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Post by brinazarski on Feb 13, 2011 19:51:48 GMT -5
It was afternoon, perhaps 3 PM. After a nice long rest and some time to get ready, Riley was feeling refreshed. Today seems nice. She thought to herself. Her twin sister, Mary-Kate, had suggested the fight in the arena of Camp Half-Blood. Riley was hesitant, feeling a bit lazy. After a few minutes of thought and nagging, however, she was up for it and ready.
Now she was in battle, doing her best to dodge every move. She was quick, and was able to escape a good number of blows. "Yo! Imma' PWN you!" She shouted with a smirk.
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Post by Shyfire on Feb 13, 2011 20:04:23 GMT -5
The heat of the sun blazed down on Mary-Kate's blond curls, turning them almost golden as the girl experimentally swang her knife at Riley. With every move her twin made, Mary-Kate adjusted herself easily. Her gray eyes churned like storm clouds as Mary-Kate watched her sister. It wasn't hard to size up Riley, but her sister's speed made it hard to keep up. Even so, Mary-Kate quickly picked up a pattern. With a quick sweep, Mary-Kate swung her knife so that the blunt of it hit her twin's shoulder. If Mary-Kate calculated correctly, and she usually did, the blow would knock her sister off balance and onto the dried dirt floor of the Arena. [/size] |
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Post by Sunfur on Feb 13, 2011 20:15:13 GMT -5
Watching the two girls dart around the arena, even Ari's keen eyes started having trouble keeping the two apart. Lounging with her legs crossed in seemingly mid air, only one slender hand twitched every so often, breaking the illusion of a statue that the child of Zeus gave. Her light blonde hair fell against her back in a docile manner, unaffected by the lightning that Ari was always ready to stream through her body. Clear grey eyes spoke of the empty sky above, showing the mood that the surveyor was in. Only a few feet away from the arena, and about ten feet up, she could see exactly what tactics each sister was exacting on the other, especially since sword fighting was her specialty.
Her silver and gold short sword lay in it's sheath on her narrow hip, clothed by baggy sweatpants that the girl usually wore while relaxing. The standard orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt clung to her frame as the winds cooled her off, allowing little mercy to the fighters below. Keen eyes picking up on Mary-Kate's plans, Ari's focus quickly darted towards Riley's reaction - the twins well matched for speed and strength. But Riley wasn't covering the upper right section of her body, something that would prove to be her downfall should Mary-Kate take advantage of it. "Riley! What are you not covering?" the daughter of Zeus shouted, knowing that she'd told the twin this countless times. While not giving anything away (since that wouldn't be fair to Mary-Kate), Ari watched for the vital motion that could quickly turn the tides of this friendly sparring.
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Post by brinazarski on Feb 13, 2011 20:29:22 GMT -5
Riley.
"Wait, wh-" Before she even realized she was happening, she fell to the ground. After a few seconds, she said, "Ow... nobody saw that." She got up quickly, and did her best to look her sister over, rapidly searching for a weak spot. Playfully, she said, "TIME TO DIE, MARY-KATE GENESIS! MWAHAHAHA!" She aimed her sword and was about to strike, when a distraction came forth...
Saber.
"Wow." Saber had an amused grin on his face, and burst out laughing. "You girls call that fighting?! That's nothing! I can do so much better!" The boy couldn't help but brag. I bet I can beat them! I know I can! And then maybe I'll have a chance with one of them... He snickered.
Saber was nice and clean, which was pretty shocking considering he had just come off the street. His black curly hair had a bit of a shine to it in the sun, and he looked pretty darn handsome. He was wearing a new shirt- an orange shirt that said "CAMP HALF-BLOOD" on it, with a pegasus. Honestly, he'd rather have his old clothes, despite their not being as... well... clean.
