ANNOUNCEMENT & IM

[chiron]

[ You'll find yourself looking at a grave centaur first thing this morning, just before the Romans start their training. ] Campers, I've an important announcement to make. Now, you know very well that we have protective borders around Camp Half-Blood. After last summer's incident, we've taken great care to ensure that we have several lines of defense with both force and Mist.

Followers of Lycaon - wolves - have been spotted just outside of camp. It is believed that they continue to align themselves with Gaea.

There have been no attacks, but I trust that all of you will keep your eyes and ears open for any signs of trouble. No campers will be leaving. [ Have a pointed look for some of you. ] However, we must keep our wits about us. Prepare accordingly. The Athena cabin has necessary information on the followers should you choose to educate yourselves on the matter. I hope you will.

[ The feed ends. ]





( mod note | Open to discussion. Plan your patrol groups, change up your training tactics. Welcome to the first plot of 2014! )

Comments

[usernameallison]

[Scott's actively seeking out Derek too, after he's done with his pullups. The bad wolves are coming, and Derek's a wolf too which means he's at risk (or something along those lines, he's trying to think as clearly as he can right now). And he's a Legionnaire, and not one single Legionnaire can be put at risk.

So right now he's searching the forest in hopes of finding his friend. He doesn't know if Derek can smell him out, but he's there.]

[arracht]

[ As someone draws closer to where he's pacing, Derek goes still and reaches his senses out. Footsteps give way to heartbeat, and while he doesn't relax completely he isn't quite as tense when Scott's scent follows shortly after.

Puffing out a noisy breath, he turns away from where he's been staring out at the outskirts of the camp, making his way over towards where the younger legionnaire is traversing. ]

[usernameallison]

Derek.

[Scott gives him a little wave - well, it's half-salute, half wave. Even if Centurion Hale isn't here, Scott still treats her brother like someone older, someone who's been in the legion longer.]

Did you...hear that thing Chiron said this morning?

[Of course he did. Why else would he be prowling around here?

[arracht]

Scott. [ There's the slightest quirk of amusement at the half-salute, and Derek brings a hand up to return it in something leaning more towards a wave. But the amusement wavers, then fades, at the question. ]

Unfortunately. Figured I'd make myself scarce for a while, see if I could find anything.

[ Part of him really wishes that Laura was here, that she could help, because then they could find something to help the camp. He's not a centurion himself, but he's trying to fill in for her while she's gone. ]

[usernameallison]

Yeah, I figured that was it.

[There's a little sigh here. As oblique as Derek can be sometimes, he has some patterns to pick up on.]

And...? Did you find anything?

[arracht]

[ At least Scott knows him well enough by this point, despite the changes that've happened since the war began. He shrugs, looking from him to the outskirts of camp again. ]

They've definitely been circling the camp, but I haven't caught a fresh scent here. Not yet.

[usernameallison]

That's not good.

[He brings his voice down to a murmur, frowning a little.]

Annabeth said...there's tons of reasons they could be here. Maybe grudges from Zeus and Lycaeon's time, or maybe they're a new pack looking for easy prey. We don't know.

[arracht]

It could be anything. If they're associated with Lycaon's pack directly, then they could be a scouting party. If they aren't they could just be a lone group looking for easy prey, or they could even be looking to recruit.

[ He sounds a little disdainful when saying that. ]

Regardless, we're probably not going to know until it's too late.

[usernameallison]

To - recruit?! Derek, they can't - we can't let them do that!

[Scott's hand balls into a fist as he talks, his eyebrows furrowing.]

We have to - we gotta do something.

[arracht]

No, no we can't. Zeus might've cursed Lycaon, but the bite itself isn't a curse. It's a gift, and they're abusing it and turning people against their wills when they aren't just outright eating them.

[ There's a curl of his lip, just a silent snarl to his expression. ]

You need to know everything that can hurt a werewolf, Scott. Everything.

[usernameallison]

[Scott knows about the fact that werewolves eat people. He knows Gaea wants to eat people. But it's never actually...he doesn't like thinking about it, not actively. He nods a little bit, gulping, and puts his best foot forward like Lydia said. Though he's pretty sure this isn't the sort of situation she was talking about.]

So teach me. Everything.

[arracht]

[ Shaking himself out a little, Derek tries to push down his anger towards Lycaon and his wolves. They're predators, but they don't have to be killers. They should be using their abilities to protect those that need it.

He looks at Scott, takes in his expression, before inclining his head in a nod. ]

Silver is the only metal that can actively harm a werewolf. Otherwise we'll heal, or outright resist injury. I don't know about Stygian Iron, but I haven't exactly been willing to try it out personally and we don't really have a surplus of weapons lying around. If you can't get your hands on anything with silver, then you're going to need to coat your weapons in some kind of poison-- wolfsbane, especially, but mistletoe and wolf lichen are also effective. Those are your top three choices.

