You're The Best... Around! (Lux)

[VIRA TAM]

Vira watched with sharp eyes as her Cohort ran the obstacle course. The structure was dangerous, quite deadly in some places, and there was a chance some of her Cohort would come out of it in need of the infirmary. But that was part of battle, part of war. Not everyone came out unscathed. The Cohort was not only trained to avoid injury, but to deal with injury and keep coming back if it did happen. It wasn't Vira's job to go easy on anyone. It was her job to make them campers of steel and courage. It was her job to prepare them for the true obstacles of a potential war.

"This course requires all the skills Cicero and I have taught you!" she shouted. "Speed, strength, awareness of your surroundings at all times. Think this is tough? Imagine running through a tried and true battlefield with archers trying to make pin cushions out of you, or Cyclopes trying to smash you into paste at every turn... or worse... you're the target of an angry rogue god! What's that, Andrews? This isn't fun anymore? GUESS WHAT? WAR ISN'T FU... Jefferson, pick up Andrews and take him to the infirmary. Andrews, watch for those boulders next time."

Lux Aurelius Morgenstern

[Lux Aurelius Morgenstern]

It always stuck Lux as both confusing and entertaining how different things were now compared to when he started in the Legion. Yet at the same time, very little actually changed. Different people thrived in different positions and most regularly his position went to somebody in his family. Well, his immortal family. The children of Apollo most commonly were elected as Augurs. Prior to becoming Augur, Lux had been decorating a spot as Centurion of the first Legion and he'd spent many years as Legionnaire prior to that. Part of him had aspired to become Praetor at some point, but he hadn't wanted to assume the position after Jason Grace had disappeared. Frank was a worthy successor and slowly but certainly Lux had outgrown his desire to fulfill that specific duty. There was plenty of responsibility on his plate and as Augur he could still get a lot of things done. He felt responsible for the entire crew out here, especially the younger kids.#

So to see just how tough Vira was on them was equal parts amusing and stressing. He remembered the day he'd been on the receiving end of the harsher guidance of the Legion. Naturally he understood why and nothing showed on his face as he came by to watch her train her cohort for the duties that they would be performing over the course of their life. No mercy, as the monsters wouldn't take mercy on them. He walked up and stood beside Vira in silence for a moment as she commanded the Legionnaire to be carried off to the infirmary. He looked out of the troups as he spoke to her. "I hope most days look better than this. How are the new recruits doing?" He mostly referred to Andrews, although plenty of others also seemed to be struggling to maintain her demands. They'd be up to speed soon enough. It was vital to their survival, even if they didn't appreciate that themselves. Lux had lost too many friends and Legionnaires in the wars and just to regular monster attacks to feel as if she was being too hard on them. Too much mercy would have them learning about the truth of it all in a far more painful way. Losing their friends, or their own lives. If that could be avoided he preferred a much harder regime. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Some of them look a little sluggish. How much have they been running lately? I hope there are no concerns about their stamina?" He observed, more in a friendly manner than in a way that suggested he doubted her capacity as a Centurion. It was more than clear she was great for the job in her own way.

VIRA TAM

[VIRA TAM]

When Lux approached, Vira was quick to give him the proper salute. She always did so to her superiors. It was ingrained in her. Once that protocol ended, she turned to watch her Cohort again as Lux spoke to her. She tensed a bit at his criticism, but he was right. Some of the newer recruits had made her wonder how they had gotten into the Second Cohort. The gods must have seen SOMETHING in them, and it wasn't her place to question those gods. Still, she did want to know what that something was.

"Sadly, some days are far better," she said. "And yes, they are admittedly sluggish, though I assure you that I have been putting them through all the required exercises, some..." She watched as Andrews was carried past her. Jefferson, who carried him, quickly stopped to salute Lux before going on his way. Vira swore Andrews had attempted to salute as well, but had a bit of trouble due to lack of use of his arm. "More than others."

She watched for a moment, and saw some promise in a few others.

"Good job dodging those spears, McGuire! Keep it up!" she shouted. She then turned to Lux. "I am going to have to consider some alternate training for some of them. War Games are coming up, and I would like the Second Cohort to maintain its reputation, especially with all these rumors throwing the Legion off."

