And Another, And Another ((Lukas Blakewood)) [PG-13: L, S]

After a rather awkward start with Legionnaire Blakewood, Elijah had decided that it could have been a lot worse.  He actually really liked the guy, and the flirting was easily overlooked once Lukas realized Elijah had a boyfriend.  And though it was only a couple years, the boy liked the idea of being a positive role model in the other's life.  Sort of like a...how to be gay.  How to be gay and function at camp?  Whatever it was...after last time, the small boy was sure that Lukas respected him at the very least.  So that was pretty much a start, at least in Elijah's book.  And there was a good possibility that Jack was starting to soften his boyfriend, because the boy hadn't thought too many violent thoughts when Lukas was coming on to him.  Though it was sort of a more pathetic type thing...the only legionnaire who doesn't realize I have a boyfriend...well, it was all water under the bridge now.  Because by the end of their meeting, they had finished on a good note.  And Elijah felt he could be someone there for the younger boy.  Gods knew if he had had someone for all that, he probably would have been a lot better off, though Jack had stepped in at a certain point.  There had been plenty of uncharted areas before that.  Someone a bit older would have been nice.

Of course, soon after meeting Lukas, things had gotten hectic.  Elijah was completely scatterbrained on a good day, and if he didn't make notes of things, lots slipped through the cracks.  It was why he always carried so many notebooks...they were all for making notes for multiple things.  Otherwise, the boy would go completely insane, though in all fairness, he spent a lot of the time there anyway.  And although he had scribbled down Legionnaire Lukas Blakewood, looking back on it and the lack of explanation meant Elijah really had nothing to go on, except a blind faith that the meaning behind the name would be remembered at some point.  But, as often proved, the Praetor was a hopeless case and had no idea what exactly he had been meant to remember.  And at this point, he felt bad that he had let it go for so long.  How long had it been now?  Too long.  The son of Discordia obviously wasn't being too good at his job...there was so much to being a Praetor, and sometimes it seemed like if it wasn't one thing, it was another.  Paperwork, problems, being a mediator...there was a lot involved in the job.  And Elijah was just feeling sort of...overwhelmed these days.

And then...word had gotten back to Elijah that Lukas had been claimed.  There were muddled accounts of the whole thing, and no one really knew what had happened.  Of course, that was something that the small boy should have found out directly, along with who Lukas was claimed by.  When he had first heard it, he had frantically gone through papers trying to find more information, but someone dropped the ball on that one...probably Calla, the second cohort Centurion.  Elijah was happy to blame her, as the two couldn't get along at all and Calla's attitude towards the small boy infuriated him.  But she was Lukas's Centurion, and figuring that stuff out to pass along to Elijah and Calix was her job.  Just to be sure, the Praetor had gone through the papers on his partner's desk as well, still not seeing anything to clue him in.  The whole thing just made Elijah grumpy.  Finally, the boy resigned himself to getting in contact with the other boy himself, since no one else was going to help him.  "For Gods' sake, I can't do it all on my own," the boy mumbled to himself as he delivered a note to Lukas in the second cohort barrack.  He had been hoping to see River when he stopped by, but his best friend wasn't there, nor was Lukas.  He left the note, storming back to the Principia.

"Ridiculous," the boy sighed as he went through the papers on his desk.  "This is absolutely ridiculous," perhaps Elijah wasn't in the best of moods, but he had to try.  Maybe he could even go to dinner with everyone else instead of working late.  It would be nice to just play around with Jack, and hopefully have his boyfriend come back to his room for the night.  Elijah had never entirely understood workaholics until he found himself turning into one.  To a certain degree, anyway.  He wasn't anything like his father, which was definitely a relief.  As much as the boy worked, there were definitely some things keeping him from turning into a full workaholic...first of all, he loved what he did.  He didn't just do it because he had to, or just because.  Most importantly, he kept himself social.  He spent time with his friends and family (blood related and not) and his boyfriend.  He made time for these people, because they were the people he loved and couldn't make it without.  A type of workaholic, maybe, but he would never turn into the type his father was.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Elijah tried to think about Jack, and seeing his boyfriend at dinner.  It was a motivator.  "Bracchae..." he sighed.  The heavy door to the Principia opened, and Elijah steeled himself for whoever or whatever it was this time.  Somehow, it felt like he just wasn't prepared enough.

It had come as a wonderful surprise for Lukas when he had found a note, addressed to him, lying around the Second Cohort Barracks. Swiftly, the boy grabbed the folded piece of paper, opened it up with his delicate hands and scanned over the writing. So, Elijah wanted to speak with him? It was Lukas’ immediate instinct that he had messed up; done something he wasn’t supposed to have done. He didn’t fancy standing there in front of the Praetor explaining that it was just a one off thing - never to happen again. In other words, he didn’t feel like standing in front of the Praetor and lying straight to his face. Lukas liked Elijah, and due to Elijah’s status in this weird Roman system, Lukas figured it’d be better to keep himself in Elijah’s good book.

