The Night is Too Close for The Moon to See The Night is to Close for The Moon to See The Night...

A large moon hung over the lake, lighting up the dock with its pale white glow. A soft current kicked water onto the rocky-sandy surface of the beach, and the wooden surface of the dock was wet with water. The mildewy, rotting wood creaked with every footstep that Colin took, though the boy barely noticed. He was too wound up in his own thoughts, his own, demons, his own perils of the night which always brought nothing but sadness and regret.

She was too young. It should've been me. It was all my fault. I should've let her be. The thoughts ripped each other apart around his head as he stopped at the point where the wood feel into water. He sat down, letting his feet dip into the pale track the moon left on its surface. A single tear tracked down his face, and it was soon followed by its silent brothers.

Leila felt the dirt and pebbles embed itself in her bare feet, little stings coursing through her foot, as she walked on the shore of the lake. The moon light was beautiful against the calm lake waters and the girl felt a wave of serenity pass over her as she took in the relaxing atmosphere. She couldn't sleep earlier this night and after three hours of staring into the darkness, she'd opted for a moonlight walk. She was constantly aware of her surroundings to make sure that there weren't any harpies nearby to catch her when it was almost curfew but when she did see one, she immediately hid.

The wind in the air made her hair fly past her face but she could barely feel the coldness since she had her blanket draped over her and wrapped tightly around her. Not that it prevented the shivering breeze from making the legs on her hair stand up as they were exposed to it. She should've just worn her sweats instead of her dress, she thought. But she liked the plain white loose dress. It reminded her of her trip with Colin since she'd worn it then too when they fell asleep under the stars. Leila smiled to herself before continuing to walk.

She saw a figure on the dock, a male one, dirty blond hair illuminated in then night by the fluorescent moonlight. Colin, she immediately guessed. It sure looked like him too. Leila grinned and ran quietly over to the dock, hidden by shadows since she wanted to surprise the son of Serket. She hadn't seen him since their little trip and that was around a week or two ago although she did try to find him on her own, he seemed to have been missing. She tiptoed against the dock with her feet light as a feather. She got behind him and clamped a sudden hand on his shoulder as she jumped in front of him.

"Boo! Hey Colin, what're you doing out he-" Leila stopped when she saw the tears on his face with her smile dropping. Without thinking, the clumsy daughter of Epione, hugged the boy in an immediate resolve to comfort him. After a couple moments with her nose buried in his shoulder/chest she pulled her head back though her arms still stuck to him.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked softly with her hands still lingering on his back though she retracted them a little just to make sure he wasn't uncomfortable.

Colin laughed ironically as he heard Leila's voice and felt her arms around him. "About what?" He replied, motioning for her to sit down beside him. Though the night was cold, he wore only a thin t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It wasn't like he could feel the cold, anyway. His whole self was trapped in a terrifying cocoon of numbness.

"What are you doing here? Its pretty late, you know. You never know what terrors might be lurking around the corners on a night like this," He half-joked, watching the water shift below him. He could almost see her face. He could almost hear her voice. She was almost there, but she wasn't. And she never would be.

Leila frowned momentarily before sitting beside Colin. She draped half of her blanket over him when she saw that he was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. This boy wanted to get a cold, she snorted to herself. She dropped her feet in the water beneath her feet, an icy sensation prickling from the coldness of the water. "What are you doing here? Its pretty late, you know. You never know what terrors might be lurking around the corners on a night like this." Colin joked half heartedly. Leila rolled her eyes with a little smile on her face before she nudged him playfully with her elbow.

"Well the same can be said for you. Besides, I'm a big girl, I'm sure that I can take care of myself." She replied with a laugh at the end. Then she was pestered again as she remembered Colin's tears. It wasn't like she could erase the image from her mind since it bothered her so much. She didn't like it when he cried. She didn't want him to be so sad. A simple and childish motive but that was Leila in a nutshell: Simple and childish. "Why were you crying?"

Colin let the blanket lay across his lap, but he didn't pull it up around him. Its not like it help. The coldness spreading through him wasn't something that could be fixed with a piece of cloth. "Regret, memories, fear, maybe the fact that I've been on the verge of a panic attack for years now. But mostly regret." He answered honestly, not even attempting to act like he hadn't been crying.

"I'm guessing you couldn't sleep. I seem to be having that problem a lot more often, too," He asked as he nudged her back, turning away from her and looking at the starry sky to his opposite side.

"Hmm," Was all she said before pulling the blanket that laid flat on his lip and wrapping it around him, even giving him the whole thing because she simply preferred he have it over she. Leila smiled again as she stared at the water in the lake when he nudged her back. She pulled her feet back out of the lake and placed her chin on top of her knees.

