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Post by Gail Atrova on Dec 29, 2010 21:42:33 GMT -5
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------Overall, it had just been a long day. Gail wasn't accustomed to spending so much time away from her siblings, but having taken on her new role as Nick's caretaker, she was often seen with him. Nobody who saw them together could understand why she'd taken on the job, and quite honestly Gail couldn't figure it out either. All the smarts in the world, and she couldn't understand why one boy, a tall mysterious Russian at that, kept bringing her back. It wasn't logical, the way he made her feel when he looked at her with those blue-green eyes of his. The way her heart pounded in concern whenever she watched him struggle to stand or sit without wincing.
It was also keeping her up at night too. Anyone in the Athena cabin would agree - Gail hadn't been sleeping too well for the past few days. One night she'd actually fallen asleep in the infirmary at his bedside, and she never even made it back to her cabin. At night, she'd either have nightmares about him hurting himself or she simply couldn't fall asleep after the way he made her feel. Sometimes at night, she saw a short young man (he was even shorter than she was, and that was saying something) with sunglasses - when he took them off he had glowing eyes. He never said anything. He either just smiled or stared at her, but with it came a terror she couldn't even begin to describe, and that in itself was often enough to startle her out of her sleep. No, Gail hadn't been doing too well the past few days at all.
She hadn't even been training for a while. Her sword and cutlass were sitting useless on the shelves she'd built beside her bed. On a daily basis Gail only wielded a dagger. While she didn't expect to be doign anything dangerous while monitoring Nick, this was still Camp Half-blood. Bad things could happen to people who did not carry weapons.
So even now, as she strolled into the dining pavilion, Gail had a dagger tucked into a sheath that sat on her belt. Wearing jeans and a usual CHB t-shirt, she looked just like any other camps. The dark circles underneath her eyes and the tired way with which she walked, however, made it obvious that she was exhausted. When she was around Nick, she tried not to show it for fear he'd tell her to go away, but when she was around the other campers, it was clear that all of her energy was gone. Even while eating, when she took a piece of her meal and tossed it into the fire for her mother, she practically looked like a zombie. A blond, short zombie.
Gail sank back into her seat at the Athena table and just stared at what remained of her meal. She wasn't full by any means, but she simply wasn't all the hungry either. All she wanted was sleep. Brushing some of her hair away from her face, Gail sighed and put her head in her hands. What was she even doing, caring for this son of Zeus. He was just going to leave her, like everyone else in her life had. The only people she could count on were her siblings, one of which was sitting next to her. She smiled at him. "How's your day been, Isaac?" she questioned, giving him a soft smile. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been... busy."
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Post by Isaac Winters on Dec 29, 2010 22:35:07 GMT -5
None of it makes any sense, He thought. Not only that, but it's not helping me get over things The brunette teen seemed to stare right through everything in front of him. He didn't really notice any of it, and none of it phased him. He didn't even notice the marinara sauce dripping off his forkful of spaghetti onto his jeans and his orange CHB t-shirt.
Isaac snapped out of his thoughts when Gail spoke to him. He'd been eating and had kind of drifted off into "La-La-Land", his thoughts drifting back to his dream last night. Dreams for Half-Bloods usually meant something, they were messages and visions. So why had he dreamed about Alice? For that matter, why had his dreams the past couple nights been related to his paternal half-sister? And with thoughts of Alice came thoughts of his mortal family, thoughts of his father. They clouded his mind during the day, and unless he kept himself busy he couldn't seem to escape them. Thinking about his dad was never a good thing, because it only depressed Isaac.
He turned and looked at Gail - who was also his sister though through his mother, Athena - and noticed how tired she looked. "You look like you've been to Hades and back," he said, concern showing on his face. Gail was one of the people at camp he'd grown to trust and care about, so he was somewhat protective of her. "As for me..."
His words trailed off there. He trusted Gail, and he knew he should tell her the truth. Still, he really didn't like giving attention to his issues with his father. Then again, you're giving them attention just by thinking about them, so it's not like this is doing any damage. There was a point to that. He took a moment to set down his fork, which he'd only now remembered had been halfway to his mouth, then he turned back to Gail. "My day was fine so long as I was busy. Lately, when I'm not busy I start thinking about home, and that's just emotionally draining to do." He tried to smile like it was no big deal, but to be completely true it did matter. If he couldn't figure out why his sister had been in his dreams lately, he'd never get out of this funk. "How about you?"
