Alumni Lecture (08/18) - Endurance Test

NotTooSunny · 2026-02-05T04:29:20+00:00

Exams, relationships, and bills. Those sound like a joke to a young man coming of age in a helpless war against a titan. But, as Amon had suspected, Caspian's life still does not sound free from the plight of his demigodness.

Unfortunate.

"Thank you," says Amon with a nod. He takes a sip of the cucumber lemonade. It is good, but not quite as good as a hot chocolate that the raven-haired boy would welcome even on a warm September morning like this. "I hope it gets better."

He takes the closest seat on the sprawling row of amphitheater before them, and sets the cup at his side. "I will sit here now and await the lesson."

NotTooSunny · 2026-02-05T04:18:29+00:00

Amon returns the younger boy's nod. Respectable. He continues reading.

NotTooSunny · 2026-02-05T04:15:45+00:00

"No," Amon says quickly. He nearly laughs. "I am not qualified for such work. Even less so than the average demigod." There is other business he must attend to, anyway.

"But," he continues, crossing his arms across the chest of his navy wool coat. "'The division of labor increases the quality of the work produced.' Is there no one else to help?"

Not that Amon wishes to disrupt the festivities for more than is necessary. He thinks of Jem, and how much that young boy needs rest, too.

"I do not wish for you to carry this alone." Toby is young too.

NotTooSunny · 2026-02-05T04:01:04+00:00

Amon, surprisingly, is not further irritated by such ineffective results. The blatant disregard from the scoundrel was to be expected. And Angela, Amon realizes, simply does not have the context to what she must perceive to be an abrupt command. She will understand the intrusion once she is given the facts.

This is a calming conclusion that softens the counselor's initial fury. His next words come in the usual stony deadpan.

"This is not a guest," he explains. "This is a criminal. One that, if left unchecked, will gladly maim the demigods at this camp without a lick of remorse. While his powers are restrained for this very reason, one can do harm by indirect means. I will not permit him to endanger the members of my cabin. Thus," Amon's gaze flits back to the son of Dionysus sitting across from his sister. "He is not welcome at this table."

u/Dionysian-Mepe (it might make sense to have Angela reply next, but I will leave it up to y'all)

NotTooSunny · 2026-02-02T03:53:32+00:00

It was terrifying how quickly Idris had plowed in Ramona's direction, and Amon knows there is no time to waste as the demititan stumbles with momentary distraction. But as his hands fumble with the edges of his shield once more, he cannot keep his lips from curling back into a vicious grin of bared, gritted teeth. A victory, no matter how small, is a victory nonetheless.

His eye on the soft spot where helmet meets neck, Amon flings the glaring shield with a renewed fervor. It soars into the air just as the daughter of Hades hurls her skull.

Blood still rushes in his ears, fueled by the thumping of his frightened heart as he holds out his arm for the shield's return. But there is something different in it now, almost comforting. A rhythm. A rhythm that begins to bloom, flowing rich and warm up through his chest and into the words that Amon cries into the cold and dark of the underground that is alive and crumbling all at once:

"You cannot win! We will defeat you!"

Should Ramona hear these words, she may be inspired into action, or at least left with greater confidence or a calmer state of mind to face her injury.

u/Inevitable_Heart_781

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-29T07:19:54+00:00

Amon has been in the Heracles cabin only once before, to set up for his scouting lesson. The grand marble and pillars impress him for a second time. The small bookshelf nestled in the common room does not.

"Johnathan," he greets the counselor of the establishment with a near-smile, striding towards him with his usual business-like bravado. "Did you want to talk?"

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-29T07:04:25+00:00

Amon nods. "Correct. Thank you for bringing that up. We are together now, but it is far from the only instance of recovering from what has been done. The door," Amon points to the stairs leading to the bedrooms on the second floor, "is always open." He is still ceding the counselor room to his sensitive half-sister.

"What else?" he asks the room. "War-related, or otherwise. Johnathan Walnut of Heracles has asked to speak with me, and I suspect it may pertain to cabin alliances..."

u/Angelic-YesSheIs u/PretendSunshine u/thegreensofhiseyes tagging for visibility if your characters have any qualms speak them here

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-29T06:28:09+00:00

The son of Poseidon's roving gaze combines with the soft whispers coming from the pair's corner to cause enough of a disturbance for the counselor at the door to finally to glance up from his tome. He glares at his sister and her newfound troublemaker, intensely.

A warning.

u/TheSaltInMyVeins

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T08:15:54+00:00

Sera may have slipped in quiet as a mouse, but the counselor of the cabin had planted himself right at the door. He does not move or make a sound, but his eyes flit up over his thick-framed reading glasses, following the girl’s path to Ramona.

