[CHB] OOC 1: The Revival

[AnimeKid]

Uh DM? Sorry if this sounds nickpicky but how is Rick in two places at once? The Dinner Hall scene with Melissa was happening at about the same time as the scene in the Arena.

[GrandDM]

Uh DM? Sorry if this sounds nickpicky but how is Rick in two places at once? The Dinner Hall scene with Melissa was happening at about the same time as the scene in the Arena.

Plotclone. It basically amounts to "I'm in multiple places at the same time but that's OK because of the way time is really badly distorted in FFRP". Basically, it's just a handwave.

We're here to have fun, not observe all the details of reality. Just go with it.

[Aric Kale]

Please, please, please! Don't skip me. I was gone less than four hours...
I'll try to catch up. But just wait a few minutes...

[GrandDM]

Just had a thought.

I think that Rick would, at least to a limited extent, be immune to Melissa's everything-sounds-like-a-lie powers, because he can see through magical/divine-related illusions, which I think that power would come under.

What do you think, Mahroni?

[5a Violista]

The way I see her power is half-illusion, half-not, mostly because if everyone started having magical ways around her powers, it would diminish the flair and awesomeness of those who get around it without supernatural help.

From what I've decided, the non-illusory part directly affects Melissa herself, making her own body react as if she were telling a lie - nervousness, wandering eyes, voice tonal shifts, body language, heightened pulse, etc - no more marked than any other lie she has said. The illusory half amplifies it to make it seem like an absolutely ridiculous lie, the biggest lie since the Trojan Horse. So if someone had a way to get around magics affecting them, but not a way to directly know the truth itself, then it would seem like she was lying, but it wouldn't sound like the ridiculous "Ha!-I-can't-even-believe-you-expect-me-to-believe-your-name-is-Melissa-even-though-it's-on-your-official-records" kind of lying.


Speaking of witches,

Who's waiting for whom for the ultra-important meeting to go on? I can't tell whose turn it is to go next.


Edit:
And

[Arena]
(([...]so annoyed there's no evil emote on this site...))

I believe you're looking for this one or this one or this one

[GrandDM]

Rick's in both groups of those. He figured out her mother is Eris, so he just ignores the automatic lie body language.

As for the meeting, I don't really know. I just respond to posts on a case-by-case basis. Last time I looked, we had the main group sorted but not the auxiliaries.

[Haleyintraining]

With regards to the meeting, Simon had pointed out that there were two Ares kids in the main party and perhaps one should be switched, which was supposed to be an out for Carrie so that Beans wouldn't have two characters in the same party. But some other scenes were going on simultaneously, so it never got reacted upon.

[5a Violista]

Main Group:
Rick - Ares [1/3] (GrandDM) <best at combat>
Felandria - Zeus [2] (Felandria) <size-shifting, combat, electricity & fire>
Lan - Satyr [2/3] (Lord Deathkeeper) <bow, staff, dagger, plant animation>
?Carrie - Ares [3] (Beans)
Geoff - Hades [2/1] (GrandDM) <Very strong powers>
Neiz - Styx [3] (Beans) <Social powers and defensive combat>

Auxiliary One:
?
?
?

Auxiliary Two:
?
?
?

Still need to be placed in a group:
Name - god [power] (player) <Notable powers>
Carrie - Ares [3] (Beans) <berserk, endurance, strength, and agility>
Rachel - Phobos [4/2] (Kerfuffle Mach 2) <Detection, Hallucination, self-healing>
Anika - Athena/Undiscovered [4/5] (Haley-in-Training) <Quick thinking/planning>
Melissa - Eris [2] (Mahonri Violist) <large-scale group control, misdirection, combat>
Simon - Apollo [3] (Haley-in-Training) <Archery, occasional helpful prophecy>
Colin - Boreas [2] (Aric Kale) <Wind manipulation, flight, combat>
Kanji - Ares [2] (AnimeKid) <strength, endurance, stamina, survival, resilience>
Yu - Zeus [2] (AnimeKid) <Electricity and Wind, stamina, truth-finding>

Of these not in a group yet, Kanji and Yu can't be in the same group, and Anika and Simon can't be in the same group. Kanji and Carrie probably shouldn't be in the same group.
Kanji and Carrie have similar powers (combat survival), as do Yu and Colin (wind).
So, let's decide now, OoC, how the groups will be filled, so that we don't have to spend five and a half pages debating IC. We've already had two or three suggestions...so let's vote on which suggestion we should do, as soon as someone can find them here in the OoC?


