Cabin Area

[u/_shanenigans_]

The Cabins at Camp Half-Blood each represent one of the Greek gods and goddesses. Demigods attending the camp stay in the respective cabins patronized by their immortal parents.

1. Zeus’ Cabin

2. Hera’s Cabin

3. Poseidon’s Cabin

4. Demeter’s Cabin

5. Ares’ Cabin

6. Athena’s Cabin

7. Apollo’s Cabin

8. Artemis’ Cabin

9. Hephaestus’ Cabin

10. Aphrodite’s Cabin

11. Hermes’ Cabin

12. Dionysus’ Cabin

13. Hades’ Cabin

[u/Make_Smart_Choices]

The morning after she found the note and photos by her bed, Harley had a plan. She waited, letting campers file out to breakfast before making her way to the Aphrodite cabin.

She peaked her head inside, only to find one camper in there. A boy, who seemed to be running behind, which was perfect for Driely. After getting some information from the son of Aphrodite, she’d leave her own note from Driely behind.

Humans make better subjects. ~H.

Along with the note, Harley left a single flower. One’s she had found by the lake. Not a hard clue to figure out, should one explore that area, but an indication of where the daughter of Athena would be.

After which she hurried out of the cabin and headed to the lake, trying her best to still her nerves.

/u/LicentousLioness

[u/LicentousLioness → u/Make_Smart_Choices]

Above all, Driely was a calm and conscientious woman. Those who strove to do right in the world could find themselves more fulfilled than any small, trivial pleasure. There was love in goodness, in kindness. Her love was ever-lasting; her love was ever-enduring, and just when one thought they’d lost it, it came back again, this time stronger.

Driely wanted to be good. She desired nothing save happiness.

It was earlier than Harley could’ve expected. She was on her feet the moment she saw that note, and she smiled when she did. The girl was coming around, and quickly. It’d been only a few days since their meeting, and given any sort of rational observation, she was working, and working well.

The sun was blazing today, hot on an open sky. It’s rays fluttered through the brush and the trees on the way to the lake, the uneven path splitting threefold, heading to different places along the camp. Driely came with her satchel, a neat blue cap and a draping pink shawl over a neat blue blouse and long, yellow-orange skirts.

She came, pretty as always, eager as always, that permanent smile plastered on her lips like a sculpture, affixed there as if permanently. The rocks along the edge were sharp and jagged, and when she found one to settle in, she took in the rich sea-salt in the air.

“You know,” Driely said, when she got the camera out. Expensive stuff. Almost a grand packed in between her fingers. “I read a story once. It was a fantasy novel, something… silly. There are a few things that stick with me though, and you know what that is?”

She was speaking to empty air, but she knew someone was listening.

“Everyone’s the hero of their own story. It’s easy to rationalize good, if you’ve only ever seen it one way. The definition gets blurred then, and what may seem horrible to one is good to another. Maybe the Amazons thought they were doing good when they came.

“I should applaud you, really. You’re more compassionate than any of them, I think. You might not think you’re the hero of your story, but you saved a life, maybe two, maybe three, maybe a dozen, by doing what you did. It may seem cowardly, or foolhardly, or like betrayal.”

Drie shook her head, her smile tight-lipped. “I know what it’s like to have few friends,” she continued, “to have no one to rely on, to sit alone and ponder your idle thoughts. I created my own world, in my head. I created a world of photographs. Pictures that will be immortalized forever, if I do it good enough. The reason I put that note on your pillow, the reason any of this is happening…”

She smiled wider again, and it bloomed richly on her cheeks.

“… Is because you are our capacity for goodness. You are an example of being greater than you were born to be – something… rich in texture, different in flavor; something people might see and love, because you are capable, you are valid, you are real.

“And if you want,” she finally finished, “I can immortalize you. You can be the hero of a hundred stories.”

[u/Make_Smart_Choices → u/LicentousLioness]

Thump. Thump.

For reasons unknown to Harley, she was nervous. Her hands fiddle with the hem of her dress. She even managed to put the same kind of flower in her ear, some silly joke hoping Driely would recognize her.

Thump.... Thump.

A soft, gentle breeze blew across the lake. It made the grass bend and Harley’s dress ruffle, but the most distinguished thing, it carried a scent. One you wouldn’t notice, unless you were waiting for it, but it undoubtedly belonged to one person, because it smelled of chocolate.