You know, you haven't told anyone. Two heads are better than one. Gail can maybe help, he thought to himself. Then, as if he was playing his own devil's advocate, his thoughts switched sides. Yes, but she looks like she's having her own problems. And again he changed sides. Still, it's worth a shot. That was true. But first he wanted to find out how Gail's day had been before he really made up his mind about dumping his problems on her. It was just in his nature to care about other peoples problems, and his trust issues often made it hard to tell people his problems anyways. Besides, talk of his dreams could wait, or he thought they could anyways.
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Post by Gail Atrova on Dec 30, 2010 0:22:15 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon hearing Isaac's response, Gail let out what was between a scoff and a chuckle. Hades and back? Well, a part of her felt the exact same way, while the other... In reality, Gail felt as though she could never compare Nick to anything Hades-related. Or taking care of him. Just the state he was putting her in was. She was a daughter of Athena, someone used to logic and piecing together things like a puzzle. Emotional things, on the other hand, were not her forte. And the state that Nick put her in whenever he was around just seemed to botch her entire mind up, and that in itself felt like Hades sometimes. "I wouldn't know about Hades and back, but I sure do know I've been somewhere and back," she confessed.
Then Gail looked at her brother with geniune concern on her face. She cared about Isaac - he was her brother, after all. And in a great many ways, he was just like her. Dropped off at camp, and pretty much thrown out of his mortal family's life. Gail had gone through practically the same thing, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't consider Isaac one of her closest siblings. And to hear that he was thinking about his home again, well... honestly, it made her feel guilty. It made her feel guilty that she'd been busy helping Nick when she probably be looking out for her own family first.
"I think about my family too, sometimes," she said, trying to sound reassuring. "I know it isn't easy for you to think about them, and I'm sorry they keep haunting you. I think both of our fathers still come to mind when we're not doing anything important." And it was true. There probably wasn't a day that went by when Gail didn't think about her father, her stepmother, and her paternal half-brother. But she hadn't seen their faces in nearly four years. It had been rather heartbreaking to find out that no less than a week they'd left her at Camp Half-blood, they'd moved away without telling her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
And what about her? Gail rubbed her forehead as she thought back on her day. It had been the usual - tending to Nick, making sure he got the care and rest he needed, and going through the same emotional stuff she'd been going through every day around him. The mixing up of emotions, the stir of something in her heart, the illogical way she felt about him... just thinking about it almost gave her a headache. "There's just a lot of things going on, right now," she told Isaac, and it was the truth. "Today just added on to the already growing list of complications in my emotional life. You keep thinking about your family, and I keep thinking about... well, someone I shouldn't be thinking about." Gail shook her head and sighed. She tried giving her brother a smile, but it probably came out as a grimace instead.
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Post by Isaac Winters on Dec 30, 2010 13:44:13 GMT -5
Isaac wasn't sure what to make of Gail's initial reaction to what he'd said, but when she spoke he thought he understood. Whatever was making her look this way wasn't all bad. Or at least he thought that was what she meant. For all he knew, she really didn't understand either. It could have been something emotional. Isaac knew he wasn't all that brilliant when it came to emotional things. Logic and puzzles you could throw at him all you wanted and it wouldn't phase him. Throw him an emotional situation, though, and you'd knock him on his butt.
He did take a little comfort in what Gail said about thinking about her family. It had been longer since she'd seen her family than it had been for him, so at least continuing to think about them sometimes wouldn't be a sign of him not getting over stuff. Maybe some day he'd be able to think about his dad without feeling hurt and betrayed. Maybe Issac would even be able to forgive his father for what he'd done. On the other hand, maybe that was wishful thinking. But it never hurt to have a little hope.
He listened at she explained how her day had been. It had been emotional, and he smiled a little. "Ah, emotions. Not the forte of our family." As he said that he tried to figure out what she'd been implying by saying what she had. Thinking about someone she shouldn't be thinking about, eh? Almost has me wondering if this is love, and if it is I completely understand why Gail would be so frazzled. Love wasn't logical, nor did it always make sense. That wasn't always easy for someone who's greatest asset was his or her mind.
