Daniel Gran (Celerous's Elemi Alt)

It was an awkward looking cabin, Daniel thought. It was made of thick oak logs, painted white, with a glass door that anyone could see through. At the base of the cabin and on either side of the door, there were two sculptures made of scrap metal, meant, Daniel assumed, to resemble gusts of wind.



In reality, they just looked like oversized cheese graters.



“Well, at least we’re finally out of the that over packed cabin, right?”



The voice was quiet and feminine, and belonged to a small blonde girl with green eyes. She was no older than thirteen, and was clutching a purple backpack to her chest, as she looked up at another camper, with the same colored eyes.



His hair was a deep onyx, and he was tall and lanky, with dark tanned skin. In his simple South City Garage shirt, he looked rather unassuming. Behind him were a few duffel bags, packed with all his belongings from their old and over packed cabin, that the three of them had shared until recently.



“Yeah, and look on the brightside Lucile, it’ll just be the three of us this time. We don’t have to deal with all those loud mouths anymore.”



Gregory, that was the other boy’s name, made a really good point. Daniel had spent the last four years crammed into Cabin B, and while the Cabin B campers themselves were fun, they were also prone to doing stupid things to the other campers, which of course, would result in retaliation. At the moment, the B Cabin was in the middle of being trashed, and Dan could have sworn he heard a jackhammer in the distance. He was scared of what would become of Cabin B by nightfall.



And that was why Daniel would never, ever, help prank any of the other campers ever again.



Honestly, the three of them had gotten out of Cabin B at the best time. The newly built Cabin H might not have been the prettiest thing in the world, but it was a home. After four years, Daniel finally had a place in Jeiryon’s Camp For Unruly Kids where he could honestly say he belonged.



He only wished the responsibility of being head counselor hadn’t come along with it. Unfortunately, at seventeen, he was the oldest kid that would inhabit their cozy new home, and that meant that Greg and Lucile were now his responsibility, rather than Jack’s in Cabin B.



“Alright campers,” Dan finally spoke, “we’ve only got a little bit of time before the campers from Morty’s Weight and Fitness Camp get here, so let’s get unpacked and head over to the amphitheater. Jack wants everyone there so he can go over the ground rules for their visit.”



“Why do we need to be there?” Gregory asked with a frown, “they’ve visited plenty of times before, and we’ve never screwed anything up.”



Dan opened the glass door to Cabin H, and turned back to his younger brother, “I think it’s just a precaution. We don’t want another fight between the B Cabin and the Weight campers, or anything similar.”



“I still feel bad for the cows that got caught in the crossfire,” Gregory muttered, “it took weeks for their fur to grow back..”



Dan chuckled a little, and threw his bags on one of the four beds that lined the back wall. He unzipped the largest bag, a duffel like one of Gregory’s, and began to pull out his jeans. He picked up the new pile of denim, and turned to set them on the dresser at the foot of his new bed.



That’s when he saw Lucile, fiddling with her fingers, her nervous tick. She was sat on the bed in the far left corner, with her brows furrowed.



“Lucile,” Dan said, and she turned to face him, “what is it?”



She looked back down at her fingers, “um, are the other campers that are coming mean?”



Dan and Gregory turned to look at each other and grimaced. Lucile had only been at Jeiryon’s Camp for a week; she’d arrived at the start of Winter break with most of the campers. Which meant that, unlike Dan and Greg, who’d been around for years, she’d never actually met (or almost kicked the shit out of) the campers from Morty’s Camp. And here they were making jokes about how they injured each other.



Dan was the first to speak, “I wouldn’t say they’re mean. They’re just… a lot more strict than our campers, and a bit more prideful as well. But you don’t have to worry about them.”



“Yeah,” Gregory chimed in, “just… you know how we told you to act around the cafeteria staff? To just be respectful and not say a word, like, ever? Just act like that, and everything will be just fine.”



