halfbloodhill | SITUATION POST: JUNE 27, 2013

SITUATION POST: JUNE 27, 2013

[Today is the festival of Skira, which can be both a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who you are at Camp Half-Blood. It's a day about celebrating all female goddesses, so Chiron has taken it upon himself to make it a day of female empowerment. Classes are being taught all over camp celebrating the female heroes of old, and the statues of Hera, Demeter, Athena, and the like are decorated, polished, and clothed in beautiful fabrics suiting each of their temperaments.

Most of all, though, this day is great for the nymphs, since an unofficial rule of Skira for Camp Half Blood has always been 'what the girls say, goes'. So tonight, the boys are serving up the meals at dinner while the nymphs relax.]

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[ The smile turns sly, his eye getting a mischievous spark. He's not sure how interesting they might be to a non-Hephaestus kid, but it's so awesome, he doesn't really care about keeping the "secret," and besides, Natalie's cool. ]

Wanna see?

[ Maybe it won't be the same reaction, but Natalie does, in fact, have a natural curiosity about the world, especially their world. It isn't often that she pops into other cabins except, perhaps Athena and Apollo. ]

Really? I mean, I've seen it before, I had to help - [ No, no, dummy, don't rehash the whole Athena chaos. ] Sure. That'd be nice. [ It's the first time in a few days that Natalie genuinely looks pleased. ]

[ "Seen it before?" Leo raises an eyebrow at that, but you know what? Let's just ignore it and move on. ]

Sweet. C'mon, I'll show you! Hope you don't mind a little mess; didn't know I'd be having guests over.

Wh - no, I mean the cabin interior. I offered to help clean up -

[ Natalie, shut up, stop backpedaling. ] Okay, whatever. Yeah, let's go. I don't care about the messes of other people. [ The creative types. She figures it is all just part of the process. ]

[ Heh, whatever you say, Natalie. He's gestures for her to follow and leads her straight to Cabin Nine. The door hissed and blew steam when Leo opened it for her. And the mess... he really wasn't lying. There's scraps of metal and handwritten notes everywhere, strewn about without concern.

The beds, as usual, are all folded against the walls, but Leo hits a button and his bunk unfolds. He flops right on it, then looks back at his guest. ]

So... You kinda have to be on the bed to get to the rooms below.

[ Waiting. ]

[ It never got less cool in her opinion. Natalie hides a grin when she follows him into the cabin, one arm over her back as she wrapped her hand around her arm.

Her head jerks back when the bed seems to pop up out of nowhere and she gives Leo the more suspicious, half-bemused look she can muster. ]

Say, what?

[ He doesn't mind repeating himself, because for an outsider, yeah, it might be a little weird. ]

The rooms are under the beds, so you have to be on the bed to see them.

[ Come ooooon, don't you wanna see? ]

[ Natalie scowls and unlinks her arms, considering his offer. Well. It could be a worse situation to be caught in, if anyone entered cabin. ]

Well, I guess.

[ She huffs to herself and tentatively sits down on his bed, and ignoring the possible sickness in her stomach from not eating much since breakfast. (At least, that's what she tells herself. That's totally a hunger pang.) ]

[ He almost laughs at her expression, but he manages to hold it in and just presses a button instead. Whirring noises and the sound of gears turning as the bed starts to descend, taking them into a small, dark room (until Leo hits another button and the lights flash on). The one worktable in the room is covered in everything from blueprints, paperclips, messy sketches, snack food wrappers, scrap metal, that little bird automaton he'd been making out of boredom, and of course: tools. Screwdrivers, little wrenches, pretty much a mini version of most things you would normally find? Leo's got holed up in here, and that's not even getting into the fancy consoles on the walls. What are all those buttons and levers for? He's still figuring that out, himself.

Once the bed stops, he hops off and turns back to Natalie with a smile, holding his arms out in a grand welcoming gesture. ]

Welcome to Casa de Valdez! It's not much, but it's home.

[ His home, the first he's had in years. It means a lot to him, and he's very proud of it. ]

[ What? What? No, this is so cool. This is so cool. That's all she can think now that she's gotten over her suspicion. It's only right, though. Not many people ~~are brave enough to~~ venture into the Hecate cabin because it looks like ancient ruins - and there's also the possibility of picking up something that might turn them into a clock.

Immediately, she wants to press every button and pull every lever but if she wants to stay friends with Leo, maybe that's not the best choice to make. ]

Cool. Gracias. It's homey, and - [ Natalie stands up to peer down at the little bird and, if she were the type to coo, she would here. ] What's that?

[ Okay, so it's not weird somehow. Or maybe she's just trying to say that to make him feel better about it? Leo doesn't know, and he opts for not caring, instead following her gaze to spot the bird. ]

Oh, this?

[ He picks it up and turns it over in his hands a few times. ]

It's a bird. An automaton, actually, but I never put in a control disk.

[ Carefully, he pulls the wings out to demonstrate how it was supposed to fly. As simple as it was, the whole thing worked smoothly, and Leo was happy with it. It was one of the first things he'd made after finding out he was a demigod. Sentimental or not, it meant something to him.

He holds it out for Natalie with a faint smile. ]

I named it Caelum.

[ That holds her attention and she listens intently, watching how the bird spreads its wings. It's so small, at least compared to Millard and Company up there, and different from what she's seen the Haephestus kids make. Well, in the sense that this isn't meant for battle.

