Outside the Cabins (Greyson)

Taylor found himself wandering...As usual. The tall 16 year old was never good with directions. Now where had that nymph said? Take a right at the tree with two branches? Or was it a left?

He had given up when he found himself pondering what the exact difference of a branch and a stub was. He didn't even remember why he'd asked for directions anyway. He was lost in thought trying to remember what in Hades he was looking for, unconciously walking to the Hermes Cabin, where all unclaimed campers stayed. Suddenly Taylor stopped, and looked up, realizing he wasn't alone.

A girl was leaning by the door to his cabin, one he did not recognize, but no surprise there; Taylor had only been in camp 3 days. He immediate;y straightened himself, cleared his throat, and brushed his long dirty-blonde hair from his eyes, and quickly felt embarrassed by the impulse.

"Uhm, hello." he managed lamely, with a weak but friendly smile.

One second he was trying to appear confident and cool, the next he was being manhandled by a girl half his size with pink eyes and...wait, WHAT?!

Taylor felt his own eyes widen. It suddenly occurred to him that more than demigods called Camp Half-Blood home. However, his brain was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he had just been assaulted by a midget with pink eyes and pointy ears. And the best part was, he had her full attention. Lovely.

"Oh i was just doing an experiment," he replied sarcastically, "And it would appear my hypothesis was correct. Being smashed into a cabin DOES hurt like hell."

He didn't want to admit it, but his back ached horribly, and his orange camp T-shirt's collar looked like it had been put on by a gorilla. Other than that, no big deal, just a regular day at camp.

The worst part about this whole situation was that while the sane part of his brain was freaking out, the teenage boy part was kind of interested. She was a good kisser, and kind of cute. Ya know, for an elf.

Taylor picked himself up, straightening his shirt out the best he could. He stood at least a foot and a half taller than Iota, but still decided that this was a girl he didnt want to mess with. She looked as mean as someone her size could, with a leather jacket and a skull belt. She looked like a biker and a pixie's child might look like.

"Who are...? What are...? Why did you...?" Taylor couldn't decide what to ask first.

He briefly remembered what a Naiad was, but that was unimportant. He looked down at his clothes. What did she mean he dressed like a reptile? What lizard wore blue jeans?!

He decided the wall was the safest place to be, seeing as it was the farthest from Iota he could be without bolting. He nodded in answer to her question.

"Uh yeah. Polite, got it."

He looked around for help but the courtyard was deserted. Even his cabin looked empty. Looks like he is on his own.

"Oh there's no helping you boy." Iota says a coy smile upon her face, she grabbed his shirt again and dragged him down until she was looking Taylor in the eye. She tilts her head ever so slightly. Her chest rises and falls with each breathe she takes. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her lips pursed in thought.

"Your gonna stay here and your not going to leave until I say so." Iota grins bringing him into another kiss, locking lips with him once more. Before she brings her right leg around underneath him to try and knock him off his feet.

(Sorry for the short.)

Now, Taylor was never a fighter. Back in regular mortal school, he wasn't a good student, but he wasn't exactly a troublemaker. He was a pretty big guy, and his athletic frame kept bullies away. In short, Taylor didn't know much about fighting. But still, he'd never seen anyone kiss their opponent and kick their ass at the same time.

Next thing he knew, Taylor was on the ground again, leaning against the cabin wall, dazed. staring up at her lovely face. He was definitely losing this battle. Gods his fellow campers would laugh at him for weeks if they'd seen this.

But now the ridiculousness of the situation was wearing off, and Taylor could feel a familiar rush, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He was getting annoyed. With his back still against the wall, he sized up his opponent. Her legs were short, and she was a naiad, meaning she was used to water not land.

He rose to his feet, straightening himself up, flexing his muscular calves. If she wanted to play, he was right here. Taylor had tied an Olympic bronze medalist in his 100 meter dash time one day at his track practice at the age of 16. He could easily outrun an elf with an attitude.

He struggled to remember the strategies his cabin had taught him in the arena. Obviously she was a much more experienced fighter. She was quick, and surprisingly strong. Plus, she had a huge advantage: Taylor wouldn't hit her, assuming he even could. Human or not, she was a girl. He grew up teasing girls, but never hurting them.

So what could he do?

"What, only two kisses? I didn't realize naiads still think boys have cooties." he teased with a wink, pouring as much charm as he possibly could into his voice. It sounded lame even to him.