let's dance

He needed the chance to breathe for a bit. The first step toward some positive changes had to be changing up the habits that typically kept him... Far away from actual progress with that. Hiding away in the kitchens, stifling his feels by working through recipes and avoiding actually feeling them wouldn't help this time. Or, at least, that was how he was deciding to run with it. Instead, he'd headed to the training area, worked out some of the pent up tension that had been building beneath the surface. He mostly attributed that to new powers to try and work with, and afterward?

Took the opportunity to crash in one of the open air baths offered at the bath house while it was still relatively early in the day. Slow breathes taken, head settled back against the edge as he just... Breathed. Gustave needed to change. Find his feet more than he had.

one of duke's favorite parts of working out, or training now, is hitting the sauna or the baths afterward, relaxing his muscles and sweating everything out. it's one of the few things that allows him to feel as close to zen as he can muster, the comforting heat easing his temperamental nature. 

one of the downsides however, is having to keep his wandering eye in check. duke is always so paranoid that people will put two and two together and ruin his career. not that his career is in the best standing currently, what with the losses, and his general poor reputation online. still, he would rather not have his sexuality blasted all over the internet and have that be another reason his hard work is discredited. he's worked hard his whole life to get where he is, and he's not going to let anything ruin that. 

not even a strikingly handsome man.

he has a towel wrapped low around his waist, a smaller modesty towel in his hand as he pitter patters slowly to the open air bath, ready to sink into that incredible warmth and forget about the world for a bit. 

his steps halt when he sees one of the other demigods already there despite his efforts to arrive early enough that it would be empty. great. 

duke flushes, his eyes widening momentarily, and then looks away, somewhere on the surface of the water. 

he grunts in response to gus' statement, rolling his eyes, then says, “early bird gets the worm.” early bird gets the hot baths to himself so he doesn't have to worry about popping wood, more like, but that's neither here nor there.

he contemplates going back and forgetting about the hot bath, but his muscles could use it. so he shrugs and drops his towel, placing the smaller one over his junk with his hand as he sinks into the water with a contented sigh. “that's the freaking stuff,” he breathes out, shutting his eyes. 

he follows him into the living room and sits beside him. there's enough space for it not to be awkward, but definitely not enough for two dudes when one is supposed to be straight. he's not gonna push it, though. he adjust himself in his sweats, an obvious gesture. he has his own beer on the table in front of the sofas. he picks up up, offers it to clink against duke's. 

duke almost responds to the question, a flirtatious line dying right on the tip of his tongue. he closes his mouth, trying to keep the attraction he's feeling at bay. at least for now. it's probably too soon to just jump into things. duke isn't the best at navigating these things, it's one of the few things that strike fear into him. 

his eyes widen for a split second once they're settled on the couch, close enough that he can feel bear's warmth without directly touching him, and sees just how casually bear adjusts himself. duke schools his features into something more placid as he clinks his bottle against bear's, not wanting to let on just how much he wants him. he takes a swig of his beer, almost downing it, and wipes his lips with the back of his hand. 

thoughts of where the night could go, and if this whole thing is a bad idea swirl in his head enough for him to not hear what bear is saying until he's asking him another question. 

duke's eyebrows go up, and he shrugs, “uh-some music is good.” he clears his throat, leaning back. “i mean, everything on streaming is shit nowadays. might as well just shoot the shit.” 

he can feel bear's gaze linger on him, and duke almost preens under it. the doubts he was having start to melt away, leaving behind only the warmth of mutual attraction, the thrill of anticipation. now, he just has to find way to push things along without being too obvious about it.

the laugh comes easily, but duke pushes it a bit, shaking his head. “you saying i don't know how to dress myself? what the hell?” 

so that's what he'll do. 

he's in his living area, all comfortable sofas and a big ass tv to watch shows on. modern and industrial, but oddly cozy. it fits him. he enjoys it. when he hears the door open, he calls out, “yo, duke, man! in here!” he stands up, walking to the threshold of the living room, dressed in just a pair of grey sweatpants and nothing else. “those need to get chilled? can grab a cooler so we don't have to get up so much.” he laughs after, smirking at the other demigod. 

should he be doing this? going to hang out with a guy who's seen his nudes and enjoyed them, a guy who revealed his dick is bigger than his? no, probably not. especially since said guy is a fan. duke is so pent up though, he's tense, frustrated on many levels. 

