Olympus [Romans - Summer Solstice 2016]

ooc: Welcome to the Summer Solstice visit! 

Please refrain from playing any of the gods; only the admins will be able to do so. Every so often the topic will be locked to allow us to respond in an organized manner. (There is no limit to how many characters you can bring, but try not to swamp us with people.)

You will have one extra topic slot per character you use here. 

Please only use ROMAN characters here.

OOC: My 1st person posts are in the perspective of Dean Basilone.

IC: Olympus, oh Olympus. Despite being literally as old as dirt, it never seems to feel old. Actually, I take that back, the place looks like it was torn out of a history textbook or a Renaissance painting with its classical architecture and flaming braziers lining the streets, but it never seems to feel like time has laid it's unrelenting hand on any section of the immortal's city. Even after four - or was it five? - visits, the view from the elevator exit has never lost any of it's inital luster.

And why was I, along with a good portion of Camp Jupiter, here? Simple: the summer solstice and the celebration of it. And apart of those celebrations, the praetors have all willing legionnaires saddle up on an eagle and try to find an inconspicuous place to land 'em  to see our parents (or grandparents, if you're some legacy) in their home.

As the rest of the legionnaires headed up towards the city, I began to take note of them: some dressed well, some dressed casually; some had weapons, others proceeded onward disarmed. That in mind, my outfit of helmetless lorica segmentata over a plaid Polo button up and some khakis didn't seem too out of place. And then I had Darcy, my gladius, on my waist as well, just in case anyone tried anything treasonous.

As the legion approached the gods, many of the Olympian children began to run off or at least head towards their divine parents. But there were many of us - me included - who stayed back, carefully looking over the crowd to find our parents or grandparents. Given that my mom was Securitas, finding her shouldn't be a challenge, but picking out one goddess among many was pretty much along the lines of "needle in a haystack" difficulty.

Meeting Pomona had always been something Chadwick had been looking forward to. He'd always meant to go, but then he didn't quite make the time to. I know, I know, if you only get to see your god parent twice and year then you should clear your schedule right? Right. Truth was, Chadwick was afraid of not living up to Pomona's expectations. The young demigod was wearing his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, blue jeans, and white Jordan's. Over his t-shirt was a black leather jacket. With his hands in his stuffed in his pockets, Chadwick looked over the throne room, trying to find his mother.
----

Heather was happy about meeting her mother, Discordia. She'd been looking forward to this for months and had picked out what she was going to wear two weeks in advance. She was dressed in ivory colored dressed that reached down to her knees, ivory wedges. Her hair was put up into a high ponytail. Looking around the room, the demigoddess made her way toward her mother. "Mommy! How are you?!" She called with a wide smile, bowing a bit.

Lucceia was less than pleased to be at the solstice visiting for her mother but in the end there was no avoiding it all. Her father was persistent and she had to obey her father in the end. Besides, she could visit her grandfather as well, and she had more respect for him than her mother. Spotting her more closely related goddess she walked over to her mother, sword on each hip, and have a head bow to the woman. Hello mother.

redline2400 wrote:OOC: My 1st person posts are in the perspective of Dean Basilone.

IC: Olympus, oh Olympus. Despite being literally as old as dirt, it never seems to feel old. Actually, I take that back, the place looks like it was torn out of a history textbook or a Renaissance painting with its classical architecture and flaming braziers lining the streets, but it never seems to feel like time has laid it's unrelenting hand on any section of the immortal's city. Even after four - or was it five? - visits, the view from the elevator exit has never lost any of it's inital luster.

And why was I, along with a good portion of Camp Jupiter, here? Simple: the summer solstice and the celebration of it. And apart of those celebrations, the praetors have all willing legionnaires saddle up on an eagle and try to find an inconspicuous place to land 'em  to see our parents (or grandparents, if you're some legacy) in their home.

