Home Away From Home

[Seri Winchester]

Seri pushed the Ares cabin door open tiredly. Her rusty and blood stained sword, which she would have to toss later, scratched the ground as she dragged it behind her. After a year and a half of pure monster hunting, Seri was finally back at Camp Half-Blood.

Walking into the Ares cabin she stopped at her bed, which was the closest to the cabin door.

It looked occupied. Who stole her bed? Glancing around, Seri's eyebrows rose. Nobody would notice if she just...?

To Hell with it!

Not really taking the time to see if any of her fellow Ares siblings were watching, Seri kicked all the items around the bed out into the middle of the room. This was her bed after all. Just because she was gone for a year and a half didn't mean people could just come in and take her spot.

She was still the cabin leader and this had been her spot for the last five years. Seri hadn't only slept in this bed, but nursed her injuries in it as well.

There was bonds forged here between this piece of furniture and her, dang it!

Seri tosses her black backpack onto the bed and leaned her sword against her bedpost. Though she was incredibly tired from her journey back, she still needed to unpack the little items she had. She wasn't really looking forward to it, but it had to be done.

Running a tattooed hand over her face, Seri let out a long ragged sigh. The cabin felt strangely safe and peaceful. Something she wasn't use to after being surrounded by monsters that wanted to kill her 24/7. Not that she was really complaining, it had been incredibly fun after all and it kept her in top condition.

She raised her bloodied fingernails, examining them boredly. The truth of the matter was, Seri would have continued her hunting if Ares hadn't tricked her into coming back here to Camp Half-Blood. Something about a big problem or some crap like that. Couldn't have been that bad, everyone seemed fine when she walked through the front gates. The mere thoughts of Ares' trickery boiled Seri's blood. If she saw him again, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. Damn god of war piece of sh-

Seri's eyes turned towards her lamp as it fell to the floor. Her eyebrows crunched together in suspicion and mild confusion. There were no windows by her bed, so no wind to knock it down. So how had it fell? Her eyes trailed from the bedpost to the fallen lamp where her gaze lingered for a few moments. Finally she shook her head with a disgruntled sigh. She was to tired to play detective today.

Walking over to the lamp, she moved it away from the bedpost with her foot and kicked it towards the cabin wall next to her bed.

Seri dropped back onto her bed, groaning internally as her stomach began to lightly rumble. She wasn't in the mood to go eat, just yet, but the thought of a hot meal made her head spin in anticipation.

However, it would have to wait. She was so freaking tired it wasn't even funny. Dragging herself into a sitting position, Seri placed her black backpack on her lap.

Unzipping it she dumped the contents out onto her bed covers and rummaged through what little bloodstained bandages, mangled clothing, and trophies she had.

A Minotaur horn, cyclopes skull, Chimera fang, and a harpies feather were a few of the little jewels she had taken from her fallen enemies. The blood stained bandages would be thrown away later along with her torn shirt and pants; the only clothes that made it back from her battles.

The other pieces she had lost on the way back to camp. She had made a entire necklace out of chimera fangs and claws too. It was really nice after she had cleaned it and added some decorative beads. Maybe she could scavenge around the camp woods and try to find some monsters and make a new one. The idea was promising.

Looking at the little table next to her bed Seri gathered up her trophies and bloody bandages and dropped them on the surface, not bothering to arrange them at all. She glanced at her mangled clothes and simply pushed the fabric onto the floor, half under her bed.

Her gaze shifted towards her sword. It had a good run, but now was rusty, bloodstained and had multiple fractures in it's blade. It was practically useless now, but she couldn't see herself getting rid of it. It was a memento in it's own way. It had saved her life on more than one occasion to be sure.

Seri took a quick glance over her items. All her trophies were in order, her backpack was empty...It seemed that she had finally finished!

What a chore that was.

Looking towards her fluffy pillow, Seri let a tired smirk rise on her features. Finally she would be able to get some sleep. As long as her siblings weren't rowdy or anything.

Raising her tattooed arms above her head, Seri stretched like a lazy cat in the sun. She was going to enjoy this. She hadn't slept in an actual bed since she had left for her quests and that was awhile ago. Sure she had come back on and off, but hardly long enough to actually appreciate her bed.

"Hell yeah." She whispered crashing onto the bed with a sigh. It felt so nice and soft. The pillow was just heaven too.

Oh, she missed this place more than she wanted to admit.

Word Count: 950
Notes: WOO Ares Cabin thread!

