Show Them What For (Charlie-Mack)

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Charlie tried hard to swallow the gulp of orange juice in her mouth that she nearly sprayed August with. It was hard to gulp down, her throat muscles ached and her chest hurt, Charlie grabbed her napkin and dabbed at her nose. She’d be smelling oranges for the next few hours. At least this wasn’t particularly like the time that Charlie had coughed so hard while she was eating spaghetti that she shot noodles out of her nose. That was the most unpleasant feeling ever. The orange juice that had flooded her nose was rather acidic and it hurt, but at least it wasn’t a noodle. Or a peanut, there was that incident a few years back that she ended up in the infirmary with a peanut lodged up her nose. That was an embarrassing turn of events that she would rather not live again. “Yeah my brothers and some of my sisters, though to be honest I’m not entirely sure I have some sisters, but it’s like they are all constipated with this mentality that they have to be these emotionless robo soldiers. I mean seriously, terminator, eat your heart out.” Oh Charlie loved to insult her brothers and sisters and the occasional obscure family member, if she couldn’t pick on you it meant she didn’t like you. Or at least that was what Charlie felt compelled to tell the little snots that were sitting in the corner crying because their centurion was a meanie. Of course Edmund was an exception too. She hated him, but at the same time, she wanted to bring out the best and the worst of the boy. No he wasn’t a man, not yet. Maybe someday, but there was a good bit of emotional baggage that boy had to get over first, and then he would become a man.

“Oh come on, I bet you know the first rule about fighting with sharp objects.” It was true, there was a good bit more that people knew about fighting then they cared to realize or maybe didn’t know that they knew. She grinned at the augur, he was a little on the small side, but her mind went to work analyzing a fighting style that could be fairly beneficial to him. Fencing maybe? It would give him a bit of reach with a rapier and utilize quick footsteps and dexterity. Besides fencing was more about keeping distance and being a few steps ahead of your opponent then it was about brute force. “Archery is nothing to sneeze at, I can think of numerous occasions through history where the archers have proven to be extremely effective and have turned the tides of battles.” She said in a knowing voice. There was little about battles that she didn’t know, but Charlie had a rather great appreciation of every aspect of war, from the front lines to the archers in the rear. Everyone was important and everyone had a job, the legion depended on everyone doing their jobs and pulling their weight so they could move together seamlessly and flawlessly. The legion truly depended on its people and their leaders to make sure they worked like a well-oiled machine.

“Well the Valkyries are the handmaidens of the Norse gods. They are battle maidens, fighting in Valhalla with the spirits of those who fell in battle.” She stated. There was a good bit of things that she liked to read, but most of it was about other people and cultures and mythology. After all she did get turned into a coyote by her dad for saying something that she would dare not repeat again. “They fight by day and serve warriors by night in what is like a never ending feast. Though don’t get me wrong, the Isle of the Blest is a good idea to strive for, but a never ending battle and never ending feast, that sounds like the best idea of heaven to me.” Well if that didn’t sound a bit blood thirsty she didn’t know what would. Charlie groaned inwardly as she thought about how stupid she just sounded. She paused, waiting for someone, namely her father, to strike her down or turn her into a furry animal or some sort of critter. That would be the perfect ending to an otherwise wonderful day. But when nothing happened, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to know that the other deities weren’t just sitting there waiting for a demi-god to mess up just so they could torment them by changing them into an animal.

“I didn’t much pay attention to the music that my grandmother played, she was a major of classical and religious music when she was in college. Though the Danse Macabre was one of her favorite pieces to play on Halloween. That and the Toccata in fugue in D minor, the one by Bach, she always did a great Halloween thing for the neighborhood.” Wow, Charlie couldn’t believe how much of an idiot she sounded like right at this moment. Her face had fallen; thinking about her grandmother brought her a bit of pain. It had been years since they had spoken. Charlie mainly had done it out of trying to keep her grandmother safe, trying to keep the monsters from hurting her. Charlie had no way of knowing if she was alive or not. “Sorry, August, just been thinking about something concerning my grandmother. Worry and all like that.” She smiled, though it was rather pained. She didn’t mind speaking about it, her anger management therapist said it was good to get feelings out on the table and she at least trusted the Augur to not go about spouting off how much of a sap she was.

