Fantasy A Demigod's Guide To Adventure, Love, and Staying on Target [ TragicTrees & Eros ]

[elytra]

There were many things that Harley Brennon would rather be doing.

In fact, the list of things he would rather be doing, if put down on paper, would most likely span from one part of the camp to the next. The list would be topped with ‘working on projects’, of course, followed by ‘eating’, ‘sleeping’, and ‘drawing’. If you went further down, you would find things like ‘jamming a nail through my dominant hand’, ‘setting myself on fire’, and, a personal favorite, ‘getting eaten alive by a rabid shark’. Now, he wasn’t sure if sharks could be rabid, as he’d only heard of raccoons getting rabies, but he was sure that if they could his last moments would be more interesting and more bearable than what he was currently participating in. The Gods seemed to have a sick sense of humor, though, because they had not yet released him from the hell that was archery coursework.

He didn’t hate the archery itself, to be fair. That wasn’t to say he could arch- was that how one would say it? -because he couldn’t; he wasn’t enthused enough about it to actually try, and his aim was lackluster at best. However, it wasn’t the worst thing ever, because he’d experienced many things during his time at camp that had made him want to tear his hair out in frustration, and archery didn’t even make the list. At least it had use for defense, he could admit that. So no, he didn’t hate archery. He hated the fact that he had to share it with him.

Him being, obviously, Aldonis Whatever-His-Last-Name-Was. Son of Eros, good at archery, and maybe the sole reason behind 78% of Harley’s migraines. He wasn’t the sort of person that Harley hard trouble placing why he disliked him; instead, if you asked, he could provide you a bullet-point list, complete with examples and dates. Was it obsessive? Sure, if you deemed to call it that, he wouldn’t be able to fight you on it. But it was also something that helped him stay sane in the moment. If Aldonis started talking, he would just zone out and mentally add something else to his list, and that would allow him to resist the urge to drop what he was doing and strangle the taller boy with his two hands.

Anyway. He was in archery as well, at the same time, which was annoying because he never missed.

Normally, Harley wouldn’t care. Actually, he still didn’t care, despite the circumstances, and it was obvious. He’d gone to the class with bedhead, overalls askew, and soot from his tinkering on his face still. When he shot an arrow, he didn’t even try to aim, because trying and missing was more embarrassing than just saying he didn’t care enough to actually ‘let the arrow fly straight and true’. He ignored any looks he got, because their opinions weren’t important, and all he wanted was to get through the day before holing up in the workshop once more. So he didn’t care, but there was just something about Aldonis’ voice that grated on his nerves enough to make it unbearable.

He had elected to stand off to the side of the class, watching with disinterest as well as disdain as Aldonis let another arrow loose, and it hit the bullseye again. He’d considered at one point tampering with the guy’s bow, to just see him miss once, but he had a feeling that he’d just get disappointed when he ended up right on target anyway. So, he didn’t, and dealt with it by trying to act like he was above it all, while trying to blend into the background, because maybe if he was invisible enough he wouldn’t be bothered.

That was a funny joke. He’d be bothered anyway, and he knew it. He’d long given up on thinking otherwise. His only hope was that he would be ignored in favor of annoying- or flirting with, because some people around the camp found it endearing, which was weird -someone else. If that happened, he'd be in the clear, and would avoid having the inexplicable urge to commit a major felony in front of the rest of the camp. It may have been a long shot, but he had to hope.

 

[eros]

aldonis​

Aldonis Jacobson’s morning had been nothing but perfect. The same perfect he had grown accustomed to. The boring, though somehow invitogating hours spent at camp was one of the best things to clear his head in the morning. If his head was filled with anything other than thoughts of himself. (Which was very rightfully doubtful.)

He woke up at eight o’clock that morning, as any other person would for early archery classes. He changed from his very ironic heart-imprinted pajamas, brushed his perfectly straight teeth, and started off the day by staring at himself in the mirror. If only I could marry myself, I would be so happy. Plus, we’d make a cute couple. Winking at his mirror was one of his favorite hobbies, after all. Not the liveliest of mornings, but he truly did enjoy looking at himself. Maybe a bit too much, but he didn’t dwell on that a lot. He was too busy looking amazing. Besides, there was only so little time before his day started.

