Forbidden Fruits | Lydia

[Virginia Grace]

Genie crept along the outskirts of camp like a burglar looking for their next target. Her eyes shifted nervously from side to side on a constant look out for anyone or anything that might spot her. In her arms she carried a picnic basket clutched protectively to her chest as if it held a fortune inside but this was not all that surprising. For Genie what was inside the basket was a fortune and she didn’t intend to let anyone take it from her.

She hadn’t committed a crime, at least she didn’t think she had. Maybe there were some rules against raiding the strawberry fields but she really didn’t care. The things in the picnic basket were her guilty little pleasure and so long as no one stopped her she would continue to borrow as much as she could whenever she felt like it. There was a little guilt, why else would she be creeping around like this if there wasn’t, but for the most part Genie was only concerned about the end reward and as she snuck around to the Amphitheater that reward was finally in sight.

Checking to make sure the coast was clear Genie slipped inside sure that she would be all alone here for a while and not able to hold off indulging herself any longer. Scrambling to the nearest seat the Hephaestus girl placed the basket beside her and threw open the lid to gaze in wonder at what was held inside. ”Hello my lovelies. Come to momma.” Genie couldn’t resist any longer. Reaching inside the basket with greedy fingers she plucked out a nice plump strawberry, the best the strawberry fields had to offer, and bit down on it with obvious relish. She had brought chocolate and sugar to dip them in too but not this one. This one she had to eat right now and boy was it good.

Lydia Shepard

[Lydia Shepard]

There was a thief in their midst and the Dionysus cabin had been tasked with discovering who was doing it. Lydia was the head of the team, but it seemed like every lead they came up with a dead end. But this one seemed promising. So on this particular day, Lydia was lurking in the shadows as she tailed one girl. She wasn't an Hermes kid, but she managed to follow the girl pretty well to the amphitheater where she had a picnic basket full of their precious strawberries. Lydia narrowed her eyes at the girl as she stayed in the shadows until she crossed the line. She ate one of their strawberries.

Lydia stepped out of the shadows as she cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said as she tried to sound as authoritative as possible. "That's camp propriety. Please hand it over."

[Virginia Grace]

Genie was mid strawberry bliss when a voice behind her brought her back to the present. She was caught red handed as it were and there was little she could do besides finish the strawberry that she was currently eating and turn to face her accuser to see how bad the damage was. What she saw was not very encouraging. Someone had apparently spotted her as she ducked inside the amphitheater and from the look of things this other girl knew exactly what Genie had been doing.

The daughter of Hephaestus prided herself at being able to not only read machines but read people as well and judging by this new girl's current mood Genie was pretty confident that starting things off with a lie wouldn't win her much favor with this one. That being the case she decided that the only other alternative was to try and win her over and hopefully hold on to a few of the blessed berries for herself. "Hi there." She said simply as she put on her usual glowing smile and completely ignored the other girl's accusation. "Would you like like to join me? I brought sugar and chocolate and they're really good."

[Lydia Shepard]

Chocolate and sugar? Lydia thought to herself as she glanced over to the picnic basket that the girl had. It did sound very good, especially paired up with a sweet wine... But she had to shake her head to clear her mind of those thoughts. She was on a mission. Chiron didn't make her cabin counselor just so she could track down pretty girls and share strawberries with them. But the idea did sound very enticing.

Lydia cleared her throat as she stood up a little straighter. The girl might have been cute and almost bribing her with stolen property, but Lydia couldn't cave. Well, at least, not when she was on a mission. A mission to get those strawberries back. She shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't do that or allow you to do that." She stepped forward towards the girl as she held out her hands. "Just hand over the strawberries and I won't tell Chiron and Mr. D that you were the one raiding the fields."

[Virginia Grace]

This one was definitely going to be hard nut to crack. This girl was all business right now and even though she didn’t seem like the type that was serious all the time Genie guessed things were different when she was dealing with a strawberryholic like herself. That was fine. Genie had complete confidence that she could still change the girl’s mind. Calmly the Hephaestus girl reached into the basket and pulled out two bowls ignore the other girl’s request almost completely.

“Come on and have a seat.” She said still grinning. “I can tell that you want to and it’s not like I’m going anywhere. Besides, you’re not really going to turn me in.” Curiously enough Genie didn't seem to be overly concerned about the issue. Petty theft aside she didn’t appear to be ashamed of her actions either. Instead she kept her happy, cheerful attitude even as the other girl threatened her. “I’m Virginia by the way but most people call me Genie because I’m a real wiz at fixing machines.”

