halfbloodhill_logs

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Who: Lydia, Gale, and whoever wants to come a-callin'!
What: Lydia and Gale have to work in the stables for a week.
When: 2/9 - 2/15
Where: The Stables
Why: Because they broke curfew, that's why.

It's only a few hours of the day, but they're long enough for Lydia to generally feel tired and gross afterward. She does her best, and she does it without complaint, but after a while she does start to get weary of her hair smelling like pegasus dung from muckign out stables and her shoulder arching from holding grain bags and hauling hay and water.

She's happiest and makes the best of it when she's grooming the pegasi, spending time talking to them or humming a tune under her breath as she runs the brush and comb over their hides and gently preens and inspects wings for broken feathers.

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Sky sat on a stool, a pad of paper on her lap as she desperately tried to write and pin said paper down with her only arm. She was clearly having trouble, but continued to work for the perfect position to balance it without it moving as she scribbled. Her good nature was wearing a bit thin at all the things she found outside her ability while she was in this condition, showing that her optimism and good nature had a quantifiable limit. Sky didn't come to the stables unless someone else was there the pegasi were... comfortable with. She 'freaked them out,' and her lack of arm was doing her no favors on that regard.

"So why did you break curfew?" Sky asked without any real warning, or suggestion the question was coming. Still trying to take notes on the joints and measure she could see of the wings on one of the larger feathered equines.

Sky's lack of an arm was definitely disconcerting, but Lydia was doing her best not to make a big deal of it. "Gale got a clue that his little brother was somewhere on Long Island." Lydia explains as she pours grain into a feed bag. "Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission." She'd do it again too, but that's not something she plans to casually advertise.

"And you got in trouble for that? But isn't that the right thing to do?" Gale's a member of the Roman legion, that means his brother would be a child or legacy of the Roman Gods. He'd be in danger of monsters, and belongs with his family.

"So... why do people ask for permission?" If begging forgiveness is superior, then the other option should only be used in extraordinary circumstances.

"Because sometimes the rules aren't always the same as what's right." Lydia replies, moving to another trough. "When the rules get in the way of what's right, you have to decide what's more important. Honoring the rules, or doing what you need to do. For some people, following the rules is very important, even if they're not always optimal when dealing with a situation."

"I thought rules were to help us know what's right? They aren't the same thing?" Sky thought rules and laws were guides to help one understand the right thing to do. Her brain was working through which was the better path, to do what is right, or what is required.

"I don't like this idea. The rules should help you know what's right."

"Ideally, they're supposed to. Rules create order, and generally, order is good. But if we adhere to order too rigidly, if we're not flexible and are unable to alter to circumstance, it creates problems. Gale and I disobeyed the rules and we're being punished for it. But I'd still do it again."

"So... rules keep order, but sometimes disorder is required to do the right thing. And then, even knowing what awaits you, you would do the right thing."

Sky mused over this idea, "That makes you a better person than people that follow rules."

"I don't think we can really judge people that way, Sky." Lydia tells her seriously. "You're trying to apply abstract concepts like 'better' to structured forms such as the rule of law. But there's a difference between the morality of following the rules and the ethics of doing what is right despite them." she pauses a moment. "You should talk to Enjolras, I bet he has a lot to say on the subject."

"But... the rules were in the way of doing something right. And you would do it again, meaning you still believe it was right." Sky's confused by what Lydia is saying, but is fairly clear on the choice. She sees nothing wrong with the actions done or the reasoning, so the rules must be wrong here. Right? "What separates morality and ethics?"

She does make a note to talk to Enjolras again, he was nice. If a bit odd.

"Morality are the standards set by society. The rules we create, whether they're openly declared or not. Ethics are the determination of what's right and what's wrong that we set for ourselves personally." She feels a little sorry for Sky when it comes to stuff like this. "I always feel like I can never give you adequate explanations for things, you know." Lydia tells the smaller girl. "But I do try."

Sky listens to her explanation, considers a moment, and speaks. "Then societal standards are flawed."

Mechanically speaking, if all parts function properly, the whole will function properly. But if even a small portion of the parts malfunction, the whole malfunctions, regardless of he functional optimal parts. If society functions similarly, enough unethical people will taint the morality of a whole. "You did the right thing, society states you were wrong. Therefore society is wrong, because what you did was right."

"Societal standards are often flawed. But they also evolve and adapt, and tend to progressively improve." Lydia notes. "Maybe what Gale and I did will mean that Chiron and Mr. D review the procedure for when we need to go help demigods so we can react more quickly. You never know." A faint grin. "Either way, Gale and I are still stuck mucking the stables for a week."

"I would hope." Sky struggled with her paper and pen for a little while. Then finally sighed, and put it away. Her sigh was oddly similar to how Leo sounds when really frustrated. "It isn't right to punish people for doing the right thing."

"You're a good friend, to help Gale with this."

Lydia smiles at that, looking over her shoulder toward further in the stable, where presumably the young man in question is working. "I hope he thinks so too."

She nods her head. "Fairness is another abstract concept that's harder to apply in reality."

"It seems really easy to apply to me. Don't punish people for doing the right thing, punish people for doing things that are... unethical." Sky sees all problems in this easy black and white. Yes and no. Nothing broken down to it's smallest parts is too enormous to solve.

"The wolves that attacked our camp needed to be punished, so did the people that stole my sister's dragons," and one of Sky's hammers, but she could always build a new one. It was just... dangerous, if anyone could use it. She made sure it was a very effective weapon.

"But..." Lydia holds up a hand, "According to those wolves, the one who helped us is the one who deserves to be punished for going against them. And some people think it should Derek should be punished just for being a werewolf, regardless of the fact that he's also a Roman and helped the camp. Twisty, yeah?"

