Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon |open|

(OOC: Of course I don't mind! Welcome. :) )
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        For a while, no one seemed to notice the canoe being carried away by ripples of water. Wicker kept her green eyes peeled on the shore in search of someone, anyone, who would help her. She wished there were Naiads milling about in the dark depths of the lake, but she knew a great deal of the aquatic nymph population had been plagued and taken away by Charlie. The sickness seemed to spread easier in the water, as if it were like lightning striking its surface. 
Wicker perked up as she noticed a demigod on the shore. They held a long stick outstretched in their hands purposefully. The Nymph's sight was sharp, but she was much too far out on the water to see who it was, or what exactly the person was doing. For a minute, Wicker wondered if they were just trying to create theatrics. She realized something was up when a tingling sensation began to form in her stomach. Wicker wanted to both gasp and laugh at the same time. It was almost as if her stomach had gone to sleep, like one of her legs or feet would if she had been sitting for too long. Soon after, she realized that the canoe was being dragged along the water, as if someone had begun to paddle her boat for her. The canoe split through the water seamlessly, it's paddle following alongside in hot pursuit. It felt as if it had only been a minute before Wicker reached the shore. When she did, the static feeling in her belly subsided. 

        Once she felt her boat dig into the softened sand, Wicker collected her messenger bag and eagerly stepped out of the boat. The chilling water reached up to her ankles, her toes squishing the muddy ground below her in between them. The Grecian white sun dress she wore, reaching to her mid thigh, stayed perfectly dry. She brought her gaze up to the Demigoddess right as she downed a bottle of clear liquid hungrily, and proceeded to look expectantly at Wicker, then sighed in relief. Wicker cocked an eyebrow at the behavior  as she rested the fraying strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder lazily. 
"I know it's hot out, but damn," she said with a small grin across her face. She watched as the lightly tanned girl took a cautious step forward, careful not to get herself wet. She was pretty, with captivating brown eyes and dark brown hair draping itself all the way down to her back. 
"Hello? Are you okay? That was quite a situation you got yourself into there. Asper,"
she spoke. Wickers face contorted into a slightly sheepish grin at the mention of her predicament. 
"Hah...Yeah, it was. I'm fine though. Thanks for your help," Wicker answered, pulling a half smile across her face and letting out a soft chuckle. "Asper, huh? That's a pretty name. I'm Wicker. Pleased to make your acquaintance... Though I would rather it have been under less embarrassing circumstances." The young Nymph brushed a strand of fiery red hair behind her pointed ear, already trying to store information about the girl in her brain to write down later. The name Asper reminded her of the aspen tree. She hoped she could remember it using that connection. Gods, it was always so embarrassing when she forgot the names of new people. 
"So what, are you some kind of daughter of the sea?" She began to question, wanting more to remember the girl by. "Poseidon, maybe? Or a more minor parentage like... Achelous? or... Amphitrite?" Wicker really had to pick her brain for those names, but having been at Camp Half-Blood for 30 years had it's perks, like granting her the ability to name off Greek Gods like American kids chanted the 50 states. Different names and domains had been ingrained into her head since she was a child. It was nearly impossible to forget.  

    Wicker brought her gaze down to the ground for a moment as Asper questioned whether or not she could have pulled herself out of the water on her own. She scratched the back of her head with a pale hand and curled her lightly tinted pink lips into a grin, meeting Asper's brown eyes with her green-eyed gaze. 
"You're right, I am a Dryad... But my abilities aren't really as simple as that," she answered with a shrug. "The water isn't really my domain, so I'm not as strong as I am on land." Usually, Wicker didn't mind the inconvenience of being weaker while on the water, the beach was one of her favourite places to be, and canoeing was one of her favourite pass times, but the daughter of Hecate made a good point that caused Wicker to realize how odd it must seem to so often put herself in a spot that rendered her so vulnerable. 

    Asper sat on the sandy beach, sorting her things before offering Wicker a spot to sit. Wading out of the sparkling water, Wicker obliged and sat beside the daughter of Hecate. Sand stuck to the soles of her feet as she made contact with the very warm, dry substance. She slipped her messenger bag off of her shoulder and placed it beside her as she sat, outstretching her legs and using her arms as a support behind her. 
"I'm not fond of saving people and not knowing a single thing about them, so how about you tell me something about yourself? And things like my name is Wicker do not count,"Asper said, causing Wicker to raise her eyebrows at the girls blunt request. Wicker was just glad that Asper had the same desire to get to know her, as she had to get to know Asper. 
Wicker pursed her lips and watched as the daughter of Hecate stood up to retrieve the vial she had left laying on the sandy beach. A wave of relief passed through the Dryad, glad that the Demigoddess had been conscious of the litter she had dropped. 
"Alright," Wicker replied. "Just ask me what you want to know." Not usually an open book towards people she had only just met, Wicker wasn't exactly sure where to start in telling the Demigoddess things about her. She could tell her about her age, and her family... But the thought of them struck horrible memories to resurface for her. Maybe she could just stick to talking about her brother, Casper, if Asper asked her anything on the subject. 

