Too Early for Trouble - OPEN

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Isla always had a tendency to do her own thing and not even joining one of the most disciplined armies history has ever known had done anything to change that. So, that was why as the first rays of the dawn greeted the camp, Isla was not where she was supposed to be. That would have been, of course, her own bed, sleeping lightly until she was told to wake up by others. No, instead, she was up on temple hill, sitting behind Neptune's shrine where she could watch the sunrise in peace. She liked spending time out here. It was a nice place to just relax before the day began.

Breathing a sigh of content, she briefly looked down at the camp tattoo, her only one, decorating her arm. Without thinking, Isla lightly traced over the tattoo’s lines. From the curving loops of SPQR to the three thick, dark lines underneath; her finger danced across the memories the last few years had brought her. Some of them were good, like when she was claimed by her mother Invidia, but some of them were not so good. (For that she only had one word: Krakens.) Yet, all of them had brought her to where she was now, sitting here on the grass within the boundaries of Camp Jupiter and New Rome. If she didn’t have them, maybe she wouldn’t have been here. Now that was a scary thought, only because she viewed New Rome as her true home. She was a Roman through and through and this is where she belonged. Nothing could ever change that.

From behind her, she heard the familiar sounds of the camp waking up, ready to face whatever this day was going to bring them. Like the dawn surrounding her, Isla also rose from where she was sitting. After, dusting the dirt off of her clothes, she turned away from the monumental buildings behind her. Isla knew she would need to hurry back to her bunk before the centurions realized she wasn’t there or she could be in big trouble. She just prayed to her mother and any other god that would listen that there would be no one else on the path back to camp or in the temples who could see her make a break for it...

[Celeste Bertelli]

It was morning at Camp Jupiter and Celeste was where she usually was, kneeling before the altar of her mother in quiet meditation and prayer. It had been a long standing tradition for the girl to start her day out like this. She liked the sunrise, she liked seeing the world waking up around her and the way the flowers and plants opened up to accept the morning rays. More than that it was quiet on Temple Hill this early and since she didn’t think her mom got much love otherwise it was a nice chance for Celeste to try and communicate with her even if it sometimes felt a little one sided.

So the daughter of Ceres woke up early, snuck out of the barracks and made her way up to her mother’s shrine to give her little offerings. It wasn’t much. Just some fruit and vegetables that she grew in a personal garden. Celeste had learned long ago that she could do this, watch the sun rise and sneak back to the barracks while everyone was getting up for the day and so far it had worked for her. No one was ever out here so she didn’t bump into anyone and while it might be a little scandalous for a member of the 1st to be breaking the rules like this so far this little rebellion hadn’t cost her anything…yet.

If she wanted to keep it that way though she was going to have to leave soon. Celeste smiled as she saw the first rays of sun crest the hill and with that she knew it was time to go. Experience had taught her it was easiest to sneak back in while everyone was getting ready and after saying one last quick prayer she was ready. It was all in the timing and as stepped out from her mother’s shrine she fully expected to make a quick pace back to her bunk to gather her things. Life had a way of surprising you though and that’s exactly what happened when instead of turning back towards camp she ran straight into someone coming from the opposite direction. Being a featherweight it didn’t take much to push her off her feet and before she knew it Celeste went down in a tangle of limbs and purple hair with a loud “oof” as the air rushed out of her. So much for her fast pace.

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As Isla moved away from the temples, all she could focus on was getting back down to the barracks before her absence was noticed. So, checking to make sure no one was leaving the temples as she passed by their open doors was the last thing on her mind. In hindsight, this was a little bit of a mistake as before she even had a chance to react, a streak of purple crossed her vision and she collided with the poor camper caught in her path. Suddenly stumbling backward, Isla tired to catch her balance, but her mother didn’t help her daughter out this time. She fell back onto the ground with an umpf to match the other’s girl surprise.

Even before she was back up on her feet, Isla was painfully aware of her now stinging palms. Apparently, she had somehow cushioned her fall with them without being aware of it. Glancing down at them for only a second, she could see through the thin layer of dust that some of the skin had been pulled back and now little red specks were appearing in their place. She let herself wince for a moment for carelessly wiping the dust off on her jeans. After, clearing her hand, she reached out to help the other person up with her more presentable hand, aka the one that took less of a beating. “Sorry about that. ” She said curtly as the other girl regained her footing. It was an accident and Isla should have been watching where she was going instead of focusing on just getting back to the camp. Maybe next time she’ll pay more attention, but she personally doubted it.

