❛ Sword Fighting Arena

@✹ APOLLO The sharp movements and quick reaction coming from the man was starting to piss Aurora off. He had her answers, answers to everything, hidden behind that charming smile of his. But no matter how charming, he was not to disarm her so easily.

"Who I am!"
The words came out at a surprisingly brutal pitch, like the rumble of a lion's roar. As if it was by natural instinct, Aurora kicked off the ground, sending herself hurling just inches over the slash the man had made. She swung around, her fist shooting out towards the man again.

But the movement wasn't as calculated as she had thought at first. It sent her off balance, the punch missing completely. Her fist swung passed his face, her body following as she crashed into the wall by a pile of weapons. She heard a crack, first thinking it was off bone, but as she rose up again, she felt fine. She was so focused on the man before her as she slowly reached down for a weapon, that she didn't even hear the sound of marble chips hitting the ground as the crack in the wall settled behind her.

@[R] Aurora Blair Almost a child's play, this was—and yet the god realized fully well that if he missed a footing he's done for. No answers should ever be given easily, and certainly not this one.

Swerving left and right (and stepping backwards) to avoid the punches, Apollo led the female further and further from the center of the arena, closing onto the pile of weapons on one corner - a smirk all along on his lips.

"Answers to what?" He challenged, finally retaliating by sending a sword slash onto the female's side.

One curious girl this was, and he would rather figure her out first...

@[R] Aurora Blair Almost a child's play, this was—and yet the god realized fully well that if he missed a footing he's done for. No answers should ever be given easily, and certainly not this one.

Swerving left and right (and stepping backwards) to avoid the punches, Apollo led the female further and further from the center of the arena, closing onto the pile of weapons on one corner - a smirk all along on his lips.

"Answers to what?" He challenged, finally retaliating by sending a sword slash onto the female's side.

One curious girl this was, and he would rather figure her out first...

@✹ APOLLO Until his time was up? What was he talking about? Oh, who cared. He had answers. He knew things, things she needed to know. If that meant she would have to tear down the whole building, than so be it. She needed those answers and he was all that stood in her way.

Aurora's eyes darted after the man as he quickly sidestepped. She tugged in, hitting the ground in a roll that had her instantly on her feet again. But she was smarter than to launch herself at him so rashly again.

"Answers!" she growled at him, tightening her fists as he ran for him again, this time holding her ground as she unleashed a torrent of punches his way, hoping to knock the sword from his hand.

@[R] Aurora Blair "I'll answer until my time's up." Apollo corrected firmly. "But yes... providing you /can/ take this sword from me." The god sounded ever so confident, as he always is; he /is/, after all, an excellent swordsman on his own defense. But the task was definitely possible. Had he asked Aurora to outdo him in an archery match, that would've been downright impossible. Safe for, perhaps, if this girl asked for Diana's blessing; now that's another story. But that's not the point.

Stephen's eyes were intently kept on both him and the demigoddess; Apollo raised the celestial bronze sword with a grin that practically says 'come at me', and Aurora charged at him—at this point he began to realize how actually fast she was. But Apollo wasn't slow either; the golden-eyed male swerved aside at the last second to avoid the attack, the sword now hidden behind his back, still held firmly by one of his hands.

"What is it you seek, sweetie?"

@✹ APOLLO Aurora chewed on her bottom lip as she met the man's gaze. He seemed pretty sure of himself, smiling no matter what she did or how she acted. But she wouldn't back down...
Not now.

"So... Ye'r saying that if I can take that sword from ye.... Ye'll answer any question I have... No matter how many?" Aurora repeated to keep herself on top of the situation. The last thing she wanted was to be fooled out of the answers she needed. If this man really knew as much as Stephen said, then maybe he knew what had happened those times that she blacked out...

Warrior? The words sent Aurora reeling back slightly, surprised eyes staring at the handsome man ahead of her. She wasn't a warrior, no matter what she had done in the past. She knew how to take care of herself, but that didn't make her a fighter.
But the answers... There were no other way for her to get them.

Closing her eyes for a brief second, Aurora steadied her breath and the rhythm of her heart, clearing her mind the same way she always would if she felt trouble brewing. This man was that trouble. He held the key to knowing who she was, knowing what this place was.
And by damn if she'd ever let him keep those answers from her.

