Astrid grinned, "I'll have to make sure to keep my weekends open then." she replied, glad that she had already managed to make a meaningful connection with Axel. "Promise you'll actually taste the spaghetti when you eat it." she joked, "It's not good if you're just using it as a means to stop being hungry." she added, her face flushing at his next comment. "I don't know about you but the nap will be well deserved, there's no way I'm stopping at just one bowl of spaghetti." she commented with a smirk. One bowl would never satisfy a girl with a metabolism as fast as hers.

Hawke raised a brow at Axel's blush, but decided not to prod on the issue, "How exactly should I go about working with her, considering we're both in the fourth cohort?" she inquired, hoping the other demigod would have some advice due to his experience at camp already. "I mean, you're a Centurion so I guess you could probably just tell people to stop and they have to listen to you, not that I'd expect you to abuse your power like that, but I don't really have a way around this." she explained, rambling a bit when she realized her initial statement could have been perceived as offensive.

The blonde frowned as Axel told his story, "Children are mean, I can't believe they'd bully you and Brett over something as trivial as that." she replied, "Incredibly homophobic too if they decided you were gay because of it, I'd expect them to know most gay men tend to hang out with other men." she added, pointing out an obvious flaw in their bullying tactics. "I think it's admirable that both of you took the initiative to stand up to them." she admitted, "Hey, I don't have any siblings to do that for...at least not yet." she retorted with a smile.

Astrid laughed at Axel's reaction, "I'm just saying that I don't need to be related to you to have a sense of fashion you dork." she replied, laughing harder at his next statement, "The thicc booty isn't exactly a bad thing." she commented, unable to keep a straight face just because of the way he had delivered his statement. The blonde scrunched her nose and began walking the path to New Rome, "Well I doubt you'll always be busy on weekends," she began, "plus there's nothing in the Legion's rules that says I can't hang around you when you're doing work from the Praetor's quarters, right?" she suggested, "Or I could just work hard and become a Centurion so we can spend more time together." she added with a shrug. "Who would you pick as your co-Praetor if it were up to you?" she inquired as they approached the bustling markets of New Rome, the teen looking around to see which storefront would be best to buy from.

Axel Laughlen

Astrid stuck her tongue in response to the 'spaghetti connoisseur' remark, "I promise you'll like it." she commented with a smile, "We'll probably have to get a lot more than I normally use, because I'm sure you'll be wanting more." she added with a smile. The blonde blushed at his next comment, "My high metabolism is to thank for that," she responded, "I could eat my entire weight in pasta and not gain a pound." she continued, "Which is good, because I really love pasta." she added with a laugh. While most girls her age avoided carbs like the plague, the demigod counted them among her favorite foods. "Oh!" she exclaimed in revelation, "We should definitely also get bread for this, bread goes great with spaghetti." she explained with a grin.

Hawke nodded with a sigh, "Right, ignore her and don't try to talk to her about anything personal, got it." she echoed. The blonde was talkative, which would make it a bit difficult, but she didn't plan on interacting with Isla outside what she needed to anytime soon. The teen laughed at Axel's suggestion that he could use charmspeak, knowing that he wouldn't actually do that, "Funny, and cute, but you don't have to do that..." she replied, trailing off a bit. Part of her was happy that Axel would do that, but she also knew he wouldn't abuse his power like that.

