firefly chasers - {alexandre}

[skygrey]

hello you longshots, you dark horse runners

Since the day she arrived at Camp Jupiter, Zoey has been trying to find her proper place. Sure, she was a child of Vulcan and loved being in the blacksmith's day after day, but she still had this odd feeling of being on the outside looking in. It might have been because the others in the blacksmith often looked down on her, though she might have been exaggerating. It didn't help that she tended to stick out with her fidgeting habits. Usually when there were meetings and everyone was sitting still, she was moving in some way or another. Whether it be a tapping foot, shaking leg, or restless hands, something was moving. She had trouble staying in one place for too long, so if she wasn't in the blacksmith, or her cohort bunk, it'll be hard to find her unless she happens to pass you. Though whenever she's in the blacksmith, it tends to be a bit hard to obtain her attention. When she first started working in the building, she always screwed up her projects due to the sudden loud noises making her jump or flinch. Zoey's solution? She became one of the only Vulcan kids that wore earplugs when working.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the problem with her projects. It seemed the others found out that when they messed with Zoey's in progress builds, she didn't say anything about it. It started with some one messing with it while she wasn't there, but it grew to a few bothering her even while she was working. Though she soon found a solution for this too. She was a huge fan of turtles, and a certain breed would help her out. This project took her nearly a weeks with all the interruptions and sabotages, but she eventually finished it. A mechanical snapping turtle, that was programmed to help her out. The mouth was designed not to cause great harm, but might inflict scratches or cuts if someone tried to mess with one of Zoey's projects. Also, the turtle is capable of handing her tools without damaging them. That part took a bit of trial and error, along with many adjustments. The turtle is something she's really proud of, and even named him; Alfred. There has always been a plan to paint him, so that he's not just silver, but whenever she tried he would somehow scratch it off. She says that it means he doesn't approve of the shade of green, and keeps that though to herself so she doesn't look totally insane.

Today had thankfully been a quiet day around the blacksmith. The other kids seemed to be preoccupied with the Greeks that had arrived, while Zoey preferred to stay away from them. She was interested, sure, but with the rumors running around about how they just might be here to take over the Romans, she didn't feel like getting involved. She wasn't about to judge anyone based on where they were from, she's learned to judge based on actions alone. With the newest rumor going around about one of their own truly being a Greek, it has the Romans stirred up to say the least. While that was all going on, she was in her corner of the blacksmith, with her earplugs in working on a new type of arrow. She always thought that flaming arrows were highly useful, but carrying around all the necessary items to make them lit, as well as only lighting them before you're about to shoot was a bit annoying. Her prototype was a thin metal tip that had gaps instead of pointed corners. There was a mechanism inside the metal that when a strong current of air hit, it would ignite itself. So when the arrow was flying through the air, it would catch fire on its own. Very convenient, she thought, even though it would take many prototypes and trials to get it right.

hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers

words: six - seven - three [673]
tag: Alexandre <3
status: Complete!
notes: Lots of rambling, my bad >_<
credit: kaysey's got style of a thousand fireflies

[alexandre]

PLAYGROUND SCHOOL BELL RINGS AGAIN RAIN CLOUDS COME TO PLAY AGAIN HAS NO ONE TOLD
SHE'S NOT BREATHING HELLO I'M YOUR MIND GIVING YOU SOMEONE

Alexandre wasn't at all hyperactive for an ADHD teenager. Some of them got lucky, and didn't fidget constantly, didn't move around much, and could just relax. He was one of them - he was actually a little bit too laid back, in some people's opinions. He wasn't someone that was overly productive, and he dealt with things as they came. He hung around with his sister and his friends a lot, when they weren't training, and he was usually the sway-vote that went along with whatever the majority wanted to do. He was uncomplicated, simple in nature and design, the exact opposite of his sister. He was someone that went with the flow, that didn't fight anything or anyone, and didn't have many, if any, enemies because of his lack of temper. The only thing that could really get him angry was if something happened to someone he cared about, and for the most part, the people that he cared about were quite independent and could handle themselves. Then there were the few that he felt needed his protection, even if they wouldn't admit it. After all, they were Romans - weren't Romans always stuck on their pride?

