Running...running...oh snap. [Bailey]

[Talia Winchell]

((Set right outside Big House))

Tal was out of ideas for pranks, but she wasn't about to go a day without pranking for the first time in three years. So she had come up with an extremely lame prank to pull right outside the Big House, which wasn't really a prank—simply swipe some writing or homework someone was doing without them noticing. Many people were outside; it was an especially gorgeous day, even for the year-round summer of Camp Half-Blood. She zeroed in on her target.

Her name was Dayna. Dayna Knowler, a seventeen-year-old daughter of Athena. Dayna had black hair that seemed to always be Flyaway Central; it was frizzy and looked as though it had never been cut. Her skin was smooth, free of pimples, and the color of melted chocolate. She was writing an elaborate paper; Tal could see that much.

Okay. Everything was in order. Now, just one more thing until she could start. Where was her partner in crime. Where was Bailey Allison? Tal knew he wasn't that fast, yes, but why would he be fifteen minutes late to prank someone? She had never known Bailey to be so late.

Come on! she thought, trying to communicate with him telepathically. Needless to say, she failed.

NPC: Dayna Eleanor Knowler, seventeen, Athena

Dayna needed to finish this! The self-imposed deadline of an hour from now was drawing steadily nearer for her to finish a seven-page report on the history of the science of candela. She loved writing reports. It was exhilarating, finding out new things about random topics. Homework was Dayna's idea of fun.

She had been working on her candela report nonstop for the past few days. She "schooled" herself—like being homeschooled by your parents, but instead, by your own self. When you're a kid of Athena, you can get away with that. And Dayna? Well, she's very well educated. Even if she's her own teacher. She has, like, the equivalent education to a college junior. And this girl's seventeen.

Candela: base of luminous intensity. Yawning, Dayna stretched out and lay her head down on her hand. Half a page to go. She could do this in an hour. Just not now.

((Words: 372. On behalf of my muse, I apologize))

[Bailey Allison]

Although it was well into the morning (11:10, actually), Bailey was still sound asleep in his bunk. His personal philosophy was that one could never have too much sleep, and so he was often found asleep from 9:00 PM to 12:00 PM every day. Unless he was up surfing or pranking, of course. But even then, those activities came second to his much needed sleep. It wasn't a very wise philosophy considering that he lived in the Cabin of Pranksters where many seemed to think it funny to prank poor, unsuspecting, sleeping campers, but it was a risk he was willing to take all because of the wonderfulness of sleep.

However, the night before, he had made sure to set the alarm for 10:55 since he was supposed to be pulling a prank with Tal at 11:00. But of course, some Hermes camper had decided that it would be funny to steal his alarm clock, thus angering their Cabin Leader. And that was why he had overslept and was now snoozing happily under his covers. However, it was never completely quiet at Camp, and Bailey was woken up by a loud shriek.

He jerked up, glancing around in confusion before looking out the window and spotting an Aphrodite kid whine about her hair, which looked fine to him. She yelled something about split ends or something (he didn't really care), and Bailey yawned, rolled his eyes, and started to go back to sleep. However, as he rolled over, he noticed that his clock was missing... What the Hades? Bailey glanced at the clock that hung on the cabin wall, and his eyes widened as he took in the time-- 11:13. SHIT! He was supposed to have met Tal thirteen minutes ago! Yawning, Bailey leaped out of bed and quickly dressed before grabbing his pranking notebook, which contained their plans, and headed out.

Speedwalking, he made his way towards the Big House, trying not to draw attention. Someone rounded the corner, and Bailey dove into the bushes next to the building. Once the footsteps had gone away, he glanced up again, watching the retreating figure before army-crawling his way to the other side of the building. There, he saw Tal, his favorite sister, and Bailey grinned. "Psst! Tal! Down here!" Once he had caught her attention, he slowly stood up, taking care not to rustle the leaves. "Sorry I'm late! Have I missed anything?" After noticing that Tal was trying to see what the Athena girl was doing, he whispered, "Here. Use this," before slipping his sister a tiny pair of binoculars perfect for scoping out a victim.