Lucile didn’t look entirely convinced, but she went back to unpacking, which was a step in the right direction. Daniel lifted an eyebrow as she pulled out a pink blanket, one he hadn’t seen before. He opened his mouth to rib her a bit, but managed to stop himself before he could actually say anything. She was clearly still anxious about the campers coming from Morty’s camp. Now wasn’t the best time to tease her.



Daniel finished packing his things into the dresser near his bed, which, much to his surprise, was bigger on the inside than he had initially expected it to be. Though, Dan knew it really shouldn’t have surprised him at all; it was really just a dumb dresser. Still, it was nice to know that Malcolm over in Cabin C (the cabin that had drafted the plans for Cabin H) had the forethought to think of giving them some spacious drawers. The cabin was no masterpiece, but the guy had definitely forged something worthy of being called home.



Dan had just finished brushing his brown hair in the mirror, when Greg tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face his brother, who motioned at the door. It seemed his siblings were outpacing him; they were already ready to head to the amphitheater.



“Go ahead, I’ll meet you guys there.”



Greg just shrugged, and walked out the glass door. Once he was out of earshot, Daniel let out a pathetic groan. He didn’t want to look unenthusiatic in front of his siblings, but Dan was in no way excited for the other campers’ arrival. Having the Morty kids in the camp meant that there would be competitions, and a lot of them. Dan already knew that tonight Jeiryon’s campers would take on the the campers from Morty’s Camp in a game of Capture the Flag, and as a senior camper and head counselor, he’d be expected to join in.



Dan hated playing Capture the Flag. It was too much work.



Daniel grabbed his grey hoodie out of the dresser, and threw it on over his red Jeiyron’s Camp For Unruly Kids t-shirt, before zipping it up. With one final sigh, Daniel tugged on his sleeves, to adjust them. He needed to get going; it wouldn’t look good for him if he managed to be late to his first ever gathering as a head counselor. Connor and Brick would never let him live it down, and he feared the look he might get from campers like Lucy and Sherman. That was enough to get his butt in gear. The next few days might suck, but they were sure to suck worse if he pissed off his fellow head counselors.



He took one last look at himself in the mirror, before pushing out the door.

---

The Amphitheater had been packed long before their visitors had strolled through the barrier, but now with Jeiryon’s campers and Morty’s Campers alike taking up the stone benches, Daniel was sure that they were breaking some sort of fire code.



Then again, most of the campers did that on the daily.



Daniel sat on a bench in the first row of the amphitheater, situated right at the center of the stage, with all of the other head counselors at camp. He was squished between Will, the lanky blonde counselor of Cabin E, and a sleeping Jordan, counselor of Cabin D. Dan rested his chin in his hand while he waited for everyone to finish filing into their seats. His eyes drifted about restlessly, from the whispering faces of Nico and Will, to the four campers standing on the stage in front of them.



Three of the campers, two guys and one girl, wore the typical red t-shirt that all campers at Jeiryon’s Camp wore. The first of the two guys was the tallest, and had blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Just about everyone in camp knew who he was; Malcolm, the head counselor of Cabin C. He was something of the new defacto leader (that was, of the campers) of Jeiryon’s Camp, a role he took over from the guy standing beside him.



Jackson, with his dark unkempt hair and dark blue eyes, was by far the most laid back of the two. It was a personality trait that typically put whoever he met at ease, at least until the snark began to slip out with his words. The two boys were chuckling over something Malcolm had said, but they were too quiet for Dan to hear.



The two girls, on the other hand, looked to be annoyed by the looks on their faces. The one that was from Jeiryon’s camp, Lucy, was a longtime camper that campers both revered and feared. It probably had something to do with the fact that she’d kicked the asses of any guy who dared to ask her out, and that her steely blue eyes could bore a hole through your head, if you were unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of one of her glares.