For the Meeting, here is what I understand everybody is waiting for:
Aric Kale is waiting for healing for his character, Colin. After that, I'm sure he'll be more amiable to answering questions about the monsters he fought.

Haley-in-Training's Simon is waiting for someone to tell him to switch Carrie out of the Main Group and into one of the Side Groups - and put someone else in. (So that Beans doesn't have 2 eggs in one basket).

The other thing that's being waited for is this:

[The Meeting]

"I believe that we have our main group, but not our support ones. We need to get those fully organised, and work out basic tactics - on a mission this big, we can't afford to charge in."

The basic tactics and support groups need to be figured out. The basic tactics can probably be glossed over for now IC, and only come up when they become relevant.

[GrandDM]

I'm pretty sure I posted Chiron treating Colin.

For the missing slot in the main group, I would suggest Melissa. Her discord powers would help nicely with trying to get through the home of all monsters alive.

[AnimeKid]

Actually Melissa's powers seem more effective against humans/humanoids than it would most monsters. While some of them are intelligent you still have things like hydra's, hell's hounds, the minotaur, etc. Since we don't want any doubling up of demigods from the same parent I will retract my request for Yu to join the main group. I would suggest Colin since Rick has good teamwork with him and his ability to fly would be useful.

[ImpSyndrome]

Hello everyone. I wanted to join this scenario, so I created a character on the appropriate thread, but I want to ask a couple questions before I get him started.

1: I noticed that the demigod characters in the character index are mostly in the age range of high-schoolers. Would it be acceptable to create a character slightly outside of that range, or should I adjust his age to conform to the scenario?

2: It seems that some event is taking place, one into which I could not simply drop my character. Should I wait to introduce him, or is someone available outside that event to help get him started?

[Felandria]

Hello everyone. I wanted to join this scenario, so I created a character on the appropriate thread, but I want to ask a couple questions before I get him started.

1: I noticed that the demigod characters in the character index are mostly in the age range of high-schoolers. Would it be acceptable to create a character slightly outside of that range, or should I adjust his age to conform to the scenario?

2: It seems that some event is taking place, one into which I could not simply drop my character. Should I wait to introduce him, or is someone available outside that event to help get him started?

If you wanna go a bit older, you'd basically be a head of a cabin, like Felandria.

So if the god you're attached to doesn't have a head of the cabin, I suppose you could do that.

[ImpSyndrome]

If you wanna go a bit older, you'd basically be a head of a cabin, like Felandria.

So if the god you're attached to doesn't have a head of the cabin, I suppose you could do that.

Ah, gotcha...I suppose I could make that work, although it'd still require a change or two to his profile. What exactly does being a head of cabin entail, though?

[Felandria]

Not much, you'll just make sure your character keeps an eye on the rest of your cabin.

[ImpSyndrome]

Not much, you'll just make sure your character keeps an eye on the rest of your cabin.

OK, thanks very much for the information. I've updated my character's profile to fit the cabin head position, and I also added a couple equipment items and an ability. Hopefully, I haven't taken too many liberties or upset the power balance; I figured they would make sense, since his story now includes a few years spent in the camp.

I guess all that's left now is to find a way to bring this character into the camp. I was thinking that he could be returning from a trip of some sort to gather raw materials, since he's a metalsmith and all. How does that sound?

Oh yeah, I guess I could link to the post with his profile. It can be found here.

[Felandria]

I see nothing wrong with it.

[ImpSyndrome]

Finished my character's profile and introduced him to the IC thread. Thanks to Felandria for helping me get set up.