The teen scrunched her nose, "You know its a bad situation when someone says they're used to it." she commented, knowing all too well what it could be like because she grew up without a mom. Having an NHL player for a dad didn't protect you from not having a mom to give stuff to on mother's day. "I'm glad you'll both be together now," she replied, "Brett will finish training with Lupa and he'll be here in no time." she reassured him with a smile. "I wonder how often gods actually interact with mortals." she wondered aloud, "Actually, no I don't, don't need to think about that, nope." she added quickly, ending that train of thought before it led to dark places.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Technically we are related, just not as half siblings." she corrected him, "Though from what I've been learning about the Mythology we're very, very, very, distantly related because my mom is the daughter of Pallas and Styx, and Venus is ocean foam from Uranus. Which makes my grandmother a river I guess?" she explained, getting a bit off track with the river bit, "Point is, it's totally not weird." she finished with an awkward smile that soon dissolved as she punched the other demigod again for calling her princess. As Axel made eye contact with her and began to describe where he wanted to do things in his quarters, fully registering the implications he was making, the blonde turned beet red, coughing before she finally replied, "Y-yeah, plenty of places to do plenty of things." with zero of the confidence the teen had before, a large part of her wanting to explore what he mentioned the way he had implied, but her surface not being able to register properly due to the immense amount of eye contact she was on the receiving end of. Shaking her head she decided to divert the topic to his other question, "At least you know it wouldn't be Isla." she replied, poking a bit of fun at the earlier bit of their conversation as she followed as he led them to the outdoor market.

Axel Laughlen

Astrid raised an eyebrow at the other demigod's response, "I don't think it's a 'cheat day' if you spent the entire morning working out." she pointed out with a smile, putting the term 'cheat day' in air quotes. It wasn't as though they hadn't already done plenty of physical activity for the day. The blonde grinned when the other demigod mentioned that there was a bakery in New Rome, any place that had a steady supply of fresh bread was good in her book, "That's perfect, I like French bread for spaghetti, but if there's another kind of bread you prefer we can get that instead." she replied, still beaming at the taller demigod.

Hawke decided it would be best if she put strategies to deal with Isla on the back burner for now, knowing that interaction with the other girl was most likely inevitable, but if the blonde played her cards right she could get through the week with minimal amounts of difficulty regarding interpersonal relations. If Isla antagonized her, she wouldn't respond, though she may mention it to Axel just so he could keep tabs on the less than friendly demigod that was in the same cohort as her.

The teen dropped the topic because of the look on Axel's face, it was probably already hard enough for him to tell her judging by the solemn look he wore on his usually happy face. The girl felt good knowing that he had confided in her about it, seeing as though it gave her the sense that he trusted her despite only having known her for a week. The blonde grinned at Axel's mention of himself and his brother being together again, "You still have to introduce me to him," she reminded, "I'd love to be able to see one of your famous schemes in action." she added with a smirk.

Astrid scrunched her face in return, mirroring Axel's, listening as he noted that his great grandfather was space, "If I read correctly your great grandfather is the void, but your grandfather is the sky, if that makes a difference." she replied, "But that's also just kind of what they personified, they're not always what they represent." she noted, laughing when he commented that his relatives being water was weird, "I meant us...dating or whatever you want to call this isn't weird because we're barely related, you dork." she replied, sticking her tongue out. The blonde pouted when Axel caught her fist mid punch, "Hey!" she complained, "You deserved that for the princess comment." she reasoned, her pout staying on her face as he released her fist.

Hawke was glad that Axel chose not to continue his previous train of thought, especially considering that it turned Astrid into a tomato just by the power of suggestion. The teen made a mental note to bring up what he had said later, even if just to reassure him that she hadn't been opposed to the idea. It had just surprised her that he so talked about it so casually in public if she was being honest. Despite only knowing the other demigod for a week, she could tell she was already becoming emotionally attached to him romantically, a feeling that she wasn't opposed to. "I don't think they'd make her Praetor anyway, considering her issue with authority." she agreed with a nod of her head.

Seeing that the other demigod had grabbed a bag signaled to Astrid that she could start her search for all of the ingredients she'd need to make her dish. Humming a song under her breath, the blonde first made her way over to a stand that boasted fresh herbs, looking for the oregano that would season her sauce. Finding the green plant didn't prove to be too difficult, and she grabbed the small amount she'd need to garnish it before spotting a stand with spices that she made her way over to. The teen picked out standard kitchen sizes of salt, sugar, and parmesan garlic seasoning that had originally been meant for popcorn, she wouldn't be using this much at once, but it'd be nice to have a supply for the future. Now all she needed was enough Angel Hair pasta to serve at least three and a half people and a few jars of the three cheese pasta sauce she always used and they'd be set.