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August chuckled at her summary of her family. It sounded pretty accurate to him. He made a point of avoiding most kids of the war god, or most people in general really, so he couldn’t really judge too harshly, but then again, he still had this idea that if people were going to judge him so much, why shouldn’t he be able to do the same in return? Worked for him. Then there were people like Charlie-Mack Jolly, who wasn’t judging him at all, so he was perfectly fine with not judging her either. Actually, he might consider her a friend, which was not a title he bestowed lightly. But back to the conversation. “Well put. Which is suprising considering you’re in that same family. Surprising that you would be so critical, I mean. Most people I know would defend their family to the end.” Yeah, she was something different alright.

Fighting with sharp objects. This would be an interesting topic. He chuckled. “I know enough that I didn’t die at Orthys, that’s about all I can say. But even that might have been dumb luck. Never know. I certainly don’t know as much as you probably do though. Not even half.” The good report on archery was a highlight though. It was good to find people who properly appreciated archery and its uses. And he figured if anyone knew it’s historical significance, it was probably the girl sitting across from him. Anyone who studied battle strategy for fun was probably pretty knowledgeable. And maybe it was a Mars thing? Possible.

He pondered her description of the Valkyries. Not his kind of afterlife really, but to each their own. Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure what he would prefer given the choice. But really, they didn’t have much of a choice right? The Underworld was pretty cut and dry. Maybe some place where he could practice his violin all the time, or just be in peace from all the people he didn’t like. That would be something. Maybe that was what the afterlife would be like if he could pick. Only his friends and music. And possibly revenge on his mom. That would be nice too. Sure, he’d gotten his revenge to some degree, but it didn’t feel like enough. Perhaps that was cruel of him, but he didn’t bother putting too much thought to it. Anything involving his childhood, he tried not to put too much thought to. So he just went back to the conversation at hand and nodded. “Sounds like something you’d be good at. The fighting part, I mean. I don’t know how big you are into endless feasts,” he added with a smile.

Music. Now that was something he could talk about. “Ah, so it’s in your blood then, eh? Pay attention to it or not. Hmm, all good choices.” He smiled. “Sounds like you had a nice childhood then. Neightborhood Halloween parties, how fun.” Fun. It dawned on him that that was not a word he used often. He paused though, noticing something was wrong. He frowned. “You okay? You don’t look so good. I’m sorry, was that a bad topic?” Maybe she hadn’t had as good a childhood as it sounded. But before he could say anything else, she answered for him. He nodded. “Oh, well then. You should write her or something. Do you know where she is anymore? Might be worth a try. Ease your mind and get you back in touch with your family.” And she looked like she could use something, anything, to ease her mind. Judging by the tone of her voice, worry was putting it lightly.

Tag: Charlie
Word Count: 611
Notes:

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“Actually I got a bit of my temperament from my mother instead of my dad. But just put me around that moron Simmons and you’ll see my Mars genes.” She gave a small laugh. It was true, she was really easy to get along with but if you threatened her loved ones or if you were Simmons and you pissed her off, there was more of a problem with getting her to calm down. No, you didn’t want to get under skin the same way that the little forge ass hole did. She had a special place of torment for that disrespectful little runt. Charlie wasn’t sure how he even got into her cohort to begin with. She wasn’t about to let a little thing like his broken arm or his PTSD stop him from training. Everyone had a duty to New Rome and her particular duty was to train soldiers in her cohort and prepare for war. Her brow furrowed as she thought about the impending things that were coming.

Charlie gave a smile at what August had said. Yeah there was a good bit of luck that was involved in fighting. Some people didn’t believe how important luck would be in a fight. “When in fighting, no one believes how much luck can affect the outcome.” Charlie said, taking another bite of her noodles. She paused after taking another bite. “Like no one can believe how important Lyn is, she’s a daughter of Fortuna. No matter how much training, skill, and knowledge you have, bad luck can easily take you down.” She always disliked the thought about people just pushing off some of the minor gods kids like they were nothing. Charlie knew their powers and she knew how powerful they could be. “So if you got lucky, someone up there might have a plan for you. After all you’re the only one that can divine the will of the finicky gods, so you are the most indispensable person here.” She stated as she put the fork full of vegetables, meat and noodles into her mouth. The taste of the food here, as per usual, was superb. “Plus your archery skills, you’re totally awesome.” She flashed him a smile.

