Honey sweet or downright dangerous? [Private]

Subject: Honey sweet or downright dangerous? [Private] Tue May 29, 2012 9:04 am

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Just a little more, Alex. Come on...

The forest was supposed to be the most dangerous place in camp, but apparently the daughter of Zeus didn't mind. That, or she just didn't remember. Unmindful of her surroundings, she crouched near a patch of wildflowers with a camera in her hands. She was in her 'do-not-disturb-i-am-taking-a-picture' pose, with the camera close to her face and her finger hovering over the button on top of it. It wasn't hard to spot what the demigod was so busy with. Around two feet away from the girl and her camera was a small black-and-yellow butterfly perched on one of the flowers. The insect seemed oblivious to Alex as it fluttered its wings every few seconds, all the while drinking in the nectar from the flower it was on.

Alex tilted the camera slightly, a smile playing on her lips as she found the perfect angle. Before she could snap a picture of her rare find, the air became filled with the sound of footsteps landing on fallen leaves. The sudden noise startled the butterfly and within the next second it was already off and away, disappearing through the shadows of the forest beyond.

"Oh damn!" Alex yelled. Her picture of the year was gone now. Just great. She let go of her camera, now dangling around her neck and muttered a string of curses under her breath. She could feel her emotions going out of control and she shook her hands vigorously to calm herself down before she started shooting off lightning bolts at random.

"Dammit. What do you want?" Alex snapped, standing up and whipping around so quickly that the tails of her cyan blouse flowed behind her. She wasn't usually this irritated when she faced people, but heck, she couldn't believe that she missed the opportunity of a beautiful shot! This person better come up with a good enough reason for coming here, as the unpredictable daughter of Zeus would need some calming down before she dealt with her social circles.

Honey sweet or downright dangerous? [Private] Collin11

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin was having a pretty lucky day.

He was having some great time growing berries at the Strawberry Fields--two berries in one minute! That's better than one berry in five minutes. And they were not teeny tiny in size, haha! Collin whistled triumphantly and decided to give the monsters in the forest some good whip of Collision. He rocketed in the thick wilderness, stomping around noisily. He managed to dissolve one giant scorpion, even though his sleeve were cut. Still, the son of Dionysus walked happily in the green.

He'd just managed to squeeze himself in a thorny bush, when someone yelled, "Dammit!" Or was it donut? And Collin found himself a few feet in front of an annoyed, blue-eyed girl holding a camera.

He held his hands up, like a criminal surrendering. "Woah, woah! Chill it! I just want some good monster whipping!" he yelled, momentarily panicked. "Did I do something?" he added, a little calmer, but tensed. As far as he knew, an angry girl was not something to mess with.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex was in the process of slowly clenching then unclenching her fists. She was told that it would work to calm her down. Alex was going to give whoever told her that a good ol' frying because the technique sure as hell didn't work on her nerves. She blew off the few strands of messy hair that got in her line of vision as she set her eyes on the boy who stole what would have been her most wonderful shot just yet.

"Oh you very well did. Thanks a lot for scaring off my subject!" she said through clenched teeth. Slowly she took ragged breaths to control herself. The boy sounded apologetic enough, but still... Aargh! Alex growled, turning away before she can blast him into smithereens.

They must have been noisy enough, because soon enough clicking sounds filled the air and a dark scorpion crept out from one of the bushes. It was large all right, almost reaching Alex's shoulders in height. But the sight of it only infuriated the girl more. She just needed more distractions today, didn't she? "Get out of my sight, you stupid creature!" she seethed fearlessly and threw out a hand at the monster's direction. A bolt of pure electric energy suddenly shot out from her arm, incinerating the scorpion and when the bright light disappeared, the monster was no more than a pile of black ash on the forest floor.

Ha, now she was taking her anger out of poor monsters. Who knew she could go wild with her powers if provoked enough?

A few deep breaths later, Alex turned back to the boy. Her gaze was still hard, but it had softened quite a bit after she blasted that scorpion out of the way. Maybe venting out your feelings did good to your mood. "I'm sorry. I'm just so frustrated! You just had to catch me in this kind of mood. I swear, I'm not usually like this. It's just... never mind. I think I'm fine now," she babbled on, slipping into her usual self a little bit.

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin inclined his head. He thought the safest thing to do is say sorry again, but instead he said, "Thank you," then smiled. He was about to ask what he had interrupted, but then a scorpion came out again. Maybe the child, or mother, or aunt, or relative of the scorpion he's just whipped before, because this seethed a dark aura. Collin's hand instinctively held on Collision, but it turned out he wasn't needed anymore.