As the rest of the legionnaires headed up towards the city, I began to take note of them: some dressed well, some dressed casually; some had weapons, others proceeded onward disarmed. That in mind, my outfit of helmetless lorica segmentata over a plaid Polo button up and some khakis didn't seem too out of place. And then I had Darcy, my gladius, on my waist as well, just in case anyone tried anything treasonous.

As the legion approached the gods, many of the Olympian children began to run off or at least head towards their divine parents. But there were many of us - me included - who stayed back, carefully looking over the crowd to find our parents or grandparents. Given that my mom was Securitas, finding her shouldn't be a challenge, but picking out one goddess among many was pretty much along the lines of "needle in a haystack" difficulty.

It would be a much busier day than usual for Securitas -- no thanks to all the children streaming through the doors of Olympus and into the throne room for the annual summer solstice visit. The hawk-eyed goddess casually scanned the crowd, noting with slight amusement how many people had bits of armor or weaponry with them. Silly Roman children, why would anyone dare to fight in the presence of the gods? If any dared to draw their weapon to begin a fight, the goddess would be the first to rise and strike the instigator off Olympus and maybe straight down to the Underworld for those folks to deal with.... She hadn't decided. The day was still young.

From her throne, slightly elevated by the entrance where she could easily rise and confront anyone who may pose a threat to the safety of the crowd, she could hear incessant babbling about this or that person's godly parent or ancestor, how beautiful was Venus today, blah blah blah. Her black jacket hung off the back of her throne, a bulletproof vest haphazardly thrown over the arm of her throne as she watched the crowd closely. Securitas' dark hair was tied back into a tight ponytail, wearing a navy-blue sweatshirt with the beautiful quote "You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!" emblazoned on the front. 

Her mouth drawn into a rather thin line (she had a rather cold-looking neutral/resting face, but that wasn't her fault) as she leaned forward on her throne, she noted, eyes suddenly drawn to a boy in the crowd, a faint feeling of recognition; the face was certainly familiar. She had so few children or descendants who visited, however, that a name -- or something similar to it -- came floating hazily into her head: Dennis. Derrick. Darren? No -- one syllable. Dean? 


She thought a moment, and then just for the hell of it called out loudly, with something close to a chuckle: "Basilone!"

Zoopathic wrote:Meeting Pomona had always been something Chadwick had been looking forward to. He'd always meant to go, but then he didn't quite make the time to. I know, I know, if you only get to see your god parent twice and year then you should clear your schedule right? Right. Truth was, Chadwick was afraid of not living up to Pomona's expectations. The young demigod was wearing his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, blue jeans, and white Jordan's. Over his t-shirt was a black leather jacket. With his hands in his stuffed in his pockets, Chadwick looked over the throne room, trying to find his mother.
----

Heather was happy about meeting her mother, Discordia. She'd been looking forward to this for months and had picked out what she was going to wear two weeks in advance. She was dressed in ivory colored dressed that reached down to her knees, ivory wedges. Her hair was put up into a high ponytail. Looking around the room, the demigoddess made her way toward her mother. "Mommy! How are you?!" She called with a wide smile, bowing a bit.

Apple trees? Check. Pear trees? The fruits were not quite fully grown, but they were getting there. Pomona had to make sure to pick them at their peak of ripeness, or else that would be a waste of resources -- and oh, how she hated disappointing Ceres. The two goddesses were the best of friends, always exchanging advice about harvests and seasonal fluctuations in the weather; this time, Ceres had specifically told her to pick her pears at a specific time -- literally, down to the second -- but with the summer solstice visit, Pomona might not even get back home in time to pick them. A few servants of hers were maintaining her orchards there, but would they be fast enough to do it? She hoped so. 

She was ready to leave as soon as the visit ended; with her white sundress and woven sunhat, she was more dressed for an outing to a park than she was to greet her children... but quite honestly, she was a bit better dressed for this solstice than some of the other gods. Mars? He was in armor. Why does one need armor to see one's children? She didn't know. She didn't want to frighten them away. 