Alex had never been creative. He'd always been the one to help execute plans or projects, not the one to come up with them. Chantal, his daughter-of-Mercury sister, was the creative one between the two of them - and he didn't call it creative, more like devious. She came up with the most devilish plans, wasn't a fan of pranking, but did do what she needed to get information, or anything of the like. Really, he was the person that did what he was told, because he would be the strength while she was the brain. It amused him, how he would be called an airhead at times for being a son of Venus, yet the next day the person who called him that? Would be completely and utterly attracted to him - female, or female. He found it funny - his friends called it unfair seduction. His sister laughed - he knew she'd always be on his side, even if it was appreciation of his ability to make people with bigger mouths pay. However, it wasn't as if he cared enough to keep up with it - he wasn't at all vengeant, and most things he let slide. Some of his friends, especially his best friend, weren't so kind in that manner. Most of his friends had a serious sense of justice and fairness, as he did, but not to the same degree. He thought to Zoey, the person he was going to visit, and Alfred - her mechanical turtle. If there was anything that Zoey was, it was a creative genius. She would deny it, he was sure, so he didn't say it out loud. But to him, whose stick figures had three legs and he couldn't put together anything even if he had a detailed instruction manual right on his nose, she was pretty damn amazing. Especially since she didn't have anything to go by as a model.

Alex wasn't concerning himself with the arrival of the Greeks. If they were there to take over, he knew the Romans would fight back. And if they were just there to cause trouble, the Romans wouldn't hesitate to take them all out. Already, though, they hadn't been in Camp Jupiter long, and there was a rumor that one of the camp's own Romans was actually a Greek in disguise. Alex had found it completely snort worthy, and couldn't wait to talk about it with Chantal and Luke. After all, who would actually think that one of them was some sort of spy? Alex thought to Nico di Angelo, the Ambassador to Pluto, and thought that even he who came and went couldn't be a Greek. All of them were loyal to Camp Jupiter and the people that resided in it's borders, as well as the gods themselves. He broke himself out of his thoughts as he moved into the Blacksmiths, spotting Zoey quickly. He waved to get her attention, and waited for her to take her earplugs out.

TAGGED ?! the first half of zoex! zoey <3
WORD COUNT ?! seven twenty five
MUSE ?! it's sorta working. x3
NOTES ?! ALFRED >D ugh, the turtle has a name. love it~ xD
CREDITS ?! credit to neopanther of caution two point oh for the graphics. credit to evanscence with their amazing song, hello.

[skygrey]

hello you longshots, you dark horse runners

The one thing that Zoey liked most about being a Vulcan child was that she always got to push the limits. Not with people or legal rules, of course, but rules of science. The kids have made some unexpected things that usually shock and awe the other demi gods. Naturally it's never the first build that gets shown. Everything takes work to perfect the kinks and snags, but she was never one to give up a project. Which was why she was still working on these arrows. The concept she was trying to create was proving rather difficult, since the only way air would help a flame is only if there is one to begin with. So she was currently trying to get that to work by placing a small igniter in the tip of the arrow. The tiny flame starter had been another project of hers, and of course still something she was working on. This was about her fourth time reconstructing these self-lighting arrows. There was one time she had to redesign the metal tip of the arrow for better air control, every other time she needed to fix something on the lighter. This round of readjustments had just been finished, and she was now carefully attempting to place it back into the tip.

When she let it go, and it fell in with a snap, her lips turned into an unconscious smile. The adjustments didn't change the fact that the igniter fit nicely into the tip. Zoey's mechanical turtle, Alfred, then handed her the tiny piece that made the point tip, and she slowly placed it on top. Then she got one of her heated metal rods – one of the smaller ones – and began to smelt the point to the rest of the metal tip. Once she put the metal rod back, she held the point in place by the tiny air holes. The arrow tip was resting on the desk while she held the point steady, and with her free hand she started to add more to her second edition of the igniter's plans. Naturally it was a mess, and she was only adding to it. She was going over everything in her head while pointing to it with her pencil – a fire proof pen was on her list, she would swear. Being so caught up in what she was doing, she didn't even notice someone walk in; her earplugs didn't help either. The only reason she eventually caught on, was because Alfred was hopping around and snapping his jaw threateningly.