    It was soon after she'd spoken that Asper abruptly tripped over a rock jutting out from the sand, and in one swift motion, fell into the frigid lake water. Wicker's green eyes widened in surprise, her mouth forming itself into an amused smile at the accident. She cupped a hand over her grin to hide it from the girl, who cursed in a language Wicker didn't recognize.
"Oh, my Gods!" The Nymph exclaimed as she lifted herself from the spot she sat to rush over to the girl. "Are you okay?" Wicker had removed her hand from over her mouth, her lips pressed tightly together in order to keep her mouth looking like a line of concern across her face. She was, of course, concerned for Asper, but her fun-loving nature betrayed her in acting seriously towards the incident.
"That's one way to stay cool in the heat," she noted, hoping to reveal a bright side and detour the daughter of Hecate from her frustration. 

        Wicker had no time to react before she was tugged into the water. Only able to muster a gasp as she felt herself lose balance, Wicker soon found herself surrounded by the freezing liquid. She couldn't really complain, as the water washed away the sticky sweat that had been rolling down her face, blessing her with a refreshing boost of energy. 
Wicker resurfaced in time to see Asper skillfully crafting a makeshift bathing suit out of some fabric and a rope she had dug out of a brown bag.
"Well aren't you handy," Wicker noted with raised eyebrows. The Nymph gathered her sopping wet hair out of her face and slicked it against her head, letting the now straightened and messy, red locks cascade over her chest.

        As Asper collected sand on the beach, Wicker stood in the water and began to wring out her white sun dress, sighing as she only caused the loose fabric to wrinkle. Quickly giving up on drying herself off, Wicker once again obliged Asper's offer and waded out of the water to join the daughter of Hecate. 
"I like the way you think," Wicker commented, finding enjoyment in the irony of building a sand-shark so close to the water. The Dryad surveyed the beginnings of the sand-shark, and decided to add on to the oval, planning to create the tail. The nymph gathered some of the more damp sand that lay closer to where the water briefly hugged the shore, and connected it messily onto the sand-shark's oval-ish body. When she felt she had enough to begin sculpting the recognizable shape of the sea creature, she began to smooth out the sand by patting it lightly with her now messy hands.
Wicker found her gaze lifting from the beach sculpture to the dark haired girl that worked across from her. Her chest burned with more curiosity than it had upon initially meeting Asper.
"So, I assume you want to know more about me than whether or not I wanted to join you in getting soaked with freezing water," the Nymph spoke casually, keeping her green eyes on the tail that she sculpted out of sand as she did. "Personally, I like to get to know a little bit about the people who want to get to  know me, so here's my proposal: I answer your questions, as long as you answer some of mine. Deal?"  Wicker wasn't even exactly sure as to what she wanted to ask Asper, but never having been one for dull small talk, she decided to dive deep into some of the existential questions about the world and the universe she had. She found that answers to interesting questions were much more memorable than answering your everyday questions that pop up in boring small talk. 
"First question," she stated. "Do you believe in aliens?" Wicker ceased her tail sculpting to look up at Asper, as if this question was one of the most important ones she could ask.    

    Wicker paused in her sand-shark building to listen intently to Asper's 'abstract' answer. Nodding thoughtfully, she waited for the other girl to finish before she spoke.
"I agree, the theory isn't crazier than the Gods and Goddesses existing... But I must admit, that I personally think there is intelligent life out there somewhere. Maybe they're not green martian men, but I think there's definitely another race of beings on another planet, living in their own society with different morals and values... Or, at least, I think that'd be pretty cool." As she finished her response, Wicker watched Asper continuing to pat down sand. She had started to return her attention towards the tail of the shark, and piled on more of the damp sand in attempt to create the fin. 
"Do you believe that history affects our actions today?" Asper questioned in her brisk tone. The corners of the Dryad's mouth turned up slightly, pleased to hear that she wasn't the only one interested in conversing about the existential topics of the world. 

