xEthan Knox ~ Hestia ~ #8B4513
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xHeath Taylor ~ Athena ~ #808000
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xxIliana Remington-Taylor ~ Demeter
xxxxxxxxxx#4A766E
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xxxxPenelope Givens ~ Hermes ~
xxxxxxxxxx#483D8B
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Reaching the stables, she hesitated. She liked animals, but in her current state, she was afraid of what she would do. She learned animals could sense someone's feelings and could respond to that, especially with horses. One of Heath's relatives worked with horses and she got to see them a few times growing up. Never had the courage to ride one though. Heath did and did pretty well.
Suddenly the hairs on the back of Iliana's neck stirred and she turned around to see someone coming up to her. She didn't recognize him. Confused on what he wanted, Iliana gave the man her full attention.
"Hi there. I'm...I'm completely lost and confused. I've lost my bearings. Would you be able to help me out. I’m looking for the hall."
He didn't look confused, at least not to Iliana. She suppose she could lead him to the Hall, but that would mean running into more people, something she wanted to avoid. Still, she couldn't leave him hanging. She would show him the way, but then leave when she did. Decision made, she started typing her response on her iPad when the stranger spoke up again, talking about the horses before introducing himself as Lochlan, all the while holding his hand out. Iliana hesitated briefly, feeling compelled, placed her hand in his.
"And I think this is the part where you tell me your name."
All thought escaped her mind. She felt this intense pressure within her head. Without thinking about it, Iliana spoke for the first time in over a year.
"I . . . li. . . . na. Iliana," she said a scratchy and low voice.
Shocked, Iliana inadvertently dropped her iPad as she raised her now free hand to her mouth. She spoke. Lochlan could probably figure out she hadn't used it in awhile due to how rough it was. Iliana couldn't believe it. She remembered when Apollo had told her he healed her vocal chords. She had tried speaking then, but nothing came. It was like something was blocking her. Now for some reason she could speak. How did that happen? Totally forgetting about Lochlan, Iliana felt her eyes welling up.
"I . . . can . . . talk . . . . how?" she murmured to herself.
Suddenly a voice penetrated the silence as someone spoke.
"Good morning, Campers, I’m Nicholas Bower, and as you’ve heard from Poseidon, I will be assisting in your training. It is now something o’clock, so be ready at the training arena at 4:30 pm sharp. This training is mandatory. Be dressed for the part, and everything else will be provided for you."
Snapping out of it, Iliana quickly took her hand out of Lochlan's hand and picked up her iPad. It when she heard this Nicholas and some other female. What they said confused Iliana, and that confusion read easily on her face. Deciding to ignore it, Iliana thought about what Poseidon's son said. Training? A look of fear passed over Iliana's face. That was not good. She didn't think that be wise, but knew she couldn't avoid it either. Maybe when the time came she could show up and try to convince Nicholas to sit this one out. Feeling her anxiety rise though, she remembered Lochlan was still there. Looking at him, she tried talking again.
"The . . . hall . . . . . is that . . . way," she said, pointing in the direction of the Hall.
Wanting to be alone again, the blonde took off running, leaving Lochlan alone.
Theo was the first to answer Heath's question. He also noticed how the man didn't directly look at him at times, but seemed to be looking beyond them. Heath looked and saw him looking at Veronica. Knowing that she was Aphrodite's daughter, and his own initial reaction to her, Heath wasn't too surprised by Theo's reaction. But at least he gave him an answer. Then Daniel spoke up, but instead saying if he'd seen Iliana, he asked him her age.
"She's 19," he said simply, not understanding why Daniel would want to know that.
It wouldn't but the first time Daniel confused him though. Out of the campers Heath had met so far, Daniel was the most puzzling. At least he came off as a decent man, much like his sister. Before Heath could thank the two men for their time, Daniel spoke up again.
"I'm going to lay a pro tip on you. You're going to be divided one day, whether on your own or surrounded by people you can't trust so....branch out. Make friends in high places. That way, you don't have to worry about your sister every two seconds."
It was very sound advice and Daniel was probably right. He could probably relate to Heath since he had a sister and since both Daniel and Andy had been at camp last year, Heath knew he should follow good advice. Still, Heath's protective nature was never going to fully go ahead. Heath even before Iliana had come to live with him and his family, Heath could recall the times he tried protecting others. It was just innate for him to be that way, for better or worse. But Heath knew he'd would sleep better at night if he knew more people at camp would get along with Iliana. Her recalled Cherise being nice to Iliana, as well as Duke and Wes, at least from what Iliana told him. He also remembered Iliana had hanged around others more then he did. He would hope she would do that again, but first she had to get over the events of yesterday.
"Thank you. I will do my best to follow your advice,"
Daniel then mentioned that Theo was a great tracker. That got Heath's attention, but before he could say anything, an announcement was made. So Poseidon's son was here? Heath then caught Nicholas's voice again along with a female voice. Heath couldn't help but groan. He could piece together what was happening. Waiting a few more minutes, it sounded like the pair had turned off the speakers, much to Heath's relief. Focusing on what Nicholas said, it sounded like they were finally going to start training. He hoped Iliana showed up.
Looking at Theo and Daniel, Heath said, "Thanks for both of your help. If Iliana doesn't show up for training, I'll probably ask you for your assistance, Theo."
Bowing to them, Heath returned to Veronica.
"Looks like we're going to be training soon. I think I'll give Iliana the space she needs for now, so I'll go about my own way for now. Oh, I would recommend letting other guys know you're Aphrodite's daughter since we males might act like fools around you," Heath said with a small grin before continuing, "Thanks for your assistance. I'll see you later."
