Gestures of Goodwill ((Elijah))

It was a strange feeling to be surrounded by the high walls, but Camp Jupiter was incredibly impressive to say the least. Robyn couldn’t help but let her eyes wander, taking in all of the stunning architecture of the Roman camp. Everything was so foreign to her here. It was surreal knowing that the Roman camp had existed for just as long as her own safe haven, yet she had never even heard of the place until she had join the ranks of the Seekers. Robyn could never forget the first time she met a Roman demigod. She was a child of Mars, who, now that she thought about it, reminded Robyn incredibly of another certain daughter of Mars. It had been a difficult idea to grasp at first, that the Greek Gods had Roman counterparts, but it didn’t take long for her to understand that the Greeks and Romans demigods had a common goal; survival.

After a few minutes of looking around, her gaze settled once more on the young sentry who was leading her from the entry gate into the Principia, where the Roman Praetors were expected to be at the moment. There had been somewhat of an uneasy tension between the two camps ever since the Romans had built their new home only a few miles away from Camp Half Blood. Chiron had hoped that inviting the legion to partake in the Greek’s game of capture the flag would diminish the tension completely, but after a few complications, the friendly game only helped so much. Robyn was only here now because Chiron had asked her and a few of the other Cabin Leaders to introduce themselves to the Roman leaders, offering gifts of goodwill, as was custom to the Greek culture.

In her arms, Robyn carried a large basket of Camp Half Blood’s famous ruby red strawberries, as well as a branch from a small myrtle tree that grew within the Aphrodite cabin. The myrtle was what gave the cabin its fresh, flowery scent, and she only saw it right that she offer a branch as a gesture of her own goodwill and intent. She knew it probably wasn’t necessary, but she felt like she still needed to do something extra after what happened during Capture The Flag. Robyn still felt like she was responsible for Max’s actions that night, and felt guilty that she was unable to do anything until it was almost too late. As much as she hated to say it, Max was her work in progress. She had promised him that she would help him to learn how to control his emotions, so they wouldn’t consume him, and she had failed him that night. She was still working on forgiving herself.

The sentry came to an abrupt stop, surprising Robyn and bringing her wandering mind back from the clouds. The blonde looked up, noticing they were now inside what reminded her of a Greek agora. She knew they were at the Principia. The sentry knocked on the heavy wooden doors, then promptly entered, gesturing for Robyn to follow. Before her, was an office of sorts, and sitting at a large, ornate desk covered with paperwork, was a boy the same size as she. “Praetor, you have a guest.” The sentry said in a small voice as he stood at attention next to Robyn. The blonde stood up straight, and smiled lightly, trying to cover the fact that she was sizing up the Roman leader. "Good Morning, Praetor."

With everything that had happened between Camp Jupiter 2.0 and Camp Half-Blood over the years, Elijah figured some actual planned diplomacy was needed.  Especially after Capture The Flag.  Not that that had gone badly or anything, just proof that the Greeks and Romans needed to interact more while they shared the same land.  The two camps were drastically different...something that had always meant some inner turmoil for the boy.  Learning his role of Praetor was hard enough, let alone the Greek leadership and how to work with them.  So when Chiron, the centaur leader of the Greek camp, contacted him, the son of Discordia responded in what he figured was the best way possible to the proposition of Greek cabin leaders coming over to Camp Jupiter 2.0.

"Uh...yeah, sure."

In all fairness, Elijah could have been a bit more eloquent, but he wasn't too bad.  The whole thing was a tiny bit nerve wracking.  What if the Greek diplomat knew about the whole Capture The Flag thing...how that boy had reacted so drastically to Elijah's chaos powers.  In all the years the boy had been training with his powers, he had never seen anything like that.  Maybe his abilities were getting stronger or something.  Hopefully it wouldn't cause too much ill-will, if it came up at all.  After all, the son of Discordia was just doing this thing.  And even though he was getting better all the time, the nature of chaos powers was...well, chaos.  Given all that, Elijah was pretty sure complete control was impossible.  Even more so with his radiation.  No one ever said it would be easy.  The boy was discovering this more and more every day...and in different ways.  It was like with Jack, still working through the alcohol issues.  Elijah was learning how to deal with anything life threw at him.  Right now, that meant meeting up with a leader from the Greek camp...though even that should be okay...the more he thought about it.  A daughter of Aphrodite?  There was no question as to whether Elijah could handle that, something he had awkwardly responded with when that information was revealed.

