royalflowers | "Doesn't matter. It still ends the same way."

Somehow this simple bit of message delivery. Something so simple an Eagle should be doing it, was of course anything but. She was beginning to think someone wanted her dead or something. They could do a lot, but it isn't like they could actually take on an army all by themselves. So Callie made the rational call of grabbing Ven by his collar and dragging him through one of her doorways to the nearest connection she could make.

It was a beat up, forgotten, falling down farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Forgotten and from a quick survey the paths, overgrown. If they can get a message out to the Cohort they could get rescued by... someone. Probably Graecus, they had flying horses.

"Guess we're staying here for the night, at least." Which was mostly because she could maybe walk a few hours before she'd keel over from her abilities.

It wasn't like he'd never been choked before - while a down and dirty trick, it was something that had happened occasionally in combat situations, especially since he tended to favor high-collared shirts and they gave more of a latching-on point. The difference was that he'd never been choked by an ally before, especially in such a cartoonish manner. One moment he was sending blasts of air like power drills at the approaching monsters, the next he was stumbling backwards over his own two feet as Callie hauled him along by said high collar through a door they'd managed to put their backs to.

And there was a lot of difference in walking through one of her doors and falling through one of her doors, and Ven knew which he preferred. He'd tumbled through the doorway, landing on his back on the long, tangled grass and getting the breath knocked out of him somewhat, not the most fun experience in the world even if he had been properly taught how to fall. But it wasn't a real injury, and Callie's quick thinking had been enough to spare them both anything more than a fall and a scrape or two, so he took a deep breath and pushed himself back to his feet, instinctively reaching out to help Callie if she needed it. He knew what the doors took out of her, especially when she didn't have a lot of time to prepare.

"Think you'll be all right for tomorrow?"

"We need to inform the camps we've been delayed," Callie was ignoring the question for the moment as she didn't have the best of answers right now. The area was secure, no wild animals or monsters seemed to be nesting anywhere. She pushed a little, the branching paths of choice around here were all minor variations, and none seemed to include monsters or attacks.

She did, however, glance up at the farmhouse with a sense of... unease.

"I have to be alright by tomorrow." This was, by and large, one of the more stressful gates to open. A doorway of this distance, to a place so forgotten, without any kinship from where we left and without any of her usual prepwork? She could have tried to open a gateway into Mount Olympus itself with less stress.

Naturally Callie was trying to hide this. "Tonight, we need a place to set-up camp."

"At least we'll have a roof over our heads tonight." He'd spent too many nights without one to take that simple fact for granted anymore. Okay yes, the Jupiter boys had voluntarily slept on the roof at Camp Half-Blood, but they were still in tents and the camp was magically warded against terrible weather, so it counted. But late fall and winter in Oregon had been terrible for him when he'd run away from his foster home, and he was in absolutely no hurry to repeat the experience even if it wasn't nearly as cold.

Still, Ven wasn't buying her little "I'm okay" routine. He'd spent more than enough time with Callie by this point to know a good deal about her abilities, at least from the outside, just like she knew about his. He knew she was tired and barely holding herself together. He also knew she would try to stab him - or worse, walk away - if he insisted he help her. So he did what he could, staying close in case she stumbled and fell, being there just-in-case. He was still trying his hardest to show her that trust wasn't always misplaced, that there were people who would be there for her. It was a slow process, but rewarding.

"The wind's not telling me anything dangerous is around here, but we should keep our guards up anyway. Maybe there's something left inside we can barricade the doors with." Not the windows, there were just too many of them. It would be really stupid to assume there was enough furniture in there to board them all up.

"What's left of it, anyway..." The roof, like most of the building, had seen better days. But there were a few parts of the house that were sheltered from any elements. But the wood where it still stood seemed sturdy, the walls thick... For one night it would be better than the woods, or a cave.

Callie could keep herself upright for a few more hours. Or beat up an ordinary human. Anything more than that was beyond her, but that wasn't a soldier. Soldiers pressed on, and Callie would never let herself be seen as weak. Even if it was just in front of Ven. She did appreciate, but would never say as much, the way he was sticking close. You know, in case.

"Let's pick a single room then, secure it as best we can. Second floor, with a window and a doorway?" Doubles their chances of escape if something does find them. But still gives a sense of security. Having to share the room for the night isn't the best from a modest or personal space standpoint. But the security was more important. "I would say whichever room that fireplace is in."

Right. Just in case.

"Let's see what the condition of that second floor is first; if it's rotting away, I'd rather not be sleeping on it." Sure, with his powers he could catch himself before he fell to the ground and got hurt - if he was conscious to control them. Even after working with his abilities for years, Ven still wasn't sure how much control over them he had in his sleep, if any, and falling a story muzzied by sleep would probably still get him pretty hurt, especially with construction materials crashing down around him.

Sharing the room didn't bother him, though. They'd shared a barracks at camp, although admittedly with the girls on one side and the guys on the other, and a succession of motel rooms on their weird cross-country trips. But the barracks were mostly separated and the motels had at least had a bathroom for short-term privacy, so this was going to be an interesting experience. Ven raised his arm and pointed at the far left corner of the house from where they were standing. "Come on, that part looks the least destroyed."

"Right, even if it would be the easier to secure space, no point if it collapses under us..." That's a cheery thought. Falling a story in a house abandoned by everyone. If either of them ended up seriously wounded it would be an effort for the other to get anywhere. Callie needed enough of the house upright to connect to civilization, and who knew how far Ven would need to fly.

She stole a few glances to see how he was doing, in case he was soldiering on like she was, but headed for the corner of the house in best repair. The fireplace was over there, if that room was still secure, that would be a good place to set-up. The interior was... well, far from winning a better homes and gardens spot. Most of the furniture on the first floor was in pieces, eaten away by time and pests. There was an animal head mounted on the wall, that wasn't creepy at all. And the paint had weathered to the point of not being worth a mention. The down stairs was mostly one large room, save a bathroom. And there were enough holes in the walls and windows shattered that security down here would be impossible. But they would probably be protected enough from wind or rain.

"We checking upstairs?" Technically Ven was calling the shots, even if Callie was always fastest to give suggestions. Mostly because Ven, unlike a lot of their cohort, actually took what she said into account.

"Doesn't matter. It still ends the same way."

Callie and Ven

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