S u n r i s e.

[Felicity McGregor]

Felicity knelt down by the lake’s edge, allowing cool water to filter into her cupped hands and letting the icy contents to splash onto her face. She had just returned from her daily jog along the beach, sweat now drenching her from head to toe. The water exhausted the heat that had radiated most irritably on her cheeks and along her neck to her luck. Wiping the remaining droplets with her shirt she flipped her cell phone out from her shorts.

She pursed her lips as she glanced at the miniscule screen. No missed calls. Well, considering it was early morning of course none of her friends would have gotten back to her yet. The sun was only beginning to rise above the horizon, bathing the sky in a pale gold.

Emitting a sigh she laid out in the grass in the shade from the trees overhead, deciding to catch a good moment of relaxation before she was forced to attend classes.~

[Agate / Echo]

There was a slam in the distance-- the heavy thud of the fire-resistant forge door-- and the racing sound of running feet. From Felicity's point of view, the only noticeable cause would be the brown-and-orange streak and the quite mutterings of "Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap..." The whispered curses were cut off by a great hiss, and steam issued up in great billowing clouds from the lake, again obscuring the source of the disturbance from sight.

The steam dissipated silently, and slowly, a dark form became visible. This sharpened into the shape of a tall, muscular African-American girl, with a sopping-wet shirt displaying two smoldering burn-holes. The girl pulled her tee-shirt out to expect the damage. She pursed her lips, before breaking into an unreasonable grin. "That's what I get for forgetting an apron," she said, to no one in particular.

She turned to look Felicity in the face, that pearly-white smile still brimming in her dark face. Her eyes swept up and down the other girl once, before she produced a damp hand for Felicity to shake. "I'm Agate," she declared. "You're from Hermes, right?"

[Felicity McGregor]

Felicity's eyes instantly unglued themselves from the phone still in her hands, snapping it shut absentmindedly. A large amount of steam billowed out from the lake in front of her which she tried to dismiss with a wave of her hand until it eventually faded. Before her was a peculiar sight, but most things were when attending Camp Half-Blood. The tall form a girl came into view, two large holes burnt into her shirt which she seemed to be inspecting. It was a Hephaestus camper no doubt considering the burn didn't do any damage to her like it did her clothing.

"I'm Agate," she declared. "You're from Hermes, right?"

Glancing down at her dripping hand with arched brows Felicity took it unwillingly, frowning at the dampness as she hastily released the newcomers grip.

"Yeah, the names Felicity," she replied, wiping her hands on her t-shirt.~

[Jaden Novak]

Clang! Clang! Jaden's sword Sokyma slammed against his opponent's shield. He was drenched in sweat, and his shoulders rose and fell as he breathed with some difficulty. Jaden was done playing around with this kid he was fighting; it was time to do a little damage. Although Jaden had to admit, this kid was good; no one else had lasted a half hour fighting him before. He finally tried a feint manuever where he acted like he was about to bring his sword down on his opponent's shield. As expected, the kid raised the shield; Jaden then swung his sword like he was pitching a ball underhand-style. As Jaden had planned, the kid whom he was fighting was forced to let go of the shield. Tham! Jaden had used his lightning speed to punch the kid directly in the face. Jaden then helped the kid stand up. "Not bad," Jaden admitted. "I'll help you again tomorrow, Zakarias, but for now I'll see ya later."

Jaden then walked off, re-capping Sokyma and putting it in his pocket. He then headed straight towards the lake to hang out.

Man, how boring... he thought, sighing. I suppose I could go practice archery...but then again, the Apollo kids would knock me dead. I could go practice hand-to-hand combat... Yeah, that'd work... But I'd get pummeled by an Ares kid, most likely. But hey, I gotta get tougher somehow. I could go help the Hephaestus kids... Or I could try my hand at making a few combat plans with the Athena kids. Just then, Jaden walked smack into a tree, as he was deeply immersed in his own thoughts. "Ow," he said, rubbing his forhead.