Not to be too hasty, but it looks like it's been a few days since the last post (not counting mine, that is)...Should I expand on my intro post to make a response more manageable, or is everyone just busy at the moment?

[GrandDM]

I was waiting for a response on my last post. I'll drop into the IC thread directly and make a response.

[ImpSyndrome]

Posting seems a bit intermittent lately. Perhaps I can help by playing the role of a monster or two for the demigods to battle. What manner of creature would serve as a decent opponent for willing combatants?

[Aric Kale]

hell hounds are nice. I was noticing a lack of response.

[5a Violista]

Any normal monster from Greek Mythology sounds cool: snake-people, crazed creatures, bird-things, whatever.

Melissa's willing, by the way.

[ImpSyndrome]

OK, I'll set up a couple monsters for those two to battle. But before I do, know that I'll scale each monster's abilities according to their opponent's power level. They won't be exactly as powerful, but I won't send cannon fodder to attack an experienced combatant; they'll know well enough to step back and let a hard-hitter take them on. Let me know if you have any objections to this. Otherwise, I'll start planning my attack, heh.

[GrandDM]

OK, I'll set up a couple monsters for those two to battle. But before I do, know that I'll scale each monster's abilities according to their opponent's power level. They won't be exactly as powerful, but I won't send cannon fodder to attack an experienced combatant; they'll know well enough to step back and let a hard-hitter take them on. Let me know if you have any objections to this. Otherwise, I'll start planning my attack, heh.

I'd like to point out that you should have asked permission from either me or Fel (as the CHB mods) to take control of some monsters. (Permission given, but please ask next time).

[ImpSyndrome]

I'd like to point out that you should have asked permission from either me or Fel (as the CHB mods) to take control of some monsters. (Permission given, but please ask next time).

Ah, sorry about that, my mistake. Hopefully, no harm done, since I haven't actually posted anything yet, but I will keep that in mind for similar situations in the future.

[GrandDM]

Ah, sorry about that, my mistake. Hopefully, no harm done, since I haven't actually posted anything yet, but I will keep that in mind for similar situations in the future.

It's fine, but I just wanted to make the point that monsters are not generally available and are usually under my control (as the Myth Mod), but go right ahead and throw something at me. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[ImpSyndrome]

Alright, the monster situation is getting tense again, courtesy of yours truly. I'll try to balance each post to keep the fights engaging and interesting, but if anyone wants to cut their bout short or steer toward a certain event/outcome, just shoot me a PM.

@GDM: I'm terribly sorry that I haven't engaged Rick in a monster fight yet; I've been having trouble coming up with an opponent (or opponents) that would make a good challenge for him and the others with him. Plus, I have another idea that I want to try and work into that fight; I'll send you a PM about it later.

[Felandria]

Just finished the last part of Fel's backstory, hoping for some feedback.

[GrandDM]

Just finished the last part of Fel's backstory, hoping for some feedback.

They're really good. Nice writing.

[Beans]

Speaking of backstory, I just put this up on Carrie's profile.