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke had finished up with his daily training and he made his way back to his cabin. He was wearing his orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt, jeans and trainers. His shirt was drenched with sweat and water which he had poured over his own head to cool himself down. He'd also bothered to put on some shades to sharpen his vision and block out the sun. He found that by wearing his shades, it sharpened his vision. He was more perceptive. Anyhow, Luke walked back to his cabin at a slow pace with his half full bottle of water in his right hand.

As he entered he smelled something worse than him, like someone had gone without a shower for months after taking a dip in the sewers. He scrunched up his nose and he looked around the cabin. Luke spotted one of his siblings possessions scattered in the middle of the cabin and he looked slowly to his left. He saw Seri Winchester, the cabin leader. She was one girl that Luke wouldn't mess around with, she was as hard as nails. Nobody felt like challenging her position as cabin leader, not even Luke and he was one of the stronger Ares kids. "Have a nice trip? You smell like the sewers or something, that's always a good sign," he smiled cautiously at her.

He noticed that she was probably tired but he just wanted to give her the good old Ares cabin welcome home. Luke knew she was one of the toughest girls he had met anyway, so although she might be a little grumpy with him disturbing her she could handle it.

"You've been gone a lo-ong, time, ey' sis," he grinned. He felt comfortable talking to her than other girls, she seemed more like him. Besides, she was his half sister, there wasn't the attraction factor there.

Words: 314.

[Seri Winchester]

Seri's eyes turned towards the door, head still resting lazily on her pillow. Despite how tired she was, Winchester was alert to every sound as always. So when the sounds of footsteps entered her ears, Seri was immediately tensing, suspecting it to be the owner of the items she had carelessly tossed away from her bed.

Shifting discreetly, she waited like a pouncing tiger as the figure finally emerged into the cabin. She wasn't really knowing what to expect, but she could honestly say she was ready for a fight. Finally, She caught a look of the intruder's face, and immediately relaxed. A cat-like smirk rose onto her features as she allowed herself to shift into a more comfortable position on her bed.

"Well, well, well." She growled into the pillow. "Look who it is."

"Have a nice trip? You smell like the sewers or something, that's always a good sign," Seri raised an eyebrow, Luke was definitely her favorite, if she ever considered such a thing.

"It was interesting." She remarked mildly her hand waving dismissively towards the bloody bandages and other items she had brought. "Even got a few souvenirs." A yawn escaped her lips as she sniffed the air. "You know, it didn't start smelling until you said something." She said casually, having not noticed she indeed smelled until he said something about it. Now she wouldn't be able to go to sleep because she knew she needed to bathe. Darn.

Finally sitting up she looked towards the cabin bathroom and sighed. She was feeling extremely lazy. Did she really need a shower right now? Probably. Was she going to get up? In all honestly she didn't think so. She would have to be forced into the bathroom and she didn't really see that happening. Not with her reputation. Personally though she wouldn't have given much of a fight. She was dead tired and against one of her siblings-especially Luke- she didn't stand a chance at the moment. But was she going to mention that? Oh, no.

"You've been gone a lo-ong, time, ey' sis,"

Seri turned her gaze back to Luke and found herself smirking along with him. It was extremely strange how easy it was to relax around her siblings. Normally she was very distant to everyone in camp, but her siblings, they were a bit different, strangely enough.

She didn't know why either. She honestly didn't know if it was a kindred feeling or if she felt a duty as the Cabin Leader to be polite and outgoing to brothers and sisters. Of course she was still wary of her own half family, but as she grew older it became easier to relax around them. Hell, she'd protect her half-siblings with her life. Which was a very strange concept for her that she had never considered until her journey home.

She gazed towards Luke and smirk, "Aw, did you miss me Little Brother?" She remarked almost teasingly, her voice lowering a octave as she spoke. For some reason, her tired state seemed to make her even more playful than usual. She couldn't wait until she had a good long nap. Then it would be back to the distant but somewhat polite to her siblings on most days, Seri everyone was use too. She wondered if she'd act this way if she was drunk? She hoped she wouldn't, but it sounded very likely.

Yawning loudly again, Seri collapsed back into the soft comforts of her pillow, "See what happens, when I don't get any sleep?" She growled softly while resting a lazy arm over her eyes. She needed to be more careful with what she said. "What's been going on anyways?" She asked not really caring about the answer, but just trying to distract him from suggesting for her to take a shower.