Collin watched in awe as the girl simply yelled, thrust her hand out, and like a character out of Dragon Ball Z, a lightning bolt shot out of her hand and blasted the scorpion into dust. Collin blinked, and the monster was gone.

How he wish he had that kind of power.

Collin's eyes widened, and he focused on the girl, who was apologizing. He only nodded. "It's okay, and I'm sorry, too," he said sincerely, then added a second later, "Wow. Cool." Collin grinned, but secretly hoping she meant her words and would not blast him, too. So he concentrated on making the girl's mood lighten up further. "Uh."

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

The compliment calmed her down even more, and before she knew it, Alex leaned against one of the rough tree trunks and cooled off enough. She wasn't in any danger of exploding now, at least that's what she told herself. She ran a hand through the middle of her hair and looked back at the boy.

"Thanks," she said, offering a small tentative smile. Sighing, she gazed at the ashes that was once a fully grown scorpion, wondering how she had managed to reduce the monster to that. "Whoa, I guess something good came out of it. I mean, it's not that I usually do stuff like that..." She glanced at her hand which was seemingly unharmed despite the high volts of electricity running through it a few moments before.

The boy was rather nice, she noticed, for being patient enough to face her outburst and come out of it unscathed. He didn't even seem to be mad at her, even if she somehow expected him to. Relieved, she raised her hand up in some sort of a half-wave. "I'm Alex, daughter of Zeus... though I think you might have figured it out from that little show," she said with a dry laugh, gesturing to the remains of the now dead monster. "And you are?"

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin sighed in relief.

Now that he was sure that Alex wouldn't blast him off the world, he completely relaxed. But he wondered what he had interrupted, and why she's so angry about it. Collin puffed his cheeks and blew them noisily. "Uh-huh. Right." Collin shook his head, staring at the pile of black ashes. The wind blew, and some of the monster remnant rested in his feet. He cringed, and scooted away.

"I'm, you know, nothing much. Just Collin of Dionysus' cabin." The son of Dionysus rolled his eyes. He decided he wasn't making any sense, so he changed the subject. "Just out of curiosity." Collin swallowed, careful to craft his words right. He exhaled. Exhaled again. "What did I do?" he demanded.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex sighed wistfully, looking back at the patch of flowers where the gorgeous butterfly once fed on. She shook her head to herself, trying her best not to let her irritation get the better of her. She was aware that she very nearly took her frustrations out on Collin if the scorpion hadn't suddenly come. That wasn't something she wanted to have a repeat of. Alex looked down on the shiny camera hanging around her neck, sliding her fingers across its smooth glossy surface.

"I'm a photographer," she started, looking over at Collin. "There was this butterfly, and it was so beautiful that I just had to snap a picture of it. Then it landed on that little wildflower over there"--she pointed to the tallest flower among its peers--"And you can't believe it. I swear, I had everything right: the angle, the lighting--everything. All I needed was a little click of a button... and then you came blundering about and scared it off."

She heaved a sigh once she was done, not realizing that what she said might have offended the son of Dionysus. "I know it doesn't sound really interesting to you, but we all have our different tastes."

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin pretended to look hurt.

Actually, he was kind of sorry, but of course he can't just grovel down the floor begging for Alex's forgiveness. So he tried to make a joke for it. "Aw. I thought I wasn't scary." Collin sighed. "Anyway, I'm, you know, sorry. But there are more butterflies down there, right? Maybe you could take a different subject." Collin thought about the wall papers of her Mom back in South America. "Like spotting a raindrop? Or timing a lightning up the sky?"

Collin fished his little mirror and a comb from his pocket and instinctively combed his hair left. He smiled like he was in a photograph and put the two important little things back to his pocket. "Just suggesting," he added after a while.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex was surprised when she caught sight of Collin's hurt face. She bit her lip. She did it again, didn't she? Not choosing her words right before they tumbled of her mouth. Guilt started crawling from the deepest parts of her mind and it showed on her face. Collin's suggestions brightened her up though, but only a little.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," she said sincerely, smoothing out the ends of her dress to avoid looking at him in the eye. Funny how her moods shift so quickly. A few moments ago she was ready to fry anything she touched and now she was way too guilty to look the boy in the eye. "You don't know how many pictures like that flood tumblr! And then they have some meaningful inspirational message too. Huh, the photographers of those pictures never really get much credit."

She looked up just in time to see Collin put his mirror and comb back in his pocket. The unusual sight shocked her. She had never actually seen a boy use a comb and a mirror before. At least, not publicly. "Whoa, you just... combed your hair from out of the blue," she blurted out, still staring surprisedly at him. She fought the urge to add like a girl, as she had enough sense to figure out that saying that out loud was not a good idea. "I've never seen boys do that."