Axel Laughlen

Astrid shrugged, "It's hard to play hockey if you don't have a carb heavy diet, the sheer amount of calories you burn on the ice is more than most people consume in a day." she reasoned, half wanting to justify her carb filled diet. "Besides, I work out enough to make up the difference." she added with a smile. She worked hard to stay in shape, and didn't intend on stopping. "French bread it is then, you have a bread knife I assume?" she asked, knowing he probably didn't, but it was worth a try. If anything they could use a regular knife.

Hawke grinned when she saw how happy Axel got when talking about Brett, happy to see him happy, "He sounds really great!" she told him sincerely, "I can't wait to meet him when he gets back, hopefully Lupa won't be too hard on him." she continued with a smile. "Promise to include me in some of them?" she asked, "I can make for a great distraction as I proved in training." she added with a smirk, hoping her question wasn't crossing a line seeing as it was normally something he and Brett would do together as brothers.

The blonde rolled her eyes, "You're the one that told me to make myself more familiar with the Roman deities." she pointed out, "Also I wasn't only checking to make sure us going out wasn't weird, I have a genuine interest in learning more about my heritage." she added. The teen had always found genealogy fascinating, but she always had half her tree missing because she didn't know who her mother was, her father just knew her as Tori Laurel in the brief time they were together. The other demigod's comment about her being cute when she was mad brought back her blush, her pale cheeks shading red as she stuck her tongue out again in defiance.

The teen nodded, "Are Praetors always one male and one female?" she inquired, "We didn't really discuss how politics work in depth in our tour." she noted with a smile, genuinely interested in how it'd work, while also starting to feel a bit of jealousy if it was always a male and female Praetor. Judging by her reaction before he had even confirmed that it'd be a male/female pairing the blonde already liked the other demigod more than she had initially thought.

Astrid bit her lip, "All we should need is the angel hair pasta, the sauce and that bread from the bakery you mentioned earlier. she replied, "I don't recall seeing jars of sauce or pasta." she noted, scrunching her nose as she looked around the market for what she needed, "It won't be good if I don't have the three cheese pasta sauce." she explained with a frown, hoping they'd be able to find what she needed. The Angel Hair would definitely be easier than the sauce, but she had faith that she'd be able to find what she needed.

Axel Laughlen

Astrid scrunched her nose in response, "I really feel like an ice rink would benefit camp." she replied, "If the entire legion was able to fight well on ice, then they'd be even better off ice." she pointed out, feeling as though her time on the ice had made her much more agile than she would be if she hadn't. "Though considering we don't have ice, we could always work out together." she suggested. The blonde rolled her eyes, "We are not using your daggers to cut food you dork." she replied, shaking her head, "I'm not cutting bread with a dagger that you've most likely stabbed someone with." she justified, making a stabbing motion. "Not to mention I doubt they're serrated, which is necessary to cut bread." she pointed out. "We're getting an actual bread knife at the bakery." she decided.

Hawke laughed, "The way you just described him made him sound like a dog," she pointed out, "then again Lupa is a wolf and wolves are a type of dog so you may not be wrong." she added with a smile, hoping Axel realized she was joking. "Besides, if he's anything like you it shouldn't be too difficult for him." she commented with a grin. Axel was more than capable of getting things done, and she wouldn't be surprised if Brett was the same way considering their childhood. The blonde blushed at the other demigod's compliment, "Well hopefully just standing there and looking pretty will be enough of a distraction." she replied, "I could just wear my workout clothes and we'd probably be fine."

The teen scrunched her nose, "If I only looked up stuff about major gods I'd know nothing about my mother." she pointed out, "It was actually hard to find information about her in most of the stuff we've got, she's rarely counted as 'important' enough it seems." she added with a slight frown, putting 'important' in air quotes. Her mother had helped Jupiter from what she had found but half the time she was barely a footnote. "I've also apparently got some aunts and uncles directly from my mom." she commented, "There's Potestas; the god of strength, Invidia; the god of rivalry-he's different from Isla's mom, and Bia; the goddess of force." she finished, feeling a sense of pride of her godly side of the family.