Spoiler

Show

I am tiny and everything is warm and fuzzy, a cottony wooly haze. I see Mama and she is beautiful like the sun I haven't even discovered yet. She defines everything I can conceive of.
I see another person. This person is not Mama, but I heard this voice when I was floating in the warm dark sea before. He holds me and I touch his face. He has shiny black things where Mama has an eye and her other thing, and his face is rough instead of smooth. He feels funny, I laugh, my tiny round hand knocks the black things from his face. He has two eyes while Mama has one eye and one not-eye. Mama's eyes are white with brown in the middle and black at the centers. His eyes are black with hot red at the center. I stare, not understanding but not afraid. Now he laughs, Mama laughs, we all laugh.
---
I am small, three years old, and I know so much more now. My mom is the coolest lady in the world, even if every other child's mom is bigger than her. She is strong and kind and warm and she wears an eyepatch. Sometimes I see her with it off and there is just an empty hole. Sometimes she hides things in it and takes them out, and it's like magic to other kids. But I smile because I know where she hides the little rubber ball that seems to appear from nowhere.
Other kids have a dad, but I have never seen mine. Mom has no pictures of him, and when I ask she tells me he was a very strong man and I might see him again someday.
I hope so.
---
I am six and things have changed. I feel shy so often around other kids, but I have some friends. Some kids are mean to me and I don't understand why. Erica tells me it is because they feel bad, so they put others down to feel better.
Erica is my mom's best friend. Mom is short and red-haired and loud and full of energy, and Erica is tall and blonde and quiet and calm. She's always with Mom, but that doesn't bother me because I like her a lot. Mom seems happier with her here, and I smile when I see her napping with her head on Erica's chest or pretending to be mad at Erica being so much taller. Sometimes Mom is busy and can't help me with things, but Erica comes and helps me with my homework or plays with me or picks me up from school.
Once or twice I think I've seen them kiss, but I don't think much of it, not yet. I'm okay and I'm happy.
---
I am nine and things are getting really confusing. Sometimes I look at other girls and feel strange, nervous, full of butterflies. There's a thirteen-year-old girl down the street with wavy brown hair the color of autumn chestnuts and I feel funny when I look at her. I ask my friend Tammi if she understands and she tells me she sometimes feels that way about boys, but not girls.
I come home and ask Mom and Erica about it and they tell me that there are girls who like boys, girls who like girls, girls who like both, girls who like neither. Mom likes both, Erica likes girls. Now things make more sense, and I ask them if they like each other. They blush and look at each other and then nod, and I smile and hug them.
I'm still shy, and I still get bullied. I just feel so powerless and small, and the girl who bullies me most is pretty. It's confusing and upsetting and I wish she were nice or not as pretty.
---
I am eleven and things have happened so much. I've been in a couple small fights and I have a few little scars, though I never start the fighting. Mom and Erica say I should try not to, but Mom looks worried and sighs and says I get it from my dad (he sent me a birthday card once).
I have fallen in love a few times. My friend Janie was first (I kissed her and she said no thanks, so we rode our bikes instead), then the brown-haired girl down the street (I was too shy to say anything), then a pretty older girl at the library (who I asked to be my girlfriend and she said I was nice but not old enough to date a girl twenty-five years old).
The biggest thing is that I have two moms now! Erica and Mom got married six months ago and it was one of the happiest days ever! Erica was in a pretty cream-colored dress and Mom was in a tux (Erica could never hope to fit into a tux with her chest, Mom says) and everything was so amazing. There was cake and dancing and I was the ringbearer. A bridesmaid told me I looked pretty and kissed the top of my head, and my whole face felt hot.
Mom and Erica spent a week alone in Iceland for their honeymoon. I stayed with Tammi that week, which was like a sleepover over and over, and when Mom and Erica came back they had so many pictures to show me. Iceland is pretty green and beautiful for a place called, um, Iceland.
---
I am twelve and things are a little scary now. I am just arriving at a place called Camp Half-Blood.
Mom says the reason I never really knew Dad is because he wasn't a normal man, he was a god. A Greek god, Ares---and because of that I have to go to this camp to be safe.