The plump goddess had a large fruit bowl on a table by her throne, full of ripe fruit for anyone to take; she had taken especial care to add in bits of candy too, because so few children liked to eat fruit as often as they should and she'd rather not let them starve while they were here. It would be some small comfort, she supposed, that they could have something sweet to eat in the presence of so much power; every year there would be small children crying because their parent(s) had decided to risk a visit to their godly ancestors, but the candy and fruit Pomona would offer helped them settle down a bit.

With a small yawn, Pomona glanced around the throne room for any of her children. So many people -- she wondered briefly how many people from New Rome had come too. She kept up with her children as much as she could, but usually her patience wore thin by the time she hit her great-great-great-great grandchildren and she would stop. 

It was a good thing too, that she had decided to check in on them all the day before -- because she instantly recognized one of her sons in the crowd, looking a bit lost as he looked around the room. "Chadwick? Chad? Is that one of your nicknames? Dear me, I should check in on you more often."

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Despite the Romans' reputation for being so much more militaristic and strict than the Greeks, most of the gods were pretty sure that Discordia's knack for causing trouble was universal between the two pantheons. At the very least, she was a bit more restrained among the Romans -- no random explosions or whoopee cushions, but in the midst of battle her presence would be cause a lot more confusion and general devastation from -- obviously -- general chaos. 

Her teasing other gods usually wasn't tolerated very well, but at least she had a few close friends to speak to -- Mercury for one was currently lending her his ear as they awaited the oncoming onslaught of descendants.

" -- I don't understand why, exactly, Trivia needs to put her damned rune pillar there? It's the middle of the garden, everything looks great except for the fact that nobody can sit around while the thing is blinking like a dying disco ball monster. So I think hmm, maybe better cover it up with some sheets? How was I to know it was for something about Apollo's sun magic and that it would burn up?''

Mercury shrugged at her, fiddling with the straps of his messenger bag. "You didn't, so you shouldn't be blamed. Nobody even likes having it there."

"Exactly! But now I have to go apologize to Trivia, even though the sheets did basically nothing to hurt her little experiment." Discordia smacked the arm of her throne in frustration, settling back with a huff to wrap her black cardigan tighter around herself. The two gods sat in silence for a moment, before Mercury's attention was drawn away by one of his legacies asking him something; Discordia would have to wait in silence, fuming all the time, until one of her own children skipped up to her throne to greet her cheerily.

"Ah. Hello to you too... Heather, was it? It's very nice to see you." She sat forward a bit, released her cardigan from her death grip, smiled slightly so she wouldn't make the girl uncomfortable. "How are you?"

The Cheshire Cat wrote:

Lucceia was less than pleased to be at the solstice visiting for her mother but in the end there was no avoiding it all. Her father was persistent and she had to obey her father in the end. Besides, she could visit her grandfather as well, and she had more respect for him than her mother. Spotting her more closely related goddess she walked over to her mother, sword on each hip, and have a head bow to the woman. Hello mother.

Summertime was always strange to Ceres: plants flourished from seedlings thanks to the large amounts of sunlight, the temperatures were usually rather high, drought was very possible thanks to that -- but at the very least, she could constantly count on her daughter Proserpina being around to help her at such a busy time. She loved all her children dearly, but Proserpina was the only one she could be in constant contact with -- during the spring and summer. In the fall, she would leave her poor mother again for the cold, dark Underworld and Ceres' heart would wither just as all the blooming plants would, dying or hibernating or shedding their leaves in preparation for the unforgiving winter.

But the thought of seeing her demigod children and her other descendants during the Winter Solstice would help her through those months; she could see her daughter there, as well as all the happy faces of her other descendants. Nothing could keep her from going, even though she usually had much business to attend to, usually in other parts of the world -- and there was also the fact that Jupiter mandated all gods who could have descendants at all must attend.

