Red and Orange [open]

Son of Nyx

Braeden sighed. It had been days since he had been able to go for a swim, and he was rather upset about it. He enjoyed swimming, mainly because it challenged every single muscle in his body, but also because it was a much smoother motion than walking on land. Unfortunately, it was too cold to go for a swim in the lake now, so he would just come here day after day, sometimes splash some water over his face to refresh him after a good day's training. That was pretty much all Braeden ever did since he'd arrived here 10 months ago. Work out, walk around, watch the day slip away, and then reluctantly go to bed. The only really exciting thing that ever really happened were his strange habits of wandering off at night. He couldn't help it ... it was like a primal instinct that he could not put a stop to. The doctors said it was because of his ADHD, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with being the son of the night goddess. Clear connection there. Where others were French-Canadian or French-African, Braeden was French-God.

Braeden walked across the beach. He walked quickly, as if he was worried about something or pacing, but he had a habit of walking erratically and did not do it on purpose. He'd just returned from sparring practice, and decided he'd take a walk in the autumn breeze, and wait for night to come again like he did every other day. He felt an urge to leave this place, convinced that it had already done everything it could to help him. Unfortunately, fear kept him trapped here; fear of monsters such as the ones that dragged away his father. He'd learned what they could do in Monster studies, and it was not pretty. Although, he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one at this camp who'd had close calls with beasts. The only monsters he truly liked were his half-brethren, the Hellhounds. Over the course of the 10 months he'd stayed here at Camp Half Blood, he'd developed a peculiar ability to tame wild Hellhounds. He felt a certain ... connection to them. He didn't like to see them killed. Seeing one die just brought back the memories of his father.

As he kept pacing the beach, he noticed a girl in flip-flops sitting on the sand. She had messy brown hair, with blonde highlights, that hung at shoulder length. Her face was covered in freckles. Normally, Braeden would never talk to anyone, mainly because there was no point. The conversation was often overly short. And yet, even from the angle at which he saw her, he felt like talking to her. Maybe it was because of her soft brown eyes, which, if his eyes were not deceiving him, contained a glint of gold. He could only see her face from the side, which was the direction he was walking in, but somehow her overall natural appearance made him feel at ease. 'Ease. Now there's a feeling I'm not used to' he thought to himself. Before he could give himself more time to think about it, he stopped walking right in front of the lake, about 6 feet from where the girl sat. At closer sight, she seemed a little taller than him, although it was hard to tell while she was sitting. "Hi. Sorry, did I startle you?" he said.

Braeden Alderic

Braeden sat down on the sand, in the same place he had been standing earlier. "Sorry about that." he apologized. He really wasn't good with starting a conversation, and also found it quite hard to finish one. Of course, it wasn't like he ever conversed with anybody except himself. When Dani asked him his name, he replied "Braeden. That's pronounced like Breyden." he said, putting on a smile of his own. He looked at her in the eyes, and she looked back. Her eyes were even more beautiful when the sun shone on them. His own eyes were so dark that they looked like black holes, so dark that not even the sun could bound off them. Instead, it seemed that light was sucked into them. Judging by her appearance, Dani seemed to be Braeden's exact opposite. Her rosy smile, mellow eyes and general likability, at first glance, seemed to oppose his dark, enigmatic being. She was probably far more social than he could ever be, judging by the fact that she actually asked him his name. The last time he'd tried to socialize was a couple of weeks ago, and that didn't end well. The demigod he'd tried to talk to simply rejected him by making up some lame excuse about the time.

Either way, Braeden felt more at ease now that he was sitting down, no longer pacing across the beach. Braeden extended his hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you." he said, trying to sound casual.

Braeden Alderic

Son of Nyx

Braeden considered Dani's offer. On one hand, he felt comfortable in his current position on the sand. He'd always liked sand. Its soft texture was comfortable to sit on, while the rock that Dani was sitting on was hard, despite its flat surface. On the other hand, Braeden thought it quite rude to refuse Dani's offer. "Sure. Thanks." he said, and sat down next to her where she had made space. "I didn't expect to find someone else out here. " Braeden said, trying to start a conversation. "I usually come here when I'm bored. Which is pretty much all the time." he joked. He let a chuckle escape him. The cool breeze returned from its little absence. Because Braeden hardly had any hair, the breeze felt good on his head and face. "What 'bout you? What are you doing here?"

Braeden Alderic

Son of Nyx

Braeden shuddered when Dani mentioned the battle. He'd participated in the battle that Dani was talking about. It felt ... invigorating, in a way. It felt like revenge. Since the terrible day when his father had died ten months ago, Braeden had developed a burning hatred for monsters, since it was they who had sent Jonathan Alderic into the Underworld. He hoped that his father had been placed in the Fields of Asphodel. The man had not done a great deed, so he couldn't get into Elysium, but then he had never committed an atrocity great enough to land him a spot in eternal torture. Either way, his father was gone and it was the monsters' fault. That was why he felt so great, killing the monsters. Then, there was the downside. A while back, he'd made a dependable friend named Jerry at camp. A son of Dionysus. The boy had been killed by a monster in battle. Braeden could not recall what monster it was, but he killed it by smashing its head with his knuckles instantly. He remembered what it felt like, to see Jerry die in his arms. He could feel the boy's life slipping away.

Maybe something similar had happened to Dani. Braeden was pretty sure most people had lost - or nearly lost - someone in the battle. He didn't want to ask, though. Nobody liked talking about things like that. Maybe Braeden was being a little dramatic, but it was his first battle, so he had a right to be.

Then, she asked him who his godly parent was. From what Braeden had learned since he'd come to camp, his mother Nyx was a primordial goddess (one of the first) of the night. Because she was a protogenoi, she was very, very powerful, and was even respected by the king of the gods, Zeus. Braeden noticed that Dani was looking at him again. The golden glimmer in her eyes was now as visible as the sun. He looked back at her. "Umm," he started. He found it somewhat hard to continue. He wasn't going to pretend that he didn't know why. Her golden eyes, they made him want to lie down and fall asleep. Then, he reminded himself that he didn't get enough sleep as it was. That was probably also a contributing factor. "Nyx. Goddess of the night." he finished. Just then, he turned away and yawned. "Sorry, I'm nocturnal. It gets to you." he said. "So, how about you, Dani? Who's your god parent?" he asked, returning the question. If he had to take a wild guess, he'd go for Apollo or another light-affiliated god.