Waking up - (Open)

Walking out of the Hermes cabin with her golden retriever by her side, Adin closed her eyes and let the soft wind caress her face and ruffle her hair. It was nice here, where everything seemed just natural. Adin walked up to the field where a fire crackled happily in the center, and sat down on one of the empty benches. She made Rocky lie down in front of her as she started stretching. After a few moments of hearing her bones and legs crack, Adin finally noticed that she wasn't alone in the courtyard.

Without Lance as the 'speaker,' Adin was silent. She knew she had to change that side of her soon, or else she wouldn't go far in this camp. She needed to be independent enough to stand on her own feet, but a little voice inside her head was doubting everything. Come on, Adin, say hi, she thought, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Change was hard.

A few minutes of debating later, Adin finally stood up and walked up to the boy. She was extremely nervous. Once she was in front of him, Adin stammered out, "H-Hi. I'm... A-Adin." She fidgeted with her hands, her gaze fixed on the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. I'm pathetic! she thought regretfully. She heaved a deep sigh. "Sup?" she said, her voice a pitch higher than usual.

Oh gods I suck so bad.

Adin was slightly relieved that Tony ignored her blunder. Her eyes landed on the scratches on Tony's shirt. What had he been doing? Adin chose not to ask.

"Apollo, huh?" she said softly. She looked up to the skies, imagining the gods going about their business as usual. "I... I wonder who my parent is." Adin said, more to herself. She felt a little less nervous now. Should I walk away? Nah, that would be rude. Better push my luck then... she thought. Better see if I can find out anything.

Adin decided to ask the first question that popped in her mind. "W-W-Was it a long time before you got...claimed?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Just..." Adin was about to say nervous, but she decided not to continue. "Never mind."

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at Tony, who was claimed immediately. Rocky managed to place his paws on the boy's lap, trying to lick him. Adin hoped Tony wouldn't mind as she was already in the process of pulling Rocky off him. "Down boy," she muttered, but the golden retriever wouldn't listen.

At least Rocky broke the ice... I think... Adin thought with slight relief.

"A boy. His name's Rocky," Adin said. At the mention of his name, Rocky barked, and happily wagged his tail.

Adin was observing Tony as he laughed, and she had the feeling that he didn't do it often. She shrugged the feeling off though. For all she knew, her hunch might be wrong. Anyway, she also observed that Tony seemed very at ease with Rocky. "You got dogs?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I see," Adin said, stroking Rocky's back. "Dogs are good. Loyal friends." She sighed, watching Rocky playing with Tony. "Mum got Rocky for me. At first I didn't like him, but well, things change." she told Tony. Adin stared into the distance. "Things change."

"New York, Adin replied. She chanced a look at Rocky, and was slightly surprised at how Tony made him behave just like that. Usually she had to pull Rocky off...maybe that was the reason why he wouldn't sit still.

Adin ran a hand through her black hair before saying, "What about you?"

Adin could see that it was a touchy topic by the way Tony talked. So, she better not push it any further than that, right? She clasped her hands together. "You must have had an adventure then," Adin said after a few minutes of hesitation. "How'd you get here in camp?"

"I-uh. I don't know." I said choking up a bit. "I just uh- *sniff* uh. I was in class and a *sniff* monster came up, and my..." I was really fighting back tears now. "brother rescued me..." There were tears in my eyes, and a few even falling down my face. I sniffled a bit and cleared it up.

((OOC: Hey, would you want Adin to RP with Chris, my other guy. He's 13 too.))

Adin's eyes grew bigger when Tony started breaking down. She hadn't expected that to happen. Rocky whimpered and sniffed Tony's legs as an effort to calm him down. Adin began to awkwardly pat Tony's back. What else should I do? she asked herself frantically. Then she pulled out a hanky from her pocket and offered it to Tony. She didn't dare say anything, fearing that she might worsen the situation.

((OOC: Sure. In here or a different topic?))

He declined the tissue, "Sorry," he said between tears and sniffles, "I just, been a bit emotional lately." I say, pulling out my own tissue and blowing. "You see, when I came here, I wasn't and still don't know where my brother was or is. Chiron knows, but he won't tell me."

((OOC: I got to go, so I'll make it tomorrow: sorry.))

"It's okay," Adin said, returning his smile. But really, she was wondering why Chiron kept secrets from Tony. It's not like it wasn't Tony's business, she thought sourly. She really hated the idea of keeping something from people, especially if it was about family members. "I guess you have to let it all out," said Adin, patting Tony's back.

"Yeah, I guess." I say, feeling only slightly better about myself. "But still, it seems like all I've been doing is crying lately, and that's just not me." It just seemed like he was super-sensitive all of the sudden. He wasn't sure he liked it.

((OOC: I hope you don't mind, but I'm gonna take your coloring style XD. And I'll make the post in a sec.))

Adin, after a few moments of reluctance, gave him a smile. She felt more at ease, but she wasn't entirely sure why. It was as if Tony's moment of breaking down made her trust him...in a sense. He seemed nice. After all, they were both camp newbies.

"I guess it's normal. Normal for us, that is," Adin told him, rubbing the back of her neck. "And the people here don't seem to be too helpful..." she added under her breath, thinking of Chiron. She wasn't sure if Tony heard her. "At least you're claimed though."

((OOC: It's fine; I don't mind :3))

"Yeah, sorry about that." I say sincerely, "I know where you're coming from, I grew up in a orphanage. So I know what it's like not to know a parent." I looked at her, she seemed vulnerable and weak, "Hey, have you been getting picked on here?" I said. I was picked on in 6th Grade, before Errick and I left, and she was showing the same signs that I had.

Adin shook her head. "Everyone's been nice...or maybe indifferent is the right word." She laughed dryly. "It was a different story when I was at school though, but they won't bother me anymore now."

Images of the people who had bullied her flashed through Adin's mind, but she shook them off. Anyway, she wasn't ever going to see them anymore, so why bother? She had new problems now. She had a new life, but she wasn't sure if she really liked it. "Sorry to hear about the orphanage thing," she said honestly. Sometimes, it was good for her to meet people like Tony. Something to make her realize that she wasn't the only one feeling like that.

"Ah, it's no big deal. You live with it, right?" I say. "Anyway, I'm happy I was in the orphanage, wouldn't of turned out the way I did, and I like the way I turned out." I say, looking at her. Something about her made him feel responsible for her, he wasn't sure why.

Adin liked the way he was optimistic about things. If only she could be like him. "I guess so," she said softly. She scratched the back of her head. "I see a lot of kids who hate the orphanage but not the other way around," Adin commented, thinking about some of her classmates.