A lava wall.... seriously?!

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

Everything had been made so simple in Atalanta's mind when she was told that she had climbing practise by her siblings. All she had to do was climb a wall. No big deal. She would probably not even need gloves for that. Oh how she wanted to strangle them now. Or at least break their noses. They had failed to mention one little thing... The wall actually had lava running down from one side. This was insane! Were they trying to cook them on steam? There was no way a human being could withstand the heat from it. Atalanta was never into books and spewing random facts, but she knew that Lava was too hot even from a distance. Yet she could not back out and it really was part of her schedule for the day, so she had to do it. She had broke out into hisses and curses in modern greek from the moment she actually laid eyes on the structure.

Taking a deep breath and actually putting the provided gloves on, she began to stretch as a warm-up. The sooner she could get it done, the sooner she could beat the crap out of that idiot of a sibling. "Chiron's insane for allowing this."
She muttered as she glared at the wall, planning a route before actually attempting to climb. To anybody watching it was obvious that she was new and that she had no idea how it was even possible for anyone to just climb up the wall while lava was pouring from the other side. Not to mention it was without safety rope.

WORDS ● Harper Jones ● I hope this works for you Rachel :3

deltra of gangnam style

[Ashley Bates]

Climbing wall day. Of all the training sessions Chiron put on here at camp this was he's least favorite. Granted he could see what they were trying to do. The climbing wall was perfect for teaching speed, agility and strength. It taught them to stay on their toes and that even simple situations carried with them a threat of death of a demigod. That was all fine and good. The problem was that Ash had climbed this wall more times than he could remember and the wall stopped becoming much of a challenge somewhere during that time.

For all it's benefits for training new demigods for those that had been around a while this was a training session that had become a little too familiar. Ash would do it because it needed to be done but other than that he hoped this wouldn't take long so that he could move on to a more productive use of his time.

Pulling on his gloves the son of Apollo prepared for the climb and took a glance around at the other campers who were doing the same. It was then that he noticed a new face among the crowd who was grumbling and looking up at the wall with a bit of trepidation. A first timer most likely but Ash could easily remember his first time on the wall and how daunting the task seemed. That being the case it didn't take much consideration before he decided to speak up with a little advice. A few things he wished someone had told him. "Watch the wall before you climb and plan your route. There is a pattern in the lava and figuring it out is key to getting to the top."

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

Atalanta turned to see who was stating the obvious to her. A blond, athletic guy around her age had come closer.

Of course she had to plan her route. If she didn't she would die from burns and that wasn't how she wanted to go from this life. "That's what I'm doing. I'd rather not die from lava burns." She told him and secured her gloves with a look of determination warming its way up in her face. If you replaced the lava with a chasm between roofs this was really not that different from any of her parkour stands she had pulled up in the past few months. "Who even puts a lava wall for kids to climb? The heat alone can kill and this is supposed to be the safest place for a demigod." She snorted and her eyes narrowed as she seemed to have mapped a suitable route.

Her eyes sifted from the Wall to the guy giving her advice. "Thanks for the heads up about the pattern though. I'm Atalanta from Cabin 5." She introduced herself and did some hand stretching. "Though I don't think I'll sit here until I figure it out. I'll just roll with it and work it out. If push comes to shove I'd rather break a leg than burn to a crisp."

WORDS ● TAGGED ● Looks like this is going to be a three-way thread

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[Ashley Bates]

The girl seemed to be focused on what she was doing which was good. She had a look of grim determination and Ash had no doubt that should would make it to the top of the wall one way or the other. Still, she seemed to be upset about the task that was set before her. “Safe is a relative term for a demigod. Nowhere is truly safe for our kind but I think you will find this place safer than others.” Ash glanced up at the wall watching the lava pour over the sides. He supposed on some level what the girl was saying was true but in his experience safety was something you made for yourself not something that was based on your circumstances. “Compared to some of the things you’ll face the climbing wall will be preferable.”

The girl introduced herself as Atalanta and held out her hand. “Ash from Apollo.” He said as he gave her a brisk shake and then a nod at her words. “Sometimes the best way to learn is by experience and it sounds as if you have the right priorities in mind.” Ash was not the type to hand hold and even if he was the girl would likely not accept it but he was interested in seeing her progress. Besides, it never hurt to know the abilities of those around you whether they ended up being friend or foe. “If you’re not going to wait I’m going over now. You can join me if you like.”

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

Atalanta shook his hand as she finished her stretches. "Well my priorities haven't changed since last month. Staying alive is all that matters at this point." She said shrugging and moved over to the Wall. "Sure thing Ash. Maybe race you to the top? I don't want to follow you since you know the pattern." She told him as she began to climb from a little to the right side of the wall, making quick work of her holds as she wanted to reach to the top as soon as possible. Her parkour experience with jumping from roof to roof and swinging from fire-escapes had given her a good start on climbing walls.The heat however she could do without, it made her all sticky with sweat and it was more difficult to breathe. Still,she stuck to her route, only changing here and there if anything took her too close to the heat source.

