Back Again... Again (Open to people who know Russell, 1st 2 repliers)

The principia of Camp Jupiter always had the feel of home, no matter how long had passed between Russell’s last visit to camp. Sure, the principia at Camp Jupiter 2.0 wasn’t necessarily the same as what he had known in California, but there was still a familiarity to the hustle and bustle of camp life. He saw demigods everywhere, and there was a comfort being inside Terminus’s boundary. And so, with his return to camp, Russell slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way down the principia.

He could tell that a lot had changed since he was last at camp. There was just an interesting feeling in the air, but he had yet to run into anyone that he knew. A lot had changed for him too. School, work, life – all three had made an impact in the man Russell Stone was becoming. However, for now, he didn’t have to think about the drama from the world he left behind. Camp had its own set of drama that he would have to deal with. Russell hadn’t seen River in ages, and he didn’t even know if she was at camp. The two had moved passed everything. Well, Russell had, at least.

The more awkward situation was Adele Frye, the daughter of Zeus to whom he had grown close. Their relationship had been off and on for a while, and they had tried to connect in the city. Nothing had quite worked though, and Russell had moved on a bit over time. There had been girls at school over the semester, but no one could really fit him. He knew that there was a demigod out there for him; all he had to do was find her. However, that was a concern for another day. For now, he was at camp, and he was hoping to run into someone he knew.

((Calling this spot for Calix ^^))

((Joining by invite.))

Jack hummed happily to himself as he loped across the lawn towards the Principia.  After a swim in the sound and a relaxing shower, he wanted to find his boyfriend and surprise him with a bit of a distraction for a while.  Elijah had started working his butt off again.  Since it was the beginning of the summer holidays, the seasonal campers were slowly returning.  As Praetor, Elijah was responsible for keeping track of who was there, who was not, who was returning, who wasn’t, and everything in between.  All of that was in addition to his usual duties of keeping the peace and helping to solve problems between campers.  With a few more campers than usual, there seemed to be more problems than ever.  Elijah did have Calix, his co-Praetor to help him out, but that didn’t mean the son of Discordia wasn’t working hard.  He had a deep sense of loyalty and responsibility, which Jack greatly admired.

Now, however, it was about time Elijah took a break.  Jack was going to march into the Principia, pull his boyfriend away from the desk, disappear into that back bedroom, and spend some quality time with the young man.  He was almost positive Elijah would protest at first, but it wasn’t good for anybody to work all day without any play.  It would do him good to get away from the desk for a while.  And if he protested too much, Jack would cook him dinner later.  Food was a surefire way to make his boyfriend feel better.  The son of Venus was still trying to figure out how Elijah could be vegan and eat as much as he did.  By all known logic, the Discordian should have been eating anything and everything he could get his hands on.  Instead, he stuck to a very strict diet.  That was another thing Jack admired, but would never have the strength to do himself.

Rounding the corner of the Principia, the son of Venus paused to observe another young man approaching.  He was certainly attractive.  Jack had to give him that, but his mind stopped there.  For once, he didn’t jump into suave, flirtatious mode.  Gods, being in a relationship for over a year did funny things to a person.  Jack was still friendly, though, so even if his first thought wasn’t to flirt with the guy, he still wanted to talk to him.  Leaning casually against the wall, he said, “Haven’t seen you around before.  Are you a new camper or are you returning from somewhere?”

Russell looked up as a voice spoke to him. Looking for the source, Russell found another demigod who looked about Russell's own age, which was rare for a demigod. Certainly, the likelihood of a demigod living passed teenage years had gone up ever since the two camps had come together. However, the chances of a monster ending your life were high, but as someone got older, something happened with the magical aura that attracted monsters. Whether they were able to deal with the attacks better, or they came less frequently, in any case, demigods around Russell's age tended to live long lives. After all, some of the more famous contributors to the modern day had been demigods. Demigods just needed to survive adolescence, but didn't everyone?

In any case, adolescence had treated this new demigod well. He was definitely a looker, and Russell was sure that this guy could get any girl that he wanted. There was definitely something about him that screamed attraction. Russell didn't really swing that way unless he was severely uninhibited, but even now, he could feel the pull. Venus, Russell thought to himself. Or perhaps Cupid. “Coming back,” Russell replied. “I spent the semester in the city taking classes and trying to be a normal guy.” Russell smirked a bit to signal that that didn't necessarily work out for him. “The name is Russell Stone, Son of Neptune Verus,” he said, standing a bit taller at the mention of his father's name. After all, he was a child of the big three, even if the Romans did not worship Neptune as strongly as they worshiped Jupiter or Pluto, they still respected his power.