"I don't know if you can help me," he said when she'd finished. "The only way I can really think of to help myself would be to figure out the dreams I've been having, because they're half the reason I've been thinking about my family. After he said this, Isaac sighed and bit his lip, for a moment thinking it was silly to ask. If someone knew, though, then maybe he wouldn't be going so insane thinking about it. He had to tell Gail, because if he let it go he might not tell anyone. There were few enough people at camp he trusted with his "darkest secrets," and Gail was one of them.
"Lately, parts of my dreams have been involving my paternal half-sister," he explained. "The few times they were memories involving her. One was the time I ran into a dracanae walking home from school with Alice. The other was when our family therapist turned out to be an empousa, that was just before I first came to camp." He shook he head here, as if the memories had suddenly invaded his thoughts and he needed to get rid of them to think clearly.
"Last night, I had a dream that had to be current, or more recent. Alice looked older than when I'd last seen her." Which had admittedly been a little over a year ago now. "I don't really know if what happened in it was important or not. I just want to know why I've been dreaming about her lately. Usually, for us, for half-bloods, dreams are messages..." His words trailed off, because he didn't want to finish that thought. He was scared of what it could mean that he was getting messages involving his sister. If she's in danger, if anything happens to her, Dad and Leah will blame me. Worse yet, I don't think I could forgive myself. As much as they'd pushed him away, he still loved his family. It was a love didn't make sense, love never did.
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Post by Gail Atrova on Dec 30, 2010 20:40:49 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- She had to focus. Isaac needed her help, so she tried to push thoughts of Nick from her mind. But, as per usual, it was easier said than done. Gail twirled her fork through her spaghetti and let out a deep sigh. Emotions were not their family's forte indeed. But unlike Isaac (not that she knew what he was thinking), Gail was totally convinced that her feelings had nothing to do with love. She'd convinced herself that love was something that didn't exist - it only lived in the movies and fictional books. None of the nonfiction she read ever mentioned love. It was all hormones and pheromones. It was also something that got you hurt in the end. People left her. They always did, and Gail was convinced that even though she might love someone, they would leave her. She refused to open herself up to that again.
The only person she really did open up to, it seemed, was Isaac. And at the thought of her brother's name, Gail huffed and shook her head. She had to focus. So she listened to what he had to say, and her frown deepened with each passing second. He was right - demi-god dreams almost never didn't mean anything. Which worried her, considering as that meant the leather-clad figure with sunglasses staring at her that appeared in her nightmares meant something as well. And Gail didn't want to think about meeting him at all. She didn't even want to consider the possibilitiy, because that brought on an emotion she didn't particularly liked to feel either... and that was fear.
"You're right, demi-gods dreams almost always mean something, but... what you're describing is a little confusing to be honest." Gail scratched the back of her head and gazed at her brother now, as though looking at him would help her figure it all out. She was dedicated to helping him now - thankfully she was distracted from Nick just for a little while. The son of Zeus was really starting to get under her skin.
Gail frowned and then looked down at the table in between the two of them, not really at anything in particular. "I don't know what your sister might have to do with everything that's going on right now, but maybe this is just something that has to do with her. Everything you dream about her... it's in reference to some kind of danger, right?" Gail didn't want to worry her brother, but the pieces she was putting together in her head were not boding good things. The way he described it, his dreams were laying out memories of every single time they were in danger together. That had to mean something, didn't it?
"You don't think... you don't think she could be in danger, could she? Isn't she mortal? Monsters wouldn't go after her... and she's with your... your family."
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Post by Isaac Winters on Dec 30, 2010 23:52:00 GMT -5
Isaac didn't think the dreams of Alice had anything to do with the great prophecy. That he knew of, the prophecy didn't involve him. There was nothing obvious anyways. The line about seven halfbloods could have refered to anyone from the camp. Still, Gail had a point. All the dreams of Alice had all been of dangerous, or at least bad, situations. The first two had been times Isaac had been attacked when she was present. The third, while it had been current, hadn't been much better. She'd been sneaking out, and jabbering on. Something about having to find proof, proof that they wouldn't just be able to explain away somehow.
