opposites

The forest was an odd location to Dimitri. The vastness and thickness of the trees made it feel so much more authentic than anything else he'd ever seen before. It was certainly a wondrous sight in some aspects, though Dimitri had been warned that going deep enough would offer creatures much less friendly than Nymphs and Satyrs. He'd never gone to the areas of the forest that had such dangers in them though, he knew better than that, especially without any combat training. He tended to stick to the safe parts of the woods, which still, were somewhat odd for him. It's where capture the flag took place, which Dimitri had yet to even attempt to master. While the forest served as a reminder of capture the flag, he also couldn't help but let it serve as a reminder of home. He couldn't wait to see the old forests back home again, even if they weren't as magical.

Dimitri wore jeans, they were of a darker blue color, though they'd somewhat faded over time, but hadn't torn. He also wore a long-sleeved baize snap-button shirt with the top two buttons not done and the sleeves rolled up. And he wore a pair of baize boots too, it was rare that he wasn't wearing boots. You'd sooner see him barefoot than in sneakers or sandals. His dark brown hair was pretty well kept today, for a change, though he never payed too much mind to his hair anyway. His walk through the forest was nothing more than to kill time and remind himself of home just a little bit. So long as there weren't nymphs left and right, anyway.

It wasn't long until he nearly walked into someone, they were sitting, and he nearly tripped over their leg. Luckily, he manage to stop himself before his foot touched her at all, he'd been too busy thinking while walking to ever realize there was a person. He took a look at her for a moment, he knew he'd seen her plenty of times doing combat training. He just didn't know if she was a child of Ares or Athena. "Oh, I'm sorry." Dimitri said, he was only near two feet away from her before he'd noticed her there. "I hope I'm not bothering anythin'."

She'd looked somewhat relaxed when he'd approached her, but that quickly changed. Her facial expression turned into a glare towards him, and he was suddenly a lot less comfortable then previously. The glare wasn't an ordinary one that could go unnoticed, it was like daggers were coming from her eyes, it looked as though she could get up at any moment and be ready to strike. She wore clothes like she was getting ready to fight a tournament, no armor, but that only meant there was nothing weighing her down. He had a pretty good idea why she spoke so confidently for a reason.

She didn't look all that tall, nothing like a tower anyway. She even looked pretty slim. But still, she was just outright intimidating when she spoke. Her words came out as very agitated, and Dimitri's brow was raised. On one hand, he wasn't very fond of the idea of this escalating. He wasn't big on confrontational events, but he also didn't like being pushed around. On another hand entirely, he didn't know much about combat, and even if he was ready to fight, he was certain this was a fight he'd lose.

"Relax, it was a mistake." Dimitri said, his tone was one that attempted reasoning, however, he wasn't so hopeful that it was going to work. "I didn't expect to see anyone here. On days like today, the forest is usually pretty empty."

Dimitri wasn't quite sure how to respond, he was quickly thinking that the best solution was simply to walk away. Another whole part of him wanted to ask her just what her problem was, but he was pretty sure that kind of confrontation was going to land him a bloody face. He just felt like he was at a crossroads at the moment. The smarter choice was to simply walk away, avoid whatever could come up. Unfortunate for Dimitri, he was much more book smart than street smart.

Dimitri's expression remained fairly neutral while he looked at the girl. He was slightly ticked off and also a good part curious. Having let curiosity get the better of him, he didn't walk away. "Well, I didn't mean to interrupt. Haven't other people walked by before?" Dimitri asked, he wasn't near bold enough at the moment to ask what she was doing out there at the moment.

as the boy attempts to start a conversation with her, nadia keeps her glare positioned towards the boy. after he finishes his 'speech', nadia remains quiet for a few seconds. she wasn't sure how she should react. usually her vocal tones and dagger glares were enough to scare people away. the girl wasn't used to people pursuing a conversation with her. she didn't really even know how to react, hence her quietness. after a short moment or two, the daughter of ares pushes her cocoa colored hair behind her ears and softens her glare a bit. with an almost defeated sound, the girl starts to speak.

"yes, but none of them actually tried to start up a conversation with me, which i'm glad for. why would you want to?" her voice sounded much more at ease that it had moments before. the change of mind that occurred in the girl's head a few seconds back was odd for her. usually she stuck to her guns and remained as harsh as she could manage to be. maybe it was because she hadn't actually done anything that a typical ares child did during their normal day today. she hadn't gotten into a fight with anyone, taken her anger out on dummies, nor cursed and jeered at any kids. that may sound like a normal day for most people, but it was the complete opposite for nadia. she was a daughter of ares. she was created to be cold and cruel. someone needed to do it in the world, and that was her.

