Futurism (private for the Dylan and the Morgan)

About once every hour during a party, I felt the need to break away. The combined effect of the extremely loud music, the bass literally thrumming through my ribcage, the heat and the sweat of the crowd made me take my distance to relax and chill out. Damn, my ears actually hurt.

To escape the music as much as possible, I had gone back to the cabins's courtyard, sitting on the steps in front of my own cabin. For the Halloween dance, I had dressed up as a Cutter from the Uglies series; Cutters were Specials, people surgically altered to become superhuman cyborgs, though whilst normal Specials roamed about doing Special stuff -- mainly keeping everybody dumbed down -- the Cutters would live off in the wild and make sure people didn't expand into it. Their bodies were altered and weaponized from teeth to fingernails and their faces were made into cruelly beautiful features specially calculated and invented to awaken people's fears of predators.

Pretty fitting for a Halloween bash.

I sat on the stairs with my elbows on my knees, fingers entwined. I was wearing a strapless black shirt with dark shorts, fingerless black gloves and leggings, my feet slipped into flat-soled shoes. Dancing in high heels was quite simply suicide for me. I wasn't wearing any makeup though had changed my appearance with the Mist, sharpening my features into an angular, cruel-looking face with interlocking triangular fangs and thick, well-defined eyebrows intensifying my gaze. Sure, I looked much more beautiful that way, but damn, I seemed evil. Working on my eyes had been the most fun part to do though: I had given them a dark, navy blue tint and snapped my fingers, making a web of tiny bioluminescent gems appear in them, picturing clusters of stars, nebulae and galaxies. Yes, that was how I'd look if I were a Cutter, with pieces of my beloved cosmos in my eyes.
But of course they weren't called Cutters for nothing, so another snap of my fingers later I had rows of scars up my arms as well as nets of moving flash tattoos across my shoulders, wrists and right cheekbone. To hold all that together without exhausting myself -- the bash lasted about six hours -- I had flicked a green Mist-fixation powder of my own making at myself, which I had to wash off later on otherwise I might still look like that for another week or so.

I was softly exhaling into the sky, leaning against a column when I saw movement at my right. Shadows darkening and assembling around a familiar silhouette.

"Not the party guy, are you," I grinned at him as I recognized him as Benjamin, the son of Hades.

Ben had been at the dance party, not very long but he had been there. It was rather lame because he for one didn't have a "date" to it, and second because it seemed like everyone there was too annoying to other with.

So he vanished back tote courtyard. He pulled out a pack of candy cigarettes and put one in his mouth, his current out looking like he was Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly.

Dressed there in sand brown pants and a red Button up shirt the rest of his costume consisted of knee high dark brown boots, lighter brown suspenders, and the same color coat and belt. his belt with a gun holster and a replica of the revolver used in the TV series. He wasn't much in the mood for the holiday, felt it rather boring if he was actually out in the real world where he could get the full Halloween feeling without the supernatural being slapped in his face like a 2 ton house of bricks.

He sighed and bite into the candy, frowning at the taste a bite and then throwing it away just as a familiar face popped up asking if he wasn't the party type.

"Not in this place no.." He told her calmly, looking up at Morgan and smiling a bit at her. It was nice to have a familiar face that he enjoyed the company of being around,

Benjamin was dressed up as Malcolm Reynolds; I hadn't seen much of Fireflies, but I knew enough about it to give him a grin, baring my interlocking fangs.

"Pity you left out the pretty floral bonnet."

Closing my lips into a friendly smile that didn't really fit my predatory look, I stood up, my Mist-tattoos pulsing and spinning on my skin with my heartbeat. The night was cold, but I barely felt it. In Berlin, I was in T-shirt all year, even in winter, a habit I had picked up from my brother who'd wear shorts and tees literally throughout every season. The looks of the people in the snowy streets were priceless.

I walked over to Benjamin in my black, flat-soled shoes, hands in my pockets, the bioluminescent gems in my eyes shining faintly like the distant stars they pictured.

