Ummmmm, Hello? ((Elijah, open))

As Zane Altman stepped into what he had been told was the "Principia", or the office/residence area of the Praetors, he breathed a quick sigh of relief. He had done it. After many harrowing weeks of travel across America, he had finally reached Long Island, and the new Camp Jupiter that existed besides its Greek counterpart. It had been a long journey, and a rather unnecessary one at that. Zane lived in Maine, and that darn wolf goddess Lupa had dragged him all the way to San Francisco (His original birthplace) to train him, before calmly informing him that he now had to trek all the way back to New York if he wanted to join Camp Jupiter. And then she disappeared! Yeah, typical Roman deities. Zane shook his head at the memory, but kept his thoughts and focus on what was to come. He had recently learned that his acquaintance-friend Elijah from synagogue was actually a Praetor here at Camp Jupiter 2.0. Zane wasn't sure of the exact meaning of the word; while he was intelligent enough when it came to Roman mythology, Latin had never been a strong suit of his. He assumed that it was some kind of leader. Apparently, there were two Praetors that headed Camp Jupiter, and then there were Centurions, which lead each Cohort, and they reported directly to the Praetor, and then there were Legionnaires. Or something like that, anyways... Zane wasn't entirely positive.

Regardless, it had taken him months to get to Camp Jupiter, and he certainly hoped that it was worth it. His adventures had taken him all over the country; it was hard to travel straight across the country when the people he was hitchhiking with didn't always go in the right direction all the time, and when some of them turned out to be monsters and tried to kill him or something. That was never exactly fun, but Zane made do, and in the weeks that he'd traveled, he learned quite a few handy survival skills, the foremost of which was his rather exceptional light-fingerdness. It was a sad necessity that Demigods had to steal sometimes to live, and Zane was no exception, having stolen cheap food form convenience stores along his route to Camp Jupiter. His path had taken him from San Francisco through Nevada and Arizona, across New Mexico, briefly into Texas, then from there all the way through the south up the East Coast to New York. It had been long and grueling, but at the end of his journey, Zane still found the energy to smile.   

As he finished his brief reflection of his travels, he realized that he was excited to see Elijah, because it had been quite a while since he had last seen the other demigod. The two of them shared a little history... Zane was the outgoing friendly guy who had looked up to Elijah, and Elijah was the more aloof and assertive guy who seemed, although he outwardly made a show of resenting just about everyone, to almost enjoy being around Zane. Or, that is what Zane thought... either way, he was happy that his friend had become the leader of New Rome, or one thereof, for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost was because Zane considered him a friend, and secondly was because knowing one of the Praetors of New Rome could be very helpful in getting Zane into the Camp. Normally Zane would have scolded himself for thinking so selfishly when it came to the livelihoods and well-being of his friends, but when it came to this, he had too much at stake to allow himself any room for error, and the assurance of knowing Elijah made him that much more reassured that he would indeed be allowed into the Camp, which he'd heard could be a bit strict when it came to admissions sometimes. 

And so, Zane stepped into the Principia, where he saw a familiar shape hunched over a desk. He ran over, and tapped the other boy on the shoulder. "Hey Elijah, buddy! He exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's good to see you again!" Zane could hardly contain his glee as he looked at Elijah. It really had been a while since he'd seen the other boy, and, as he looked around, awestruck by the grandeur of the buildings in New Rome, he felt himself filled to the brim with excitement as he wondered what life would be like in this strange new city. Elijah had not yet responded, so Zane figured that he would fill the silence that was beginning to occur with a bit of chatter to keep things going. "So it turns out I'm a demigod!" He began. "Yeah, some wolf appeared, Lupa, and dragged me to San Francisco. She taught me about demigods and stuff, and then sent me back here! I've been travelling for weeks, man! Parts kinda sucked... I was almost killed by a cyclops in Texas, and some weird guys with flippers and dog heads tried attacking me in Philly. But yeah, here I am! And I'm ready! To do some demigod stuff." He trailed off, and just stared at Elijah, unsure of what to do next.