Word Count: 610
Muse: >>><<<

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke smirked at her as she spoke. "You sound tired," he commented as he sat at the edge of his bed. He'd missed Seri, she was definitely one of Luke's more trustworthy sisters. A lot of his siblings were arrogant and loved to flaunt the fact that they were tough, but Seri? He felt he could talk to her about stuff. She was probably the only person he trusted, other than Tal of course. Luke had been expecting her return for a while, he'd even prayed to Ares for her safety although deep down he knew she was capable enough to fend for herself. But there was always that doubt that she wouldn't come back, that somebody else would take the reigns and she'd be forgotten like the rest. If that had happened, Luke would've marched down to the Underworld himself to rescue her.

"I bet it was, I can't wait until I go out there," he replied. It was weird that he had never gone out of camp to hunt monsters, or take a quest. He was just constantly training, year in and year out. Maybe it would do him good in the long run when he would go on a quest. He'd be practically unbeatable within a couple of years at the rate he was going. Even Finn was having to amp up the pressure in order to keep it a challenge. Luke's skill with a sword was very advanced. He tried to help a few kids around camp with their own fighting skill. Often they lacked balance, or reflexes.

Thanks to Luke's ADHD though his brain jumped from thought to though. With Ares's blood coursing through his veins he was destined to excel in fighting and be one of the protectors of Camp Half-Blood. "Don't worry, I stink really bad too," he admitted. "I've been pushing myself really hard today. Maybe someday I will beat you." He made it intentionally sound like a challenge. Luke wouldn't mind getting a few tips from Seri at fighting, she did have more field experience than him. "Nice, souvenirs," he smiled as he examined the collection.

A Minotaur horn and a cyclopes's skull? That was impressive. Luke wished he could have been fighting at her side. "Of course not," he smirked at her as she asked if he missed her. If she was going to tease him like that then he was going to tease her back. He was glad that she was his sibling, because if she wasn't he'd be really uncomfortable around her. He was like that around pretty much every girl except for a few, and lately he'd been really awkward around Tal.

"If you're like this when you're tired, then i'm keeping you up all the time," he stuck his tongue out at her childishly. "Oh nothing, half of the kids in this cabin think they're really something because of daddy." He shook his head in annoyance as he said it. It really frustrated him that because their dad was Ares that they thought they deserved some VIP treatment. Uh, hello? You earn respect, you're not given it. Luke was pretty sure that it wasn't a good sign that he wished to strangle his own siblings.

Words: 555.

[Seri Winchester]

Seri smirked as she watched Luke move to sit on the edge of his bed. He seemed less scrawny than she remembered. No, scrawny wasn't a good word to describe him. It was probably impossible for Seri to imagine Luke scrawny. Nah, he just seem a lot more fit than she remembered.

He's been training. Seri mused to herself. A lot. He'll be better than me in no time. The idea made her feel the same way she felt after defeating her first monster so long ago. That time she had felt proud. Was Seri proud of Luke? It didn't really make sense to her, but then again she was very tired. Admittedly, she couldn't lie when she expected him to fight her for the position of Cabin Leader when she finally was ready to leave Camp Half Blood. She knew that fight would set the course for future Ares children to come.

"I bet it was, I can't wait until I go out there," It took a moment for Seri to remember what they had been talking about, but after a few seconds a slow smirk formed over her features.

That was right. No matter how much he trained, Luke lacked valuable experience. He could be the strongest warrior since Hercules, but that wouldn't be much against an experience adversary.

Pulling the soft, red pillow closer to her, Seri let out a soft sigh. "Next time I'll let you tag along." Seri raised an eyebrow, "Ares doesn't have to know, not like he could stop me anyways." She remarked defiantly; brown eyes becoming sharp with amusement.

If there was one thing Seri was known for in camp it was her obvious disdain for any form of authority. Interestingly enough, that exact disdain was how she had become Cabin Leader. The last cabin leader had tried to switch beds with her when she had first arrived at camp. He had said it was the best bed in the cabin and reserved for the "Cabin Leader".

The rude guy said she could have, 'the bed at the end of the cabin with the blood stained sheet'. He had really expected her to move, which was the funny part. Naturally though, Seri wasn't having none of that. So she did what any respectful new camper would do. She grabbed the audacious boy by the collar and threw him out in the pouring rain along with the bed that had blood stained sheets.

After that, dear Seri went straight to sleep. Of course she wasn't made the official cabin leader for a few years, but whatever respect the last leader had was ruined the day she arrived.

"Don't worry, I stink really bad too," Luke admitted. "I've been pushing myself really hard today. Maybe someday I will beat you."

Seri's gaze snapped back to Luke, her eyes narrowing with mild interest at the challenge. "Oooh-hoho." She remarked softly, taking his challenge in stride. Winchester knew that Luke knew she wouldn't fight without a reason. Unless he was challenging her position she probably wouldn't have even considered battling with him. However, now that the idea was there, it wouldn't leave her head.