Calix finished his stack of paperwork early. At first, he didn’t believe it. He had signed his last piece of inventory and reached for the next sheet… but there was none. Calix grasped around the general area where he usually put his unfinished paperwork, and he glanced up when he kept grabbing air. He finally looked up, breaking his concentration… and found that everything was in his ‘completed’ pile. He blinked, very confused. It took a few seconds for it all to process and when it did…. He was still very perplexed. How could he be done? He’d only been working… well, all day, but it still hadn’t happened for as long as he could remember. Calix blinked again and then leaned back in his chair. Now what? He shuffled the finished papers and thought. He could go off to the Arena to train. But he did that the moment he woke up. So Calix settled for a walk. Calix didn’t remember the last time he took a leisurely stroll around the Camp. And maybe he could work on the Talan…

Calix stood up and stretched, feeling his back crack a few times. He sighed deeply. He must have been working for a while. Calix walked back into his room for a second and grabbed his leather jacket from the rack along with his sword. As naturally as breathing, he pulled on the jacket and strapped on the sword. He was already thinking about what he could do with the little special spot in the woods he’d created as a wedding present for his wife to make it better. Maybe sand it down a little more? Cut better boards? He picked up his key and stuffed it in his pocket just in case Elijah decided to go out as well. More thoughts circulated through his mind as they usually did, never having a second to think of trivial things. He thought about every possible direction his plan could go in the steps it took to get from his desk to the door, and it filled his mind so much that, when he opened the door, he nearly hit the people standing right outside.

Calix halted in his tracks and looked up. Like with the paperwork, it took a while before he could decipher the full picture. Two people. That he both knew. Jack and Russell. Calix blinked again before realizing that he probably looked like a literal fish out of water. He cleared his throat. “Centurion Wheelan. Legionnaire Stone.” Calix fell silent for a second or two before realizing that they were standing right outside the principia which meant that they probably had business with one or both of the praetors. It didn’t take a genius to guess which one Jack wanted. He smiled a little and cleared his throat again. “I ah, was just heading out… is there anything you two wanted…?”

Jack chuckled slightly at the young man’s words.  “‘Normal’ and demigods don’t usually fit into the same sentence,” he answered, a touch of humor in his voice.  “Unless that normal includes an arena and training with deadly weapons.”  He grinned and continued, “Welcome back to the manageable ‘normal.’”  At the introduction, Jack stuck out his hand.  He could be inappropriate at times, but he wasn’t rude.  Well…he wasn’t intentionally rude.  And he certainly wasn’t intentionally rude when he was in such a good mood.  “Pleasure to meet you, Russell Stone, son of Neptune Verus,” he said.  “You’ve got a pretty important daddy, huh?”  Jack didn’t know much about Neptune, but he did know the god didn’t have too many children.  That made them special, in a sense.  And having a father who had dominion over the seas was a pretty big deal.  Jack wracked his brains to remember what verus meant.  Elijah had been trying to teach him Latin.  It was about time he remembered something.  Verus…veritas…  They had the same root, so they had to have similar meanings, right?

Without skipping a beat, Jack introduced himself.  “Jack Wheelan, son of Venus Amatorius.”  He smirked, figuring no other explanation was needed.  The demigods who knew Jack were usually able to guess his parentage.  The ones who knew his parentage first quickly realized he fit the description a little too well.  Where some demigods had a slightly ambiguous personality, Jack was clearly Venus’s child.  If Russell hung around long enough, he’d probably see that, too.  Relaxing casually against the wall of the Principia again, Jack asked, “So what brings you to this part of camp?”  Glancing at his bag, he added, “I take it you haven’t been back to your barracks yet.”  Suddenly realizing that might be the reason for his Principia visit, he asked, “Which barracks are you supposed to be in?  Have you been sorted into a cohort yet?”  It may have been a stupid question, but Jack didn’t know how long Russell had been at camp before leaving.  He didn’t know if the young man had a cohort or not, and he figured he should take some responsibility for once and ask the important questions.

Before he could get too far, however, the door of the Principia opened.  Jack turned with a grin, hoping to see his boyfriend, but knowing he was more likely to be facing another legionnaire.  He certainly wasn’t expecting to see Calix in the doorway.  Calix worked just as hard as Elijah did, so seeing him out and about was almost a rarity.  At least, that was how it seemed to Jack.  He didn’t know the guy too well, but he still liked him.  At the greeting, Jack’s grin grew.  “Praetor Kiril,” he responded good-naturedly.  “There was something I wanted, but I don’t think you could or would want to provide it.”  Jack’s tone was light and meant to be joking.  Becoming a little more serious, he said, “It’s good to see you out and about.  How’s the work coming along?”