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia pressed her lips together as the girl didn't hand over the basket of stolen goods. Instead, she continued her criminal actions and set up her little picnic even more. She pulled her arms back as she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at the girl and cocked an eyebrow at her. Was she trying to use psychology on her? The girl really was messing with the wrong Dionysus child.

"What if I do turn you in?" she asked as she eyed the thief. "I don't think you would look so calm in that situation." But as Lydia looked over the situation, did she really want to turn a cute girl into Chiron and her father? She slowly uncrossed her arms as she walked over to the girl who introduced herself as Genie. "I think I'll let you off with a warning. Next time, I won't be so lenient." She sat down from across Genie as she cocked an eyebrow at her. "I'm Lydia by the way."

[Virginia Grace]

For a second or two Genie wondered if she had misjudge the other girl. It was possible. She was by no means a mind reader but she suspected that the girl wasn't really interested in turning her over to get her in trouble because she seemed far too nice for that and after one tense moment when she thought Lydia had taken her well intended observation the wrong way the moment passed.

Genie shrugged in answer to girl's question as she came over. "I would probably get a good talking to and then they would tell me not to do it again and let me go. I didn't mean nothing by it, just what's the point of having strawberries if you can't pick a few for yourself every once in a while?" Granted the point could be argued that she had picked more than a few but her intentions really were innocent...well mostly so. Besides, could she really be blamed when the berries came out so plump and juicy and delicious? Genie didn't think so.

As the girl came over to have a seat Genie continued to grin brightly, excited that Lydia had decided to sit down after all. She scooted over a bit to give the girl enough room and then continued setting things up by putting out some sugar and chocolate syrup as she continued to chat cheerfully with the girl. "Nice to meet you Lydia and I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time." She watched the girl as she talked noticing the inquisitive expression on her face and chuckled. "So what's your story Lydia and are you sure you don't want any? They're really good. In fact, strawberries are kinda my favorite if you haven't already guessed."

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia sat down next to Genie and she eyed the basket full of strawberries. She already made up her mind that she wasn’t going to turn Genie over, even if the most she would possibly get would be a slap on wrist, but Lydia wasn’t sure if she wanted to enjoy of the strawberries. Because then, she would be partaking in a criminal activity that she was sent out to stop. Despite how much philosophers liked the grey area of morality, Lydia didn’t have the time to debate among herself, especially when Genie was asking her questions.

“Well..” Lydia started out, deciding to dodge the question of strawberries for the time being until she could make up her mind. “I’m the cabin counselor for the Dionysus cabin… the ones who tend to those strawberries that you helped yourself to.” She nodded her head towards the basket before she looked back up at Genie. “And I would assume that you’re an Hermes kid, but you mentioned machines. Are you a daughter of Hephaestus?”

[Virginia Grace]

Genie seemed not to take much notice of Lydia avoiding her question about the strawberries but in truth she didn't want to force the girl into anything she was uncomfortable with. Granted it wasn't like Genie had committed grand theft auto or anything, it was just a few berries, but she could understand how it might look to others and respected their choices. Besides, Lydia hadn't said that she wouldn't try any of them. She had just decided not to answer at the time.

Grinning as she picked another plump red berry from the pile the Hephaestus girl glanced up as Lydia told about her responsibilities with the Dionysus cabin. "Cabin leader. Fancy." She said with a giggle. She had never been one to get all ooshy gushy over a pretty face but she must have been causing trouble if she had gotten the attention of the cabin leader especially a cute one like this. "So lucky too. I bet you could have strawberries whenever you wanted." Dipping her current strawberry in some sugar Genie took another delightful bite and nodded along with the conversation. "Yup, I'm a Hephaestus girl. I just like to get out and about. You always meet interesting people and they always have the best stories."

[Lydia Shepard]

"Counselor," Lydia quickly corrected. She was just a counselor and preferred to stay that way. her brothers could take on more duties, even though they usually did a horrible job of it. But Lydia had enough on her plate that being cabin counselor was just right for her. Besides, being only a counselor had its perks, like running into cute strawberry thieves.

But speaking of strawberries, Lydia eyed them as Genie ate one covered in sugar. She felt a pang of jealousy, but managed to logic it out that she was probably hunger after all that detective work. She looked back up at Genie as she raised an eyebrow at her. "Unfortunately, no," she said with a sad smile as she shook her head. "That's not a cabin perk we get. They're the camp's, not our cabin's." She looked down at the strawberries and the various goodies to go along with them before she looked back up. "Are they good?"

