"Even the coldest heart, when touched, melts away."

He hadn't meant to end up at the amphitheatre. Earlier, he had been sitting on the soft grass at the arenas, lazily watching his brother Anteras fail at the archery range. It had interested him at first, merely because his brother was usually a master archer and the epitome of calm, and seeing him get more and more frustrated as arrow after arrow missed the bullseye was a rare sight that just could not be missed. Eventually, though, his brother had gotten some son of Apollo to help him with his technique, and Arlon had grown tired of being ignored. He was the type of person who liked attention, dammit.

So he had wandered away from the arenas. He hadn't really had a destination in mind - anywhere with fun and girls was fine with him, honestly - but when he had heard the voices in the amphitheatre, his curiosity had been piqued. In the five years he had been at the camp, he had never once set foot into the building. It just hadn't interested him - plays and musicals were more Anteras' thing than his own. Still, it had sounded like there was a play going on, and he had't really want to end up circling the camp once more, with nothing to do. So he had slipped in quietly and seated himself in the back row.

Watching a play with no one to talk to, he soon found out, was incredibly boring. It wasn't often that he was alone; people usually flocked to him, and he loved to play a crowd. However, those kinds of people weren't the same kind who sat in the amphitheatre, and he was growing increasingly restless. He wanted to talk to someone. A quick cursory glance around, however, soon confirmed that no one in the vicinity was suitable, and he sighed, sinking in his seat lower.

<sub>Arsinoë was on her way to the amphitheater for her usual 2 O'clock date with the piano. She wasn't expecting anyone to be there since most plays were being held outside due to the nice weather. She was dressed in sweatpants and an orange tank top, her hair swept back in an intricate fishtail braid. The girl was carrying a stack of sheet music, some of it a little crumpled due to her cabinmates carelessness. She went to step inside the building but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard voices, closing her eyes quickly to keep from screaming in frustration, this was supposed to be her time! Why couldn't they do their damn plays outside.

Arsinoë stalked inside the building, glaring at the "audience" although there really wasn't anyone there. Only losers came to watch these dumb plays since they were never any good. She shot a sharp look at one of the actresses from her cabin then stormed to the back row. She would simply have to wait until this immature performance was over, this probably wasn't even good enough to be considered a performance!

The young lady took her seat in the back row, sitting next to a boy who seemed to be about her age. Arsinoë put the sheets of music under her seat delicately then took her Ipod Touch out of her pocket to glance at the time. She flipped through the apps then clicked on Temple Run, hopefully this would pass the time. She played only one round as she began to get frustrated when she kept losing lives. She slipped the electronic device back into her pocket and attempted to watch the play. After five painful minutes, Arsinoë averted her eyes, not being able to bear the terrible acting. She instead decided to study the boy next to her in what she hoped was a discreet fashion. She sighed in relief as the cast came out to sing what seemed to be the final piece, "Thank the gods" She muttered under her breath.</sub>

Arlon was startled when, just as he had wished that someone fascinating would enter the old building and save him from finishing the terrible play, in came a girl about his age. He had perked up instantly, his eyes snapping first to the girl's casual attire and the many sheets of paper in her hand, then to her incredibly long legs (like the hormonal girl-obsessed male he was) and finally, on to her face, which, he was surprised to see, was stormy. Interestingly, despite her frustration (which he could only assume was caused by the infernal screeching on the stage), she decided to stay, and had chosen, of all the free spaces in the amphitheatre, to sit next to him.

The expression on her face looks exactly like Anteras' when I finish the hot water in the shower before him, he thought somewhat amusedly as he discreetly studied her. He watched as she took out an iPod and began to play Temple Run, something he had seen one of his friends from Hermes's cabin play. It was entertaining, although not in a malicious way, to see this girl who so obviously got frustrated whenever she lost a life play, and he tried to stifle a laugh when she finally stowed it away, clearly giving up on the game. She brought her eyes back to the stage, but Arlon didn't do the same. He was fascinated by the girl who was in a bad mood but had chosen to sit next to him; who hadn't even attempted to talk to him in the five minutes they had been sitting beside each other.