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin nodded. "Tumblr, eh? What's that?" he asked, although he was thinking it was in the internet, and maybe it was an exclusive photography site. Maybe that's it, because why would Alex be interested with it? That's two maybe's. He didn't have any idea what is that.

"Yeah, maybe that's too common. What about, um... scenes? Like sunset or something? Eclipse? Things like that. Or you could keep it...." Collin's voice trailed off as he saw Alex's surprised expression, then her words. He kept a poker face for a second, then laughed. "Oh," he said, tapping his pocket. "I'm just a guy who likes to keep his hair neat. Not like some guys who keep theirs messy and stuff. Nah. Have some style. And this"--Collin pointed to his emo-like hair--"is hard to keep."

He looked at Alex, scrutinizing. He was sure he knew what he was talking about. Styles. He knew that girls like styles. He liked them, too, but only in his hair.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex raised her eyebrows at him. How could Collin not know Tumblr? It was the most awesome site ever invented, at least that's what she thought. "Seriously? Tumblr? It's a blogging site with pictures, mostly. I guess you don't surf the 'net much, do you?" she added, smirking slightly.

Alex then burst into a fit of giggles, joining in Collin's laughter. "I'm just surprised, is all. After all, I don't expect you guys to have a comb, much less a mirror, in your pocket. It's just... I dunno, bizarre."

Alex straightened up, dusting some dirt off her arms. She looked up dreamily, expecting to see the sky, but her gaze was only met by the lush canopy of the leaves. Only a little sunlight filtered through the small gaps between the leaves and the branches. "An eclipse... that sounds good. Rare though. And you'll need a creative mind for a unique scene. I mean, have you seen some of those cool pictures with some guy holding up the moon on top of his finger? I'd like to snap a pic of something like that." She nodded to herself, a small smile gracing her lips.

"So... What do you like doing?"

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin thought he's out the trend.

Right. He didn't know tumblr. And Alex said it was an amazing blogging site for pictures. He just stared at her, mystified. He hadn't even handled a computer in his life longer than one hour, and that is only during their computer class at school. "I guess," he agreed slyly, then went silent as he looked up and saw two hawks.

Collin felt a chill in his spine, like an idea was nagging him behind. He couldn't seem to form words for it now, so he decided to answer Alex's other question.

"What do I like," he mused. He thought about the drunk patrons of his mom's winery back in South America, and how he felt an urge to calm them down. "Nothing in particular," he decided. "But I guess I do like understanding emotions better. Like a psychologist. My Dad often bring madness to people, and I felt I want to reverse the tide." Collin's smile faded, thinking how he'd talked his mom to suicide. Bleh. He put on a smile and waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, don't mind me."

Collin crossed his arms, trying to think of the chill before. What the heck was that?

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

So Collin was a Dionysus kid who combed his hair in public and wanted a better understanding of the human emotions? Huh, Alex was in for a lot of unexpected things today. And she thought Dionysus campers were the party-hard types with a fixation for wine. Just goes to show how terribly wrong you can get when it came to judging people. Silently chuckling at her thoughts, she immediately frowned when she glimpsed how Collin's smile faded a little. It would've been unnoticeable to most mortals, but thanks to Alex's ADHD, she was pretty good at spotting details.

"You look almost... troubled. Any problem with your dad?"

A new thought struck her and she almost grinned. "Which reminds me. Taking our immortal family tree into account..." she trailed off, letting out a hearty giggle. "You're practically my nephew. So come on. Tell your aunt what's wrong."

It would probably be a bad idea seeing that the daughter of Zeus was a huge blabbermouth, but Alex wasn't about to say that aloud. She leaned back against the tree, watching Collin with curious eyes.

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin coughed.

He was trying not to laugh, but it doesn't work. He chuckled warmly. "Yes, aunt-hey, that's a joke! I'm trying to think. It's hard." Collin nodded thoughtfully. He walked over to a big oak and patted it. "Big tree," he commented before leaning on in it. "So what was I saying? Yeah, about the photography theme. I'm trying to help you somehow."

Collin paused again, He frowned, deep in thought. Collin saw those two hawks in his mind, watching as they flew in unison. Like lovebirds. Finally, Collin held his hands halfway up, and caught Alex's eyes. "I surrender," he said, putting his hands down.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex sported a huge grin and looked dangerously close to laughing when Collin quickly said it was a joke. Was he afraid that her aura can easily shift to something else? Did her unpredictablity frighten him? Smart. But he needn't worry about that at the moment, seeing as Alex was still in a bright mood. "Lighten up. I know it's a joke," she said teasingly, poking him on the side as she rolled her eyes.