Jaden then noticed two campers. He figured they must be newcomers, since he didn't already know them. So, on a whim, he walked closer. "Hey," he called out to them cheerfully, as he drew closer, "hey, what's up?"

[Agate / Echo]

Agate twisted casually around at the sound of Jaden's voice, and thingyed her head in curiosity. She knew who he was, although had rarely talked to him. Who didn't know the only Son of Zeus at camp? Though she had been at camp for six years, she had never really attempted to get noticed, and so, even now, she doubted that he knew her.

She remained oblivious to the unusual and nearly indecent condition of her shirt, lost as she always was in her own thoughts and her own perceptions of the world around her. She studied him for a moment longer; he was drenched in drying sweat, not a pleasant sight, but ordinary enough at camp. She was still crouched down, sitting like a frog with her hands on her knees when she spoke : "You're Jaden, right? Lightning boy?" Her tone wasn't mocking, or sarcastic, or overly friendly, just curious in a way that suggested she wouldn't particularly care if he refused to answer.

[Felicity McGregor]

"Hey," he called out to them cheerfully, as he drew closer, "hey, what's up?"

Swiveling her head in accordance to the new voice, Felicity eyed the newcomer incredulously. She had seen him around camp, but never felt obligated to befriend him; he always seemed full of himself, but weren't most boys?

Standing up she brushed the dirt and grass that stuck to her legs and pocketed her cell phone. "Zeus' kid?" she inquired. "I've seen you around. Do you have a natural talent for running into trees or something?" Yes, she had caught a glimpse of him as he walked straight into a thick trunk and could have sworn she had seen him on a couple other occasions doing the same thing.

"Never mind," she continued. "All men are meatheads anyway; it wouldn't surprise me if you did run into trees and other miscellaneous items on a daily basis."

She was usually a kind person, but men always got on her last nerve. Always, seeming so sure of themselves, but so ignorant and way to proud. She had been pondering over the thought of joining the hunters. It seemed like an ideal life, being immortal and no guys, but something kept her from agreeing to those thoughts.~

[Jaden Novak]

Jaden patiently listened to both of the campers, as he started to realize he'd seen them both before, but never properly introduced himself. He could tell that the taller one was from Hephaestus cabin. But the other one was harder to place. Jaden figured she would be Hermes, as this girl had the all-too-familar mischeivious smile of most Hermes campers.

To the taller girl, Jaden said, "Yeah, you guessed right.... Not too hard I suppose, since I'm the only Zeus camper at the moment." Jaden realized that since he came to camp, most people would think he was arrogant, since he was the only Zeus camper in Camp Half-Blood. As such, it was harder for him to make friends at camp. "Anyway," he said to the taller girl, "I'm not sure we've met properly before... What's your name?"

To the other, shorter camper, he said, "Ha ha, very funny... You know, most guys aren't that bad. And yeah, I'm a bit of a klutz... I think about things too hard and not pay attention to my surroundings, and I run into things occasionally. But anyways," he added, "I suppose you'll be from Hermes, right? What's your name?"

[Agate / Echo]

Agate stood up at last, offering him her hand to shake, as she had for Felicity. Although this time, it was considerably less wet. "I'm Agate," she announced. "Agate Cole, from Hephaestus. Obviously," she held out her ruined shirt for examination, as if offering proof of her heritage.

"So what was Lightning Boy thinking about so deeply that he walked into a tree? That's why I've learned to stand still while thinking like that. I almost got a concussion one time when I walked into a roof beam!" She grinned fondly at the memory, blissfully ignorant of the potentially embarrassing nature of this story. "Do you mind if I call you Lightning Boy, by the way? It's kinda catchy." She reached up and began twisting one of her small ring piercings, starting to loose herself in thought. Her over-active mind was puzzling out ways to equip a prototype automaton she was working on with the power to shoot lightning bolts. She could easily build up enough static charge to create a lighting-like shock, but how would she direct it, or make it release on command...?

The piercing giggle of a draiad snapped her back to the present. You could actually see her pupils refocusing on the campers in front of her, and her hand dropped quickly to her side.