She looks like she needs some cheering up, he thought. When she turned to him and began to study him in the same way he had been studying her (although she evidently wasn't as practiced at being inconspicuous about it as he was), he took it as a sign that it was safe to say something. Running a hand through his chestnut curls, he turned to her and pasted a charming smile on his face. "You'd think the kids of gods would be more talented than that, wouldn't you?" he asked in his heavy French accent, giving a low chuckle as he nodded towards the stage.

<sub>ooc: Oh gawd, right as I'm about to type up my response, Genie in a Bottle comes on Oh the irony
bic: This boy was somewhat handsome, the kind of guy that girls would fawn over and the fact that he seemed to be French, well he would have his pick of the field. She personally wasn't too interested in guys like that, most of them were so in love with themselves, it was disgusting. No, the only boy that  Arsinoë would even allow herself to become close to had to be someone who could match her fire, her zeal for life and so far, none of the dimwits in the camp were even close to achieving that.

The young girl raised an eyebrow, stifling the urge to roll her eyes at his charming smile, what was there to smile about? "You would think..." She agreed as she examined her nails boredly. Arsinoë glanced up at the stage as the cast began to take their bows and exhaled in relief, she wouldn't be off schedule too much as long as everyone left in the next fifteen minutes, but in the meantime, she might as well make the best of it.

"You would also think the kids of gods would be smart enough to realize that no one comes to their dumb plays" She snorted in grim amusement, gesturing to the empty seats. There were only about four or five people in front of them and only two looked like they were actually paying attention and even they seemed pretty thrilled that it was over. She couldn't help but wonder who this boy's godparent was, she didn't see anything about him that would distinguish him immediately  as the offspring of a certain God. He didn't have blonde hair and grey eyes like a child of Athena or the physique of a child of Ares, maybe he was a child of a minor deity like herself? One could never know with all the countless  Gods and Goddesses out there/</sub>

OOC: If you wanna be with me, baby there's a price to pay-

"We're here," he pointed out, gesturing between the two of them. A quick glance at the stage showed that the play was done, but Arlon wasn't ready to leave yet. He recognised in the back of his mind that this situation was a rather cliche one - he had seen it in many American movies, once he had moved to the United States. There was always a boy, so obviously used to grabbing the attention of girls with a well-placed smile and a well-timed cheeky remark; then there was the girl, one of the few who ignored his charms, as she had so clearly done when he had smiled at her, who fascinated him without even trying, who piqued his interest where many others had failed.

Damner les dieux, he mentally frowned, Anteras would know what to do. Or at least, Anteras would be the only one with enough common sense to smack him in the head, telling him that he, once again, had grown too fond of his own reflection. The girl was pretty enough, he supposed, maybe not as beautiful as some of the other girls he had courted - if that was an appropriate word for what they did, anyway - but attractive enough for him to wonder what was wrong with her. His fascination wasn't one of romantic interest; he wasn't offended by her lack of interest by any means. But why had she come to sit next to him, if she didn't plan to be pursued by him? Because that was all girls had ever wanted with him, it never occurred to Arlon that someone of the female species would want a proper conversation, or at least just to talk.

A small crease appeared between his eyebrows as he looked at the girl, who was boredly examining her nails. It was something he often did when something didn't interest him - was she not captivated by him, the way the girls from Aphrodite or Apollo or even Demeter were? Giving a slight shake of his head in genuine confusion, he leaned back and rested his arm on the back of her chair. Her hair looked soft - he wanted to play with it - but something told him that this girl wasn't one who was too fond of gestures like that. "You know, belle fille, I don't think you've told me your name yet," he smiled, belatedly realising that he had just been referring to her as 'the girl' in his mind, "which is quite unfair, seeing as I've already told you mine."

OOC: short post is short.

Okay, so she wasn't interested in him, that much was certain. She still looked like she was having a bad day, and if there was anything Arlon disliked more than snails, it was pretty girls with frowns on their faces. This girl - Arsinoe - seemed like she needed a lot of cheering up.

