Shimmering reflections. (Aurora)

[Eleanor Warwick]

Nell had to admit that she wasn't the biggest fan of sparring, but it was still necessary that she keep her sword fighting skills in touch.  That was the essential survival skill of anyone demigod be they Roman or Greek.  If they don't know how to wield a sword, let alone strike a blow correctly, then they would more likely than not end up dead.  They had monsters to deal with, and then there was the matter of being on the ready in case any enemy, whatever form they took, appeared.  Of course, that was highly improbable.  The Romans were on the other side of the continent and the Golden Fleece ensured that the camp was inaccessible to anyone but the demigods.  Still, though, it was better to be safe than sorry, and that meant that they not lag behind on combat training.

Nell was still relatively new to the camp.  She wasn't as advanced in her fighting skills as the senior campers were, but she was getting there.  She had been training with an experienced fighter in the arena.  Donned in a baggy t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, she was drenched in sweat and exhausted by the time she was done sparring.  She was exhausted, but at the same time she felt invigorated and proud that she'd made some progress.  She was more glad that she had the freedom to rest and do whatever she found fit to do, though.  Nell decided that the perfect place to recuperate from her exercise was to sit by the beautiful lake and just enjoy the sunny day and lovely scenery.  That was relaxing.  Sometimes, Nell was perceived as materialistic.  And she was; she was greedy for pretty jewels and valuables.  After all, she was a daughter of Hades.  However, she still did enjoy nature, too, which was the reverse of the king of the Underworld.  One would think that she loved lifeless and barren wastelands.  It was actually the contrary, but she did have a perverse fascination for souls and the dark of the Underworld, too.

Anyways, there she was, sitting with her legs crossed at the edge of the shore.  She stood with her back straight and her eyes closed, taking a deep breath.  She could just sit here for a long, long time...    

[Aurora Aldenberg]

With each passing day, Aurora found the amount of free time she had shrinking gradually. There were preparations to be made, the threat of conflict with the Romans once more becoming a credible threat to the security of the Greeks. IN the eyes of everyone above her, it was imperative that the forces were trained to deal with this, with more trainings and instruction filling up previously blank spots on the day’s schedule. It wasn’t as though the rest of camp had been oblivious to this either, even some of the most ignorant or careless picking up on the situation. It was often kept on the down low, a precaution rather than a direct statement by either side.

With the final pull back of her fingers, the arrow that was drawn between the string and her fingers of the bow soared through the sky, slicing through the winds as if it were margarine, smoothly gliding down. The distinct resonating noise of the arrow striking home was heard, the feathered end of the arrow twitching slightly, before coming to a standstill. Like the other arrows on her target, not many seemed to land right on target, but rather on the inner rings. In fact, Aurora found it just a slight bit humorous how lousy she was at archery, seeing as she fancied a son of Apollo. When the next of the arrows around her had stopped shooting from the bows and the range was cleared, Aurora set off to retrieve her arrows. Thankfully this time none of them had been shot far off into the wooded areas of CamP Half Blood. Sliding out the arrows with ease, Aurora returned them, along with the bow she had been lent for the instructional class. With a brief nod of thanks to the kid that had run the lesson, Aurora set off, eager to get away from the main group.

It wasn’t that she was necessarily unfond of the group of people in her class, it was just that she hated everyone equally. Friends were few and far between for Aurora, and honestly, there was little desire for any more. Aurora tread down the dirt clearings, her grey converse stepping in synch, her posture rigid as she maintained a brisk walk. Sweat trickled down her from her forehead and ran off onto the Swede’s porcelain face, now that she was away from the shaded pavillion. Despite her aversion to the water in all forms, save for maybe bathing, Aurora found that down by the lake would be the coolest right now, unless she decided to spend her evening in the cabins, a fan blowing a stream of cool air down her face and ruffling her platinum hairstyle.

Down by the lake, Aurora noticed a girl with chestnut brown hair, sitting by her lonesome down at the shores. By her expression, Aurora could see that she was enjoying this moment to herself, perhaps even enveloped in her own thoughts as well. Sitting down, Aurora took note of her presence. Her overall ambience seemed to be somewhat decent, from what Aurora could tell, which wasn’t much. After all, she hadn’t even opened her mouth as to say a word yet!

“Hej”, Aurora started, her words accented and foreign. There wasn’t much tone to her voice but rather seeming to be fairly cold. “I don’t believe we have ever met. It’s far too warm for my liking”, the platinum haired Swede said, rolling her crimson orbs with a slight look of irritation, sighing.