Lamps and stuff (private)

It was late in the afternoon and the conch would probably be ringing in twenty, thirty minutes' time. Sawyer almost thought of skipping dinner -- after all, she still had food in her room. She was just so taken by her project that she could very well pull an all-nighter if she needed to, and screw the harpies. She had been here since six in the morning, and she wasn't about to stop.
Her work was a tall lamp of multicolored, layered glass, which was taking the shape of a swimming jellyfish. The tentacles were drifting sideways elegantly. It was done in light green, vivid orange, and deep blue, with nuances of pink and yellow in the long filigreed tendrils. Sawyer was quite happy of her work, but now she had to work on the base....

After being at camp for the better part of a year, Ryan had decided it was time to change up a few things. Ever since he arrived, the son of Ares had been using a real standard looking xiphos as his blade of choice, although he'd argue that the blade hasn't really been "used" by him. It looked pretty much like it did the day he picked it up, save for the few scratches picked up from the (in his eyes) mediocre training sessions he had taken part in.

To Ryan, that xiphos was the epitome of "blue ribbon", a glorified wall piece that he only had because he crossed the camp's border without dying. It stood for wasted potential and a lack of effort. Ryan had been at camp for the better part of a year, and the first thing he would change would be his blade. And if he wanted a new sword, he was gonna be the one making it.


Leaving the old xiphos back at cabin 5, Ryan entered the forge for probably the second or third time since arriving. The other times he was their were probably when he was knew and bumbling around the campgrounds like a chicken without it's head, or he was just sent in their for some kind of mandatory training that he had long since forgotten. And given his lack of forging knowledge, Ryan was just there to get a feel for the place. If the journey of 1,000 miles began with a single step, than getting used to the heat was going to be the starting point.

Upon entering, he noticed this Latino-looking girl, roughly his age, working on something at her own station. The something that Señorita was building seemed to be, at least to Ryan, some kind of stained-glass lamp thing - a sign that she knew her way around the forge. Seizing the opportunity to possibly get some help, Ryan walked over to Señorita's table and, standing opposite of her, said "Wow. Nice...uh...lamp you got there."

Sawyer looked up. She was currently welding together two parts on the bottom of the lamp and was thus wearing a large mask over her face as she took the guy in. Black hair, green eyes, roughly her height though she was a bit taller. It was Ryan, from cabin 5. He wasn't normally a guy she talked to, he was one of the people who hung out with Sherman, Chiara, and all that crew Sawyer rather disliked.

"Sup Ryan," she said in her deep voice, going back to welding. "What brings ya here?"

He was well known for skipping forging lessons, so seeing him in the forge and what's more, outside of class times, was surprising to say the least. Had he gotten bored of sticking newbies into the toilets?

Ryan was surprised that Señorita knew who he was - he didn't know her, and she knew of him?! This puzzled Ryan and, to put his curiosity to rest, asked "Have we met before or, like...um...how do you know my name?"

Sawyer stood up -- two meters' worth of muscle, bruises and motor oil -- and took her welding mask off. Her face was a mess of chunky features, her nose was crooked, her chin was large, her jaw strong and square, and her eyes far too wide apart underneath thick slug-like eyebrows. But the thing that made her most recognizable was the large bit of burned skin that sprawled over half her face, making her look as if one side of her was constantly melting.
A lot of people recognized her even if they didn't know her name, and camp wasn't an exception. Sure she wasn't a year rounder but she came over for summer holidays and spring break (like now). She had met Ryan during the last summer session, and having very good memory, remembered his name along with everyone else's she had met then.

"In case I never introduced myself," she told him in her Texas accent, "I'm Sawyer Ferreira. Cabin 9."

One look at that face and it all came rushing back to him. "Ah, right; Sawyer from nine." Thinking that he might as well formally introduce - or re-introduce - himself, Ryan put his hand out for a shake. "Ryan Michaels of cabin five, but you knew that already."

She nodded, deactivated one of her mechanical gloves to reveal her palm, and shook his hand. "Nice to officially meet you." Sliding her welding mask back over her face, she crouched down and finished the last touches, which took only a handful of seconds thanks to her expertise. Straightening back up she put the welder and mask back into their spot and tapped her fingers against her cheek. "Yo, Michaels. Look at this and tell me what you think."

She bent over and grabbed the bottom of the lamp tube; two clicks could be heard as the tube disconnected from both the base and the jellyfish. The latter swept upwards, the layers of glass rolling themselves up into one big sphere near the ceiling. An additional sheet of metal covered it for protection whilst on the ground, in Sawyer's hands, the tube had turned into a modern trident with three large blades and a spike in the middle. One twist of her hands and the trident turned into a lance, the celestial bronze head sharp as a razor.

Ryan looked on at Sawyer's creation, wholly surprised by both the floating glass and incognito weapon storage. "Well, I wouldn't mess with this lamp. Seems like a burn is the least of someone's worries here."