Archery class was going to be a breeze, so to speak. Everything about archery was so natural to him, that he couldn’t help but smile knowingly as the arrow shot away from its bow, and landed dead center in the middle of the target he was standing at. Glancing at his group of peers, he asked, “you guys see that? Impressive, right?” a few people waiting in line to shoot bobbled along, even a few reached out to give him a high five. Even without the comment, all eyes would have been glued to him. He was undeniably one of the best archers in the history of arching. Well, in his mind he was.

Standing there, smiling charmingly toward the usual crowd of people who had huddled around him, Aldonis couldn’t help but feel uneasy, like something or someone was boring into his soul. At first, he said that he was just nervous because he’d forgotten to spray on another layer of cologne before leaving the house. Or maybe he wasn’t looking and a hair had fallen out of place. Whatever it was, he didn’t like it.

Glancing around the archery range, he didn’t think to much about the things behind him. Everything seemed normal, except for one thing. Maybe he was just seeing things, but he could have sworn he saw a glint of scorn in a red head’s eyes as he searched the faces of the people around him. The dude was standing a few feet from the archery course, blanketed in soot, his face twisted in disgust.

Who was this guy? Why was he just standing there? Has he always been standing there? After a bit of thought, he decided. Aldonis has definitely seen this kid’s face before, and surely had to have heard his name along the way. What was it, though? Herbert? Halley? Harvey? It started with an H, right? Eh, close enough, he supposed, waving away the thought as he turned back to the crowd.

That’s when it hit him.

“Watch this, guys,” he whispered to them, very subtlety gesturing to the red headed boy covered in soot behind him. He leaned over his shoulder and asked, very, very loudly in the direction the dude was standing in, “Hey, Harvey! You, with the red clown hair that’s been staring at me for like.. the past five minutes! Take a picture, it’ll last longer!”

Soon enough, the line that had somehow become more of a cluster, erupted with a mixture of shouting, screaming, and muffled laughter. The sweet sound of praise was something that he would never get tired of. Sure, what he said to embarrass the boy was something he would probably regret later. Probably. But, with the sense of pride filling his chest, he couldn’t help but... make the whole situation... more. Proud of his “work”, Aldonis smugly took the bow that had been at his side, took aim toward the boy with the red hair, and fired.

The arrow shot through the air with the speed of a bullet (Aldonis assumed), piercing the air with a high-pitched whistle. He’d never missed a shot before, and he most definitely wouldn’t miss this time. The arrow spiraled through the air with the grace of a ballerina and the fatality of a neck snap. Eventually, the whistling stopped, and as wood chips from the tree behind Harvey splintered into oblivion on impact, wood to arrow, and Aldonis smiled, because he knew would never miss a shot.

 

[elytra]

Usually, the inside of Harley's head had a lot going on. If you could listen to what went on through some sort of radio, it varied terribly, from him plotting things out to himself, to complaining, to maybe the Mii theme song playing on repeat, if he was in the process of zoning out or doing a task that require zero thought and just a lot of repetition. That was just how he was; if he was in a position to talk out loud to himself, he would, but otherwise, he had to keep it all under wraps, only saying things when people spoke to him and otherwise keeping his many thoughts to himself. However, at this particular moment, the disdainful Mii theme that had been playing as he glared at Aldonis, that motherfucker, was replaced with something along the lines of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, which, if one couldn't tell, was him screaming to himself.

Of course, he didn't scream out loud, but it took all his willpower not to. On one hand, he wanted to scream because of how frustrating this man was, that he couldn't even be bothered to know Harley's actual name. On the other hand, he wanted to scream because an arrow had been shot directly next to him, which had caused his anxiety to increase by tenfold. So, in conclusion, on both hands, he wanted to scream. They just happened to be for vastly different reasons. For the sake of what dignity he had remaining, he didn't scream, though; he wasn't letting that asshole get the satisfaction. Never would he do that.

