Alexa Lau

[Played by skyatdawn.]

Alexa Lau is the daughter of Hermes and a Greek camper born on June 24, 2021 in the small town of Noatak, Alaska. She is a year-round camper and works part-time as a specialized courier for her father, transporting messages and packages.

Background
Her mother, Minghua Lau, served two tours with the US Army after college (where she majored in communications) before returning to the States and working as an exotic wildlife photographer for National Geographic, during which time she met Hermes and became pregnant with Alexa.

Upon realizing she was pregnant, Minghua had a series of arguments with Hermes, which ended in her requesting a long assignment in Alaska photographing a population of polar bears. A devastating gryphon attack on Noatak shortly after Alexa was born prompted a return to Minghua's hometown of Seattle, Washington, where Alexa was raised with the help of Minghua's mother, Fengmi.

There, Minghua reconnected with an old college friend and married him shortly after, despite his outright refusal to support Alexa; when Minghua had a child with him when Alexa was eight, he began to turn Minghua against her, and Alexa began to live with her grandmother full time.

When Alexa was twelve, her grandmother--whose health had been steadily declining ever since Alexa began to live with her--passed away. Fengmi herself was very, very distantly related to Emily Zhang by marriage and had heard of Camp Half-Blood, revealing her knowledge of Alexa's heritage and the existence of the camp to Alexa shortly before she passed.

Alexa spent the next two years making her way across the United States, and there are a number of events that occurred during this time period that she refuses to talk about. For the most part, however, she lived up to her heritage as the daughter of the God of Thieves, becoming an accomplished pickpocket and petty thief--but only from people she believed had money to spare. She also learned a number of sleight-of-hand tricks and other common street scams. Eventually, she ended up in Camp Half-Blood; soon after, she challenged the standing head of the Hermes cabin to a footrace and won, thus securing her status as the youngest leader of the Hermes cabin.

Appearance
Alexa is approximately 5'6" and curvy but muscular. She has deeply tan skin and choppy shoulder-length brown hair, which she usually wears in a messy bun or ponytail. Other iconic elements of her appearance include her golden aviators, 3/4 sleeve shirts, joggers, her leather jacket and combat boots.

Powers and Weapons
As a daughter of Hermes, Alexa's powers are primarily associated with transportation and thievery. She has no powers related to the Curse of Pylos as her bloodline is not directly connected to it.
 * She is able to drive most vehicles with average competency without prior training, except for anything that breathes or flies. While she would have the ability to drive a motorcycle without specific training to do so, she would need pilot training and she would be virtually incapable of handling a horse.
 * Her ability to pickpocket and perform complicated sleight-of-hand tricks stems from her heritage as well.

Magical Items
Alexa derives most of her abilities through magical items received from her father or from quests.

Gifts from Hermes

 * Boots. Alexa has a pair of battered-looking combat boots that allow her to run at a speed approaching that of sound, but it has its limitations: she can only go as far as she can see from her starting point before she has to stop again, and it is incredibly exhausting.
 * Paper bag. Alexa was given an average-looking paper lunch sack that functions as a bottomless container for all she needs--rather like the Duat of Riordan's Egyptian mythology, she can place anything in it and summon it at will without having to "search" for it. However, this too has its limitations: she can only use it to store what would reasonably fit in a normal lunch bag. Items that fit include her Glock, individually wrapped cheeseburgers, her aviators, and baggies of ambrosia. Items that do not fit include her biathlon rifle, most articles of clothing, bags of money, and A4 paper.

Magical Items Received Elsewhere

 * Alexa, with aid from her brother Ellis Payne, killed the Nemean Lion, which netted both of them jackets--Alexa's took the form of a leather jacket shredded during the fight; Ellis' took the form of a letterman jacket.

Fun Facts

 * Her favorite card trick is Find the Lady, for more than one reason.
 * Alexa is a LESBIAN.
 * She is distantly related to Kaiya Diu, although neither of them know it.
 * Her ex girlfriend, a clearsighted mortal named Clara de Santos, is the half-sister of the einherji daughter of Tyr, Alba de Santos. She is also related to Katie Cuffin, a daughter of Thanatos.
 * While on her way to Camp, Alexa made a number of surprising friends. This included then-mobster Teresa James.
 * Her best friend in the world is Orion Elio.