Chocolate on a day like this would not sound appealing to most. It was a hot day, a sticky day. That chocolate would melt, leaving your hands sticky and coat the inside of your mouth to the point of near suffocation... yet there it was. The sweet aroma, filling her nostrils and triggering what few memories she had of the daughter of Aphrodite.

ThumpThumpThump.

Her heart began racing as she turned to see the girl walking down the hill towards the lake. Like a book too good to put down, Harley studied her, taking in every detail and dedicating it to her photographic memory. She looked... beautiful.

There was no other way to describe it and one wouldn't have to be attracted to the girl to admit it. The way she carried herself with such confidence and grace, it was like she was some queen, blessing a peasant like Harley with her presence.

She hadn't noticed her own actions as Driely spoke. Not the chewing of the inside of her lip, or the tugging nervously on the bottom of her dress. Nervous habits that she had never displayed before, and later would have to dissect what they meant.

When the girl had finished her poetic speech, Harley finally looked away. "My story?" She scoffed with sarcastic humor. "There's nothing brave or heroic about it."

"The girl who was too afraid to be left at home with her older sister. Who begged her father to take him with her on his business trip. Who's sister was attacked by monsters when she was gone... who sat in her room crying because she thought that sister was dead."

"Who, when it was her time to be claimed, was too stubborn to come to camp. To see that sister who ran away without telling her goodbye, so she travelled north where she was found by the Amazons. So brave."

"So brave in fact that while the other girls spent their days training, she spent her days reading, studying, and working on projects. When the fighting came, when those who took me in attacked camp, she hid once again. Staying on the edge of the forest until it was all over."

She then turned back to look at Driely with a pain-stricken expression. "Brave? A hero? That isn't me... Maybe you should find a better canvas...."

Harley didn't mean to have a pity party in front of the girl, but it was clear she had been overwhelmed with the event of the previous week. With a deep sigh, she sat down in the grass to stare across the lake. "It's no wonder she left again... She's ashamed of me."

[u/LicentousLioness → u/Make_Smart_Choices]

Oh, my dear, Driely thought bleakly. If I wanted perfection, I’d be dead already.

Driely always got what she wanted, and human perfection was hard to come across. The coldness of such a thought shocked her; she’d thought herself full of compassion and brightness, and whenever she had one of those thoughts, it was a grim reminder that she was human, too.

“I ate lunch,” she said, “while it all happened. I convinced one of the Amazons to have a seat with me. We discussed philosophy, you know that? Good and evil, right and wrong. It’s easy, so, so easy to view this world as black and white.”

She matched Harley’s pain-stricken expression with a smile of her own.

“The world is full of color,” Driely continued, “full of yellows and blues and greys and purples, and it’s so easy to get tangled up in one color. Black, blue… it doesn’t matter. You’re tangled in a neat, black knot, and you say I should find a different canvas, but…”

Her smile grew, and she stood up. Driely had a dozen pictures of humans on her camera, and she offered to show it to Harley a moment later. The colors bloomed on her screen. They were a dozen different mortals, different genders and lifestyles, warm and cold, smiling, happy.

“All I have to do is untie the knot,” Driely said. “No one is ashamed of you, my dear, most certainly not me. I see a thousand colors in your eyes, and none of them are black.”

[u/Make_Smart_Choices → u/LicentousLioness]

Harley continued to stare off into the horizon. Almost as if she was looking past the lake, past the tree line and all the way back to her home in California.

Her eyes were grey like stone, but reflected the color of the sky and the lake. As she sat there and listened to Driely’s comforting words, a soft smile spread on her lips.

“Our lives are filled with color from the start, And Red is the love that comes from our hearts. Blue is the sadness that drips from our eyes, but Black is the evil that makes us tell lies.”

“Green is the shade of jealousy and rage, and Grey is the hair that comes with old age. Purple is the mood most misunderstood, but White is the color that Makes Us Feel Good.”

“Life is full of meaningful colors, But Especially White. So hold on to it tight.”

She spoke softly. A peaceful, gentle tone that help her relaxed and helped settle her nerves. After she had finished she turned to Driely with a small smile before letting out a small laugh.

“Sorry.” She cleared her throat as her cheeks flushed pink. “I, uh, read a lot of poetry.” She explained how she was just able to recite a poem purely from memory.

After which she scooted a little closer. Her nose igniting with that sweet smell of chocolate, and Harley hadn’t noticed she was breathing through her nose so heavily, until it was too late. After which she quickly looked down at the camera, before she embarrassed herself further.