It took him a moment to make sure he was composed. He didn't care what people thought, except he cared what this particular person thought, only because he hated him so much that he had the need to be superior. He wouldn't beat him at archery, that was a no-go, it was stupid to even think of attempting it. But maybe, maybe he could detonate the Eros cabin. There was only one person in there anyway, to his knowledge, and he wouldn't do it with him inside. Just a small explosion, nothing much, just enough to set his shit on fire. That was all. He had the tools, he had the talent, he had the will and he had a way.

If he thought about it too long, it was likely he'd actually do it, and there'd be consequences, he was sure. Maybe he'd make a bomb and just leave out one part so it wouldn't blow up, set it on his bed. It'd be a good scare. For the moment, he'd just need to settle for mockery. He tore the arrow out from next to him, trying to give the most unimpressed look he could, which he had been told was rather impressive. One of his many talents, he supposed.

"I don't generally take pictures of train wrecks, dipshit. They're just too disastrous to look away." He shouted back. Was it his best work? Certainly not, but he was working with the moment. He tossed the arrow towards him, and when it landed only 3/4s of the way, he didn't make a move to fix it. That, he figured, would show how little he cared. "Try hitting the target next time. Unlike some of you, I actually want to be done with this sometime soon."

And that should do it. Masterly deflected, and he could hear a few snickers. Not uproarious laughter, but could beggars be choosers? The answer was no. They couldn't. Now, he wasn't a beggar, per say, but he was close enough that he wasn't going to complain. Any sign that he'd deflected the comment was good enough for him, and he crossed his arms, raising both eyebrows in a manner he hoped conveyed 'get on with it already'.

 

[eros]

aldonis​

Casually watching as the red head insulted him, Aldonis instead found comfort in talking to himself. On the inside of course. Because dipshit is the perfect word to describe me. Another voice told him, he isn’t wrong, you are a dipshit. After some self contemplation, he decided to response to the voice inside his head. Wow, thanks for the support, me. You the real one. Having conversations with yourself unironically while the world around continued spinning wasn’t the smartest thing, but it kept him from having to apologize and gods forbid it leave a hole in his ego. His precious, stupid, glorified ego.

Despite having a very detailed conversation with himself, he picked up bits and pieces of what Harvey said, such as hitting, you, and soon. How comforting. Judging by the shitty clothes and the dirty face, he had to be a son of Hephaestus, undoubtedly. Something about this made him suspicious that this “hot-head” (he almost laughed a loud at his own pun), had plans to get revenge, because he had hurt his poor wittle fweelings. Or maybe, after this, he would head back to his cabin to cry it all out. The kid looked conflicted, like he was equally constipated and angry about it at the same time.

He only had his full attention on Harvey when he ripped the arrow from the tree and tossed it not even farther than the average span of a sidewalk to the other whilst crossing the road. It was pitiful, really. When you think of the ideal (and basic) Hephaestus kid, you think, buff, tall, and pumped up with steroids. But the shrimp, heading off to Zeus knows where, was on the other side of the spectrum. Sure, he could pull an arrow from a tree without flinching, but he was also the size of a fifteen year old girl. And a red-head. Which wasn’t as big of a deal as his height, but still. A redhead.

Everything was moving so quickly. Too quickly. Al did his best to wrap his mind around everything, but he was falling behind. Again. Then, out of the blue, people started to snicker and laugh at his crude remarks as he started to walk away, and this did anything but fuel Aldonis to shout, “You got lucky this time, Harvey. Next time, I won’t miss.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt his body recoil in a mixture of guilt and the leftover churros he stuffed his face with that morning. Was that too much? It felt like too much. Great, now he felt like an asshole. And it’s a proven fact no one likes an asshole. Hades was a prime example. God of dead people and rotting flesh. What a lovely imagination he had. This only proved he would have the fondest dreams of rotting corpses and maybe a dead unicorn skeleton would just pop up out of nowhere and whisk him away to the underworld.

Gritting his teeth as he tried his best to clear his very distracting thoughts, he smiled through his guilt and turned to the group as though he hadn’t said a thing at all. He cleared his throat before speaking, “That guy, always joking around. You’re a dick! I’ll shoot you with my bow! Ah, fun times, Harv and I.” Though he did his best to play the situation off as a couple of buds messing around, he could see the doubt written across people’s faces. Maybe he had been too harsh, too much all at once for the poor guy to handle. But why was he feeling so bad for someone so ugly?