Isaac didn't understand it. He'd only watched her for so long, until she'd gotten caught and dragged home. There she'd been yelled at by Leah, but Isaac's dream had changed courses after something Alice had said. It's your fault, your's and Dad's. I didn't want it this way. That made about as much sense as anything else had. It wasn't as if she'd said what she was blaming Leah for, though he assumed it had something to do with her sneaking out. Gods, I never snuck out when I was thirteen.... then again, I wasn't at home for long after I turned thirteen.
But his thoughts came to a sudden, crashing halt. What Gail suggested as a meaning to his dreams sent shivers down Isaac's spine. He shook his head, his expression fierce and his voice adamant. "I don't know any reason monsters would go after Alice. She's mortal, and she's with my dad and my step-mother." But he didn't feel any better. He shivered a little, like things had suddenly gone very cold. Suddenly all his confidence in what he'd said was gone. "You don't think she's in danger, do you? I could never live with myself if she got hurt somehow and it was monster related. Forget the fact that my father and step-mother would be after my blood if that happened." But it fit. He hadn't seen any dreams of Alice in danger, but maybe it was only be a matter of time. After all, his first to dreams had been memories. Who knew when the third one had actually occurred? But was there any way to find out if she was ok, especially before it was too late to do something if she wasn't?
"I have to know if she's safe," he said, fear showing in his eyes. "They pushed me away, but... I still care about them." There it was again, that illogical love. Was it really illogical though? Alice... she hadn't technically done anything. She'd never had the chance thanks to Leah. That didn't say she wouldn't have pushed Isaac away, but it also didn't say she would have.
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Post by Gail Atrova on Dec 31, 2010 12:20:24 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortals didn't attract attentions like demi-gods did, so the thought that Isaac's half-sister was in danger from monsters almost seemed impossible. Gail understood his worry, though she might not share it for her family. If something ever happened to Kevin, her older paternal half-brother, after what he'd said to her before she left... well, she wasn't sure what she'd do. She wasn't sure if she would feel bad or feel nothing at all. Certainly, if her father or stepmother were harmed, she couldn't have cared less. As cruel as it sounded, they were the reasons she was the way she was today. They were the ones who'd left her to fend for herself, and had fled before she could try and find them again.
Before she could stop it, Gail was remembering the day she'd gone searching for her family. "Please, Mr. Chiron, sir," she'd begged. "I just want to see if they'll take me back." And reluctantly, he'd let her go to Manhattan to see her father. And Gail went. But when the camp taxi had dropped her off at her old home, there was another family living there. They'd bought the house just a day before from a family that seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Upon hearing this news, Gail could feel her thirteen-year old heart breaking... She shook her head, banishing the memory from her thoughts.
"I'm sure she's safe, Isaac, if that means anything," Gail assured him, putting a hand on his arm and trying to calm him down. She could see a resolve forming - and she could see that now Isaac was extremely worried. She felt like slapping herself - she never should have said anything to the effect that his sister could be in trouble. "I know you'd never let anything happen to her, but we can't control everything. If monsters were after her, which I highly doubt, we wouldn't even know when they planned to strike." Gail realized that she just needed to shut up. She was probably only fueling the fire.
"Isaac, the only way to know if she's safe is to leave camp and find her. And we can't just waltz right out of camp - not only is that against the rules, but it's also practically impossible," Gail told him, her voice getting quieter so nobody else would hear them. She pulled her hand back from his arm and gestured out towards the woods. "There are harpies just waiting out there to make a snack of any demi-god who even tries to leave without permission." Logically, what Isaac could possible be thinking of was insane. But then again, insane had been the basis of their lives since they'd entered this camp.
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Post by Isaac Winters on Dec 31, 2010 16:50:18 GMT -5
Gail was right, right about everything she was saying. There was no way to know for certain that Alice was safe, not without sneaking out of camp. Not only was that against the rules, but it was insanely dangerous. You didn't leave camp without a reason, usually to go on a quest or to go home at the end of the summer. To find out if Alice was safe he would have to break rules, put himself in danger, and even if he did all that and found out she was in danger, he'd have no clue where to go or what to do. There was no logic in doing this, or as Gail had said, it was practically impossible.
