Fiery Confrontation [Essie]

Charlie was crouched several yards off the side of the dirt pegasi path, down the grassy hill and hidden behind a wall of underbrush. The area in which she was positioned was cleared out, with only ground caked in mud, a few sticks and a few logs lying about. The dry logs were stacked neatly on top of one another, resembling a lincoln log playset but bigger. Charlie hovered over them and took in a deep breath, exhaling purposefully over the man-made pit. Rising smoke blew to the side, and she repeated the process, before breaking some twigs and placing them in. Glowing embers burned inside her lincoln log masterpiece, and she smiled.

It was a perfect day for a bonfire and smores, she had decided. Sure, it wasn't night time, but the sun was shining, it was chilly enough that a warm fire would be pleasantly welcome, there was little wind, and she had an abundance of marshmallows left from the last time she had tried to make a fire. Before an idiot went rolling down the hill into her fire pit and ruined it all.

She grit her teeth remembering it. How she couldn't even yell about it because the girl had gotten hurt. What idiot skips off the horse path with no idea what they're doing and falls down a hill? Of course she'd burned her leg and back, so Charlie just sucked it up and left. She's already cut someone and killed somebody else. Sure, nobody really knew about it but there was surely rumor around. If Chiron got word that she burned another person, he'd probably have her head. So grudgingly she had picked up the marshmallows and left.

But this time, nobody was around. She had checked to make sure. The horse path was deserted, and she was by herself. Just several bags of marshmallows, her weapons, a warm fire, and herself. Perfection.

There was a crunch and the leaves, and reflexively, Charlie grabbed her dual machetes Lycus and Leon, and pounced toward the sound. She dashed forward, fingers gripped tightly around the weapons until she noticed it was a person, and then tried to halt herself.

Inertia and slippery leaves commanded that her weight still move forward, so she ended up falling over and sliding across the ground a few feet away from Essie. She mumbled curses into the ground before picking up her face.

"What are you do--" When she finally craned her neck up enough to see who it was, her large gray-blue eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed together, wrinkling the skin on the bridge of her nose. "You." Her tone was bitter and venomous. "Come to ruin my fire again?"

"If you touch my fire, certainly." She threatened, drawing herself up from the ground. Luckily, she hadn't fallen on her machetes. That would've been an...interesting mess to clean up. Kind of like what happened with Torin, only this time unintentional. Although in her defense, it was Lexi she was going to stab, not Torin. He just happened to be behind her, and she just happened to roll out of the way. Totally not her fault.

She snorted angrily, and turned her head sideways to spit in the dirt. "It's pretty obvious how you ruined my fire, kid. You fell in it. Smothered it to death with your backside, genius."

Charlie scoffed. Yeah, that's why the girl's here. To see why she tripped. Maybe because she's a complete 'tard. And she definitely came in peace. It explained why her hand hovered above her dagger and she looked like she would spring if Charlie so much as looked away.

With a roll of her eyes and a snort, she retorted, "Sure, that sounds like a good plan. 'Hey, I'm wounded! I'm going to go back to the [i]same place I got messed up but this time without anyone to help me if I fall down the hill again like the idiot I am.'" She mocked viciously, disliking this girl more and more every passing second. All Charlie wanted was to roast marshmallows. Why the hell was that so impossible to do? Oh right, the answer was in front of her, in the form of some helpless Apollo kid probably lost in the woods but too proud to admit it.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. Herp derp, of course she hated the girl. The girl ruined her fire pit and came back with an attitude and the intent to do it again. She also possibly wanted to kill Charlie, for reasons Charlie didn't quite understand. Who would want to kill her? Everyone. Nobody, that's who. Except for this strange girl. She seemed to be quite the killjoy of camp.

...Why did the girl mention Apollo? And being proud? Was she a mind reader of some sort? Or a wizard? Wait, was that a demigod power?! Charlie bit down on her tongue to hold back a string of curses at the girl. How dare she pry into Charlie's mind! "Go back to your cabin. You know, the safe, protected home your father gave you. The father whom you hate so much. " She shook her head, completely un-surprised by the girl's selfishness. She kind of looked the type. Slightly hypocritical, but Charlie didn't care. The girl was at a fun camp, where she didn't have to worry about school. She had friends and special powers and at least one of the kid's parents was a god for christ's sake. And she can't be thankful for any of it? First world problems. The girl had a hell of a lot to be happy about. A complete shame she couldn't see it.