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Post by Shyfire on Feb 13, 2011 20:47:21 GMT -5
Mary-Kate was about to dodge her sister's strike before he came in. He has curly black hair, stood quite a bit taller than her, and had an arrogent smirk on his face. Mary-Kate couldn't help but stare at him. Heat was rising in her cheeks, and the knife in her hand turned back into a bracelet as she stared at the boy. She heard him say something, then a few moments later registered it as an insult to her fighting abilities.
Buzzing was all that Mary-Kate could hear she was caught in a complete daze. One that only involved her and the mystery boy. Then she shook her head, trying to clear her brain. "Just because he's a good looking guy does NOT mean you have to fall head over heels for him!", one side of her brain rationed, "He's probably an egotistical jerk who won't even care to remember your name once you tell it to him!". The part of her brain that was already starting to fall for the guy screamed at her "YOUR NAME! TELL HIM YOUR NAME!".
Without thinking, Mary-Kate stuttered, "I-I'm Mary-Kate!". "You idiot!", the rational part of her brain spoke up again, "He insults your fighting abilities and you TELL HIM YOUR NAME?!". That made Mary-Kate want to slap herself. "I don't have multipersonality disorder. I don't! I don't! I don't!", she forced her brain to chant. She looked down at her dust covered sneakers shyly. "I really should clean my tennis shoes more often..., the ADHD part of her brain thought. However, it was quickly hushed by other parts of her brain [/size] |
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Post by Sunfur on Feb 13, 2011 21:04:06 GMT -5
If Ari had seen the fruits of Mary-Kate's labor in landing her sister upon the floor of the arena, an undeniable smirk would've painted the petite features of her face, practically screaming 'I told you so!' Of course, the twins had known Ari for years, and were well accustomed to her coaching. They'd gotten used to her, and she them - and Ari would be loathe to admit it to just anyone, but she had taken the twins under her wing, so to speak, since day one. And that feeling had lived on to this very day.
But of course, she had seen none of this, distracted by a shift in the wind ten feet above her head. By now, Ari didn't have to lift her head to sense Evangelos swooping down onto her shoulder, a shrill shriek echoing around the ring in greeting. A guilty look settled on his face as he nuzzled at her shirt collar, pecking at it gently while clearly avoiding her gaze. "Evangey... what did you do..." she muttered, bringing a finger up to ruffle the ivory fingers on top of his head. Nothing! Not involving a wood nymph at all... His yellow beak now seeking more affection, Evangelos' keen gaze clearly avoided the subtly clouding optics of his partner in crime. "Evangelos! How many times have I told you not to perch on them! Chirion gave us a full hour lecture the last time you did that!" Ari's eyebrows knotted on her forehead, dreading the tongue wagging that was sure to come later. I'm sorry, Duchess! But they just stand there all day, nattering about the most stupid things... "Still, that's no excuse-..."
As Ari's voice trained off, her focus shifted to a change in the commotion beneath her, with the arrival of a new boy to the training ring. Eyes narrowing, Ari let the winds bring her down closer to her twins before jumping down, Evangelos ruffling his brown wings on her shoulder. "And who the heck might you be to interrupt a training session?" She asked, arms folding across her chest as she stepped next to Mary-Kate. A slight glare painted her face, with one questioning eyebrow raised as she expected an answer to her question, and as she waited the ends of Ari's light blonde hair began to crackle with electricity. Surprised by Mary-Kate's outburst, her eyebrows joined together in it's raised position, as she gave a quick whisper to her close friend, "I don't think he asked there, hun..." she said, surprised at how her friend was acting so differently. "But since we've given you the courtesy of our names, who're you? Who's your parent?"
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Post by brinazarski on Feb 13, 2011 21:34:07 GMT -5
Riley.
Riley glared at him. She hated new people. She had no clue who this guy was. Making comments already, I see. Jerk. Jerk. Jerk. She felt like slaughtering him on the spot. I could kill you. I could kill you. I COULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW. Yet, she didn't feel like she really could. When it came to strangers, she felt terrified, inferior. She couldn't beat this guy. Could she? I'll try... She didn't bother with a reply though. She had no clue what to say. This wasn't one of her friends... what could she say?
