gentle giant (open)

[Ulrich Hiilden]

Ulrich had a rough morning. He found himself at the stables after a slight confrontation with a son of aries. It had almost come to blows if that medeling girl from aphrodite hadn't stepped in. But of course there was no way that Ulrich would fight after a girl had worked so hard to keep things from escalating past harsh words and insults. So Ulrich found himself at the stables.

Horses always calmed him and being around them on the farm back in Finland was always a really wonderful feeling. He came up to a chesnut stallion and started to rub its nose. Ulrich gave a smirk as the horse snorted and then tapped his hand with its nose. The dual axes at his side clanked against his bronze armor as he was nuzzled by the horse into the side of the wall. Just the thought made him smile.

[Darius Falco]

Darius turned the corner on his furious, in his line of sight he could see a collection of targets, and hastily made dummy, the slowly lowered his spear, as his horse Aithon speed forward letting out an eerie whinny as Darius screamed for him to go faster. Darius held the spear steady, and aimed in on a dummy made to look like an enemy rider; the strike jerked his shoulder back, the spear itself lodged in the chest of the dummy, Darius stopped and turned his horse around, looking at his teacher to see if he did it properly, The instructor gave him and a nod, and then sent him on “Never stop! Go! Go!” Darius reared his horse around and pushed in on, Aithon screamed as he stood on its hind legs, and fell into a swift sprint. The next part of the course was to Darius much easier, watermelon mounted on wooden spit served as fake heads to cut, Darius smiled as he reached behind his back and pulled to swords out from under his shield, he expertly swung them preparing to finish his bloody business. Left, then right, left, then right, and soon after left and right at the same time, Darius cut through the targets, Darius stood up on his stirrups, and leaned to his right, he cut a rope, acting has a latch, thus disabling a potential catapult. Darius was finally finished, and was released by him teacher to rest until his next lesson. “You rode as if Hades himself was behind you Aithon, well done let get you back to the stables. Darius got of his horse, to ease its strain, and in a light jog returned to the stables.

Trotting In Darius took his horse to water, the horse plunged his head in and began to drink, Darius stroked the glossy black fur of the horse, still commending him on a job well done. For a moment Darius looked up to see another camper , not unusual but this one was familiar, because that was the one who almost fought with one of his little brothers….of half brothers. Darius did not look coldly on him, well not as cold as anyone else that he didn’t know on the camp, he shot the box a half smile and then turned his attention to back to his horse.

[jared hawthorn]

Horses didn't like Jared, but he'd come to practice finding on horseback like a good sport anyways. It had seemed like the right thing to do. Everyone else seemed to be doing it, so why shouldn't he? Sure, he'd come out bruised and scratched and his horse was glaring at him even now, but he'd proved that he could do it. Like a real son of Zeus should. Sure, he might not want to repeat the experience, but he couldn't be accused of being narrow-minded.

And now it was finished. Jared shut the door to his horses stall and walked back outside, dusting his pants off the best he could, which wasn't very well. He must have fallen off a good five or six times. Horseback riding, it turned out, did not fit into the list of activities aided by his newly discovered half-blood powers.

Another boy, on the other hand, was watering his horse and still looking in comparably decent shape. Jared had seen him riding. He'd looked good, far better than Jared knew he himself had. He walked over to another boy, still inside the stables, who was standing by his horse, with no fear of the beast. The creature seemed to like him too. Must be able to sense confidence.

Jared walked up to the two, as he was certainly not getting back on a horse for quite a while and nodded a friendly greeting hello. One of the boys, the one who'd been riding, was back to focusing on his horse, so Jared greeted the other one, "He seems to like you. You must be good with horses. I'm Jared, son of Zeus."

Jared offered to boy a hand to shake, unsure if that gesture applied this far north or was a trapping of southern life.

[Darius Falco]

Darius continued to calm his horse as it drank until it was finished, “Let’s get you some food Aithon, we will have another go tomorrow, we have to keep your strength up.” Darius took the horses reigns and led him across the stables to the feeding area, in passing he heard a new comer, introduce himself as a son of Zeus, if it were not for the love of his horse darius would have taken out his swords immediately, a son of Zeus would be a strong friend, and a indispensable ally, but that did not make him special he would have to prove himself like everyone else, and darius would do his best not to die, get electrocuted, or both. Darius shot him a brief glance as he passed, but soon his full concentration was back on his horse. Aithon had become uneasy in the presence of Jared, he began to stomp his front hooves, and rearing his head. Darius took a tighter hold of his reigns, fearing the horse might bolt, he said no words he whistled a short tune, that seemed to suck the uneasiness out of Aithon and Darius. Darius pulled the horse along and lead him to the hefty pile of food laid out for him. Darius tied the horse to a nearby post, and sat himself down on a small stool, he pulled out a silver rock and one of his swords, and he dipped the rock in water, and then began to slide the rock, down the length of the blade. The sound of the metal being shaped, and perfected claimed him, he relaxed smiling as he watched his horse pig out.

