Child of Wind

Liam spun around as someone tapped his shoulder. The girl challenged him to a game. Where as normally he would stutter something incomprehensible after being approached by another person, this time he grinned. Something about his previous encounters with Charity and that girl who randomly kissed him on Half-Blood Hill made him more self-confident. He answered with, "You're on." He ran to the opposite side of the net and served the ball. It wasn't bad, but not his best. As the ball sailed over the net right to the girl, he introduced himself as, "Liam Vane! You?"

Liam nodded at Alex but had no time to respond as the ball came hurtling over the net. Liam ran for it but his efforts weren't enough. It bounced off the ground puffing up sand as it rolled away.

Liam will admit, he was kind of annoyed that he couldn't save the ball. Frowning, he said "Nice shot. Your serve." as he tossed the ball over to Alex. This time, he wouldn't miss.

OOC: Oh, hey, sorry, I didn't see your reply...

Alex barely concealed her laughter with a loud cough. Picking up the ball, she served it overhand, sending it sailing over the net. She let herself relax for a moment, as she waited for the ball to reach it's destination. Should I be going easier on him? she wondered, frowning. He doesn't seem very athletic, and I wouldn't want to hurt the poor boy's pride.

Liam told himself he could do it this time. He took a deep breath and ran in the direction of the ball. Alex's serve wasn't too hard or anything, so he managed to reach it. Just before it hit the ground, he bounced it off his cupped hands. He watched as it headed over the net... then landed out of bounds. A point for Alex. Great. It was her serve again, so Liam only glared at her. He was really getting annoyed now. Why was she so much better than him?

(Hey, can she do something to annoy him now? Just something little like laugh at him before she serves the ball. You'll see why ;))

(Sure :3)

Alex was unable to cover her laughter this time. She let out a burst of laughter, looking at Liam with her tricky "Daughter of Hermes" look.
"You honestly thought that you could beat a child of Hermes at a sport?" She giggled. "Spend some more time around camp, and you'll see that we aren't the ones to mess around with." Alex raised her eyebrows at the boy, as she served the ball just to the left of Liam, wondering if he could even get it over the net.

(The big moment! :3)

Alright, now Liam was infuriated. The angriest he's ever been since he arrived at camp. Who did this girl think she was? He could beat her at a sport and he was going to prove it. He let his anger spread through his body as Alex served the ball.

Here it came, the ball descending to Liam's left. In an attempt to prove the ignorant daughter of Hermes wrong, Liam dashed for the ball. Energy surged through him as his feet carried him to the volleyball. He moved so quickly that he felt as if the wind in the air was actually moving through his body. He grunted as he reached the ball and slammed his fist against it. It went rocketing so far into the air Liam lost sight of it for a second before it came back down. He didn't see whether Alex managed to hit it or not because he was distracted by something floating above his head, though he doubted the girl would be able to return the powerful blow.

"What the hell is that?" Liam exclaimed, looking up above his head at the small light gray cloud above his head. The miniature figure radiated a silver light reminding Liam of the ring he wore on his right hand. He tried to move away from it, but it followed him wherever her went. He looked at Alex for help. From what he understood, she had been at camp for a few years. Surely she'd know what was going on.

Alex's words registered in Liam's head slowly as if she was taking her time sayig them. Claimed? The word was familiar to him, something he'd heard around camp. That's what this was? So his godly father wasn't such a jerk after all. Maybe he truly did care.

As the cloud faded away, Liam wanted to slap himself for not realizing this sooner. He looked at the ring his mother had given him. She said it was a present from his father and it just so happened to look like a cloudy, windy sky. He recalled all the times he ever got angry and felt as if the wind was raging with him. He thought about the dagger given to him by an older camper. He said it was meant for the child of wind. And finally, the last thought to occur to him was his conversation with Charity. She listed the names of gods that he might be the son of. One stood out in particular.

"Aeolus?" He muttered, more of a question than anything.

Liam began to nod hesitantly, but as the wind picked up, he took it as a sign and said decisively, "Yes, I'm positive." He knew Aeolus was his father. It just felt... right. The fact that Alex hadn't met a child like him yet made him feel even more special. The wind played with Liam's hair as he fiddled with his ring. A grin escaped his lips as he realized it wasn't just nature toying with his shaggy brown hair all these years. It was his dad. He cared. His dad who has never been there for him actually cared. Liam felt on top of the world.

Alex's voice snapped him back into reality when she mentioned something about the centaur camp instructor. He tilted his head and asked, "Chiron? What for?

Alex seemed a little ticked, but all Liam did was smile. How could he not? He knew who his dad was after all this time. He felt great! He watched her walk off, leaving him in the volleyball pit. He glanced up and confirmed that the gray cloud was gone, though he felt as if he was still glowing. Beaming a big smile, he tossed the volleyball to the side and jogged after Alex saying, "Hey! Wait up!"

(Are we legit going to see Chiron? Lol. Does someone play him? Confusion 0_o)

((EDIT: No one plays Chiron. We should act like they went to see him and then went somewhere else afterwards. Sound good?))

((Okay, so are they walking ack to the volleyball pit? Oh by the way, sorry this reply is pretty late, I had to coach a bunch of kids earlier... -.-))

Alex walked alongside Liam, allowing herself to enjoy the afternoon. She had had some time to cool off. Sure, this boy angered her sometimes, but that wasn't his fault. She supposed that Liam wasn't really a bad guy- just a tad annoying, in her eyes. She walked silently beside him, waiting to see if he would strike up conversation.

(I made a new topic at the Cabin Courtyard of them returning from their chat with Chiron. I feel like they would more likely end up there than back at the volleyball pit.)