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Birds Of A Feather ((Horizon Crossan))

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Post by Elijah Emmanual-Wheelan Mon Jan 04, 2016 5:54 pm

When Elijah had seen the file on an incoming legionnaire, Horizon Crossan, he knew he really had to step up the game on this one.  The fifteen year old was genderqueer, the sort of thing the Praetor was quite familiar with in some respects.  It had been a long while since someone had come through Camp Jupiter 2.0 that fit that bill...the boy was quick to remember the gorgeous genderqueer, primarily female identified Marianne Johnson, who was incredible by many accounts but had vanished shortly after arriving at camp.  Horizon had specified gender neutral pronouns; them, their, etc.  And Elijah was definitely grateful for that information.  It was good to know in general, of course, but it also meant the boy could move in quick, and let Horizon know that they had a friend and ally in the son of Discordia.  That was the sort of thing he was sure would be helpful.  He couldn't help but think about when he had arrived at camp...not out to anyone, and not knowing he had anyone to help him through that difficult time.  And sexuality didn't show up on files, but pronouns did.

The situations were different, but similar enough in Elijah's mind.  Camp could be scary enough at first, let alone with an alternative type of identity.  Extending the hand seemed completely necessary.  In his run as Praetor, the boy had done this sort of thing a handful of times.  Some people just needed to know someone was there for them, and that was definitely in the job description.  If a Praetor couldn't relate to his legionnaires...couldn't be a friendly hand for his legionnaires...then what was really the point of a person being a leader?  If Horizon didn't want someone, or wasn't ready for someone, or anything along those lines, they could let Elijah know and he'd let them be.  But the potential of not being needed didn't win out over the potential of being needed...and that was the boy's final thought on the matter.

It was one of those days that Elijah had gone all out.  He was still missing his fiancé, although Jack was going to be coming back to camp soon, and the boy had once been told that when one was down and sad, they should look their best.  Elijah had carefully selected a dark blue button down shirt with cute jeans...still too tight, but the boy was getting used to the tight pants Venus had left him with.  His makeup was all out- thick lines done carefully with liquid eyeliner, and a shimmery black eye shadow.  Even with his heavy pea coat to fight the cold in the air, the boy definitely felt good...everyday he felt better and better in his own skin.  He really hoped that helped Horizon as well...the Praetor was clearly someone different...he could only imagine it would be harder for Horizon to accept the help if it came from someone more...well, the son of Discordia wasn't sure the right word, but it was definitely in his head.

Horizon was in the Third Cohort, Elijah's own former cohort.  It had been a very long time since he had been back in his old barrack, but as that was Horizon's home, the boy figured he would meet them there, in their home.  Of all the places around camp, the barracks were the first truly familiar place for a demigod...at least, that was how the Praetor remembered it from his early days.  Hopefully that was how things would go today.  Besides, it was the legionnaire's turf...in his time as a Praetor, the boy had called many people to the Principia to meet them...and it didn't always have positive results.  No, best to go about it this way.  And best to keep his head held high and his nature confident but warm.  Elijah knew he could be a lot to handle at times, especially as new legionnaires started hearing the stories about him, but he had to stay calm about it.  Lots of the stories were true, but that didn't make the boy a bad person.  That had to be known.

Walking to the Third Cohort barrack, Elijah pushed open the door, unable to ignore a slight wave of nostalgia.  But that wasn't his business today.  He found Horizon quite quickly...the gender neutral demigod right in the barrack.  "Horizon," Elijah said with a smile, holding out his hand to shake.  "I'm Praetor Elijah Emmanual...but please, just call me Elijah.  I saw your pronoun preference on your file, and wanted to offer a hand...as a friend and an ally.  I know how hard things can be regarding various types of identity...I wish I had had someone for me, and so I am here for you...if you would like," never the type to dance around a subject, the boy certainly hoped Horizon was okay with his forwardness.  And otherwise...well, they could always just say.
Elijah Emmanual-Wheelan
Elijah Emmanual-Wheelan
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Son of Discordia Ferocimus
Third Cohort
Praetor

Male Number of posts : 2481
Age : 27
Registration date : 2010-10-21

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Post by Guest Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:38 pm

Horizon awkwardly went through the brief tour given by a dark haired boy at least a couple years younger than the demigod.  The entire thing felt a bit...off.  The guy wasn't much for conversation, barely answering her questions.  He had approached her soon after her arrival at Camp saying he was to show her around.  They never caught his name, he just jumped straight into the tour without waiting to see if they were paying attention.  He wore a purple shirt that read "Camp Jupiter" and had a strange emblem underneath that resembled a coin, with a horseshoe-like design on it, and a pair of black jeans held up with a braided leather belt.  EBefore they had even left the principa in which he had met them, he began to explain about the different Government positions in New Rome.  It was just different enough from what they were used to to be even more complicated than they expected.  Government had never interested the fifteen year old as it easily bored and confused her, and at the end of his explanation, they couldn't say they felt any better about it.