"Oh, you're right. I haven't told you my name," Arlon replied in exaggerated shock, eyes gleaming with amusement. "How rude of me. I'm Arlon, one half of the only pair of sons of Caerus at camp as far as I know. Perhaps I can make up for my rudeness to you later?" he added cheekily. His tone was playful, and he grinned at her. Now that he had decided she wasn't interested in him - for reasons unknown, but he'd ponder that strange occurrence later; there was a girl in desperate need of the Arlon-treatment sitting in front of him which was more urgent - he removed his arm from the back of her chair and leaned forward, letting out a full blown smile. "Arsinoe is a fascinating name. I haven't seen you around camp before, I don't think... who's your god parent?"

OOC: omg I hope you don't think I'm forcing you to post or anything! D: If you're tired you just go and have a sleep. <3 I'm only hyper because it's 11am where I am haha

Apate. He subconsciously rubbed the side of his nose with the knuckle of his index finger, an action that usually cropped up whenever he was thinking hard. He had heard the name before, but he couldn't place what she was the goddess of. Despite what the other campers thought, he knew it was important to know what the different gods and goddess' domains were. It often gave clues as to their children's personalities, their likes and dislikes, and it was a something that had helped the twins out of more troublesome situations than they could count on their fingers, combined.

When they had first discovered they were the children of a god, the twins had forced themselves to go through book after book of Greek deities, memorising names and traits. It had been his own idea, actually, because he had wanted to make the best impression at camp. The Olympians were easy enough to remember, but these days, only Anteras knew the minor ones by heart; save for their father of course. Apate, he thought. Where have I heard that before?

When it came to him, his eyes had lit up with triumph for a split second, before they had narrowed in thought. Apate... she was the goddess of trickery. She was deceit, and fraud, and cunning, all rolled into one scary being. Arlon's eyes studied the girl in front of him, who for all intents and purposes, now had a small smile on her face. She seemed to be warming up to him, but... No, he thought, stopping that thought process in its tracks. Worrying and paranoia is Anteras' thing. Just because her mother is the goddess of fraud, doesn't mean you have to second guess everything her daughter does.

Shaking his head of his thoughts for what seemed like the fifth time in their short conversation - he had never thought talking to a girl who didn't want him romantically was so hard; he wasn't meant to be enjoying it as much as he was - he replied, "My papa is the god of opportunity, luck and favourable moments." He considered tacking on a comment about how it was 'just his luck he had met her!' but refrained with difficulty. Instead, he added, somewhat lamely, "I think my brother and I are his only children, so I guess he doesn't get around much."

His eyes suddenly caught sight of the paper she had stacked under the chair. He hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but now that he looked closer, he saw they were... "Music sheets," he noted with surprise, lifting his eyes to meet her dark brown ones. His smile grew wider. Perhaps they would have something to talk about, after all. "Are you a musician? Beautiful and talented, too. Vous êtes doué par les dieux." Just like himself.

<sub>ooc: Lol it's fine, it was only like 7 where I was and I had to stay up anyways so I couldn't have gone to sleep even if I wanted to.

bic:[sub] Arsinoe flinched inwardly, it was always the same look that people had in their eyes when she announced who her mother was. It was always a look of curiosity as if gears were clicking together, if her mother is deceitful then she must be too which in all honesty was quite true. Arsinoe wasn’t afraid to admit that even she wouldn’t trust herself, trickery was in her blood although she still hated being judged, it was infuriating. There were times when she couldn’t stand her God parent especially since the powers were so lame but it still had it’s perks. She could always pull off a good poker face, which was helpful when someone was trying to gauge her emotions. Arsinoe was a very sensitive girl, it made her uncomfortable when people could tell how she was feeling and it made her feel vulnerable. Whenever she felt a strong emotion, whether it was sorrow or the rare attraction to someone, she wore a look of indifference.

