The Statue of Liberty

"Catalog?" Erin asked, interested amusement in her voice. "I suppose you will file that away in your brain as well?" It wasn't exactly a question, but she was seeking confirmation when she spoke the statement.

She walked briskly beside him and finally finished her hot chocolate. She spotted a trashcan and jogged a few paces to toss it. A brisk wind blew her hair back from her pale face, and she blinked in surprise. Wow, she could see. Now that one could actually see her face, it didn't look half bad. She never worse makeup, not even lip gloss, not just because she didn't need it but because she personally felt that any girl who felt like she needed the stuff was just putting herself down. However, it was clear that she was more than used to having some sort of protection shielding her from the world. Dang it, why had she forgotten her jacket?! Too late now, and she's only look more insecure if she brushed her hair back into her face; she'd just have to deal with it.

"You know the way?" Erin asked Benjamin to save face for her momentary lapse. She knew next to nothing about New York. Camp Half-Blood being here, she'd pay the price soon enough.

Erin didn't know what was going on, but she took it for granted that the blonde girl's boyfriend was someone important. She had barely overheard their conversation, as she wasn't paying much attention to the girl's question, but she did catch on about the boyfriend part. Maybe it was something to do with Pothos... Anyway, she had been scanning the crowd with a critical gaze. She picked out the girl's boyfriend with relative ease. His short golden-brown hair perfectly matched his slightly tanned skin, accented by his muscular build. His dark blue eyes were unwavering and fixed on the girl talking to Benjamin. He didn't strike her as a threat, though if he caught her alone she'd certainly be intimidated. To counter this, his expression was friendly, even if his eyes wore a guarded look.

He's been hurt, she thought instantly. Her thoughts didn't get much farther than that, however, because she girl had turned her back and was moving back towards him, exposing his face to Benjamin. Instantly, he stiffened and whirled to face her with an urgent expression. She wouldn't quite call the emotion there fear, but it was very similar.

"Erin," Benjamin hissed, "Erin, we need to go now."

Erin didn't ask any questions, for the urgency in his voice convinced her that 'now' meant nothing less. Without a word, she grabbed his hand and pulled him after her into the enclosed part of the ship. She didn't know what to call it right then and didn't care as long as it was some place to hide. Still holding him tightly so as not to lose him, she led him up a narrow staircase onto the upper deck of the ferry. The wind tugged at them more than it had below, but there were more people to blend in with enjoying the view. Jumping ship obviously was nota solution, so they'd just have to blend in until the tour was over.

"What's going on?" she asked Benjamin, snapping her attention back to him. Dang it, she was still holding his hand. She released him, but nonetheless looked expectantly up at him. "Was it that guy back there? Do you know him?"

Damn it! Erin thought furiously. Mark? What was he doing here? Wasn't he in England or wherever? What was he doing in the States? Then again, what was Ben doing in the States? It was better not to think. It wasted time and it only got her all the more confused than she had been to begin with.

She looked from side to side in a desperate attempt to try to find a way out of this. Unfortunately, there were only so many places that one could hide on a ship. She jumped slightly when Benjamin shoved his jacket into her arms. What was she supposed to do with it? Oh, put it on. Right. With fumbling fingers, she did so, though it was several sizes too large for her. Despite this, her intense feeling of vulnerability instantly dissipated like steam in sunlight. It was still there, but she at least felt somewhat safer in his enormous coat.

But Mark was Ben's demon to face, not hers. Erin got the feeling that if she did or said something to divert him, Benjamin would never forgive her. He'd run for too long. When he blurted her name, she turned slightly to face him, expression torn. She heard Mark's rapidly approaching progress and made a decision. To heck to it, she'd see this through with him. She backed up a few paces to stand beside Benjamin. They weren't quite shoulder to shoulder as she was a lot shorter than he was.

Erin grinned when Mark gave up trying to take out his pent up feelings of hurt and betrayal on Benjamin and surrendered to relief. Benjamin looked really awkward as he hugged his best friend with a mixture of relief, anxiety, and uncertainty written all over the face which seemed to usually suppress emotion. He looked quite comical, actually, but there was no way that she was going to tell him that. He'd probably throw her off the ferry or something.