The formality of some was rather disconcerting, however -- it was a time for a family visit, not to speak to one's commander or overlord. Ceres noted this as one of her daughters walked over, looking a bit... unhappy to be there. Was it unhappiness? She couldn't tell. "Hello, Lucceia. I see you are well." Ceres smiled pleasantly at her daughter, taking notice of her two swords. To visit her mother and -- perhaps -- grandfather? "Two swords, though? Do you fight with both at once or is the second there as a precaution?"

"Maybe you should. It'd be nice." Chadwick said without sass. He turned his attention from his mother to the bowl of fruit. His eyes lit up like bonfire, taking an apple, peach, and handful of golden raspberries. "...Sorry." He took a bite out of the apple, closing his eyes to savor the crisp, ripe taste. Gods it was good. So, so good. Swallowing, Chad opened his eyes. "This, this is the best apple I could ever grow and the best apple I have ever tasted.." He took another bite out of the apple, swallowing quickly so he could actually talk with Pomona. "So, how's your life as the goddess of plenty? Fulfilling I'm sure." The African American demigod noticed the pun and shook his head. "Sorry again."
---
Heather nodded her head with a grin. "Yep, it's Heather. Life is...so good, mommy. Causing problems here and there. The usual." Ah, strife, a gift given to her by Discordia. "What about you? Anything interesting happening in your world?"

Now, as I said, finding my mom among the sea of gods and demigods would be a challenge of epic proportions. Or at least it would've been, had not a feminine voice called out "Basilone!" like some jackwaggon yelling "fire!" in a movie theater. I was pretty sure that it wasn't anyone from camp - they would've yelled either "Dean!" or "Fidelis!", my cognomen - and was beyond certain that it was no-one from New Rome either - I knew only a minuscule sliver of the city's population, and it was all the families of my friends who were from there. And that's not to say I minded being called by that name either. I actually liked it, and not just because when I looked over to where the voice came from I saw my mom lounging in her throne, but my feelings towards my name can wait for another time.

We're on the subject of Olympus right now, and I intend to stick to that.

So, I found my mom, which was great. After being around camp for the better half of a decade (basically six years at this point, if you round with sig-figs) I've known  a few demigods and demigoddesses to be a bit more dismissive or even resentful about the Olympus trips, viewing them as a waste of time and as if everyone had a freakin' deity for their biological parent - or grandparent, for the legacies out there. But me, I loved it. And whenever I got to see my mom, I just became ecstatic. And on this most recent trip, my reaction to seeing Securitas up on her throne was me calling out "Mom!", running through the horde of godly descendants (probably giving a few of them a taste of my elbow - on accident, of course), and taking a submissive knee at the foot of her throne, looking up with an expression of delight to once again have the chance to talk with her.

Weapons are a necessity no matter where you are. She pointed out while gesturing around the room at the number of godly blooded children were there. First rule of fighting: always be prepared. How have you been thus far? She asked standing in front of her mother with her hands clasped behind her back in a perfect relaxed militaristic stance. She breathed fighting like her life depended on it because one day it might.

[GENERAL OOC: Sorry for the delay in response everyone, real life isn't fun. I'm hoping to respond at least once/twice a day from now on if my schedule holds, but if I can't then I'll extend Olympus' end date.]

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Zoopathic wrote:"Maybe you should. It'd be nice." Chadwick said without sass. He turned his attention from his mother to the bowl of fruit. His eyes lit up like bonfire, taking an apple, peach, and handful of golden raspberries. "...Sorry." He took a bite out of the apple, closing his eyes to savor the crisp, ripe taste. Gods it was good. So, so good. Swallowing, Chad opened his eyes. "This, this is the best apple I could ever grow and the best apple I have ever tasted.." He took another bite out of the apple, swallowing quickly so he could actually talk with Pomona. "So, how's your life as the goddess of plenty? Fulfilling I'm sure." The African American demigod noticed the pun and shook his head. "Sorry again."
---
Heather nodded her head with a grin. "Yep, it's Heather. Life is...so good, mommy. Causing problems here and there. The usual." Ah, strife, a gift given to her by Discordia. "What about you? Anything interesting happening in your world?"