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[Ashley Bates]

"It's not a competition." Ash said stoically as she offered him a race. It wasn't that he was opposed to the idea but he had never understood why some demigods just had to make everything a game. In his mind training was a matter of business and not recreation but then again he had the unfortunate luck to have been born a 60 year old man without a sense of humor so this was not an all together uncommon occurrence for him. Still, Ash gave a perfunctory nod and led the way over to the wall.

His path was plain and simple. Get to the top was the goal so he selected the course that would do that the quickest and most practical was he could. As he scaled the wall he moved with a focused ease that could have only come from long practice and he wasted no time messing around with what he was doing.

It wasn't until he reached the top however that he turned back to mark Atalanta's progress. When he did though he noted that she was doing well enough for herself. Obviously she had some kind climbing experience under her belt because even though she didn't know the pattern she was making admirable work of the rocky surface. All in all not bad for a first timer. Crossing his arms Ash watched as Atalanta approached the top but as she came closer he kneeled and reached out a hand to offer that final grip she would need. "Done done climbing before I take it?"

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

"Whatever you say big guy." She had told him when they began climbing. Sure he said that this was not a competition,but he had gotten down to work pretty fast for it not to be one. Or maybe he hated climbing and wanted to get it over with. Whatever the case, Atalanta had smirked and had done her best not to fall too behind. It wasn't easy though, he knew his way around and she didn't. Not to mention the heat was killing her.

Eventualy she reached the top, Ash offering her a hand with a question about her climbing skills. She didn't take the offered hand. She wasn't angry at him or being prideful. It was simply a matter of seeing this through with her own strength. Putting a final effort, she swung herself to the platform he stood. She sat down, legs dangling over the edge as she took in the sight of Camp Half-blood from above. It was beautiful. "You could say so." She told him with ragged breath and inhaled deeply now that she was away from the hot air. "I do a lot of parkour. Climbing roofs, swinging from fire-escapes, that sort of stuff."

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[Ashley Bates]

Parkour? Ash had heard of it before and knew of the concepts but had never looked into it much himself. Still, judging from how she had been moving up the wall it was obvious that it had served some benefit. For a new arrival at camp she already seemed to have a pretty good handle on the physical side of things and that was good. It would certainly make her training here a lot smoother if Chiron wasn’t teaching her the basics.

When she didn’t take his hand Ash hunkered down on his haunches beside her and he watched the other demigods doing their climbs. Not enough had changed since the attack on camp. Things had gotten back to normal but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Ash did what he could but he got the impression they weren’t out from under the shadow of whatever had been looming over them yet. For the moment though the camp was safe and that had to count for something. The future was uncertain but with new demigods like Atalanta showing up maybe they weren’t in such bad shape after all.

“I can tell your parkour has been beneficial.” He said as he continued to watch the other demigods make progress up the wall. “You climb well. The only question is what did you learn? You said earlier that the lava wall was an insane idea. Do you still think so?”

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

Atalanta turned to look at Ash weirdly. Beneficial? Since when a hobby was done out of benefit? Or kids their age thought of doing things out of benefit? His next question made him even more curious to her. "Besides remembering that I don't like the heat and that lava can kill if you get too close?" She shrugged and watched people going about in the strawberry fields from afar. "I don't think the wall serves any other purpose than to built up your strength, stamina and to push you to your limits via mental pressure. All of which could be done in a regular wall and the prospect of a harsh punishment if you passed a certain time limit. No need for the burning-to-a-crisp factor." She finished her assessment of the Lava Wall.

She then turned to look at Ash again. "Besides, we have already too many things that can and will kill us first chance they got out there. Why risk dying here? I'd rather go down fighting than burn to a fine crisp in a place I'm supposed to be away from death."

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[Ashley Bates]

Ash gave a huff which might have been his form of a chuckle. With him laughing was something of a rarity even under the best of circumstances but sarcasm could occasionally bring it out. “Most people don’t respond well to harsh punishment.” He said in a tone that said he might have had some experience in that area. Ash’s grandfather had believed punishment was the best way to encourage improvement but it hadn’t been from him that Ash had learned how to survive or fight. True survival skills came from the ‘burning-to-a-crisp factor’ as Atalanta put it and that was the real point of the wall.

“That’s the point.” He said as he turned his attention away from the climbing demigods and focused on the girl. “This is not a place that is safe from death. No place really is for our kind but if we learn that fact, realize that even here we can be hurt or attacked or even die then we learn to always be ready no matter what may come to face us. We are safer here because we are strong together but don’t let that idea fool you into complacency.”

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

"And they respond well to death situations?" It was a rhetorical question. In her mind, if the punishment was disliked or harsh enough, even the mere prospect of possibly being subjected to it, put the same mental pressure as impending death looming over one's head. But apparentely that hwas just her. Ash didn't seem to share her thoughts on the matter. In fact he seemed to be very different than she, or most kids their age she knew off.