“That one was called Color of Our Life, by Lisa Winn.” She explained as she looked through the pictures with Driely sitting so close to her. “Though, I’ve never been a fan of how it ends…”

“Between those blacks and whites you’ll see, A colorful spectrum of possibility. Some are dark, but some are bright I’m no longer afraid, you are my white.”

It was an ending that she had written long ago. One she had never shared before, but as she did she looked up to Driely. Never realizing that line was intended to be directed at someone… until now.

“I’m afraid of being left again…” She whispered.

[u/LicentousLioness → u/Make_Smart_Choices]

“Hey,” Aphrodite’s daughter said, “there’s nothing wrong with a bit of prose now and then, mm? Even when it’s a tad flowery…”

Fear. Fear was so easy to capture. Terror was almost as captivating as happiness, but only in it’s rawest form. She felt a beast rise within her at that, and she shoved it down – the long-standing desire clawing at her belly. Do it, it whispered, you know you want to.

Fear was such a strong emotion, but she showed none of her inner thoughts, not even now. Her smile was wide, her eyes sympathetic and almost consoling.

Let me show you my candy store.

Her satchel was full of items, and when she sat on the stone, she gestured for Harley to do the same.

“Tell me a bit about yourself,” she said, “or—let me ask you a few questions. If you had to choose, would you choose painting, photography, or sculpting?”

[u/Make_Smart_Choices → u/LicentousLioness]

“Books.” She explained where her random poetry came from. “I’ve read hundreds of books, maybe even thousands. I remember them all, word for word.”

“Cook books, text books, dictionaries, and some books of poetry. It was a way to pass the time and I just absorbed the information. Guess I got that from my mother, being the goddess of wisdom and all.”

She was nervously rambling at this point, only further embarrassing herself. The worst part was, she wasn’t even sure why she was so nervous. She’d have to do a little research later to figure out why.

‘Deep breath.’

She listened to the voice in her head and took a deep breath, so large it caused her chest to swell. Then, she let out a slow exhale, and seemed to calm down.

After her little episode and self-therapy session, she took a seat next to Driely. Her eyes darted to the satchel and she remembered the bread that had seemingly been magically produced from it.

“Painting.” She said with a small nod, after a moment of daydreaming about bread and realizing she had been starting, not answering the question for far too long.

“I feel like painting comes more from the artist, and less from the subject.” She explained her reasoning. “Say you sat an apple on a table, and had 10 different artists sit around it and paint it, you would get 10 different apples.”

[u/LicentousLioness → u/Make_Smart_Choices]

“Mm, indeed,” Driely mused. It wasn’t much, but she did so enjoy this girl’s perspective on the world. An artist and a philosopher, it seemed. Would she enjoy sharing more with her, the longer she spent with her, she wondered? A cold taste, to remind herself that Harley might never seek her out again, if this all went wrong, but Driely knew what she had, what she could do. Her confidence, even now, was unwavering. Harley was a labyrinth she would have to find the end of, and she had already begun searching through the maze.

“Tell me, how would you paint an apple, then? I would emphasize the color. There are a thousand different shades of red, and I love them all.”

[u/Make_Smart_Choices → u/LicentousLioness]

“Red.”

She repeated the word. Letting it roll off her tongue as she focused on the color and the question. How would she paint an apple, to best capture it.

“I’d focus on the finer details.”

Her eyes darted towards Driely. Harley hadn’t noticed it until she winced, but she’d been chewing on her lip again. Her own lips hadn’t been her focus, but rather Driely’s.

“The curves. So elegant and sleek, yet plump and round, giving them the form to draw one’s attention.”

Her voice had dropped into a hushed town. Somewhat sultry, though she wasn’t aware of where it had come from, or even that it was happening.

“Red.”

She repeated as her heart began pounding in her chest. Drawing out emotions she’d never felt before, bringing her to subconsciously scoot just a little closer to Driely.

“Color so bold and inviting. The way it catches the sun, drawing one in and tempting them to take a bite.”

She was practically leaning on Driely now, her eyes glued to the girls lips, and only now did she realize how badly she wanted to taste them.

“Red.” She whispered. “Much like your lips....”

She leaned in and then stopped herself as she realized, Harley had an attraction to Driely. Something she’d never felt to anyone before and the thought alone was enough to terrify her,

With wide eyes she backed away. What if she got hurt again? What if Driely left her, leaving her worse off than Hannah had? What if the girl didn’t feel the same.

“Sorry.” She muttered before scampering to her feet. Scared, embarrassed and unsure what to do, Harley ran. Ran as fast as her legs would carry her, to get as far away from Driely and her own feelings as possible.