“You okay?” Isla asked her, clearly worried that she had hurt Celeste, “It looks like that was a pretty harsh fall.” She looked the girl up and down, clearly seeing for the first time who it was that ran into her. She breathed a slight sigh of relief when she didn’t recognize this girl as a centurion or any of the other leaders. (Though, honestly, her first clue of this should have been her being up on temple hill at this time.) But knowing that she wasn’t a leader didn’t mean that she knew who this girl was. After all, purple hair was a very distinctive feature and Isla wasn’t aware of any of anyone in her friend group having the hue. But then again, she had a very limited circle and there were a lot of legionaries. For all she knew, this girl could be one in a dozen with the color. Oh well, Isla wasn’t known as the most observant or open camper, so no one should really be all that surprised.

Despite the crunch for time, --after all, that morning sun was still rising-- Invidia’s daughter felt a weird pressure to introduce herself. “I’m Isla by the way.” She said with a small nod, aware of how her hurt hand made it kind of awkward to do the normal introductory handshake or wave. “I don’t think I’ve run into you before.” Right after those words left her mouth, Isla groaned at the accidental pun she had made. Even though they said humor was the best medicine, that did nothing to help her hand and she doubted that the other girl would find it very amusing. Romans were no-nonsense, get-the-job-done kind of folk. But who knew, maybe that pun was so bad that Celeste would forget that she had just been run into. Either way, she couldn’t take it back now.

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Sidenote: Will edit tomorrow. Read Chat for rush reason

[Celeste Bertelli]

Celeste wasn’t really sure what it would feel like to have an elephant sitting on your chest but as the air rushed out of her that’s what she thought. It was a crazy heart stopping moment to feel like you couldn’t breathe and as Celeste gasped for air she had the thought that this might really be how it ended for her. Not out on the battlefield where her relatives would remember her name but here in the dirt in front of her mother’s temple mouthing like a fish out of water. Fortunately she calmed down and as she did her breath began to come back but it was a scary moment nonetheless.

As she started to regain control of herself Celeste glanced up to see the person that she had run into, a girl about her own age, was already up and offering her a hand. Celeste bit the corner of her lip nervously but took the offered hand even as the other girl began apologizing. “No, it wasn’t you’re fault.” The purple haired girl replied anxiously as she got to her feet. “I should be apologizing to you…I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She mentally kicked herself for letting this happen. Why was she always being such a klutz? If she would just slow down and watch where she was going then this wouldn’t happen.

“I think I’m okay now. I just couldn’t breathe for a second. I think I was just going too fast.” It wasn’t a good excuse. Stuff like this always seemed to happen to Celeste. She was always messing things up somehow but it was worse when she got other involved. “I really am sorry…” She said as she looked up at the other girl after examining herself for injuries. It had been a hard fall but the only thing that would take lasting damage was her pride and she was pretty used to that by now.

“I’m Celeste.” She said and smiled a little as Isla introduced herself with a little pun. She didn’t seem mad and that was good. If Celeste was going to run into another legionnaire up here at least it was someone who seemed nice. “I don’t usually run into many people up here either this early in the morning. It’s pretty quiet most of the time.” Celeste was still a little wary of the other girl, she didn’t like causing trouble but despite that reservation she was always stepping in it. Granted Isla wasn’t yelling at her so that was good but Celeste felt like she needed to do something besides just apologize. That was when she noticed the girl’s hands.

“Oh your hands…” Celeste went back to biting her upper lip. The injuries didn’t look serious but she could bet they hurt and here Isla was talking to her like it was nothing. That made Celeste feel pretty bad. She should have been more concern about Isla and noticed her injuries but as usual she was spending too much time thinking about herself. “Are they okay? You aren’t hurt anywhere else are you?”

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She found it odd that she blamed herself for something that very clearly wasn't her fault. After all, Isla was the one to run into her. If anyone was to blame here it would be Invidia's spawn; not Ceres daughter. Though why anyone would bother was completely beyond her since no one was hurt. So, it was unsurprising that Isla brushed away all of Celeste's concerns with a little wave of her hand, "It was an accident, don't worry about it." Though, Isla noticed how Celeste continued to apologize for the stumble, even though they both knew that it wasn't her fault. It piqued her interest a little bit simply because she couldn't see why Celeste would continue to do such a thing. It was an accident by all means and it really wasn't something worth fretting over and this was coming from a kid of Invidia! Isla was little miss "Gotta make mom proud and get revenge" so if she could brush it off like it was nothing, then you knew there really wasn't anything to be worrying over. So, why was Celeste so fixated on taking the blame for nothing? Isla glanced her over, as if the answer would be written on her t-shirt or something. That's when she started to notice a few other little things, such as the lip biting. That's when it began to all fit together in her mind. This poor girl was a nervous wreck even though she tried to hide it behind a smile. 