“Well the fighting is fun, but I don’t know how much I would love the endless feasting. Besides I think that particular afterlife is reserved for the men who fall in battle. Not too many people in history were nice about women. The fun stuff was always reserved for the men since most of them were the ones writing history. Only the Amazons and a few tribes in Africa were matriarchal societies.” Charlie stated. She knew a good bit about history, you had to since it was important for Romans. War was all throughout history. It shaped the world and was always happening. Somewhere in the world, a war was going on. There was really and truly not going to be peace ever. It just happened at different times for different people. “What do you think you’re ideal underworld would be?” Okay, that was stupid, Charlie thought. That was a really personal question. “I’m sorry, that was a bit rude.” She apologized. Always apologize, she had been told by her mother, never say you’re sorry. She was always told that if you were sorry, it showed a sign of weakness.

“Well I actually remember a good bit about it once my mom settled down on base. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we were happy and lived okay. All we really had was each other. Christmas was nothing special or anything like that, but we spent a good bit of time together.” She had a thought suddenly, she knew that she could involve August in one of her favorite yearly traditions. “I know this seems a bit weird, but have you ever seen the little turnips in the first cohort barracks windows in the last week of October all lit with candles?” Maybe he had seen those maybe he hadn’t. It was something small she always did, but she didn’t think many people paid attention to them. “This October you can help me with the turnips if you want. It’s kindda a tradition for my family. You light up a turnip for all of the people that you have known the past year that have left us. It helps remember the people we’ve lost and guide the spirits to the after world.” Charlie knew that it was Mors’s job to guide the spirits and souls to the afterworld, but it was still a nice tradition. “Or we could totally put together a Halloween party. Whatever you want to do.” She grinned at August. Charlie thought hard. “I could probably take some pictures too and send them of all of my friends too. I hope you wouldn’t mind if I got a picture of you?” Charlie asked. After all, she did consider August her friend and she would always be there to defend him.

((sorry it’s late and short, just had issues here lately))

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August smirked. “Is it even possible to be at all pleasant around Simmons? For anyone?” Which was true enough. That kid was the camp grump to be sure. And to think he was in the first cohort. It was almost – very almost – a total disgrace that he should rank so high. If August had any say in it, he would be in the very last, bottom of the fifth. The kid must have had some unseen skill that only the centurions knew about. Which was one of the reasons it was good August wasn’t a centurion. He’d figure almost everyone here belonged in fifth. Freaks and Greeks. That was pretty much everyone here. Thankfully aside from the person he was currently sharing lunch with.

He went back to his food as she spoke about luck in battle, listening attentively as he chewed. She was right, of course. There was no two ways about it. Fortuna – and her children – was a very integral part of this camp and its functioning. They could fight as much as they wanted, but if the gods weren’t favoring them, they might as well fall on their own sword. And if the gods weren’t favoring them, they very well might do just that without meaning to. August stopped eating when she commented on his own luck though. He’d never really thought of it that way. And to hear someone call him the most indispensable person there was… well, quite a bit more of an honor than he was used to. Most of the time, it was more the opposite in people’s opinions. He had ‘allowed’ the disaster with Weingarten last summer in many people’s minds, so he deserved to die to them. He smiled a little when she added on a compliment about his archery. “Thanks.” He felt really stupid for not having anything better than that to say. Though suffice to say he was not used to this sort of situation.

Reserved for men. He should have seen that coming. Before it might not have bothered him because, well to be honest, he was a guy and he didn’t think about it much. That and if it meant that Weingarten was denied something good, how bad could it be? Though talking to Charlie made it another matter entirely. In fact, it ticked him off. “That’s ridiculous. You deserve just as much if not more than a lot of people here, no matter the gender. And same goes for a lot of females. History and society are just supidly biased.” Her question made him pause though. He didn’t really talk about himself with anyone. So sharing something like that seemed… odd. Though when she apologized, it didn’t seem so bad. Like her acknowledging that it was out of the ordinary made it a little more okay. He smiled a little. “No, it’s okay. Hmm… um, I guess somewhere where people don’t judge you and I can just be me. That would be my ideal underworld. Or ideal world for that matter.”

