The task at hand (open)

[Adelaide Clark]

Adelaide stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill looking over the campgrounds that the [/span][/div]

legion would be calling home for the next..well however long it took to 

repair their camp. She and the troops had arrived a day earlier, and this had been 

the first place they had come to. It had been the first glimpse at where they'd be staying

and she'd be lying if she said it wasn't impressive. Though not nearly as large or grand as 

Camp Jupiter this place had it's own unique qualities. Their climbing wall with the lava was 

impressive and she had made a mental note to get something equally challenging built at 

Camp Jupiter when they arrived back. The grounds appeared to be fairly neat and orderly, which 

was a far cry from the campers there. Everything seemed to be un-orderly and chaotic.  

The kids were bunking together according to godly parent instead of skill, it didn't make sense. 

Classes on training seemed to be focusing on individual talents rather than working the camp 

together as a battalion and a team. Where were the drills? Where was the unity? The kids seemed 

to be governing themselves with no outright and direct leadership, it was enough to give her a 

headache. She crossed her arms and sighed, her eyes glancing over the camp once more. 

She could spot members of her legion from here. They were the ones with rigid stances, the ones 

who seemed guarded and ready to break into testudo formation. She couldn't help smiling a little.

She was proud of her legion. So far they had demonstrated all she could have hoped for in any 

Roman: strength, adaptation, and discipline. Their training was paying off right in front of her 

eyes and she only hoped she'd be able to keep their training solid before any of this Grecian 

mess could taint it.  It was a large job that had to be done, but she was Praetor for a reason 

and she'd get it done. No questions asked and no whining allowed. 

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Considering the fact that Ethan was one of the cabin leaders chosen to be an ambassador for the camp during this transition, he was supposed to meet with the praetor first thing. As soon as the legion arrived, Ethan got to work helping find room in the cabins for the Romans and helping them set up temporary tents in an organized fashion. Ethan had given every cabin at camp a specific job to do, leaving the less important jobs to cabins he didn't trust like Hermes or Ares. Ethan actually got along pretty well with the Aphrodite cabin, they were good at keeping things organized.

Soon, Ethan was heading to the top of Half-Blood Hill to meet with one of the Roman Praetors. Now, Ethan wasn't really one to think of a girl in any sort of physical way at first meeting, especially not a girl from the Roman camp. Especially not the Roman praetor. But when he stepped up into a position with the girl in view, he actually felt his jaw drop. She was beautiful, regal and composed. There was nothing Ethan valued more than someone who was able to stay calm in a stressful situation. Granted, not that Ethan was very good at that. He shook his head, literally, whisking the thought of her beauty away. First of all, that wasn't important. Second of all, she was a Roman. Things needed to be done correctly, and right now he was supposed to introduce himself.

Ethan walked up to the girl, holding a hand out to her, "Praetor Clark, I assume? I'm Ethan," he spoke calmly and respectively, the way an ambassador should.

[Adelaide Clark]

Adelaide was caught up in watching everyone. There was so much that needed to be done. She could see from here that the Greek's training arena wasn't going to be large enough for the legion to train, and just glancing over the perimeter she counted five...possibly six security issues around the border that could be improved. She was grateful to the Greeks for opening up their home of course, but that didn't mean she had to agree with everything they did, in fact it was more of the opposite of that.

Adi was so caught up in her mental evaluation of the camp that she hadn't noticed someone approaching until they were practically right in front of her. She turned her head and found herself looking at a guy..seemingly not much older than her, dark hair, blue eyes, handsome she supposed if she was one to think about such things. Her posture had changed in a second, where she had been fairly relaxed looking over the camp, turning to face him now she was rigid, her back fully straight and shoulders back. When he began walking to her,  she instinctively began to raise her hand in a Roman salute, stopping herself midway and dropping her hand to a more..greek way of greeting. She could feel her cheeks warm slightly, a bit embarrassed that she hadn't remembered that they didn't salute here. She mentally shook off the social gaff and shook his hand, smiling as she nodded to him and spoke " You are correct....Adelaide Clark, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Nice to meet you Ethan." 

She wondered who he was of course, she knew he was from the camp and obviously someone they trusted to discuss and go over these arrangements but past that she didn't know anything about him which was strange for her. In Camp Jupiter she knew all of her soldiers, from the Probatios to the Cohorts. She knew their godly parents and their skills, and even most of their backgrounds. Here she was just flying in the dark and it bothered her. She dropped her hand and spoke again " Thank you so much for meeting with me, I hope you and the other leaders of your camp know how much we appreciate this. We are officially indebted to you." Those words tasted bad coming out of her mouth, but it was the truth. The Romans owed a lot to the Greek camp now.

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Ethan could see a change in posture when she addressed him. So formal, such a Roman way of doing this. He chuckled a little as she shook his hand and then dropped it. "Nice to meet you, Miss Clark." He decided it was best to call her by her surname until she gave him an idea of what she would prefer. It seemed to be respectful, right? He wasn't going to start calling her 'Adelaide' without permission, but he didn't want to just call her 'Praetor' either. As an ambassador for the camp, he wanted things to be personal and professional between the two of them.