Russell chuckled at the other demigod’s comment about being normal. Surely, there was a lot to be said for a demigod trying to be normal. “Certainly, you better believe my gladius came in handy this last semester,” Russell said with a smile. “Monsters aside, it’s a cool skill to show off at parties. The girls love a man who can use his sword well.” Yup, he was going to let that statement hang.

Shaking the offered hand, Russell only shrugged at the question about his father. “I guess he’s important,” Russell replied, “but that really doesn’t do me much good when you realize that Romans never really worshiped him like they did Jupiter and Pluto. We fear what we don’t understand, and the sea was never a Roman domain.” There were days that Russell envied the children of Poseidon and the way the Greeks received them. Poseidon was very well-loved by the Greeks. Neptune was worshiped more from fear than from love.

Hearing who Jack’s mother was, Russell thought he could see something of the goddess around Jack. Of course, he had known children of Venus who were nothing like their mother at first glance, but this guy seemed to have something in common with Love herself. The sudden questions were definitely not unprecedented. The Principia was where the Praetors were; normal Romans didn’t come here without business with either Calix or Elijah. Russell hadn’t really been thinking about Elijah. He would’ve avoided the Praetor if he could. Rather, he was just walking around camp and soaking in the memories. Answering the first question, Russell explained “Nah, nothing special. I was just walking around and ended up here.” He wondered what the other half-blood was doing here but decided not to ask. “As to my cohort, I was sorted when the Praetors were reinstated,” Russell explained. “You’re looking at a member of the First Cohort. Though, it’s been a while since I was really involved in the Legion, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a new commanding centurion who has no idea who I am.” Had he really been away from camp that long?

The door of the Principia opening caused Russell to stiffen. He let out a silent prayer that Elijah would not walk through that door. A child of the sea was accustomed to a certain degree of chaos, but Russell could only imagine what Elijah would do if he saw him. The two had never really gotten over the whole River debacle. Seeing Calix instead brought a smile to Russ’s face. It had been way too long since the two had last seen each other. “Calix, buddy!” Russell said with a smile, pulling the Praetor into a hug that was probably too informal and would probably throw the uptight Roman into sputters. “How have you been? What’s new? We should catch up. How are things going?” Russell filed the interaction between Jack and Calix back into his head for later deciphering, but for now, he was content with prying into Calix’s life and with pushing the other guy’s social boundaries.

Calix always liked Jack. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but he felt that the son of Venus was a good choice both as a Centurion and as a boyfriend to Elijah. Jack had a very amiable air about him, and, besides the initial objection he had to the taller demigod kissing his friend against his will, Calix found no reason to dislike him (the Legacy also still felt a bit smug in predicting their relationship). So Jack’s response did nothing more than cause a little chuckle. If it had come from anyone else, they would have been met with a disapproving stare. But the two were in love. Calix knew the feeling all too well. When you were in love and wanted the entire world to know. “Ah. Well, Lúthien and I used one of those alone nights Elijah promised so… I haven’t seen him.” For that long, Calix forgot they weren’t alone. Seeing Russell out of the corner of his eye was enough of a reminder and, with a cough, Calix regained his professional stance. “The paperwork is the same. Your excellent reports make it easier, Centurion.”

But the change of tone was not noticed by the son of Neptune who, as soon as Calix made that bit of contact, tackled him in a hug. Calix tensed up immediately. The only people he ever allowed to hug him were his wife, Mia, Calla, Sienna, Felix and Elijah. And a lot of the time no one besides the first desired to show affection to the praetor. So he wasn’t used to random shows of affection. Much less from someone he didn’t know all that well. Calix’s brows furrowed together and he stayed completely still until Russell released him. That didn’t happen in the span of time that Russell began to ask him questions, and the praetor slowly but firmly moved to get away. Calix cleared his throat. “Fine,” he responded gruffly. “Things have not changed… and yourself? Finally decide to rejoin the Legion?” Calix didn’t take too kindly to deserters, though it wasn’t completely clear if that’s what Russell was. He did not understand the need of some people to go ‘find themselves’ or their desire to take off, completely neglecting their responsibilities to chase after another, possibly ridiculous dream. But maybe that was because Calix didn’t have a dream beyond his current situation…

Still with the slight frown on his face, Calix glanced back and forth between Russell and Jack. He made a sound of approval in the back of his throat. “You’ve met your Centurion. That’s a start.”