[usernameallison]

Silver - wow. Always kind of wondered if that was just a myth. Guess that rules this right out, then.

[He points to the imperial gold sword glinting at his hip.]


And that probably rules out celestial bronze, so that means - crap, Derek, that means we're all royally screwed here unless we all poison our weapons!

[arracht]

[ Huffing out a humorless noise, he reaches to his hip to draw his broadsword. He might not need it, but that doesn't mean he's not going to carry it with him.

He angles the blade, holding out his other palm so that he can slowly slide the sharp edge across skin. While he may bleed, the injury doesn't stay-- and he makes that obvious by swiping his thumb over his palm to smear away the blood, where he's already healing. ]

Talk to someone in Cabin 4, see if they can't get you something to coat your blade in. I don't know if we'll have enough time to make specific concoctions or not, but hopefully we can. Because you can counteract wolfsbane poisoning by burning wolfsbane into ashes, and inserting the ashes into the wound.

But if it's a specific mix, trying to do that could actually worsen the poisoning.

[usernameallison]

[he watches as Derek's skin heals himself where he slices it open. It's not the first time he's seen it, of course, but it still does make him marvel, just a little bit.

Scott's eyebrows furrow even more, puzzling over something Derek says.]

Wait. Wolfsbane can kill a werewolf, but it can also heal a werewolf. That...I don't get it.

[arracht]

[ While Scott's seen him heal before, he feels like he needs to drive the point home-- if he doesn't poison his weapon, or get silver, he's not going to be able to fight the monsters that are circling their camp. ]

Not going to pretend to understand it, and I was born a werewolf. It almost... It doesn't reverse the poisoning. More like it stops it, so that the body can heal and get it out of the system.

[usernameallison]

Like how you're not supposed to take a bullet out of your body if it's in certain places. Or an arrowhead.

[Scott, it is probably nothing like that. Still, he nods a little, pulling his sword out of its loop.]

I better get my hands on some wolfsbane, then.

[arracht]

[ Scott, it's definitely not like that. But Derek just shakes his head a little instead of actually answering it. ]

Wolfsbane is your best bet, after silver. Just don't get it in your system. It's deadly for werewolves but it's still poisonous for you, too.

[usernameallison]

Right, I'll...stay away from it. Much as I can, anyway.

[Especially since he doesn't intake nectar and ambrosia like the rest of them can, and he doesn't really know too many of the Apollo kids here. Better safe than sorry.]

[arracht]

I mean it, Scott. I'm not your centurion, so I can't give you orders, but be careful. Don't poison yourself inadvertently, and don't let any of those wolves near you. If they bite you, it's either to turn you or to drag you off. They're called maneaters for a reason.

[ His concern blatantly slips through, now, and he hopes that he's driven the point home. ]

[usernameallison]

[Honestly, he hasn't seen Centurion Hale since they first got here, and he kind of gets the feeling sometimes that not even Derek might know where she is, the way he talks. But Derek's always been secretive.

So Derek's the closest thing he's got to a centurion right now, besides - well, besides the Praetors.]

I'm - gods, this is gonna be hard. I just want to protect the camp. I want to keep everyone safe from these...guys.

[He doesn't say 'things'. They're not things, or monsters.

Are they? Now, he's not so sure.]

[arracht]

[ Truth be told, Derek hasn't seen Laura since well before he left for Halfblood the second time. For all intents and purposes, he's fairly certain that she's stepped down as centurion, given the fact that she's prioritized pack business over the cohort. Not that he can blame her, since she's the one primed to be alpha and not him, but at the same time... ]

I know you do. I'm right there with you-- but I don't want anything to happen to you, either.

[ He gets the implication of his hesitance, of the way he finishes. But Lycaon's wolves are monsters, even if all werewolves aren't. ]

[usernameallison]

[Still, Scott has no idea about any of that. He doesn't really get pack dynamics, or that there are roles from the Legion that cross over into the wolf packs and that there are ones that definitely don't.

Scott reaches out to clap Derek on the shoulder, a little smile playing at his lips.]

Y'know...that really does mean a lot. Seriously.

[Accidental Sentimental Scott McCall.]

[arracht]

[ Someday, Derek will give him a lesson. Right now, though? There isn't a reason for it, and he'll be fine without knowing pack dynamics for the time being. Even if there's possibly a pack circling them right now, it's not relevant.

Raising his eyebrows as Scott reaches out, he doesn't bat his hand away. Just snorts softly, reaching to squeeze his wrist. ]

Things might've been a little rocky lately, but you're... [ Pack. ] You're cohort and family, Scott.