Sometimes Arsinoe would feel something and she wouldn’t even be really aware of why she was feeling it. When she had crushed on guys in middle school, she’d felt something deep down inside but had never really admitted it to herself until it was too late. When she had broken off her friendship with her best friend in high school she had felt hollow inside but she simply attempted to ignore it.

“Huh, I thought he might be the God of overused compliments” She said wryly as she grabbed the sheets from out under her seat and set them in her lap, absentmindly straightening out a few creases. She paused for a minute, her mind backtracking, wait…hadn’t he just said a moment ago that he had another brother…so that made them twins? Looked like minor Gods loved to have twin offspring, she couldn’t help but wonder if this boy’s twin brother was as annoying as Alexander!

“Yes I play a little bit of piano” She said, dismissing the compliment. Saying that she played just a little bit was definitely an understand as she had been playing for about twelve solid years, maybe move but she had taken a lot of breaks and didn’t really want to count those years. She noticed his wide smile and had a feeling that he was a musician as well, “What instrument do you play?” She asked, slightly curious.</sub>

OOC: Isis just to let you know I won't be posting as often now because school started ;-; I think my posts will be coming in once every 1-2 days now. I'm sorry D:

BIC:

"He's the god of overused compliments too, didn't you know?" Arlon joked in mock surprise, raising an eyebrow at her comment. His eyes sparkled with mirth. "Where else do you think I get my charming one-liners?" He snorted. "Forget Aphrodite; my father is the god of romantic pick up lines!"

She was a strange girl. Despite her wry tone and her apathetic expression, he could tell her mood was lifting. She no longer seemed like a dark thundercloud was hovering over her, and she seemed more open to talking to him than before. He smiled inwardly. Sometimes this feeling-emotions thing was useful. He was by no means an emotion reader or anything - it wasn't a power, but more of a talent. Because he had grown up being more in tune with his twin brother's feelings than most people were with their siblings, he supposed he was more sensitive to emotions than the average person. The subtle clues in a person's movements and actions were everything, and he had learned to the read them with skill and precision. Being a very socially outgoing person, he got enough practice reading them than he needed, but it was a useful thing to have in situations like the one he had just stumbled upon. Arsinoe was an interesting girl.

And he had thought he would die of boredom, sitting in the amphitheatre. Vous êtes tellement stupide, he thought to himself with a small laugh.

At the revelation that she played piano (never mind that she had completely ignored his compliment), his smile widened even further. Perhaps he'd introduce her to Anteras, and they'd be little piano buddies and play piano duets with each other. "I am a violinist myself," Arlon said, "but it is not something I spend a lot of time on anymore." He shrugged. "I have traded in my violin for a spear, so to speak," he added, referring to the spear he wielded as a weapon. Once he had taken on spear fighting, he had found that he just didn't have anymore time to play, on top of trying to juggle school work, demigod training and a bustling social life.

Movement on the stage caught his eye, and when he turned his head slightly, he saw that all the cast members of the play were shuffling off, to little applause. He looked first at the music sheets, then at the abandoned piano on the stage and finally at Arsinoe, a grin creeping up on his face. Throwing an arm over her shoulder, he began to lead her towards the piano. "How would you like to indulge me in a song, my lady?"

<sub>ooc: It's okay, I understand. Best of luck in school!

Bic: Arsinoë smiled slightly at his comment about his father then frowned slightly when he mentioned that he had given up the violin so to speak. She couldn't really understand why someone would even think about 'trading' a musical instrument for anything that involved fighting. She personally thought that most music people weren't really fighters anyways, at least not at heart. She had all the fighting she really needed right in her hands in the Funeral March by Chopin. Of course she fought, it would be suicidal for a demigod not to train in the art of war and she wasn't to bad at it but it wasn't something that she found to be better then music. Music was so peaceful and fighting was so violent, why would anyone want to give music up for weaponry much less a spear.

Who even fought with a spear anymore? From what she'd seen, they were way to bulky to carry around and you had to also be checking your balance if you wanted to throw the weapon correctly and have it actually hit it's target. She preferred fighting with a dagger, they were light and easy to conceal, just the way she liked it. She brought Adrasteia everywhere, sometimes she strapped it to her arm and other times it was inside her combat boots, if she wore them that is. At the moment, Adrasteia was tucked inside her black combat boots, concealed from view but easily accessible if a problem arose.

