(Check out https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1379927218 for an explanation...is there an explanation for this that works? idek at this point XDDD enjoyyyyyy) (WARNING-everything belongs to pjo but my creative liberties) Rachel My day was going great. Just peachy. Or it WAS until I arrived at Camp Half Blood. When I got there, I did the usual, just arrived home things. Yes, it's not my home. But it might as well be. Despite the fact that I'm not a demigod, I've always felt the most at ease here, with the cabins, and the dangerous rock walls, and the laughter and occasional screams. The loud and rambunctious is always better than the quiet. I said hi to several people walking by, stopped to chitchat with a couple of the Aphrodite kids about my overalls, which they said were 'sooooo cute!' and 'sure to be the next big thing!' Which is a little funny, since they were just Walmart overalls with paint on them, because, well, I was not a tidy artist. Then again, who is? I always feel my most creative covered in paint splotches. Anyway, everything was going nicely, and I was excited to get to spend the summer at Camp, what with my father on a big deal business trip out of the country and Mom on some tropical vacation with 'the girls'. They didn't...exactly know where I was going to be-I just called it 'summer camp' to them-but that didn't really matter. Camp Half-Blood was as safe as anywhere, when you were a mortal who could see through the Mist. The absolute WORST of both worlds. Yup! I can see and attract monsters! Woohoo! And EVEN BETTER-I'm absolutely defenseless against them! Yeah, right. Though I wouldn't say 'absolutely'. I've got some survival instincts. They just don't work so good against chimeras, minotaurs, imps and those weird dragon-lion dudes that I do NOT know the name of. Titans though? Yeah, I've faced a few. Then again, once I lost a fight against a pigeon. A PIGEON. Just an everyday New York street bird. So let's not get too excited. Anyway, I lugged my suitcase over to my cave. A literal cave, yes. But I'd perked it up a little bit since I first became the Oracle, plus there was a separate, much cozier room where I slept. That's where I headed, since I needed to unpack-hopefully before dinner cause I was starving and- Upon opening the door, my thoughts stalled. And so did my feet, too. I nearly tripped over the rug on the floor. "What are you doing here?!" I demanded. The blond boy sitting on my bed glanced up from something in his hand. He looked at me for a second with no expression, then scowled. "Waiting for you. You're late." "I'm late?" I asked, disbelievingly. I almost wanted to laugh at his audacity. "Yes." He said coldly. "I need to speak with you." Nope, I take it back. All I /wanted/ to do, was smack him. I dropped my the bag with my art supplies, then my suitcase so it slapped the floor loudly. Then I stalked over to him and crossed my arms. "So what? You wait in my room like a /creep/? Do you even know how wrong that is??" Octavian tilted his head. "I'm here on business matters." "You're sitting," I said, with an almost manic calm, "on my bed. Now it's contaminated with-with-YOU, so I have to wash it, actually, no, burn it and-" My eyes caught on the photo in his hands. "AND-" I said, much louder. "You're going through my /stuff/? Do you even know what this looks like?" "Maybe," Octavian said, eyebrows narrowing. "I wouldn't have gotten bored, if you actually cared to arrive on time." "Oh trust me," I started, snatching it away from him. "If I'd have known you were here, I wouldn't have shown up at all." Octavian laughed harshly. "You think I want to be here at all? The legion sent me. I despise your filthy Greek culture, if I didn't have to, I wouldn't-" I tuned him out, glancing down at the photo. I blinked. "Is this...me and my parents at Disney?" "Why would I know that?" Octavian demanded, irritably. His eyes brushed over me and focused on the mural on my wall as he spoke. "I've never been. And I don't know your parents." "Thank Olympus." I muttered, still looking between the photo and the boy. Mom, Dad, and the psychopath Roman kid? I think I just invented my own worst nightmare. Octavian scowled. "Are you going to ask or what?" I blinked. "Why...you've never been to Disney? Or why you've never met my parents?" If I didn't know that this boy was an unfeeling robot, incapable of human emotions, I might've sworn his cheeks went slightly pink. "Why I need to talk to you." He snapped. "Gods, are you dense?" "To be talking to you, yes." I mumbled, then raised my voice. "Fine. Why, oh revered Roman Augur, were you st41king a poor teenage mortal in her bedchambers?" This time he definitely went red. Probably because he was angry enough to g_t me like one of the stuffed toys he was so obsessed with. "I wasn't-it's not like I'm-they told me to-" He took a breath and seemed to fill that giant head of his back up with hot air. "I'm here, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, because you screwed up."