Darius continued to sharpen his swords looking up at his fellow campers every once and awhile, solely to keep an eye on his surroundings.

[Ulrich Hiilden]

Ulrich wasn't expecting there to be anyone here. Much less being ambushed by two other boys. Well maybe ambushed wasn't the best of words to use. He looked over at the first boy, a son of Aries and then to the second boy who introduced himself as a son of Zeus. The horse that he had been petting was his own, a gift from his grandfather upon his acceptance into Camp Half-blood. Valo was what his name was, the finnish word meaning light. The stallion bumped his hand once more trying to see if it could get the owner to relinquish a few sugar cubes.

Ulrich turned to the boy who had introduced himself. "Is good to meet you, son of Zeus. I am called Ulrich, son of Eris. Please forgive, my english is not good as yours." Ulrich said in his scandinavian accented voice. English wasn't his first language by any means and with the horrid cases of dislexia and ADHD, it wasnt about to improve any time soon. He shook the Jared's hand with a nod and a smile. The grip Ulrich had was strong and calloused. Ulrich then turned to the boy from the Aries cabin. Though the two came from different immortal parents, they had more in common then most would think. Both were warlike and knew battle as if it was second nature, but sometimes it was those similarties that sometimes caused problems.

Ulrich opened his mouth to say something but was pushed off edge by his horse trying to search for the sugar cubes he had hidden in his bottom pocket. With a small laugh he dug them out and fed them to the chesnut stallion before him. "Son of Aries, please forgive for earlier. I am no morning person, though your brother should be a little more forgiving to those who no speak english well like you." Ulrich said, looking the Son of Aries squarely in the face. His stance was confidant and proud, saying that he feared no one. "But maybe you and I be friends some day, yes?" Ulrich added as he continued to pat his horse.

[Darius Falco]

Darius Looked up at the boy as he apologized to him for his actions in the morning, it made Darius laughed and shake his head, he didn’t care who this boy fought, his only issue with him, was the little altercation made him late for phalanx practice, which was his favorite, Darius shrugged it off and continued to sharpen his sword. "But maybe you and I be friends some day, yes?" Darius stopped sharpening his sword with a screech, He looked up at the boy, he really did have nerve, Darius would give him that. Darius laid his sword on his lags with a sigh, “Friend, every person I’ve given that title has tried to kill me, one turned into a blood fury and tossed me off of liberty place, since then I vowed to know no friend until that fought me first, so they will prove themselves to me, and I to them,” Darius lifted his sword and looked straight down the blade, looking for imperfections, “You see you never really know a person until then, until a person begins to count his breaths, when fear of the black oblivion that is the underworld can been seen creeping over their shoulder, that when a per shows their true virtue, if there is any to be had.” Darius stood up and approached the boy, with a serious yet sarcastic smile, so Ulrich son of Eris, Goddess of strife and discord….Would you like to get to know me?” Darius held out one of his swords, the hilt faced toward Ulrich. Darius gave a glance to the apparent son of Zeus, “ Your welcome in this too mate, ill just switch to me spear, “And the names Duke, or Darius, but no one calls me tha, at least not to me face.”

[Ulrich Hiilden]

Ulrich drew his double axes with a grin and slid into a stance. A fight against the son of aries would be something great, maybe something to be sung of by the muses one day. "Our fight will be great. You, son of Aries will be a master opponant to fight." Ulrich said with a crazy grin on his face. "Thank you for weapon but I prefer Axes. They are favored by my grandfather to get wood." The axes he had were custom made by Ulrich. The handles were shorter then regular axes for more easy manuverability and though the had a more wicked curve with a serrated edge and a spike upon the tops of each. "Nothing is more trusted then what you make with own hands." Ulrich said as he tapped his breast plate with the tip of his axe in a salute to his opponent. Though he was considered to be an agressive fighter by many, he knew how to wait and attack. Always make your opponant make the first move. Watch and wait, was how he always fought. His eyes rested on the torso of the son of Aries, a little trick he had learned years ago. It was easy to tell when and where an opponant was going to attack by focusing on the torso.

