New Girl in Town (Emerald, Semper, Xi...)

[msstockham]

Emerald walked up a set of concrete steps into a courtyard of happy faces and welcoming smiles. With each step into her new life she felt uplifted and more positive, set aside the fact that she just survived an attack by a fury that pursued her half way around the world. She stepped onto a patch of grass and a japanese cherry tree grew, she smiled and sat under it her heart pounding with excitement. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and her bag was filled with familiar knowledge and book titles. Her teeth were showing as she picked up the closest book and read it aloud,"All about Plants. Hm, sounds fun. Learning everything over again." She set it down and read the next few title to herself, most of which she had read or studied in the past 2 years of survival and danger. The Illiad, the Odyssey, the Helm of Darkness, Guide to Demeter... She read the title over and over again in her mind thinking about her mother and what she must be like. She got up and stuffed the books in her bag while walking over to the nearest table to write down some notes regarding plants. She sat down and was about to pull out her notebook, but instead she just at there soaking in the sun, waiting for an introduction.

[Semper Capone]

Lately I had found myself going on barefoot-walks a lot more frequently. Well, I've always gone around barefoot, but now I've pretty much forgotten my shoes except for when it snows. I wanted to keep the hard callous that lined the soles of my feet, and the only way to do that was to keep going around with no shoes on, which I didn't mind at all. And besides, being the son of Demeter, I preferred to be as close to nature as I could, and to me that meant going without shoes. I had just gotten an iPod, too (literally just a few days ago) so I was bringing that along with me a lot. Usually I would just listen to the birds and other insects, but I needed to distract myself. I didn't want to think about everything that was happening.

Listening to the nostalgic beats of Cherokee drums, I made my way across the quad, not really paying attention to where I was going -- until I tripped over something. Or someone, rather. I pretty much fell like a falling tree, landing on the ground on my side, instantly dazed as to what the hell just happened. Looking over, I saw a sideways girl sitting not too far from where I was and I bet that that was the person I had tripped over. "Fuckin' hell, I'm so sorry," I began, sitting up and facing her. "Are y' alright?"

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[msstockham]

Emerald was sitting by the japanese cherry blossom tree with her eyes closed, when a massive figure tripped over her. He looked extremely apologetic and said in a tennessee accent, "Fuckin' hell, I'm so sorry. Are y' alright?" She was surprised at his accent, but shrugged and smiled saying,"I've survived worse." She could hear the tribal music coming from his iPod and saw his bare feet. "You must be my brother!" She smiled and laughed saying in a kind voice,"You must be a son of Demeter, right?" She got up from where she was sitting and offered him a hand. She pulled him up from the ground with total ease saying,"This is an absolutely magnificent place. Everyone smiles, and they way that they have converged humans and demi-gods together is totally amazing." She shook his hand with a light grace. She realized her smile must be wider than 18-wheeler so she calmed down and took a deep breath. "Hi, My name is Emerald Thorn Griffin, but you can call me emerald or em. It doesn't really matter, just as long as you don't chop down anything I grow I think we'll be excellent friends." She smiled and let go of his hand. Finally some one like me... someone as down to earth as me. Finally someone who will smile with good intentions and not try to steal me away. She dropped her cotton bag on the ground and leaned against the tree making it blossom. The ground under her feet had new sprouts coming up and she chuckled,"Whenever I get really excited or happy my natural powers take over and make everything bloom around me." She realized that the humans around could have seen so she dialed her powers down.

Notes: I replied before Xi, but if you want you can copy and paste this after his or just delete it, i don't care.
Outfit: www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=35050990

[Xi Coleman]

I walked across the courtyard, my black Converse high-tops making almost no noise as I went by. My iPod was in my ears, blasting Paramore at the highest possible volume I could force them to perform. I took one out, as I noticed the enormous, blonde-capped form of Semper Capone tumble to the ground. I gasped in shock. I knew Semp was clumsy; it's just a consequence of being that effing tall. But the object he tripped over now was not his own foot, or a flat surface. No, instead, it was the outstretched legs of a beautiful, long-haired girl with striking green-brown eyes. Her hair was braided with peacock feathers, and her lips were luscious and full when she moved them, speaking the words "Son of Demeter!" in an attractive, but too-loud voice. I realized I was already there when she said that, so my reaction was probably rude. Instinctual, but still rude. I clamped my right hand on her mouth. Her skin was feather-soft and had a smooth, caramel-colored complexion. "Are. You. Fucking. Insane?" I muttered angrily, my chocolate-colored eyes meeting hers. I realized that my grip was probably too tight, and I softened it. It was easy to forget that, small as I was, I was pretty strong. My full, strawberry-colored lips were set in an angry frown, and my eyes were incredulous. I was dressed like usual, with a long-sleeved red-and-black plaid shirt, rolled up to my elbows. My jeans were also black, and I was aware of my owl feather neckline dangling out of it, right in the nameless girls' face.

[Semper Capone]

I took the ear buds out of my ears and turned the iPod off, putting it into my pocket before being verbally assaulted by the girl, but not in a bad way.

