living in ruins of a palace within my dreams [summer]

Fern was painting the Big House as a consequence. She hadn't mean to get in trouble, but there wasn't much she could do now. Another camper had started an argument with her, for once she hadn't started it. As the argument got more heated, the other camper punched Fern square in the face. She wasn't the type of girl to back down from a fight especially when dozens of people were watching. So naturally, she pushed them into the lake. As she turned around with a satisfied look on her face, there was Chiron. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the Big House. He handed her the many buckets of blue paint, a few paintbrushes, a ladder, and left.

She sighed and cursed under her breath, but she knew if she didn't get it done Chiron would give her an even worse job. It had to be at least half an hour and she had barely even finished half of the wall. Paint had already gotten on her clothes and the ground where she had already spilled the paint three times. Every once in awhile, a camper would come and point at her and laugh or make fun of her. She would've done something to them to make them regret it, but she was in enough trouble already.

Chiron had told her someone else was supposed to be helping her before he left. Fern didn't know when or if he was coming. It didn't matter anyway. The faster she finished painting the Big House, the better. She was doing a terrible job painting the house, but she didn't seem to care. He told her to paint it not to actually try. When she stepped off the ladder to get more paint, she saw a figure coming towards her. For once, she actually smiled before grabbing another bucket of light blue paint.

❤

Even before reaching his destination, Conrad could smell the strong scent of latex paint. He spotted a figure half a minute later, already painting the Big House. A companion? Chiron had conveniently left that out of the conversation. Well, contrary to popular belief, the son of Athena was fine with people, and their talking, so long they didn't require him to answer redundant questions just for the sake of it. Stepping from the soft grass onto sturdy cement, he scanned the equipment given. Paint brushes and buckets of paint. He then looked up at the length of the multi-storey wall and held back a sigh. Didn't she have the sense to ask for a paint roller? Shrugging inwardly, Conrad reached anyway for a large paint brush.

He would probably be the last person caught volunteering for these sort of 'help around campus' jobs. But fact was, it was the result of a re-negotiated recruitment mission that required bringing in a young demigod from a boarding school in Colorado. Conrad wasn't about to let himself be sent halfway across the States just to find some ignorant kid and drag her back to camp, even if she was a suspected half-sister of his. At least, not when he had an appointment with someone else in New York in just a few days. So when Chiron suggested that he take on this task instead, Conrad was more than willing to accept.

Fern could barely remember the last time she had painted anything. The only time she could seem to remember was painting the house with her father when they first moved in. She couldn't help but remember it with a smile. She knelt down on the ground with a paintbrush to paint the bottom of the wall before glancing over at the other camper. After a few moments of silence that she found awkward, she said, "I'm Fern by the way, daughter of Nemesis." She knew he could probably care less who she was, if she was him she wouldn't care either. But she just wanted to try and make an effort.

After she painted part of the bottom of the wall, she moved up the wall with the paintbrush. Fern didn't know what to say, she never really was the one to do most of talking. After a few minutes of thinking about it, she asked curiously, "How did you get the job of painting the Big house?" She dipped her paintbrush in the paint, getting some paint on her shoes. There wasn't much else for her to say or ask without prying so she just continues painting the wall in silence.

❤

Conrad looked up at the other painter. "Conrad, son of Athena." He dipped his brush into the bucket of blue for the first time and swirled it gently to ensure that paint coated the bristles evenly. At the girl's next question, he shrugged neutrally. "An alternative to recruiting... You?"

Fern nodded her head as he introduced himself. She had seen him around camp, but had never actually went up and talk to him. She dipped her paint brush into the sky blue paint before saying, "I pushed someone into the lake, and Chiron happened to be there." She shrugged like it was no big deal. To her it actually wasn't. Practically everyday she was in some sort of argument or fight. Chiron had kept threatening her that he would give her work to around camp if she didn't stop. She didn't think he actually meant it. "How long have you been at camp?" She asked, attempting to keep the conversation going.

As she moved up the wall, she grabbed the ladder and set it into place so she could paint the top of the side of the Big House. She picked it up another already opened bucket of blue paint and put it at the top of the ladder. She climbed each step and stood on her tiptoes to start painting. As she was about to say something, she moved over the ladder causing the bucket to fall over. She whipped around in time to see paint spill over Conrad. If he was someone else, she probably would've laughed, but she had actually tried being his friend. She immediately felt bad even though she had gotten some paint on herself too. "Oh my gods, I'm so sorry." She said. Fern stepped down from the ladder and giving him an apologetic smile. There went her chance at actually making a friend.

❤

Pushed someone into the lake eh? Conrad raised his eyebrows slightly. And the way she said it was like similar things happened often. He hadn't pegged the girl down for a troublemaker. The son of Athena pulled a paint bucket nearer for convenience and about to reply to her next question when there was a thump, a movement in the shadow, and his instincts sensed danger. It dawned on him a split second before but with both hands full he could only attempt, and fail, to step aside in time before there was a loud crash and paint splattered all over the back of his head and shoulders.

Gasping in surprise, Conrad turned to see that the bucket had hit the ground just half a yard beside him. He dropped his paint brush and reached up to feel the back of his head. It was sticky with thick paint. Turning to face Fern who was coming down the ladder, Conrad gave her a wholly indignant look. "Are you crazy? That could have killed me! If you can't even watch a bucket of paint, go do something else. Also," he gestured at the messily streaked wall with a blue hand in annoyance. Paint had splattered all over the it as the bucket fell, and now there were uneven clumps of drying blue all over the surface. "You'd better clean that up. Gods."

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