"Oh yeah, my fiancé is a son of Venus."

Would that really help?  Who knew...but Elijah like to think so.  Venus kids took a very certain way of dealing, and the Praetor figured that meant Aphrodite kids did, too.  Leaning how to handle Jack, and even Sienna, definitely gave the small man an idea of how to do so with a daughter of Aphrodite.  Well...deal was probably the wrong word.  It was more...the intricacies of interaction and communication.  It was about understanding...and Elijah definitely understood Jack.  And he had faith that understanding would help with the daughter of Aphrodite.  He supposed that an Aphrodite kid was a safe bet anyway.  If the Praetor had to meet with any Greek...well, it was all the thoughts that had been dwelled upon in his whirly chaos mess of a brain.  Of course, there was always a chance that wouldn't make a difference at all.  "Braccae," the boy mumbled.  Maybe he was a bit more scared, even more than he was admitting to himself.  It wasn't like Elijah had any problems with Greeks.  In fact, most of his interactions with them had been mostly positive.  This was different, though.  This was the boy representing all Romans.  In all his time spent as a Praetor, the son of Discordia had never done anything quite like this.

It was reassuring that the meeting was happening on Elijah's home turf, so to say.  Camp Jupiter 2.0 was a ton more comfortable for him than Camp Half-Blood.  That was helpful on so many levels.  "I'm going to be fine," the boy gritted his teeth.  There was no reason to get this worked up, though Elijah suspected a lot of the anxiety was from other aspects of his life. It just...all happened at once.

Now wasn't the time...not with the daughter of Aphrodite on her way.  Elijah just had to...push everything else away.  He took a deep breath as he tried to ground himself in the present, sitting in his seat behind his desk in the main room of the Principia.  As usual, there was a good amount of paperwork around him...stuff he could get to later.  There was a knock on the door before it opened, a legionnaire on some sort of duty walking in with the Greek girl- Robyn.  "Thank you, legionnaire," Elijah nodded at him.  The boy took a deep breath...he was pretty sure he recognized her from Capture The Flag, possibly helping the boy that had caught a little too much of the son of Discordia's chaos.  The blonde girl before him looked harmless, dignified and holding a big basket.  But Elijah knew better than to judge that sort of thing.  The boy equated it with Sienna, a gorgeous daughter of Venus who was quite vicious with fighting and ferocity.  Not to mention his own appearance.  "Good morning, Robyn," the boy said with a slightly anxious smile.  "You can call me Elijah...I save 'Praetor' for the really formal stuff and my legionnaires," was that okay?  The boy wasn't sure how that would be taken.  He could wait on that one...something that was worth the time.

The Roman Praetor, Elijah, was quick to thank the young boy who had chauffeured Robyn, giving him permission to leave the two leaders alone. Robyn smiled at the sentry as he left, closing the heavy wooden doors behind him. The blonde paused for a moment, then returned her attention to the Roman Praetor. There was a solemn silence that filled the air as they studied one another. It was the first time that Robyn had been able to get a good look at the Roman demigod since seeing him in the shadows of the leaves during their game of Capture the Flag. It was a strange sensation to be standing at eye level with someone else without standing on her toes. Looking at Elijah almost made her feel as if she were looking in a mirror in some ways. Sure, there were very obvious physical differences between the two (such as hair color, skin tone, face shape, etc.), but the boy’s eyes reflected power, and buried beneath that, uncertainty. In an unexpected way, it made Robyn feel comfortable being alone with the Praetor.