Her sister said her own name. Well, that helps. She thought. Oh hey, I'm Riley. And you are George Bush, I presume? Nice meeting you thar, Mista' Bush. Pretty ghetto name right there... meh, shut up. Riley remained silent. The girl watched what what going on. Maybe she'd take a part in it later. Maybe she'd take a part in it never.
Saber.
"Yeah, I know," he replied, as if she just said something really stupid. "I just heard her say your name. Buuuuuutttttttt, while we're at it..." The boy went over and shook her hand. "I'm Saber!" The boy said with enthusiasm. "I just learned about all these crazy Greek gods and de-what-cha-ma-call-it-gods and what not! And you know what?! I am going to be the strongest out of everyone here! You just wait and see!"
He left go of her hand, and turned to the other girl. "I haven't heard your names." His eyes shifted between Riley and Ari. "But like I said to this pretty girl right here, I'm Saber. Parents? Pfft, how should I know? I'm an orphan!" There was pride in his voice, as if being an orphan made him special. It did make him special. He was unique. He was able to survive on his own his whole life, with no friends, no one.
He felt a bit of sadness, but showed no sign. Saber had a huge grin on his face, as if he didn't have a care in the world.
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Post by Shyfire on Feb 13, 2011 21:46:44 GMT -5
A familiar feeling took hold of Mary-Kate when the boy shook her hand. It was the light-headedness that always set in whenever a good looking guy got anywhere near her."Saber... what a nice name!", she thought. The rational part of her brain spoke up again. "Don't you DARE say that outloud". Mary-Kate didn't know if she could trust herself to speak. Her cheeks were beet red.
Finally, she got up the courage to look Saber in the eye. "Actually", she said calmly, "I'm fairly sure you couldn't beat any of us in a fight. The probability is minimal. We've had years of training. And, frankly, we'd all group on on you before you had a chance. And no one ever wins that way.... Well, Ari might not join in, but that's because she knows you wouldn't be a fair fight.... But Riley and I sure would.... And she means your Olympian parent. You just probably aren't claimed yet. That's all. Which is strange cuz you're over 13.." Mary-Kate continued to ramble. "Shut Up.", her brain told her. Mary-Kate returned her gaze to her dirty tennis shoes. [/size] |
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Post by Sunfur on Feb 13, 2011 22:07:38 GMT -5
Leaning back on her heels, it had only taken the girl a few moments to realize that this boy was a cocky, arrogant kid not worthy of her, or her 'sisters'' time whatsoever. Fully allowing herself to lean back far beyond what a normal person should be able to, the wind she summoned kept her balanced despite gravity. Chittering in her ear, Evangelos took to the sky, muttering as he went, keeping a cool eye on 'Saber'. Duchess, why must you insist on doing that all the time? You know I can't keep my balance like that!
Letting a smirk paint her face in response to the words Ari knew no one else could hear, Zeus' child waited for Evangelos to settle back on her shoulder to toss a glance back to Riley, concern barely fluttering on her face before turning back to Saber. Riley was known to be quiet in situations like these, but also known to harbor dangerous thoughts. However, the words in front of her brought her focus back to Mary-Kate and Saber, eliciting an eye-roll directed to the arrogant child in front of her. Despite the fact that he stood taller than the three of them, Ari knew that despite his arrogance, he wouldn't last very long in the real world. "Watch your tongue - our parents don't take kindly to being called crazy." She glowered, her gaze starting to cloud as her temper was being pushed further and further. A few light grey clouds started circling around the training arena, but Ari took no notice of them; only the insults that this insolent boy was all too willing to throw towards her family and friends.