Turning around to see who had come in, a bright smile appeared on her lips and she momentarily let go of the arrow tip. As she was turning, her hand knocked it over, and in her rush to catch it, her finger landed on the – still hot – smelted bit of the point.“Crap.” Zoey muttered under her breath. She made sure that it was stable on the table before she got off her stool and turned to face Alexandre. She popped her burning finger into her mouth while she took out her earplugs with the other hand. Once she retrieved her finger, blew on it gently, she deemed it was fine. Since working in the blacksmiths, Zoey had gotten used to the occasional burn or scratch. She smiled innocently at Alex as she waved, and half turned back to Alfred. She threw her hands on his jaw, shutting it quickly to stop the snapping. Then she lifted him and put him by the arrow tip, staring him down until he stopped focusing on Alex and extended his tail to hold the point steady. Now happy, she turned her attention back onto Alex and headed over to him. “Hey!” She started, still smiling like a complete dork, “What are you doing here?” Zoey would have made a joke about his clothes getting dirty, since her overalls were a total mess, but she had done that so many times in the past it was a worn out thing by now.

hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers

words: six - eight - zero [680]
tag: The other half <3
status: Complete!
notes: She's a dork >_>;
credit: kaysey's got style of a thousand fireflies

[alexandre]

PLAYGROUND SCHOOL BELL RINGS AGAIN RAIN CLOUDS COME TO PLAY AGAIN HAS NO ONE TOLD
SHE'S NOT BREATHING HELLO I'M YOUR MIND GIVING YOU SOMEONE

Alexandre got one or two things from Venus. He got his looks, which counted as a major one. He then got the ability to have people like him, romantically. He didn't find that one too appealing, though, since he found clingy girls and guys, people in general really, to be quite annoying. He didn't get an amazing brain from her, or the powers to magically create things. He didn't get the ability to sing or dance or paint, and he didn't get the ability to control plants from her. He couldn't control the dead, fly, or make waves in the ocean, and he couldn't use vines as weapons. He couldn't do a lot of things other demigods could do, and he didn't have any special powers. He didn't come from a long line of godly blood, like the legacies did. Really, the children of Venus drew the shortest lots - they got to look good, to have people's eyes on them all the time, and get associated with the color pink. Really? What had he ever done to get such a boring fate. But then again, he liked things boring, if the people looking at him were subtracted from the equation. And it wasn't like he couldn't go and use his looks to his advantage, which he knew he'd be doing at some point in his life, even if he wasn't doing it now.

He and Zoey had their quirks. Maybe they were weird, and so they stuck together. Opposites attracted, right? They couldn't have been more opposite, but then so similar at the same time. Really, it only helped to make them best friends. He would never call them normal, but normal was boring. Plus, what demigod was actually normal? Things didn't work that way when you were half god. When it came to him, he couldn't be around water. He hated it, shallow or deep, and the only thing that he could tolerate long enough was bathing - and even then, he moved quickly. Water freaked him out, from a childhood experience. That was his biggest quirk. Then there was Zo, who wasn't good with loud noises. When she worked in the Blacksmith, she wore earplugs. He thought it was pretty ingenious, because he doubted she could live without creating things. Maybe she had been able to before she had come to camp, but once she had been introduced to it, he was sure her Vulcan genes had started clinging and wouldn't let go. It was a good thing the Blacksmiths was in New Rome - he could picture her still coming here, even when she'd served her time with the legion.