Pomona chuckled lightly, folding her arms across her chest as a small breeze -- from one of the wind gods nearby, probably showing off to one of their kids -- chilled her for a brief moment, before dissipating due to the general warmth of the throne room. "Ah, well, it's been going decently well -- but still so many people going hungry. Sometimes I dedicate my time to volunteering at soup kitchens or food banks; between you and me, perhaps I don't train as much as I should as a Roman, but I've had centuries of practice. I can spare a bit of time helping others within my realm of power, you know?"

----------

Mommy? Well, Discordia really didn't hear any maternal nicknames much owing to how little she saw her kids, but she'd take it. At least it wasn't profanity. She grinned a little though, leaning back on her throne to relax, crossing her legs to make herself a bit more comfy. "Like mother like daughter, I suppose. It's been the same with me: causing trouble, annoying or frustrating other people seems to be my main job. Of course, there's other types of chaos I'm much better at -- for example, war? A more violent display of my power, and heavens know how much of it there is in the world... but I won't ever be out of a job, along with the war gods, so I can't complain much."

redline2400 wrote:Now, as I said, finding my mom among the sea of gods and demigods would be a challenge of epic proportions. Or at least it would've been, had not a feminine voice called out "Basilone!" like some jackwaggon yelling "fire!" in a movie theater. I was pretty sure that it wasn't anyone from camp - they would've yelled either "Dean!" or "Fidelis!", my cognomen - and was beyond certain that it was no-one from New Rome either - I knew only a minuscule sliver of the city's population, and it was all the families of my friends who were from there. And that's not to say I minded being called by that name either. I actually liked it, and not just because when I looked over to where the voice came from I saw my mom lounging in her throne, but my feelings towards my name can wait for another time.

We're on the subject of Olympus right now, and I intend to stick to that.

So, I found my mom, which was great. After being around camp for the better half of a decade (basically six years at this point, if you round with sig-figs) I've known  a few demigods and demigoddesses to be a bit more dismissive or even resentful about the Olympus trips, viewing them as a waste of time and as if everyone had a freakin' deity for their biological parent - or grandparent, for the legacies out there. But me, I loved it. And whenever I got to see my mom, I just became ecstatic. And on this most recent trip, my reaction to seeing Securitas up on her throne was me calling out "Mom!", running through the horde of godly descendants (probably giving a few of them a taste of my elbow - on accident, of course), and taking a submissive knee at the foot of her throne, looking up with an expression of delight to once again have the chance to talk with her.

Securitas couldn't really help but smile, watching Dean run over to her through the crowd just to kneel at her throne like some sort of excited puppy -- hadn't she seen him before on Olympus visits? Surely. But her memory, with all the matters she had had to attend to over the years, probably didn't process it as much before she had to move on to her own duties as a goddess and to her brethren... and given that he would only see her twice a year (or a bit more, if Securitas decided she needed to see him for some reason) and that they got along decently well for how little she was in his life, she could see why he'd react that way. "Hello, my child -- it is wonderful to see you are well and alive. Stand; here, on this day, I am solely your mother, not just a goddess or some commanding superior to bow to. Tell me, how have you been since last I saw you?"

The Cheshire Cat wrote:

Weapons are a necessity no matter where you are. She pointed out while gesturing around the room at the number of godly blooded children were there. First rule of fighting: always be prepared. How have you been thus far? She asked standing in front of her mother with her hands clasped behind her back in a perfect relaxed militaristic stance. She breathed fighting like her life depended on it because one day it might.