[Felicity McGregor]

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Felicity replied sarcastically; she didn't like this son of Zeus very much. Placing her hands on her hips firmly she scowled at him while the Hephaestus camper rambled on. She was usually a very kind person, but today she was awfully cranky. Although, she immediately perked up at the suggested nickname 'Lightning Boy', convulsing with giggles at how ridiculous it was.

"Why ask?" she questioned. "I'll call you that anyways. It's too cute." ~

((sorry my post is so short I'm so tired x3))

[Jaden Novak]

Jaden actually laughed a little at being called "Lightning boy". When he was younger, he had a fascination with lightning, which often lead to him spending hours at a time studying it. As a result, nearly everyone in his class at school had called him "Sparky" or "Lightning boy" or something similar.

Once Jaden stopped laughing, he said, "Sorry, sorry, it's just... Lighting boy is my old nickname, from back home. It brings back a whole lot of memories of what we're 'supposed' to consider the 'normal world'.... But anyway, yeah, I don't mind being called that."

Jaden walked over to the edge of the lake and attempted to wash his face clean of sweat, but as soon as he touched the surface of the water, a small shock occured, and since water conducts electricity, Jaden's finger was also shocked. "Oh, Styx," mumbled Jaden angrily, trying to cool off his finger in the water. "Well... That was certainly unexpected..."

[Agate / Echo]

Agate's head shot up at the little snap of electricity and Jaden's muttered curse. She peered over his shoulder, trying to figure out exactly what happened. Having concluded that she could conclude nothing, she kicked off her Etnies and sat down next to Jaden, her feet dangling in the water.

"How do you control it?" she asked suddenly. Her head was thingyed to the side and her dark eyes were so intent on his face. "How do you control the lighting? If your whole body was coursing with electricity, then you should never be able to touch water, or metal, at all," a nasty thought occurred to her, and she grinned, "that would provide a nasty shock if anyone managed to score a blow on you with a metal weapon, but that's not my point. How do you direct the electricity? Is it just some demigod thing, or is there some re-creatable technique?" Her brain was still cranking with possibilities for her automaton. This would be huge, if she could pull it off! Hardly any monsters were immune to electricity; the Nemean lion was immune to blades, the bronze bulls are immune to fire... but susceptible to electricity.

Although her eyes were still resting on Jaden's face, her gaze was unfocused, plotting through the mechanics of her awe-inspiring creation, that would or would not exist, depending on Jaden's answer. So focused was she on dreams of smooth, bronze flanks, glittering ruby eyes, that it didn't occur to her that her questioning had crossed into prying, and possibly on a very personal subject.

[Jaden Novak]

Jaden listened to Agate's talking, waiting for her to finish before talking so as to be a little polite. "Sorry," he said apologetically when she had finished, "it's really more of a demigod thing...not exactly re-creatable. And as for how I control it -- I just use my mind to sort of guide it. And it only backfires occasionally, when my mind is elsewhere."

((Sorry this is short, I'm a little brain dead today.))

[Felicity McGregor]

Felicity trudged over to the pair by the lakeside, trying to figure out what all the hubbub was about. These were truly some weird people, but while at Camp Half-Blood so was everyone else.

"And what is so interesting?" she asked, spacing from the conversation momnetariliy. ~

((Sorry my posts are so short^^;. I need some inspiration, lol))

[Agate / Echo]

When Jaden dashed her hopes of the ultimate automaton, she swore a little, although still in good humor. She had known how slim the possibility was, and it wasn't in her nature to care overly much anyway.

She leaned back on the soft grass, resting her head on her hands so that she could see into Felicity's face. "You mean my lightning automaton...?" she asked, trying to backtrack the conversation. "Oh! What Lightning Boy was thinking about when he walked into the tree, right? Riiiight..." A thought occurred to her; she probably sounded quite similar to a weedo when high when she got like this. 'Like this' meaning her laid back, unfocused, uncaring mood. And, fitting as it was, she didn't care. She simply grinned and closed her eyes to keep out the blinding sun.