((I apologize for the über late response. My muse took the wrong plane back from vacation.))

Jack snorted at Russell’s response to their exchange and thought back to the parties he had frequented back in Oklahoma. Russell was a good-looking guy, and with his clearly open and confident personality, the son of Venus knew the other young demigod would have had his pick of girls back at those houses. “You would have made a splash in my hometown,” he chuckled, realizing the stupid pun only after he said it. He shrugged it off and continued, “Tulsa, Oklahoma. Boring place, but you can find plenty of fun at just about any party.” Jack was a guy who based a lot on first impressions. Even if they were wrong, they still told a person a lot about someone else. From the first impressions of Russell, Jack got the feeling that the two would get along quite well.

At the announcement of his cohort, Jack gave the young demigod a wide grin. He wasn’t the most professional of leaders, but he certainly tried when he had to. “Legionnaire Stone!” he declared, adopting a somewhat mocking air of formality. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You do indeed have a new commanding Centurion who has no idea who you are. Or…he had no idea who you were until a few moments ago.” Completely dropping the formalities, he continued, “You’re looking at the First Cohort Centurion. I’m not much for the whole Legionnaire under the Centurion hierarchy, so I’d prefer just to be called Jack. I’m no better than anybody else here.” The son of Venus took his job absolutely seriously when he had to, but he still wasn’t entirely sure how he ended up as the Centurion of the First Cohort. He was no better than the Legionnaires he supervised, and honestly, he could probably learn a few things from them.

After Jack answered Calix’s question, he quickly shut his mouth. He wasn’t sure how the Praetor would take his comments. Jack liked the young man, but just because he was in a good mood didn’t mean the son of Bellona would be. He half expected the Praetor to tell him off for being impolite and unprofessional. Thankfully, he just laughed, his response giving the son of Venus a reason to smile. “I’m happy to hear you and Lúth are doing well,” he replied. “We’ll try to give you a few more alone nights soon.” At the switch back to professional, he gave the young man a quizzical look. He wasn’t sure if Calix was being serious or not. Jack did try hard on his reports, but he oftentimes got them in at the last minute. Sometimes he even forgot a page. Deciding to take the Praetor seriously, he answered, “Thank you. I do my best.”

He stepped back when Russell jumped in, observing the interaction between the two demigods silently. Seeing as he didn’t know Russell too well, he wasn’t sure how close the guy was with Calix. From the Praetor’s stiffness, though, he got the feeling they weren’t quite that close. Perhaps that would be something to ask Russell about later, when they were both back in the barrack.

Russell laughed and shook his head at Jack’s comments about Tulsa. “Tulsa, huh?” he asked interestedly. “I’m actually from Texas, the northwest part of the state, so I know a bit or two about Oklahoma.” He winked at Jack and left it there. Texans and Oklahoma did not get along most of the time; there was a bit of a friendly rivalry between the states, even if Texas was like 5 times bigger and just all around better. “I’m sure you were entertaining enough at those parties, Jack.”
 
The revelation that Jack was indeed the centurion of his cohort just made Russell smile. This kind of coincidence became commonplace for a demigod. The half-mortal world in which they all lived wasn’t big enough for their not the be random connections between every demigod, connections aside from the ones they shared via immortal parentage because the gods were all interrelated somehow too. “Well, I’ll be,” he said while smiling. “Centurion Jack…” he tested out the words on his lips before adding, “I think I am going to call you CJ, if that’s cool, sir.” Jack may have said he was okay with being called by his first name, but some of the Roman lessons on command had taken root in Russell, and he couldn’t help but address his commanding officer in such a way. “Uh… sorry…” he said a little awkwardly.
 
When Calix showed up, Russell just looked back and forth as the men discussed their lives. He seemed to missing something. Picking up the word Luthien, Russell nodded. “So you found her, then,” he replied, probably showing how long it had really been since he had last been to camp. He didn’t really count that short weekend with Adele over the course of the winter break. He hadn’t really interacted much with anyone else besides her.
 
 
When questions were directed at him, Russell just shrugged and adjusted his bag on his shoulder. “I figured I might as well, for now,” he answered. “From what I hear on the outside, we’ve been getting a flux of new trainees, and you could use all the instructors you can find. I might have been gone a while, but if the Legion’s fighting style hasn’t really changed since the Empire fell, I don’t think it has changed much since I left.” He smiled broadly and chuckled a bit at his joke. “I’d be happy to help in any way that I can, for the glory of Rome and the Legion.” He saluted with his free hand and then readjusted his bag again before deciding to set it down on the ground. It didn’t look like he would be going anywhere any time soon.