"... That didn't answer my question, but okay." Ceres really didn't understand the obsession with weaponry and military form that Mars and his ilk so loved, but as an agriculture goddess perhaps she wasn't born to; she could fight and command if she needed to, as most Romans should, but it was not in her realm of power to constantly live and breathe war and militaristic duty and that was that. She frowned slightly at Lucceia's stance, noting mentally with a slightly sour edge that her daughter didn't really seem to want to be there: she was asking her the most basic questions and answering her succinctly, with very little feeling it seemed... like a soldier addressing a superior and nothing more. "Thus far, I've been well -- the harvests have gone as smoothly as I could hope with the weather, Olympus and Camp Jupiter and New Rome are all relatively safe -- so I can breathe freely with the rest of my brethren until the next time a new threat arises. And for you? I hope your father is well; Veiovis has been concerned about your father's line of work, although -- uncharacteristically enough -- he didn't arrive at Olympus with the rest of us before the solstice began."

Her mother had struck a nerve. Fidgeting a little in her stance she looked at the floor trying to find the words. I haven't heard from him for about a year now. She admitted. Shoulders relaxing a bit she sighed. To be quite honest I don't want him out in the world with all that fighting going on, even for a demigod it's still harsh. The teen went onto say. She never wavered in her tone to show sadness but there was a hint of something in her voice as she spoke before looking up at her mother again. Was dad always like this? She asked, seeing as her mother would have known him at a better time in his life than her seeing him for all of two months a year.

Chadwick shivered a bit at the breeze and did the same thing that Pomona did, but kept his arms crossed. "I understand that, mother." He grinned, taking another bite out of the apple. "I should do some volunteering as well. Maybe I might bump into you one day and we can exchange barbeque wings recipes or something." His eyes got big for a second. "Can I get a basket and just pile it with food?" Chadwick thought that he was being greedy, but then again, Pomona was the goddess of abundance and assumed that she wouldn't mind.
---

"Mom you're amazing." Heather laughed a bit as she started to pace back and forth across the front of Discordia's throne. "Oh! I have to tell you a something. I met this guy during spring break of this year at Panama, Florida and it was...awesome!" She stopped pacing and walked up to the goddess, placing her elbow on the edge of her arm rest. "We met at the beach and it turned out he was a son of the Greek god Thanatos and we caused a bit of trouble with the vacationing college and high school students. Threw a golden apple in a group of people and asked who would be the most successful." She started laughing, resembling that of her mother's own laugh. "It was wonderful!" Heather sighed contently. "He was cute. Really cute. Devious."

While she was kind enough to let me stand rather than kneel before her, I couldn't help but mentally smirk (my face still was smiling) at the fact that she ordered me to stand while simultaneously saying "I'm not your commanding officer today" or something along those lines. Kind of a conflicting message, but nothing too head spinning, especially for the gods.

"Well;" I started, dusting off my khakis; "a few things have changed a bit in my life. But ever since I returned from that mission to Utah - Mercury got you that letter, right? - I've actually been promoted. Moved right on up to a decurio."

The Cheshire Cat wrote:

Her mother had struck a nerve. Fidgeting a little in her stance she looked at the floor trying to find the words. I haven't heard from him for about a year now. She admitted. Shoulders relaxing a bit she sighed. To be quite honest I don't want him out in the world with all that fighting going on, even for a demigod it's still harsh. The teen went onto say. She never wavered in her tone to show sadness but there was a hint of something in her voice as she spoke before looking up at her mother again. Was dad always like this? She asked, seeing as her mother would have known him at a better time in his life than her seeing him for all of two months a year.

A year? That seemed a bit extreme for any mortal parent, although Ceres knew there were much more neglectful or even abusive parents (if they weren't totally absent from their child's life) that existed in the world. It also seemed rather uncharacteristic for Lucceia, who didn't seem to show too much emotion at all, to even admit something that would make her seem to vulnerable. 

With a sigh, Ceres could only shrug. "I knew him for a rather brief time -- love will change people, so I have little idea how he was before we met and how he was directly after. The man I knew was wonderfully charming and kind, but my leaving may have had a negative impact on him. You might want to consult with your grandfather about this, as he seemed to be a bit worried about your father also the last time we spoke."

