Rodney stayed with Griffin to help clean up, not minding the extra work. Less out of the desire to investigate, but to just generally set things right. Space had a large effect on people's mindset.
But he got more and more frightened as they did.
Something had happened.
Something not good.
He just didn't feel good about any of it.
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 4:21 pm
Erica hadn’t been that happy about led into another unknown situation where, undoubtedly, they would be asked to save people again. It did seem a little suspicious that they were just sending a group of new recruits especially when whatever it was that was happening had prevented the more experienced Chosen from returning. Was it really that smart to send a bunch of inexperienced, minimally trained chosen into an area where the more experienced of them had failed? Erica, especially, found the idea dubious given the… quality of her fellow new recruits. It wasn’t that she thought that she was that much better than them (except that she did, at least in the area of being at least somewhat competent and having a shred of common sense) and she was questioning the gods and goddesses (except that she was, but the myths of old had already revealed the inherent stupidity of the Greek deities).
The break, going back to work, living alone—all good things—was now at an end. She was once again surrounded by people that she, at best, tolerated, and, on the other end of the scale, found unbearable. Stepping into the humid heat, she already missed the comparably dry Pennsylvania. She already missed going into the museum, putting lice underneath a microscope, and drawing them in a way that she hoped was both accurate and beautiful. She missed going home to her apartment, feeding her cockroaches kibbles, letting them roll around on the ground in hamster balls, listening to music without headphones, and laying on the ground naked, staring at a spot on the ceiling until she forgot what the ceiling looked like.
Here, surrounded, she could only put her head down and pretend that she wasn’t bothered, her lips pursed in a look that made her look more worried than annoyed. Going into town wasn’t even an option to her. Talking to civilians about what was likely a very magical occurrence didn’t seem that productive to her. Searching the camp was an option, but ultimately she sided with Olivia. It had nothing to do with any fondness for the other Artemis Chosen, there was just too much about Olivia that seemed laughable to Erica, but at least the other Artemis Chosen was demonstrably competent which was all Erica could really ask for at this point.
At least it seemed that Davor and Ernst had the same idea as her (even if their reasoning was totally different, which it probably was). It was a little surprising that Ernst was joining Olivia’s group, but Erica wasn’t upset that he would be coming along. Better to have him being chatty and keeping people occupied than to have her without him as a shield between her and some Chosen that she found, if she was being generous, not worth her time. If they tried to talk to her, they could easily jump into the category of not only not worth her time but so completely unworthy of any of her self-restraint that she would do her best to make them cry and never talk to her again.
Word Count: 518
Character Name:Erica Li Brief description of character: Competent and practical, she's not really the type of person to be on your side, but you definitely want her to be the enemy of your enemy. Just don't expect any friendly conversation.
Cas didn't like walking into traps. And this certainly felt like one. Without any intel, without any knowledge, walking through the abandoned campground and inn felt like setting himself – and all the others – up for failure. There was little doubt in his mind that some bad was bound to happen. Whatever had happened here had been enough to clear the area, and alone was a startling red flag. There was an eerie silence to this place that didn't sit well with him, and he followed the others through the site with every muscle tensed, ready to spring into action should something out of the ordinary occur.
Despite the months that they'd all spent at the Prytaneum, Cas found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he had a trusty M16 in his arms. Fighting with a sword was fine, and in some ways more fun for all the finesse and skill it required. But any day he put his life on the line, he'd prefer to fight with a weapon that spit bullets out at 3000 feet per second.
But, he supposed, he couldn't always have his way.
He moved the way he'd been taught during his years of service, weight low, feet quiet, moving across the ground without noise as they scouted out the inn. The tracks in the ground intrigued him in a way that made him think of how dangerous morbid curiosity could be. But there it was all the same. As much as he would have preferred to leave the investigation until they had more information, there came a point when even Cas had to accept that there would be no additional information until they found it. They were the troops and the intel, and as silly as that sounded to him, it was the reality.
"The woods," he said, agreeing with Olivia. Those tracks had made him curious, and the forest struck him as the site with the most potential for information. A place as quiet and abandoned as this? Nobody would have the time to run into the village, and the woods... well, the woods provided cover. That was where he'd go, if something happened. It didn't take much more to convince him. With the group splitting into three, there would be plenty of eyes to cover all the areas of interest.
He took one last look at the eerie campground, and then followed the rest toward the forest.
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