"I have to agree. Thinking is hard. Too bad we have to do it all the time or else we'll die," she babbled, ironically not thinking her words through. She waved him off, silently telling him to forget about it if he wanted to. "Oh, it's fine. Thanks for trying to help anyway. I find it easier to think when you're in the right mood, especially when you're really inspired."

Alex fiddled absently with one of her twin bracelets, running her finger lightly down the lightning sigil printed on it. Looking back at him, she asked, "Hey, why were you looking for monsters anyway? I'd have thought you were a son of Ares because of your... dedication to fighting."

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin chuckled. "Yeah, I think this world will be better if we don't think." He winked at Alex, and patted his pocket again. He bring out his comb and combed his hair left once, and put it back quickly. He smiled, and shook his head.

Upon hearing Alex's next words, he perked up and grinned. "What's the right mood for you?" he asked her eagerly. He might help for her to feel that. He had this little talent of being able to mess with people's mood, making them feel what he want. Maybe that's the reason why he wanted to be a psychologist. But a minor problem dawned on him. Inspired, Alex had said. He certainly cannot provide inspiration. He sighed, defeated. "Never mind," he said quietly.

As Collin leaned back again to the oak tree, he stared at Alex in disbelief.

Dedication to fighting. Yeah, right. Collin laughed. "Dedication?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about. "I don't know about the dedication, but I came here to express to the monsters my joy. Right, that's it. And then I interrupted you." Collin sighed, thinking that it would be better if he didn't came here. Then the daughter of Zeus would've got her picture.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex didn't miss how Collin seemed distracted for a little bit, his mood quickly changing. It was something she was so familiar with, seeing that she was that way herself. Cocking her head to the side, she was about to ask him what really was going on when he said something about expressing his joy to the monsters.

"So you're taking your happiness out on monsters? Hm, that makes sense," she said in a disbelieving tone. She didn't look totally convinced. But hey, to each his own, right? Maybe it was Collin's way of having fun.

"I get the feeling that you're hiding something," Alex said, crossing her arms on her chest. She didn't know whether to be happy or not about that fact, but her curiosity pressed her more than anything else in her mind. "Dear nephew of mine, aren't you feeling a little secretive today? C'mon, spill it."

An eager flame seemed to dance within Alex's eyes as she stared at Collin. She was smiling, showing that she meant no real harm. But who knows? Alex often caused harm without even meaning to.

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin got a problem.

Yeah, sure. Two problems. One was Alex not dropping off the subject. Two was his response. Collin cannot exactly put his problem into words. He bowed his head and made a sound of tsk tsk, and tried to think.

What was his problem, anyway? Guilt? He just can't put it into words, which pretty much sucked. He looked up at Alex, stared into her eyes which seemed to spark electricity, then blinked. "Uh-huh. It's nothing," Collin said quickly and brought out his comb and mirror and do his ritual comb-the-hair-left-and-smile-and-put-it-back.

He looked back at Alex and sighed in defeat. "Sorry, I can't just put it into words. You know, mental block thing."

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Alex's eyes followed Collin's motions as he fixed his hair again. That was the fourth time and it had barely been ten minutes, at least according to her estimation. Whoa, even girls didn't comb their that many times within the span of ten minutes. Mesmerized, she just stared at the boy, wondering thoughts that were not meant to be spoken aloud.

She was brought back to earth by his next words. It took her a fair few moments to remember what they had been talking about. Not totally believing his excuse, Alex nodded and finally decided to drop it. She'd question him again another time, perhaps when he least expected it.

The daughter of Zeus stretched out her arms in front of her. "You really really comb your hair a lot, don't you?" she suddenly spoke and she stiffened. She hadn't meant for that to slip out. Oh well, not like she can take it back now. "How many times do you do that in...say, thirty minutes?" She cocked her eyebrow at him playfully, meaning it as a joke.

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Subconsciously, Collin tapped his pocket and felt his comb and mirror.

"Gee, let me think." Collin tried to remember the basic maths. Percentage. He wondered if he would just let out a wild guess, or continue solving. Then, after five seconds of blank mind, he decided to make a guess for it. "Maybe 20 times or so? Especially when it was windy." He grinned cockily. "I only do that when I'm here at camp. Of course, I can't fix my hair if I was in on a battle. And then I hate it when I finally won and--psh. You know the rest."