"It's cool meeting Romans, but I'm not exactly the party type either. Alcohol ain't my thing and apparently you can't party without it." I playfully shrugged, then nodded at Half-Blood Hill. "I'd rather go out there."

"Pity you look like a wild animal. I thought you were more civilized" Ben commented back at her remembering a friend from London liking the series of books that Morgan was portraying at the moment. He didn't care much for the series himself couldn't hardly remember the name, but the description of the people in the series left a rather...deep impression on Ben.

He smirked flicking away another candy cig. "I would prefer the comfort of the real world on Halloween night. It's more enjoyable out there than it is in a world where the supernatural is an everyday thing. Out there tonight if I were to fight a monster, no one would even think it was strange and hell some people would think they could join in like it were a game. You feel normal on these nights out there beyond just in the camp of super powered glass canons this camp has." Ben told her after hearing what she said about wanting to be out in the real world.

(Bah too lazy to color)

Raising a slanted eyebrow, I smirked at him. "You wanna tag along, then?"

I could really relate to what he said about normality. The past month had been such a punch in my face -- Greek gods real, my family not my actual family, my mother being Hecate, the Quest, the monsters, my biological father having spent the last fifteen years as  Guinea pig on Aeaea, my powers, the whole sheer scale of the real world. How complicated everything had suddenly become. A month ago, my life had been school and friends, my worries being if I'd manage to get good grades in S next year, my future consisting of studies, a job, everything that goes with it. Now my main worry was -- how long am I gonna remain alive? My future would consist of fights and battles. Of course, there was all the beautiful part: the magic, my beloved mythology being real, the nymphs, Camp Half-Blood, the friends and this whole community of mythological beings I was a part of. The fighting and training was thrilling. The new landscapes I discovered were breathtaking. But I couldn't shake myself free from that anxious feeling inside my ribcage since my Quest that just wouldn't leave no matter how hard I tried. Out there, every step could be my last.

But not for tonight. I wondered how ironical it would be for a daughter of Hecate to die on Halloween... it almost sounded like the beginning of a joke. Between the apprehension of the out there and my desire to break the rules and just do it, the latter had already won.

Ben smirked as she motioned to the exit from the camp, laughing a little under his breath he stood and nodded. "Probably the best night on the town I'd have since being a boy in London." He said to her as he moved to the camp borders. "It's quite a trip in that city" He added a little bit after.

His mind flashed back to Halloween of when he was 13. A time when he had moved back to London from Wales and was trying to keep himself there having done good for 6 months before the night occured. This would be the last Halloween he experienced in the city before going to the camp. In reality to Ben's past he had only been at camp 2 years and 10 months to the date, Leaving to America the very next morning. He and his friends were doing the usual trick or treating that came from the night but something was special about that night. Ben and his friends, Thomas and Marcus, found themselves going to one of the haunted houses that the rich folk tend to throw for the public to scare the piss out of them.

This one that three boys found themselves at wasn't particularly special from the others aside from how...simple the outside of it looked. Most haunted houses went out of their way to look terrifying from the moment you get there to the moment you leave, but this one...it just looked like a simple, three story house. Maybe that's what should've set them off from it, it was too simple. But where Ben's instincts said no, his curiosity and his friends said yes. It was a mistake that would cost him his leg and Thomas the ability to walk.

I covered myself in shadows to become practically invisible for whoever looking in our direction -- it wasn't that different for Benjamin. Darkness had a way of sticking to Hades kids that made them seem made out of shade themselves. It was quite impressive.

"Figures," I replied, whispering a chuckle. "London is almost a country of its own, it's un-fcking-believably huge. At least to me."

We arrived at the top of Half-Blood hill and made our way silently past a sleeping Peleus. I was really fond of this dragon and one of my favorite chores here was definitely to bring him a basket of fresh red meat every week. I loved how he puffed smoke whenever somebody's scratching his chin.
The fresh scent of forest filled my nose as the light buzz of night insects whispered around us, the moon white like new snow in the sky. I stopped a bit above the road, looking at the surroundings and squinting in the darkness.