The Praetor greeted her warmly, then insisted that his title was only for the legionnaires, a gesture that Robyn found welcoming. She nodded and returned the boy’s shaky smile. It wasn’t hard to see that he was not yet comfortable in her presence, so she did her best to pretend like she didn’t really notice his apprehension. “Well, Elijah,” She made sure to put an emphasis on the boy’s name, “As you can see, I come bearing gifts!” Robyn said with a smile as she held out the large basket. She moved to set them down on a nearby table (that was thankfully clear of the paperwork that covered the boy’s desk). “May I?” She turned to the boy asking for permission, then set them down after receiving the ‘okay’. “Chiron sends his regards as well as the strawberries. And this…” Robyn gently picked up the myrtle branch. “This is my little touch.” She smiled and set the branch don next to the basket, then moved to face Elijah once more.

The boy watched her every move closely. Robyn knew it wasn’t out of apprehension, she could feel that much, but perhaps out of curiosity. The Greeks and the Romans didn’t intermingle much, and Robyn was unsure of just how much interaction the praetor had had with his counterparts at Camp Half Blood. The daughter of Aphrodite took it upon herself to make the boy feel as comfortable with her presence as possible; she was here to make friends, not enemies. That was the moment she decided to make a bold move. “Would you like to go for a walk? I’m sure a little fresh air wouldn’t hurt after being stuck in this office all morning.” She said with a wink as she motioned to the clutter on the desk. “I would love to see more of your camp.” The girl smiled warmly at the boy, hoping he would agree and hoping it would put him at ease to not be trapped in a room alone with her.

((Sorry for the short length! I hope this works))

Seeing other leaders was always interesting to Elijah.  Everyone did things differently...from him and Calix to the Centurions to the Greek cabin leaders.  The boy had met a few of them, and had different experiences each time.  Robyn was...well, there was something about her that Elijah felt he sympathized with, in a strange, unspoken way.  He couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with Jack.  Technically, the girl before him was his fiancé's Greek sister.  And Jack was much more of a nonverbal communicator...the son of Discordia saw a lot in Robyn's eyes.  And it was reassuring...whatever those deep emotions were.  Again, perhaps it was because of Jack, but Elijah felt comfortable with what he saw.  Or maybe the boy and Robyn had more similarities than he would expect.  No matter what the case was, known or unknown, Elijah was actually feeling...better for a moment.  And way more comfortable.

Sometimes Elijah overthought these things way too much.  He knew that right now was not the time.  The boy just had to stay present...interact properly with Robyn, not being a total space case...it was easy for the small man's brain to jump around chaotically.  Of course, given who his mother was.  Now was just the time to make the effort.  Looking at the basket the girl held, Elijah's eyebrows furrowed.  He...hadn't even thought about something like that.  Should he have?  If it was him going over to the Greek camp he would have brought something.  There was no need here...besides, it was too late anyway.  They were the host, after all.  "Oh wow," Elijah looked at the strawberries.  He had only been in the strawberry fields a couple of times...and it must have been in the off season, because he had never seen anything like this.  "My fiancé is amazing in the kitchen...I might have him make some pies or something for the legion," sure, Jack hadn't been in the kitchen as much since returning to camp, but Elijah sort of hoped this would be a good motivator.

Elijah looked thoughtfully at the branch.  He had no idea what it was...it wasn't rude to ask about it, right?  "What;s the type of wood?" he asked, running his fingers over it.  There was also the question of its meaning and power...something Robyn would surely explain after telling what it was.  Or so Elijah desperately hoped.  Although the boy had a good knowledge base of Gods and Goddesses and their symbols, he couldn't get it perfect one-hundred percent of the time.  He figured, by the girl's words, that it was something Aphrodite related, but it was still a bit out of context.  In all fairness, it was a little embarrassing.  "You are not infallible," Elijah whispered to himself under his breath.  There he went, getting nervous again.

