you might want to be careful offering help or I might actually take you up on it.”

He almost laughed out loud at her wondering about how she’d been, though he restrained it to just a chuckle. “Aw, come on, Charlie. I bet you five denarii you were the tough kid type. You have that way with facing all challenges with a determination even dad would have to admit is pretty great.” He went on with making sure his gladius was ready to teach the next whelp that challenged him what real Roman fighting was all about. That was always a lesson he was more than happy to impart. He glanced up as she talked about some of the kids in her own care and suggestions for him as well. “May not be a bad idea. And I think I know who you’re talking about. The two with the freckles, right? They had good recommendations, but can’t say there was too much else all that astonishing about them. Good luck with ‘em, though. Sounds like you’ll need it. Though, of course, if you need any help keeping them on the mark, you know where I am.” Not that he had any doubt in his mind that Charlie could handle a couple of newbies. She had this unusual – at least by his own standards – knack for being nice when it called for it and harsh when it called for that instead. No doubt she would know just what to do to handle the odd rough case, and those kids would end of being some of Camp Jupiter’s finest.

At her comment though, he pretended to be offended. “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. My intimidation factor is still perfectly high. Though now that you mention it, I don’t think I’d mind if it was a tick higher.” He got up to check it out as well, still paying attention to what she was saying. “He should count himself lucky all the same.”

Tag: Charlie
Word Count: 556

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Charlie did love to hang out with her brother, Remus. He was a mortal blooded son of mars, but also someone that Charlie could really confide in. She had spoken to her divine half-brother a time or two before, but Cupid didn’t really have the same sort of mindset that the more mars blooded did. Cupid took more after his mom, but to be honest it was rather strange for any person to think that Mars and venus really had a kid. Vulcan must have really chapped his podex after that. Remus’ words brought her back to the present time. She realized that she had been clenching her fist tightly during her train of thought about the Venus kids. “sorry Remus, I just was thinking about that last lecture that brainless Venus spawn gave me. Maybe I am just some drab harpy. Just promise me one thing Remus, don’t let me become the crazy cat lady of New Rome alright?” She wanted her brother to promise to not let her go completely and utterly nutso. No she would be in the Legion till she was too old to swing a sword or throw her dentures at someone. That was a thought there. She couldn’t help but chuckle and laugh at some of the thoughts that raced through her deranged mind.

“I’m not biased.” Charlie stated in a matter of fact voice. She knew what she was talking about. “You’re a good man and a strong leader. You know what you are doing. I’d rather follow you then that goof Zidane any day.” It was true and Charlie wasn’t much for sugar coating things that she said to people. Her brother wasn’t even afforded a tiny bit of sugar coating. She also didn’t award him any slack. He was a son of Mars and had a strong blood, she did too. There were responsibilities that they were both expected to live up to higher standards and they needed to do it with a leadership that was only rivaled by the Jupiter kids. “And I really mean what I say. I will do anything to help you. If you need someone’s head on a platter, I ask if you want it original recipe or extra crispy. You’re my brother and my leader, my superior. Besides we Mars kids are hardwired to give and take orders.” She laughed. It was true, the Mars kids made the best soldiers. That much was indisputable.

“Actually I was always the new kid. My mom was a marine right? So she always moved us around till we settled in Jacksonville NC. I got picked on till I was old enough that my grandpa taught me some old school Navy Seal combat training. That really got them off my back. It was great and then I met Lupa. Well the rest you know is Legion history.” Then the talk turned to the two Apollo twins that under her care. Charlie grimaced. She was trying her hardest to not kill them. It was hard, but she could manage. She knew when to ask for help with some kids. Charlie had seen many of them come and go, most of them were from broken and messed up backgrounds. “Oh that reminds me, did you and Zidane get that theft report from me? I put a copy on both of your desks. Edmund’s footlocker got stolen and I’ve got next to nothing on trying to find it.” Charlie detested Edmund, the son of Vulcan. The boy was rude and insufferable and not to mention he violated her in the most rude way possible. Okay maybe the last one was a bit extreme and he probably wasn’t thinking about it when he did it. Other than that, she didn’t like how he treated her friend. The stupid little jerk.

“Oh come on, you totally should run into the coliseum and swing around a dual pair of bastard swords. That would scare the hell out of anyone that decided to come across you.” Charlie laughed as Remus tried to feign offense. Remus was really the best brother she could ask for. Especially since she was an only child and didn’t play well with most others.

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Here was where things got interesting. Remus listened to his sister’s worries attentively, but to say that he knew how to deal with them or help at all was so far out of his comfort zone he needed to a telescope to find it. Then again, this was Charlie and what kind of brother would he be if he didn’t try to help some. Even if it wasn’t in the most helpful way. “Yeah, right, Charlie. You are not a drab harpy, and you can take that from the single most disliked guy in camp that you are far from being unlikable. I promise I won’t let you become a crazy cat lady though. For you, I’d think more crazy hellhound lady. Kidding, kidding, no crazy anything. Really though, you have more going for you than you think. Which probably sounds a bit weird coming from a sibling. But trust me.” He raised his eyebrows at the random chuckle though. Maybe she was closer to crazy hellhound lady phase than he originally thought.

“Zidane has his moments. I know he can be a dork sometimes, but he does care about the camp and its members. And hey, the kid helped me out when I was on one of my all-night obsessive study sprees, so can’t fault him too hard. But still, appreciate the words of encouragement.” He fell silent as she went on, though at the mention of original recipe head or extra crispy, it was a definite struggle not to laugh out loud. But he managed not to so as not to interrupt her. This was, after all, what would be called by Mars kid standards, ‘deep, insightful bonding time’. Or something like that. “Thanks, Charlie. And you know I respect you and trust you with my life as well, so we’re even. And original recipe sounds good,” he added with a smirk.

He listened to her story with the hint of a smile. He could rather easily picture a little Charlie-Mack judo-chopping any kid that dared pick on her, and it was quite a funny mental image too. “Bet the teachers loved that, huh?” As the topic switched over to troublemakers, he could tell he hit the bullseye by her grimace. But it changed again just as quickly. “How did that remind you of… never mind. Yeah, I did get that. Zidane and I were talking about it, but we’re having trouble getting any leads either. Don’t worry, we’ll sort it. Need to talk to Edmund maybe. Oh joy of joys,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. Edmund was one of those that was even harder to get along with than blunt force trauma to the face.

The idea of terrifying people, though, now that sounded good. “You know, I like the way you think. Have I ever mentioned you’re brilliant, Charlie?” Though a glance out the door of the armory made him pause. He checked his watch and sure enough. “Hey, I gotta run though. Scheduled to pay a visit to the third and fourth cohort archery. They’re working with the scorpion ballistae today. So if I have a hole through my stomach next we meet, you know why. Anyhow, I owe you a spar. You free later today maybe?”