For the moment, she just settled for taking a step back so that they could have their space without her intrusion. She didn't know Mark and had no idea what to say or to do. He was Ben's friend, not hers, and she trusted him enough to be able to handle the situation.


ooc: Grr, I'm coming down with a case of writer's block... that and stupid presidential debates bored me to tears, and now I don't know what to do!

ooc: Oh my gosh! It's amazing! I can't believe you remembered that - not even I did. What program do you use? That's really good.
And... I'm writer's block too at the moment. No!!!! I think I passed it on to you!

Erin grinned at the pair of them. Gods, it was kinda hilarious at the same time that it was really emotionally intense. It was clear to her that it had been a long time since the two had seen each other, and they had very clearly been extremely close. Benjamin's eyes suddenly seemed to expand with realization. It looked rather like he had just gotten hit in the face with something heavy and was able to do the first clear stretch of thinking that he had in a while. Slowly, his look of surprised realization changed. He now wore a delighted awkward smile, though he still looked faintly surprised.

Maybe it just hadn't hit him before now that he had friends. She remembered sitting in the coffee shop with him and telling him that she didn't consider people her friend until she knew their favorite color. He had smirked at this, probably thinking that he walked best alone. Now that they had happened to bump into Mark, he seemed to finally connect the dots together.

"So Mark," Erin chirped, hoping that he'd stop sobbing with something to distract him. "You been in the United States very long?" She was still curious as to why he was here.

"So you're Holmes and you're Watson?" Erin asked, smirking as she looked from Mark to Benjamin. She shook her head and laughed. "Good grief! What is this, a story come to life?" She looked from one to another as if seriously expecting an answer, but she was kidding for the most part. It was just a coincidence, wasn't it? It was pretty hard to imagine that it could be anything but, though Erin was a demigod and had learned to expect the unexpected and be open to possibility.

A playful salty breeze tugged at her hair, and she realized that she was still wearing Benjamin's coat. She pulled it off and offered it to him, grinning slightly at the delightedly dazed expression on his face. Gods, she wondered what it would take to bring him back to Earth.

Erin felt stunned, and she turned to Ben with a look of little short of surprise on her face. Of all people, Ben Holmes didn't know about the Solar system? What? But the kid was, like, super smart and basically a genius. How the heck could he not know about the Solar system?

It hadn't missed her attention that he hadn't used "Battle" as her surname, instead using her preferred middle name. She would have thanked him for it right then, but that would draw unnecessary and unwanted attention to the matter. Mark would likely ask questions, and she really wasn't in the mood to answer exactly why she didn't like to be associated with her mother.

The daughter of Pothos threw up her hands. "Okay, the Peanut Gallery's bewildered," she said with a befuddled expression. "How the bloody hell can you not know about the Solar system? You're, like, a genius."

Erin, who had been grinning during his rant about the solar system sobered up when Mark asked about how they knew each other. Having listened to Mark speak, heard the way Ben spoke of him, taken in the way he presented himself, and watched him and his old friend interact, she would have bet a million dollars that Ben's vague answer wouldn't satisfy. It left too many holes and places for Mark to ask questions, and questions were exactly what they didn't need.

"See, it's a funny story, actually," Erin said with a nod to Ben, thinking fast. They needed something close to the truth, but not so close that Mark could guess what was really going on. If it was too far from the truth, it would clash with their real-life circumstance, and that wouldn't be good in the slightest. "It's a summer camp, but it allows kids to live there year round as well. The head of camp is a school teacher, or at least he used to be. The entire thing is based off the three primary mythologies of the ancient world: Greek, Norse, and Egyptian. It's pretty much like a year-round summer camp, except that you are constantly learning about the ancient empires. I can read Greek, for example, and speak it pretty well, though I'm nowhere close to fluent. It's archaeologically based, I think, as many of the campers are allowed to go on trips to travel to the different locations to learn more about them."