He had run out of things to say surprisingly quickly, feeling surprisingly overwhelmed by his surroundings. He also felt physically tired, because the constant adrenaline high he had been on since leaving San Fran suddenly wore off, as though his body knew that he'd reached the end of the road, and was trying to tell him that he needed rest. But he kept himself standing straight and tall, looking at Elijah with a barely concealed smile on his face. Despite how he was feeling, he was still excited. Who wouldn't be, after all? He was finally in Camp Jupiter.

((Not that great a first post, I'm afraid, but everyone, say hi to Zane, my new character! (This is Griffin/Jake) I'm still getting used to not writing as a timid and shy person like Griffin, so do excuse me if the writing seems a bit... erratic.))

Days were getting longer and longer...and in more ways than the sun shining for longer hours as summer approached.  The strain of pulling the Legion along, managing a social life, looking after a mute eight year old...sometimes Elijah felt it more than other times.  Yes, things were somewhat easier with Jack around, and having River constantly there again, and even taking care of Tac helped, but at the same time, those very things meant so much more to juggle.  The boy was fine at juggling.  He fed off of the complete chaos...but at this point, Elijah really needed Calix back.  Was it so much to ask for, more free time than a stolen half hour here and there or meals?  In a way, Elijah had released the loss of Lúth.  He knew his sister would be back...the time was getting closer and closer...and as tight as he had held on to the loss and guilt and missing and everything about the older girl and her kidnapping, Elijah was letting go.  It had been months by now...the boy wasn't sure exactly how long, but long enough.  Calix was still in mourning.  Calix didn't believe Lúth would be back.  Calix needed to get his butt out of bed and help his fellow Praetor run things again.

As if things weren't bad enough with the two of them like usual.  The son of Discordia was sleep deprived and grumpy...sooner or later he would snap on someone and it wouldn't be pretty.  Could Praetors be fired?  And if so, would Elijah be fired if he beat someone to a pulp but there was no one else around to run the Legion?  Either way, the boy had been doing a darned good job, if he did say so himself.  That would definitely work in his favor, wouldn't it?  Who cared at this point?  Sometimes Elijah thought it might be better to forget it all and move to the outskirts of Camp Jupiter 2.0 society.  Whatever that meant.  With a sigh, the boy let his head hit the desk.  It made a nice thunk and hurt a bit, but the Praetor was too tired to care much.  What day was it?  Jack had been in this morning as usual, bright and shining with a smile, a kiss, and a reminder as to the day and date, but Elijah had forgotten already.  Either way, the boy knew he couldn't just give in.  Picking his heavy feeling head up, Elijah made do with hunching over his desk.  Gods, that made his back hurt.  If the boy wasn't so afraid of the implications, he would make Jack give him a massage or something.  Maybe he would anyway.  It was kind of silly...Elijah could remember his step-mother often complaining about her "stiff back" and thinking she was way too much of a diva.  Now he was relatively certain he got the whole "stiff back" thing, and bested Jody at the diva thing no matter what.

The door to the Principia opened.  Elijah took in a deep breath and went to lift his head when he heard the familiar voice ring out.  Wait...was that today?  "Zane," the boy sighed softly, definitely not matching the younger boy's enthusiasm.  Looking up as he was tapped on the shoulder, Elijah tried to control his breathing and hoped he had done his makeup well enough to hide the bags under his eyes.  Either way...he had known Zane was coming, even though he hadn't been sure when.  Sometime today, apparently.  Now, apparently.  Unlike most people he had dealt with back home, especially at synagogue, Elijah had been mostly able to tolerate Zane.  Which was definitely saying something; tolerating someone was as good as being best friends for Elijah back home.  Go figure the younger boy would end up being a half-blood.  And a Roman.  It could have been worse.  "Good to see you, too," Elijah finally mumbled tiredly.  He wouldn't take everything out on Zane.  That would be terrible.  But he couldn't process the younger boy's words which was slightly frustrating.  It wasn't a matter of Elijah going easy on the other boy because he knew him from "home" and felt obligated...it was a matter of the son of Discordia enjoying most of the time he had spent with Zane in the past.