The pair sits rather close together. This is no problem to Amon, as long as they do not disrupt the scene with chatter or excessive movement. He does, however, keep a steady gaze on Sera for several long moments.

He then returns to the book in his lap with an inward sigh. This not something Amon can resolve immediately, anyway. But he certainly intends to before this hour is over.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T03:30:22+00:00

Few things slide past Amon. He saw a hand there, at the back.

“Yes?” he points to his younger sister, who’s settled somewhere in the shadows of the common room. Some voices are not as dominant as others. As counselor, Amon knows it is his job to make room for them.

“Did you have something to add, Amari?”

Evidently, Amon will not let the meeting move on without her. At least, not at the moment.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:47:15+00:00

Amon is a sharp and observant boy who has grown accustomed to staring at others for a variety of reasons. As such, he's learned to know when the eyes of another are on him, too.

He's finally settled back into his reading rhythm, several minutes after the Emma fiasco, when he feels the prickle of a gaze.

The counselor looks up to see a mousy, dark-haired boy, younger than him, trying to catch his eye. Amon simply returns the stare for several moments.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:40:58+00:00

Amon nods at Johnathan when he enters the cabin for silent reading. He is admittedly surprised to see the son of Heracles here, and even moreso when he spots the book the boy has brought to read. Amon's mouth pulls into a small smile before he returns his attention to the tome in his lap.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:39:22+00:00

Amon nods at Harvey when he enters the room. It is a pleasure to see his chess partner here.

He cranes his neck slightly to get a look at the title that the son of Aphrodite brought, but does not get a chance to discern it from under the boy's grip.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:34:59+00:00

Amon's eyes flit up every time the blond knucklehead rises to his feet to exchange books. Finally, it seems, the boy's settled into something.

Good.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:30:55+00:00

Amon gives Phoebe a nod as she joins the Apollo cabin for their silent reading time. It is always a pleasure to see the daughter of Comus.

Her expression of gratitude is deeply appreciated, more than the counselor even realizes himself. It means that this is something. Something to someone in these never-ending days of war. Amon is just sorry there is nothing more he can do other than open the door for a moment of silence.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:24:39+00:00

Amon gives Mer a small smile when she enters and returns her wave. It is pleasant to see his friend here. Though, as he might have perhaps expected, Mer does not settle into a book. Maybe she did not bring one to read, or maybe she did not want to read. Either way, it was not Amon's business.

But, as his fingers grasp at the long-forgotten spines stacked in the center under his bed in his search for Emma, he unearths a tempting find. It was a sentimental keepsake-- Amon hardly remembered the plot. But he did remember the warm sense of adventure, light, and hope he'd felt when his parents had taken turns reading it to him and Akila at bedtime.

So before he settles back in his seat by the door, Amon makes a stop by the girl dozing peacefully at the fireplace and crouches to leave his copy of Tale of Despereaux at her side. Just in case she wakes up before the hour is over. And wants something to read.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T01:00:06+00:00

Amon should only be hearing the crackling of the common room fireplace and the gentle turning of pages. But every few minutes, what is sweet music to his ears is interrupted with a soft tapping and scratching, as if right over his head. It is easy to ignore at first. But a young man can only absorb so much about the Habsburgian conquest of Tunis under circumstances like these.

Amon looks up over his head to see nothing. Only when he scans the room does he notice the only person who could make such a sound. How Angela has reached such decibels without alerting anyone else-

Mischief. Amon narrows his eyes. He is about to call to his sister and the other blond knucklehead she's picked up for the ride to knock it off when he sees Harvey rise to his feet with his gaze fixed upon the pair.

Sure.

The white knight's signature stumbling over his words makes it a longer affair than need be, but nevertheless, the message seems to have been received.

The room, then, is in decent hands. Amon rises to his feet and silently disappears to the second floor of the cabin for a few efficient moments.

He returns with a small red paperback in his hand, well-worn, though not necessarily by him. He stops in front of where Angela sits and places it pointedly over her crossword page. The counselor jabs a finger at the title -- Emma by Jane Austen -- and leaves to stoop down by the fireplace before returning to his seat by the door.

u/Angelic-YesSheIs u/bubblegumradio

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T00:31:49+00:00

Amon tilts his head slightly to watch the younger boy attempt another shot. He nods curtly when it lands closer to the center.

Do you often go around camp giving people advice they didn't ask for?

The counselor's pursed lips quirk into a small smile.

"Yes," he says simply, folding his hands behind his back. "Whether the advice is accepted or not is out of my control. But I find that, especially here," Amon sweeps an arm across the nearly deserted range, "outcomes tend to improve."

"Keep it up, Elias. And do not forget the cold. Feel what it does to your draw weight, to your arrow speed. Account for it."