    Wicker paused momentarily, delving into thought. She couldn't admit that she had given this sort of question much of her conscious attention. The nature spirit quickly came to a conclusion, and as she spoke, she cast her green eyes from her work to the dark haired demigoddess sitting in front of her. 
"Of course it does," Wicker began in her usually casual tone of voice. "I think it's kinda'  like that thing... What's it called? The butter effect? No. Um... Oh! The butterfly effect." Wicker blushed slightly, her cheeks turning a light hue of green at her mistake. The butter effect. Gods, Wicker, she chided herself. Wicker let an airy laugh escape her mouth before continuing. "What I mean is, all of the events that went on in history played out and allowed the events of today to happen. Y'know? Without history what would we know of the world? Barely anything. What's that saying? Oh, Gods... 'those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,'" Wicker quoted, proud of herself for remembering.  "So in short, yes, history most definitely affects us in our actions today." 

    The redheaded forest spirit absentmindedly shaped the tail of the sand shark as she pursed her lips in thought, racking her brain for another question she wanted answered. When Wicker was younger, her father had always told her that the best way to get to know someone was to explore their opinions in controversial topics. The memory of her fathers gruff voice sent a pain to wash through her chest, tightly wrapping itself to her heart before it melted away, leaving a noticeable stain. She missed being able to have a real conversation with him, as for a very long time, he had been her favourite person to talk to. He always had so many stories, lessons and values to share with both herself and her brother.  Determined not to let her pain show, Wicker decided to focus on the sand shark she built instead, shaving the damp sand into a precariously supported, pointed shark tail with her now dirty hands. Green eyes directed fully on the ground, Wicker decided to mention a highly debated topic, but not one that held so much importance that it was overwhelming. 
"Alright, here's a question for you, Asper," Wicker said, her voice steady, much to her surprise. "Nature or nurture?" 

        Nodding thoughtfully as Asper spoke, Wicker followed her explanation carefully. It seemed so logical to be neutral towards the debate of nature and nurture that for a moment Wicker questioned why there even was a debate. 
"Do you get that?" Asper questioned, after concluding her statement. 
"Yeah, I get that," Wicker replied. "Though you're right that we need both nature and nurture, I'm personally an advocate for nurture. Take the difference between us... Sane Nymphs and Satyrs, and the monsters you demigods fight.... Forest Folk are nurtured by our parents throughout our early lives and look how we turned out. Civil... For the most part. But monsters? They crawl from Tartarus after their re-birth, completely left to their own devices. Blood thirsty and slaves to their instincts. I think that's the reason why nurturing a life is so important." Wicker kept her eyes drawn to the sand as she talked, carving the sand into a thin tip at the top of the tail fin she had made. Slightly misshapen, but satisfactory nonetheless, Wicker brushed the sand that clung to her pale hands off of herself and began got to work on creating dimension between the sharks body and it's tail by shaving away thick layers of sand in certain places. 

        "Do you believe in the death penalty?"  Wicker shifted her gaze from the sand to meet Asper's glance as the daughter of Hecate asked her own controversial question. Once again, the Dryad had to think of an answer. Being only slightly familiar with the concept of the death penalty in the mortal world, Wicker wasn't sure she had much of an opinion on the matter. She only knew of it from books she had read about the mortal world on nights she craved adventure more desperately than normal. 
"I'll admit I probably don't know as much about it as you Half-bloods do," Wicker started. "But what I do know of it... It seems kind of hypocritical. Usually it's those who commit murder that go up for the death penalty, yes? I mean, I know a lot of serial killers have been sentenced to the death penalty. I find it a little odd that your government would solve murder crimes with more murder... Y'know? An eye for an eye makes the world go blind and all of that." Wicker shrugged as she continued to shape the tail of the sand-shark. "Of course, I think they should be locked up. That's where they belong... But no, I don't really think they should be killed. Some may say it's poetically ironic, but I think it's pretty hypocritical."

        Wicker stopped building the shark to stretch her tiring muscles. The young nymph arched her back and lifted her arms over her head, her joints cracking satisfyingly as if on command. With her green eyes, she surveyed her surroundings. The Dryads curious gaze fell once again on the daughter of Hecate with the dark hair and dark eyes that sat in front of her. As the nature spirit relaxed, she asked a question that had been prevalent in her mind for years. 
"What's it like outside of camp?" She asked. She had asked many demigods this question before, and all of them had different descriptions to give her. Curiosity burned in her chest over the life that Asper had lived before coming to this place.