Collin stared at the daughter of Zeus wonderingly. Wow. Apparently, it's his first time to have a person talk about this habit--or ritual, as Collin liked to say it. He shrugged and changed the subject. "How about you, huh, Alex?"

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Twenty times? Alex's eyes bulged. Her average was only around... Ha, she didn't even know. She only combed her hair when she was in the confines of her own room or the bathroom. But still, she just liked the way her hair looked, even if it looked a little messy. Running a hand through the hair hanging by the side of her face, Alex thought she looked okay enough to frolic around in the public eye.

"I don't really know. I don't keep track," she said, grinning back at him. "You know, a teacher of mine once scolded some few girls in my class for combing their hair during a lecture. Apparently, it's bad manners." She chuckled to herself, remembering the embarrassment of her friends being humiliated in front of their other classmates. "I'm not holding it against you, of course. Just be careful of doing that in front of strict and sensitive people," she warned him. "They just might take it the wrong way."

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin grinned and put out his mirror again. "Yeah, thanks for the advice," he said while looking in his little mirror. After a second, he put it back to his pocket and glanced at Alex. "I guess that's my 5th time."

Collin looked away and observed the forest. He wondered if any monster would come again, and he'd get fighting again happily. Being two demigods--with a daughter of Zeus--staying put together, their scent would attract nasty monsters. He'd heard of the saying, the more powerful your parent is, the stronger the scent you've got. Which meant it was more dangerous. Alex is powerful, though. And speaking of power....

"Alex," Collin began slowly. "Can you manipulate the winds, too?" he asked eagerly. Somehow, the son Of Dionysus was interested with talents. Powers. How he wish he got her powers, too. All that he got were to grow two berries in one minute.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Laughing as Collin combed his hair once more, Alex looked around her, wondering why there weren't any monsters coming out for them right now. Wasn't she a huge monster magnet thanks to her father? Well, not that she was complaining about the lack of monsters right now, but it did strike her odd somewhat. Besides the scorpion from earlier, there should be at least a dozen more waiting to pounce from the shadows.

"I never tried," she said, blowing away some strands of her out of her face. "I don't really have total control over my powers. That lightning thing earlier was just thanks to luck. For all I know it could've hit you..." she trailed off, shooting Collin an apologetic glance. "Well, guess every group has some sort of a black sheep."

She mumbled the last part to herself. Alex lightly traced the rough tree bark with her fingers. "My siblings are all better than me in terms of power. It's just... I can't control it as well as them." Sighing, Alex stepped a few feet away from the tree, looking up at the canopy above them. "You know, some people actually get surprised when I say that I'm a daughter of Zeus. I mean, I'm thankful that they're not cowering away from fight--even though some of them did--but... it's like I lack something. I don't know. Some kind of aura, I guess..."

Alex suddenly stopped, realizing that she had said too much. "Know what, forget I said anything. It's just my mindless chatter," she said, smiling at Collin as she waved herself off.

collin ringlet, son of dionysus, 16

Collin went silent as he listened. It was too much to process. He just looked down at the damp forest floor.

He thought about how hard it was to control when you had such a strong power. Like what Alex told him. Now, he was having double thoughts of wanting to shoot voltage. He does not want to fry someone, yet Alex had been dangerously close to doing that. The son of Dionysus just pushed the thought away and thought of another.

Actually, Collin was also quite surprised that Alex was Zeus'. If Alex hadn't been so aggravated and shot the bolt, he must have guessed she was not from Cabin 1. Figures. The world is full of surprises. But lacking something? Like what? Collin wanted to press her for more, but he thought better of it and kept silent.

Finally, he exhaled noisily and glanced at Alex. "Whew. I don't know how to respond. But wish granted." He raised his hand make a v. Peace offering. "I'll forget that," Collin said. He was out of words.

Coded by Cher of CHB and ATF

Alexandra Louise Whitlock
Daughter of Zeus

Smiling gratefully at Collin, Alex felt a strange sense of relief and elation washing over her. Speaking out those kinds of thoughts seemed to have lifted a burden off her shoulders. It was rather nice to get them out of her chest. "Thanks, Collin."

She paced around the clearing they were in, her footsteps making slight mushy sounds as they padded across the damp grass. Looking down on her dress, Alex wondered why she even bothered to dress like this on an excursion in the forest. Shaking her head bemusedly at herself, she caught sight of a berry bush out of the corner of her eye, giving her another excuse to talk.

"So how does it feel to be a son of Mr. D? You like to party and get drunk, nephew?" she asked jokingly, turning her head to look at him. "You like grapes? I think there's a small part of the strawberry fields that's devoted to you guys for your grapes."

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