After re-reading the letter two more times the boy decided to just go and get the meeting over and done with regardless, as opposed to sitting there at his bunk contemplating the reasoning for the letter (which sounded terribly boring and time consuming.) He strolled casually onto the streets of Camp, his arms swinging jollily at his side. He shifted his body expertly through the crowds. Ever since being claimed, Lukas had felt a sense of relief wash over him. He felt more complete and whole than he had been beforehand, his movements seemed more pronounced and graceful – but he retained a sense of self importance too. Being a Son of Venus was rather wonderful. He may not have been the best at sword fighting, but he made up for that with his allure. Lukas often felt a sense of pride about it all – he adored the idea of flirting with people with the added knowledge that he was, in fact, the Son of the most beautiful person to ever exist in the history of anything. A quick grin lined his face as the thought crossed his mind.

Lukas’ clothing was relatively casual considering the occasion – simple grey t-shirt with black skinny jeans and black shoes. Nothing too fancy, but it suited him well. The boy was struggling to adjust back to being in control of his own looks - he’d almost become accustomed to putting his hand through his soft hair and have it spring back to the ‘perfect’ positioning. It took a while before Lukas actually forced himself to style his hair again, dragging a brush through his straggly mass of brown hair. He didn’t want to repeat what had happened recently – walking out into public, the newly claimed Son of Venus with his hair all over the place. No one else cared, but Lukas was rather irritated for the entire day.

Happily, and with swift and gentle movements, the boy ascended the stairs leading to the Principia, where Elijah had informed him to meet in the letter. Should Lukas have been humbled that Elijah actually cared about him, even just a little? Lukas laughed to himself momentarily at the concept – he was just a demigod like he was. Elijah wasn’t a celebrity, or a king. No matter what the Roman system said, the ‘Lukas system’ overruled it (that being the complete absence of a system altogether.) Elijah was just another person at the end of the day. Therefore he would not be receiving much special treatment.

Surprisingly, Lukas froze upon reaching the door. All movement in his hand seized for a few seconds as he contemplated, again, why he had been told to come here.  Pushing the thought aside, he quickly grabbed the door handle and pushed forwards. He did so with too much force, however, and Lukas stumbled into the Principia rather clumsily holding on to the side of the door with an amused smirk across his face, his angular features shining in the daylight. He gripped the door and closed it quickly behind him, a loud bang resonating around the room as he did so . His eyes scanned the room after the door slammed shut behind him, and quickly he found himself gazing at Elijah. Well, that was a relief. It would have been terrible awkward if the other Praetor – Lukas couldn’t remember his name (was that bad?) – had been on the other side to see the absolute meal he’d made out of the simple task of opening a door.

"Sorry about that,” Lukas mumbled, trying his best to keep his laughter in, “the door’s a bit forceful, that’s all,” He placed his hands in his jeans' pockets and looked down at his shoes, still retaining his desire to burst out laughing, before speaking up again.

“So uh, you . . . you wanted to see me then? I’m intrigued, you see, I can’t actually quite remember doing anything I shouldn’t have been doing for once . . . not that I ever would do such a thing of course . . . uhm . . . still rocking the purple hair I see,” the boy trailed off momentarily, his eyes looking everywhere in the room apart from Elijah’s face. What a show he’d made of himself, but in a way it was rather hilarious. It’d make a good story for him to tell in the future.

The more Elijah tried to convince himself that he could just have a normal day for once, the more he realized that that wasn't really a thing.  At least it wasn't in his life.  In general, though...was it possible for any demigod to have a normal day?  Maybe an easier day with a usual routine and all, but probably nothing more than that.  The boy hated when his days deviated too much, even the mornings where Jack shut off the Praetor's alarm, leaving his morning without his morning routine.  That was happening increasingly so in the son of Discordia's life, and was something he needed to get stricter about with his boyfriend.  At this point, threats weren't really any good, even though Elijah knew exactly where to hit the hardest.  Jack just knew him too well at this point...most of Elijah's threats were joking or totally empty.  Nonetheless, the boy felt he should probably find a way to discipline his boyfriend better.  Especially when he turned of the alarm without the small boy knowing.  Of course Jack didn't like the 5:30am alarm.  Even Elijah hated it sometimes...that didn't mean he ignored it or turned it off.  He had to train at some point!

At this point, Elijah wished he could just...turn his brain off.  If there was anything he had completely learned after his claiming, it was that no child of Discordia was safe.  There was a reason the boy's mind had always been this way, and it certainly wasn't the "nurture" bit of "nurture or nature".  It was the sort of thing where it had to be his Goddess mother, otherwise his straight laced father would have metaphorically beat it out of the boy's system.  Crossing his arms, Elijah leaned back in his chair a little, stretching out his legs.  These chairs were not built for someone as short as the boy was.  Eighteen, and stuck at 5'1" forever...why couldn't he be like Jack and grow a tiny bit more at the end of his growing years?  Maybe there was a chance, but probably not.  In all fairness, the boy was okay with his height.  It was a tad bit frustrating at times, but it also made him much more unsuspecting.  It had been part of the situation that got him out of trouble in high school for so long.  No one really believed that he was able to cause as much damage as he had while acting alone.  And if he was a regular mortal, they were right...there was no way someone as tiny as Elijah should be able to reach a football player and break various bones.  All it really took was chaos...something the boy now knew, though they didn't...and never would.