"Okay so there's a little town a couple of kilometers there," I pointed with my clawed finger at one o'clock from where I was standing. "We can go and wreck havoc there. How do you wanna go?"

Benjamin was lost in the flashback and didn't really hear anything she had said, simple went through the motions following her up to the dragon and seeing her point at the clock. He felt a sudden flash of panic when he heard the word havoc but then he shook his head realizing she had asked him something. "I guess we shadow travel there..unless you had a better idea." He told her, trying to sound like he didn't feel flustered from their current plans.

"Oh come on, shadow traveling is boring," I grinned. "Let's try this."

I focused my gaze on the grass at my feet and imagined two boards. I imagined him and me riding them, I imagined the wind in our faces as I closed my eyes, white Mist gathering at my hands. I pictured the boards hovering no matter what, I pictured our shoes sticking to the surface to prevent the inverted wind force of making us fall over, I focused on the balance and the aerodynamic shape... I knew that if we encountered problems I could always improvise Mist-wise so it was okay if I forgot something here. We wouldn't die or anything.
When I opened my eyes, the Mist was very dense and opaque around my arms so I made it fade away with a snap of my fingers, revealing two flat but strong hoverboards. No, not the type you see normally who can't get but a couple centimeters up, these ones could fly above the treetops if we wanted to.
I jumped on mine, feeling the soles of my shoes adhere to the surface. To my credit, it wasn't the first time I created a Mist-hoverboard or rode one. Ever since I had seen my compatriot Victoria from the Athena cabin ride hers, I had been galvanized and inspired to do the same with my own, not-so-lasting methods. I wasn't that bad, actually, it was just like snowboarding.

"Don't worry, Zeus won't shoot you from the sky if you ride one of these," I told him with a smile. "Race you to the town?"

Ben was half paying attention before noticing that Morgan had created hoverboards out of the Mist. He hid smirk when Morgan turned to him and told him that Zeus wouldnt kill him. "I'm not a flyer so a race it won't be." Ben told her as he stepped on the board figuring out how to keep his balance.

"Haha, I'm fine with that too," I grinned and pushed on the front of the board with my foot. It glided forward and I snapped my fingers to make it move upwards, rising into the sky. Camp Half-Blood shrunk to a cluster of moving lights at what I guessed was the Mess Hall, the rest ink black even though I could make out the tiny cabins and the Big House thanks to my night vision. Even the party noises weren't that present in my ears. Laughing, I snapped my tattooed fingers again and turned around.

OOC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y7NhRRNEEE

BIC: Flying a hoverboard had been one of the most thrilling and fun activities I had ever done. As said, I had done it a couple of times before that, but the rush of the wind in your ears, the speed, the flickering of my shirt against my chest and hips when I accelerated.... Not even skiing gave me that adrenaline rush. I was flying up in the dark night sky, the treetops blurring underneath me, nothing above me but the stars and the pure white moon crescent. My hair flew behind me and I positioned my body sideways as if I was riding a skateboard, knees slightly bent and feet apart. A couple of minutes later, I brushed the top of a pine tree with my fingertips while doing a curve with my board to see where Benjamin was. I hoped he didn't have a too hard time... if yes I'd never forgive myself. But anyway, even if something happened and we fell from our boards, we could always shadow-travel.

Ben watched her take off and then shrugged a bit, taking off the same way, having to struggle to keep his balance at first, but soon finding his balance well enough and going off catching up to her. He saw her glance back to find him and he waved at her as he flew faster to catch up with her, slowing to match her pace when he got up to her. "Fast learner." He told her in reference to the control he had of the board. He looked down at the city lights below and couldn't contain his aw at the view. He had came to America over a boat rather than a plane, he had been warned that the sky was more dangerous than the sea or the land to him.

He had never imagined what it would be like to see things from this high up.

"I can see that," I grinned and gave him a friendly wink as we raced high above the trees and roads towards the town.

