"Oh, yeah," Luke said, making a sound of understanding. "I can see that. Well, it can't be that bad, right?" He shookhis head. "I'm Luke Gray. Um… well, Pan's son." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. This was the first person he had actually ever told who his correct father was.
"Pan…like Peter Pan? Do you have any of his powers? Like, I have Dad's fire along with my own stuff," Calliope said, sparking with blue flames as if to prove it.
"…I guess…" Luke said hesitantly. "I- yeah, I do." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "So… Hades, right? Why artwork, then?"
"Honestly, I don't know." She walked over to a pillar, leaning against it. "I can kinda just…do it." She placed her palm onto the pillar, and red graffiti art spread from it.
"Weird," he commented. "You see, I can't -" Luke stopped, pursing his lips. He didn't want to talk about himself more than he had to. Maybe that way he could actually be normal, if no one knew much about him. "It's kind of cool, though," he admitted.
"It would be cooler if I could actually decide what comes out of me. I can really only choose the colours, and even then only sometimes. It's kinda pointless, if you ask me."
"Really? That does sound annoying." He tilted his head. "Why do they care, though? It looks fine."
"Because," Calliope stood in a position to imitate their principal. "'We have a reputation to uphold, Miss Mort-Vivante. A reputation that we are perfect. And you, with your…strange art powers, does not uphold this. Do not do it again.'"
"Because you have a choice," Luke said, snickering, the tiniest trace of bitterness entering his tone. "What do you do, practice posing as him in front of the mirror all the time?"
"No, he just makes it his job to lecture me every couple of months. I swear it's only because he and dad have a bit of a history. And he says the same thing everytime, so I remember it."
"He is a man of few words, or changes," Luke said, grinning.
"Yeah." Calliope sighed, picking up her bag. She checked the time on her phone. "Well, the dorms are gonna open soon. I'd rather get in there sooner than later. Take my side of the room."
"Probably a smart idea," Luke agreed, picking up his own bags. "I'll… see you later?" He asked, after a moment.
"Yeah, I guess. Bye." Calliope walked away, heading towards her dorm. It was the same one as last year, but she had a different roommate. This time it was Rapunzel's daughter Evelyn, who she was sort of excited for. Evelyn would probably accept her power.
Luke watched her go, looking curious. She had seemed nice, not at all like the child of a villain. He turned and started to walk to his own dorm, humming slightly. She didn't seem at all like what he would have thought.
Calliope hummed as she walked towards her dorm, blue fire dancing around in her fingers. The boys and girls dorms were separate, for obvious reasons. But she felt like her and Luke would get along quite well.
Luke set his suitcases on his bed. His roommate was already there, it seemed, from the bags that were haphazardly thrown over the place. His lips twitched.
"You're stepping on my stuff," an annoyed voice said.
Luke turned and saw a handsome guy his age, with long black hair and asian features. "Oh, hey. Sorry about that, I didn't see it."
The boy shrugged. "Whatever. I'm Larkin. Aladdin's son."
"Luke." They shook hands, although the boy looked a little curious as to who Luke's parents were.
When Calliope reached her dorm, Evelyn was already there. "Oh, hi! Kiera, right? I'm Evelyn."
"Yeah, I already know who you are. Truthfully, I was excited to be rooming with you. You know, cause your mum likes to paint, and I have paint powers."
"Oh, yeah."
(bump?)
(Sorry! I've been busy…)
Larkin was a little weird, to tell the truth, but Luke still liked him. He was cool. They talked about the school year, if the other was excited about it or not.
"So…what are your powers?" Calliope asked Evelyn.
"Well, I'm really good with chemistry. It's kinda weird, but I can make perfect chemicals and minerals and whatever out of thin air and know literally anything to do chemistry. My parents joke that Varian is my dad but we know it's not true. I'm definitely my dad's daughter."
"Your dad's Eugene, right? Or does he go by Flynn?"
"He started to go by Eugene in public after my birth."
"I'm hungry," Luke commented. He was sitting on his bed, leaning against the wall, with a sketchbook leaning against his legs. He hadn't drawn anything, but the feeling of a pencil in his hand made him feel safe. "Wonder when dinner is."
"So what did you mean by 'paint powers'?" Evelyn asked.
"Well." Calliope looked around, trying to find something to experiment on. She spotted a plain journal and grabbed it. Almost immediately, colour spread from her fingers and across the book.
"That's so cool!"
(Should we do a time skip?)
(probably a good idea…but idk what to skip to)
(Maybe… a class time, or something? When they're all getting introduced to each other?)
(hmm, maybe…do you wanna give it a shot?)
(Sure, I could try?)
Luke stepped into the classroom, dropping his backpack on the first seat he saw, in the back, naturally. He glanced around. He was the first one there, which wasn't surprising. He had skipped breakfast, because he didn't really want to eat. He knew he should, but it seemed like so much effort………
Calliope walked into a classroom, bag slung over her shoulder. She didn't understand why she had archery in a classroom, or why she had archery as a subject in the first place. But she was slightly glad to see Luke, even if she didn't know him very well.