At the mention of Dany's dragons, Lydia's expression grows briefly dark. "Took my books, too. But the dragons, they need to be brought home to their mama. That was a big mistake, taking them."

Sky stops and thinks about it for a moment, "Did he do anything wrong?" From what she understands the werewolf in the Roman Legion hasn't attacked anyone in camp or hurt anyone, and he has been here long enough he could try. Ignoring what he is, and what the other werewolves did, he's been a good person.

"One of my hammers was taken. If anyone can lift it that could be very bad." Sky wishes she could do something, but Tony was working very hard on her arm, and without something that works... she's not ready to fight.

Well, from Lycaon's wolves' perspective, he did." Lydia points out.

"But they didn't just attack him, they attacked anyone, and without any attempt at discussion. They decided that what they were doing was so right nobody in camp mattered." Sky responded, from what she saw, the wolves did not want to talk, they weren't interested in anything but what they wanted. and what they wanted hurt people, so they were wrong.

"He hasn't done anything to be a danger to this camp. And if all they are looking for are campers that are less human than they are..." Sky was, well, far from human herself. Further, even, as she wasn't born, she wasn't turned into this, she has simply always been this. "I don't see why anyone in camp is right to attack him, until he does something bad."

"Of course you're right." Lydia says, "But my point is, if you look at it from the wolves' perspective, he's done something wrong. You see how the perspective can change?"

She's not seeing it, "But... they were clearly wrong, from an objective point of view they were doing harm that they didn't need to do. They made no demands on the camp, nor did they open a dialog. Their actions were... self important."

"The wolf that took off my arm didn't attempt to talk it out, they just attacked Hephaistion the moment we were spotted. I imagine I was ignored because he was a more obvious threat, but there actions were not kind. So any perspective of theirs is flawed on its face. The only reason I am still functional is that mechanical dragons that have drill teeth and breathe fire are scarier than werewolves." Sky was pretty heavily damaged in that fight, so it stands to reason she has trouble envisioning a point of view were the werewolves aren't evil and just wanted to kill a lot of people.

Hephaistion doubted greatly that Lydia and Gale would appreciate his relief that they were in there working the stables while his arm was still in a sling and taking it's [expletive deleted] sweet time healing. He worried that some of his persistent injury was psychosomatic, and he tried to work though it (often overdoing it), but in this instance, he was just glad the equines were not being neglected. Best to focus on that issue. He did what little he could when he went to visit Asteri, but it was still hard to do more than basic grooming.

And apples, which were the treats Hephaistion now carried in the sack over his shoulder. Enough for each horse and pegasus, plus anyone else he might run into while at the stables. He knocked on the door frame to announce his arrival.

Gale's busy mucking out the stalls, so he doesn't look up until the visitor walks in and he's back in the aisle. When he spots Hephaistion, arm in a sling and a sack on his shoulder, he sets the tools down and brushes his hands off on a rag before approaching.

"Need any help with that?" he asks, nodding at the bag.

When Gale comes into view and addresses him, Hephaistion nods in greeting. They hadn't actually met before, but Hephaistion is aware of his name because of the punishment declarations made by Chiron. It could have been a lot worse than pegasus duty, but Hephaistion isn't about to point that out. Such an observation made by someone who mucked out the stables on a regular basis for fun probably didn't have a very strong position to comment on such things. Instead he offers a small smile.

"I don't mean to interrupt what you're doing, but if you would like to make a few new friends-for-life (for as long as pegasus memory lasts), I brought apples here to treat them. I would appreciate a spare hand with that."

"I just finished," Gale tells him simply, easily taking the bag from the other boy. "I'd be glad to help. Hephaistion, right?"

"Yes, that's right." Hephaistion nods in greeting as he hands over the bag of appleas. "And you're Gale, correct? How are the pegasi treating you? Well, I hope, or no apples for them." He narrows his eyes towards the animals in an exaggerated critical fashion.

"That's me," he affirms with a nod. He's still serving hard time here, so it's not exactly sunshine and rainbows every day he's been here. But Gale broke the rules knowingly, however justified the matter had been, and he does his job without complaint. "They're good. I think they actually like the company."

Odd, that they would like having him around. He's never been much of a horse person, really, or a pegasus person for that matter. More than likely, it simply comes down to their love of attention. They're just like any other pet would be, in that respect.

"I'm sure they do. I can't speak for them, but I know most people don't come out here nearly as often as they could. It's why I bring them treats sometimes when I visit. To keep them in good spirits."

Hephaistion would agree that the pegasi were overly fond of attention. But in contrast, Hephaistion really was a horse person, and he took every moment to spoil them silly just like they like. Oh, but not enough that they would become lazy or fat. Horses still had to run like the wind, pegasi still had to be able to fly through it. An overweight, grounded pegasus was a sorry sight indeed.

"The green apple in the bag goes to Moneypenny, but the rest can be given to whomever."

"What makes him so special?" Given Gale's usual disposition, it could come off sounding grumpy. In truth, however, he's only teasing. Being here for a weak and looking after the pegasi has sort of gotten him acquainted with them and their quirks, so he knows how Moneypenny can be. He starts handing out the apples to the appropriate pegasi, giving each of them a friendly scratch on their necks as he does.

"She just likes them better. I do try to be accommodating whenever I can." Even if Gale sounds grumpy, Hephaistion is in a pretty good mood (all things considered) and responds with a certain amount of that in his voice. "Horses are a lot easier to spoil than people. And they're more grateful in the long run."

Snort.

"Tell me about it. I have two younger brothers and a princess of a little sister," Gale says with a quiet chuckle. Even as he says it, he knows he's part of the reason Posy's the way the she is. But she's the only girl in the family, save their mom, and the youngest. She should be spoiled on the rare occasions that they can afford it.

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dropped the ball on this. sorry!

no worries!

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