"..." Opening her mouth to say something, the blonde demigod had already decided he wasn't worth her time as the words failed her tongue. She hadn't yet decided whether or not this kid was worth her time or not - he acted all snotty and threw insults like candy, but still managed to hold some manners towards her siblings. Letting out a sigh, she righted herself and let the winds die down, a signal to Evangelos that he should settle back down on her shoulder, which he did without delay. Letting out a short cry of dismissal towards Saber, he returned to preening himself while Ari pretended to ignore the insults the bird thought their new companion deserved.
Watching Mary-Kate with some skepticism flowing through her, the twin's mood changes had been frequent in the past, but rarely to this extent. If it happened to be love, Ari couldn't blame her for the hormones on one hand, but really had no idea what she found so attractive about him. But, as a sharp peck from Evangelos brought her back to reality, she wasn't known for her deductive skills - simply her strength - and so kept her tongue in her cheek, waiting for Saber to annoy her even more. Grinning slightly as Mary-Kate stood up for the trio, Ari still couldn't imagine how many more moods the twin could flicker through in the next little while, nodding once at the end to verify what the girl said. "Exactly. You've heard my name, Ari, and my Olympian parent happens to be Zeus. Mary-Kate and Ari are children of Athena. You must still be in Hermes' cabin, am I right?" You're forgetting about me again, you're forgetting!! A headbutt from her avian companion stirred a huff from Ari's narrow chest, before turning back to Saber. "And birdbrain here is Evangelos."
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Post by brinazarski on Feb 13, 2011 22:33:44 GMT -5
Saber.
Saber listened to all this mumbo-jumbo this girl was talking about. He looked slightly freaked out. "Uhm... okay. Speak English, please. You talk weird. I have no clue what you are talking about, strange girl."
Riley.
Riley put on a little fake smile, but the fire was ignited inside of her already. It was almost an insane, psychopathic smile, and she had a cold, dark gaze in her eyes. "Hahahahahaha..." She let out her little sarcastic laugh. The boy looked at her like she was some mutant. She stepped forward. "Hey. Saber. Buddy." She was amazed she wasn't stammering. "That's your name, right? Hahaha, well!" She took out a bus pass, and waved it in front the boy. "See this little buddy right here? Mr. Bus Pass! He's a good little friend of mine, you know. Mr. Bus Pass? He's not very friendly. He's a weapon, you see!" She said it so cheerfully, it was as if she was telling a happy fairytale to a child. Saber looked at her questioningly, and she slashed the bus pass in the air and pressed it lightly against his throat, smile growing. "And he will CUT you." Now her voice was so emotionless, it was scary. "Don't you dare say anything about my sister. Okie?" The last word was high pitched with mock cheer. "Because you know, she speaks quite well. But you? You are a worthless little maggot. She does NOT talk weird, you do, and she is NOT strange, you are. Congratulations," she reluctantly took the sword away from his throat. "You just made a new friend."
Saber.
Woah. That chick is crazy... He though as she pulled "Mr. Bus Pass" away from him. Insane... she could've killed me! I should stay away from this girl. Sheesh! At least her sister seems a bit more sane... what was her name again? Sara?
He decided to forget about it. "Heheh..." Was all he managed to say stupidly. He turned to Ari, and tried to remember her questions. "Uhm... I uh... have no clue what you're talking about. But uh... yeah. That guy. I'm there... that cabin. Heh."
I shouldn't be so scared of her... what harm could she do to me! Then again, she did almost kill me just now... but still! I have my trusty kunais! Nothing to worry about! Right...?
Saber smiled at the bird, trying to get his mind of things. "That is so COOL! Hello birdie!" He went over to pet Evangelos.
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Post by Shyfire on Feb 14, 2011 18:13:31 GMT -5
Mary-Kate watched in stunned silence as Riley threatened Saber. The guy was already driving Riley and Ari crazy and he hadn't even been present 10 minutes. Mary-Kate shook her head in exasperation. The midday sun was making it's presence even more known against Mary-Kate's blonde curls, turning them into strings of gold.