The fear faded from Isaac's face. He was still worried, but it wasn't exactly like he could do much. And Gail was right, it was highly unlikely that any monster was after Alice. Chances were his dreams still meant something, but the danger references could have been coincidental. Maybe the real reason wasn't as obvious, something buried in the context of the dreams. My emotions are clouding my judgement, that's all. I can't figure this out because I can't think straight. Or at least he wanted to believe that.
"You're right, Gail," he said, trying to give her a smile. It was hard though, because he was still worried. The dreams still had to mean something, and he couldn't be sure it was something good. "If she is in danger, we don't know enough to help her. And there isn't a logical reason for her being in danger. There's no reason for a monster to be going after her. Not unless someone's trying to get to at me." That was a long shot though. Despite that he cared about her, Isaac didn't know know how she felt about him. For all he knew, the only family member he had that cared much about him, who wasn't a demi-god, was Athena. Not that he'd seen his mom since she'd told his dad to take him to camp, but some part of him believed she cared. If she hadn't, she could have just left him with his dad and step-mom. She could have just never claimed him.
"Besides, sneaking out of camp is far from intelligent." Isaac didn't even know if anyone had ever successfully managed to do it. He supposed if someone had, people would have been talking about it. That, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out what happened when someone broke the rules at camp and got caught doing so. At a camp for demi-gods, he figured the punishments could probably be pretty harsh.
"I'm just worried. I don't like that I'm dreaming about her, and it doesn't help things that trying to figure out the dreams makes me think of home." What he wouldn't give to have normal dreams, ones that weren't visions and messages. Or at least to not be having any dreams right now. Anything but dreams about Alice, dreams that he couldn't figure out for the life of him. Still, he needed to find some other way of figuring this out. Sneaking out wasn't a really valid option. Or was it?
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Post by Gail Atrova on Jan 1, 2011 15:40:10 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Being a daughter of Athena, Gail was much more of a thinker rather than a doer. She liked taking everything into consideration before rushing into something. With Isaac's situation, it was even more crucial (in her opinion, anyway), to consider everything. She thought she had made a valid point - monsters didn't go after mortals, and what Isaac had pointed out, about someone going after his sister to get to him... it seemed unreasonable. Unless Isaac had done something to tick someone off lately, and knowing her brother, he probably hadn't.
"Well, you haven't made any god or demi-god angry, have you?" she decided to ask anyway. Every possible angle, she reminded herself, and Gail decided to take another bite of her spaghetti. Not thinking about Nick, pushing him out of her mind, it was beginning to bring her appetite back. She wasn't extremely hungry, but made it so she was able to actually eat more of her meal. "That would be the only reason someone took the time to find out about your family and actually make the effort to send something after Alice. But as I've said already, that seems extremely illogical. Not to mention pulling that tactic is extremely predictable."
She nodded in agreement about sneaking out of camp. The harpies were always there to catch campers who tried to sneak out, and Gail had never actually tried herself but she'd heard rumors about the campers who got caught. And she didn't want to think about that. Leaving camp was practiaclly an insane idea anyway. There were so many monsters outside of camp on top of the difficulties of actually sneaking out. Trying to find Isaac's sister would be dangerous indeed.
"It's understandable. Thinking about home can be... frustrating. If it makes you feel any better, I'll do whatever I can to help you whatever you decide to do." She understood Isaac's predicament to an extent, mainly because she could only sympathize. He was her brother, and she cared about him. The fact that he was worried, worried her too. It also made her feel guilty - she'd been missing out on so much because she was taking care of Nick. She would have noticed this sooner if she wasn't always occupied with the son of Zeus one way or the other. And thinking of this only brought on frustration at herself. Why was he even in her mind at all times? It was defying all reason, and it was beginning to make her angry.
"I'm so sorry I haven't been around to help you out with this earlier," she decided to say, running a hand through her short blond hair. "I've been so busy... I feel like I'm not around the cabin anymore. You should have let me know about this earlier - we could have done something about it before now." Not that any of this was Isaac's fault in any way.
