"Shut up, Austyn." Micah gave Ray an apologetic glance, resting his hand on Ray's arm, then he veered away toward his own table.
Janet wiggled. "Put me down," she said, already eyeing the tables.


(oh wow I wasn't expecting to like Austyn as much as I do, he's great TwT)

(Thank you. (also, Janet is adorable) ^w^)

Ray smiles after Micah. To answer your question, Austyn, yes, I think I do. He thinks silently to himself.

Austyn notices the smile, and manages to refrain from teasing Ray any more. "Down ya go." He says to Janet, putting the girl down.

Janet looked at Ray, running over and grabbing his hand. "Come on, stop swooning over Micah!" She tugged him toward the table, grabbing Austyn's hand as well.

Micah smiled slightly to himself, sliding into his regular spot at the Demeter cabin. He couldn't stop himself from glancing up at Ray.

"I'm not... swooning. Swooning has to involve the act of fainting." Ray notes, letting her lead him towards the table and taking a seat, hoping he wasn't doing anything wrong.
Austyn sits down next to him, "Is that it's dictionary definition?" Ray nods. "When do/did you have time to read the dictionary?" Austyn mutters.
"I don't know, I just managed to read parts of it." Ray replies.
"Why would you even want to read the dictionary." Austyn continues, not really listening to Ray. "It's a boring list of words explaining words in a bunch of words when you could have just said the word and completely understood it!"
"Except, for example, swoon. Which I believe has a common misconception these days. So maybe reading a dictionary comes in handy." Ray says with a smug smile.
Austyn laughs, "I guess... I'm still not going to waste time reading - or even skimming over - a dictionary."
Ray nods in agreement, "Sounds like a good plan."

Micah slipped into conversation with the other Demeter kids, trying to put Ray, Austyn, and Janet out of his mind.

Janet listened to the conversation, pushing her corndog off of its stick and cutting it into small pieces. "Fine then- stop pining for Micah, Ray. Better?" She arched her eyebrows in a surprisingly sassy way, then broke down giggling, nibbling on a piece of her corndog.

Ray chuckles and nods, "Okay, I'll take that." He says, eating what was on his own plate. He was deciding he was liking this place, this camp. People here were mostly friendly. Ray hadn't met anyone that wasn't friendly yet.

Austyn was focused on the food by this point.

Another girl walked over, her black hair pulled into a tight braid. She slammed her hands down on the table in front of Austyn, her violet eyes blazing with anger. "Did you move my swords, Gray?"

Ray flinches away from the girl, wonder where in the blazes she popped up from. Ray glances at Austyn, wondering what was going on.
"Swords, what swords? Oh, your swords? Maybe. That depends. You're asking, so... no." Austyn says. "I did not even touch your swords. Didn't look at them. So definitely didn't move them."

Janet noticed Ray flinch and leaned over to whisper, "it's okay. That's Nicole. She's super mean, but she wouldn't hurt anyone without good reason."

"Ooh, suuure," Nicole sneered. "But if someone else was asking, it'd be a stunning yeah, wouldn't it?" She leaned closer, grabbing Austyn's collar and yanking him close. "Where. Are. They?"

Austyn fesses up, "They're hiding somewhere in Camp Halfblood. Now let me eat in peace."
"Austyn, I think it would be a good idea just to tell Nicole where her swords went?" Ray suggests.
"Right, right. I did. In Camp Halfblood. If you want a more accurate location, let me eat first." Austyn says. Ray shakes his head.
"No, just answer where the swords are." Ray says.
"Fine." So Austyn tells her the exact location of the swords, down to the last detail, "...and exactly three and a half centimeters from where the box last stood is where the last one should be."
"And now what do you say for taking her weapons in the first place?" Ray urges him.
"What are you expecting me to say?" Austyn asks. Ray just gives him a look.
"I'm sorry," Austyn relents, giving Ray a look that said 'you will pay later'. Ray nods, not really taking heed of the warning, backing away from Austyn and Nicole.