The other girl, definitely from Morty’s Camp by the purple t-shirt she wore, actually managed to make Daniel feel more uneasy than Lucy ever could. She had a face that angled and brown in color, with hair the color of obsidian braided down her back, and eyes that seemed even darker. He might have been from Jeiryon’s camp, but even Dan knew that she was none other than Drew, lead counselor of Morty’s Camp. Everything about her, even her posture, seemed to say, I stand above all of you, and Daniel wasn’t sure if he found that oddly alluring, or incredibly intimidating.



With the way her eyes scanned the assembled campers with scrutiny, he figured the latter was more appropriate.



It wasn’t until she locked eyes with him, that Daniel realized that he’d been staring at her. Her brow furrowed, and the lead counselor was clearly displeased that his eyes had locked with hers. Panic began to well into Dan’s throat as the darker woman from the opposing camp looked straight through him, as if he were made of some sort of flimsy paper. He wanted to look away; to avert his gaze and pretend that he’d never been staring in the first place, but instead the foolish Elemi only frowned back.



“What are you doing?” came the half whisper, half shout of Will.



Without tearing his gaze away from the girl, he whispered back, “Dude, I have no clue, help me!”



Dan wasn’t sure how, but Drew’s gaze became even more intense. Like as if she were a wolf, and he a deer, and she’d just cornered him.



“Look away,” Will advised, “just look away!”



Daniel, against his better judgement, did not look away. Instead, he held Drew’s gaze with his own, almost challenging her. To what, he didn’t know, but he knew that the kids at Morty’s camp respected strength, and he had the feeling that looking away would be akin to telling the lead counselor, oh it’s alright, go ahead and crush me under your heel. And Daniel was not a masochist, despite the fact that every fiber of his being seemed intent to prove otherwise, by engaging the fucking lead counselor of Morty’s Weight and Fitness Camp in some kind of weird staring contest.



Dan wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to hold her stare, but he never got the chance to find out, as an elbow crashed into his temple. He let out a quiet curse, and rubbed the side of his head, as he turned to look over at the head counselor who’d struck him. Daniel shook his head at the blonde boy, and a visage of mixed confusion and curiosity crossed his face.



Will only shrugged his shoulders, “You told me to help.”



Dan wanted to retort, but before he could, Malcolm began to shush the crowd on stage.



“Alright, hey, I think it’s time we got this thing started. Sooner we finish up here, the sooner you guys get to start trying to kill each other!”



He was obviously trying for a joke, and referencing the game of Capture the Flag scheduled after dinner, but Lucy and Drew just groaned. The majority of the rest of the demigods in the amphitheater, including Jackson and Dan himself, let out laughs that echoed off of the stone benches and the stage.



“First off,” Malcolm continued with a light chuckle at his own joke, “let me officially welcome the campers from Morty’s Weight and Fitness Camp, and their lead counselor, Drew, to Jeiryon’s Camp For Unruly Kids. We’re honored to have you here.”



A mixture of shouts and claps emanated from the audience, from both Jeiryon and Morty campers.



Drew spoke up in response next, “and let me be the first to thank the campers here at Jeiryon’s for their hospitality, and their kindness, on behalf of my camp.”



“But before we kick things off,” Malcolm picked back up, after giving a nod to Drew, “let’s establish a few ground rules for both the Jeiryon and Morty campers staying here. If you’re gonna fight, do it either in the boxing ring, or in the middle of Capture the Flag. If you’re gonna practice archery, please make sure to only shoot the nonmoving targets down range. We don’t want another kid taking an arrow to the knee.”



This got a few murmurs from the Morty campers, oddly enough, as if they’d been expecting that they could just go at it in the canteen or something.



“If you wanna challenge each other to a race up the climbing wall, then by all means, go ahead! But there are no pocket knives allowed! Fist and kicks are fine though. Just make sure you land on the cushioned mats if you fall or get kicked off.”



Dan found himself chuckling a little at that one, as did some of the campers from Jeiryon’s Camp around him. Tackling other campers off of the wall was a common occurrence, and one that usually ended with both parties being laid up in the infirmary for days.