I kept my eyes in front of me to watch out for anything that'd come my way -- branches, birds, anemoi thuellai -- though from time to time I'd glance at Benjamin. I really smiled when I saw the look of awe on his face when he looked down at the world blurring under his feet, clusters of light in the dark. At least he was having a good time. Spotting a river, I banked towards it then dropped down so that my board brushed the top of the water, sending up a sprinkle of droplets to bead my tattooed face and scarred arms. Making my legs go back and forth like I was snowboarding horizontally, I gave a frank, full-hearted laugh; I felt so exhilarated I thought my ribcage would burst. Hoverboarding was the only true thing in the world.
I tilted my head back to watch the stars, my hair brushed behind me by the wind as my laugh receded into a chuckle then into a smile. Closing my eyes, I focused on the sensation of the crisp wind blowing against my body, the speed, the rushing of the water underneath me. I opened them again pretty quickly though, just for the security; didn't want to hit a bridge or something. I could feel the bioluminescent gems literally glowing on my irises through the Mist.

Ben didn't copy Morgan's motions but he smiled as he watched her go. But then he faltered for a moment, a flash of memory breaking through.

'Ben what's going on!? Ben please help!' A voice screamed inside Ben's head and Ben started to wobble, the pain in his leg growing sharper as if brand new and he started to lose his balance, tipping off the board near about to fall. The screams getting louder in his head begging for help.

I was just looking back at Ben when I realized something was wrong. He was wobbling on his board, hands on his temples as if to shut down a noise in his head... He was about to fall.
Immediately spinning my board around, I raced over to where he was and caught him with my arms around his stomach just as he was about to topple over into the water. I pulled him back, angled my board so I'd hover around him then dragged him away from the water. Our boards came to a halt over a grassy area next to the river and I stepped off from mine, half-pulling, half-dragging Benjamin with me. Gods, people were heavy.

"Ben, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Ben felt himself go numb from the feeling like a screaming in his head, but he was aware that Morgan caught him and dragged him to safety. He groaned in pain as he heard ask if he was alright. "..Make..make it stop..make the screaming stop..." He groaned trying to calm down and get the pain to fade away.

"The screaming?"

I listened, but there was no screaming. Just the sound of water, a slight breeze and the whisper of nightlife around us. There wasn't even a human voice apart from ours.
It had to be inside his head. I laid him down on the grass and put my fingers on his temples, careful not to touch him with my sharp nails. Murmuring a prayer to Epione, I slowly massaged his temples, drawing slow circles on them with my fingertips whilst imagining the screaming stopping inside of his head. I focused on the image of a relaxed Ben, I imagined him getting up and be fine. Eerie white fog gathered around my fingertips, impalpable and carrying the musky scent of snakes. My breathing got a bit quicker as my energy levels dropped, and I felt kind of tired, as if I had just ran up a hill. A hot film of perspiration dampened my forehead. It meant that the spell had worked, but what if I had mistaken what he had said? What if he had been talking about something entirely different?

Ben felt the screaming dim with each rotation of Morgan's fingers on his head. He eventually stopped writhing and his body went limp with rest as he grew peaceful. His eyes fluttered open after about 5 minutes and he sat up slowly looking around and then at Morgan. "Thank you..I-..Thank you.." He told her not sure how to explain what had happened to him.

I grew worried as he became still, thinking something happened to him -- what had I been doing? I must have cast a different spell! -- but then realized he was breathing calmly and relaxed. I mean, that was a good sign, right? My tattoos still spinning and pulsating, I kept my fingers on his temples for a few minute until his eyes suddenly opened. I gave a small start. He sat up, looked around then at me, still kneeling in the cold, slightly damp grass. My black leggings were soaked.

"Anytime," I replied to his thanks. I looked at him in a concerned way before wiping that look off my face. I didn't want to seem pitying or anything. "I was gonna ask if you're okay, but guess the answer is pretty obvious." Staying silent for a couple of moments, I gazed at the glittering star dots above for a second. Finally I moved to sit next to him, my body facing the river as I crossed my legs, putting my elbows on my knees and intertwining my fingers. "What do you wanna do?"

The question was kind of encompassing. He could talk about what happened (granted he felt like it), say if he wanted to go back to Camp, or keep heading to the town or even do something completely different.