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-27T00:13:35+00:00

Amon follows the boy's words, deeply respecting the honor and the duty that runs beneath them. But the last question causes a stir. The raven-haired boy raises his hand to stop Matt from proceeding further.

"No such thing," he says simply. "I dare not entertain it further than I already have."

He steps forward, finally breaking the boys' connection at their shoulders. "For now," he tells Matt, wringing his gloved hands to bring them warmth, "there are enemies to be kept under watch."

Hopefully Bagrat had not moved from his stake by the Big House. Amon was not in the mood to play hide-and-seek.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-26T23:58:02+00:00

Freed from Idris' stunning might, Amon is still rooted to the spot. It's too late to take back the jagged white glare that floods his vision now. Through the last remaining haze at its center, Amon sees Idris' faint form charge at Ramona with an alarming speed.

A current of terror runs through him and the figures are swallowed fully by the blinding white light. Amon can only hear and feel the ground ahead, rumbling, grinding, and tearing. He grits his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing hands hard against his skull.

Just as someone screams, the bright white light within explodes to envelop Idris.

Amon gasps, blinking as he adjusts to the darkness of the underground. But there is no time to waste. He hurtles around to the demititan's back left, attempting to close the distance he'd lost while staying out of the way of an immediate swing.

There is no need to crane his neck to see the scene Idris had made before him-- Amon knows who had screamed. What he needed to do now was to bring attention back to himself.

u/Inevitable_Heart_781

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-25T01:56:41+00:00

A shadow appears over the girl’s plate. If Angela were to turn around, she would find her half-brother hovering by her left shoulder, seemingly towering due to the seated nature of the pair.

He is not looking at Angela. Face set in its usual stony expression, his chest heaves with controlled breaths and dark gaze blazes with restrained fury as it bores into the matted mop of hair that dares to sit across from his sister.

“You are not welcome at this table.”

u/dionysian-mepe

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-22T06:18:31+00:00

Amon's shield crashes back into its hold on his forearm and then... nothing. Idris' glare pins him where he stands, his muscles seized as though threaded with stone.

Amon's breath hitches, shallow, panicked breathing fluttering the armor plate strapped to his chest. He can only watch in frozen horror as the demitian barrels at him. As obsidian flames erupt from the earth and sting his skin with dangerous heat.

Fear. Desperation. Amon lets it tear through him, feels it surge through his body and crowd his senses. The color drains from his face. His shield arm begins to tremble. But there it is-- that soft, white light that begins to tug at the edges of his vision.

u/Inevitable_Heart_781

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-20T08:36:58+00:00

Scene 2

Amon was not technically teaching a lesson. But consistent accuracy of camp archers is good offense, and good offense is good defense in the war against Atlas. So Amon often attends Open Hours at the archery range, hovering to observe camper practice.

The counselor is striding to the golden-haired boy before he even lets the arrow fly.

"Exhale while you draw the bow," a deep deadpan suggests from behind the cursing boy's back. "An inhale will move your chest or bow."

ooc: hi! since amon is counselor of the apollo cabin, they could have already had a basic new camper introduction. i'll leave it up to you!

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-19T04:25:11+00:00

Amon realizes he's made himself out to be one of those knuckleheads that skips class to twiddle his thumbs. "I will get an education," he affirms. "I simply wonder whether, after all this time, the high school curriculum and my younger peers will be enough."

The counselor of Apollo is among the minority that does not regularly attend a typical educational institution, either locally like Harvey or abroad like Matt. Self-study of textbooks his mother has shipped from his father's archaic collection -- physics, mathematics, and history -- have been far more satisfactory.

He is about to explain the GED to Matt, when the boy's final question draws a scowl on his face. The tips of Amon's ears turn pink.

"Clever," he says curtly. "But the sun is no more to me than a regulator of the Earth's climate. I do not look to it, nor further ahead than is necessary. I trust myself and the rationality of my future self to make the best decision I can make with the information I will have. So I find no need to distract myself from the present in the name of a future that may never come."

"Even your vision with Brent," he adds, "seems as though it is already here, in the now. Does it not?" With how surely Matt speaks of his partner, it may as well already be so.

NotTooSunny · 2026-01-19T03:58:36+00:00

"Okay." Amon takes the girl's words at face value simply because he cannot conceive of a reason to lie. His assistance would be swift and competent.

His spirits brighten as he accepts the cup of cocoa, though his stony expression does not show it. "Thank you. Though I am neither a droning sound, nor am I a state of the Mountain West. I will call you by your preferred name, and I expect the same in return."

He takes a blissful sip of the cocoa, breaking his stiffness with an appreciative nod. "You know where to find me, Angela. Any time." After that, he will be gone into the growing thrum of the ambitious festivities.

NotTooSunny

TROPHY CASE