She hummed something and before he could say anything more, a mini cloud appeared just over his head.
He only had a moment to glance at it before it rained. And not some light drizzle but a good old pouring. He spluttered as he got a face full of it before it stopped as quick as it came, leaving him somehow more soaked than before.
...
"Clean?" came Acacia's far too cheery voice, the mirth clear as day.
"… Yeah," he muttered after a moment.
Reaching for a new, dry towel, he was quick to finish up. However, he then noticed that he hadn't grabbed some clothes and the trunk with it was next to his bed outside the divider.
"Oh screw it," he sighed as he wrapped the towel around his waist and made his way out.
The moment he stepped out from around the barrier, there was a pause of silence as Acacia looked at him. He stared back, fighting to not fidget or blush in any way otherwise he'd be at the demigoddess' mercy. Then, Acacia finally responded with a low whistle, eyes wiggling and all as he marched past her towards his clothes trunk. Stopping at it, he glanced back and shot a meaningful look at his captain.
"What? Afraid I'll see some tidy whities?" she asked with a smirk still on her face, but he just kept a flat stare. She then shrugged and turned around, leaving him some semblance of privacy.
Sighing at her antics, he was quick to fish out his underwear before dropping his towel and getting dressed. It took only a moment for him to finish in a fresh set of clothes before he turned around. He found that Acacia was already looking at him, but he tried not to linger on the thought of how long she'd been looking with his back turned.
Instead, he just walked back to his desk, noting everything had been cleared off save for the ring and the bowl of stew with a side of bread was there waiting, still steaming. Acacia left his chair as he got closer, instead somewhat leaning against the desk's edge as he finally sat.
A grumble escaped his stomach as the aroma really got to him. It was only now that he truly realized just how hungry he'd been. He just barely muttered a thanks to the gods out of sheer habit before he dug in. The first bite almost had him groaning, a mental thanks to those actually responsible for the food echoing around in his head as he chowed down. It was only his mindfulness of Acacia's presence that kept him from eating like a starved dog, not wanting to risk a swift swat to the head for messiness.
He'd seen enough getting that treatment from her.
Still, even with most of his attention on getting through the rather large bowl of food, he occasionally glanced at the silent legacy of Aphrodite. She was politely looking elsewhere around the tent as he ate but he caught the momentary glances on him. He didn't mind, knowing if there was something she'd want to talk about, she would have spoken up already.
Soon enough he was done with his bowl after scrapping the very last bite he could, using the end of his bread to soak in any drops left. A low, satisfied sigh left his lips as he leaned back into his chair, feeling full for the first time in a while.
Some movement drew his attention though as Acacia got up from her spot and reached for him as she said, "Let's get you to bed."
"… But the reports," he mildly protested, shooting a glance at the set aside papers. His gaze then shifted towards the closed tent entrance and the light streaming through the cracks. "And it's going to be noon soon," he pointed out.
His heart wasn't in it though. He could feel the sleepiness as his body started to get slow, his eyelids already fighting him to close. A week of less-than-ideal sleep and then well over two days of constant stress and work without any rest was finally catching up to him.
"I can finish them while you finally get some sleep," she shot back easily as she all but tugged him out of the chair and guided him to his bed. "… And honestly no one will care if you get some shut eye now. The others have everything handled."
"That's my responsibility though," he almost mumbled before trailing off into a yawn.
"Bellona won't know the difference for a few hours," she returned with a shrug as he got into bed and started to lay down, his gaze still on her. "Besides, I think even she'll appreciate having you better rested than just dragging your feet all day."
He couldn't think of a retort for that that Acacia wouldn't be able to counter. Honestly there had been next to nothing from the mountain. No new presence and as far as he was aware, the camp itself was more or less in a limbo too as some of the gods and campers alike recovered. Plus it was daytime and going by the last few encounters with Jackson's lot, twilight and full-on night were the times to be on guard. The day was going to be slow and quiet as far as he was concerned.
In a way, it was the silence and lack of action that was adding to the tension around, not taking from it but there wasn't anything Allen could really do about that.
"Wake me if anything happens," he all but ordered, dispelling some of his own drowsiness as he looked at his second in command.
"You know I will," Acacia returned with her own serious look. She then leaned down and set a hand against his chest as she gently started to push. "Now you rest."
He didn't protest further as he let himself fall back. The moment his head hit the pillow; the drowsiness came back with a vengeance. His eyes were already fighting to close as he watched Acacia for the last bit as she sat at his desk and reached for the papers he'd been doing earlier. The soft sound of rustling paper was a rather soothingly familiar; many in Athena's cabin would work late into the night over diagrams so one got used to it quickly.
His attention wasn't on the papers but the demigoddess rather. The lights of the candles and the shadows playing against her features were rather pretty if he was being honest. Then, he watched as she almost elegantly brushed her hair back, showing her right ear and the rather nice-looking earring she had.
It looked like it was an emerald, or at least the color of one and if he was right, shaped like a fang of some sort.
It was distinct, much like Acacia was herself. Most of Aphrodite's lineage or those rare few with nymph blood tended to favor dove or flower-based jewelry. 'She never was the type to fall into molds though,' he internally mused, a small smile playing on his lips at the thought.
With that, his gaze started to fade as all the exhaustion finally started to catch up to him, and he fell into the realm of Morpheus…