Leaps and Boundaries (OPEN)

The air rolled across the hill like a warm yawn, slow and sleepy, stirring the short-cropped grass like two-day stubble. The sweet aroma of the strawberry fields, mixed with the stark scent of pine needles, wafted through Alex's nostrils as the wind slid past, tousling his hair and cooling his sweaty skin. He took a few deep breaths, filling his lungs welcomingly and calming his heart rate. Zanna trotted back to stand nearby, hardly winded at all after their six mile run. A dragon rested peacefully beneath the tree, ignoring their presence as inconsequential as could be.

You grow faster.

Alex smiled and pulled his headphones out of his ears, pausing the music on his Ipod. While he had spent his childhood surrounded by classical music, he had always found enjoyment in any type of music he'd ever heard, with a growing particular persuasion to modern hardcore rock. The heavy, quick beats and powerful vocals paired well with running, setting an inspiring pace. "Think so?"

Perhaps.

The young demi-god half-frowned, half smirked at his friend. The wolf, verbose as always, lay down and rested his head on his front paws, languishing in the sunlight. It was a beautiful day out, with nothing much else to do, and the two had taken to getting in some exercise with a run around camp. They enjoyed running together, getting fresh air.

That tree is magical.

"Yeah, I've been told it supports the magical barriers around the camp. Apparently, there used to be a girl buried beneath it."

Used to be?

"World's a stranger place than it used to be," Alex answered with a shrug. "But it definitely feels... powerful."

For Alex, everything he was experiencing still created such a sense of wonder for him. He'd been at camp for over a month now, and there wasn't a day passed that didn't seem like some strange story from a book. Not that everything about it wasn't actually a story from a book, but living it was mind-blowing. Especially considering that only four weeks ago he'd just been a kid living in the woods whose best friend was a wild wolf. Not that it had changed all that much, but at least the monsters had an explanation now.

"What should we do now?"

Alex walked casually down the hill away from the tree, circling the camp against the trees as he made his way toward the proper to head to take a shower. Zanna trotted along silently beside him, stoic as ever, his dark fur shining in the warm sunlight. Alex felt great, energized and awake, the sun's rays feeding into his skin like a battery.

Across the way, other campers were spread out in the strawberry fields, plucking the ripe fruits into baskets. Pegasi circled overhead, moving in and out of the bay, stretching their wings. The Big House, which served as the headquarters of the camp as well as the residence of the director, Mr. D, and the counselor Chiron, was silent for the most part with the exception of a dryad tending to the flowers and bushes around the front porch. All in all, just another beautiful day at camp. He'd been apprehensive when he'd first arrived, taken aback even, but the place was definitely starting to grow on him.

Walking along the tree-line, heading in his direction, approached another demi-god. She was pretty, maybe around his age, her dark hair bouncing lightly across her shoulders and she walked like she had every purpose in the world for heading wherever she wanted.

"Woah, wonder where she's going." He only whispered the words, but Zanna's hearing was strong enough to hear him whispering across the camp.

Food. With that, the wolf sped off into the darkness, vanishing from sight before long.

Alex smirked at his friend as he left, then waved to the fellow camper. "Hey," he began with a chuckle, "uh, don't go that way, theres a dragon."

"Alex," he replied, taking her hand. She regarded him with a look of sorts that he'd seen Zanna give to a particular rabbit, judging the effort it would take to catch it versus the quality of meat he'd get from it. For a second he had to wonder if he'd had something on his clothes, or perhaps it was just the sweat from running, but he shook it off shortly after. He glanced down just to make sure, though; the simple green shirt he'd snagged from a clothing line a few months back was speckled with sweat, and the black gym shorts were comfortable but the slightly obvious tear had steadily gotten larger down the side of the leg. Still, nothing too bad.

The effort to be open with others was definitely a new concept to Alex after years of only really talking to himself and a wolf who offered few words at best, but since coming to camp he had forced himself to take steps to meet his fellow demi-gods. He was not comfortable with too many of them around, often choosing to sit outside the pavilion at meals to avoid getting dizzy from feeling so crowded, but in small numbers it was easier to manage.

"You're from Aphrodite's cabin, right? I think I've seen you with a few of the others around camp. Enjoying the nice day out?"

"Maybe. Not really sure where the infirmary is, haven't been there yet. Apparently the other guys are pretty good at that stuff, but my healing thumb seems to be broken." He shrugged, noncommittal. "Never really used to be an issue, I guess, no one to heal and all." He'd trailed off toward the end of his sentence, never really sure how, or even if at all, he was supposed to talk about his time before camp. Everyone seemed to have the same story; monsters tried to kill them, they go on the run, end up at camp. But he'd spent over five years running on his own without any idea why, everything just seemed so... strange.

He continued with a grin. "Archery range, though, yeah, I like to think I'm pretty decent." In fact, he knew full well exactly how good he was. The Hunter had instilled in him a sense of perfection when it come to survival and his skills with a bow, but Alex was never one to brag. "Haven't really been sure what to do around here when my... um, the other Apollo kids, aren't doing any activities around camp." It was still strange for him to call them his brothers and sisters, even though they all apparently were. "Its just sort of... what I'm most comfortable with."

