Out On The Sand (Magnolia)

[SUNNY LEE MEADOWS]

Sunny Lee was quite drawn to the beach. This wasn't just because she was the Daughter of the God of Summer, but also because her mother was a championship surfer. She herself had won trophies surfing. The beach had been her life prior to coming to camp. A beach was her home away from home. Okay, so it wasn't Miami, but it was still a nice place to chill.

Clad in an ocean blue swimsuit, Sunny Lee laid her blanket out and lied down. She had never met her father in person, but when she felt the Summer breeze, it was as if he was there. In a way, he was given Notus literally was the South/Summer Wind. She smiled at the thought.

"Another great day, Dad." She took a deep breath to inhale the warm wind and closed her eyes, soaking up the rays. Summers always seemed to go so fast for her, so she made the most of every moment. However, just as she was about to relax, she picked up on another's presence. She opened her eyes and smiled at the newcomer on the beach. Sunny Lee was always one for a warm welcome.

MAGNOLIA WITHERS

[MAGNOLIA WITHERS]

SUNNY LEE MEADOWS

Magnolia wasn't really a "beach girl". You know, bikinis, beach body, tan. Nope, Magnolia was a scrawny and very (VERY) pale blonde that looked like she never saw sunlight. Despite that, she did actually like the beach. Why? Because sand didn't rot. She didn't have to ever worry here. Well, except for all the beach girls and boys. They were always a major problem. Thankfully she couldn't rot living beings either. Magnolia stood in the sand, toes buried and hand overhead to shade her eyes as she watched the calm water. Then, a voice from nearby.

Immediately Magnolia rolled her eyes. Ugh, one of the summer kids. They were always at the beach. This one was thanking their father for the nice weather. "You do realize that we always have nice weather, right? Like we legit can't have bad weather. You're dad has nothing to do with it." Snarky and a confrontational, but did you expect anything else from her? She always had a chip on her shoulder. In this case though, the enchantments that protected the camp did also ensure the camp always had good weather.

[SUNNY LEE MEADOWS]

A day at the beach was... Well no day at the beach when someone came looking for trouble. Sunny Lee knew there were a lot of less pleasant campers around. Hades kids broader, Ares kids could be bullies, Nemesis kids didn't want anyone to enjoy themselves too much, and then there were the Hermes kids always pulling pranks. She wondered who the parent was of the camper approaching her and speaking her mind. Maybe an Athena kid who wanted to show off how smart she was.

"Whoa, chill out, girl. I know how the weather works here. You don't have to give me the Google treatment. However, the season IS summer, and controlled weather or not, my dad is all over the place. Feel the warm breeze? That's literally my father, the South Wind. So yeah, I'm giving him a shout out. Sorry if that burst your bubble." Sunny Lee didn't like being aggressive. She was about fun times and warm smiles, but this girl was seriously souring her positive vibes...

Still, everyone had a story, and Sunny Lee didn't need to judge. She scooted over on her blanket.

"You can sit down if you want... and vent. Sounds like someone besides me rubbed you the wrong way."

MAGNOLIA WITHERS

[MAGNOLIA WITHERS]

SUNNY LEE MEADOWS

Sure, Magnolia had no idea who "father" was for this girl, but the fact still remained. The camp's barrier was enchanted to make sure it always had good weather. Even in the dead of winter, it was sunny and nice here. For those that stayed winter, like Magnolia. Not all campers were year rounders, instead only coming for the summer break, aka now. Maybe that was why Magnolia was in a foul mood. All these summer campers made the camp a LOT busier and more cramped. Summer was one great big party where all the demigods gathered in one place.

But, Magnolia's concern regarding the father wasn't unknown for long, as the girl snapped back that her father was the south wind. Riiiiight. That made sense. This girl was a summer kid. Like, a literal summer kid. Magnolia still rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well. Summer or not, pretty sure the twelve decide our weather in camp. So point still stands"

The invitation to sit down and vent was.... odd. Magnolia's eyebrows raised high in surprise. "Life rubs me the wrong way," she finally answered after the surprise passed. Which was true. She didn't move to take the offered seat though. Instead just kept her toes buried in the warm sand.

[SUNNY LEE MEADOWS]

More and more, Sunny Lee felt This girl was an Athena kid, based on her determination to be right, and she probably was right, though Sunny Lee doubted the Olympians had more important things to do than worry about camp weather. Her own father's whole job revolved around the weather between the end of Spring and the beginning of Autumn. Therefore, she still felt Notus played a hand in the weather around them now. She wasn't going to argue though. There was too much animosity still going around already with the two camp situation.

"Okay, fair enough, geez. Was just giving my father a shout out anyway. Gods like shout outs." Did it mean she could meet her dad at some point? Doubtful, but it was worth a try.

The girl didn't except her invite to sit, but she did vent big time. Life was the problem. Okay, maybe she wasn't Athena's kid. They were usually more cheerful. Maybe she got the bad luck if being one of the miserable gods' kids. Hades maybe?

"Sorry that life let you down. It happens. Life's not always sun and fun for me either. Anyway, I'm Sunny Lee. You really can sit and chill if you want. Might make you feel better." Sunny Lee tried her best not to be miserable and negative even if the other person gave off the vibe. She was going to make an effort here whether the girl liked it or not.

