The Simple Things | OPEN

[Nikka Wilde]

A guitar, a notebook, a pencil, and a six pack. Of beer, obviously. These were just a few of Nikka's favorite things in this life. No, they were necessities in the daughter of Urania's life. Along with the clear night sky. The teen sauntered through the Field of Mars to find a spot right in the middle of it within the tall grass. Most people wouldn't be able to see in this kind of darkness, but being the daughter of the astrology muse had it's perks. She knew exactly what was around her in the darkness, although the night was still lit up by the stars above. These kinds of nights were Nikka's favorite. These kinds of nights were the kind where Nikka was inspired. Here, she could be close to both her father and her mother, and it brought the chaotic girl peace.

Nikka slung her black acoustic guitar from her back and into the grass, dropped her cold brews, and flopped down cross-legged. Sighing in contentment, she cracked the cap off her first bottle and took a big swig. Nothing better to get her in the mood. The girl slid her guitar into her lap and began to strum her favorite warm up song: Smoke on the Water. She played the simple opening riff on every possible set of frets until warmth came to her fingers. It was the first song her father ever taught her to play. Smiling up at the sky, she continued to play it just a bit longer.

[Celeste Bertelli]

Celeste walked barefoot under the stars through the field of Mars letting the fresh carpet of growing grass tickle her toes. It was starting to get warmer. Spring was almost here. That meant pretty soon the flowers and the grass and the trees would all be coming to life and that made the daughter of Ceres very happy indeed. There was still a little bit of winter left of course but the pleasant bay area weather had Celeste already feeling it and she just couldn’t resist coming out for an evening stroll after she had seen the tall grass growing this morning in practice.

The girl walked among the high grass breathing in the fresh air and letting the evening breeze take her long purple hair out behind her. She figured she was the only one out of the barracks this late and that she might just get to spend some time gazing up at the stars but then she began to hear music coming from somewhere nearby. The song was familiar and it sounded like an acoustic guitar so Celeste let her curiosity get the best with her and began to drift slowly towards the sound.

The music was coming from a red haired girl who appeared to be pretty spaced out as she was smiling and staring up at the sky. The music was nice though and Celeste had always liked the sound of acoustic guitar so she stood aside and listened while she waited for the girl to finish. Once she did Celeste decided to make herself known by stepping out slowly into the girl’s line of sight and speaking. “Wow you’re really good...” She said in an airy, wonder-filled, tone of voice that sounded like she was impressed. “umm...I hope you don’t mind but I heard you playing and couldn’t help but follow the sound. I’m glad I did.”

[Nikka Wilde]

Nothing could ruin this night for Nikka. She was in such an unusually blissful mood tonight, she was certain not a single thing could possibly bother her right now. When the daughter of Urania was happily looking up at the stars, she became an actual space cadet. She could name every constellation, every planet, type of star, anything. It was like a completely new side came out of the raging rockstar when she sat beneath her domain. The normally bitch of a demigod wasn’t even startled when a girl came up from behind her to compliment on her music.

Turning around to smile to the girl and her compliment, Nikka began idly strumming chords to Lyin’ Eyes by the Eagles, one of her all time favorite classic rock bands. She always seemed to play her best when her warm ups were some of her father’s favorite songs. “Thanks girl.” Nikka focused in closer on the figure standing before her. Of course she would recognize the only other girl in camp with a wild color hair like hers. She respected the unique color. Although the demigods didn’t seem to know much of each other, Nikka welcomed her. “No, not at all.” Under normal circumstances, Nikka would actually love to hear compliments of her music. But what she usually wouldn’t do was invite the fan to stay.

The red-head patted the ground next to her. “Pop a squat and crack a cold one with me. You can suggest some songs for me to play.” She grabbed one of her beers and offered it to Celeste. Looking back up at the sky, Nikka matched Celeste’s airy filled voice. “It’s too beautiful of a night not to be out here.” Nikka wouldn’t be surprised if Celeste was heasitant, as this wasn’t the girl’s normal behavior. Maybe the other girl had just gotten lucky and caught Nikka at the right time.

[Celeste Bertelli]

The girl seemed nice and that made Celeste smile. She was also very talented and when she started in on the next tune the flower child gasped in surprise. “Oh I know this one. I really like it too.” Celeste didn’t normally get excited about much of anything but she did like old music especially when that music was coming from an acoustic guitar. So when the girl kept playing and invited her to sit Celeste didn’t hesitate to join her by sitting down cross-legged beside the girl where she had indicated.

“Really? You would play something I suggested?” Celeste said as she took the beer can without really looking at it. The daughter of Ceres was not much of a drinker but she didn’t really think anything about it as she popped the tab and leaned back to take a swallow of what she suspected might be soda. It was not soda. In fact, the beer was not much like soda at all and the big swallow she took nearly made her gag at the taste. She sputtered a bit as she finished clearly showing her inexperience but somehow managed to keep it down perhaps because she didn’t want to end up tossing her dinner all over the poor redhead.

Celeste was left with a bit of a quandary. She knew that she didn’t particularly like the beer but she also knew that it would be kind of rude to refuse the redhead's hospitality especially after being so nice in offering to sing her a song. Ultimately though it was her desire to please that won over her more rational side. As the girl mentioned something about the sky Celeste nodded and very cautiously took another sip of her drink. Hopefully she would be okay if she just took things slow. “Yeah it really is.” She said trying to make up for her newbie mistake earlier. “Do you come out here often?”