Zanna returned then, a dead rabbit in his mouth. The timber lay down a few steps away from them and began ripping chunks from the animal, munching them down.

"Um, yeah, this is Zanna. Zanna, this is Veronique."

I know. The wolf's words in his head carried a tone as if the point was beyond obvious.

"I know you know," Alex replied, half exasperatedly.

I know.

She? The words echoed blandly in Alex's mind, not quite offended, but merely questioning. Zanna never was one to mind much of other's.... well, anything. His wolfish traits were none more prevalent than in his apathetic approach to humans other than Alex.

"Don't take offense, Zanna, she doesn't know." The wolf cocked his head slightly to the side before continuing with his snack, eliciting an amused smirk from Alex before he continued. "Zanna is a he, actually, but don't mind him, he's... particular. Doesn't like the people here. Or people anywhere, really, so I guess its nothing new." The demi-god laughed in spite of himself.

"Where are you from? You have an accent."

"Um, all over, really," he shrugged, pulling his phones out from beneath his shirt and wrapping the wires around iPod. "We, uh, we've been kind of..." He was never really sure how to explain his situation to people. Family lives in the woods? Easy enough. Makes you rural. Like alone in the woods with wild animals? Little different. Makes you a wild animal. "We, uh, explore a lot. But my mother was Italian. I suppose that could be what you hear."

It used to be thicker.

"Shut up Zanna."

Alex smiled at the girl; he thought it was cute the, way she laughed. Or, giggled, as it was. A more subtle laughter. Alex had been startled, the first time he'd heard girls make that sound. He'd never experienced it before coming to camp, much as so many other experiences he'd come across for the first time since being there.

"Yes, I can talk to him. Usually he just... I don't know how to explain it. He knows what I think. If I concentrate, we can see what each other is seeing, but the way he sees the world is... disorienting? Its hard to explain, really."

Usually dolphins are what most demigods' minds go to." She paused. "Can you talk to them too?"

Alex had to think about that for a moment. "Um... Thats... You know, I don't know. I've never actually even seen a dolphin. Usually tried to stay away from the coasts. Monsters like to bunch up around the water. Do other Apollo kids not talk to wolves?"

Go to water. See dolphins. Jump in. Need bath.

The demi-god frowned at his friend, then sniffed his shirt and shrugged with a slight nod. "Fair enough, Z. You could probably use a bath yourself."

You take bath. I'll go hunt. With that, the wolf grabbed what remained of his meal and trotted off into the woods, out of sight.

"Sorry about that. He's right though, I do need a bath. We've been running all morning. It was nice talking to you, though." He gave a friendly smile and made to leave, but stopped after a step, considering. "Hey, uh, wanna meet me down by the water in like, thirty minutes? See if we can find some of those dolphins?"

"Cliffs? Yeah, sounds good. Thirty minutes, see you there!" Alex turned on the balls of his feet and took off to shower, speeding across camp.

What does a dolphin look like? Will I know it when I see it?

Big fish. Hard skin. An image of a gray approximation materialized in Alex's mind, distorted and irregular. From the angle, it appeared that Zanna had never actually seen a dolphin either. At least, not closely.

I'll just start talking to all the fish, take a wild guess.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The showers had felt good on his skin, washing away the thick layer of sweat he'd worked up over the morning. He tossed his clothes in the bin, dressed in a pair of plain tan pants and one of the orange camp shirts that he'd been given upon arrival. Zanna had been quiet for a while so he guessed the wolf was contentedly seeking his prey. Alex slipped on some shoes and left the cabin, headed toward the beach.

It was a short walk to get there, but he was still a few minutes late. He didn't see Veronique as he approached, but he also couldn't be sure he was in the right spot. He was anxious to see a dolphin, but he decided he would wait a few for Veronique. She would probably know what they looked like.

Alex saw her before she called out his name, the two of them being the only ones present on the beach at the moment, and the silence kicking his hunter's instincts into action. The air was crisp and warm, but not overly so, and the salty scent of the air wafter around him in a forceful current. Veronique approached in what Alex could only label as a large white shirt, not quite a dress, with a large hat and sandals. The demi-god began to wonder if perhaps he should have worn more appropriate attire for the beach. However, never having ever really spent much time there, for sake of avoiding the monsters, he'd didn't really know what would have been considered appropriate garb and so had just dressed in whatever clothes had been available. Not that he really had much in that area, anyway. A life on the run had taught him to travel lightly.

"Hey there," he greeted her as she got close, taking a few steps himself to cover the distance between them. Her skin glowed a warm caramel color under the afternoon sunlight. "I think maybe I should have thought about what it meant to actually go to the beach." His pants, although not heavy, again echoed a dull decision on his behalf. Nor did he even own another pair of shoes, much less sandals. "Zanna would say clothes at all are just a burden, but when I don't wear any it scares the villagers and they come with pitchforks." He chuckled at that.

Waving toward the water, he continued, "I don't suppose dolphins normally come into shallower waters, huh? I'm not really much of a swimmer. I mean, I've been known to wade a few pools... or ponds, really. Mostly though it was just to get from one side to the other. I think I might drown out there if we have to go too far."