[Darius Falco]

Darius grinned at Ulrich, he flipped the hilt of his sword in his own hand, and drew the second, he swung them in an x motion in front of his body there was no grin on his face, and they two of them would soon see if they were each worthy enough to be called a friend. Darius turned and back peddled, getting at a comfortable distance, he his shield off of his back, it would slow him down, hinder movement; he crossed his swords and placed them on his chest, and bowed his head, a symbol of power and respect. He then began to bounce on his toes, with a running start he leaped toward a post that held the stables up, getting an extra boost from that, he swung his sword down fiercely from above, he landed and swiped at the boys midsection with his other sword, this was aggressive even for Darius, but there was a lot on the line, strength and Honor.

[Ulrich Hiilden]

Ulrich jumpped back nimbily, the sword barely scratched his leather armour around his mid section and a powerful blow missed his nose by a hair. That was a powerful move for the Son of Aries to make. He gave a twisting move and side stepped around towards Darius's side, moving in close towards his opponant. Despite his average height and reach, Ulrich had always been one to move in close and become more intiment with his opponant. He gave a short jab with his pointed axe head to the rips and a slashing motion towards the neck. Ulrich knew the best places to get critical blows. He turned his Axe blade that he had use to jab with and gave a twisting motion, trying to catch the blade of the sword amongst the curls inlaid in the celestial bronze to try to disarm his opponant. His weight was evenly distributed though he seemed to favor his left hand over his right as far as the combat actually went. His bright blue eyes flashed fiercly. He had inticipated a battle with a son of Aries and now he was getting his wish, but this was a fight for friendship, honor and a show of strength. His heart was pounding and his breath quickened up. The adrenaline was already starting to course through his body.

[Darius Falco]

Both his blows were fended off, Darius expected as much, quickly changed is stance for Ulrich’s answer, but it came sooner than expected, a lucky shot to the ribs, Darius did not flinch, he had no time to before he know it, he was limboing a second blow which came deathly close to slitting his through, he recovered to fins the his opponent was trying to twist on of his swords out of his hands, With a scream rivaling his father’s blood lust, he jabbed his free sword in-between the axe and his weapon, and pull it high in the air, and quickly sent a kick towards his opponent mid section, trying to get some distance in between them. He did not back peddle this time, he had enough room at least for now, and he did not want to give away his fighting style, with a quick jump he twisted a kick in the air, he hoped that Ulrich would fall for this trick; for it was the blows to follow that would deal the most damage. Darius now sideways in the air out stretched is arms, the swords cut down in quick succession like a windmill of death, he side stepped as quick as his body would move him, lunging one sword over Ulrich shoulder and to the right at his neck, he moved again, taking a little more time to find a better angle, he decided to use one of his opponents own tricked by trapping one of the axes in his blades, and stepping to the right, putting his body perpendicular with a post, if his trap worked he would swing his right axe at his head, and hopefully the boy would be strong enough to embed the weapon in the wood, leaving Darius with less to worry about, it was a long shot, but in his heart he trusted his own movements.

[jared hawthorn]

Jared watched as the two boys began to duke it out in front of him, forgetting his presence within moments. An interesting way of determining friendships, this. He didn't even know one of the boys names, the one who seemed, from Ulrich's comments, to be a son of Ares, and yet they were fighting fiercely, but not quite hostilely, right in front of them. He would have jumped in then and there, but the Son of Ares had taken off with the sword he had offered him and Jared wasn't about to go into a fight defenseless.

Looking around himself, Jared found the tools for mucking out the stables resting against one wall. One was a ptichfork, which looked like it would do the job well enough, even if it wasn't quite ideal. He casually walked over, avoiding the fight for the moment, and weighed it in his hand. He preferred a sword, this seemed bulky and awkward, but it would work just fine indeed. Jared walked towards the fight, waiting for an opportunity to jump in. He could wait.

And then the son of Ares stood right in front of him, laying a trap for his other opponent. Jared sung his pitch fork at his right arm, hoping to make him drop one of his two swords. If he was really going to fight, he needed a real weapon.

