Castor sighed, leaning his head back against the wooden wall. The temperature was too warm in the stall. He could feel the sweat begin to run down his back. It wasn't that the weather outside was sweltering or anything like that. The mare's body was simply producing too much heat from her nervous movements. The stall wasn't the largest area and between her and him in the small space, the son of Mercury was ready to abandon it all and go jump in the pool. Thankfully, someone had heard his plea for help and he looked up as Claire came into view, looking over the stall door. He gave her a wave of his hand, a tired smile on his lips. "Yeah, thanks. My next attempt was going to try and play chess with her but your advice sounds much better."

Claire walked into the stall, the space filling with another body. Normally he would be concerned, especially if it had been any other animal. Unicorns were similar to their mortal ancestors though, sometimes confinement could help. You just had to know what you were doing. Castor took her outstretched hand, standing up, not bothering to dust himself off. "Yeah, you could say that." He ran his hands over the mare's body, murmuring soothing words before turning his attention back to Claire. "She has something stuck in her shoe. I think I can get it out, but there's too much going on. I couldn't get her to calm down." He knew Claire wouldn't have much in the gifts department. Her father was Mars and not exactly known for calming effects on equine. He nodded in the direction of the wall nearest her. "See that towel? I need you to slowly cover her eyes. That should calm her down enough to let me get it out."

Castor let Claire hold the mare steady while he leaned over and grabbed the snippers from the wall. He was nowhere near the farrier that some Apollo or even Vulcan kids were but he knew he could get it out. It hadn't looked deep enough to warrant needing anything or anyone more skilled. If he had to guess, he would say it was probably something she stepped on right before being led in. With all of the incoming traffic they would all have to be more careful around the space.

He waited for Claire to give him the word. "I don't think she'll care once I actually get her hoof to where I can work on it, but the more calm and still you could get her the better it'll be for all of us." He gave her a supportive grin

Claire made a crack at a unicorn getting the best of him and he laughed lightly "Compared to my half-siblings she's a walk in the park." It was a full-time job keeping his siblings under control. They were apparently better behaved than their Greek counterparts, but they did their fair share of getting into trouble. He had spent countless a night trying to wrangle them in as they had snuck out past curfew. Or when they skipped classes they found too tedious or boring. Or when one of them got the awful urge to pull a prank. He would rather deal with an antsy equine knocking him down repeatedly than half of the stuff they pulled.

Castor waited for the all-clear from Claire before moving. When she spoke up he nodded, his hand gently touching the unicorn's leg. "Alright Viribus, let's take it easy. We're just trying to help." He moved his hand down, applying pressure and holding the hoof carefully. Castor squatted down and got a better grip on the area. "Keep her nice and still. I really don't want to end up with a horseshoe to the face. Much too handsome for that." He grinned at his little joke as he made sure that he spoke nice and easy, no quick or negative inflections in his voice. "I see it." He murmured before getting the snippers and pulling out the shard.

He had been right, it was something small and thankfully, not deep. He pulled the item out and let the unicorn's hoof go back down. "There. How is that hmm?" He nodded to Claire to take the towel off her eyes. He made sure to watch her, in case she still couldn't put weight on it. Castor put the snippers back on the wall and held up the item to show Claire. A golden charm that looked like it belonged on a necklace or bracelet. "I think it's from a Greek. I've seen a few of them wear necklaces with little charms on them." He held it out to Claire for her to inspect.

The unicorn hadn't stomped her feet since he had removed the item and he let out a small breath of relief. He was thankful they wouldn't have to call anyone over. Of course that also meant he had to get back to work, but one little break wouldn't hurt anything. "Thanks for helping, what did I drag you from?"

Claire made a joke about messing up his pretty face and Castor chuckled, "No we don't. I actually have a date tonight." It had been a little while since he had been on a date. The last one had been three months ago. It hadn't gone well, but it hadn't gone to Pluto either. It just hadn't been what he was hoping for. He knew this one had much better odds. If he was being honest, she had him more in her pocket than he'd like to admit. 

Castor held the little gleaming piece of jewelry out to Claire and as she confirmed it, he frowned. They would all have to be more careful. Thankfully, he hadn't seen anything of the sort lying around in other place, but the more bodies that crowded into camp, the higher the odds that slip-ups would happen. Slip-ups that could injure humans as well as equines. "I may ask the Vulcan kids if they can come up with something to sweep the area of debris on rotation." At least then they could ensure the safety of the stables. As for the rest of the camp, he had no clue.

Castor grabbed a nearby brush and began rhythmically brushing the unicorn as he listened to Claire speak. He was glad he hadn't kept her from anything important. As she offered to help him he gave a half-grin. "I'm cleaning the stables out today. Are you sure you want to volunteer?" He held out the brush that he had been using on the mare out to her in offer. He wasn't sure if she'd take him up on it, it wasn't the most glamorous job on campus to say the least. "If you're really offering, I would appreciate the help. If you could give her a nice once-over with the brush, I'll finish mucking the stall?"

Claire laughed, verifying that indeed they did not want to ruin his face and he chuckled, "Exactly. See, you get it." He was excited about his evening's activities. The quicker he got done with his duties for the day, the better. Castor nodded as Claire mentioned the possibility of an animal getting hurt. It was something no one wanted and even though he was sure that the charm had been an accident, it could have caused an injury. They would all have to do better, that was certain.