With that, Heath went on his way.
Ethan entered his cabin to see Heath already ready for training.
"Hey, any luck finding Iliana?{/color]
[color=#808000]"No, but did decide to stop looking for her right after that announcement,"
"Aw, well, I am going to get ready for training," Ethan said before heading for his private quarters.
It didn't take him too long for he dressed in workout clothes, the same way as Heath was. Ethan would have spoken up, but the front door opened and Iliana came in. The three stood in silence when Heath suddenly came forward and drew Iliana into a hug. Surprised, Iliana just stood there.
"You had me worried, Lia," Heath said.
"So . . . rry. . . ." Iliana said softly.
For the first time in his life, Heath was shocked. Did . . . did Iliana just speak? Gently, Heath held his sister back.
"What did you say?"
"I'm . . . sorry . . . I didn't . . . . mean to . . . make . . . you . . . worry."
Heath's jaw dropped and he found himself dropping to his knees. Concerned, Iliana dropped before him. Ethan hadn't heard Iliana speak, wanting to give siblings space, but he came forward and dropped next to his friend when he saw him drop to the floor.
"Hey, you okay? What happened?" he asked as he placed a hand on Heath's shoulder.
Tears appeared in Heath's eyes as he looked at Iliana. He honestly thought he would never hear Iliana speak ever again. Hearing her voice, as rough as it was, was miraculous. Overcome with emotion for the first time, Heath cried. Both Iliana and Ethan comforted him. Ethan was confused, while Iliana herself started crying.
Soon, Heath calmed down and looked at Iliana again.
"When . . when were you able to talk again?"
"This morning . . . when I met . . . a new camper . . . named Lochlan."
Now it was Ethan's turn to look surprised since he never heard Iliana talk before. When Heath heard Iliana mentioning someone new, he couldn't help but wonder if this Lochlan had anything to do with Iliana talking now. Well, with training coming up, now would be a good time to find out. Needing a goal to refocus, Heath decided to thinking about training, otherwise he wouldn't be able to recover from the shock he just received.
"Well, you can talk and I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel, Lia. Are you going to come with us to training, Lia? It be best if you did," Heath asked before getting to his feet.
Ethan and Iliana stood up too.
"I will come, but . . . I don't . . . want to . . . train. . . . Might hurt someone." Iliana said, slowly getting used to using her voice again.
"You might have no choice, Lia. Best get ready just in case. We'll see if we can convince this Nicholas to let you skip this session." Ethan said, trying to be encouraging.
Nodding, Iliana left to get changed. Alone once more, Heath decided to confide to Ethan.
"I still can't believe Lia can talk. I don't want her to train either, but I know our mothers want us to train. Mother even told me it's imperative for Iliana to master her powers at some point."
"Hey at least Lia can talk now. And maybe this training will help her."
"Iliana has been training since she was a kid though. I still don't know how being here will make a difference."
"Try to think a bit more positively, bro. Maybe training with other demigods will make a difference. I honestly don't know what to expect, but dwelling on the cons will not help us or Lia."
What Ethan didn't add was he wasn't looking forward to training either. He was not a fighter and knew he was severely lacking in practicing a few of his own skills.
Soon, Iliana came out of her room and the trio left for the training grounds.
Once there they saw others arriving, including Nelly. Nelly had a fine time taking pictures and was pleased the images she took. After lunch, she spent the next few hours at her cabin going through all the pictures. She already knew she would be making a scrapbook for her trip here. Her next plan of action was to get pictures of her fellow campers, but knew she'd have to get permission first. First rule in photography people was to ALWAYS get permission to avoid any legal trouble in the future. That was something her mother taught her. However, she knew she would never get pictures of them using their abilities. That was just asking for trouble and Nelly would never do anything that might put her and her fellow demigods in danger.
Once things were settled, a tall dark haired guy came forward and reintroduced himself as Nicholas. First thing he mentioned was how the Valises wouldn't be returning. This got Nelly and Iliana's attention. Nelly was curious for the reason why, but had a feeling she would never know why. Oh, well, at least she knew what happened to them. Iliana knew the Valises had gone to Olympus. Maybe what happened to them was too much for them to handle. She hoped they were going to be okay, especially Alex.
Nicholas then started talking about their training. When he was done, Heath and Ethan got up to get their tokens. Heath drew out a white token and Ethan drew a green one. Both were relieved their weren't sparring with each other. Turning back, they head for their seat. Nelly wanted to see what colors others drew before getting hers. She saw what colors Ethan and Heath drew, as well as a few others. She started heading up when Daniel head up, so she was able to spy his white token. Looks like he was going up against Heath. This should prove interesting. Daniel was Hecate's son right? So he was bound to use magic skills. Heath was Athena's son. She had no idea what his skills would be, but she imagined he would be pretty smart. Well she would wait and see. Coming up to Nicholas, she smiled and reached into the bag to pull out a pink token.
"Aww, phooey, pink? I was hoping for turquoise, navy, or orange," she complained since those were her fav colors.
Oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbled, she suppose. Shrugging, she returned to her seat.
Iliana deliberately waited for everyone else to get their token before taking a deep breath and approaching Nicholas.
With desperation in her eyes, she quietly asked, "Do I really . . . . have to . . . train? . . . . I can't . . . control my powers . . . . I've killed before . . . "
She started crying again, thinking about the past once more. Once again, it started drizzling. Looking at Nicholas and seeing he wasn't going to let her be excused, Iliana sighed and grabbed the last token before going to sit down.