First she exclaimed that I was her brother, which completely threw me off. The only siblings I knew I had were just Sassifrass and Scotty, so was this girl thinking that made me her brother? Then she went onto saying "son of Demeter," and then I was really thrown off. Not only did she know the deepest secret of my life, but she had said it right out of the blue in the quad, where both regular humans and demigods were. I was about to tell her to keep that little part quiet but she offered me a hand to get up, so I accepted. Towering above her now, I could only stare down in dumbfounded shock. "Emerald..." I repeated. "I'm Semper." She then leaned against a tree and I could see all the plants that were growing around her and the tree that was blossoming. Shit. And just as I was going to tell her to not do that, Xi came out of nowhere and slapped a hand onto her mouth. Great, just what we needed. Assault the obvious newcomer.

"Unnecessary, Xi." I said, somewhat already protective of my new-found sister. I reached out to take Xi's hand off of Emerald's mouth and at the same time talking to her in a low voice. "Only use yer powers when yer in a demi class or yer by yerself. But jus' do as I say, 'cause that tomato plant out in the center of the quad's mine 'n' I grew it 'bout a year ago. Don't go by m' example."

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[msstockham]

Emerald was incredibly surprised when the newcomer clapped a hand over her mouth. instead of just sitting there like a good girl she grabbed his arm and put him on the ground. She sat sat on his stomach and grabbed his arms holding them close to the ground. "No, I'm not insane, I just believe in the oblivious tendencies of the fucking humans. No one saw, I was watching them. I know it was reckless, but it happens, okay. No one heard, no one ever listens to me anyway, hardly anyone noticed me when I walked into the quad. Even Semper tripped over me, you need to calm down." She realized how freaked out he must be, so she lifted herself off him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get physical." She reached out her hand and pulled him up. "Hi, i'm Emerald. I just survived an ongoing attack by a fury, so controlling my powers is going to be harder than I thought." She once again leaned against the tree and the flowers disappeared into thin air, as if they had never been there. A few student looked over at her and smiled while waving, she did the same. Good, they didn't see anything.

"If anyone asks about me saying son of demeter, I'll just tell them I was talking about a crazy man my father and I met in Greece, because it truly did happen." She chuckled at the thought. In the back of her head a voice said, Get it together Emerald, don't want to be a thorn in anyone's side. Her smile turned into a frown as she remembered her father. She whispered very softly, but was sure the boys around her heard,"Too bad he had to die..." She snapped out of it and stepped back into reality.

[Xi Coleman]

I giggled a bit when I was flung to the ground. I don't even know why. Pain was easy for me. I understood it. So I laughed at it like it was a good friend, come back from another continent. "A crazy man. In Greece." I repeated, laughing as loud as was physically possible. Really, the idea itself was just hilarious. "All right, I'll go with that." I chuckled agian, and flipped myself off of the ground in the style than ninjas did on crappy movies. "I'm Xi. Xi Coleman. Or else." I said, holding my hand out at the girl who, simply for being brave enough to fight back, I had a feeling I would seriously like.

(( Eh, crap post. x.x I'll prolly do better later. ))

[msstockham]

Emerald noticed him laughing and laughed along with him. I like this place, so much happiness. Wow mom, i really like what you guys have done to help us. She smiled at Xi with a smile that was white and pure, just like her demi-god heart. "I will definitely remember that." She smiled and shook his hand, wanting to show just how much she liked him already. Behind her she could hear giggling and she turned to see a group of girls giggling at them. Well they must've seen the whole thing. She smiled at them and waved thinking, Just keep on smiling Emerald, don't want to freak anyone out. She leaned against the tree and breathed in all the fresh air. "This is such a wonderful place, wouldn't you two agree?" She asked them not only to seem kind, but to see if they really enjoyed this place.

[Semper Capone]

Okay, so..... yeah. Emerald just tackled Xi. Hell yes. That, too, seemed a bit unnecessary, but hey, I couldn't do anything about it. I just stood there awkwardly in all my tallness, not really sure what to do. I could pull Emerald off of Xi, but what's the fun in that? My bit of advice of simply just being subtle was ignored, but eh, I don't really care. Some people just need to learn the hard way, but I wasn't too keen on having Emerald get struck down by lightning like Bear had for spilling the beans about the gods and goddesses. I don't think I'd really want anyone to get struck by lightning....

Sticking my thumbs in my pockets and still standing there. "Yeah, s'great." I answered in a dry tone, not really paying attention anymore. Richmond was great, but all the drama that happened here took a toll on you whether you liked it or not. I was still depressed about Chicago's disappearance, so the once-bright aura of the school was dark now. I still liked it, but I couldn't stand the place anymore. I needed to get away from all the stigmas that came with the school. "So where're y' from, Em?"

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[msstockham]

Emerald smiled at Semper and said in a gentle tone,"I'm from nowhere. I was born in Beverley Hills, but I have been raised everywhere but. I have spent the past 14 years of my life traveling from one exotic place to the next with my archaeologist father, but up until a year ago I haven't had to run. However, the past year has been one of planes, trains, and automobiles around the world in search of a safe haven from a fury. Not the best year of my life, but it's one I wouldn't change for anything. I mean I found this place right, I found a real home." She smiled lightly and closed her eyes continuing to soak in the divine sun. She opened her eyes a few minutes later and took a deep breath. Thank You Mom for leading me here...