he really hopes he isn't getting himself into a messy situation like when he used to troll grindr for quick and easy hook ups. duke learned to abandon that once his name gained enough notoriety. 

but he needs something to ground him, bring him back to his body, on solid ground. getting fucked usually does the trick. he just has to figure out how to get to that point once he's face to face with bear. he isn't great at this, or asking for things in general. 

he'll have to suck it up. the thought makes him chuckle, six pack in hand, as he enters bear's place. duke hadn't bothered to change, still clad in some basketball shorts and an old tank, his arms and chest on full display, as well as the tattoos coloring his skin. why bother? hopefully he won't be dressed for long. 

he hears bear call out to him, and walks toward the sound of his voice, heart beating loudly in his chest. why is he nervous? he looks over his shoulder toward the entrance and then back again. 

duke clenches his jaw and continues on, his mouth almost falling open when he sees what bear is wearing. his eyes can't help but to trace his form, taking him in, and the very visible bulge in his sweatpants. his mouth waters a little. 

he realizes he's supposed to say something and straightens up, holding up the case. “nah, they're nice and cold. should hold up just fine.” 

he moves to sit down on one of the couches nearby, throwing his heft back with a sigh, getting comfortable. he sets the six pack down by his feet, and nods toward the television. “nice set up you got here, man. you host watch parties often?” 

Hearing  that  he  wasn't  the  only  new  person  at  camp  was  definitely  a  relief.  Hermes  told  him  the  camp  had  been  open  for  a  month  or  so,  that  there  were  already  demigods  there,  going  on  missions.  He  was  afraid  he'd  be  the  dead  weight  trying  to  catch  up.  It  looked  like  he  wasn't  going  to  be  the  only  one.  "So  are  you  lost  too?  Or  are  you  just  out  here  for  a secret  smoke bbreak?"  he  asked,  still  deciding  to  be  civil.

gods, he's really not in the mood for whatever this is. duke just wanted to smoke in peace, let off some steam. it seems the fates have other things in mind. great. 

he rolls his eyes, waving off the guy's comment. anyone who's younger than duke gets called kid. he isn't sure where he picked that up, probably from all the coaches, managers, and other figures of authority who spoke that way to him. he frowns, flicking some ash down on the ground. 

“do i look lost to you?” he asks, eyeing him up and down, before taking a drag of the cigarette and blowing out a ring of smoke. “and i don't have to smoke in secret, i do whatever the fuck i want.” 

he sighs, flicking more ash away, “who's your parent? godly, i mean.” 

Truth  be  told,  Bash  was  still  convinced  he  was  in  a  dream.  As  he  sauntered  down  the  path  of  the  forest  in  the  middle  of  nowhere,  it  started  to  don  on  him  again  that  this  was  all  just  crazy.  He'd  always  known  he  was  adopted,  and  sure  he  occasionally  wondered  who  his  birth  parents  were,  but  never  in  his  wildest  dreams  would  he  have  thought  he  was  the  son  of  a  goddess.

Now  here  he  was,  wandering  the  woods  alone,  a  bag  slung  over  his  shoulder  with  as  much  clothes  as  he  could  grab.  He  rubbed  at  the  back  of  his  head  as  he  took  in  the  area,  realizing  now  that  not  only  was  he  still  a  little  fuzzy  on  the  details  about  his  bloodline  and  what  it  meant  for  him,  but  he  was  also  completely  lost.  The  least  Hermes  could  have  done  was  drop  him  off  in  front  of  his  cabin.  He  pulled  out  his  phone  as he  walked.  All  else  fails,  Siri  will  have  the  answers  right?  Nope.  Of  course  a  mythical  camp  with  nymphs  and  goat  people  wouldn't  show  up  on  google  maps.

