SITUATION POST: JULY 10, 2013

[greekchorus]

[It pretty much goes without saying that ever since Camp Half-Blood's opened its doors to Roman and Egyptian-pantheon based children - and if the rumors are true, Norse as well - many unexpected things have been happening.

The Roman Legion is regaining its numbers, and every day more and more children with purple shirts pile into the Greek camp. Someone, however, has been missing - their guardian, Lupa, the Roman she-wolf goddess.

Imagine the surprise when on a regular Wednesday, at about 6:00 PM, on the nose, a lone wolf prowls through the magically-protected border. She sounds a loud howl, and about ten other female wolves come charging through the gates, blowing away everything in their path, and come to settle themselves in the forest.

Their alpha, however, is making her way to the Big House in search of her legionnaires.]

Comments

[capitolina]

[These children...one so naive, she can hardly even think to identify her as her own, and one so strong he can command the wind at will. They are both incredibly different, and yet intriguing at the same time. The boy surely must be a son of Jupiter, though Lupa will wait to find if he's been claimed by the god or not before making any sort of assumptions.

She's never met either of these two, though, and the she-wolf prowls toward them, tail raised.]

[thewindything]

SHH!! Naomi stop screaming it's just me! Holy crap you walk toward a huge wild animal but a little bit of wind scares you?!

[John is keeping his eyes on the wolf, too. Like. Holy shit is that thing gonna come after them or what. He's slowly inching back with Naomi in tow.]

Good, uh. Doggie. Don't eat us, we taste terrible, I promise!

[capitolina]

[Lupa's still watching both of them with interested black eyes, breathing gently through her nose, walking with almost human-like elegance.

And then, then, John has the audacity to call her by that name. In an instant, her demeanor changes, and she snarls at the two, tail going ramrod straight.]

Child, I am no mere doggie.

[serenesuccessor]

Put me down!

[She's still flailing about, and whoops, those might be some vines coming out of the ground to trip him. She promises that wasn't on purpose and it probably isn't effective. She's still getting the hang of making them and she can't really concentrate while he's carrying her.

It's only when she realizes Lupa's walking towards them that she stops her struggling and attempted vine tripping. Her eyes light up again, before realizing just how big she is.]

Oh wow...

[And then she snarls and Naomi doesn't even realize Lupa talks because she's screaming again. This time vines sprout out successfully, forming a small shield between the wolf and the two.]

[thewindything]

[Naomi gets her wish. John drops her in alarm when Lupa actually talks back. He can still hear her over Naomi's screaming though, thankfully. That doesn't make him any less frazzled.]

Holy cheese, you talk! Oh man, uh, wow, I'm really sorry!

[Okay, the vine shield was a really good attempt, Naomi, but that is still a wolf. Somehow, John is under the impression he is a better shield. He carefully moves around so that the she and the shield are behind him.]

[capitolina]

There is no such thing as a holy cheese.

[The girl is clearly a child of the harvest, of Demeter, judging by her camp colors. It's difficult for her to believe for a second that this girl could ever be Roman.]

You are graeci, yes? State your names.

[serenesuccessor]

[It wasn't until John had moved in front of her that Naomi even realizes he dropped her. Panicked she stumbles back to her feet and wants to rush next to him because he can't face a wolf by himself, but she feels frozen.

Swallowing she nods when Lupa asks a question, though what it was she's not sure.]

I-I'm Naomi, Naomi Mikano.

[thewindything]

Greasy? What?

[John bites his lip but he doesn't back down. He's got a feeling that if he does, they're as good as kibble.]

John Egbert.

[capitolina]

Graeci. I am asking if you are Greek.

[Somehow, though, it's becoming more clear to Lupa that both of these children are Greek, despite the boy clearly exhibiting signs of being a son of Jupiter. It was funny, actually. She'd remembered hearing once that the Big Three gods' Greek aspects were forbidden to procreate with mortals.]

[serenesuccessor]

Umm, well John's Roman?

[She's gotten her feet to move, peeking over John's shoulder. There's a small tremble as she stands there, doing her best to calm her nerves. So much for a cute puppy to pet.]

[thewindything]

I'm a son of Jupiter.

[John is actually prepared to wind blast Naomi far away from this spot if it looks like Lupa is gonna go feral on them. He really hopes it doesn't come to that.]

[He thought monsters couldn't get in? What the hell camp.]

[capitolina]

Then my suspicions have been correct.

[She watches John closely for a second, almost trying to place his scent, and turns to Naomi.]

Young Naomi, I must have a moment alone with John.

[The time has come to see if this one is worthy of even a probatio status after all.]

[serenesuccessor]

[Naomi looks from Lupa, then to John. She's not too keen on leaving him alone though, especially after they were almost attacked. Or well. At least after it almost seemed like they were about to get attacked.

She resists the urge to reach out to take his hand.]

Ummm... You're not gonna eat him are you?

[She looks at Lupa again, biting her lip.]

[thewindything]

[Something finally clicks when she says that. The reason this wolf got into camp and was asking specifically if they were Greek or not. He's heard about this from the other Romans.]

[This must be Lupa. She was a goddess. Oh boy.]