“Also, please don’t harass the livestock in the barns if you’re just looking for something to occupy your time. Seriously, some of those cows, that somehow got involved in the fight last time we were all together, are still bald down to their udders. It’s not a pretty sight, guys.”



“No, seriously,” Jackson butted in, with his eyes opened wide with horror, “please don’t burn off their fur again. They nearly stampeded through the camp last time, and dairy cows aren’t even violent for the most part. Just… just leave the cows alone.”



A smile crossed Malcolm’s face, if only briefly, “alright with that said, we’ll cut you loose. Just remember, Capture the Flag is tonight, after dinner! And,” Malcolm’s eyes looked down to scan across Daniel and the other head counselors, “head counselors, and centurions, if you guys would stay behind for a few minutes, there are some other things we’d like to discuss with you.”



With that said, the massive cluster of campers began to excuse themselves, and exit the ampitheatre in a wave of red and purple t-shirts. The head counselors all stood up and spaced themselves out a little, with some standing and some remaining on the benches. While they waited for the rest of the campers to file out, Daniel approached the stage and looked up at Malcolm.



“Find that a little nerve wracking, oh fearless leader?”



Their defacto leader gave off a small “hah,” before sitting down and draping his legs of the stage, “you have no idea. I don’t know how I used to do this stuff back when I was lead counselor over at Morty’s. The whole audience seemed like a bunch of vultures. Or bulls.”



“I don’t think you need to worry about bulls inside the camp’s boundaries, we have only dairy cows” Daniel said with a smile, “though the vulture thing is probably accurate.”



“No kidding. I’m sure there were a few campers just waiting for me to slip up so they could laugh.”



“Laugh? At the great Malcolm? One-time leader of both Morty and Jeiryon campers?” Dan chuckled at the thought, “Dude, I’m pretty sure just about everyone here reveres you.”



“Yeah, well,” Malcolm rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m sure I stepped on some toes when I decided to juggle responsibilities to both camps, instead of choosing to settle down at one permanently. But forget about that, how’s the new cabin?”



“It’s pretty nice,” Daniel admitted, despite his hangups with the exterior design, “we’ve got actual dressers now, so we don’t have to keep all our stuff in bags.”



“Yeah I figured you might want actual furniture” Malcolm nodded approvingly, “though, I didn’t mean for the inside of your cabin to look nicer than mine. Cabin C barely has any decor these days.”



“You could always see if someone from Cabin E would be willing to give you some plants. Those kids all love gardening for some reason. A ficus would be cool.”



“Yeah,” Malcolm didn’t sound like he liked the idea, “but who’s gonna water them when I’m over at Morty’s?”



Admittedly, Daniel didn't think about that. Nor did he have the time to come up with an answer, before Lucy and Drew called for everyone’s attention. Dan looked around for a split second, and was surprised at how fast the other campers had made their exit. Malcolm stood back up, and the smaller group of campers got into a circle, with the four completing it on the stage.



Jackson was the first one to speak up, “so, with the campers from Morty’s here, we kind of want to include them in our daily camp activities.”



“Kind of?” Lucy echoed with a frown, “no jackass, we’re adamant about the idea.”



Jackson sighed, “look, my point is, we want the head counselors from both camps to join in and encourage everyone to… you know, do stuff together.”



“A lot of us head counselors already teach classes, or supervise things like the climbing wall,” Malcolm tried to elaborate, “but we want you guys to get involved with the more mundane activities like canoeing on the lake and-”



“Bro,” Jackson feigned being wounded, “did you just insult canoeing? Have you ever been on the lake? It’s like, the most exciting part of being at camp!”



“No! No it isn’t” Malcolm exclaimed, “it’s not exciting at all. It’s boring as hell, and all you get from canoeing is a bad sunburn!”



“Boys!” Lucy’s tone was enough to shut them both up, and she turned to face everyone else, “look, get the Jeiryon and Morty campers to cooperate and have fun together. This is about trying to help establish good relations between both camps.”