MAGNOLIA WITHERS

[MAGNOLIA WITHERS]

SUNNY LEE MEADOWS

Magnolia glanced down at the sand, watching as she wiggled her toes and the sand swished. It was nice being around something that she couldn't hurt in anyway. Though, listening to this girl talk about giving her dad a shout out anyway irked her a little. Some campers though their godly parents really cared about them. Magnolia didn't know. If they did, why was it so hard to be a parent? Or, you know, why did they have to be forced to acknowledge their children two years ago? From what she knew, and saw, kids had to be claimed by 13 now. When that rule had come into affect two years ago there'd been a mass claiming because of how many kids well over 13 that had never been claimed. She wasn't sure she really trusted parents that wouldn't even admit who was theirs. Magnolia hadn't had that issue though. Her mother had claimed her pretty quickly... So maybe Limos cared? Who knew. Magnolia tried not to think to much about it.

Magnolia had been so lost in thought over the girl's words that she was only brought back to reality when the girl... apologized? Magnolia raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl. Who.... seemed genuine. Though she couldn't say for sure, she wasn't the best at reading people. But it didn't seem like she was making fun of Magnolia... She knew what that sounded like. Again, the offer to sit down was made. Magnolia didn't respond immediately, just stared at this girl, Sunny Lee as she'd introduced herself.

Magnolia looked away, back at the water. Several other campers were playing in the water. Why was this summer kid (literal) wasting time with her, when there were campers having far more fun over there. Still.. She finally accepted the offer. Magnolia sat down on the edge of the blanket, still keeping a good distance from this girl. "I'm Magnolia," she started, though after saying it she realized that since she sort of knew who this girl's godly parent was, she should at least introduce her own. Godly parents always seemed to come up quickly when meeting new demi-gods. "Child of Limos. You know, famine. Starvation. Not really pleasant stuff. Your dad bring summer, my mom brings painful death."

[SUNNY LEE MEADOWS]

Well that answered that question. Magnolia wasn't a kid of a dark or brooding god or a goddess who was smarter than anyone else on existence. No, her parent was one of those deities who... well... did nothing good for anyone. No wonder Magnolia had a bad attitude. Sunny Lee quickly went from selfishly wanting to avoid animosity with her to genuinely feeling for her. She imagined other campers wanted little to do with her. She could see why Magnolia lashed out. Sunny Lee could try to do a bit better than some of her peers.

"I don't know what to tell you there, other than maybe that our godly parents only define who we are so much. But I get why you're upset, but again if you'd rather just use me as someone to get some things off your mind to instead of using me as a verbal punching bag, I'm seriously willing to listen. I think when all of us got here, we needed friends, even me Ms. Warm and Cheery. You're no different and... well if you do need a friend... I'm here." She gave the girl a warm smile. It was a sappy speech, but filled with sincerity.

MAGNOLIA WITHERS

[MAGNOLIA WITHERS]

SUNNY LEE MEADOWS

Now, Magnolia couldn't blame all of her bad attitude on her mom. Her dad was also a worthless idiot (not really, he was actually pretty smart, but he was a crappy dad), and her grandparents had been almost as bad. So she'd just had a crappy hand dished out to her her whole life. When everything sucked, your attitude tended to be too. "Not saying I hate my mom, or being her kid," she answered truthfully. "But other people don't really like her." For obvious reasons. Other gods were literally her sworn enemy/opposite, and those god's had kids here at camp. As they saw with the Romans, sometimes grudges were just in people's blood.

Though upset? Magnolia actually looked at the girl in surprise. "I'm not upset. I'm just a sarcastic and bad tempered brat. I'm always rude." Well, at least Magnolia acknowledge her faults....

At the offer of a friend though, that surprised look was back. Not because she thought it was fake and just surprised someone would lie. But because, even though she sucked at reading people she could... well almost feel the girl was being sincere. "Yeeeaaaah You sure you want to be friends with a type of death upon meeting? You'll probably regret it." Though her sarcasm was still there, it was more of a playful sarcasm.

[SUNNY LEE MEADOWS]

Magnolia laid it all out. She was cool with her mom, wasn't ashamed to be her kid, and was sarcastic and had a bad temper. Well... she was honest. Sunny Lee had to admire that. Sunny Lee guessed she wasn't going to transform this girl into Buddy of the Year for the camp or anything, but Sunny Lee just couldn't be mean. It took a lot for Sunny Lee to develop a grudge with someone, and even then she probably wouldn't hold it. Magnolia hadn't wronged her to some dramatic degree, so Sunny Lee stuck by her offer to be the girl's friend.

When Magnolia spoke of Sunny Lee regretting her friendship with the girl, Sunny Lee just smiled and shrugged.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. As of right now, I don't regret it. Also, I got to learn a little about you. It's good that you are accepting of your godly parent and who you are, and sometimes a little sarcasm and a hot temper can go a long way... I guess. Anyway, aside from your godly parent, what's your story if you don't mind me asking? What brought you to our fine little camp?"

MAGNOLIA WITHERS