Mary-Kate's bracelet turned back into a dagger and the girl started fiddling with it in her hand. As Saber went to pet Evangelos, Mary-Kate looked up and looked the amber-eyed boy face on. "I wouldn't do that", she stated,"Ari's not your biggest fan. Therefore, Evangelos won't be either. And why do you think I talk weird?! Because I actually talk with some sort of intelligence? Girls aren't all stupid.". Mary-Kate rolled her gray eyes and looked distastefully at Saber. The boy was affecting her ability to think clearly, and that wasn't ok in Mary-Kate's book by any measure. If she lost her ability to think clearly, she lost everything. |
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Post by Sunfur on Feb 14, 2011 19:32:00 GMT -5
Riley's sudden mood change didn't totally catch Ari off guard - having known the girls for years, the child of Zeus was beginning to be able to predict their reactions to different things, and at long last character was beginning to show through. Despite her initial satisfaction that she had been right about Riley, her muscles were beginning to tense with how close she was getting to Saber's jugular. Despite her reluctance to intervene (she was rather enjoying the sideshow that Riley was presenting), the sword was getting rather close to his throat, and Evangelos was getting nervous too, pacing from foot to foot on her shoulder. Taking a step forward just as Riley dropped her hand, a sigh of relief echoed from both girl and DemiGod as the situation dissolved. "I think he got the memo, Ri." She muttered gently, ready to intervene again if need be. Ari knew full well how much Riley hated being told what to do, and only stepped in when the need arose, but in this case it wasn't a judgement call that she wanted to end up on the wrong side of.
Crossing her arms from where they'd lifted to their ready-to-zap position, Ari narrowed her eyes and nodded. "Hermes. The God of Messengers. My half-cousin, actually. And I'd say you're long overdue for a lesson on the Greek Gods, mister arrogant." The last sentence was snapped with a brisk tone, leaving no accordance for any misunderstanding. "Although it wouldn't be... unfortunate... if one of the Gods took your education into their own hands..."
If her opinion on Saber had been torn on the side of dislike up till now, the advances that he made towards Evangelos only made the situation worse. With a panicked shriek, the eagle took to the skies, circling behind Ari before flying at the boy with outstretched talons. "EVANGELOS! KNOCK IT OFF!" She shouted, while sending a gust of wind to hit her eagle straight in the chest. At the same time, for safety's sake, another gust hit Saber in the chest, pushing him back a few feet, the dust swirling around the kids' legs for a moment before settling down again. But Duchess! He tried to touch me! The bird cried, wheeling gracefully from the wind before landing on her left shoulder once more. I don't like him. He whined, resting his head on top of Ari's crown of blonde while keeping his large yellow eyes on Saber, glaring accusingly. "That's no excuse."
To anyone who didn't know of Ari's powers, it would look like she was insane, talking to a bird with no clear communication between them. But as a gift from Zeus to understand the speech of birds of prey, their communication was mostly one way, with Ari having to speak out loud while Evangelos communicated unknown. "Mary-Kate's right, for the most part. I haven't decided fully whether I like you or not, but Evangelos - not "birdie" on any means - has. He understands human speech, so I'd take care not to offend him. Letting Mary-Kate carry on her defensive tirade, Ari took the opportunity to smooth the tops of his feathers, while he "preened" her hair, breaking from the care to give a mistrustful glare towards Saber once more.
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Post by brinazarski on Feb 14, 2011 20:00:33 GMT -5
Saber and Riley.
Saber rolled his eyes. "Come on! What could this guy do to me?!" He gave the bird a friendly smile. "And you just do. I mean come on. You use big words. Just talk normal!"
Riley narrowed her eyes ever-so-slightly at Ari. "He BETTER have." She turned her glare to Saber. "Stupid jerk..."
Saber wasn't to ecstatic about the looks he was getting. "Hey... calm down..." He said gently. "I didn't mean to offend anyone..."
"Well, you did. Learn to keep your mouth shut, moron."
Saber sighed inwardly. Why do I have to be such an idiot sometimes...