Sawyer smiled a little. "My creations almost always include some kind of weapon. My goal was to sell them over Ebay or Etsy in the hope that they might end up in some demigod's house. That way they got a weapon handy in case they're attacked, you know?" She shrugged with her massive shoulders. "Not everyone has a celestial bronze knife in their kitchen drawer. So, over the past two years, I've worked on a code that makes weapons activate at the touch of demigods and demigods only. If a mortal or a monster touches this lamp for example, it could never get to the trident. The only problem is," she said, scratching her head, "that some monsters happen to be demigods."

'Well isn't that a noble idea' Ryan thought, before saying something at the risk of being called stupid. "What exactly do you mean by the some demigods being the monsters thing?"

She looked at him. "Cacus, Antaeus, Sciron, Lamia, Amykos,.... they're demigods, and so are many more out there," she said, before cracking a wry smile. "Not all of us end up on the good side, y'know."

"I see." Ryan took a second to come up with a retort. "Then again, what are the chances a monster is going to be browsing Etsy looking for boutique lamp-tridents?"

"You'd be surprised," she said. "A lot of mythological weapons are being sold online. Have you ever checked out Amazon's separate wares?" The daughter of Hephaestus wedged the lamp tube back into the base; the sphere unfolded into the iridescent glass jellyfish and floated down gently, carried by magnetic suspensors. "I don't know if I should advertise the weapon part though. Or maybe on the side, in Ancient Greek or Minoan."

"You mean to write about the weapon on the lamp." Ryan looked over the sheathed lamp and shrugged. "It could work, but what's going to stop someone from thinking its a museum piece then?"

"If someone looks at this and thinks it belongs in a museum -- well they obviously need to get their dating sorted out," she said with a deep, throaty chuckle. "But if someone does put it in some kind of exposition slash gallery... Well that's all the better. I got attacked once in a museum, and it would've really helped me if there had been some kinda weapon around. I should maybe do that," Sawyer thoughtfully added. "I mean, place random objects that are actually weapons in public places."

"That's a great idea, but how would it be carried out?" By now Ryan was leaning on the workbench/space/table. "It's like the whole tree falling in the woods thing. If the weapon is out there but hidden to even those who need it, does it even make a difference?"

"Oh, but it's not," Sawyer smirked. "Look at this."

She crouched down and put her finger against the tube, underlining an inscription in Ancient Greek: Συλλαμβανε. "This is another code, that I set together with some of the Hecate kids. They helped me out with the Mist. Anyway, in the presence of a monster, the weapon will hum, but only demigods will be able to perceive it."

"Oh." Ryan looked the inscription over. "You really covered all your bases on this, didn't you?"

"Hey. It's my job."

Sawyer gave a lot of attention to detail. She liked it when everything was anticipated, nothing overlooked, and nothing left to chance. After all, the Hephaestus children were partly responsible for the survival of some campers -- their survival depended on the quality of their weapons, and which cabin made most weapons at camp? Have a guess.
And more than anything, she liked things that had several uses. She had read somewhere that the most beautiful things were also the most useless. Sawyer disagreed thoroughly.

"So, that being said. Anything I can help you with? You're not someone to hang out in the forge a lot."

"Actually, there is." Ryan quit leaning on the table and was now standing unsupported. "So, I want to make myself a new sword - except that I don't know how to do much of anything in here, thanks to no one but myself. And now he was leaning on the table again, that demigod ADHD making itself known. "So, if you have the time sometime this week or next, would you mind showing me how to do that? - That meaning make a sword."

Sawyer smirked. "Y'know, if you had attended forging lessons the past year or so, you wouldn't need to ask me," she said, then gave another of her throaty chuckles. "I'm taking the piss. I got time this Friday after lunch. Good for you?"

Freely standing once more, Ryan happily replied "Friday is perfect."

Sawyer entered the forge, rubbing a towel across her face. Damn, those nymphs were fast runners: her legs were still a little sore but felt better after a few stretches and bends. The massive Latina went over to one of the work benches and started putting together all the equipment she and Ryan would need for forging today, the blueprints, the metal, a bucket of water, one of oil, etc. After pre-heating the melting oven she turned around and cracked open a can of Coke, leaning against a table and waiting for Ryan.

OOC: She's wearing a graphic tee, trekking shorts, hiking boots and a US army bandanna.

Ryan walked into the forge 10 minutes later than he was supposed to. Despite planning ahead and doing everything he could to be at the forge on time, his plan of an early dinner was crushed after he stood behind some newbie who didn't know how to make an offering. And when he finally showed the kid how, he spent FIVE. FREAKING. MINUTES on the prayer part, asking for everything from a bountiful harvest (in a year like this...) to asking for the Cubs to win the World Series, and that took several minutes in itself too!

By the time Ryan was able to start eating he had only seven minutes to go before he was supposed to get to the forge, so he ended up just eating half of his food and offering up the rest before heading out.

When Ryan finally got to the forge, he was able to locate Sawyer with ease because, you know, a face like that doesn't escape your memory. He walked over to the Coke-drinking latina and looked at everything she had laid out. "Sorry about being late, I had some trouble with someone on my way here."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Not too many dead I hope?" Knowing the Ares kids, 'I had some trouble with someone' could mean anything from a little argument to a full blown death match.