I've gotten more scars by now, and I feel scared and self-concsious here... but things make sense now, I guess, in a way. I always loved Greek mythology, and here it is being real!
An older boy, a satyr, leads me up to the Big House. A centaur, Mr. Chiron, talks to me and explains what's going on, where this is, what I'm going to do. They can tell that I'm Ares's child---Mr. D mutters something about not fitting the mold, but Chiron interrupts to tell me that whenever I need help and guidance, he and the other campers are always here for me. He feels more like a father than my actual father does---or maybe like an uncle or grandfather, wise and calm. He says Felandria will be showing me around, and in walks in the prettiest girl I have ever seen.
Felandria is so tall and beautiful, seventeen years old and a daughter of Zeus; my knees feel weak and my hands sweat and I stumble over my words. She puts an arm around my shoulder and calls me 'hon' and shows me everywhere in Camp, the rock wall and the arena and the forge, the lake and the pavilion and the forest. I try to remember, to take the information in, but I'm busy falling and tripping and tumbling in love with this girl. Finally she shows me to the Ares cabin and I go inside this rough-looking, hard-edged place that smells like old pennies and dry blood.
I ask if this bunk on the girls' side is taken, shyly and quietly and stammering a little, and they laugh at me. My half-brothers and sisters laugh, ask me if I'm really an Ares kid. I stare at my feet and don't say anything, but a tan boy in nothing but shorts sits down right next to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. I jump a little, but he smiles and tells me his name is Rick, calls me 'sis', says not to listen to them. I lean against my big brother and he ruffles my hair, pinches my skinny arm, tells me we have to work on those muscles. "Guys respect a fit, lithe girl," he tells me, "besides the obvious combat necessity of being in shape."
"But... but I-I like girls."
He shrugs, standing and helping me up. "Girls might like fit girls more than guys do, I'unno."
I laugh, I feel so much safer with Rick, my big brother, even in this cabin of callouses and scraped knuckles.
---
I am fourteen and things have changed and stayed the same.
When I was twelve, a fight happened and I was in the middle of it. I got cut and hurt all over, and I have so many more scars now because of it. I feel like I got involved to prove to Dad that I'm not a bad daughter, and he gave me a gift for it.
I woke up in the infirmary with a big sheathed sword on my bed and a note. It said this was mine now, mine to prove myself with if I really had the stuff. It won't come unsheathed, but that's okay---I've learned to use it like a polearm, sort of, hit with the hilt, hold the scabbard.
I'm still so shy around my siblings and people I don't know, especially pretty girls. I have another brother that I feel safe with, though, a year younger than me (but he's really tall!) called Kanji. He and Rick are the only Ares kids that really feel like family to me, and I love them like I've known them all my life... but...
Sometimes I get so jealous of Rick. He's so strong and fast and cool and experienced and I feel so inadequate next to him. I tamp down the bubbling envy and it builds up and goes sour and I feel so sick of him. Kanji is so cool too, but for some reason I don't get the same flashes of resentment and jealousy---I guess it's because I can see hints of a side he doesn't want to show anyone. I know he's sensitive inside too, perhaps that's why.
I keep falling for girls and it's honestly getting really tiresome---the few I work up the guts to admit it to always aren't interested. I still feel nervous around Felandria, but I don't think I'll ever be able to tell her.
My mothers are happy to know I'm safe at camp and they tell me how much they love me all the time. I try to hide the bad parts from them as much as I can so they can stay happier.
---
I am fifteen and things are getting a little better.
Kanji and Rick and some others have been helping me train, and it shows---most girls don't get the same muscular bulk that guys do, but I can tell I'm a lot more fit now! I'm still thin and bony and I have the womanly curves of a dowel rod, but at least I'm a thin and bony girl that doesn't get tired as fast.
I'm a pretty good fighter with Laudanum, even if most of my siblings say I'm lame. I can hold my own now!
I'm still single as all hell and not good with the ladies, but I kissed one of the Demeter girls once---that's something, I think. A weird-pretty girl named Neiz hit on me for a few days, but Rick told her off---he told me she's not really interested in people she flirts with, she just wants to get something from them.
I still get jealous of Rick, though I know it's not like he's intentionally trying to show me up---things are just this way, it seems.
I am Caroline Joy Andrews, daughter of Ares.