She couldn't remember the last time she had a really good fight. Sure on her quests she had fought a variety of enemies, but after a while of Minotaurs, hell-hounds, harpies, and many other monsters, things ended up becoming rather repetitive. Now that she was at camp the options were still minimal. Not many actually wanted to fight her. There was always Finn, but she refused to fight him on his grounds. Quoting Shakespeare, destroying her fighting dummies...He was absolutely frustrating. No, he wanted to fight her. She refused to fight him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Yet, there was that one time...Seri mentally shook her head. To be fair, she had been extremely angry when she had finally fought him. It had been totally isolated incident. However, Seri's gaze moved back to Luke, her gaze becoming almost predatory. There was a reason to fight Luke. A very important one. She could be a sort of mentor to her little brother. If she caught him in the Arena she'd check his skills and go from there.

"Nice, souvenirs," Seri turned towards her little shelf and smiled, almost tenderly. Standing up, she moved over to the little table and picked up the Minotaur horn, bouncing it in the palm of her hand. It was cracked down the middle, it's top jagged like it had been broke in half. Black splotches littered the trophy.

"This horn belonged to the biggest Minotaur I'd had ever seen." She turned towards Luke, her gaze lingering on her prize. "Stubbornest one too. After six swipes of my blade and severing its' jugular the Beast still tried to crawl towards me." Seri shook her head at the memory, eyes focusing on Luke as he teased her about not missing her.

"If you're like this when you're tired, then i'm keeping you up all the time," Oh Gods no! This side of her need to be locked away with the key thrown into the pits of the underworld. Nevertheless, Seri hid a small smirk as her brother stuck his tongue out childishly towards her.

Finally, Luke got to her question. She had successful for the moment distracted him from talks of hygiene. Though, she had a gut feeling she'd take one before she got back in bed. Just not yet. "Oh nothing, half of the kids in this cabin think they're really something because of daddy." Seri snorted softly at his words. It was no wonder the Ares Cabin had a bad rep. It seemed like since she's been gone her brothers and sisters had been getting a bit cocky. Now that she was back she'd have to make sure to keep them in line.

"Gods, been here less than a hour and I've already got to knock some sense into our siblings." She growled lowly, remembering the last time she had smacked more than a few of her siblings upside the heads for their behavior while she was away. "I don't wanna be Cabin Leader anymore." She cried a smirk rising on her lips. "I'd rather sleep all day long."


Words: 1063
Notes: Dear GOD, I write to much. I'm sorry! xD

[lucy]

As Lucy approached the gory-looking Ares cabin, the slight girl heard two voices, which was a surprisingly welcome sign. She was in a talking mood for some reason. Maybe it was because she'd sat alone under a tree for the past four hours, reading and listening to slow music; that had attracted some strange looks, since everyone supposed that Ares children lived for training. But it was still weird, since Lucy usually tried to avoid conversation. She always managed to mess up or weird someone out. And it didn't help that it was literally in her blood... she'd noticed similar traits in her siblings.

No, Lucy was a stereotype-shatterer within herself. She was quiet, and she was introverted. She couldn't go into combat or use a sword to save her life. She didn't even like training — she'd much rather, say, sit under a tree and listen to slow music.

"Oh nothing, half of the kids in this cabin think they're really something because of daddy." Lucy knew that voice. It was Lucan — Luke — Lucchesi, one of her two brothers. In a way, he was sort of like her... he wasn't the typical killing-machine type, anyway. That was for sure.

"Gods, been here less than a hour and I've already got to knock some sense into our siblings. I don't wanna be Cabin Leader anymore. I'd rather sleep all day long." Lucy knew that voice by heart as well. It was Seri Winchester, the Ares Cabin Leader and one of those people who felt as though they weren't living when they weren't fighting. Honesly, though she liked Luke and Seri, being around too many of her siblings at one time made her nervous. In their cabin, there was always some tension in the air, as if someone was going to go and kill someone else if nothing else happened.

She hesitantly pushed open the door to the Ares cabin, hoping that it was solely Seri and Luke in there. Nobody else. If it was a cabin-wide conversation, the girl always wound up sitting there awkwardly while the others discussed fighting techniques. Well, she was usually the one awkwardly sitting there, no matter what the discussion topic was.

No, thank the gods. It was just Seri and Luke in the Ares cabin. Sitting there, lying there... discussing who-knows-what. She felt annoying and somewhat petty disrupting their conversation, but she did so anyway.

"Oh. Um. Hi," she said in her airy, naturally quiet voice.

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