In the Hustle and the Hurry ((Míriel Enelya))

It was another day...just another day.  Nothing too special, nothing too out of routine.  Elijah had gotten ready quickly after Morning Muster, and was now sitting alone in the main room of the Principia.  Calix wasn't out yet...and Elijah had a feeling he might not be.  Ever since his fellow Praetor's engagement to his sister, things were changing a bit.  Yes, the Legacy of Bellona still took care of business and all, but the new development of the engagement was turning many things upside down.  It wasn't an issue for the small boy...he was totally ecstatic for his best friend and sister, but in some ways, he felt sort of awkward.  It was one of those things where Calix or Lúth didn't seem to have the same need for Elijah as before.  They were all giddy and fiances now.  And it wasn't exactly a subject he wanted to get into with Jack.  The unlikely couple hadn't even been together for a year...and although the son of Discordia was feeling more and more like Jack was it for him, they had plenty of time.  It was one of those things the boy didn't want to think about, really.  He was only seventeen, for Gods' sake...he was the baby in the whole group of them.  Sure, Calix and Lúth were young too, but things were much different for them.  Still, the thought of other people getting married brought it up in Elijah's head...especially since it was two people he was so close to.  Now he was hearing about wedding plans and all that...it left so many questions in Elijah's mind.  Would Calix and Lúth be moving to New Rome after the wedding?  Would Elijah find himself with a new partner?  How had Calix felt when Elijah replaced Rychard?  Maybe the boy should be asking his friend these things...preparation and all.  But as happy as the boy was for his best friend and sister, he was scared of losing them.  What would it be like for someone new to be sleeping in the room next to his?

A cluttered mind.  Didn't someone once say that a cluttered mind was a sign of creativity or something?  That it wasn't a bad thing?  "Bracchae," Elijah mumbled under his breath.  His half of the long table was a mess.  Papers strewn here and there, little notes to go back to certain things, some hastily sorted in the boy's overly thought out sorting system.  Calix may have been content with a yes, no, or maybe, but when Calix had been hibernating while Lúth was missing, Elijah had started a new system.  Sort of.  The fact of the matter was that yes, no, or maybe would be much easier but the small boy had been dealing with his own shock at the time.  The depression, the fear, very little sleep, and many other factors had thrown Elijah into a sort of manic OCD.  When he felt like he couldn't control anything, he made a new filing system.  Terribly complicated and mostly in a shameful mix of English and Latin, the control over double the amount of paperwork had been a bit of a relief for the boy.  But Calix had been back for months now and Elijah was still phasing out the filing system he had developed.  As easy as yes, no, or maybe was, there were so many shades of grey in between.  Sometimes it really drove the boy out of his mind.  So few categories...how was one to catch everything in between?

"Ita me di, amitto animum meum..." the boy mumbled in Latin, looking through everything in front of him.  It was a lot...and Calix probably wouldn't be joining him today.  Elijah didn't mind...the issue would be if someone came in.  Even though he had done it for a good three months, the boy hated making decisions on his own.  That was part of the reason why there were two Praetors.  A more well-rounded point of view...better discussions and ways of looking at things.  Calix and Elijah complemented each other nicely.  They were always able to get stuff done and figured out when it came to big issues and decisions.  Very different minds that worked very well.  Sometimes, Elijah felt like any relationship he was part of was a dysfunctional or too crazy or unbelievable, but they all worked well enough.  He and Jack were so different, but that didn't mean the small boy loved his boyfriend any less.  With a slight smile, Elijah let his mind wander...his seventeenth birthday...the despair he was feeling...Jack coming to the rescue...a completely illogical couple...and so strong anyway.  Relationships in general were still sort of new for Elijah.  River was the first person the boy had ever felt an instant kinship with.  That had been nearly two years ago...and yet it all often baffled the boy.  If only his mortal world peers could see him now.  Friends, a boyfriend, a leadership position.  "Take that, class president," the boy chuckled darkly.  "Conantur ad hoc opus," shaking his head, Elijah took a deep breath.  He had to get to the task at hand.