The blonde frowned slightly, "Well...whoever it is I'd hope would keep things professional, I mean it is a job." she replied, hoping Axel would keep things professional as well. Gods, Astrid did like the other demigod if she was thinking like this. It was all still a bit of a foreign feeling to her, but a pleasant feeling nonetheless. She wondered if Axel could tell from the way she was talking, figuring he might have a bit of a clue due to his mother's influence. Then again it wasn't as though Axel himself was dense, especially when it came to stuff like this.

Astrid cocked her head to the side as the other demigod mentioned an Italian section, ironic considering Rome is in Italy, and followed as he made his way through the busy market. The teen grinned wide at the taller demigod in a show of silent approval before scanning the tables, finding the sauce she needed quickly, grabbing four jars or so "It's better to get more now than have to come back later." she explained, justifying the large quantity as she placed them carefully in the bag, then going to a table filled with different types of pasta and grabbing four boxes of Angel Hair and placing them in the bag as well. "Now, I believe we just have to go to that bakery and we should be done." she said, smiling at the other demigod, "Do you have access to the Praetor's Quarters already?" she asked, "I'm not really sure where else I can cook this." she clarified.

Axel Laughlen

Astrid smiled, eager at the possibility of teaching Axel something that she's passionate about, "So long as you still teach me how to surf, it's a deal." she agreed. She'd have to ask her dad to send over her skates, and see about getting Axel some hockey skates too, she doubted he'd like figure skates very much, and hockey skates were easier to balance one. The blonde rolled her eyes, "I don't care how clean you keep them, there have been bodily fluids on your knives, and I'm not getting any diseases from them." she reasoned. "Then I'll pay you back for the bread knife, I don't have the right currency here, but maybe I can get you a smoothie or something from the mortal world." she bartered, hoping he'd take it.

Hawke couldn't help but laugh more, "Y'know that actually explains a lot about your relationship with your brother." she joked, "I'm sure Lupa will get him legion ready in no time." she reassured, "Especially considering his experience with you and those bullies, he'll do just fine." The teen smiled, "Well that's good, because I'm not sure if I'd be all that great at flirting with someone that isn't you if I'm being honest." she admitted, she had never really been good at flirting in general, but for some reason it was easy to do with Axel.

The teen shrugged, "Most of the stuff I was reading was in Latin, actually. It's easier to learn a language when you're actively reading in it, and a lot of it seems to kind of auto translate for me in some places." she explained. She herself had dyslexia as well, and reading in Latin was actually easier than English at this point. It was freeing to not feel as burdened by the learning disability that she had grown up with.

Astrid laughed, "For some reason I feel like beating up a Praetor probably wouldn't be the best course of action." she replied. She wouldn't do that anyways...probably. "Except for punching you of course, though I'd like to think I get a free pass on that." she added with a smirk. It's not like she ever hit the other demigod hard enough to actually hurt him, and he had stopped her the last time. "Maybe when they appoint whoever it'll be we can do lunch or something, I'd love to get to know who you'll be working with." she suggested.

Hawke stuck her tongue out, "This is way easier than having to buy more later, this way we can have spaghetti whenever we want." she reasoned, knowing that having the ability to make the dish would make her want it more. She'd have to be careful with how much she used though if it meant having to take a trip to New Rome every time she needed more ingredients. "Oh, it will be, after you have my spaghetti you won't want to have anyone else's." she boasted, her friends back home had said the same thing after having her signature dish the first time. The blonde watched as a wind spirit came to take the groceries back to camp, that must have been handy. The teen grinned, "Perfect, I don't think I could make this without a proper kitchen." she replied. The girl followed the taller demigod's lead to the bakery, the amazing scent of baked bread overcoming her senses as they neared the store.

Axel Laughlen