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Post by Isaac Winters on Jan 1, 2011 16:41:10 GMT -5
Gail had a point. The tactic of going after his sister was extremely predictable, not to mention it was as bad as hitting someone below the belt. It was a really low blow, because there was no reason to involve his mortal family in something related to the mythological world. If he'd angered a god or demi-god, then they could bring their problems and confront him face to face. Admittedly facing off with a god would be terrifying, but it was a lot less cowardly than using his family, mortals who were unable to even see through the mist let alone protect themselves from a god, demi-god, or monster. Although, that didn't say there weren't those who wouldn't hesitate to take such measures to get back at him. But, what would he have done to make someone want to take those measures?
"I don't know of anything I'd have done to make anyone that angry. So, if I did do something, it was an accident. Which would make using Alice against me a rather extreme way of getting payback." No, there had to be some other reason that he was dreaming of his sister. Logically there had to be something they were missing, some connection between the dreams that they hadn't seen yet. Possibly the connection of monsters in the first two was throwing them off track, and they were making the third dream fit their conclusion of danger when it really didn't. After all, sneaking out wasn't smart, but it wasn't exactly as dangerous as a monster attack. Not unless you were a demi-god sneaking out of camp, because that eventually led to monster attacks.
"Thanks," he told her, when she said that she'd help him in whatever he decided to do. "That'll help, once I finally know what to do. Right now, though, I don't. I do know that sneaking out to make sure she's safe is extreme. It's not worth the risk unless I know for certain that she's in danger or have more than just a hunch to go on." But that left him right back where he'd been before this conversation, unable to do anything until he had a real idea what was going on that he was dreaming of Alice. So this conversation really hadn't gotten them anywhere, but at least he'd tried telling Gail.
"Don't feel bad about not being around. I'd have told you sooner, but I don't have a whole lot to go on right now, and I'd have had even less if I'd tried talking to you before this point." No, even if Gail had been less distracted by... whatever it was that was keeping her busy, Isaac might not have told her. Not that he didn't trust her, but there just wasn't enough to draw any really good conclusions about why he was having these dreams. "We're probably jumping to conclusions. I can't really say why I'm dreaming about Alice, but it's probably something other than her being in danger. We just can't see what the other connection between the dreams is yet."
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Post by Gail Atrova on Jan 2, 2011 19:48:38 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gail sighed. With every passing moment, she was convinced that she was sinking further and further into insanity. She was good at hiding a lot of things, especially around a certain son of Zeus, but now that she was away from him and with her brother, she was beginning to tear at the seams. Emotions that she hadn't felt, well, ever always seemed to rear up around him. Now that Gail was with Isaac, the emotions were still there but it was like World War III trying to get them to go away. If this was what it was like to be attracted to someone, Gail wasn't entirely sure that it was worth it.
Gail nodded at Isaac's resolution. "And no offense to you, but I don't think you're capable of making someone that angry," she said with a small smile. She grinned jokingly at him. "You are pretty well-behaved around here, and as far as I know that's not considered a crime." Sending monsters after someone, as well, was an extremely difficult task. While monsters could be reasoned with, at times, Gail could hardly picture any of them agreeing to go after a mortal just to get at a half-blood. And not just any half-blood - Isaac, the son of an Olympian goddess. Isaac was right. That was pushing it to the extremes.
Gail sighed and ran a hand through her short blond hair. She was glad that Isaac didn't blame her for not beign around, but the truth was nothing was really going to stop her from feeling guilty. She was in a lose-lose situation. On one hand, she was convinced that she was guilty for Nick's injuries - if she hadn't injured him in that duel, she knew he would have been fine in the fight against Phobos. Though he tried to tell her time and time again that it wasn't her fault, Gail knew it was. He was too slow in a moment of vital importance because of the wounds she dealt him, and as a result he was in the state her was in now. On the other hand, she was guilty for not spending as much time with her siblings. Gail always loved hanging around Isaac and Annabeth - they were her favorite parts of camp.
