twisting right and wrong --- [brenny]

Sand rose up in every direction as a boy fell onto it. A couple drops of a red liquid splattered onto the white beach sand. The boy cupped a hand around his nose. More red could be seen seeping through his fingers and dripping into his lap.

Mathieu stood opposite of this boy, unfortunate to have crossed Mat's path today. He had started off the day a little bit moody, and decided to play a little bit of volleyball to blow off a little steam. As it turns out, the game only threw wood onto Mat's fire. He wasn't one to deal with cheaters very kindly or conventionally. Just a couple of moments before, the boy was claiming that the ball had hit out, when Mathieu saw that it had obviously touched down within the boundaries.

Still balled in a fist, Mathieu's knuckles were white, ready to deliver another blow to the boy's nose if he attempted to get up and retaliate.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't a great idea to hit someone that he hardly knew.  Especially in a camp full of demigods whose powers Mat could only just begin to understand. Nevertheless, Mat's logical judgement was trumped by only one thing; his temper. On that day, his temper got the best of him and he broke this camper's nose. And now, instead of enjoying a nice game of volleyball, Mat stood in the stand as the boy was rushed off to the infirmary by everyone else, throwing around remarks about Mat and inquiries as to whether or not the boy's nose hurt.

The sun was beginning to fall low over the landscape, throwing a golden glow over the camp that would soon dissipate into blackness. The excited hum of the camp lulled as people swarmed to the mess hall for dinner and then tucked themselves away in their bunks. Mathieu's bare feet began to kick sand around. He wore a plain grey shirt and black basketball shorts. His shoes sat at the edge of the volleyball pit, his feet covering up the spots of blood here and there. He knew that he would get in trouble yet again for his violence, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. His adrenaline still obstructed his thoughts.

Mathieu definitely didn't expect someone else to be taking a stroll, so when he heard someone behind him, he turned quickly. A blond girl came into view. He did not register the face. She could have been just about any camper, though he would probably first guess Zeus, Apollo, or Hermes. He knew that she couldn't be an Aphrodite camper, since he would have seen her face around his own cabin.

"What business is it of yours?" Mat hissed, already disgusted with the girl's tone. His french accent was evident, but she was obviously american. His tone, although containing a hint of distaste, had taken on a learned and proper demeanor. Mathieu had two things. One, his power, which he used to manipulate people, and two, his intelligence. Although physically strong, Mat stood no chance in any kind of superpower showdown. He was lucky that the boy he had punched did not seem to have any supernatural powers. If this girl, however, held threat by way of superpowers, Mat would be no match in confrontation. Therefore he chose to simply eye her, crossing his arms behind his back.

"I could say the same to you," he gave in retort. He tilted his chin slightly upwards. He was already pretty tall, and now had to look down at her even further. "You would possibly like to consider scurrying off to bed, unless it is that you seek to be caught after-hours?"

There was an odd itch at the back of Mat's mind. It was subtle, yet prevalent enough to cause him to ponder over what his mind could possibly be saying to him. It seemed that the longer he looked at the girl that had shown up out of the blue, the more the itch bothered him. She must have looked familiar to him, because that's the only conclusion he could draw. But where had he seen her? He didn't often venture out of his cabin, and he had met very few people here.

Mathieu noticed her eyes as they flicked around the scene. Following their line of sight, he bowed his head and glanced at the sand again. He noticed a few red spots remaining here and there. With his feet he pushed around the sand once more, covering up the remnants of crimson. After he had done that, he positioned himself in a proper posture again and captured the blond in his eyes again.

"If you would not be minding the question," he started, "I have seen you before, no?" He had pretty much given up on silently trying to place her in his mind. "Are you, peut-etre, a child of Aphrodite?" he questioned. Even if he was wrong, mistaking her for a group of demigods who were notorious for their good looks couldn't be a bad thing. It had to be that he had seen her around the cabin. He didn't recognize her from any of the rare occasions on which he would venture out of the cabin.

"You can call me Mathieu," he introduced, simply on the off-chance that they had not met acquaintances yet. Then, he did something that might have seemed a little bit odd for his character. Fortunately, nobody could see Mat's intentions. It was not at all odd to him. Mathieu advanced towards the girl and, with a tenderness that was not previously displayed when he socked a kid in his nose, he took the girl's hand and brought it to his lips. "A pleasure to meet you, if I have not already," he said, with a small bow of his head.

"Well," Mat turned to look at where he had been standing when he punched the boy. There were footprint dunes in the sand from where the group had took off to the infirmary. "I wouldn't have had to punch him if he hadn't cheated. It's simply in the fairness of the game," he grinned.