He fell silent as he listened to her talk about her childhood. It did sound nice. Who cared about not having much money wise. Having each other was a lot. And her mom sounded like a wonderful person. The sudden subject change caught him off guard though. Turnips? Now that she mentioned it though, he had seen that. At the time he had just tallied it up to crazy people. He hadn’t even thought that it was Charlie’s cohort doing it. He wasn’t really one to pay attention to other people usually. “Um, sure. I’d be happy to help. What do you need help with? And I don’t think you want my help on a party. I’m not exactly popular, remember?” Though the idea seemed nice enough.

Tag: Charlie
Word Count: 632
Notes: sorry, muse died there at the end

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Charlie paused for a moment. While August was right about Edmund, most people were right about that little prat, there was something else about him. “I don’t particularly know how that kid managed to get into my cohort, but other than being a pain in the ass…. I have a feeling that he was put there cuz someone needed to keep an eye on him.” She said, taking a breath and then taking a sip of her orange juice. “There’s something about him though, he can quite handle himself in a fight and has a good bit of balls. Pardon me for using that vulgarity.” Charlie said with a shake of her head. Edmund had good points, but most of them were heavily out weighed by the fact he was a disrespectful and annoying little sot who couldn’t appreciate what he had or what other people had done for him. There were quite a few times that she had stuck his neck out for him. He was that pissy little brother that she never wanted but got stuck with anyways. “So long as he participates like he’s supposed to I won’t have to thrash him from here to Saturnalia.” She said with a sage nod. But she sighed, it seemed that no matter what she did, for good or for ill, that kid was just as stubborn, bullheaded and irritating as Juno. At least according to what she heard in the stories, but with the stories about the divines you had to be careful, you never knew whom was actually telling the story.

“yeah the children of the minor gods, they have a bigger part than most people would believe.” Charlie commented as she twirled her fork in the noodles. “The Olympians are strong, it’s true, but the minors….” She trailed off, trying to think of the correct ways to put what she was thinking into words. “Even my father has to bow to them some times. If they weren’t important, Lord Jupiter wouldn’t have bothered to make them gods.” Gods, she was horrible at explaining things like this. “But they are things that we all need, no matter who you are you need them. Luck, justice, truth, loyalty, those sorts of things, you know?” She had a note of pleading in her voice, hoping that August would get the drift of what she was saying. He was smart, he would know what she was talking about. At least she hoped she wouldn’t have to put herself through the torture again. That was why she was a child of War. She knew how to speak through bashing someone’s face in instead of talking about their feelings and asking how they felt about a particular diplomatic situation. Bah. Yes diplomacy had it’s time and place, but until the monsters wanted to stop chewing on demi-gods and sit down in a drum circle singing Koombiya and passing the peace pipe around, she would continue to make a point of bashing their faces in with the blade of her sword.

August seemed a bit indignant about Charlie not being able to attain her wanted afterlife. It was nice to have someone worry about her for once. “Well it is a shame I can’t hack and slash my way for all eternity, but I’m sure that Mors will allow me some fun in the underworld.” Charlie probably should have referred to the God of Death as Lord Mors, but she was close to him. As close as a god and mortal could be at any rate. She was allowed to ask questions that had always made her wonder. She loved to ask questions. Most of the other gods were quick to discourage questions, unless you were Mercury. Mercury had made it clear that all of the romans were his children. Sweet of him, but he was still strange. “Yeah history is biased, but it’s our turn to write history isn’t it?” She said, sending August a smile. The Augur really was easy to talk to. “Your afterlife sounds quite wonderful.” She quipped as she put a forkful of food in her mouth. “I bet when you go to the afterlife, it will be a life of relaxation and bliss with plenty of time to play your violin.” She really wanted to hear August play his violin. She was ready to bet that he was extremely good at it.

“Pshaa, who cares if you’re popular? You’re my friend.” Charlie said with a wave of her hand. She never cared who was popular or who was dating who, so long as you weren’t openly disrespectful or annoying, then you were pretty much cool with her. “I’m sure after all of the crazy things happening, my brother will allow us to do a Halloween party or something. And I’m sure the little kids here and in new rome would love a good show. We could actually put Felicity’s zombie powers to good use.” She laughed. The idea of Felicity raising the dead just for kicks and giggles was funny, though it would be hilarious to see if she would actually go for it. “or we could always just stick with some glow in the dark ghosts. And some glow sticks.” She shot August a grin.