Claire replied to his question and he nodded his head, a small chuckle on his lips. "I'd hate to pull anyone away from training, but I would appreciate the help." He was relieved she had offered to help. He had thought maybe it was a half-offer out of obligation, but that hadn't seemed to have been the case. He was thankful. She brought up his date and the two being able to catch up and he nodded again, "Yeah, it's been a while. The Greek's arrival has caused everything to kick into overdrive. I swear I've never seen camp have this many meetings." Claire took the brush from him and he laughed as she mentioned he was the one doing the dirty work, "Eh, I'll still take the help."

He grabbed the pitch fork and began shoveling the hay from the inside of the stall to the outside of it where a wheelbarrow sat. He carefully avoided both the unicorn and Claire as he began cleaning the area. "My date is actually a Greek girl. Scarlet, a daughter of Hades. It's weird not to say cohort." A grin came to his face as he thought of her. The Greek girl who had in one afternoon completely wrapped him around her finger. A task which had never, to date, been accomplished. 

Castor moved back in and glanced over at Claire, a grin still on his face, "And what about you? Do I need to keep my eye on anyone sneaking into the barracks?" It was mostly a joke, but there was always of course half seriousness with it. He didn't mind campers dating, but he did mind them sneaking out. He leaned against the pitchfork, stopping just a moment to take a sip of water from the bottle he had balancing on the edge of the stall's window. 

A small laugh came out of Castor's lips at the mention of training all the time and Jax. "Yeah, you two need to go easy on each other." He knew the two had a history of training sessions that usually ended up in the Infirmary. He also knew it was pointless to tell them to go easy as well, but he wouldn’t be much of a Centurion if he didn't. It was like asking a child of Apollo not to heal things or a certain daughter of Hades to not be so attractive. Some things just simply were. "Is that the biggest draw to camp for you? The training?" He wasn't critical or judgmental at all. He was simply curious. He was partial to the training as well. Though lately New Rome had begun to take over his thoughts. It was normal of course, he wasn't far from retiring. He was just glad he had a safe place to retire to.



Claire asked about Scarlett and he was glad he wouldn't have to deal with any disparaging comments on the matter. He knew eventually it would happen, but he was still pleased it wouldn't be from Claire. He stuck the pitchfork into the hay, carefully removing another pitch full before answering the question. "That's true. They call themselves campers. Honestly, she's different than any girl that I've ever met." He met her eyes, giving a shrug. She truly was worlds different. She was bold and witty while being kind and utterly sweet. She was unique and different and had him already following after her like a lost puppy. Castor moved back into the stall, glancing over with a grin at Claire. "Plus she's gorgeous. I really didn’t stand a chance." He moved back to his work, quietly listening to her.



After she spoke, Castor stopped, standing the pitch fork up so he could lean over it with his hands clasped, watching her. He had a soft grin on his lips, "Why wait to catch someone else's attention? Fortune favors the bold Claire." It was a motto that he tended to live by. He had never been good at holding back when it came to girls. If he saw someone he liked, he tended to make a move. His tone turned more serious, his eyes meeting hers. "Training is great but that's not all there is to life. Sometimes it's good to find other things that make you happy." He knew she had a few more years in service to the legion, but he also knew how fast they could go by.

Castor chuckled as Claire spoke about Jax. Sibling rivalry would always be a thing, but it was especially bad in the Mars bloodline. He supposed Mercury had their own issues. While his siblings didn't tend to thieve as much as their Greek counterparts did, they had their own fair share of issues. Sometimes he could swear that he could sense Isaak slipping out of bed to go cavorting around camp. "Well, you didn't hear this from me but if you want to get him off of his game just tell him his haircut is stupid." He hadn't personally used the line but he had been near someone who had and whatever words came after were cut short by the pair brawling in the Mess Hall. He doubted Jax would actually harm his half-sister over a comment, but it might be enough to get an edge on the boy.

Castor laughed when she mentioned it was one less demigod to be chasing after. That was the gods honest truth. "That's very true." When he had first accepted the role of centurion he had assumed most of his time would be spent defending their borders. Instead, he found that most of his time involved chasing his co-hort legionnaires back into their beds. Occasionally, out of their beds if they missed their classes but it was usually the former. He had gotten to where the days spent guarding the border were a lucky reprieve.

Claire teased him and Castor just shrugged. He knew it was more than a little surprising. He had been open and welcomed the whole idea of the Greek camp, but he had never thought he'd be in a relationship with one. He had assumed there were way too many differences. Way too much that pointed them in opposite directions. He had clearly been wrong. "Life is funny like that sometimes."

Castor listened quietly as she began talking about relationships. A topic that neither had ever actually talked to the other about before. He could tell she was wary about the topic and he tried to keep his tone light. "I understand. But if you ever want to talk about it, you know where I live." He gave a half-grin. That was a part of the job that he welcomed. He didn’t mind the talks and the teaching that required patience after patience. He didn't mind one bit if he was asked about something a thousand times or had to repeat himself over and over. It was all part of the job and actually helping his legionnaires was his favorite part.