"The  fuck  am  I  doing..."  he  muttered  to  himself,  shuffling  through  some  bushes.  Dark  bornw  eyes  lit  up  instantly  when  he  saw  someone  standing  by  a  tree.  "Thank  god..."  he  breathed,  heading  over  to  the  figure.  "Excuse  me...  ah,  sorry  to  interrupt  whatever  you're  doing  but  do  you  mind  point  me  in  the  direction  of  Nike's  cabin?"  He  blinked,  realizing  how  bizarr  that  would  sound  if  this  was  the  wrong  person.  "Or  the  camp  in  general.  I  think  I  got  turned  around  or  something... and google maps in on the fritz apparently."

duke is smoking a much needed cigarette, propped up against a tree, his jaw tense as he angrily mutters to himself. smoking is a habit he's not entirely proud of, one he's tried to kick, but inevitably find his way back to. it helps calm his nerves whenever he gets too worked up. tonight he'd spent a good portion of time looking at what people were saying about him on twitter, and then got into a spat with some of them. 

sure, he's an asshole, but he's not a bad guy. people just test his patience. 

he blows out some smoke, when he hears someone talk to him, making him turn to them. 

he's in a mood, so he scowls, blowing out a puff of air. “what the fuck do i look like? some kind of guide? you think i work here or something? i'm new here too, kid.”

When he woke up, Arthur found a letter on his door. Recognizing Merrick's handwriting right away, he expected it to be something about another hike later that day or something but then he read the message and he could feel his heart sink into his stomach. Merrick was leaving camp and going back to London, Arthur didn't need to read further. Crumpling the note in his hand, he shut the door and slumped back into his bedroom.

His mind was too awake now, he had a million thoughts but he didn't want think. Not right now. Instead of focusing on one of his books, Arthur figured a run would be better for him right now. Luckily Ez wasn't there to question him, so he didn't have to explain himself.

He must have been running for an hour undisturbed, Artie seemed to have the entire forest to himself. His mind was focused on the trees in front of him, and then he was finally found. Nearly running into them, Arthur stopped himself and slid over before falling into some mud. "Oh, sorry about that." even if he was the one who fell.

one of the first things duke does is go for a run to get his blood pumping before he hits the weights, and as of late, trains with his arrows. he refuses to do this half assed, if he's going to be a demigod warrior, then he's going to be the best he can be, the best at camp. possibly even the best they've ever seen. the stuff of legends, and poems. yea. his ears are filled with the sounds of rock music as he begins a quick pace through the forest. 

the run goes as planned until he almost comes face to face with someone, nearly knocking into them. he swerves a little, and catches himself before he slips. the disturbance makes him scowl, ripping one of his earbuds out as he looks down at the offender currently down in the mud. 

“watch where the fuck you're going, man. jesus.” 

he breathes out his nose, and offers a hand to him to help him up, not really wanting to fight someone so soon during his stay at this camp. 

“you're gonna need at least two showers to get all that shit off.”

somehow, hughie had fallen asleep in the hot springs. head resting against the stony rim of a bath, hair damp from steam, the son of artemis all but snored lightly as he soaked in the warm waters that lapped at his bare, barrel-thick body. but in his slumber, changes had occurred to the other's skin. peeking from his shoulder-pads were ridges of hardened, emerald-green skin that resembled that of a crocodile's, scales that had unknowingly manifested as the water held him in its warmth.

but at the slightest movement nearby, hughie awoke with a jolt. lunging from the waters, rivulets of it cascading down his naked body, chartreuse-green eyes glowered at the intruder before he blinked – and the eyes were a pair of browns again, all of their previous aggression vanished. “sorry, mate,” hughie laughed. “think i was having a bit of a bad dream.” 

he's looking for some relief, warm water to soothe his aching muscles after extensive training. duke has never been one to slow down, and now that he's more powerful than ever before it's less likely to happen. the thrill of reaching new levels of strength is unlike anything he's ever felt before. 

his plans for relaxation come to a screeching halt, however, when he sees someone else is in the hot springs. a very attractive man, fully on display, without a care in the world. duke is distracted by the strong planes of his body, heat rising on his face, and fogging up his glasses more than the steam in the air. 

he's distracted enough that he doesn't notice the scales on the man's shoulders right away, but when his eyes do meet them, he startles. the slight jump seems to startle the man awake, and then even more of his naked form is revealed, and duke has to look away quickly. he is not going to get caught staring. 

he frowns, trying to think of anything to not react physically, given his own state of undress. his briefs will not hide anything if he were to pop a boner at this moment. 