A mask of indifference concealed her inner turmoil as Arlon steered her towards the creaky but still in tune piano that sat on the stage. Inwardly, Arsinoe was panicking. She had never performed for anyone before except for Alexander and he didn't count since he never payed attention anyways. Inwardly, Arsinoe had always wanted to play for someone but not someone like this person. She certainly didn't trust this son of Caerus even if he did seem somewhat different from most of the other guys. She didn't know what piece to play , what if she messed up and he went and gossiped, not that it would matter since most people didn't even know that she existed. "Well what exactly would you like to hear?"</sub>

OOC: Thanks <3

BIC:

Arlon shrugged. He didn't know many piano pieces by name; Anteras had an unnatural ability to read piano pieces and memorise them. He played without sheet music, which meant Arlon never learnt the names of the pieces unless he actually asked; most of the time, he wasn't interested enough to.

"A piece about an amazing young man meeting a very beautiful young woman and having the most interesting conversation he has had all week would be ideal," he laughed, "but I understand that may not be in your repertoire. Your favourite would also be a very good piece to start with, if you choose to share it with me, jolie dame."

Inwardly, he winced at his mistake - he had noticed that she was ignoring his compliments, which was generally a sign of a person not liking them, but they fell from his mouth as easily as the charisma he exuded. There you go again, imbécile, he cringed, not thinking before you go blabbering. Distracted by his inner thoughts, he didn't notice his fingers lightly brushing Arsinoe's shoulder.

The piano was old, he now noticed as he got closer to it. Nothing like the beautiful, pure white grand piano he was used to seeing Anteras sitting at, his fingers flying over the keys as the notes meshed into beautiful melodies. Mama always loved it when we played together, he absently remembered, my violin and his piano. Still, his eyes scanned the sheets Arsinoe held, and he knew it was no easy piece. In fact, it looked more complicated than some of the stuff Anteras did, which was saying a lot. He eyed the loose-looking keys with a little wariness. "It is no Carnegie Hall, but I hope it will do." He had always been told to give things the benefit of the doubt. Even rickety old pianos that looked like they'd come apart if he so much as sneezed.

OOC: I will be out of town from the 12-14 although If I can get wifi I will pop on every now and then, so sorry for any inconveniences that this might cause 

<sub>BIC: Arsinoe smiled slightly as she tried to decide between her favorite nocturne and her favorite march, both of which were by Chopin. She’d also been working on a spectacular arrangement of the Pirates of the Caribbean arrangement by Jarrod Radnich. The piece was quite impressive but she was still perfecting it and wasn’t sure if she was ready to play it in front of someone, much less a stranger that she’d met only twenty minutes ago. Eh, Carpe diem she thought to herself. She rummaged through the sheets of music until she found the arrangement, neatly held together with a paper clip.


She smiled slightly at his compliments, “You just can’t help yourself can you” She mused, shaking her head ruefully although there was a slight glimmer in her eye. She set the music on the provided stand, fanning it out in order although she had the first four out of the six pages memorized.  She raised an eyebrow at his comment about the piano, “It will do” She said curtly, slightly annoyed. She was quite protective of the old instrument as it was really the only thing that made the long months at camp bearable; it was her only lifeline to her past life. Sure, it was old and dusty but it did its purpose and that was all that it needed to do.

Arsinoe bit her lip imperceptibly as his fingers brushed her shoulder ever so lightly. She gently brushed his fingers away from her shoulder then turned her attention back to the piano.  She tried to stall just a wee bit by checking to ensure that the music was set up correctly and then after a minute or two of mentally running through the song, she sat herself on the bench and took a deep breath. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear then quickly tested out the pedals, procrastinating.   Oh just suck it up and do it she thought to herself mutinously.  Arsinoe arranged her fingers over the keys carefully and began to play,  her gaze flickering with concentration</sub>