Instantly, Natalie snaps to attention when she realizes he's holding the bird out to her and she cups her hands to take it gingerly. ]

Caelum? Like, after the constellation?

[ At first, he has no idea what she's talking about. Constellations? What does he know about those? Sure, mom used to...

...Oh. His eyes widen in realization. Right. Whenever they were walking home late at night, and the skies were clear, she used to point things out to him in between mechanic chatter. Caelum was one of them, though he's having trouble recalling what it looks like, or what it is. It's an unexpected surprise, being reminded of it, but he's been wondering why the name seemed so familiar. ]

Yeah.

[ Parents are a touchy subject with anyone around here. Natalie understands that. The shift in expression isn't lost on her; it's something she does more often than not, swimming in worries and memories.

She lowers the bird from in front of her face and purses her lips in concern, softening her voice. The first instinct is the ask if he's alright, but she knows full well that this isn't the right question for the moment. ]

Can I see this fly?

[ He won't say it, but he really appreciates leaving the subject alone. The past isn't something he wants to talk about, or even think about. It hurts, and he's got a life to live. Leo heaves a deep sigh - a thoughtful one, not frustrated or anything - and starts shoving things aside and rifling through drawers, obviously looking for something. After a few minutes of searching, he comes up with something that was buried in the far back of the middle left drawer of the worktable with a bunch of other odds and ends. ]

Aha! Found it.

[ He turns around with a tiny little square in his hand. Taking the bird back for a moment, he slides open a little panel on the back of his head, slipping the control disk in the slot and replacing the panel covering. He places Caelum back in Natalie's hand, takes two steps back, and whistles a few notes. The bird immediately perks up, hopping around on her palm, chirping and fluttering its wings. ]

[ That way of approaching personal problems - or rather, avoiding them - is really Natalie's ideal method. Why talk about them when you can hoard them and try not to think about them ever again?

When he turns away from her, Natalie watches Leo carefully, worriedly, following him without saying a word. She does chuckle to herself while he rummages through his drawers, perhaps eyeing a few doodads curiously. More questions for later.

It's not until the bird springs to life when Natalie's eyes light up like a kid's in a toy store, and she gasps softly. ]

Dude.

[ Amazed she may be, but Leo's watching the bird with a scowl on his face. Of course it won't work right when he wants to show the thing off. ]

He usually never stops getting into everything. That's why I had to shut him off - couldn't work, didn't want him to get lost out there.

[ He gestures vaguely above them toward the camp. Caelum trills helpfully. ]

Now he doesn't want to fly.

[ The bird is directly in her face so Natalie can observe how the machinery works. A dopey little grin works its way onto her face, and she snickers amusedly. ]

Still cool. And kind of cute, to be honest. Cm'on little dude. [ She talks to the bird in a very sensible voice. ]

Maybe he can explore the cabin?

[ Leo's eyes trail up to the cabin. After only a moment of hesitation, he shrugs. ]

Eh, why not. At worst it'll just get in everyone else's way.

[ Surely no one will open the door and let it zip out. He whistles at the bird again, still waiting for the stupid thing to fly. What kind of automaton suddenly decides to stop doing what it's made to do? There has to be dust on the control disk, he decides, heading back toward the bed. ]

[ Natalie figures if computers and phones are temperamental, so can automatons. Shrugging at Caelum, Natalie then plops onto Leo's bed next to him, curling one leg under herself. ]

Maybe there's poor reception down here.

[ Heh. She chuckles mostly to herself, patting the bird on his head with the tips of her fingers. Maybe Natalie has grown fond of this little guy in the few minutes she has been holding him. ]

Or maybe it likes you better than me.

[ Rude, Caelum. Rude. Leo shakes his head and presses the button for the main cabin. When they're back, the bird takes off like a rocket in the new space, presumably exploring until it dives behind one bunk and doesn't come out. Leo wanders after it curiously.

Wait, that's... What the heck? ]

Guess Caelum likes the ladies. That's Dany's bunk.

[ And with no concern for personal space, he approaches it. If nothing else, he's got to get his bird. ]

[ Natalie figures if she's involved, Dany won't be too upset that they were both kind of in her living quarters. She shuffles after the two of them - because the bird is also her new buddy, come to think of it - chuckling when Caelum flits about before landing on a bundle at the foot of her bed. ]

Little dude, that's not cool.

[ She rolls her eyes. ]

Edited 2013-06-30 19:42 (UTC)

[ Sighs. See, this is what he usually has to deal with when Caelum's awake. Hence the turning him off. ]

C'mon, little guy, stay out of Dany's st-

[ Did that thing just move.

It just moved. Leo forgets about the bird temporarily, staring in confusion at the bundle it's perched itself on. He watches intently, waiting... There it is! It moved again! ]

...Please tell me I'm not just seeing things.

Edited 2013-06-30 20:31 (UTC)

[ Alarmed, Natalie's gaze snaps between Leo and the package. She never noticed it before, but she's pretty sure it's also making noises. ]

Leo -

[ Normally, Natalie would just leave it be and walk away and pretend she never saw anything, but times are strange in and out of camp, so they might as well investigate for everyone's sake. She crouches, nervously touching her necklace. ]

[ He eyes it warily, kneeling down. Caelum chirps at him, but Leo ignores it, brushing the bird aside gently and starts to moving things aside. Once the bundle's uncovered, he sits back, gaping openly. ]

Are these...?

[ Dany what have you been hiding? ]

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