it's a brave new world from the last to the first; [debut]

[fatalpride]

There is nothing Annabeth likes more than seeing a plan come into fruition, but being a daughter of the Goddess of War also means that she’s been given the wisdom to know when they will fall apart.

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[neverlanded]

Now Wendy as it were, had a habit of sitting on the bench that rested near the orchard. It was a nice bench, sturdy and with the right amount of sun and shade that made reading a pleasant activity.

With her mind and heart set on spending the afternoon there she arrived in the rec room ready and willing to try for something enjoyable to read. Or at the very least not so terrible. Catching sight of a blonde girl she did not recognise, Wendy did as manners dictated.

"Oh, hello," she said with a casual wave.

[fatalpride]

Being quite the bookworm herself, Annabeth catches sight of the one in the other girl's hand immediately and turns to return the wave because it's only polite.

Truth be told, she's still reeling from the mechanics of this so-called magical island and its inhabitants. To Annabeth, the Gods were just as real as the next person on the street - and they were all powerful. To come to a place untouched by their influence or rulings seems completely foreign to her. Not to mention the fact that in the middle of a war, it's hard to sit and breathe and simply enjoy something as simple as an orchard, even within the borders of camp.

"Hello." she replies - and then with some measure of curiosity, "What are you reading?"

[neverlanded]

"London's War," Wendy said, glancing down at the title of the book. She hadn't actually been reading it, but rather considering doing so. Even if it became nothing more than another in a high pile she would be glad to have it there.

"It's about World War Two. Isn't that terrible that there's not one great war, but two of them?"

[fatalpride]

Little did most people know, but World War Two was actually fought by the children of The Big Three - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. What other forces could have the power to nearly rip apart the world as they did? She's about to open her mouth to inform the other girl of this in her typical brainiac fashion, but realizes that she'll probably sound overly imaginative at best.

"It's terrible." she agrees, but she doesn't look down at the cover because she knows that she won't be able to read it. "So it's about the Battle of Britain, specifically?"

This is a subject that Annabeth knows a lot about, even from the mortal side of things. Her father is a history professor who specializes in modern wars. His passion is what had caught the eye of Athena in the first place.

[of_badfaith]

It hadn't been a good month for Draco Malfoy. His mood was darker than usual, if that was even possible, but it wasn't the customary petulant, childishly snotty furies he often worked himself up into. He was too tired and too worn for his usual arrogance, and miracle of miracles, perhaps over the last few weeks he'd finally matured beyond the antagonism and bullying.

Well, perhaps we shouldn't go that far.

The girl was nothing more than a child, and it hardly seemed worth it to go out of his way to say hello, but as she passed him in the hall, he gave her a curt nod, his eyes passing over her with idle curiosity.

[fatalpride]

Likewise, it hadn't been a good month for Annabeth Chase as well. Her mind had been thoroughly filled with losses, damages and battle plans due to the number of combat missions campers had been sent out on that summer - special permission from the Oracle be damned.

So forgive her if she's not quite in the mood for this person's slight patronizing manner. She bites her tongue but crosses her arms across her chest and keeps her head held high as she nods back at him.

[of_badfaith]

"You're new, aren't you?" he drawled, hating that he knew the look of them, by now. He'd been on the island over two years, he could spot the new ones a mile away, even someone who looked far from helpless.

[fatalpride]

"Was it that obvious, or are you just experienced in telling the difference?" it's a bit of a wild guess on her part and less of a well-supported hypothesis which would have been more to her style, but for something so small Annabeth will let it slide.

[percy_jackson]

I'd been walking Mrs. O'Leary when it happened.

I'd been moping a little. Despite my new friends, Riku, Zell and Arianne, I felt lonely. As good as they were, they left me keenly aware that I was the only demigod on the Island. All the friends who really understood me, Annabeth, Grover -- hell, even Clarisse -- were still back on Long Island, possibly fighting the forces of Kronos by now. It was maddening. I should be there, helping them, not here, alone!

I didn't take much notice when Mrs. O'Leary perked up, let out a huge "WOOF!" and bounded off towards the surf. Then I realized she was making a beeline for a solitary figure in the sand. I opened my mouth to order her back -- Mrs. O'Leary's warm and wet 'hello's weren't appreciated by everybody -- but then the words caught in my throat.

Ye gods! It isn't... is it? It is!

I ran after Mrs O'Leary, desperate to catch up.

[fatalpride]

Was this some sort of trick? Annabeth knew as well as anyone about the types of illusions some of the gods could bring onto a person - realistic enough to fool any person. But the gods were elsewhere, fighting Typhon, and surely Kronos hadn't yet amassed this sort of power...

There's a large, black blur coming straight for her and Annabeth has seen enough of them to know a hellhound when she sees one. She draws her bronze knife and her body automatically tenses to strike until something about the hellhound's features seems familiar to her and causes her to pause.

"Mrs. O'Leary?"