For a split second, Isla couldn't hide her puzzled expression behind the reassuring mask she naturally sensed she needed. How on earth did you survive the wolf house girl? She quietly thought to herself before reassuming the typical, somewhat-guarded Isla her past forced her to be. Nervous people didn't stereotypically do well within Rome, a place that required soldiers to be unwaveringly brave to absolutely obliterate whatever stood in their way and anyone who didn't fit this were left behind. Then again though, they weren't technically Rome. They were New Rome, things were different when the legion were made of people who couldn't legally drink outside of the Pomerian Line. Things were different now, so Isla just gave the girl a reassuring smile, trying to put her at ease as best as this no-chill girl could possibly do, "Again, not your fault. Don't blame yourself for it." She paused for a moment at the revelation that Celeste lost her breath when she fell, that wasn't good. "Are you okay?" She asked with a bit of concern showing. Sure Isla had the wind knocked out of her when she fell, but not enough to cause her to struggle to get it back in again. 

Isla grinned a little at the mention of coming up here for the peace. "Same." She said plainly, thinking back to the sheer chaos her cohort stirred every other night, "Though nearly anywhere is quiet compared to the fourth." She said with a light laugh. They were known for being a party house and even though Isla never started it herself, if Flynn passed something along, who was she to say no? This thought brought up a new question in Isla's mind. "So Celeste," She started to say, trying out the nervous girl's name, "What cohort are you in?" Based on her first assumption, she thought that she might be in the fifth. They took everyone in, after all. Plus, based on her wacky hair and star-like name, Isla guessed that her godly parent was Urania, one of the muses. If that were true then the fifth would most definitely be where Celeste belonged, but unfortunately for Isla, she really couldn't be further from the truth. 

Then it was Celeste's turn to fret over Isla and her bloody palms. "Oh this?..." she stated dumbly as she glanced down at her stinging hands, which was the most obvious injury between the two of them. For a moment, Isla was confused as to why Celeste would be asking if she was alright. Of course she was! In fact, she had already practically dismissed the injury from her mind. After all, how many times had she hurt herself in a similar manner while growing up. Heck, this was nothing compared to the dozen different reason she had over the years to visit the infirmary. "It's just a little bit of blood," She said dismissively, brushing off the girl's concern. However, if Isla's concern was right, that may not have been a good idea. The poor girl was already kicking herself over something that was very clearly not her fault. So in an attempt to reassure her, "It's nothing a little neosporin can't fix anyways." Isla doubted she'd follow through with that, but if it reassured the girl than who cared. It didn't really matter to her, but Celeste was undoubtedly a different story. 

[Celeste Bertelli]

Isla seemed really adamant that Celeste wasn’t to blame. The purple haired girl didn’t know if she could believe that or not but she had many years of experience in pleasing others and knew that when someone was that adamant it was best not to argue with them. Besides, Celeste would probably keep on thinking it no matter what the girl said anyways so it was better to just drop it for now. What Isla didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her after all.

What Celeste was really concerned about though was the poor girl’s hands. Even though Isla kept telling her that she was alright here was a small way that Celeste could help, at least she thought she could anyways. Sure the girl wasn’t in any real danger but jumping in to action gave Celeste something to do and that meant she could stop thinking about her own inadequacies for a second which would go a long way to calming her down.

“It’s okay I know something that will help. Just wait here okay?” She said with a confident nod and hopped up with a sudden purpose. Like Isla suggested neosporin would have been fine but since they didn’t have any here and they were away from camp they needed an alternative. Fortunately Celeste’s abilities told her that there was some Roman Chamomile near her mother’s shrine that would work just fine for this situation. Ducking off behind the shrine Celeste was gone just moments before returning with a handful of white and yellow flowers.

“Here.” She said as she came back over to Isla gently taking the girl’s injured hands and pressing the flowers into them. “Squeeze these into your palm. They have an oil that will clean the scraps and soothe the pain.” Celeste gave her a flash of a warm smile and closed the girl’s fingers in over the flowers. “It’s not much but it is just as good as Neosporin. Plus you won’t need to go to the infirmary later except maybe to get a Band-Aid or something.”

That task completed Celeste seemed a little more at ease. The nervousness was still there but it seemed as if providing this small service did genuinely do something for her. “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. I just knew that might help and wanted to try.” Celeste smiled again hoping that her homemade remedy was having an effect and then remember she hadn’t even answered the girl’s question from before. “So you’re from the fourth right? I’m from the first...I guess I should have told you that when I introduced myself huh? I just forgot about it in the rush and everything. Umm...How are your hands feeling?”