When she mentioned the debt that her camp owed the Greeks, Ethan couldn't help but smile a little-adding a shrug for casualness. He didn't want her to find him smug though, so he immediately regretted that display. He stood up straighter, "always willing to help out fellow Demi-Gods, Miss Clark." He turned to face the camp, where the Romans where receiving bunking assignments from the cabin leaders. At least the ones Ethan trusted to assign to that task. The whole thing was still a big mess and Ethan felt embarrassment starting to seep into him. He sighed, shaking his head. "This is a big mess though, isn't it?" he glanced at her sideways.

Granted, there were a few things about the transition that were easy enough. Finding a place for Adelaide Clark to sleep, for example. "Well, there is a lot of room in your fathers-erh-sort of fathers cabin. I think you'll be comfortable there," he gestured to the largest cabin toward the top of the semi circle, the cabin of Zeus. Ethans own cabin was nearby, but not really a part of the circle, kind of in the shadows. He gave it a smug look.

[Adelaide Clark]

Adelaide gave him a tight smile when he called her by her last name. She supposed if she was Greek or maybe someone else who wasn't directly in charge of over 300 demigods she might have insisted on him to call her by her first name, but that wasn't her. For the past four years she had been called either Praetor or Praetor Clark by everyone she had ever came into contact with. The only exception being of course her other Praetor who occasionally called her by her given name. Not this guy though, and certainly no other common Greek. 

When he grinned and shrugged as if to say in her mind 'of you know...just bailing you out because we're the best' she raised her eyebrow a bit but didn't comment. She didn't really blame him, she supposed if the positions were reversed she'd be smug about it too, still she hated that it had come to this: relying on Greeks. She nodded to him and looked back out over the camp. It was chaos, but it was only the first day...things would get better, the troops would re-group and pull together like they always did, like they were taught to do. She heard Ethan speak and she turned her head to him, and nodded. " Yes, I hadn't taken into account how much of a cultural difference there was between us two. My legion is grouped by skill and from what I've seen you all are sorted by...godly parentage, correct?" She looked back at the groups of campers, most looked unsure and confused. She turned back to Ethan and spoke again " They won't complain, it'll just take some getting used to that's all." 

She couldn't help but wonder how the Greeks would be acting if the positions were switched. If they were suddenly grouped by skill.... how well they'd hold up to the challenge. She hadn't seen very much of their training but somehow she doubted they'd hold up as well as her Romans were. When Ethan pointed out the Zeus cabin she took in the large building by itself. The thing was monstrous and commanding. Not much different than her Praetor quarters at Camp Jupiter. She nodded " Thank you, I'm sure I will." She knew it was all in her mind but she felt the SPQR and eagle tattoo burning as if it was angry she'd be taking residence in such an opposite and wrong place. She cleared her throat softly and turned back to Ethan. " So..what about you, where do you call residence Ethan?" She hadn't nailed down who she thought he belonged to, though she had ruled out a few...Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo. If she had to guess she's say either Hecate or Athena but it was pure guessing.

[Deleted]

"That's right," Ethan said with a sigh. Sometimes he knew it was a bad idea being placed with your siblings. It made the Ares cabin feed of each others rage, the Hermes cabin feed of each others foolishness and the Aphrodite cabin feed off... whatever. In fact, he found this grouping by skill thing to be intriguing, "However, I am really interested in the way you do things. But tell me..." he knew he might offend her by saying this, but it wasn't like Ethan to hold back, "Wouldn't the less skilled grow to be more skilled if they were grouped with others? Wouldn't the least skilled group be considered a 'weak link' in your um..." he snapped his fingers, trying to remember the word she had just used, "legion?" There. He found it.

Ethan laughed at her comment about the Romans not complaining, "Well, I can't promise anything of the sort for us Greeks," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair the way he did when he was lost in thought. The Greeks had already started to complain, but most of them were so loving in their own way that they were also really excited to help out the Romans. It was going to be a weird transition, but Ethan had faith in his comrades. The truth was, Ethan liked being in a cabin on his own for the time being. He didn't really like working with others, which was another reason he needed to trust in his comrades to help with this transition. The thought of things not going smoothly made Ethan twitch.

Ethan nodded as she glanced in the direction of her cabin. He opened his mouth, almost ready to change the subject, until she asked where he called home. He tried not to look as awkward as he felt. Truthfully, Hades and Zeus were bitter enemies. He didn't know anything about Pluto and Jupiters relationship though, so what was going to happen next? He bit his lip for a moment before gesturing again. "The little dark one, off to the side. Doesn't really fit in..." he felt awkward for a short moment before straightening out. "Son of Hades," he spoke in a firm voice.