But then if that was the case, then Percy had to be -

"PERCY!" she begins to run towards him too, despite her armor being heavy, and when she finally catches up to him she stares at him in utter confusion. "Di immortales, Percy! What's going on here?"

[percy_jackson]

For a moment, I can't say anything. She's here! My best friend is here! If only Grover were here, it would be just like old times...

...and she's wearing armour. And looks like she's been in a battle. Gods, what have I missed? What's going on back there?

But I had to keep it cool. Just because I hadn't seen my best friend for over nine months doesn't mean that I had to embarrass myself by being emotional about it, right?

I looked at her. Then I came forward and hugged her, hard.

Way to keep it cool, Jackson.

[fatalpride]

Despite being best friends, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson generally have only two reasons for hugging: when they're about to enter into a supremely dangerous (and therefore normal for a demigod) situation, and after they've left said situation and come out (more or less) alive. Other than that, Annabeth prefers to show her affection through a series of punches ranging from very light to winding.

This situation fits neither of the two criteria, and although she returns it because he looks so happy, Annabeth can't help but return his gaze with a wary look of her own.

And is it just her, or does Percy look...younger?

"Percy. We left the Athena and Apollo cabins virtually unguarded. We need to get out of here. And what happened to your armor?"

[the_cop]

Ray came into the kitchen, chewing on a toothpick. He paused when he noticed the girl by the cupboards. She had a sorta lost look on her face that after so long on the island Ray was used to seeing.

"Need help finding something?" he asked, shuffling some things around 'til he found the coffee grounds.

[fatalpride]

"I'm not looking for anything." she replies, turning around to look at the man who had addressed her. She watches him shuffle things around and wonders why the organization in such a gigantic kitchen isn't better. The cabinets should probably be more spacious, and the walls could be improved. She's imagining a better, grander kitchen in her mind's eye, one that she would personally design.

The label on the can of coffee grounds reads something like CEFFOE to her, but the picture is enough to explain.

[the_cop]

"Everybody's looking for something," Ray said, dumping the coffee into a filter and firing up the machine. He flashed the girl a smile. "Eurythmics."

Oh yeah, Ray had depths.

"So what's your name, kid?"

[fatalpride]

She understands his meaning as being philosophical and not strictly limited to finding in the literal sense, but doesn't get the reference exactly. "Eurythmia. Rhythmical in Greek. What does that have to do with finding things?"

Annabeth frowns slightly at the question. "Annabeth."

[giftless]

It was a fact -- if not proved by science then surely soon to be -- that glitter existed in direct opposition to the rest of reality. When one wished it to be contained, it flew all about. When one wished it to fall just so, it clumped in a ball. And when a young man wished it off his hands after spending the morning in the company of an arts-and-craftsy little girl, that young man was sure to find it absolutely impossible.

"Just bugger off," he muttered to himself as he turned off the tap and tried to rub the persistent sparkles off his skin with a dish rag. The kettle he had been waiting on jumped to life with a sharp whistle, and Edmund looked with polite interest to the girl who'd just wandered into the kitchen. "Would you like some tea? I was just making myself some."

If the light hit him just right, a light sprinkle of sparkle could be seen at his temple.

glitter is the herpes of craft supplies

[fatalpride]

"The water makes it stick to your face even more." she tells him, although he probably already knows this. Although it didn't always seem like it, Camp Half-Blood was still a summer camp, and the gods know how many times she's been stuck with glue on her fingers or in her hair. (In her defense, she was seven at the time, and as she matured her mother's gifts for crafts began to show - good genetics simply just cannot be beat) "Try drying your face off and using tape to lift the pieces away."

A cup of tea sounds good right now. With all the excitement of today, one needed a chance to collect one's thoughts. "And I'd like tea, if there's any left."

She studies him curiously, gray eyes sweeping over him. He's about her age or maybe even younger, and British. His forehead was currently sparkling and slightly more pink than the rest of his face due to his persistent scrubbing.

Re: glitter is the herpes of craft supplies

[giftless]

Edmund couldn't help the sudden, brief scowl at being informed that his attempts had been for not. Not at a scowl at the girl, mind, but at himself and the glitter apparently still sticking to his skin. "Tape," he muttered to himself. "Obviously. Thank you. I'll keep that in mind for next time too."

There was always a next time with Karen and glitter.

"I made far more than I need, not to worry," he assured her, abandoning the rag for the moment and fetched down two mugs from the cabinet. "Milk or sugar?" he asked.

[fatalpride]

"Milk, please." she had ADHD already. She didn't need more sugar to cloud up her mind - but these thoughts are thrown from her head once she realizes that there is a spider crawling across the floor.

A spider.

She bites her lip. "Ugh!" Annabeth hates spiders, and Annabeth is not a squeamish girl in the least. It's just that the children of Arachne have been taken their revenge on the children of Athena for centuries now, and although she's no longer a demigod (the thought makes her frown), her fear of them has not disappeared.