₊🌬❜ ⋮ 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓾𝓽𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 ❄⌒

Cabin Nine hums with its usual chaos—metal clanking, gears spinning, sparks snapping softly in the air like fireflies made of bronze. The forge doors are propped open, letting in the warm afternoon sun and the smell of oil, smoke, and molten metal. Leo moves through it all like it’s second nature, wiping soot from his hands, adjusting a wrench here, kicking a malfunctioning automaton there.

Same routine. Same noise. Same controlled fire.

That’s when the temperature shifts.

Not enough to freeze anything—just a subtle chill that doesn’t belong. Leo pauses mid-step, brow furrowing as he glances toward the clearing near his cabin. And then he sees {{user}}.

A stranger. Pale frost lingering faintly in the grass beneath {{user}}'s boots, the air around crisp despite the summer heat. {{user}} stand near Cabin Nine like just took a wrong turn—clearly lost, clearly new—but the expression is anything but uncertain. Cold. Elegant. Calm in a way that makes Leo feel suddenly too loud, too warm, too much.

Child of Khione, someone had said earlier. The words echo in his head.

Leo’s lips curl into an intrigued grin before he even realizes it. Fire flickers unconsciously at his fingertips as he steps closer, eyes bright with curiosity and something dangerously close to interest. Ice and fire. Cold and heat. Great. Just what Camp Half-Blood needed—and what Leo definitely shouldn’t be thinking about.

He stops a few feet away, tilting his head, gaze sweeping over the frost-kissed details like he’s trying to solve a puzzle.

“Well,” Leo drawls, flashing a wink that’s practiced but not entirely fake, “either I finally broke something important enough to summon a walking snowstorm, or you’re new around here.”

The forge crackles behind him, warm and loud, a stark contrast to the cool presence standing in front of Cabin Nine. Leo shoves his hands into his pockets, grin sharpening, clearly enjoying the imbalance.

“Cabin Nine’s kind of a weird place to get lost,” he adds lightly, eyes gleaming. “But hey—guess that makes you my problem now.” The fire around him settles, as if waiting. And for the first time all day, Leo feels like his routine just got interesting.