"Thanks, Isaac. At least I know I'm not hated for taking on Nick as a responsibility." She gave her brother a weak smile and looked down at her spaghetti. Her appetite was gone again. But she nodded in response to Isaac, smiling faintly. "And I agree. You can't jump into something without knowing all the possible angles first - we'll have to wait and see if you have any more dreams about it. That's the only logical way of looking at the situation. You told me, and now you have to keep me posted."
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Post by Isaac Winters on Jan 3, 2011 20:17:55 GMT -5
Isaac laughed when Gail said she didn't think he could make someone angry. She had a point. It wasn't like he went around making a nuisance of himself. He wasn't a prankster, he didn't go around picking fights or calling names, and he was generally well behaved. That wasn't likely to make anyone try to pick a fight with him, let alone do something as low as going after his sister. They had to look at this from every angle, like Gail said. If this was a message he was supposed to solve, this wouldn't be the last dream he had. The clues would keep coming, and the two of them would figure it out, hopefully soon. He'd keep her posted, even if she kept being distracted by having taken on responsibility of Nick. Wait. What?
"Did you just say Nick? As in Nick Hawthorne, son of Zues?" Okay, for one he probably shouldn't have said that as loud as he did. For another, his eyes were like dinner plates at the moment. He was surprised was all, and he hadn't kept his reaction in check. He thought for sure Gail wouldn't give him a name, but apparently she was just frazzled enough to not really be thinking about every word she said. The name probably had slipped out. He gave himself a moment to calm down. Then, quieter now, he asked, "Is Nick the person you're thinking of and shouldn't be thinking of? The one who's leading to complications in your emotional life?"
That was actually not anything new, though. If Isaac had been less distracted he might have noticed his sister following Nick Hawthorne around like a second shadow. As it was, he'd been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to pay attention to that fact. That, and Gail had obviously not wanted him to know. Despite that he was her younger brother, by only a matter of months, he was really protective of her, of all his siblings. You didn't exactly tell the protective brother the name of the guy you were dating, or in this case falling for. It usually led to threats on his life if he broke your heart. Isaac might have been a guy, but he understood this concept.
"Anyways, I promise to keep you posted if another dream of Alice comes up," He said, returning the sidetracked conversation to it's original topic. No doubt that was a topic Gail was more comfortable discussing. "Who knows, maybe the next one will give us more idea what this all means. It might give us more clue as to what the connection we're currently missing is." Because there was a connection between the three dreams he'd had so far, but it was one both of them were currently overlooking.
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Post by Gail Atrova on Jan 6, 2011 20:46:42 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Isaac was the more perceptive of her siblings, even though all children of Athena was pretty intuitive. But then again, their pair of them were closer than a lot of the siblings here at camp. She really cared for him, and she supposed that he felt the same way. Honestly, Gail didn't think she could have asked for a better brother. He was definitely loads better than Kevin had ever been. She sighed at the thought of Kevin, because with him came thoughts of her mortal family - the one who'd abandoned her. She hadn't even heard from them all the two years she'd been here.
But then he asked her about Nick. For the love of everything that was sacred, did she have to bring him up? Because, unfortunately, the answer was 'yes' to anything. Never before had any male singlehandedly brought this much stress and self-reflection on for Gail. And yet, strangely, there was a part of her that loved it. A part of her was addicted to the rush she felt when she was around the son of Zeus - a part of her relished in the little smiles he gave her and the words he spoke in Russian. A small smile fought its way to her face, but she forced it down the instant she realized it was there. "Yes. Nick Hawthorne," she said quietly, loving the way his name just slipped off her tongue like there was nothing to it.
"Let's just say he's... making me do a lot of thinking. And not all of it is pleasant," she admitted, looking down at her plate of uneaten spaghetti. Gail was really beginning to regret already giving a sacrifice of food to their mother. She considered it sacriligious to offer food to any other god. Gail sighed, rolling her fork around in the tomato sauce as she considered what Isaac continued to say. Of course she was right, but Isaac also had a point. They needed a connection. A connection that would help his dreams make sense - and all they could do was wait. Wonderful. Gail hated waiting. It involved too little training and sitting around doing nothing.
She nodded, thinking about it. "There's obviously a connection - I can even tell, and I'm not the one having the dreams in the first place. Like you said, the only thing we can do is see if you have another dream. I'll be glad to have my mind off of him for a while; thanks for giving me a mystery to solve." Gail smiled weakly at him.