[Ulrich Hiilden]

Ulrich grunted as he took a kick to the chest and gave a grunt. It hurt but the pain was bareable. He took in a deep breath to assess the damage, good nothing was broken but at least they were bruised. After a few quick rapid movements, he deflected and parried the storm of blades that had come his way. Ulrich's eyes tracked the movements of Darius but then Jared walked past and weighed a pitchfork in his hand. The son of Zeus would be a bit of a challenge and should prove to be a great fighter if the stories were true.

Ulrich watched as Darius tried to lay a trap for him. But Ulrich was smart and decided to fein the bait. However instead of going for the head shot with the blade, he twisted it so the blunted end would strike with a massive blow. It was enough force to knock anyone who was stupid enough unconcious with a massive concoussion for weeks. "Come son of Zeus! There is a fight to be had!" Ulrich shouted as Jared jabbed at Darius's arm with a pitchfork. While the boy stabbed, Ulrich gave a sweeping kick to knock Darius from his feet and then moved to a dual slash upward at Darius. Ulrich let out a few breaths slowly, trying to keep his mind focused on the battle at hand. The sound of his horse neighing and stomping impaitently, it seemed as if he was eager to join the battle.

[jared hawthorn]

"I do have a name you know, son of Eris," Jared grinned as his pitchfork flew towards Ulrich, "And I would appreciate you using it."

Ulrich had pulled back, Jared noted, but he didn't doubt that he would be back to help soon enough. He sounded eager, "I'll be with you in a moment. But you know what they say, it's rude to leave a fight unfinished."

[Darius Falco]

“To your left!” The rather annoying voice of his father rang in Darius’ head, Darius saw the sneaky son of Zeus, lunge at him with a pitch fork, he caught the blade between the prongs, and twisted it, as soon as he did so his legs were taken from him by a leg sweep by Ulrich, Darius gnashed his teeth at the pain as his knees cracked on the ground, but his pain fueled his rage, all Darius had to do was fight to control it. He dodged blade of Ulrich’s double attack, cut a small fillet of skin off his left arm as he bent out of the way. Darius jumped up with the son of Zeus’s weapon still wrapped around his arm. Darius wrapped that arm around Ulrich’s neck, it was time to use the tactic of getting close against him, he quickly relapsed the pitchfork with one arm, turned and broke the shaft of object with the back of his upper arm, this served darius in two ways, it disarmed Jared, and would hopefully give Ulrich a good neck ache.” Darius dropped one of his swords mistakenly; he rolled his eyes at the fact that the sneaky son of his grandfather would have a weapon after all, Darius rolled away from his opponents, turning only to skill throw his last sword in Ulrich direction.

Darius sped over to his shield and picked it up; he then grabbed his spear that was still stuck in the ground near Aithon. He walked slowly back in front of his opponents, still a good distance away he crouched low pulling his shield up, at the quick step, he approached them again. When he was close enough Darius lunged the tip of his spear like a scorpion at Ulrich, high then low, and once to the left, he brought his right arm up. Until his hand made a fist behind his head, this made sure is shield was in the right position, he swung his spear wide, aiming at both their necks, continued to turn, a sent his shield at Jared, hoping to knock him down, and to secure some breathing room for himself, he slammed his spear up right on the ground, so that it would be ready to counter Ulrich who had already proven himself a tactical fighter.

[jared hawthorn]

Darius didn't seem to sustain any real injury from Jared's pitchfork, which didn't surprise Jared in the least. It really was a terrible weapon. Although it was a shame that Darius broke it. It could have made an...interesting obstacle later in the fight. And now Jared was unarmed! Sure, he could just go grab another useless weapon, but that felt like cheating and Jared didn't cheat. He'd just have to fight hand-to-hand. He could manage that. It wasn't ideal, but he could manage. But then Darius dropped one of his swords, as he turned all of his focus on Ulrich for a moment. Jared snatched it up.

"Thank you sir," he bantered, with a mocking salute, leaping back to dodge the shield the son of Ares swung at him and ducking below his spear. Jared raised his own sword and attempted to move in closer, swinging his sword at the son of Ares shield arm. Shields were important, they provided defense. Without one, the half-blood would be easy enough prey for Ulrich and Jared. They were allies in this, he suspected. Both subject to this strange kid's idea of an appropriate test of friendship.

Keeping this in mind, Jared motioned to Ulrich, trying to tell him to move out of his current predicament and sneak around behind the son of Ares. Strategy was always good. Better than brute strength. Particularly against a son of Ares.