"Ya know, my dad used to tell me that the only freedom we really have in this world is that we're allowed to make decisions that we won't regret." She said quietly with her voice carrying through the rustle of the wind. "You can't go back in time and choose other decisions that could've made you feel less of the regret that you have now, at least not with the help of a god. But I think the only thing you can do about it now is forgive yourself."

OOC: omg i'm reading this manga and like honestly idk why but mamura and suzume remind me of leila and colin x

"I've never really been forgiving," he replied, rubbing his hair slightly, "But you're lucky. You know what my dad always told me? Smile, shake hands, and shut up."

He sighed, looking out to the water, letting a moment of silence pass. "The camp's falling apart," hev reflected, changing the subject smoothly but insistently.

Ooc: imsorryihatemyselfimsorryihatemyselfimsorryihatemyselfimsorryyyyyyyyyy

"I think that I'd like to punch your dad if I ever got the chance." Leila snorted with an irritated roll of her eyes. She'd prefer to hit the man over the back of his head with her sword -or a shovel- if she could but that sounded a little too violent at the moment.

She turned her head towards him, her black hair hitting at her face due to the movement and the wind. Eyebrows furrowed and head tilted she asked, "What do you mean?"

She knew what he meant though and no facade of innocence could hide the fact that she knew. Hell, almost everyone knew what was going on. The camp was splitting into two different sides: the War Hawks and the Doves. The ones who wanted war with the Romans and those who didn't. Honestly, Leila was personally siding with the Doves more so than the War Hawks. She didn't want any more war. Not when she had been in the middle of it when she was younger.

Leila dropped the act.

"So what do you think about it?"

OOC: its cool its cool C:

He sighed a bit before pushing himself up into a standing position, turning away from the water. He took a minute to think before he spoke, turning back around to face her.

"In all honesty, I don't know. I don't want a war, or even some small battle. But its inevitable. And the longer we sit around debating the issue, trying to make peace, the less time we have to prepare and protect ourselves," He said, not breaking eye contact. Knowing Leila, she would almost certainly disagree. She wasn't the kind to want people in pain, and fighting always brought exactly that.

"If it came down to it, though...Well, I'd rather be prepared to protect than be fighting a hopeless battle for peace."

Leila stood up with him, a little confused as to why he did that so abruptly. She was bit more surprised when he held serious eye contact with her as she spoke. She could understand what he was saying but she also disagreed slightly with his idea that it was a hopeless battle for peace.

"I don't think it's hopeless- there must be some authoritative figures in their camp that know that war isn't the answer. Not when being able to unite forces would make a better compromise. I know there's a lot of bad blood between Romans and Greeks but maybe with a chance of uniting with each other for once, instead of breaking out another war, we can take a step towards a better future or something."

She wanted to grab Colin's hand and yell at him that war wasn't the answer but she refrained from doing so because she figured yelling at him would not be the best way to tell him her opinions. So she sighed and scratched her head, looking at the calm water on the lake. Funny how she felt like a hurricane inside compared to how peaceful everything around her was. She felt like she was ready to combust.

"But if it came down to a war without any other option then I'd defend our home and do my best not to kill anyone during the battle."

"I think everyone would; Greeks, Egyptians, Norse, everyone. That's exactly what anyone would do if their home was attacked. And this is our home. But the Romans think their home was attacked, and they're going to do exactly what we would do, except they're gonna be ten times more brutal. I just don't want anyone getting hurt because we aren't prepared. And I especially don't want you getting hurt." He said, taking a step closer to her so that they were only a few inches away, looking down into her perfect eyes.

"Leila, the..." He began, stopping to take a breath before continuing,"You know the Halloween dance is coming up, right? Well, I was planning on going, but I...I don't exactly have a date, and...I would love it if you could go with me."

"Well I can agree with you on that," Leila murmured. If only one of the seven didn't fire at the Romans in their big warship, The Argo II. She knew he was possessed (word had gotten around) but she couldn't help but blame him. Gods she was horrible. She looked back up at Colin and gave him a tired smile, "I wouldn't want to see you hurt either." Dude, you have no idea.

Her breath caught a little when- Wow he was really close. Like really close that they were literally almost a breath away (oh god Leila stop being so dramatic he's only a little close). Not that she minded. No, not at all. Her eyes widened when he- Did she hear him correctly? Did he just invite her to go to the dance with him? Oh Gods.

"Yes!" Leila practically squealed, latching onto him immediately with her arms around his neck as she pulled him into a bear hug. She blinked.

"I-I mean," She let go off him reluctantly and took a step back so there was a distance. She scratched the back of her head with a blush on her face. "I'd love to go to the dance. I mean with you, obviously."