Lunch break (private)

Phoebe was working extra hours in the arena. She had been at camp only for one summer but her home training with bo staves had paid off: she could now hold it up against robotic dummies on level 5. These dummies, courtesy of cabin 9, could go from being as still as a feather to full berserk depending on your needs. From what she had seen, there was even the possibility to select sexy extras such as acid spray, poison breath and spinning chainsaws.

She had selected standard hoplite as a counter and was testing her spear techniques against the programmed sword moves and heavy shield blows. Phoebe spun her spear around, stabbed it in, pulled it back, swung it from underneath, went from hit to parry to feint whilst keeping an eye on the automaton's optic cameras. She had realized they usually were a good indicator of where it was going to hit next.

OOC: She's dressed in light celestial bronze armour and workout clothes (gym bra and leggings). Her skin's quite tan and her blonde hair is twisted up into a bun.

OOC: Alexander is wearing a white tank top, black joggers, and dark blue track shoes. He's also wearing a leather cuirass over his tank top. Let me know if you have an issue with the font size and style.

Phoebe grabbed her hair and pulled it back, out of breath. The dummy had just delivered its last maneuver and was now driving back to rest mode, gears groaning, a few new dents and scratches on its armour. Phoebe stabbed the butt of her spear into the sand and stretched for a second -- her back was impossibly achy and sore.

Where was everyone? A minute ago, the arena was still full of Nike and Apollo children. Now, everything was empty. Blaming her ADHD for her lack of attention, Phoebe suddenly noticed that the arena was not as empty as she'd thought. Clanking noises came from the far end; she turned around. There was this guy she'd briefly spotted earlier, in simple breastplate and joggers, ...wielding a spear himself. One of her eyebrows rose up.
Spears were common at camp, but not that common. You generally saw Ares kids with them, or the odd Athena offspring. Clarisse had an electric spear, Maimer. The guy didn't seem like a cabin 5 camper, but he definitely looked comfortable with his weapon.

"Hey."

Phoebe strolled over, holding the shaft of her spear across her shoulders. The guy was pretty good: swift, agile, he rarely missed his target. A smile tugged at her mouth corners.

"You're pretty light on your feet. How long have you been training?"

The guy rolled through the sand and knocked the robot off its legs with a clean sweep of his spear. Not bad, she thought. It required some strength to knock a heavy automaton off balance with a stick of wood.

"No such thing as overboard training," Phoebe said with an amused smile. "You never know when the next monster's going to show up." She stroked the edge of her spear blade, which was broader than standard, and pinched off some sand. Her weapon had become her personal darling over the last year and she was devoted to taking care of it as much as she could, investing in pricey varnishes and special cloths.

"Thanks," she said, looking back up. "I've been here for a bit now, I often train during lunch breaks. Keeps my system running," she winked. Her eyes discretely slid over his features, his tousled hair and tan skin. "Are you a year rounder, or just here for the summer?"

"Phoebe," she replied with a light nod as they walked towards the benches. Alexander was considerate, offering to share his food with her just like that. "That's very sweet of you. Let me contribute," she smiled, reaching for a designer bag behind her. Since her new acquaintance had been so thoughtful, she put her food next to his for them to both enjoy: two bagels with melon and prosciutto, a box of little tea sandwiches and a slice of frosty cream pie.

"I'm a summer-rounder only," she answered, innocently stealing a strawberry. "My mother wants me home for school and social events. I'm not far though, I live in Manhattan." She undid her bun and took a drink of water -- her throat was parched. "What about you, where are you from?"

OOC: Sorry for the late reply!

BIC: Phoebe let his comment about celebrity lifestyle slide with a wink. She didn't deny her background, but she never put it in the spotlight at camp. There were quite a few celebrity kids around here, old money offsprings, children of stars and pop singers, but she tried to be more discrete than most of them.

"Albany? We're close then," she noted, choosing a tea sandwich with cheese and fig.

He guessed her cabin -- correctly of course. Phoebe took a slow bite of her sandwich. His flirtatious look had not escaped her and she was starting to enjoy this conversation. She'd seen Alexander around at camp, where he was known for his parkour and his non-judgemental, non-conformist attitude.

"Good guess," she stated. "And you're the son of the wind king, aren't you?"

OOC: No worries! We all have personal lives we need to attend to.  Besides, my post was kind of short.

"I'm in cabin 10. The gossip hive. I know mostly everything about mostly everyone," she said, putting the rest of the small sandwich into her mouth with amusement. The things she heard in her cabin could easily rival with Page 6. Scandals, rumors, lies and slanders, that was just another Tuesday among Aphrodite offsprings. Of course it wasn't just them -- others liked to blame cabin 10 campers, label them and say they were the only ones interested in gossip, but as her mother said, people preach for one moment and the next one they whisper behind your back.
Gossip was a guilty pleasure of hers and she was honest enough not to deny it. She was just careful not to indulge too much in it -- you never knew what was true and what wasn't, and there was always a risk it could blow up in your face.

"And, I saw you doing parkour a few times," she admitted. "You're quite good. How long have you been practicing?"

"It's fascinating to watch you guys," Phoebe told him. She'd seen them around from time to time, their daring tricks and flashy techniques always sparked a round of whispers. "Did you start in a city?" Free-running in an urban setting must be quite different from parkour in camp's surroundings, she guessed.

When he asked about her interests, her lips twisted thoughtfully. "Skipping the make-up, shopping, hairstyling and such that go with being Aphrodite's junior, I really like baseball and ice skating," she said. "Actually... dancing in general makes me feel free and lighthearted, I've been taking classes for ages and there's not one day where I don't practice," she cheerfully smiled.

OOC: Hey! So sorry for the late reply! Revisions got me very busy, I apologize for the short post.

BIC: "You really want to see what I can do with a spear?" Phoebe asked with saintly innocence. She shouldered her weapon and strode to the middle of the arena, twisting her hair back into a bun. Nothing was allowed to distract her during this fight.
With her armour back near the benches, she was just in workout clothes; her only protection was her shield. But that didn't bother her. After experiencing nectar and ambrosia numerous times, the prospect of getting injured did not particularly distress her anymore.

She turned around with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, mentally readying her weapons. "Are we playing with or without powers?" she wondered.