Because of his height (or rather, lack of it), Bailey could barely see inside the Athena cabin. However, what he could make out was that someone appeared to be slumped over a table or desk or something. It was hard to tell. Trying to suppress a smirk, he said, "Not much of an Athena kid if she falls asleep studying..."

Word Count: 497
Muse: Surprisingly alive
Tagged: Tal/Maria

[Talia Winchell]

Where the hell was Bailey? It wasn't like that boy to be late, to prank, no less. Pacing impatiently for the next five or so minutes, finally, Tal got her wish. "Psst! Tal! Down here!" she heard a voice hiss. Looking down and doing a quick eye-sweep of the area round her, she caught sight of Bailey. She laughed as she reassured him, "I was thinking that I would try and get whatever ambitious project Dayna's working on today," she caught him up.

"Here. Use this," Bailey said, handing Tal a mini pair of binoculars.

"Oh my gods! These are awesome!" Tal exclaimed, holding the pair of binoculars up to her eyes. "The science of candela, the luminous intensity of… Oh, geez. Dense," Tal said as she scanned Dayna's paper. "I think that counts as my studying for the day…" She handed Bailey back the binoculars.

"Not much of an Athena kid if she falls asleep studying," Bailey noted as Tal surveyed Dayna's surroundings. A book on the floor. Tal nodded. "Not like her at all...but I've known her to be a light sleeper, so we'd better be careful," she added before saying, "Okay...I think we've got the all clear. Oh wow, the door is already open! I love whoever did that. So, we need to get her stuff...I'll get all her books on her desk, you wanna get that thing she was writing?" She took a breath. "After that, we can make our escape by going over to the far side of the Big House...and decide what to do with her stuff." Tal barely ever failed her pranks, so she was kind of overzealous. "Okay, let's go!" Grabbing ahold of Bailey's hand, she started running toward the door of the Athena cabin, faster than the speed of light. Almost…

Letting go of Bailey's hand at the entrance to the Athena cabin, Tal tiptoed into the cabin, grabbed a stack of books, and carried them out. "Easy as pie," she said, grinning at Bailey, "She's sound asleep. Your turn!"

((Words: 365))

[Bailey Allison]

Bailey grinned back up at her. "Like 'em? I stole 'em from that giant Hermes kid who always has his shirt on inside out. Y'know, the one who grunts but never talks. Don't tell him though... He kind of creeps me out." The teen shuddered slightly as he imagined that ginormous burly camper coming after him. If Bailey hadn't known better, he could've sworn the guy was an Ares camper... Bailey waited impatiently as Tal took her time reading whatever Dayna was working on. Candela? "The hell is a candela?" Maybe it was like a candle... At least that's what it sounded like. But how could anyone write a paper on a candle? All there was to know about candles was that they were made of wax, they burned, and they occasionally smelled so sickingly sweet that passing out became a legitimate concern for anyone within a five mile radius.

Taking the binoculars, he pressed them against his eyes and took in the scene while listening to Tal. "Light sleeper, eh? We could always just knock her out... Then we wouldn't have to worry about her waking up." Bailey pressed his lips together, trying to keep from smirking but he eventually gave in. "Kidding, of course." Although his pranks sometimes went to the... extreme, Bailey never intentionally hurt anyone. At least not physically. And if he did, it was because they deserved it. And maybe the fact that humiliating people who had pissed him off was fun too.

Bailey nodded as he listened to Tal's next comment. "Y'know, for a cabin filled with smartasses, they're actually pretty dumb." Why anyone would leave anything unlocked with a Hermes camper around was beyond his comprehension. "Sure... I might look around a bit too... Surely, they have something other than books there. Hey, do you think they keep owls? I heard you can train 'em to attack and stuff... Or were those falcons?" He pondered this before finally turning his attention back to what Tal was saying. "Sounds good. We should probably make a bonfire... I think someone's got a bag of marshmallows in the cabin."

