Just a couple little godlings, huh? [Private with Colleen]

Kenz guided Lucas into the pumpkin patch, not like a sister guiding a brother, but like a mother guiding a son.

"Why do you have to go, Kinzie?" Lucas cried, wiping his nose on his coat sleeve. Kenz sighed as she grabbed a tissue from her pocket and wiped the little boy's runny nose.

"I've already taken too much time off school. I have to go back to school and-" She stopped herself. She was about to say, "-and live a normal life," but that wouldn't have made Lucas feel any better. She shook her head softly.

"Will you come back?"

"Of course, sweetie!" Kenz hugged him tightly, kissed his forehead, and muttered, "I'll be back for Christmas. I promise." She heard a horn honk near Half-Blood Hill and nearly cursed; the only reason for her filter was Lucas. She let go of his hand and ran to her father's car.

"Bye, Kinzie!" Lucas called after her as she ran off. Suddenly, the tears came. They burst forth from him like water through a weak dam. It was pitiful to watch: a young child, standing alone in a pumpkin patch, just crying.

He began to run. Running could get him away from the pain. He dodged the pumpkins, just like his training taught him. He spotted a pile of leaves and decided to run through it. Destruction does appear to solve many toddler problems. He ran toward it and was suddenly facedown in the ground. He shouted the only thing he could think of, spitting out leaves and snot,

"Kinzie!!!"

Lucas looked over at the voice that had emerged from the pile of leaves and scootched back, looking for something to use as a weapon. It might be a monster! He didn't remember any monsters that he had run away from, but this could be one! A talking one! A...girl one? Lucas tilted his head, looking at the little girl as she rubbed her side and introduced herself.

"I'm Lucas. I'm the son of Apollo." He panted, trying to stand up, but not able to get good footing. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He finally made it up and waddled over to Lily, reaching out to touch her side. He had managed to heal anything he ever touched, and he definitely wanted to heal this girl. It had been his fault, anyway.

As his hand lightly touched Lily's side, Lucas's eyes glowed golden for a moment. He felt her side muscles stiffen for a moment as a bright light warmed her side. Then, they relaxed, and he could feel the pain melt away.

"I turned four last month." Lucas beamed, thinking of the tiny party Kenz had thrown him. A few of his cabin mates had come, but they weren't anywhere near as enthusiastic as his guardian. She blew confetti, helped him cut his own slice of birthday cake, and sung Happy Birthday in her glorious, melodic voice.

Her next question made Lucas frown again. "Kinzie had to go back to school. I have to stay here. I m-m-miss her," he said quietly, feeling his eyes water and his nose begin to run again. He was about to wipe his nose on his jacket, but he remembered the bag of tissues Kenz had backed into his jacket. He grabbed one and blew his nose loudly.

Lucas suddenly felt himself being pulled into a warm hug. Despite his fuzzy coat keeping him warm, he was revitalized with the new warmth of Lily's hug. He wrapped his arms around her, taking deep breaths to keep the tears away. As she let go of him, Lucas noticed how pretty the sun looked off her red hair and lightly freckled skin. No, it wasn't just the sun. She looked very pretty.

"You're very pretty." Lucas stated. It wasn't so much a compliment as a fact in his head. The smile slowly returned as he continued, "I don't know a lot of games. What are big kid games? Cuz I'm a big kid. I wanna play a big kid game!"

Lucas frowned and tilted his head in disbelief. "What? But you're very pretty! Why haven't people called you pretty?" He asked, genuinely confused. He didn't know yet that pretty was a compliment. There were pretty people and nice people and funny people. That was as obvious as red hair or leaves on a tree.

In fact, the red hair on her freckly head looked like sunlight. Her green eyes shimmered as bright as an aurora. She was like a big, living sun! The thought made Lucas smile. This girl was going to be a good friend.

"What are the rules for tag?" Lucas asked, taking Lily's hand and pulling himself up. Being a four-year-old, he liked rules and structure.

ooc: No problem! We all have issues occasionally, but it's all good! :)

Lucas looked up at the girl, trying to wrap his arm around what the girl was saying. "So... are you cute or pretty? I'm confused!" He grabbed his head, stressing over what he was trying to say. He honestly didn't know what was going on, but watched as a wave of sadness washed over her for just a second. This concerned him, but he said nothing. Best to let her sort this out.

It also took him a second to wrap his mind around "tag." It wasn't that complicated, though. He just had to run! He bolted away from her, jumping over huge pumpkins and piles of leaves (after what happened before, he wasn't dashing through any piles anytime soon). "Catch me if you can!" He screamed, running as fast as his little legs could take him, which wasn't very fast.

Lucas barely made any distance before hearing Lily pant behind him and feeling a light tap on his shoulder. "Oh!" He exclaimed, accepting the explanation fully. It was just a matter of... opinion? He would have to ask Kenz about that, or maybe one of the Athena cabin members. He was sure he had heard the word before; he just didn't have an exact definition of it.

But never mind that! "I'm gonna get you!" He yelled, running at full speed towards Lily. She wouldn't win this game! He began to laugh, feeling the bright sunshine on his face. It almost felt like a... smile, like his father was looking down on him. A smile stretched across his face. Tag was so much fun!

Luke stopped when he saw Lily spinning around in the clearing. Was this part of the rules for tag? To try and be like her, he began spinning as well. Unfortunately, he was four. And little four-year-olds do not have the best balance. He toppled over and started laughing, feeling the sun shine on his face. He loved the sun more than anything. Well, maybe Kenzie had it beat, but it was still amazing. The sun was bright and...what was the word? He remembered what his mother had called it.

"Sol amarillo!" He yelled, not caring if Lily thought him strange. It was fun to not care, and he felt safer when he was with her, like she wouldn't judge him. He sat up and watched her do a cartwheel. He watched in awe as she pulled it off without a hitch.

"Woohoo!" He cheered, clapping his hands and wooping loudly. Lily was the second-best girl he had ever met, and he had only known her for ten minutes!

As the girl spun around, Lucas stopped his clapping so he could listen to her question.

"Luke, what language is that?"

He tilted his head, furrowing his brow and looking at the sky as he thought. Language? Um... what was language again? He scrunched up his eyes, thinking hard about what Kinzie had told him. Language was... different things people said? And he spoke... Spanish, right? It was hard to remember it all absolutely correct-ly.

"I... think it's Thpanish," he said slowly. "I don't know, though." He looked up at the sky, trying to remember other words his mother told him. "Ojoth, hola, adioth, papi, mama..."

OoC: I just realized that 4 year olds can't master s's and z's until, like, 7. So from this point on, he has a little lisp. XD