Drew nodded approvingly, and she turned to scan her head counselors, “tell your campers to join in on some of the Jeiryon Camp’s self defense exercises. Just… don’t actually try to hurt anyone.”



“Yeah,” Jackson agreed, “out infirmary is packed full enough as is. If we could not add more people to that count...”



One of the counselors from Morty’s camp below the stage, Daniel thought his name was Hank, spoke up, “I’m sure our campers won’t mind taking some lessons, but they won’t learn from just anybody.”



“Well,” Malcolm spoke up, “archery lessons are taught by Frank in Cabin A, with help from Kayla over in Cabin C, so you shouldn’t need to worry about that. Butch from the Cabin D is the best equestrian we have, and that’s including Jackson over there, who won some sort of horse racing competition.”



Jackson grumbled about being considered second best. Butch looked a little smug.



“And, uh,” Malcolm pointed a thumb at Daniel, who had to resist the urge to sigh, “Daniel here is from the new cabin we just built. He teaches most of the sword sparring classes now.”



Daniel eyed everyone with a bored expression (it was either do that, or the Morty campers might find out he was anxious about being the center of attention), as they all turned to look at him. Nobody looked all that impressed with him. Even Sherman, the buff head counselor from Cabin A, frowned at him. And then, as all buff kids seemed to do, he opened his mouth to trash talk.



“Yeah, Dan is okay I guess, but he’s really not that good.”



That was all it took to make the Morty campers, and worse, Drew, frown at him.



“Hey,” Dan was surprised to hear Will speak up for him, “Dan here is a better swordsman than anyone in your cabin!”



A few of the other head counselors murmured in agreement, and Dan wanted to shout and stop them from propagating such a rumor. Because, it wasn’t true. Sherman had bested him several times, both during sparring matches and during Capture the Flag, as had some other kids from around the camp. Dan wasn’t the best at swordplay, he was just the only skilled swordsman that stayed at Jeiryon’s camp full time that had the patience to teach it. In fact, Daniel would even go as far as to say that he was rusty now, as he barely had time to practice himself.



Of course, now he couldn’t say a word, or else he’d risk losing the respect of the Morty campers before he even had it. And, if he was being entirely honest, he really didn’t want Drew glaring at him anymore than she had when they’d locked eyes.



“Dan has been around almost as long as I have,” it was Jackson who spoke up this time, “he’s been learning how to use a sword for years. He’s just as qualified to teach the class as any of us here.”



Jackson caught Dan’s eyes with his own, and nodded at him. Dan nodded back, as a gesture of gratitude. It was nice to know that someone appreciated him.



“Daniel was it?” It was Drew who spoke to him this time, and Daniel nodded as confirmation, “if any of my campers make a fuss about learning from you, inform me or one of my head counselors.”



Her gaze was just as intimidating as it had been a few minutes before, but Dan forced himself not to look away from her dark eyes. If he wanted to earn respect from the Morty campers, it had to start here, with their leadership. If he couldn’t make their leader and her head counselors respect him, then how was he supposed to make their campers respect him enough to learn from him?



“I appreciate the gesture,” Daniel started, swallowing past his dry throat, “but if your campers have a problem with learning from me, then they’re welcome to spar with me. Once I’ve beaten them black and blue, I’m sure they’ll be a little more open minded.”



Daniel was in no way known for his gloating or boasting, evident by the looks on the faces of his fellow campers. The majority of them either gasped or had gaping mouths, while Lucy and the Morty campers looked as if they were impressed by his words. He caught Jackson, Sherman, and Malcolm smirking a little. Dan himself just felt a little silly.



“Bold choice of words,” Drew almost sounded like she was praising him, but her visage remained as neutral as ever, “are you sure you’re not from my camp?”



Any tension that might have been in the air was lost in everyone’s conjoined laughter.



Maybe, Daniel thought, the Morty campers being around wouldn’t be so bad.




Reward Requested: Pl please