“uh-” duke begins, and clears his throat, regaining his composure, his shoulders squaring resolutely. “it's fine, man. 'm just not used to seeing all the weird crap that happens around here with our powers yet. no offense.”

he settles into the water, and rubs the back of his neck, muscles flexing and releasing as the warmth envelops him. 

after a second he faces the man, smirking at him slightly, “so, you always turn into a croc when you hit the water?”

sleep was a friend he hasn't spoken with recently. his nights have been longer, pouring himself into his training both physical and intellectual, until the early hours of the morning when dawn crested over the horizon. it was, in part, a distraction. it was, in another part, avoidance. after a restless night spent tossing and turning, he's pulled himself from the hecate cabin to grab some coffee and breakfast.

he's got his coffee—as blonde as ever with cream and a stick of cinnamon inside—and a croissant, flakey and warm, freshly out of the oven. he's sitting at a table alone, a book propped up with another book. honeyed eyes flick along the pages as he sips away at his coffee. when he looks up, he sees some of the other demigods inside and gives them a smile, pull optimism engaged. "no one is sitting across from me if you need a place to sit." he pushes the chair out with his foot for emphasis. "the croissants are delicious today. you should get one."

duke is awake, bright and early, as he usually is. he's got a strictly regimented schedule to follow, it's how he keeps in top shape. sure, he's not really booking any fights at the moment, but he still needs to make sure he's on top of things for when he does. because he is going back...this is a momentary detour. yea.

he waltzes into the dining hall, mentally going over his macros when he notices merrick. he grins at him as he approaches, grabbing the back of the chair merrick pushed out for him.

"i can get my own chair, buddy," he says with a wink, looking over his shoulders, not wanting anyone to get the wrong idea. he has enough on his plate with public opinion.

he sits down with a huff, settling his large frame on the seat, and leaning forward. duke's gaze goes over to where the food is displayed. "you think we need to up our macros to account for the whole superpower thing? i should probably get a few of those croissants."

"While I'd love to try and pretend that none of this was me, uh..."

This being the litany of training weapons scattered around the area, in various states of use. One half embedded in the ground, a blunted tip, a wooden sword that had clearly been swung with more force than initially expected given the snapped off end. There was at least some method to the madness, in David's eyes if nobody else's, given the weapons had certainly seemed to be in better condition the further the path went.

"Was try to figure out what felt good, y'know?"

Maybe he should temper the competitive instinct in him, not allow that fire to burn so freely, but he's the son of Ares. Restraint isn't something in his wheelhouse.

Duke puffs up his chest, making his 6'5" that much more apparent, looking on at the mess of weapons strewn about. He quirks an eyebrow, silently looking on at everything before his gaze settles on the other man.

"Felt good?" He asks, frowning slightly. "That's a weird way to put it, but sure!"

He crosses his arms, smiling slightly, "I decided on the crossbow, not because it felt good, but because it looks bad ass, and I'm pretty sure it's pretty fucking lethal too. Not that I need weapons. Still mostly getting used to training with 'em."

"What'd you do before this, pretty boy?"

hands on his bare hips, luka looked over the 'strange' dirt he's pulled up from beside yet another cabin. it's overgrown through, held together in chunks larger than clumps, with thin threads that he could only wonder about. and even as he'd ripped it up, these hunks of loosely bound soil almost felt...

alive.

he was so focused, so honed in, his attention so drawn, that when someone would brush by or greet him? he'd launch into the air and let out an entirely unmanly shriek. only to land, puff his chest up, and play it off. "--yeah? what is it?" said, voice forced a little too deep. but then, more naturally, "wasn't too loud, was I?" a beat. "with the digging around." not the other thing, that totally didn't happen.

duke is trying to settle in (a hard task for a man who never truly lets his guard down), he really is, but everything is so bizarre. he almost feels like this might be some elaborate prank being carried out on him by one of the many people who dislike him. no. he shakes his head at the thought, chuckling at himself. that would be insane.

he's rounding the corner by one of the cabins when a shrill sound makes him jump, and look over his shoulder and around, trying to spot the source. when he spots what caused it duke rolls his eyes, his arms across his wide chest, his mouth forming into a thin line.

"you nearly scared me to death," he breathes out, "i mean- not because i'm scared of you, but that sound was so high pitched. how did you even do that?" duke shakes his head, a smile quirking at the corner of his lips. "and what the hell are you doing anyway? scary gardening?"