"Just come to make my own masterpiece," he said, and gave a mocking, aristocratic-like sniff with his head pointed upwards. He had a very good sense of humor, despite being a Venus child. They were almost all so serious, except for a select few, him being one of the lucky ones, not possessing the stick that had been shoved by the richy-rich parents that most Venus kids possessed where the sun didn't shine. Luckily or unluckily, Alexandre hadn't gotten the chance to live the good life, and so he didn't act like a brat with a huge attitude and ego to match. "I came to see you, of course. Maybe rescue you from this place that you love so much," he said. As much as she loved the Blacksmiths, Alex couldn't really stand it. He didn't have a real problem with the place itself, more like he hated the fact that Zoey spent more time in the Blacksmiths than she did anywhere else. He didn't worry over her, but he didn't like the fact that she would spent most of her time indoors when you could always find him outside. He raised an eyebrow, and gestured in the direction he had come from. "Wanna grab a coffee or something? My treat," he said, and waited for her to respond.

TAGGED ?! thing one. x3
WORD COUNT ?! six eighty nine~
MUSE ?! he's hyped up and all over the place, lmao
NOTES ?! she is absolutely dorkishly adorable. xD
CREDITS ?! credit to neopanther of caution two point oh for the graphics. credit to evanscence with their amazing song, hello.

[skygrey]

hello you longshots, you dark horse runners

Zoey never really saw herself as talented. It might have been from her parents constantly telling her she would never admit to anything, or that she was worthless. Lately it was for simple reasons; she saw all the other Vulcan kids as being superior to her. Anything they designed, or made, or any idea they shared seemed so much better than anything she had ever accomplished. Sure she got the casual compliment here and there, but she merely brushed them off as them just being polite. She made sure never to take it to heart and get her hopes up. Even when Alex first started giving her praise. Zoey merely smiled and nodded, but counted it as a one time thing. It was only as he kept showing interest, and – she refused to believe – amazement, that she started to believe he truly meant it. She supposed that the talent she had gotten from her father was a good one, but part of her still wished she had gotten something in combat. The back of her mind never let go of the fact that her parents would have liked that better than her making 'useless junk.'

Though when it came to Alex, it was a whole different situation. The two of them were probably the least likely to become friends, but they had done just that. At a fast rate, too. Zoey was never sure what kept Alexandre around her, but she didn't question it just in case. He was a child of Venus, but she hadn't let that stop her from getting to know him at the beginning. Now that they were two of the best friends, their parents hardly mattered. She always imagined that other demi-gods would think that she was only friends with him because of his looks, but after a while she decided that it was their loss. They didn't know him, so they assumed. However, now that something more was starting to grow in her heart, she heard a lot more of what other people said. Part of her kept reminding herself that he was a Venus kid, and they all had the reputation. That wasn't even including when she heard other girls speaking to each other about when he would smile at them, and other … girly stuff like that. That, combined with the events of her past made her extremely hesitant. She wasn't about to talk to Alex about this either. She didn't want to take that chance for the third time only for history to repeat itself. It didn't matter if everyone said third times was the charm, either.

As if he knew the thoughts in her mind, Alfred started snapping quite loudly from his spot on her table. She spun around with a quick shh, before looking up at Alex once more. Her nose crinkled as she laughed; him creating his own masterpiece would be if he manage to warm up some metal without burning the place down. Just the thought sent her into another fit of giggles, before she calmed herself. “Ah yes, I do need rescuing from time to time I suppose. Something about this place just keeps me here. Some nights it even keeps me from sleep!” That last part was a joke, but despite it she still gave him a slight sad look. During her stay here, she got into the habit of sleeping at a reasonable time. It helped her get up earlier than most, which in turn helped her get started on projects before the place became busy. However, she was aware that he disliked this place almost as much as he hated water. Luckily for him, she didn't mind being outside. It meant she could spend more time with him; that was a plus. “Sure, that sounds great.” Zoey nodded, her bright smile back on her lips. He hated coffee, she remembered. It was just common courtesy, but she didn't mind in the slightest.

hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers

words: six - six - eight [668]
tag: Thing two D<
status: Complete!
notes: I... don't even know.
credit: kaysey's got style of a thousand fireflies