Before he knew what was happening, Bailey was being dragged across the grass by his half-sister. "Hey! Tal!" he whispered urgently. "Slow down, will ya?" He struggled to keep up, his feet barely skimming the ground as Tal practically flew towards the cabin. After catching his breath and trying to ignore his bleeding leg (it must've hit a rock or something), Bailey silently followed Tal in.

Flashing a nervous grin at Tal, Bailey tiptoed past her and to the desk, silently asking the gods to not let Dayna wake up. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached the desk. Dayna was mumbling something... Something about loga- loga- logarithms? and candelas. Oh, great. They had a sleep-talker on their hands.What if she attracted attention? At least she wasn't a sleepwalker... Hopefully. Hesitantly, Bailey pressed down on the paper, trying to slide them out from underneath her arms. He managed to move it an inch before Dayna shuddered violently. The Hermes camper immediately chomped down on his bottom lip, trying to keep from yelling in surprise. Slowly, his panic subsided and he tried to move the paper again. Slowly... slowly... slowly... slow- OH SHIT! Dayna had suddenly reached out and grabbed Bailey's wrist, nearly scaring him to death. However, she seemed to still be asleep... in fact, she was drooling on the desk. Bailey grimmaced before sending Tal a "HELP ME OR YOU WILL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (AND THE AFTERLIFE TOO)" look. What was he supposed to do? Surely, he couldn't pry his arm from her grip without waking her up... or could he? Dammit, why hadn't Tal been the one to take the paper? Why him?

Word Count: 635
Muse: I succeeded in dragging it out of its grave! >D
Tagged: Tal/Maria

[Talia Winchell]

"Like 'em? I stole 'em from that giant Hermes kid who always has his shirt on inside out. Y'know, the one who grunts but never talks. Don't tell him though... He kind of creeps me out."

Tal smirked. "Is he an undetermined?" She hadn't been spending that much time at the cabin lately — the weather had been beautiful and sunny, and she would be content spending a whole day down at the beach if she didn't have so much other stuff to do, stuff like her education and pranking people and avoiding her twin Em's makeup brushes. "Why would I tell him?" Honestly, she wasn't close at all to her siblings, with the exception of Bailey and, obviously, her twin sister Em. And most of her siblings barely spent time at the cabin anyway.

Okay, so maybe their cabin wasn't the most appealing cabin in the world. Its paint was peeling, there was random graffiti all over the walls... including some NC17-rated stuff that Em and Tal had tried to scrub off for hours... the floor was cluttered and dirty, random belongings were strewn everywhere, and stuff easily got lost. Unclaimed campers spent their time hoping and praying that they would get claimed so they didn't have to spend a lot of time in the hellhole people called the Hermes cabin. Tal had found some detailed drafts of prayers (yes, some people drafted prayers. Jerks.) that some at-that-time-unclaimed Athena child had written to their godly parent, outlining why she deserved to be claimed so she could get out of the Hermes cabin. The hellhole. Whatever.

"The hell is a candela?"

"It's, like, the light around a candle or something," Tal replied distractedly. Dayna mumbled some stuff, and Tal was sure that the girl was going to wake up any second. And getting caught in the act was not Tal's idea of fun. Not that she'd ever experienced it firsthand — one of her father's powers was stealth — but she was sure it was no wonderful experience. She wondered if Bailey had ever been caught, but it wasn't like she would ask him. In the Hermes cabin, getting caught was taboo. Sometimes, people avoided you as if your ability to get caught was contagious.

"Light sleeper, eh? We could always just knock her out... Then we wouldn't have to worry about her waking up. Kidding, of course."


Tal rolled her eyes. "Don't you think an unconscious person in a cabin, all alone, would attract some attention?" She was always very serious when it came to her pranks. "Don't think she's going to wake up in the first place, anyway." At least... she hoped not.

