Fire-Dancing

[Agate / Echo]

Agate closed her eyes, and, in her head, formed a map of the cabin using only her ears and her knowledge of this home-away-from-home. Her eyes were near-useless in this darkest of nights. Slowly, she made her way, around massive, muscled, sleeping bodies sprawled across beds, ducking under limbs that she knew would be dangling limply from the upper bunks. In this position, with her eyes closed and all her remaining senses on high alert, she felt like she could sense the body heat radiating off her sleeping half-siblings, like a mental diagram from a thermal imaging camera. She limboed under the last hanging hand, sidestepped the last carelessly discarded backpack, and she had reached the door. She paused for a moment, resting her forehead on the dense, cool wood, her fingers dancing over the metal bolts lining the sides in subconscious habit. After she had recollected herself, she reached for the latch, and slowly, gently, silently, slid it back, allowing the door to swing smoothly open. She grinned in satisfaction: in any other cabin, she would have to worry about the bolt scraping and the hinges creaking, but in the Hephaestus cabin, no metal would dare squeak or rust.

Through the doorway lay the silent night-time landscape of Camp Half-Blood. The sky was clouded over-- not a star in sight. Agate liked it that way. When the stars were out, she couldn't help but feel that they were watching her-- 'they' being Artemis, her Hunters, and all the ancient heroes who's shapes had been hung forever in the night sky. The only light at the moment came from the softly-glowing embers of the dyeing fire. With a smile still stretching her mouth, the young Hephaestus girl stepped out into the warm night. She strode confidently towards the fire. Somewhere, a Harpie screamed. An owl hooted in reply. The fire seemed to sense her approach, the coals flashing brightly for a moment in a kind of greeting. She grabbed some logs from the eternally full log pile next to the campfire. The rough wood didn't even scratch her heavily-calloused hands. She laid them in a circle around the edge of the pit, leaning one end of each log on top of the end of the next one, allowing air in between logs and coals to keep from snuffing them out. Although, technically, she could have caused the fire to burn again just by willing it to flare up, she always felt bad, commanding the happy, dancing flames to burn on will alone, with no fuel like any healthy, natural fire should have.

Slowly, carefully, she stepped inside the ring of logs, savoring the warmth of the coals against her soft feet. With a sudden dramatic flare, she thrust her hands up into the sky, at the same time willing the fire to burn. The flames flared, the strength of her will causing the logs to catch fire immediately, a process that could have taken twenty minutes and ridiculous amounts of kindling and tinder otherwise. She couldn't help but let out a joyous laugh that was nearly drowned out by the roar of the fire. The coals under her feet had flared when the logs had, and now she stood on a broad bed of flickering flame, surrounded by a ring of crackling, righteous fire. She closed her eyes, feeling the rhythm of the flame in her soul before suddenly leaping into motion. It was a twisting, thrumming, rhythmic dance, like the ones her mother had taught her from Mali, but this composition was all her own. She leapt, landed, spun, and hopped from foot to foot, always keeping time.

Agate had grown up with two uncles who seemed more like older brothers. When she had come to camp, it had been the same thing; older brother-like figures sharing her cabin. So, naturally, she was a tom-boy to the most severe interpretation of the word. But every once in a while, on a cloudy night, she would sneak out and gravitate to the fire, and just long to dance. To feel feminine, to escape from the identity of the teenage-boy look-alike, buff-girl extraordinaire that she was to the rest of the world.

((This was writtin half to fill up the boards, half to express a side of Agate not usually seen. If anyone wants to join in, feel free.))

[Alexander Christakos]

Alex had just woken up from a great sleep. He sat up in bed, stretching. "Getting up," he told himself sternly, getting up and putting his shoes on. Alex walked over to the pavillion, and he helped a few small kids get their breakfast. For breakfast himself, Alex quickly ate a bowl of cereal. After washing his bowl and sthingy, he walked over to the lake. He stared at the lake's surface for a little, thinking to himself. "Okay, and ready!" he said confidently. Soon after nearing the forest, a few hours later, at night, he noticed a bunch of smoke billowing in the air.

A little unnerved, Alex wandered off to sword-fighting practice. He challenged an Apollo kid to a night-time battle after bringing out Glacier. The Apollo kid, named Aeon, swung a sword at Alex. Alex easily parried and threw all his strength into pushing back Aeon. It succeeded; the Apollo kid -- Aeon -- tripped over his foot. Alex smirked and said, "Was there ever a chance I would lose?" then walked off back towards the forest.