The highest level was a Praetor, who basically ran the Camp, overseeing  everything.  There were two of those, but they didn't catch the names of the current ones, though they tried to ask.  The next level down were the Centurions, and the lowest rank was a legionnaire, which the boy kindly pointed out was their rank.  He explained that  basically everyone in Camp who wasn't a Praetor or a Centurion was a legionnaire, the only people otherwise were the ones who had served their ten years in the legion and now resided in the city where they did anything from working a job to going to college to raising a family.  He also showed them his scars, the ones the legion burned into his skin as proof he had served for however many years.  His had two tally marks and an emblem above it, but he put it away before Horizon could decipher what it was.

He rushed through the rest of the tour, and everything blended together in the genderfluid's mind.  Bath House - which they were glad was unisex, with some kind of covering required, New Rome, an area dedicated to people reading prophesies from mutilated stuffed animals, the first, second, and fourth cohort barracks, and a hundred more places that she would need to have another tour to remember.  But, nonetheless, they made themselves remember the last one.  They had been placed into Cohort Three, and the barracks were close to a road sign that - along with pointing to normal places - had homemade signs pointing to random places including Hades and Certain Death (You Are Here!)

After pointing to a series of barracks that he said all housed ten beds each he announced that it was the end of the tour and walked away briskly, as if he couldn't wait to get away from the non-binary demigod.  So apprehensively, they walked toward one of the buildings their tour guide had pointed out.

Suddenly, Horizon felt very self-conscious of what they were wearing.  They didn't know what the other campers dressed like.  The boy who had given her the tour seemed to dress casually, but they hadn't seen too many others wandering around and wasn't sure how they were ranked on how dressed up to get.  They were wearing a baggy black sweatshirt with white writing on it that read, 'Never judge a book by its movie' and a pair of men's blue jeans that were just a bit too big for them and had a belt hidden underneath their sweatshirt that they tightened maybe a notch farther than needed so it didn't show, and gray and blue New Balance sneakers.  They almost never wore makeup as they thought it felt unnatural and didn't have any incentive to wear it other than the peer pressure of people they hated, and now was no exception.

Their hand immediately went to the necklace around their neck.  It wasn't anything too extravagant, just a couple pieces of brown leather braided together, long enough to hang around the neckline of most  of their shirts, easy to access at a rough moment.  They wrapped their fist around the front of the necklace and rubbed their thumb against a worn spot from them doing this religiously whenever stressed.  Slightly more calm, the unclaimed demigod took one more tantalizing step, and then another, and then another.  Taking it one step at a time seemed to keep their anxiety and social dysphoria at bay, and soon they stood at the door.

The barracks had five bunk beds that were all against one wall, and it was very clear which ones were lived in and which ones weren't.  There were a couple of people hanging around, some around her age, but most either looking close to twenty, or nearer to twelve or thirteen.  But about seven or eight of the bunks looked to have someone currently sleeping their, with comforters and pictures on the wall, and a couple were drowned in stuffed animals.  Maybe they were the ones saved from that Auger, Horizon thought with amusement.  They picked the top bunk on the bed farthest from the door, and having nothing to claim it with, took off their sneakers using the toe of the opposite foot, and tucked them neatly underneath the bed before ignoring the ladder and climbing up the metal frame, finally settling down with their legs crossed on top of their new bed.  It was much more comfortable than they anticipated and was tempted to stretch out on top of it, maybe take a nap, but the fact that there were other people around, most likely watching them, wondering who the newest member of their cohort was, stopped them.  There was no way to deny the fear that had been creeping up their spine since they first arrived at Camp.  People were so unpredictable.  They could be kind, or cruel, or loving, or hateful, or grateful, or spiteful, or welcoming, or forgiving, or...or... The demigod had run out of words to describe how opposing people could be, and just collapsed back, knocking their head against the wall next to the bunk.

They were rubbing their head when the praetor walked in.  It was obvious he was someone important by the way the rest of the campers reacted.  They immediately  stopped what they were doing and stared at him as if what he did was some kind of entertainment.  After a couple breaths, they pretended nothing had happened and returned to their various tasks, but anyone looking closely could see that they did it half-heartedly, stealing glances when they thought no one was watching.  Horizon watched him as well, if only to see what made him so fascinating, and when they saw he was heading straight toward them, the demigod climbed back down, using the ladder this time.  They stood on the linoleum floor in their socks, but didn't really care, and just tried to be as inconspicuous as possible while the man came up to her.

"Horizon." The man stated.  At first they wondered how he knew she was Horizon, but then the obvious hit her - she was the only stranger.  He held out his hand and they took it, shook his hand, and not knowing what else to do with their arms, went back to massaging their necklace.  Feeling the silence between them growing tense, the demigod in question answered, though it was unneeded, "Here and in person." They made a small dip of their head in a stage bow, "And you are?". The older demigod introduced himself as Elijah Emmanuel, and also that he was the praetor.  The genderfluid demigod didn't know how to react, so they said probably the stupidest response ever responded, "Well, um...hi." They rubbed the leather harder as a couple of people across the room giggled a little at her seemingly inability to make an intelligible sentence.