But still..."Slow down, there, Zane," Elijah lifted his head up the rest of the way and gave a half smile...which was about all he could manage right now.  "I'm glad you're here...alive...in one piece...but try to slow down.  It's been a long..." the boy trailed off thoughtfully.  A long what, exactly?  Day?  Week?  Month?  Couple of months?  Year?  Years?  Life?  Gods, where to even begin?  Wondering briefly about how long that whole thought process had lasted, Elijah looked down, shuffling some papers and picking up a pen.  "Things have been a little...crazy, recently.  But we'll get everything sorted now.  Just the basics, because..." because I'm tired and would rather be relaxing with my boyfriend than dealing with a new Legionnaire, whether I know you or not..."Just cohort stuff.  And other necessities.  We'll make sure you have a place to sleep tonight, at least," a quick glance at Zane before looking back down.  Gods...Elijah had to pull himself together.  He couldn't let his defenses down just because he knew Zane.  "Long day.  And I'm aiming to actually get out of this building and hopefully have dinner with my boyfriend tonight.  So why don't we figure everything out and then I'll show you around?"

Zane had seen Elijah when he first stepped into the room and ran up to his old acquaintance, but after his barrage of words, he actually took a minute to observe Elijah. The other boy looked extremely tired, and seemed surprised that Zane was there. But Zane's arrival had not been planned, so he supposed that was to be expected. Elijah muttered something about it being good to see Zane, and then lifted his head up and told Zane to slow down a bit. Zane immediately closed his mouth, having opened it in a vain attempt to start the conversation (or lack thereof) up again. Elijah took a minute, and continued, telling Zane that he was glad to see him at Camp Jupiter, in one piece, and alive. And then he told Zane to slow down again, and kind of trailed off. Again, Zane couldn't help noticing the complete and utter look of exhaustion on Elijah's face, and he briefly pondered what had happened to the spunky and assertive boy he had once known.

Perhaps it was the sheer responsibility of his job. On the way in to Camp, Zane had absorbed every detail he could of his surroundings, staring wide eyed at all the buildings and their grand designs. It couldn't be easy managing that, especially with only two people making all the big decisions. Zane's brow furrowed; he thought that both Praetors would be in attendance to receive a new legionnaire, but there was only evidence of Elijah. What had happened to the second Praetor? Was Elijah running the Camp all by himself, then? That would explain the harrowed look on his friend's face. Zane made a conscious mental note to stop talking so much, and listened attentively as Elijah continued, disjointedly telling Zane that they would get things sorted out as quick as they could. Zane's customary grin returned at that, and he bobbed his head enthusiastically at the prospect of staying in Camp. 

Elijah stopped talking, and, in Zane's excitement, he almost missed the last part of Elijah's statement. Right before the reassertion that they would get things taken care of, Elijah casually mentioned something that made Zane cock his head and stare at the older boy. Elijah had a boyfriend? Zane was really bad at telling who was or wasn't gay, but nonetheless, he had always known, or at least suspected, that Elijah was. That being said, Elijah didn't seem to be the type that would be in any sort of relationship. He had always been so... aloof. He was never unkind, at least, not to Zane, but there was always the feeling that he tolerated people, and didn't exactly enjoy being in their presence. So, for Zane to hear that Elijah had a boyfriend... that was stunning news indeed.

But that could all be considered later, because Elijah had made it pretty clear that he wanted to get the introductory tour over with as soon as he could, so instead of badgering him with questions like his instincts told him to do, he remained quiet, and nodded to show his willingness to proceed. Of course, he couldn't remain silent forever, so after a couple seconds, he started talking again. "So, I've heard all about camp." He said happily. "There's different cohorts and stuff, and they each have their own barracks, and each cohort is headed by a Centurion, right? And you guys, the Praetors, are like, the supreme rulers. That's awesome! Will I be placed into a cohort? Which one?" And he kept talking for another few seconds, before remembering that Elijah was probably extremely tired and not in a very patient mood. With that in mind, he trailed off, and decided that he would keep himself under control, and not let his ADHD get the best of him. Of course, he couldn't stop his eyes from darting around, taking in every detail that they could. Eventually, when he was thoroughly satisfied that he had taken in everything he could, he turned his attention back to Elijah, and wondered what had happened to make the other boy so unlike himself. He then shrugged it off; if Elijah wanted him to know about his life, he would tell him. And then he waited for the official process that would allow him access to Camp Jupiter to begin.