down to earth

“You can’t protect everyone.”

Hey guys!! So it’s been a few days since I’ve had some solid activity with Austin, and my muse is a little low. I’m gonna go ahead and drop my threads. If you specifically want to keep one going, hit me up and I’ll continue it!!! Otherwise...

“I look out for anyone who needs it. Of course, I’m a little biased towards my fellow children of Demeter, but I’m a big believer in the underdog.”

Atticus raised an accusatory eyebrow at the other man, but refused to comment. Instead, he glanced around the darkened yard, to ensure no one else was watching them. 

“Alright, one of the nymphs said that the forest creatures were having a party - and that we were welcome if we could sneak in there.” He flashed a devious smile.

“And you figure that the nymphs are suddenly a trusty source of information?”

           she directed her scowl in the boys direction,      bending down to pick up the knife with the hand that wasn’t currently in her mouth.                    not bothering to translate her italian,         she instead opted to answer his question, finally taking her finger from her mouth.                ❝ not quite, ❞ she snipped, placing the knife back where it belonged and inspecting her wounds.       ❝ but i will be. ❞

“I never took Italian,” he admitted, with a weak grin on his face, “but I’m gonna guess you said ‘that fucking hurt’ or ‘ow, my hand’.

       a mental debate ran through the girls mind before sighing. “no, please don’t-… just stay… please?” audelia said quietly looking up at the boy.

Austin nodded, giving Lia a reassuring smile. Hesitantly, he sat down next to her. 

“Other than my own? Huh. Maybe Athena.”

     there was always something about a fresh tomato that left evie closing her eyes happily. it was firm in her palm but not too firm, a lovely shade of crimson that contrasted nicely against her pale skin. a product of hard work and labor, of love–far more valuable to her than most things she held dear. 

     the sun shined brightly, causing evie to squint softly under her straw sun hat. the cicadas were singing in the trees around her, lulling evie into a world that was entirely her own as she brought the ripe fruit up to her nose, smelling the soil and earth it came from before sinking her teeth into the soft flesh. a hum escaped her lips before she could stop it, but there was nothing wrong with showing satisfaction anyways. the tomato juice fell in sticky-sweet drops down her frail wrist, and evie chewed happily as she peeked up from under her hat, large doe eyes landing on a figure before her as she swallowed before speaking. 

     “would you like a bite?” there was nothing better then sharing the fruit of her labor ( literally ). she turned the tomato softly in her fingers, finding a spot of the fruit that would be best to bite into, before holding it out in front of her. “it’s delicious, i promise.” 

“Thought I might find you out here,” he said softly as he approached. Austin had been watching her work her gifts for a minute before he had finally spoken up. He kneeled next to his half-sister, admiring the tomato. “Nah, not really a tomato guy. I love ketchup, tomato sauce in pasta and on pizza--basically everything you can get out of a tomato ‘cept the tomato itself.” He grinned, playfully tugging down on the brim of her hat so it covered her eyes. “I’m weird, I know.”

There Connor was, after hours of just being gone without a word or warning, walking down half-blood hill in his usual, seemingly careless, manner; hair even still messed up from the helmet in his hand, obviously just taken off, and without an ounce of shame on his face for so blatantly disregarding the rules as a year-round camper to not leave camp. And as he did so, his eyes just looked right back at them now. “ Care to say something or are you just going to keep staring? “  The hint of a grin was tugging at the corners of his mouth, as though he challenged them to do just that; it wasn’t like he feared the consequences of either their words or his actions.

    Aiden was in the back of the Arena, sitting in the stands with a bottle of mango vodka and his shades hiding the fact he was nursing a hangover. He knew he needed to get out of his cabin, but the ammount of effort it took was pathetic—not to mention winding up here of all places. None the less, he took a swig of the bottle before laughing out loud forcing the attention of the campers in front of him. “Don’t mind me, just playing Capture the Shot.” a side smirk tugging at his lips, “Care to play? The rules are pretty simple and the best way to pass the time….”

“You know--if you got caught, you’d be cleaning the cabins with your tongue for a month,” Austin muttered, sitting down beside him. Technically, he could very easily rat Aiden out and that would be the end of that. But that wouldn’t do either of them any good, now would it? “Thanks, but I’m not feeling it... you reek of vodka, by the way.”