...It's okay, Naomi. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes. You can help me set up a prank on Dave.

[Now, he definitely didn't take his eyes off her.]

[capitolina]

I'm hoping it does not come to that.

[She is sure that Jupiter would be displeased if her pack needed to devour one of his few sons.]

Your first test is to keep up with me.

[She digs her hind legs into the ground a few times, clawing at the earth, and then shoots off like a rocket, running towards the forest.]

[serenesuccessor]

[She doesn't like this, but she nods when John says he'll catch up with her. After one last glance at Lupa she looks at John, pointing to the volley ball court.]

'm gonna be right there.

[And she's about to leave - and kind of debates getting Chiron. She's taken two steps before she spins around and in one quick motion takes off her magatama, holding out to John.]

It's my lucky charm and I want it back! It'll keep you safe!

[No. But really. She wants it back once you're done. So you better survive.]

[thewindything]

[He blinks in surprise when she holds it out to him, but he takes it, giving her a thankful grin. He's probably going to need it. It goes around his neck without a second thought.]

Thanks! I'll bring it back in just a second!

[He hopes. John turns just as Lupa's sped off. He loses a few shades of color and then shakes his head, taking a deep breath. "You have got to be fucking kidding me" is heard under his breath before he takes off after her.]

[Running isn't going to do him much good, really, so he begins to use the wind to push him along, after her.]

[capitolina]

[At once, Lupa feels an extra breeze pushing its way through her fur, and knows Jupiter's son is near. As with any other child of Jupiter, like Jason before him, his untapped power is immense, and Lupa can sense it right away.

But power and discipline are two different things.

In her running, she leads him to a clearing of trees in the woods, looking up at him, almost commanding him wordlessly to stop. She sits in the center of the clearing, looking up at the sky, as if she's waiting.

Then she howls again, and about ten other she-wolves come out from the trees, each with their hungry eyes trained on John.]

[thewindything]

[John feels like he's done a pretty good job at keeping up! It's a really good thing he's had time to practice his powers or he might have accidentally catapulted himself into the lake. Being at home, he had no real way to test what he could do. It probably saved him from getting eaten. Well, maybe. That remained to be seen.]

[John stops in the clearing, blinking a little as Lupa waited. When she howled, he felt a chill. That. That couldn't mean anything good for his well being.]

[Lo and behold, he was right. That sure was a pack of wolves.]

Oh boy.

[capitolina]

[The wolves begin to pace towards John, closing in on him. Meanwhile, Lupa backs away, recliningn into a straight-backed sitting position to watch John and the pack.]

Now, you must show the potential for discipline - the mark of a true Roman warrior. You must fight, but not kill. If you kill, we will kill you.

[And almost immediately after she's done speaking, one of the larger wolves lunges at John, snarling.]

[thewindything]

[Oh man, oh god, oh fuck, oh man. He's stupid. Why did he go along with this?? He should have just hopped the quickest wind current back to Maple Valley and forgot about all of this. He was seriously about to get eaten by wolves. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF BATSHIT CAMP IS THIS!?]

[Also, if he got eaten, he could think of a few people who would kick his ass. Like Naomi. He bet she could probably strangle his ghost with vines if he died and lost her necklace.]

[This is such an awesome day.]

[Fuck his life.]

You know, I am pretty sure the paperwork for this place said nothing about a trial by WOLVES OH MY GOD!

[John does a fucking barrel roll and probably just barely misses losing an arm.]

Okay, you know what? Bring it on.

[capitolina]

[Lupa does her best not to laugh at John's behaviors. It's clear he has the potential to become a Roman, but the tests are the tests, and she must follow through on all of them before she decides his ultimate fate.

The wolf who lunges at John is very clearly a snapper, and she keeps jumping back and forth at him, gnashing her teeth, trying to grab a bite of prime demigod.]

[thewindything]

[John is on the defensive at first. His combat training so far is barebones at best, but that's where the demigod-brand battle-ADHD kicks in and he's able to dodge well without getting eaten. He's surprising himself, but he has no plans of being on anyone's menu today.]

[Being on the defensive isn't going to do him very good for very long, though. He'll wear down and then they'll probably fucking eat him. He pivots after one particular dodge, pulling his arm back and slinging it forward, sending a blast of wind at whatever wolf was currently in his grill.]

You said no killing, does that mean I'm aiming for K.O's here, or what?

[capitolina]

Precisely, young John.

[She's glad she doesn't have to say everything. He picks up on her, more or less, and that's something the Legion values - a member of their army who will read between the lines and do what their centurions tell them, ven if it's just implied.

The wolf lets out a loud whimper as the wind slams her backwards, skidding across the ground - but there are two more that take her place, and one's gnawing on John's pant leg.]

[thewindything]

[NOPE. John propels himself into the sky when he sees that one there on his pants leg. Sadly, he can't just stay in the sky, so he comes right back down, using a tight whirlwind of air to catch his fall. He is also using this as a means to knock back any of the wolves lunging for him, and to put some distance between him and them.]

[Okay, so maybe he could just keep knocking them back and he would eventually knock them out.]