It was an interesting question, why would he want to talk to this person for even a second more than he had to? He didn't let it linger in his mind, the answer was already obvious to him. However, he still remained uncertain. Sure, on one hand, she seemed at ease much more than she had moments before, but she still looked like she could pick him up and throw him. Even with the somewhat softened glare and voice, he still wasn't so confident that it was a good idea to press further, but even still, he knew he was going to anyway, confident or not in the situation. Dimitri simply nodded his head to her question.

"Well, there's lots of reasons." Dimitri said. "It's just how I am. I'd try to talk to anyone I saw sitting in the forest- of course, not with the intention of interrupting them, just with the thought that we'd talk." Dimitri continued on, though he wasn't sure if he was trying to prove anything or not, perhaps he was simply being stubborn in the moment. "Is there any reason I wouldn't try?" Dimitri asked, aware of the probability that the answer wasn't going to be a pleasant one. He had, after all, interrupted her in the first place.

Dimitri was curious, he still wouldn't deny it. Sure, this girl was not kind, friendly, or anything of the like. She didn't hold any desire for friendship or conversation, she made that clear, with her sighs and that look on her face. Still, they were somewhat subtle signs, they weren't blunt. And Dimitri oddly respected that to some degree, it almost made him want to apologize and walk away. But it was at that moment that she spoke, and Dimitri took interest in her words. Part of it spoke to him, and he wanted to pursue that, but he knew better than to chase after her and try.

Talking to her while she was around was one thing, but chasing after her wasn't the right thing to do. If she wanted to be away that badly, he wasn't above forcing himself to be around her. Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't run into her again at some point. It also didn't mean he wouldn't attempt to get her to stay, even if just for a little longer.

"Can't change?" Dimitri remarked, while he watched her stand up and start walking. She was pretty quick, too. "Why would you think anyone would try and make you change?" Dimitri asked, nearly calling after her. Sure, she seemed sort of cold hearted and aggressive, but she was subtle about it. She could have been far worse, and despite all that had happened thus far, Dimitri didn't consider her a bad person in any way.

He was pretty certain that she was going to just keep walking, but surely enough, she turned around, and she looked even more displeased than she had the whole rest of the conversation, if you would call it a conversation, anyway. Dimitri suddenly felt as though he had something to prove to this girl, and he was really stubborn on that subject. It was odd, he didn't even know her name, much less why he was here talking to her. He was aware of one thing though, he was risking being hit every time he opened his mouth to speak. He wasn't afraid of being hit, but he wasn't looking forward to it stinging. Even still, he didn't back away, or walk away, he was all in at this point, even if he wasn't entirely sure why.

"You don't need to be like that, or like that stuff." Dimitri said, as his rebuttal. "Yeah, you get irritated. And I'm pretty sure if you hit me right now, I'd be on the ground bleedin'. But that doesn't mean you need to be changed, it doesn't make you a bad person." Dimitri nearly protested instead of stating. He awaited a response, whether it be an attack or more words. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened, he'd simply crossed a girl in the woods and let it escalate to this level.

Dimitri didn't feel like he'd gotten his point quite across, but still, from how she spoke, it almost felt like they'd reached some sort of resolution. As though the lingering hostility he'd felt towards him had lessened to a degree. He acknowledged in his head that she'd just called him weak, but she'd also called him brave. Dimitri figured that was her distant way of saying he had potential, in some foreign way, it was a compliment. The words and the meaning of them didn't seem so matched to Dimitri for the first time since they began talking.

When the girl slammed into him, it was clear that it was meant to be hard, and not playful. It confirmed to Dimitri that she was definitely strong, it was as though a boulder had hit him, just condensed into the size of a person. Even still, he couldn't help but smile afterwards. It might not have been the idea resolution, but it worked out, in a way. Still, only a split moment passed before it all registered in his mind. He was trapped in uncertainty whenever he wasn't in camp, because if a monster ever attacked, he'd be gone. If he became strong, he'd be able to stand up for himself against the monsters that roamed the world. He'd be able to live instead of hiding.

Dimitri immediately began pacing again, towards the girl. With only two words in mind, he made his request. "Teach me."