[GrandDM]

Speaking of backstory, I just put this up on Carrie's profile.

Spoiler

Show

I am tiny and everything is warm and fuzzy, a cottony wooly haze. I see Mama and she is beautiful like the sun I haven't even discovered yet. She defines everything I can conceive of.
I see another person. This person is not Mama, but I heard this voice when I was floating in the warm dark sea before. He holds me and I touch his face. He has shiny black things where Mama has an eye and her other thing, and his face is rough instead of smooth. He feels funny, I laugh, my tiny round hand knocks the black things from his face. He has two eyes while Mama has one eye and one not-eye. Mama's eyes are white with brown in the middle and black at the centers. His eyes are black with hot red at the center. I stare, not understanding but not afraid. Now he laughs, Mama laughs, we all laugh.
---
I am small, three years old, and I know so much more now. My mom is the coolest lady in the world, even if every other child's mom is bigger than her. She is strong and kind and warm and she wears an eyepatch. Sometimes I see her with it off and there is just an empty hole. Sometimes she hides things in it and takes them out, and it's like magic to other kids. But I smile because I know where she hides the little rubber ball that seems to appear from nowhere.
Other kids have a dad, but I have never seen mine. Mom has no pictures of him, and when I ask she tells me he was a very strong man and I might see him again someday.
I hope so.
---
I am six and things have changed. I feel shy so often around other kids, but I have some friends. Some kids are mean to me and I don't understand why. Erica tells me it is because they feel bad, so they put others down to feel better.
Erica is my mom's best friend. Mom is short and red-haired and loud and full of energy, and Erica is tall and blonde and quiet and calm. She's always with Mom, but that doesn't bother me because I like her a lot. Mom seems happier with her here, and I smile when I see her napping with her head on Erica's chest or pretending to be mad at Erica being so much taller. Sometimes Mom is busy and can't help me with things, but Erica comes and helps me with my homework or plays with me or picks me up from school.
Once or twice I think I've seen them kiss, but I don't think much of it, not yet. I'm okay and I'm happy.
---
I am nine and things are getting really confusing. Sometimes I look at other girls and feel strange, nervous, full of butterflies. There's a thirteen-year-old girl down the street with wavy brown hair the color of autumn chestnuts and I feel funny when I look at her. I ask my friend Tammi if she understands and she tells me she sometimes feels that way about boys, but not girls.
I come home and ask Mom and Erica about it and they tell me that there are girls who like boys, girls who like girls, girls who like both, girls who like neither. Mom likes both, Erica likes girls. Now things make more sense, and I ask them if they like each other. They blush and look at each other and then nod, and I smile and hug them.
I'm still shy, and I still get bullied. I just feel so powerless and small, and the girl who bullies me most is pretty. It's confusing and upsetting and I wish she were nice or not as pretty.
---
I am eleven and things have happened so much. I've been in a couple small fights and I have a few little scars, though I never start the fighting. Mom and Erica say I should try not to, but Mom looks worried and sighs and says I get it from my dad (he sent me a birthday card once).
I have fallen in love a few times. My friend Janie was first (I kissed her and she said no thanks, so we rode our bikes instead), then the brown-haired girl down the street (I was too shy to say anything), then a pretty older girl at the library (who I asked to be my girlfriend and she said I was nice but not old enough to date a girl twenty-five years old).
The biggest thing is that I have two moms now! Erica and Mom got married six months ago and it was one of the happiest days ever! Erica was in a pretty cream-colored dress and Mom was in a tux (Erica could never hope to fit into a tux with her chest, Mom says) and everything was so amazing. There was cake and dancing and I was the ringbearer. A bridesmaid told me I looked pretty and kissed the top of my head, and my whole face felt hot.
Mom and Erica spent a week alone in Iceland for their honeymoon. I stayed with Tammi that week, which was like a sleepover over and over, and when Mom and Erica came back they had so many pictures to show me. Iceland is pretty green and beautiful for a place called, um, Iceland.
---
I am twelve and things are a little scary now. I am just arriving at a place called Camp Half-Blood.
Mom says the reason I never really knew Dad is because he wasn't a normal man, he was a god. A Greek god, Ares---and because of that I have to go to this camp to be safe.