Horizon didn't respond, focusing on the leader in front of them.  His words blended together a bit in the ADHD camper's head, as part of their mind was still listening to the stifled laughter of the two girls, but they got the gist.  Part of her felt exposed, that this stranger came out for her, at least partway, without letting the demigod do it themselves, but mostly, they appreciated the gesture.   "Well, you're straightforward, aren't you?" they asked, but they made sure there was a smile on their face, to make sure he knew they were joking.  But then she straightened their mouth, to make sure he knew she meant what she said next, "Thank you praet-I mean, Elijah, that...is more than I could ask for."

Already, they could tell Camp was going to be better than they ever could have predicted.

((Horizon's first post!  My next ones probably won't be as long))

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Post by Elijah Emmanual-Wheelan Sat Jan 23, 2016 11:45 am

Despite the fact that he had been a Praetor for many years, Elijah constantly forgot how most Legionnaires reacted to him.  Although he was at least friendly with most campers, there were still the ones that addressed him as the authority figure he technically was.  With everything, he preferred to not be that figure outside of the Principia, it wasn't exactly something he could escape.  And in all fairness, the boy supposed this could be misconstrued as partially a business call...though it certainly wasn't to him.  Maybe the son of Discordia needed to find a better way to carry himself.  Usually, this sort of thing would call for a more official attitude, even if it wasn't anything official...at the same time, Elijah didn't want the Legionnaires to think anyone was in any type of trouble.  Especially Horizon, who hadn't been a part of things for too long.  "Braccae," the boy muttered under his breath as he looked around the barrack.  Had he already messed this one up?

But no one paid attention for too long, which was a bit of a relief.  The last thing he needed was to call unneeded attention to anyone.  All Elijah wanted was to talk to Horizon...to let them know they weren't alone in the grand scheme of sexuality and gender identity.  Over and over again, he remembered how things were before he got to camp and found his best friend.  Holding in something like that, not having anyone to go to about it all...it was such a terrible feeling, and Elijah didn't want anyone else to ever have to feel that way.  "It's very nice to meet you," the boy smiled.  He didn't want to be cold, or official.  He wanted to be there for his new Legionnaire, but not in the Praetor/Legionnaire sense.  What he wanted was Horizon to trust him as a friend, as an ally, as a mentor, or an older brother, or whatever it was.  Elijah was pretty sure he could be all of that.  There had certainly been people like that in his life before.

Beyond some muffled giggles from a few others in the barrack, everything seemed private enough.  Though Elijah was thinking it might be a better idea to find something a little more private.  Maybe he could suggest going out for a walk...but first he wanted to make sure Horizon was feeling comfortable with him.  Otherwise, absolutely none of this would work.  At their words, Elijah chuckled.  "I'm a child of Discordia," he laughed, pushing his glasses up his nose.  "Beating around the bush is definitely not my forte," the boy had learned that laughing at oneself inspired confidence and feelings of comfort...at least, in most situations Elijah had been in.  It made him human, it made him real.  The boy was so much more than just a Praetor; a leader of camp.  He was a person who wanted to help...who wanted to reach out.  And honestly, he much preferred Elijah to Praetor Emmanual, unless he was in the Principia or running Muster and needed to be Praetor Emmanual.

And despite it all, Horizon seemed to be handling it all just fine.  The fact that they were able to joke, and then able to take a slightly more serious route was definitely promising.  Elijah knew finding the happy medium was so important.  Otherwise, things got muddled and stopped working.  He was pretty sure he was getting better and better at that...sometimes it was hard to believe he had been at camp as long as he had...made friends, something that he had never managed in the mortal world...become a leader, become someone he had never been before...become so many things he had never been before.  Social could be hard, but he was definitely getting better.  "I don't want you to be alone," Elijah gave a warm smile.  "It's a pretty miserable feeling.  Having someone who...understands, in some ways..."

The son of Discordia trailed off, not entirely sure how to finish that statement.  He hoped Horizon saw where he was coming from...they seemed pretty sharp, so he wasn't too worried.  For just a moment, Elijah zoned out...how old was Horizon?  They couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen...the boy didn't remember their age from their file...it wasn't what he had been looking at.  It was a hard age, a hard age for the Praetor figuring out his sexuality, and feeling alone.  How would he have handled it all if it hadn't been for River?  "Perhaps we can go out for a walk...or somewhere a little more private than here.  If you'd like, of course...I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Elijah shrugged.  "I'd really like to talk, though.  If that sounds good to you at all," Gods, this was a tiny bit awkward...hopefully not too much so for Horizon.  Elijah was starting to wonder if he should have planned this better...but he wasn't a good planner in general.  He'd just have to make do.
Elijah Emmanual-Wheelan
Elijah Emmanual-Wheelan
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Son of Discordia Ferocimus
Third Cohort
Praetor

Male Number of posts : 2481
Age : 27
Registration date : 2010-10-21

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