Upon entering the forest, Alex sat on a rock, clutching Glacier -- in its never-melting ice form -- and thinking. He thought hard about tactics for fighting. Then he looked up, and saw smoke still billowing from somewhere deeper in the forest. This time intrigued, Alex put Glacier back in his pocket -- never taking his hand off it -- and headed deeper into the forest. After a while, he came to a clearing. There was a tall, strong-looking girl dancing around a fire. After watching for a few moments, entranced, he walked over. "Hey," he told her. "I'm Alex Christakos; what's your name? I've seen you before -- you're from Hephaestus, right?"

[Drew Strify]

...His eyes opened...
...Every flicker of heat against the cool air...
...Every fall of ash as it met with the ground...
...He could feel it...

Inhaling the deep smell of smoke and cinders, Drew sat up with a small, coy, smirk. He was already amongst the bushes and trees of the forest, unafraid of the monsters that too dwelled within it's borders. He had no cabin. Instead, the cold-eyed teen kept his residence in the darkness of the camp. He would sleep under the stars at night, and train only under the shadowed flooring of the woods.

Checking the guitar pendant was still looped with the chain around his neck, the blond set off - following the trail his natural instinct told him was correct. He adored fire. Something about all fire centering from the center of the earth - deep below mortal reaches. The earth was his home, the ground, crust and lava. It beat the sea and sky, anyday.

It was already deep into the night, and yet campers were wandering around? Drew could hear them loudly striding over the precious land. He sighed loftily as he stopped besides a tree - the shadows giving him perfect camoflague from the two besides the fire. Of course ,on normal circumstances, maybe Strify would have let them go on with their business. But it was night time, his own territory.

Piercing blue-grey eyes stared out as he surveyed both boy and girl before him, their pupils glinting like ebony pools of distaste in the darkness. Perhaps they would know of him, perhaps they wouldn't - it really didn't matter. Drew was used to his solitude, he knew there were few who knew he even exsisted to camp life.

Picking a blossoming leaf from it's branch, Drew twirled it lightly between his fingers - not breaking his gaze with the two, as he wandered closer into the auburn light. "Y'know, I thought there was a curfew around here," he spoke softly, raising an eyebrow as he ran a surprisingly gentle finger over the leaf-vein - watching as green turned to grey and it crumpled lifeless in his hand.

(Mm, hope you don't mind me paying my two cents. I can get rid of this is you do.)

[Agate / Echo]

(( Wow. I wasn't actually expecting any replies to my little thread of randomness. Shweet.
Oh, and little note-- she's not dancing around the fire, she's dancing in it. I'm not sure if I made that apparent though. I was kind of cought up in the writing of it.))

At the first sound of Alex's voice, Agate froze. Or rather, attempted to. She had been in mid air, and when she landed, she stumbled, skidded, and fell, landing with at thump on her bum in the pool of fire. She stood up quickly, cursing to herself and thumping out the flames that had caught her shirt and jeens. With that settled, she spun back to face Alex. "Erm, yeah, Hephaestus. My name's Agate," she responded, her hands swatting at flames that were already out in a nervous gesture. Once she noticed this, she cursed herself, and thrust her hands to her side. This lasted about a second and a half until she was fiddling with her assortment of leather and metal bracelets. "Athena, right? You look like one."

At that point, Drew announced himself. Again, startled, she spun, stumbling back a few steps, but managing to remain upright this time. Her brown eyes flicked up and down his body, taking in his appearance. He seemed vaguely familiar, in an off-hand kind of way, like someone you've seen at school for years but never talked to. She thingyed her head, still trying to place him, as she replied to his comment. "Which is exactly why I expected no one to know I was here," she retorted. She was still rather flustered at having been discovered at her nocturnal pass-time.

[Alexander Christakos]

"Yeah, I'm Athena," said Alex somewhat bitterly. Then he said more cheerfully, "And yeah, I thought as much... I've seen you around camp before -- mostly at the forges; which is how I worked out that you're in Hephaestus." Alex then turned to the newcomer. "Hello," he said to Drew. "And you are...?"

[Drew Strify]

Hephaestus and Athena... The teen noted mentally, having watched with amusement as the dancer stumbled with her surprise. It seemed she was only gracefull in her dance then, otherwise - as klutzy as the next. Or maybe that was just Drew being over critic once more.