I've gotten more scars by now, and I feel scared and self-concsious here... but things make sense now, I guess, in a way. I always loved Greek mythology, and here it is being real!
An older boy, a satyr, leads me up to the Big House. A centaur, Mr. Chiron, talks to me and explains what's going on, where this is, what I'm going to do. They can tell that I'm Ares's child---Mr. D mutters something about not fitting the mold, but Chiron interrupts to tell me that whenever I need help and guidance, he and the other campers are always here for me. He feels more like a father than my actual father does---or maybe like an uncle or grandfather, wise and calm. He says Felandria will be showing me around, and in walks in the prettiest girl I have ever seen.
Felandria is so tall and beautiful, seventeen years old and a daughter of Zeus; my knees feel weak and my hands sweat and I stumble over my words. She puts an arm around my shoulder and calls me 'hon' and shows me everywhere in Camp, the rock wall and the arena and the forge, the lake and the pavilion and the forest. I try to remember, to take the information in, but I'm busy falling and tripping and tumbling in love with this girl. Finally she shows me to the Ares cabin and I go inside this rough-looking, hard-edged place that smells like old pennies and dry blood.
I ask if this bunk on the girls' side is taken, shyly and quietly and stammering a little, and they laugh at me. My half-brothers and sisters laugh, ask me if I'm really an Ares kid. I stare at my feet and don't say anything, but a tan boy in nothing but shorts sits down right next to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. I jump a little, but he smiles and tells me his name is Rick, calls me 'sis', says not to listen to them. I lean against my big brother and he ruffles my hair, pinches my skinny arm, tells me we have to work on those muscles. "Guys respect a fit, lithe girl," he tells me, "besides the obvious combat necessity of being in shape."
"But... but I-I like girls."
He shrugs, standing and helping me up. "Girls might like fit girls more than guys do, I'unno."
I laugh, I feel so much safer with Rick, my big brother, even in this cabin of callouses and scraped knuckles.
---
I am fourteen and things have changed and stayed the same.
When I was twelve, a fight happened and I was in the middle of it. I got cut and hurt all over, and I have so many more scars now because of it. I feel like I got involved to prove to Dad that I'm not a bad daughter, and he gave me a gift for it.
I woke up in the infirmary with a big sheathed sword on my bed and a note. It said this was mine now, mine to prove myself with if I really had the stuff. It won't come unsheathed, but that's okay---I've learned to use it like a polearm, sort of, hit with the hilt, hold the scabbard.
I'm still so shy around my siblings and people I don't know, especially pretty girls. I have another brother that I feel safe with, though, a year younger than me (but he's really tall!) called Kanji. He and Rick are the only Ares kids that really feel like family to me, and I love them like I've known them all my life... but...
Sometimes I get so jealous of Rick. He's so strong and fast and cool and experienced and I feel so inadequate next to him. I tamp down the bubbling envy and it builds up and goes sour and I feel so sick of him. Kanji is so cool too, but for some reason I don't get the same flashes of resentment and jealousy---I guess it's because I can see hints of a side he doesn't want to show anyone. I know he's sensitive inside too, perhaps that's why.
I keep falling for girls and it's honestly getting really tiresome---the few I work up the guts to admit it to always aren't interested. I still feel nervous around Felandria, but I don't think I'll ever be able to tell her.
My mothers are happy to know I'm safe at camp and they tell me how much they love me all the time. I try to hide the bad parts from them as much as I can so they can stay happier.
---
I am fifteen and things are getting a little better.
Kanji and Rick and some others have been helping me train, and it shows---most girls don't get the same muscular bulk that guys do, but I can tell I'm a lot more fit now! I'm still thin and bony and I have the womanly curves of a dowel rod, but at least I'm a thin and bony girl that doesn't get tired as fast.
I'm a pretty good fighter with Laudanum, even if most of my siblings say I'm lame. I can hold my own now!
I'm still single as all hell and not good with the ladies, but I kissed one of the Demeter girls once---that's something, I think. A weird-pretty girl named Neiz hit on me for a few days, but Rick told her off---he told me she's not really interested in people she flirts with, she just wants to get something from them.
I still get jealous of Rick, though I know it's not like he's intentionally trying to show me up---things are just this way, it seems.
I am Caroline Joy Andrews, daughter of Ares.

Nice. Not sure I'd ever have had Rick say some of that stuff, though .