Claiming:Camp/Mercedes de Luca


 * 1) Character Name: Mercedes Francesca de Luca
 * 2) Godly parent: Hermes
 * 3) Species: Demigoddess
 * 4) Current Age: 10
 * 5) Appearance: Lilly Kruk LillyKruk.jpg
 * 6) Mortal parent name: Pasqualina de Luca
 * 7) Personality: Mercedes has gone through a lot, so it has roughened her edges up a bit. It's not to say she's a completely closed off rough bitch, but she isn't exactly the sweetest kid around. Like any other of Hermes' kids, she's mischievous and is always down to have a good time. It involves pranking other people more often than not, but it's just another trademark Hermes trait. If it's not that, then it involves some small competition over who can steal the most without getting noticed. It's stupid, sure, but it entertains her. She has a knack for it, and it's something that may come in handy in future quests, so she tends to practice it as much as she possibly can. Mercedes has a brilliant memory, bordering photographic, if it weren't for some minor differences. While she's not as smart as an Athena kid, she'd definitely the person to go to if you want to be reminded of something. Or if you need a message delivered. She wasn't called the messenger for nothing, y'know. Granted it usually involved the internet from the libraries back in Italy, so she hadn't quite realized it, but now that she's in a place where anyone aside from Hermes' kids is prohibited from using electronics... it's become more noticeable. But that, just like her knack for stealing, comes in handy a lot, so again, she doesn't really care. These are small things she won't lose, so she... well, she takes it for granted a lot. Should she ever lose these, though... well, let's just hope it doesn't happen. It'd be a nightmare for her.  Communicating is somewhat hard for Mercedes. She has never had to communicate with people on a personal level, so it has made her stay at Camp Half-Blood more difficult. There's so many more people to get used to, compared to the few people she had to socialize with back in Italy. It's just... entirely different to what she's used to. The environment she's in now is much calmer, stress-free, and she isn't fending for herself anymore. Plus there's the annoying problem of having to talk in Greek, because she doesn't know English yet. It's something the Athena cabin is helping her with, but she isn't at a good point still.
 * 8) History: Mercedes was a mistake, simply put. Pasqualina fell for Hermes' charming smile and mysterious eyes in a matter of a single night. She was married, however, and that shouldn't have happened. One thing led to another in the bar they were both at that night, leading the night to finish with Pasqualina and Hermes tangled beneath the sheets of a nearby hotel. Mercedes would forever be Pasqualina's reminder of the horrendous mistake that cost her her marriage. Her husband - Jean - likely would never have found out had it not been for the child she'd conceived. Jean and her hadn't been intimate for a few months now, so logically, the baby she bore couldn't be his. The second the man realized as much, he packed his bags and fled, leaving nothing but divorce papers in his wake. As a tot, Mercedes sported several bruises. Pasqualina had the tendency to abuse of her child, trying to avenge her lost marriage. It was futile, however. Nothing she said or did would bring back Jean, much less the love she held for him. The beatings worsened throughout the years, breaking her down piece by piece. While it didn't get to the extent where broken bones were a frequent thing, it did grow bad enough that Mercedes had to run from her home when she was just six years old. She was wicked smart, even at a young age, and found it easy to get around in Bassano del Grappa, which eventually grew and extended to Italy as a whole. She had a knack for traveling, making it easy for her cross from east to west and north to south. She made for an excellent thief, too, something that allowed her to survive the year and a half on the streets. She used her young age and weakened appearance to deceive storeowners and restaurant managers into getting her the basic necessities. She usually lied, claiming her and her mother were homeless and it was up to her to get everything they needed. It was more effective than you'd anticipate it to be.  When Mercedes was pulled off the streets, she was just eight. Someone had finally realized something was wrong and contacted social services, who swept the girl off the Italian streets she'd been living in. Mercedes was uncooperative and lashed out easily at first. She didn't want to be put in the foster system. She didn't want to be taken away from the one place she thrived in. She didn't want parents. She didn't want to be abused. Her past was painfully traumatizing and still gave her nightmares, so it was only logical she tried to protect herself and prevent her pain from growing some more. Regardless, she was thrown into the system, thus beginning an emotionally exhausting cycle of going through foster homes. At least until Jonas found her.  Jonas was a satyr, sent to Europe with the sole purpose of finding European demigods to take back to Camp Half-Blood. European demigods were often left behind, in the dust, being so far from Camp, so this move was sure to at least pick up the demigods over there and pull them over to safety. Mercedes was one of them. Jonas had pretended to be part of the foster system, and eventually wound up being one of Mercedes' foster brothers. She had turned ten a few months before that, so her scent was beginning to intensify. She was bound to start attracting monsters soon enough; however, Jonas picked up on it and got to pull her out in time to avoid an attack. It was a long conversation that included everything about their society and identities, which led to Mercedes thinking Jonas was out of her mind. Still, she couldn't help but feel at least a little bit curious by what he'd said. Plus he'd offered to take her to New York. As in, America. It was an easy way out of the foster system, she knew, so she took it.  Mercedes was surprised to see, when they arrived at New York, that Jonas wasn't as crazy as she'd made him out to be at first. Just shortly after their arrival, they were attacked by just a single hellhound. Being one only, Jonas was able to distract it long enough for Mercedes to make a run for her life. Jonas got around to confusing it before breaking into a run after her. It was after that attack that he'd gained her trust completely, effectively easing the rest of the trip to Camp Half-Blood, where she's spent the past two weeks, only recently claimed by Hermes.
 * 9) Weapons: Hermes was unaware of her existence until she got to camp, hence the brief delay in claiming and lack of weaponry. Moreover, her father still left her a bow the day after her claiming. Its' size fits her perfectly and grows at her own rate, too. She doesn't need arrows - she only has to draw her arm back, as if notching an arrow, and one will appear automatically. She has a dagger for close range combat.