That had to end.  Elijah was so rarely like that...maybe it was just the exhaustion.  Sleep wasn't the best, with Jack in the state he was in.  The small man was in a near permanent state of concern- having to look out for his fiancé, having to be a rock.  Life had changed since Jack had gotten back to camp.  The son of Discordia was learning to live with that.  Of course, there were always those times...those moments...like now.  And now was not when Elijah could afford a wandering mind.  He had this time with Robyn...and he could check on Jack afterwards.  His fiancé would be fine, and it would just be another case of Elijah worrying needlessly.

"A walk sounds great," Elijah smiled, glad he caught the girl's words at all.  "I'm definitely not one to say no to fresh air," yes, fresh air did wonders for a chaos brain...well, the boy's particular chaos brain at least.  The weather was nice enough, and showing the daughter of Aphrodite around would be a good distraction.  It sounded much more appealing than holing up in the stuffy main room of the Principia.  "I would love to take you around," the anxiety was curbing again...a nice relief.  It really was a good idea...and Elijah was proud of his camp.  Why wouldn't he want to share it?  Standing, the small man grabbed the messenger bag he carried all over.  "And it's good weather to enjoy a tour..." leading them out the Principia doors, Elijah looked around.  Where to start?  With a shrug, he gestured at the Principia.  "The Principia, of course...and if you just start this way, here are the barracks..."

There was a silent understanding between the two demigods, one that allowed them to show a certain level of comfort and trust in one another. Robyn wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she wasn’t about to upset the balance any by prying. She and Elijah were in a good place at the moment, and she didn’t want to accidently mess that up. Truthfully, it was nice to find someone she felt such an immediate connection to. The last time she had formed a relationship like this had been with Cara back when she had just arrived at camp as a lost and confused little girl. The daughter of Ares had seen something in Robyn, and the two had an unspoken respect for one another from the very beginning of their friendship. Robyn could only hope for the same from the Roman Praetor.

As she had gone through all of her friendly gifts, the boy made comments here and there. One of them included a quick mention of the word fiancé, which took Robyn by surprise. It wasn’t that she was surprised that the praetor was engaged, but she had been taken aback by the intensity of this boy’s love for his other half. It radiated so vibrantly from Elijah, and filled Robyn with a sense of warmth and joy. The moment was quick to pass though, as the boy’s attention fell from the strawberries, and his fiancé, to the peculiar branch that Robyn had handed to him. He studied the plant then asked what it was, a question to which Robyn was happy to answer. “Myrtle.” She said simply. “This branch came from the original tree that my mother had brought into existence after a lover had died. The tree grows now in her cabin back at my camp.” Robyn smiled as she explained everything to the boy, then looked him in the eye. “Myrtle was made to represent new beginnings. So I thought it might be... appropriate for the current situation.”

The son of Discordia was quick to agree to going for a walk. Robyn figured he might be, after all, the office was quite dim and the paperwork on the desk seemed to be daunting. She wasn’t sure just how socially adept the boy was, so she assumed giving him something to talk about while they toured the grounds might help him feel a little less stressed out with impressing her. As far as Robyn knew, she was the first of the cabin leaders to step up and meet with the Romans, so she assumed that the Praetor would want to show off the best, most powerful version of himself. “I would love to take you around” The boy said confidently. Robyn smiled, as she could feel his apprehension slipping away. The two sauntered out of the large ornate doors and into the open air.

Elijah gestured to the building they just exited, calling it the Principia. Robyn was still astounded by the beautiful architecture of the camp, and it excited her to know she would be seeing more of it. The boy then began walking west, toward what he called the barracks. It was strange to think that the demigods at the Roman camp were housed not by their parent, but by their cohort, a little fact she had learned from a previous meeting with Evinest. Perhaps it was a good way to get the half bloods to build bonds with those that they otherwise might not, a tactical skill for war, she supposed. “Everything is so large and grand here. Hard to believe it only took a few weeks to build.” The girl mentioned. She then looked over to her tour guide. “I wasn’t really around when Camp Jupiter was relocated to Long Island, so you can imagine it was a bit of a shock to see it when I came back!” She said with a chuckle. “Have people been okay with the move?”

