Grass Can Break Stone

[shylyintrepid]

Who: Jehan and anyone who saw him lose it at Callie.
What: Jehan lost it at Callie. He needs to calm down and be reminded that not all Romans are brats and traitors.
When: November 10, after Callie's post
Why: Because you don't want this guy to have a grudge.

[When Callie doesn't respond, Jehan cuts the feed. How dare she? Who died and made her the fucking queen of the world? What right did she have to insult their camp and claim they were selfish for not having their families here? Most of their families weren't made up of demigods! Why would they put them in danger like that?

Jehan grabs his coat (a duller one compared to his eye-searing yellow and pink one, this one navy and emerald plaid) from the end of his bed and storms out of his cabin. He's not sure who all saw that, but he needs to get out and move and focus on something other than that brat of a Roman.

He needs to ask Hephaistion if there's any good insults in Greek he can teach him.]

Comments

[shylyintrepid]

When, just now? I think Iris broadcasted that to the whole camp.

[somatophylax]

I didn't hear her comments, only your response. You're a fighter with a poet's soul, Jehan. [he puts a hand on Jehan's shoulder] I don't like to see you upset. What can I do, short of challenging the Rhomaia to a duel on behalf of the camp's pride?

[shylyintrepid]

[he smiles, turning a bit pink at that]

Have any chocolate leftover from last month? I ate all mine already.

[somatophylax]

[he offers a small smile]

I don't have much of a sweet tooth other than those candy flower petals of yours. I have quite a bit of chocolate left, I'm afraid. You are more than welcome to it.

[shylyintrepid]

Merci, Hephaistion.

[Jehan leans up and kisses the Athena boy's cheek, smiling]

Can we go and get it?

[somatophylax]

[When he leans in, Hephaistion gives him a one-armed hug. He likes the smile better than the anger.]

Yeah, we can. I think our cabin is clear for the moment, or we can go some place else with some fresh air.

[shylyintrepid]

New camp rules say I can't be in the same cabin with a cute boy alone, sadly.

[Well, it's not Jehan specifically but it's easier to phrase it that way.]

Fresh air'd be better anyway, I think.

[somatophylax]

So you think I'm cute, huh? [Do not pretend you're modest about your looks, Hephaistion. He's only saying that to get Jehan's reaction] What do they think will happen in a cabin that can't happen elsewhere?

Fresh air it is then. I'll grab the chocolate and won't be but a moment.

[shylyintrepid]

I don't kiss frogs!

[He's blushing though. Of course he thinks Heph is cute]

And, uh, the same thing they think'll happen if we leave Percy and Annabeth alone in a cabin together.

[somatophylax]

[He leads Jehan over towards his cabin so he can retrieve the chocolate, before he ducks inside, he flashes Jehan another smile]

Afraid I can't keep my hands to myself? They're probably right.

[Have that mental image for a minute while he's gone. When he returns, he has a paper bag in hand. He passes it to Jehan and kisses his cheek in the same manner as Jehan had]

Where to now?

[shylyintrepid]

[Excuse Jehan, he's a blushing tomato for a few moments after that. When Hephaistion comes back out, he's still red but he smiles]

The shore? Or the lake?

[somatophylax]

[The shore is where Hephaistion goes when he wants to distract himself from his own worries. He pulls a serious face for a moment, but then his expression softens.]

Maybe the lake will give us and the chocolate a bit of privacy.

[shylyintrepid]

Or at least keep them hidden from my sisters. Let's go.

[He heads off, humming absently]

[somatophylax]

[The humming was a good sign. Blushing and humming and chocolate... He likes making his friends happy. He trails a little at first, distracted for a moment thinking about the shore, but he jogs a few steps to catch back up and loops his arm with Jehan's as they get closer. The lake is vacant where they're at, at least for now.]

[shylyintrepid]

[And Jehan is relieved by that. He flops down on the dock, digging into the candy]

Thank you, Hephaistion, for this.

[somatophylax]

[He sits next to him, legs crossed and hands in his lap]

Of course. Any time you need it.

[shylyintrepid]

Hopefully it won't be often. I've been out of sorts since the summer and the Red Room, but I'm getting better.

[somatophylax]

[There's a moment of hesitation. He really wants to ask about it, but he's just gotten Jehan smiling again. ...but Jehan was the one who brought up the Red Room... Hephaistion is eager, but he doesn't want information to come at the expense of his friend.]

Whether it's something big or merely wanting to escape from your sisters to hide the chocolate. Any time.

[shylyintrepid]

Thank you.

[He glances over at Hephaistion]

You can ask, you know. I bet you're dying to know what happened with the Red Room.

[Athena kid, after all.]

[somatophylax]

[He lets out a slow breath and looks grateful. It's been eating at him ever since he got back to camp, but the topic seemed to make everyone so upset.]

I only know the briefest details. What actually happened here? What happened to you? I can see that whatever it was still has you hurting... [he trails off, uncharacteristically unsure] I want to help. Really.

[shylyintrepid]

[He smiles a bit. Hephaistion is so sweet]

They tricked us. All the summer campers--when we left to go home, we were kidnapped and taken to Florida. They kept us in a building in Celebration and were going to feed us to Gaea before we were rescued. As for me...

[He smiles fades and he looks away]

There was a Roman boy that I...I feel in love with. Zane. He was so very sweet and nice and...he. [Jehan's voice cracks. He hasn't actually told anyone who didn't already know] He was the spy. He helped bring down New Rome and he helped kidnap us. He...Zane said that he was starting to have doubts, because of me, but he...he still did it. He still betrayed us.

[He's crying a little, now. Dammit all, but he thought he was over this]

[somatophylax]

Jehan.... [He can't even imagine being so intimately betrayed. His anger at the situation (and that he was stuck in Greece during all this) flares in an instant but he has no way to direct it. Bad enough to be kidnapped and offered as a sacrifice, but betrayed by a loved one....

He finds Jehan's hand and holds it, squeezing a little.] Is he-- [a pause. rephrase the question] --still out there?

[shylyintrepid]

[He returns the squeeze, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. Jehan nods]

Yeah, he is. I...it's silly, but I can't hate him. I don't want him dead. I want to see him again and...

["Make things better", which is really absurd but he can't help it. He moves on]

That's why I don't get that girl's rudeness. I have a reason--a damned good reason!--to hate Romans and New Rome. But I don't. So what's her excuse?

[somatophylax]

[He runs his thumb over the back of Jehan's hand as he's holding it] It's not silly.

[He tsk's a little in Callie's general direction] It sounds to me that you have a damned good reason to hate a particular Roman, even if you can't. Your heart is too big but too broken for that sort of antagonizing. She had no right to say those things, especially not to you. Her rudeness is completely uncalled for.

[another pause. Even though he's trying to make Jehan feel better, it didn't seem right just ending it there] However. I spoke with her myself. The Romans are displaced, and our camp is as foreign to them as theirs would be to us. It doesn't excuse her attitude or her hostility, but it does explain why she dismisses our ways as "weird." She's wrong about our methods, and she was horrible to say those things, but be careful not to fall into her trap, φίλε. Don't let her bad attitude make you want to dismiss all Romans and New Rome like she dismisses Greeks and Camp Half-Blood. You are so much more beautiful than that.


[[ooc: phile = "beloved" or here "dear friend"]]

[shylyintrepid]

[He knows that word, and it makes him smile]

It won't. I know too many amazing Romans to let one brat make me hate them, though I spoke to Ven, a Jupiter boy, and Heather, who might be Venus, and I really think we need cultural lessons.