The Principia doors were ridiculously loud, though given how heavy they were, the noise was unescapable.  Even Elijah, who was well practiced with them by now, couldn't keep them from making a racket.  Well, maybe better than most, but still pretty awful.  Despite the noise, the boy smiled as he saw who was entering.  "Oh, no," Elijah chuckled.  "I have yet to meet someone who can manage those doors without the unofficial 'fanfare'.  Even Calix and I can't avoid it," the Praetor didn't want Lukas feeling bad about that.  He could imagine it wouldn't be wanted when one was just coming to the Principia for one of their first times, but it was up to a Praetor to assuage the legionnaires' fears about it.  Something Elijah had learned about holding the position was having to keep communication with legionnaires up.  The last thing Praetors and Centurions needed was people thinking they were out of reach.  They were people, just like legionnaires...only with fancy titles.

"You didn't do anything wrong..." Elijah's eyebrows knitted before he understood that a note from a Praetor would probably suggest just that.  Damnit, there he went again, not doing things properly.  "I realized that we decided we'd talk, and then I got so caught up in...running things," the boy ran his fingers through his hair.  "And then I heard you got claimed, though no one seems to know by who...and we should have that information on file, but reports have been inconclusive.  I figured it would be easier to call you here...we could talk and you could tell me who claimed you.  So two birds with one stone...I guess," sometimes even Elijah couldn't believe how awkward he sounded.  Although his social skills had improved tenfold, the son of Discordia wasn't too great about the really basic stuff.  Conversation and not sounding like an idiot included.

A smile tugged at the corners of Elijah's mouth.  "And thank you...about my hair."

((Mock exams are mean, apologies for the lateness!))

Being Inside the Principia was weird. Lukas couldn't help but feel a sense of mild inferiority, he wished he could just chill about in a fancy palace like building all day instead of his barracks but that was certainly wishful thinking. It was just so damn pretty, everywhere Lukas looked (apart from maybe the walls) there was something to muse at, something to admire. It was anything but dull. He was, in reality, glad of a bed to sleep in at all but a twang of envy undoubtedly emitted through Lukas’ core as he took in the room around him. He got a bunk and that was pretty much it. The mounds of paper work that he also saw did not really have the same envy inducing effect as the grandeur of the Principia interior; they were a minor detail and something he could overlook. Lukas grinned a little at Elijah’s comments, which he listened to intently. He assumed someone would have decided to get a child of Vulcan on the case of the rampant door noises, but apparently not. He didn't dare make the comment for fear of it being a pushy topic. It was a good system to hinder any assassination attempts though, having a heavy and loud door blocking the way. Was a Praetor an assassination target? Such were the working of Lukas’ mind, disconnected and intangible endless thoughts. Lukas certainly hoped Elijah wasn't an assassination target at any rate.

In Lukas’ opinion, this whole meet up was a really nice thing for the Praetor to do, and it made Lukas warm to Elijah a lot more. “Oh, alright then - I normally only get called in by people for things when I've done something wrong, I have a habit of doing things wrong you see,” he laughed a little, though it wasn't really a joke and certainly no lie, Lukas had been getting into trouble continuously throughout his life time. Before coming to camp he’d had run-ins with the police that went into the double digits. Being a good guy at Camp felt a bit out of character. But he was so keen to make a good impression – that way he’d find it easier to sneak passed the convention. The boy made his way closer to Elijah and ran his hand across the desk, maybe a bit of a rude thing to do but Lukas couldn't see Elijah really protesting about it. The boy gave the desk a good looking at but was quite quickly averted to face Elijah again. A playful smirk settled across Lukas’ mouth – he raised his eyebrows momentarily and nodded.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied – his eyes automatically falling on the gleam of purple that contrasted with the dull walls of the room. Lukas was amused that Elijah wanted to know who he’d been claimed by. “Being a bit nosy are we? Don’t you know some things are private information?” he joked as his smirk transformed into a friendly grin – he didn't want to seem to be being intentionally rude – that wasn't what he was going for, “no one seems to know, you say? I mustn't be making an impact here. Well if you must know then I suppose I don’t mind telling you,” he was being purposefully intriguing; it was the only way he could assert any form of control here anyway. It was rare for Lukas to give a straight answer straight off the bat. He could tell that Elijah really wanted to know – whether for personal reasons or to record it as he said. “If you must know, I got claimed by Venus – Venus Pacifus. You know, love and peacefulness all that lovely stuff, it was quite a nice claiming too. She gave me a sword. The irony in that Elijah! Me, all peaceful with a sword!” he spoke casually, looking back down at the desk again after telling the Praetor what he wanted to know. The mound of papers attracted Lukas’ attention even though he knew most of them were probably private and things he shouldn't be looking at – but whilst he was here he might as well have made use of the visit. He didn't expect to be back in the Principia any time soon after this meeting.

“You look like you've been busy,” Lukas mumbled as he began to tap the table with his fingers, expecting for Elijah to go and write down his godly parent in the appropriate record. They really were tight about all of this recording business here. Good old Roman efficiency.