Suddenly, there was a not-so-comforting cry, as he looked up to see "birdie" coming down at him. "GAH!" Instinctively, he reached for his kunai, ready to defend himself. Unexpectedly, however, he was thrown into the air. "AH! WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Fortunately, his feet were soon on the ground. "Whew..." He looked at all of the girls. "Uhm... what was that?"
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Post by Shyfire on Feb 14, 2011 20:20:11 GMT -5
Mary-Kate gave a bemused look to the boy. "Did I mention that Ari's father is the Lord of the Sky?", she asked, "And you'd better thank her. Your face was almost bald eagle meat!". The Daughter of Athena's eyes twinkled dangerously, like a sharp blade as she gazed at the boy. Mary-Kate looked down at her shoes clad with dust and sighed inwardly. Like anyone was going to pay attention to what she had to say anyway. Shrugging it off and deciding Riley was the verbal one of them, Mary-Kate walked calmly over to a straw dummy knife still in hand. Quicker than a blink, Mary-Kate decapitated the dummy. The force of the knife threw the dummy back onto the dusty ground. Hay flew around, due to the slight breeze that caught Mary-Kate's hair and flung her bangs into her eyes. "Ugg", she thought to herself irratably, "Why didn't I bobby pin my bangs back this morning?!". She remembered how good of a time she had been having with Riley, and the thought kind of made her wish Saber had never showed his arrogent, annoying, oafish, cute, charming, handsome face. [/size] |
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Post by Sunfur on Feb 14, 2011 20:36:59 GMT -5
Only raising an eyebrow to Saber's careless remark, Ari knew that Evangelos would show him what he could "do to him". Deciding that he hadn't quite gotten the message that Riley was trying to convey, Ari didn't necessarily think that a scare would be bad for the boy, but hadn't expected the typically calm eagle to go that far. Pushing the two opponents apart to avoid catastrophe, the teenager straightened up quickly after, brushing the dust off of the bottom of her sweatpants. Relieved that she'd been able to stop Evangelo's claws from marring his face, the child of Zeus mulled over his defense, saying that 'he didn't mean to offend anyone' after all. Letting out a sigh, Ari was beginning to feel like the advocate for the speechless Gods above, as she once more reiterated what she'd been saying this entire time. "If you don't mean to offend anyone - stop offending people. I can guarantee that the Gods won't be as forgiving." And yes, as a matter of fact, I call making sure my bald eagle doesn't claw your face off as forgiving. she thought, with a small smirk for her and her alone.
Tucking a loose strand of hair that Evangelos had plucked out back behind her ear, she nodded at what Mary-Kate said next. "Father Zeus - Lord of the Sky, Justice, and Lightning. Also King of the Gods; that's my dad." It wasn't typical for Ari to brag - and she was doing anything but in this scenario - but this Saber guy needed to be informed of who he was dealing with. "Since my father was one of the Big Three Gods - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, I tend to have... stronger abilities." She murmured, uncomfortable with the attention on her. "Includes control of the winds and lightning bolts - as well as understanding bird brains like Evangelos here." For the last part of the sentence, her tone completely swerved from it's serious lecture-tone to the cooing noise that Evangelos enjoyed; headbutting her neck lightly, he let out a soft coo towards the group - mostly aimed at Mary-Kate and Riley. If that punk could only hear what I think of him...
Unperturbed by Mary-Kate's diversion, Evangelos kept a watchful eye on the girl as Ari surveyed Saber head to toe in a quick glance. "If you were a Big Three Child, you'd know - you would've run into a lot more trouble, and a large to-do would be surrounding you. So I guess that's out of the question. And hair & eye colour is usually a good indicator of parentage... I'd guess one of the more minor Gods for you, then, all in all. But like Mary-Kate said, most DemiGods are claimed by the time they're 13, which is odd, since you're clearly not. I'd be surprised if you even knew what 'claiming' was."
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