[Adelaide Clark]

Adelaide was slightly surprised that Ethan he wanted to know more about their ways. In what she had seen of their troops, er...campers....most had seemed set in their ways. In fact she had overheard more than one group of Ares campers remark about her legion being fresh meat, boy were they in for a surprise. She nodded a bit when he asked about being grouped by skill. She could see where someone from the outside might think that way. When he snapped and finally remembered the name of their troops she couldn't help but grin a little. She had to give him credit, at least he was trying. At least he seemed to want to make this transition work as smoothly as possible which was more than what she could have asked for. " Our legion is trained to fight in the old ways. We all train together, we advance together and we work together. Each camper guarding and fighting to protect the camper beside him. Our fighting style is arranged in lines, with your best fighters first. That offers you the strongest initial strike in both offense and defense. The only way to ensure you have the best forward is to sort them by skill like we do." She looked over the campers once more and continued speaking " Also, we promote and advance by skill..Praetors, Centurions and such... so if you are ranked lower it gives you something to work towards,  an obvious goal. It also gives our leaders obvious places they need to work on. It makes everything more clear...defined." 

She looked back at him, and couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. She wasn't so prideful that she didn't mind a little a little constructive criticism...even if it was from a Greek. She liked to get an outsider's point of view on it all.  When he mentioned he couldn't say the same for the Greeks she found herself grinning again. She could see Ethan being an easy ally. He seemed very upfront and honest about his camp, he didn't seem like he was trying to put on an arrogant front, she honestly hadn't expected he'd be so easy to talk with, but she was thankful. That'd make this transition go as smoothly as it could. 

Adelaide followed his gaze to the cabin that seemed even in daylight to be shrouded in shadows. It seemed to give off an odd feeling of coldness even from so far away. Adi glanced back over to Ethan and noticed he seemed a bit nervous, she assumed it had something to do with the Greek version of his father...Hades wasn't really a loved God, and certainly not to children of Zeus she imagined.  " You know...your father's Roman equivalent is very different from his Greek one. We know Pluto to be a respected fighter, fighting side by side with the gods against their enemies. He's considered to be more of the god of wealth than death. Certainly nothing to be ashamed of." 

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Ethan nodded as he listened to her explanation. "That makes more sense, then," and he really believed that. Though, she did say something that irked him a little, "I wouldn't say it's the only way, but I can't deny that it's efficient." Sure they Greeks were unorganized and crazy, which made Ethan want to pull his own teeth out, but they had managed pretty fantastically in battles before. Who was this girl to say her way was the only way? Oh yeah, she was a Roman.

Ethan felt bad for feeling a little irritated. He tried to shake it off by focusing on the chaos below. Actually, it wasn't started to look like chaos as much as it was a moment ago. This made him happy. He liked it when things went according to plan. Though, he knew it wouldn't last. Nothing ever works unless he handles it himself, and even then someone always ruins it.

Ethan followed her gaze as her eyes fell upon the little cabin that he lived in. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she described the Roman version of his father. It actually made him laugh a little, "Really? Cuz my dad can very... temperamental," he chuckled again. He did find his father to be quite respectable, but not in the way she was describing. Not at all. "That's cool, though." He tried to sound grateful.

[Adelaide Clark]

Adelaide gave a half-way smile when he seemed to understand why they did the things they did. She was pleased that someone other than a Roman could see how beneficial their ways were. She tried hiding her smile when he called her out on calling it the only way. She hadn't actually realized she had said it that way, but she didn't doubt it either. It was the truth, at least in her mind. She was taught that their way was supreme from birth, that they were descended from warriors and expected to hold up that tradition until their death. Being Roman wasn't a personality it was literally their way of life, everything they knew. 

When he mentioned his father was a bit temperamental she nodded " I can relate." It was a Roman answer, but she couldn't help it. Maybe if she had been Greek she might have blathered on and on about her Dad being strict and the king of the Gods was a hard role to fill, but that wasn't her way. Romans didn't complain. She nodded and looked back towards camp, clearing her throat " So...I think we're all caught up with the bunking situation, what about the training? I don't think your arena is large enough for group training, would it be possible to use that field?" She gestured towards an open area of grass located on the outskirts of the camp. She wasn't totally sure it would fit them all, but it was better than trying to squeeze them into a small arena. " The Greeks..I mean...your campers would be free to train with us if they'd like...not saying they need it of course but maybe to get a better understanding..a better feel for one another?" She hoped he understood what she was saying. She hadn't meant to cause any offense or make anything tense. The situation was odd enough without feelings getting hurt from the start. 

[Deleted]

Ethan cocked an eyebrow at her. I mean, he knew how Zeus could be but he didn't know anything about Jupiter. He decided not to press it however, for he was sure she was just trying t be kind and make a good impression. He was sure she had more to say, however, but he pegged her for the kind of girl who would speak her mind if she wanted to. It didn't seem smart to try and push it at all, and he was fine with that. He didn't like people pressing him for answers on conversations he didn't want either.

Ethan listened intently to her next question and turned to the field in question. He nodding slowly, contemplating. "Yeah, that would work, I think. We wouldn't want to make you train the way we do completely, but we invite you to use our facilities as well." He chuckled a little as she struggled with the next part, which is exactly where he was going to go with this. "No, no. I agree. We can certainly benefit from having each other around." He meant that too. Even if it was a big unorganized mess right now that was giving him a headache.

Ethan knew they would get along though as long as everything went the way he planned. So far they hadn't butt heads... yet...