Ben sat there for a minute before sighing. "Still like to go to town. I need to stay out of the camp for a little while...to get my head straight." He told her, looking around for his cane. He saw it laying a few feet away and groaned slightly as he pushed himself up and walked, nearly dragging his leg because the pain was still sharp from what just happened. He picked up his cane and stood there for a moment, holding himself up as he got his bearings back.

Standing up with a nod, I watched him get his cane back whilst I went on my board, sitting on its side. My feet barely brushed the ground.

"Do you wanna hoverboard or shadow-travel?" I asked, looking at him leaning on his cane. "There's still a kilometer to the town."

OOC: short is short

Ben shrugged and then walked over to her. "Think you can make a hoverboard for two? I don't want that..situation to happen again." He asked her, not sure what was the initial cause of that occurrence.

"Yeah, sure," I said, "just give me a second."

Taking our two boards next to each other, I started rubbing my hands together as if I was trying to warm them up. The white fog came back out of nowhere, flowing sluggishly along the boards like dusty, half-existing veils as I pictured the end result, imagining as precisely as I could the sensations my five senses would register once it was done. For six seconds, nothing happened, then the boards started to shift, morphing and melting into one another viscously until the Mist receded, revealing a larger board with silent fans either side of it.

"Milady," I smirked, trying to bring some good mood back as I extended my hand to him for him to get onto the board. I got in front of him, the fans snapping into movement, thrumming low in the soles of my sneakers. "Hold on!" I told him and pressed my foot to the front of the board, having it glide forward smoothly.

Ben grew impressed by her skill over the mist. Then he heard the Milady comment and couldn't help growing a smirk. "Whatever you say dear." He told her as he climbed on, her climbing on behind him and taking off into the air. They soared and Ben felt at ease for a little while as they headed to the town.

Being behind him wasn't that good as he was slightly taller than me and his hair in the wind narrowed my view, so I slipped to the front, my arms a bit shaky and weakened by the use of the Mist. I fumbled around in my pocket for my bag of ambrosia, and bit off the edge of a square, feeling the spicy cinnamoon taste of speculoos on my tongue. A wave of new energy flowed through my muscles in response; I was still weak but it was better already. Not like that time on my Quest where I had overused my powers and had had the absolute worst migraine imaginable. It had literally felt like a cartload of sticky, swelling stones had been emptied into my skull, threatening to make it burst. I still had nightmares of that stuff, mainly dreams where I had to escape Keres but couldn't use my powers because I couldn't even think straight.

Now was different though. Back then I hadn't even understood my powers over the Mist, all I knew from my powers was elemental manipulation. But now, after Leila's advice -- and with the books I stole from Circe's library -- I understood much better. Yeah, much better.

I relied only on my legs, hips and ankles to direct the flight. The wind whipped our faces, threatening to unbalance us from time to time. I felt Benjamin's arms around my stomach as I accelerated a bit, just to feel that peak of adrenaline I got from the height and the speed. It was perfect. A bit cold, but that was the price to pay for the ride. The ground blurred away under us, the lifting fans thrumming silently, our hair flying behind us. The only shred of warmth I got was from Benjamin's body temperature right behind me but even that didn't help much as he was colder than me.
I snapped my fingers, having the board rise atop a hill and stopped it there so we could see the city at our feet, clusters of light in a thick soup of darkness stretching out to the horizon. Only strings of lamps, the roads, snaked through it like thin, glowing wires.

"Nice view huh?" I asked over my shoulder. I could feel my tattoos pulsing with adrenaline on my skin, hot like tea. Up here it was pretty windy but I loved the feeling of hovering up in the sky, flying like a sparrow between tree trunks and brushing the surface of water with the tip of my board. Sure, a board for two wasn't the same but it still gave me that strong heart pounding, the heady sense of blood pumping through my temples.

Time to get down though.
Once back on the ground, I hid the board in a bush, veiled it in a shred of Mist to make it look like a leaf, took another bite of ambrosia (I really had to be careful with my powers now) and headed down to the town with Benjamin. Halloween wouldn't start properly till we got there.