Lux Aurelius Morgenstern

[Lux Aurelius Morgenstern]

Sometimes Lux felt the need to salute back to people but usually he kept a more relaxed position. He was meant more as advisor in his current function than to order others around excessively. He acknowledged their salutes as ever, but tried to keep the bond between him and the centurions and legionnaires somewhat less tense than they tended to be between a centurion and a legionnaire. That being said, he did have the towering reputation of not accepting insubordination from back in his days as centurion when he'd been almost ridiculously strict and had taught his legionnaires to always follow protocol. It had been even more necessary when Octavian had gone mad with lust for power.

He nodded, as he knew she and Cicero kept a very well trained group maintained between the two of them and always had the new recruits caught up in only a short time frame. "I know Centurion Tam." He said respectfully as she mentioned she'd been diligent about her duties. "Perhaps it's the changing of seasons that has a few of our legionnaires feeling a little under the weather." He suggested kindly, mostly to let her know she was not under scrutiny. He was very pleased with the progress of the second cohort and very much felt that they did well in respects to the expectations the leadership and the Gods had of them. They were up to speed, even on the lesser days.

He smiled slightly as she mentioned the War Games. "Ah yes." He said with a small smile playing on his lips. He maintained his professional state but it was always something that got to him. He loved the war games and found watching them to be very amusing. Even though he favoured the first cohort from a personal point of view the professional in him mostly wanted to see just how much pressure they could put on people without breaking them. He kept a secret personal tally to keep track of which demigods were likely to survive life outside of camp in case the gods were unclear in advice in terms of people leaving the relative safety of camp. He didn't want to lose more people. Legionnaires were, in a way, disposable as new ones would come in, but he much preferred them to retire their duties. People were never disposable and part of him always had seen it as a personal failure when a Legionnaire under his guidance had passed when he was Centurion. Now as Augur, that fear to lose people stretched across the entire legion. Every life lost was a waste and a failure of Camp Jupiter to provide the required training to help demigods to survive in his eyes. They always had to do better. He looked at Vira and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Bring me up to speed on these rumours. I want to take them into account next time I pray. I don't want our people to be ill prepared for whatever fate comes next." He said and the concern in his tone was obvious. He knew some of the rumours but he'd rather know them all than miss any vital information. He pulled out a small blocknote and prepared himself to take notes. Best not to be able to forget anything.

VIRA TAM

[VIRA TAM]

Vira understood where Lux was coming from, so she had personally never used illness and injury as an excuse. She had trained and fought through both. Then again, she was a Daughter of Bellona, a child of war. It was built into her.

"I get why you feel illness can be a drawback," she said. "Your father is a god of healing. My mother expects more of me though... and more out of them. Still, if they are not feeling well, they have the option of the infirmary. Best they go to your siblings there before they come back to me." It was a cold thing to say, but something expected of Vira by then.

As she listened to Lux ask about the rumors, she looked over at the course again. She sighed at what she saw.

"Butterman, you're a Son of Fortuna! I thought you were supposed to have better luck than that! I guess those fireballs thought otherwise! Jump in the pond over there and put yourself out!" She then turned back to Lux. "Same rumors as before, just more of the troops are muttering them. Bad dreams, more unnecessary violence, unexplained disdain of the other camp. I've been tempted to go to Camp Half-Blood and consult with my half-siblings there to get more insight. However, as you can see, I've been busy."

Lux Aurelius Morgenstern

[Lux Aurelius Morgenstern]

It was true that her cold and hard approach to illness made perfect sense. He personally had a somewhat kinder disposition towards people that got ill or injured but in a way her cold and unforgiving ways did a better job to prepare people for leaving camp. There were no breaks in the world out there when monsters wanted to kill and eat you. The only breaks to be had were here at camp, and it was fine not to always give them. As long as she didn't destroy any soldiers in attempts to prepare them for battle, all was well. "Well it's clear that if any of them fail, it's not due to the centurions." He said, which was as close to a compliment as she was likely to get.

Lux nodded. It was a thing indeed that there were more and more rumours surrounding bad dreams that seemed to make people a lot more paranoid. He himself had also had a bad dream or two about the other camp attacking them and decimating them at night. He had to admit he'd advised to double the night guard after that. He didn't like the idea that somebody was messing with his thoughts. He had to consult the Gods about this matter, that much was clear. He sighed deeply, not liking this development. "Have you too been plagued by these nightmares? It might be wise to take inventory on who has been affected. I'll talk to Reyna to see if we can get you enough time off to consult with the Greeks about this matter. If they are not affected it's best to consider it part of a possible attack from their side but if they also suffer the same fate there must be something different at work that affects demigods regardless of which camp they belong to." He said. It seemed like the best course of action currently.

VIRA TAM