In his crazy chaos mess of a brain, Elijah had a lot of ideas about what he and Robyn had connected over without speaking.  For one, they were weathered leaders of their respective camps  Leaders could usually get a good feel for other leaders.  There was the whole thing about being engaged to a son of Venus, thought Robyn didn't know about that one.  Aphrodite and Venus kids had a very unique feel to them...and of course, dealing with them took some careful work.  At least...that was how it had been with Jack...and even Sienna to a certain degree.  It made Elijah confident that he could really understand Robyn...and get along with her.  And he would definitely explain...in case he seemed to get too cocky about working with a daughter of Aphrodite.  That definitely wouldn't work in the small man's favor.

It was all about taking things a bit at a time.  Slowly but surely, information was coming out.  Elijah mentioned he had a fiancé without really realizing.  It was one of those things by now.  Robyn filled him in on the branch...which made the boy feel like an idiot.  "Gods, myrtle...of course," Elijah chuckled, trying to make light of his momentary brain lapse.  Hopefully there was enough of an understanding to recognize the boy didn't always think logically...or in terms of common sense.  It was definitely a Discordia thing...Jack and River teased him about it all the time.  Things that should connect didn't so much for the son of Discordia.  "Yes..." the Praetor smiled.  "I know the story," back in context, Elijah definitely remembered his mythology.  "The embarrassing thing is that my fiancé is a son of Venus.  I should know these things," although Elijah was sure Robyn wasn't judging him, it really was a bit embarrassing.  He wasn't an idiot...his brain just worked a bit oddly.

"New beginnings..." Elijah mulled the words over, running his fingers over the branch again.  "Yes, very appropriate," it truly was a good start.  "I'll find a good place for it.  Maybe some sort of display in here," the boy gave the room a cursory glance...as if he didn't know every nook and cranny of it.  A gift like this was for the whole Legion.  The Principia was the central building of the Legion...anything that was meant for everyone stayed in there.  Elijah wanted the myrtle branch to be prominently displayed...but now wasn't the time to be worrying about that.  He'd put it in his desk while he showed Robyn around camp, and put up a shelf or something later on.  Back to the present, though.  It was time to take the Greek leader around, not get lost in his swirly chaos mess of a brain.  Gods, it really didn't take much.

The fresh air was definitely a  nice break from the stuffiness of the Principia.  It also helped to clear Elijah's mind quite a bit.  He was able to concentrate on it all a bit better...something he was sure Robyn could see.  Showing off also felt good.  The Praetor was proud of his camp, and he had never really had the chance to take someone around like this.  Which was a bit odd, since the Romans had moved to New York years ago.  It was nice that the son of Discordia had the chance to do this now, though.  And Robyn really did seem kind and interested and open minded.  "I guess there wasn't much of a choice," Elijah shrugged when the daughter of Aphrodite mentioned how quick Camp Jupiter 2.0 had gone up.  "We needed somewhere to be...to live.  And the blueprints have been filed for...Gods know how long.  Thought I suppose we're lucky they weren't destroyed when Camp Jupiter was razed," that was one of those things Elijah was grateful had been saved...along with all the books in the library.  He was sure there had been tons more, but a good amount had been salvaged.

Elijah had never known the original Camp Jupiter, but he had heard plenty...and arrived at Camp Jupiter 2.0 as the rebuilding had started.  Those were dark days for them, with a dictator for an Augur ruling camp...the high walls keeping the Romans and Greeks separate..."I can only imagine it must've been odd," Elijah chuckled, trying not to think about Camp Jupiter 2.0's dark beginnings.  "And the move..." the boy paused outside of the library.  "Honestly, there's only a handful of Legionnaires who were at the original Camp Jupiter.  For must of us, this is the only Camp Jupiter we've ever known," it was just the facts in this case...though Elijah wasn't sure Robyn would totally get that bit.  It seemed to mostly hang over Romans' heads.  "This is the library," the boy pointed.  "Would you like to duck in?  And then I'll show you into one of the barracks."