Toying almost absentmindedly with the pendant around his neck, Drew frowned at the tone of voice this-- Alex, spoke of his mother Athena. He, himself, hadn't taken to his father too easily - but he wondered how one could have a problem with the Goddess of Wisdom. Still, he had no reason to judge those he was no rivalled with. He was -afterall- still waiting for that oppertunity to strike when he could prove himself against the stronger campers. Maybe then someone would notice him.

"Which is exactly why I expected no one to know I was here."

"Hello. And you are...?"

Blinking steadily as the voices directed in his direction broke his trail of thought, the blond stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans - the leaf crisping as it was dropped to the ground. "Me? I'm Drew. Drew Strify... You two should be sleeping," he sighed quietly, really not into socialising.

He had no intention of telling them who his god parent was. If they asked, he would ignore the question. If they were smart, they wouldn't need an answer. Besides, what idiot in their right mind goes around declaring that his father is the Lord of Death? Especially when simply speaking his name would draw more unwanted attention from those above and below.

[Agate / Echo]

Agate looked Drew up and down again, looking for some sign as to his parentage that she had missed. Normally, when a camper didn't state their cabin, it was because it was obvious-- or, they were ashamed. As far as Agate could tell, he looked almost nothing like any of the other campers. So he didn't want them to know. She considered options for a moment; The Big Three kids usually aren't too proud of their dads... And Dionysus kids. But he doesn't look like Dionysus. He doesn't look like anything. Could he really be a child of the Big Three? Or is he a son of a minor god, one of the muses or Hestia, or.... Okay, probably not Hestia. I can't imagine this kid as a son of the Goddess of the Hearth... She mused on for a while, inevitably drawing the only available conclusion: that there wasn't enough evidence for a true conclusion to be drawn. She drew her attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Probably," she agreed. "But, theoretically, so should you. So, guilty all around, yeah?" She had her hands in her pockets by now, and with her right hand, was fiddling with the key chain that became her bronze battle axe. She was taller than both of them, and so had a clear view of the skyline, where she was watching, trying to assess what time it was and how much longer she could safely be out here.

[Alexander Christakos]

Alex's piercing gray eyes studied Drew for a moment. He immediately thought to himself, Hades.[/color] Alex remained quiet for a moment, thinking. Then he realized the lateness of the hour. But he didn't exactly care, either.

((Sorry for the late and short post, I was busy and I'm brain-dead atm.))

[Drew Strify]

Lowering his gaze to the ground as both sets of eyes looked him over, Drew stood in silence, wondering if anything would click in the back of their minds. It wasn't that he enjoyedpeople not knowing him, it's just it was more preferable. People became paranoid that he was going to kill them and whatnot when they found out. Being lonely was more rewarding.

"Probably... But, theoretically, so should you. So, guilty all around, yeah?"

"Theoretically," he repeated softly, his fiery eyes fixing the two in his stare once more, "Perhaps... but I don't exactly have a place to sleep. No cabin, non, as the likes of you. And there is no way that they're shoving me with Hermes." He added the latter with a slight tone of resentment. Sure, a member of Cabin Eleven had infact been the one to introduce him to the world of demigods - but it didn't mean he had to like her and her siblings.

(Apologies for shortness)

[Agate / Echo]

The 'fire' in Drew's eyes had the opposite effect on the pyromaniacal, freak-child in front of him; although intended to be intimidating, the similarities between his gaze and and her natural element proved more comforting than menacing. She grinned about his comment involving the Messenger God's cabin. "I don't blame you, man. I was only stuck in there for two nights, and it was living hell. But then, the Stoll brothers would still pop by every once in a while, and they usually keep the havoc down. When they weren't causing it themselves.... Anyway. So you're undetermined? Or your parent just isn't one of the twelve Olympians?" she reined herself in before she could begin to babble. It's a hard habit to break. "That would make you somewhat of a novelty, really. Or maybe more of a freak show.... which would explain why you're hanging 'round here in the wee hours of the morning." She delivered both her semi-compliment and semi-insult with oblivious speculation.

She looked around, shoving her hands deeper in her pockets. "Is it cold, or what?" she asked. She slipped back into the fire pit where campers burned offerings at mealtimes, and with a slight mental tug, flared the coals around her bare feet. She was gaining more control over her ability; last year, the entire pit would have roared back to life, with a few fires igniting outside the protective stone circle where there was enough fuel to easily sustain it. She knelt down, burying her hands in the flaming embers, grinning with satisfaction. "Much better," she finished.