Zoopathic wrote:Chadwick shivered a bit at the breeze and did the same thing that Pomona did, but kept his arms crossed. "I understand that, mother." He grinned, taking another bite out of the apple. "I should do some volunteering as well. Maybe I might bump into you one day and we can exchange barbeque wings recipes or something." His eyes got big for a second. "Can I get a basket and just pile it with food?" Chadwick thought that he was being greedy, but then again, Pomona was the goddess of abundance and assumed that she wouldn't mind.
---

"Mom you're amazing." Heather laughed a bit as she started to pace back and forth across the front of Discordia's throne. "Oh! I have to tell you a something. I met this guy during spring break of this year at Panama, Florida and it was...awesome!" She stopped pacing and walked up to the goddess, placing her elbow on the edge of her arm rest. "We met at the beach and it turned out he was a son of the Greek god Thanatos and we caused a bit of trouble with the vacationing college and high school students. Threw a golden apple in a group of people and asked who would be the most successful." She started laughing, resembling that of her mother's own laugh. "It was wonderful!" Heather sighed contently. "He was cute. Really cute. Devious."

This was probably not the first time anyone has asked her such a thing, but she still laughed heartily anyway: Why wouldn't she let him? She had plenty of food, and the bowl refilled itself constantly from her own private stores. With a wave of her hand, Pomona easily produced an empty wicker basket next to the filled fruit bowl for her son to take. "Of course, my dear, take as much as you wish -- and a word of warning, these will last an extremely long time. Still better to eat it quick though, even if the rotting is slowed for the next few months. I hate to see food sit for too long and go to waste, so I spent a few of my early years perfecting my magic to make food last longer."

------------

Discordia clapped her hands together at Heather's story, a grin of delight plastered on her face. She could remember the days of the Trojan War just like it was yesterday: the clamor, the tragedy, it had everything the goddess could ever hope for and more. "Sounds like a boat load of fun -- although I'm no good with romance, so I can't really say much about the boy himself. Make sure you're careful with the mortals, though; sometimes they can see too much, one of the memory gods or Trivia have to alter the Mist to make sure nobody remembers, and then they get mad because it happens too often. Trust me, you don't want any of them mad: I once forgot how to breathe because I went a bit too far and had to have an entire crowd Mist-forget something, and it was rather painful even though I don't need to."

redline2400 wrote:While she was kind enough to let me stand rather than kneel before her, I couldn't help but mentally smirk (my face still was smiling) at the fact that she ordered me to stand while simultaneously saying "I'm not your commanding officer today" or something along those lines. Kind of a conflicting message, but nothing too head spinning, especially for the gods.

"Well;" I started, dusting off my khakis; "a few things have changed a bit in my life. But ever since I returned from that mission to Utah - Mercury got you that letter, right? - I've actually been promoted. Moved right on up to a decurio."

"Well, I didn't need the letter to know you'd been promoted -- but yes, I did receive it. A little beaten up, but I'm sure that was more of Mercury's fault than yours with that mail bag of his. Congratulations to you; I'm sure you worked very hard to receive that promotion and will continue to do so in that position. I'm very proud of you." Securitas was no good at giving compliments or anything, but at least she tried. It was very hard to be good at praising others when your job mainly involved trying to protect others to your best ability -- and overpraising anyone for a good job could inflate egos, which in turn could cause serious trouble when threats arose because of overestimated abilities. 

Or maybe it just wasn't in her personality.

"You practice magic, mom? I thought that was more Lady Trivia's thing?" As he said this, Chadwick was loading the basket up with fruit, not even paying the candy any mind. "I thought you would do more...chlorokinesis, food conjuring, which I both inherited from you, thanks by the way, they come in handy, and common deity things. Please correct me if I'm wrong." He glanced up at the goddess every so often until he felt like he had enough food in his basket.
----
Heather nodded her head once. "Oh, yes. I don't use my powers often on mortals. I usually cause more problems at Camp Jupiter." She answered honestly, chuckling a bit. "Though, at camp, I do get into trouble. The last prank I pulled got me cleaning the mess hall for a month." She didn't enjoy that very much, no ma'am.