Octavian The redheaded girl-Rachel, goodness-stared at me, mouth hung open like a fish. A very brightly colored, very loud, very attractive fish. Wait-what? I made a face because: 1-Ew, fish are not attractive. Why, just why- 2-I just called Rachel Elizabeth Dare-a mortal-a GREEK (sort of)-attractive. Albeit, I did also call her a fish, but STILL 3-Please, please, PLEASE TO EVERY IMMORTAL IN OLYMPUS I DO NOT FIND THIS GIRL ATTRACTIVE!!! There are so, so many things wrong with that idea. Starting off strong with-it's wrong. Affirmative. Perfect. Shut it down before it even begins. Like a soldier cutting down its enemies before they can strike back. Except the soldier is me and the enemies are- Okay, no more metaphors actually. "What do you mean...I screwed up?" I yanked myself far, FAR away from those horrors and looked at the girl. "You asked why I'm here. I answered." "Actually you told me to do that and then said some really vague crap that didn't explain anything." I grit my teeth. Jupiter's lightning this girl was insufferable. "Do I have to spell everything out?" "If you expect me to put together a /story/, yes, yes you do." I let out a long, loud sigh then hopped-no, that's not refined enough-slid off the bed and paced forward, extending a hand to grab her wrist. Rachel flinched back like I was attempting to brand her. I stared at her. She flushed. "You could give a girl a warning." She said, glaring at my tunic. "Before manhandling her." Now I did a double take, almost letting her go completely. "I'm not-I wouldn't-" I practically bit my tongue to hold back my stutters and briefly closed my eyes. When I opened them I focused again, flipping her hand and tracing the skin on the inside of her wrist. Rachel took a quick breath, eyes wide. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Shut up, Roman." I scowled. "I didn't even say anything." "I saw it in your eyes." I attempted to quiet my eyes-whatever that means-and tapped the mark on her skin. It was an arrow that wrapped almost all the way around and pointed to the right. It was a simple mark, but seeing it made my stomach feel sour. "So it's true, then..." Rachel tried to squirm out of my grip. "What's true? Why do you look like that?" She noticed the mark and stilled. "What...what's that? It looks like it's burned, or tattooed or something but-it wasn't there before..." She looked up and glared at me. "What did you do?!" "I didn't do anything." I snapped, losing some of my cool. Why did she always jump to ME as the conclusion?? "You did." Rachel stilled, her bright green gaze locking on mine. It was slightly hard to think when she was looking at me like that. With her face so close to mine and- "Octavian." She said. "Tell me." I cleared my throat and glanced away so I wouldn't have to look at her, dropping her arm. "My destiny was sealed years ago. The Fates themselves designed it." My voice was empty of emotion as I looked back, watching for a reaction. "August 1st. Battle of Gaea. An onager." "What are you talking about? Get to the point." Rachel said, harshly. "I just told you all the known details of my d34th." Rachel stilled, face paling. "I should've sh0t myself out of a roman catapult that day. I should've lit the sky in a huge explosion. I should have /d13d/." Rachel's voice was quiet and unsteady. "But...but you didn't..." "I didn't." I agreed. "Because a redheaded girl in paint covered clothes with a /ridiculous/ will tackled me out of the way. Camp Half-Blood's oracle." I stepped closer, eyes intense. "The one person, out of everyone, who should know not to mess with fate." The girl's face was pale enough I could've counted every single one of her freckles. She swallowed. "I-I had a feeling..." My eye twitched. "You had...a /feeling/. Well I guess since you /felt/ something, that's a perfect reason to screw up life as we know it." "It can't seriously be that important." Rachel protested. "You didn't d13. So what?" "You changed destiny, girl." I said, slowly. "And you sealed the-our future." "What does the tattoo mean, then?" She said, sounding irritated. I yanked up my sleeve, and put my left arm against her right. Mine had a matching arrow, pointing straight to hers. "When you saved my life, you changed the future. The very Fates have intertwined our lives, bound me to you, and you to I. Unless we can somehow change that, our lives go hand in hand. We're /tied/, Rachel. That's what the arrows are. A tie." "A...tie...?" She repeated, looking dazed. My smile was cold and empty as I met her wide eyes, our skin still touching so the two arrows connected. "I meant what I said earlier, quite literally. The /only/ reason I'm here, is because you screwed up." [Part 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1382275092 ] (Click to see the tattoo designs and some more fanart<333 XDDDD what do y'all think lolll. I for one am expecting quite the wild ride...) {Posting schedule currently: 5-7 days}