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Post by Isaac Winters on Jan 7, 2011 13:10:30 GMT -5
Isaac watched a small smile flicker across his sister's face at the mention of Nick. He couldn't help but think that he'd been right in assuming it was love. He wasn't going to say it to Gail's face by any means, but all the same he would keep it tucked away in the back of his mind, metaphorically speaking. Maybe he could do the same thing Gail was doing, and use his sibling's problems as a distraction from his own. It was worth a try, and Gail didn't have to know he was mentally considering the ways to find out if these emotional issues were what he thought they were, a certain emotion called love. Really, love wasn't the department of Athena kids. But, seeing as these emotions didn't seem logical to either of them, then it kind of made sense if it was an emotion they weren't really great at comprehend.
At this point his stomach growled rather loudly. Isaac's face turned slightly pink as he glanced down at his plate off food. Unlike Gail, he hadn't been playing with his food or picking at it since they'd started talking. His plate of pasta was half eaten, and it was apparently time for him to do something with the rest of it. Because, unlike his sister, he was actually hungry now that he was less distracted by his thoughts. "Right," he said, turning back to Gail. "We'll figure the connection out. We just need more information." He said that, and he believed it. With Gail's help he would solve the mystery of these dreams. "Glad I can be of service. Now, since I have my distraction resolved, I should resolve another situation. Namely, I'm starving."
To be honest his distraction wasn't completely resolved, but it was easier to deal with now. Besides, he wasn't going to solve the issue on an empty stomach. He dug into his food, possibly with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary. His dad has alway said teenage boys were like bottomless pits, and considering Isaac had two uncles, he assumed his father would have a fairly accurate point of reference for that statement. With that line of thought in mind, Isaac decided that teenage, male demi-gods must be black holes then, because he finished his food rather quickly and still wasn't full. He ended up glancing at Gail's mostly-untouched plate of pasta. He swallowed his last mouthful of his own pasta, then asked her, "Are you going to finish that?"
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Post by Gail Atrova on Jan 11, 2011 15:54:05 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gail smiled at her brother as soon as he mentioned that he was starving. All because he was a child of Athena, and her brother, didn't mean that he wasn't a boy. Sometimes it was easy to forget that they were mortal, and that they needed food. She realized that later on tonight, she was probably going to be hungry, but... there were things on her mind right now that just negated her instinct to eat. Thoughts that had never been in her mind before. Thoughts about, well... thoughts that Nick was bringing around. Gail pushed some of her short blond hair back from her face and looked around at the other campers, looking for that familiar face and that wavy dark hair...
Her attention was snapped back to Isaac when he asked her for the rest of her spaghetti. Gail grinned and pushed her plate towards him. "No, I'm not hungry. Go for it." Gail looked down and smirked. "By the way, you have some sauce on your shirt and your pants." She almost felt kind of guilty. Here Isaac was, telling her everything that was going on in his life, about his dreams and about his sister, and she felt like she was committing a crime keeping her situation with Nick from him. He was her brother, her closest sibling, after all. If she couldn't share anything with him, who could she talk to? Sometimes she felt like she was going to explode with everything she was keeping inside. Maybe... maybe she ahd to tell someone. And who better than her little brother?
"Hey, Isaac, would you mind if I just vented about.... well, you know how I'm helping out with Nick? Since he... broke his ribs and all?" Gail rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't exactly comfortable saying this stuff out loud, but she knew she had to get it out to somebody before she spontaneously combusted from all the emotions she was bottling up. From what she'd seen and what she knew about herself, a spontaneous combustion would probably end up being somewhat dangerous... especially if there was a weapon around.
Gail absenmindedly adjusted the dagger on her belt, resting her elbow on the table and resting her chin in the palm of her hand. She looked around at the other campers, unaware that there were probably girls in this camp that were having the same exact problems that she was. Boy troubles. Upon coming to this camp a few years ago, she had never suspected that she would have to deal with boys - let alone a tall, dark, Russian son of Zeus that made her head spin. Life was full of surprises, she was bitter to admit.
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