Papers.  Hopefully today was just paperwork.  Elijah was tired...the easier this day was, the better.  Grabbing his keys from his bag, Elijah unlocked the Principia doors.  He peeked outside, trying to see if there was anyone about to rush in...that happened sometimes.  But there was no one.  Even with the magical weather control over Camp Jupiter 2.0, it was a dreary morning.  Cold and a little depressing.  Gods...was it February already?  Maybe today?  Spring couldn't come quickly enough.  Shutting the heavy door softly, Elijah sighed softly, walking back to the long table and the paperwork.  Maybe if Calix didn't show up, the Praetor could do the paperwork and close shop early.  The son of Discordia certainly wouldn't object to some extra time with Jack or River.  Though he tended to feel bad about closing up early.  What if someone needed a Praetor?  Not that there were any set hours that Elijah or Calix or both of them were in there.  The Legionnaires who needed stuff showed up...it was all a bit of a gamble.  The small boy liked being available for the Legionnaires, but he liked his personal time, too.  Sitting down, Elijah shuffled some of the papers like important people in the movies did before pulling out a pen and getting to work.

Míriel Enelya sat on her bunk in the second cohort, where she was just as lonely as ever. Ten years old, and barely any friends at Camp Jupiter. She knew she had to go out and socialize more, but she just didn’t find that it was all that easy. Besides, she tended to get distracted. Once, she was going to go ask one of the praetors a question, when she suddenly got distracted by a sword that she thought she could pick up. Boy was she wrong. Wincing, she shuddered as she remembered the bruise on her leg.

Concentrate, Mír, she thought to herself. What were you going to see the praetor for? Was it because you just wanted to chat? No… Míriel pursed her lips as she pondered over the reasons why she was going to visit the praetors. It might have been to praise their work, but she wasn’t that type of person. She wasn’t just going to go up to a strange and tell them that they were doing amazing. Mír looked around and grabbed her dagger off the drawer beside her. Frowning at it, she wondered if she was going to ask if they had prettier cases for daggers. Her case was just a plain, baby pink color. Mír imagined getting a case with her name sowed carefully into it.

That would be pretty… For a minute, Mír was immersed in the thought of her dagger’s case until she shook out of it a few seconds after. Mír! Concentrate! Sitting up straight, Míriel took a deep breath before putting her dagger into the plain case she had and tucked it under her bed sheets. Without seeing the dagger or case, she had nothing else to distract her. Mír giggled as she remembered herself always going to the beach, to swim, but ended up getting distracted by trying to count how much sand was on the ground. It took her forever, and by the end of the day, she always had to give up because there wasn’t enough time. What made it worse was that she kept messing up and forgetting what number she was at and having to start all over again. She never got past fifteen because it was so hard to sit still and count. Still though, it was something that just always distracted Mír.

Sand. Ground. Dirt. Earth.

Mír jumped up excitedly, clapping her hands together as she ran outside, giggling happily. She remembered! Her question was one she wanted to ask her school teachers before she had to leave for Camp Jupiter. She had forgotten to ask though, and when she asked her classmates, they didn’t know. The praetors must know! Mír thought excitedly. They know everything don’t they? This is like the simplest question ever! Grinning to herself, Míriel twirled as she nearly crashed into a tree. Resting under the tree for a few moments, Mír twirled her hair, pretending to be silly, and stretching out her arms. She lay on the ground, grinning. Mír felt the grass underneath her and the tree above her swaying lightly to the wind. She grinned, rolling around the grass, “I’m going to get all the answers to my questions today!” Then, jumping up again, Mír skipped over to the Principia, humming her favorite song.

It was normally hard for her to act like this, but she was just so excited. She couldn’t wait to find out about everything she didn’t know. Plus, she wanted to meet some new people. Meeting the praetors would be nice. She could meet new people and get the answers that she had been dying to get. It was a perfect package. Mír danced excitedly as she reached the doors of the Principia. Normally, she would’ve gotten nervous, but she wasn’t. In fact, she was the complete opposite. Twirling in one spot, she ran inside. Smiling when she saw a praetor, she spoke fast, in a loud and excited voice, “Hi, my name is Míriel and I have a question!”

Then realizing that she hadn’t knocked, Mír turned red and walked back to the door and knocked. Although, when she walked back in, she couldn’t help but smile widely. “Hi, I’m Míriel, though you can call me Mír.” Míriel repeated, at a slower pace this time. “I was just wondering if you could answer my question.” Mír paused for a moment, pinching her lips together, then smiling widely again and giggling. Then, she said, “It’s a hard question because my friends couldn’t answer it and they’re smarter than me.” She giggled. “Yeah, I’m not that smart. But anyways, since you’re praetor you know everything, right?”

Without giving the praetor a chance to answer, Mír asked, “How was the earth formed?”