[Virginia Grace]

"Still very cool. Color me impressed." Pretty and smart this one. From the way Lydia talked and the way she corrected Genie she thought that it would have been fairly easy to mistake her with one of those super smart Athena girls. Those girls always seemed a little haughty though and that wasn't the case with Lydia at least not that Genie had seen yet. It was kind of endearing in a cute, smart girl kind of way and even though she knew this girl was probably way or of her league it was sometimes fun to sit back and admire.

Genie was a little disappointed to hear that instant strawberries was not an immediate perk of being a Dionysus kid but she supposed she understood. It was a good idea though as she was pretty sure everyone would be fighting to work the fields if that was the case. Still, it couldn't hurt Genie to have a few connections and Lydia seemed to be a good one. "Too bad about the strawberries. You and I were about to become the best of friends if that was the case." She was kidding of course. She would like to get to know Lydia even if more strawberries were out of the picture but she did like them and speaking of the strawberries apparently Genie wasn't the only one. "They're delicious." She said happily. "Go on and try one. Here I'll even pick one out for you. What's your poison, sugar or chocolate?"

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia knew she was treading dangerous water with the temptations sitting out in front of her. But would she risk it? As of right now, she was in all different shades in morality. But was it worth it? The temptation was right in front of her. She eyed the strawberries before she looked over at Genie. Did she dare risk it? She knew if she got caught that she would personally get more than a slap on the wrist. But that seemed to be okay for now.

A slight smirk crept onto Lydia's face as he looked down at the strawberries and the various goodies to dip them in. "I'm a chocolate kind of person," she said as she looked back at Genie. "So you can pick me out the finest strawberry you have."

[Virginia Grace]

Genie watched as Lydia struggled with indecision unsure why the girl was having so much trouble. She wasn't really the type to rat on anyone or throw them under the bus if they got caught and if all else failed they could just say Lydia didn't know. Besides, they were just strawberries and Genie still stood by her original point that they wouldn't get in too much trouble for eating just a few. The girl looked to be coming around though and when she finally did Genie smiled happily and began digging around in her basket.

"Who doesn't love chocolate?" The Hephaestus girl said with a giggle. Lydia wanted the finest strawberry Genie could find and when she brought out her pick she didn't think the girl would be disappointed. Genie apparently had an eye for strawberries. "Here we are. One delicious strawberry for you to enjoy. Be careful though, once a strawberry you do pop, I think you'll find it hard to stop." She said letting the last part come out in a little sing songy voice. It was good to see Lydia relax a little and stop stressing out about the strawberries. Nobody would miss them. "So Lydia of the Dionysus cabin, what do you do besides tracking down strawberry connoisseurs? You sound really smart."

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia was morally in the grey, but all the greatest philosophers and psychologists and ethic studiers had the funnest time in there, right? But Lydia wasn't too concerned about it now, especially since she was watching Genie pick out the finest strawberry from the fields. And she really enjoyed it, especially since Genie was probably one of the cutest girls she had seen around camp. Too bad she was also a little bit of a strawberry thief.

A slight smile crept onto Lydia's face as Genie produced one of the best looking strawberries she'd seen and did a little jingle for her. She laughed lightly as she took the strawberry. "Why, thank you," she said as she proceeded to dip it into the chocolate. She made sure she had it good and coated before Genie spoke and Lydia looked up at her. "I read about psychology and ethics and philosophy," she said as she pulled her strawberry out of the chocolate. "Most people find it boring, but I like it," she said before she decided to take a bite out of her strawberry. Delicious.

[Virginia Grace]

Some would have looked at the prospect of getting caught red handed with something they weren’t supposed to have as a bad situation but Genie didn’t think she would mind being caught by Lydia every time she decided to sneak a few berries. The Dionysus girl might take offense to that of course but Genie thought she would take what she got if it gave her a chance to run into Lydia again. She supposed it was one way to get the other girl’s attention after all.

Maybe there were better options for that though. Genie watched and listened as Lydia enjoyed her strawberry. She even pushed the container a little close to the other girl just in case she wanted another. “Oh I wouldn’t say it’s boring. Psychologist are all about helping people with their problems and I think it’s great that you want to help people like that.” She said in genuine interest. It was no wonder that the girl sounded so smart though. Genie wasn’t much for books unless they had fast cars or incredibly talented leading mechanic characters in them but she could definitely appreciate how much work went into studying philosophy. “Hey it’s a lot better to tell people than ‘I just work on machines.’”