[Nikka Wilde]

Nikka laughed at the girl’s excitement. Not many people at camp had the same taste in music as she did. Normally, it was all the latest rap/hip-hop songs that she and her friends listened to when going out to party, so it was refreshing to see that someone was into the same bands she she listened to growing up. Nikka noted that Celeste would probably like other songs by the Eagles and Deep Purple. A lot of these songs were played on the electric guitar, however, and they would sound more like their originals if played on such. But tonight was a laid-back chill night, and that called for acoustic versions.

Nodding, the redhead continued strumming chords. “Sure, why not. If you like the Eagles, you must have good taste,” she said in a care-free tone. Nikka had only looked down at her guitar for a second when she snapped her head back up at Celeste choking on her drink. Raising an eyebrow at her, Nikka reasoned, “If you don’t like the taste, just send it to the back of your throat and swallow.” She shrugged. “Or just don’t drink it.” Chuckling, she shook her head. Nikka always assumed everyone enjoyed a beer like she did, but not everyone had also grown up around bars.

Nikka took another sip of her own drink and looked back up at the stars as Celeste asked if this was one of her normal stops. “I come out here on most clear nights like this when I’m not going out with friends.” The girl admitted. Nikka continued, explaining a bit of herself. “It clears my mind and makes me feel close to my parents.” She looked back at Celeste next to her and pointed a thumb up at the sky. “Mom’s the astronomy muse, Urania.” Nikka realized this was the first person she had ran into on one of her ventures out into the field. “How about you, no one’s ever out here at this time of night.”

[Celeste Bertelli]

“No, no. It’s not that bad.” Celeste lied with a smile. The taste was what she couldn’t get around but in all honesty the second sip she had taken really hadn’t been completely awful. Besides, Ceres made the ingredients that were in the beer grow and her mom wouldn’t make bad things would she? So Celeste kept taking a sip occasionally and by following Nikka’s advice she seemed to manage much better than that first surprise swallow.

“umm…Do you know anything by Bob Dylan?” The purple haired girl said after a moment of thought. Dylan was an older artist but if Nikka knew the Eagles there was a chance she might know someone who had been so influential in American music. Really though with the mood she was in right now she would have probably been interested in listening to just about anything so long as it didn’t mess with the feeling of being out here on a night like tonight.

“Wow Urania? It must be nice to look up at the beautiful starry sky and see all kinds of cool things.” Celeste turned her attention back to the sky while she listened to Nikka play. It really was a pretty night to be out and not only because spring was just around the corner. “Me? I was just enjoying the growing plants and the cool air.” She wiggled her toes into the grass enjoying the feel of it under her feet and let out a little sigh. “I’m Celeste, a daughter of Ceres.” She figured that would probably explain enough. It did for most people anyways. Just to make sure though she added “I just can’t help myself when it gets like this. I have to come out and enjoy nature.”

[Nikka Wilde]

“Mmm, Bob Dylan, let’s see…” Nikka stopped strumming for a moment and looked at Celeste, trying to think of a song she knew by the artist. “Oh! This one’s a classic, how could I forget.” The redhead shook her head, disappointed in herself for forgetting about the song. Nikka began strumming again, humming the beginning of the song, until she got to the chorus, where she angelically sang, “Knock knock knockin’ on heaven’s door…” The vibe of the song was just right for the night.

Idly playing the rest of the song, Nikka smiled as Celeste commented on her mother. “It’s the best thing in the world. Well, maybe aside from singing and playing music.” Chuckling, Nikka remembered another thing her powers gifted from her mother were useful for. “It also helps when you’re drunk and lost outside of camp. I can never seem to get lost with the stars above.” She couldn’t count on two hands and two feet how many times that skill had come in handy after a late night/early morning. If you were with Nikka and needed to get somewhere, she’d find her way there eventually.

Ahh, Ceres, that did make sense. A nature junkie. Nikka couldn’t really say much, as she was kind of the same way, just with the sky rather than the earth. Nodding in agreement with Celeste, Nikka commented, “I feel you there. Sometimes ya just need to get away from the legion a bit and escape into nature.” This mindset is what most likely put Nikka in the fourth cohort. She was a skilled fighter, but only halfheartedly believed in the rules of the legion. Sure, she was proud of where she came from and all, but Nikka's ideal lifestyle would be more along the lines of concerts and parties, with the occasional moments like this. But while she was young, the redhead did enjoy a good spar every once in a while.

[Celeste Bertelli]

For a moment Celeste wondered if she had stumped the girl. She seemed to think for a moment but then finally picked up on something and began to play a song that the purple haired girl instantly recognized. Celeste leaned back to look at the sky while she listened and softly hummed the chorus along with Nikka’s singing while taking little sips of her adult beverage. Not many would have known that it was Dylan who had originally wrote and performed that piece especially when it had been made most popular by Guns N’ Roses. Nikka had known though and that won her a few brownie points in Celeste’s book because she definitely preferred the original.

As the song ended Celeste glanced over at Nikka as the girl began talking about the stars again. “That's a pretty good talent to have.” She replied wistfully as Nikka mentioned being able to find her way by the stars. “I can do that with plants sometimes and help them grow. Not very useful in camp but I like it and it makes me feel close to my mom you know?” Celeste figured that Nikka might just know what she meant. It wasn’t easy being the flower child of the first cohort and even though she had gotten used to how things worked in the Legion it never really felt like she fit in. Maybe it wasn’t so easy being a daughter of Urania either.

“I think it’s perfectly natural to want a break every now and then.” Celeste paused for a second thinking that statement over. She didn’t normally talk so freely with people she didn’t know but it kind of felt right at the moment. She probably shouldn’t say such things to a fellow legionnaire but Nikka was nice and Celeste didn’t think the girl was the type that was likely to betray her. “Just don’t tell my centurions I said that.” She added with a giggle.