"That's a sad way of life even for an Ares kid." She commented on his view about Camp and life as a demigod in general."If you're meant to go, you will go. No matter what you do to avoid that. So you got to live it. Make sure you have no regrets when the time comes. Going out with a bang would be ideal."She watched as one of the kids climbing the wall decided to let go as the lava got too close to him. "Ouch!" Atalanta winced as the kid collided with the ground, but it didn't seem like the blow was too serious so she turned back to Ash with a teasing grin. "And here I thought Apollo kids would have a brighter attitude on life."

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[Ashley Bates]

“Most do.” He confirmed while apparently completely missing the girl’s expected answer. Ash knew what he saw and whether it was because of their divine heritage or because innate characteristics most demigods possessed he had noticed that near death experiences seemed to bring out the best in them which was good as near death situations were something that they faced every day. Ash was more about surviving those situations by his strength and skill however and that’s why he was grateful for the challenges being as they were. Not everyone got it though and perhaps Atalanta wasn’t one of those that did. Her comments certainly seemed to suggest as much.

To her words Ash gave a shrug. “I’ve called things as I see them for as long as I can remember and I don’t plan on changing that now.” Maybe he was morbid in his outlook but he preferred to think of himself as a realist and so far those realistic ideals had served him pretty well. Control what you could control was his motto. For everything else, fate.

Ash watched as the younger demigod fell. He would feel that in the morning but with a trip to the infirmary he would be alright. In general demigods were tougher than others gave them credit. For now though he glanced back over at Atalanta when she spoke. “My father and I don’t see eye to eye on many things. I find that his head seems to be too high in the clouds to sometimes notice what’s going on around him.”

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

She rolled her eyes when Ash confirmed that indeed most people tended to handle death situations better than punishment. "Maybe you should tone that down a bit around newbies though. Having a kid constantly on edge is bound to end up with someone being shanked." She responded to his comment as if she wasn't a newbie herself, which was the furthest away from the truth. "Besides, what I meant was that I'd rather go down fighting a Cyclops than being ran over by a car. When it's to go you will go. So you gotta live it up and not worry about death being just around the corner of your every step." She shrugged and stretched, but was abruptly stopped by his next words.

His father and him? "Wait wait wait. Hold up!" She said raising her hands in a hold-your-horses motion."You mean you've actually talked to Apollo? Up close?" It was only natural that she was bewildered by the possibility. Not only were they descendend from them but they actually got to talk to them too? Of course this made her wonder why her father hadn't stick around, bothered to send a card during her birthdays or at least show up when her mother had died and she was being chased out of her home by Cyclops. Feelings of anger and jealousy began to bubble underneath the surface.

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[Ashley Bates]

Ash fixed Atalanta with a look of utter incomprehension. Tone it down? Why should he tone it down? He saw no benefit in coddling the demigods that lived here even if they were newbies. In fact, he would argue that it was that very thing that had led the camp to be attacked in the first place. Traitors in their midst bringing violence to their door, if they had been more careful, more observant that may not have happened...or maybe it still would have. In any case it didn't matter. Control the things you could control and training for the danger ahead, preparations for conflict those were things that could be controlled.

But Atalanta wouldn't have known any of this and sitting here on the lava wall wasn't really the place to tell here. Think what she would about him he still stood by his convictions and the simple, carefree hope that things would be alright on their own just didn't pan out in his mind. Besides, he couldn't see how the opposite mindset, living like there was no danger around any corner, could possibly be beneficial. He decided to make one more attempt. "Perhaps I wasn't clear. I don't mean that we should live in fear of what is to come but rather that we should prepare like it eventually will. A healthy dose of reality is not a bad thing. It prepares us for what is around the corner whether that be a kraken or nothing at all. Living in fear is perhaps the worse thing we can do."

Her next statement made him huff again. She really had mistaken his meaning if she thought he was in communication with Apollo. Even if he did have a special relationship with his father he doubted he would be able to stand the god for too long. Ash simply had daddy issues. Like every other demigod here at camp. "No, I have never seen my father in person. I merely meant that the attributes that he has and generally shares with his children are not really my thing. I think that many here would feel the same whether they had talked with their divine parents face to face or not."

[Atalanta Nikolaou]

❝

Come, surf the clouds, Race the dark, It feeds from the runs undone, Meet me where the cliff greets the sea Do you think you can keep up?

❞

Atalanta chuckled. "Yeah you weren't clear. You just went about and told a newbie that life is gonna be a living hell from now on." She shrugged it off after that, since the next bit of information was more interesting to her. Yet the way he spoke of his dad made her cock an eyebrow.

"So... healing people, music and being great with long range weapons are all bad attributes? Not to mention looking into the future." She pointed out incredulously. She couldn't understand why someone would hate being good at music or healing and stuff. Then again she wasn still new. It was possible that she would change her mind after a while but she didn't mind being born with natural fighting skills. Yes you could say that she was kinda mad at her dad for being absent, for letting that bomb kill her mother and gods knew what else, but for now? She considered herself lucky to be able to fight in the mess she was caught up in. "Personally I don't mind being born a natural fighter. My mom got my fighting sorted out so it's not that bad. I think..."

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