After running it over in his head a few times, doing the math, making a mini sideshow presentation for his brain, he decided.

If he was lucky, he could make it up to the shrimpy redhead, if he ever got the chance. But if he was going to do it, he would do it his way.

 

[elytra]

See, the threat didn't phase him. Sure, whatever, shoot him with the bow, see if he cared. The fact was, he knew that Aldonis wouldn't dare, at the end of the day, and the fact that he'd shouted the comment meant that Harley had done something right. The comments he'd made had gone over well, at least for him, and he was smug about that at the very least. However, there was one tiny thing that bothered him, because of course there was. Nothing was ever perfect, and there was bound to be something. That 'something' was being called Harvey again.

The fact it was close enough to his actual name made it worse. It was so goddamn close, which meant Aldonis knew he existed enough to get almost the whole thing correct, except for one. Fucking. Letter. He would've rathered the guy know his full name or not know it at all, because it wasn't that hard. He was a child of Hephaestus, and his name was Harley, like the motorcycle company. People had pointed this out to him on numerous occasions, and he'd heard it a thousand times, yet this person didn't even get it right. It made the bomb idea even more tempting.

As had been covered, he could do it. He could go to the workshop right that second and put it together. Living life on the edge, that'd be what it was; rebelling against the system, even though the rebellion was just a side show for getting revenge. Was it even revenge? Maybe it was a bit extreme. Then again, he had been shot at, so maybe not. Aldonis used his skill to terrorize Harley, so Harley would do the same to him. An eye for an eye, as it were! It was pretty straight forward as a concept, it made sense, and who would blame him?

A lot of people, probably, but he didn't have time to delve into it before he heard the sound system crackle to life. He didn't get to hear the full thing, because it had startled him out his fuming, but what he did make out was that he was supposed to come to the office for one reason or another. He assumed it wasn't because he had done anything wrong, because he'd resisted the urge to murder anyone so far and no one there could read minds, he was pretty sure.

This proved to be correct when he got to the office and found Jessica Stavros there. Now, he didn't know or talk to many people, but Jess had managed to ignore his attitude and made a continued effort to talk to him ever since he'd been at the camp. He supposed they were friends; she was nice enough, and she knew his name, and they 'hung out' on occasion. She just wasn't the sort of person you'd expect to see him with, considering her bright demeanor and her general look, which was basically 'jock that could bench press you and have you thank them for it'. She was an Ares kid, but one of the only ones he could stand.

Upon seeing him enter the office, she lit up, immediately making her way over. "Har-ley!" She said, already more cheerful than he was at that point in the morning. Despite his weak protest, she hugged him tightly, picking him up slightly in the process, due to the fact she was much taller than he was and to her, picking him up was the equivalent of holding a small kitten. "You got called here too? That's great!" 'Great' was one word for it, he supposed. She put him down, and then frowned a little, scanning him with what looked like slight disapproval. "Oh, you're disgusting. Let me get that for you."

She licked her thumb, then rubbed it on his face, like a suburban mother fussing over her toddler. He grumbled, but ultimately let her do it, because there was really no stopping her. It wouldn't make a difference, anyway; the soot wasn't coming off anytime soon, not without a shower, and he knew it. He'd let her have this, though.

"That's disgusting, remove your finger from my face." He said, though the demand held no heat behind it. He swatted her hand lightly, looking up at her with a frown that was more thoughtful than anything else "And yea, I got called here. I haven't done anything wrong, though, so I have no idea why. Do you? Or are we gonna have to guess until someone comes to tell us?"

"Heard that there's a quest." The relaxed drawl that spoke up from behind him startled him, and he jumped a little. He recognized the voice, though it was someone he hadn't spoken to often. It was one of the minor god kids; Quinn or Quinton or Quincy, he was pretty sure. He'd ask later, if needed. "But who knows? Maybe we're being expelled." The comment was made cheerfully, as if that would be funny. Harley rolled his eyes.

"Sure. Yea. I'm sure that's exactly why we're here, getting expelled. Sure can't be literally anything else."