"Y'know, for a cabin filled with smartasses, they're actually pretty dumb. Sure... I might look around a bit too... Surely, they have something other than books there. Hey, do you think they keep owls? I heard you can train 'em to attack and stuff... Or were those falcons? Sounds good. We should probably make a bonfire... I think someone's got a bag of marshmallows in the cabin."

"I doubt they have owls," she smirked, surveying the cabin. "Yeah, I think it's owls..." She wasn't that sure, but Dayna's face had just popped into her memory, and her eyes reminded Tal of owls. So... well, owls it was.

"Hey! Tal! Slow down, will ya?"

"Okay, okay," she said hurriedly, slowing her pace a little bit, books in hand. She stared down at the cover of the top book, which was dusty, thick, and navy blue. A jumble of letters formed the title in a boring font. Tal couldn't read it — her dyslexia had been acting up lately — but she could tell the words were long and complicated. Just on the cover. How did people write those books without, well, falling asleep? She just didn't understand people sometimes.

Then, a sudden sound. Tal nearly jumped out of her skin and looked up, to see Dayna's grip tightening around Bailey's wrist. "...the hell?" she muttered.

You know what, screw trying not to wake her up. She darted over nimbly and grabbed Dayna's arm, unentangling her fingers from Bailey. She then watched in horror as Dayna awoke. The chocolate-brown eyes widened in alarm. "

"Shit!" Tal squealed, grinning at Bailey. "Run!"

[Bailey Allison]

"Dunno," Bailey replied to Tal's first question. "I don't think so... Maybe he's a legacy with Ares blood? Or maybe he just takes after his mom?" If that was the case, he had no idea why Hermes had decided to spend the night with her. But then again, his father had made several... unusual choices in the past, judging by the way some of his siblings had turned out. Or maybe Hermes had just wanted to get laid. It seemed as if most of the gods were willing to do anything for a fun night.

For a Hermes kid, Tal was surprisingly serious. "I was joking, Tal. But really, if we knocked her out and dragged her body out of view, then it wouldn't be suspicious!" Bailey paused as he realized what he had just said. "I mean, that's what they do in the movies and stuff." He didn't need Tal to think he was a serial killer or something. And keeping that "strategy" a secret could prove useful someday... not that he would be going on a killing spree or anything, but he did know quite a few people he'd love to knock unconscious for a day or two. And it would make a good prank... Actually, no, he should probably stop thinking like that before he either turned into a ruthless killing machine (like the Ares campers) or into a morbid, creepy Hades kid.

Bailey's face fell slightly when Tal mentioned that there wouldn't be any owls. "Whyyyyy not?" he whined. A pet owl would be freakin' awesome. Maybe they could peck out- no, he really needed to stop with the creepy thoughts.

Finally, they got a move on and made it to the cabin, where everything that could go wrong went wrong. After Bailey had caught Tal's attention, she decided on what was quite possibly the worst decision ever. She approached him, reaching for Dayna's arm as Bailey shooks his head furiously and made a slicing motion across his throat with his free hand. This was like those hostage situations in his spy novels. You were never, ever, ever supposed to do anything that could possibly anger the hostage-taker because it was usually the hostage who ended up paying. And Tal had broken that sacred rule by wrenching his arm from the peacefully sleeping Dayna, who would undoubtly be extremely furious.

Bailey froze, his (now freed) hand resting on the desk. "RUN!" Tal yelled with a grin.

RUN?! She was telling a cripple to run? And she thought it was funny? Bailey made a mental note to strangle (shit, thinking morbid thoughts again!) get back at her, and lunged for the doorway. He managed to take a few steps before his left leg, which had fallen asleep, got caught on the threshold, and he tripped and tumbled down the concrete steps, yelping every time he hit another step. The boy ended up at the very bottom, lying spread-eagle, and groaned.

Word Count: 493
Muse: IT'S ALIIIIIIVVVEEE!
Notes: Smooth, Bailey. XD
Tagged: Tal