Aurora's eyes shot open, her body moving faster than she could ever have remembered as he closed the distance between herself and the handsome man. Her feet kicked off, sending her hurling straight for him, her upper body twisted and a fist ready to shoot out at any moment.

@[R] Aurora Blair Poor, poor clueless girl, Apollo sang mentally; it seemed that she really didn't know a thing. It might also seem like it was accidental, judging from her words. But of all people, he knew better. He always knows better. Nothing, when it comes to the claiming of a demigod, is a coincidence.

His golden irises seemed to scrutinize the girl for a short moment, the grin not leaving his clean-cut features.

"Nothing much, just a simple request." Apollo seemed to smirk once more at her. "If you can take this sword from me, I'll answer your questions." Turning his eyes towards the male demigod silently standing by, he then added "Be the judge, bro, can you? This has to be done fair and square, after all."

Stephen nodded, stepping forward, and Apollo nodded in satisfaction. "The only thing you can use, sweetie... is your own self. Now come at me like a warrior—I know you have that in you."

@✹ APOLLO Aurora flinched slightly when the man in the arena answered her opposed to Stephen. Her eyes flicked back towards him, slowly walking closer to the inner circle. Her cheeks had begun flaring up slightly, her eyes directed back down at the ground. Why had he called her sweetie pie? Had he really known, like Stephen said he would?

"W-well... I wasn't really trying. I just got here and... D-didn't really know how I ended up /here.../" Aurora answered hesitantly, trying her best to calm her nerves. "Of course I want answers. Yer all playing with yer fancy magic and I'm confused..." she answered stubbornly, raising her eyes back up to meet his. "T-then what's the price? What would I have to do to get my answers?"

@[R] Aurora Blair "Yes, I mean you, sweetie pie." The sun god, in disguise, flashed her a grin (that could've been seen as blinding, he wouldn't know). "It isn't common that people stray into Camp Half-Blood, and even less common is sneaking into /his/ cabin..." By the time he mentioned Stephen, the demigod pursed his lips slightly; Apollo just winked at him afterwards.

"...but enough about that. I know you want answers. Don't you?" Looking back at Aurora, the grin plastered on his silky smooth face widened. "Lemme tell you one thing in advance: no answer is given freely. Think carefully."

@[R] Stephen Krause "Thanks..."
Aurora lowered her head as she followed after Stephen, trying to match the pace of his longer legs. Soon enough she could spot an old looking arena. She had heard the man mention arena, but she had been expecting something like a concert hall, not an actual old time arena.

She moved a little closer to Stephen, but kept up her pace, soon enough spotting the man from earlier. He waved them a little closer, looking over her once and making her blush before turning away.

"M-me?" Aurora asked, looking from the man and to Stephen. "D-does he mean me?"

@[R] Aurora Blair "Perks of being him, I say." Stephen said in an almost rueful manner, giving another shrug. But that relaxed manner immediately turned to apparent surprise when Aurora asked about him.

"Me?"

What does this whole thing has to do with him, again? The demigod just /had/ to wonder, but deciding not to complicate matters for them both, he gave a nod. "Okay, okay. Easy, I won't tell if he doesn't ask."

Not that he's a fan of gossips; not when it's Apollo to gossip with, that is. This day has taken a turn for the weird, he could feel.

The handsome-and-literally-shining-male in front of them waved them over; taking one last look at Aurora, the male proceeded towards the inner circle of the Arena.

"Come on."

But by the holiness of Jupiter. Why was Apollo holding a sword...?

@[R] Stephen Krause Aurora swallowed heavily, pulling at the hem of the borrowed shirt. "H-h-how would he know? H-he wasn't here when I said it," she mumbled back, jutting her bottom lip out and crossing her arms under her chest.

But the tough facade faded with Stephen's next answer. "O-oh... Oh, I g-guess he would know then..." she mumbled in defeat, looking down at the ground. Why did she always have to make blunders like that? "B-but what about ye? Ye'r not g-gonna tell him... Right? If he doesn't ask... T-then ye can't tell him... Please..."

@[R] Aurora Blair "Not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm almost sure he also knows whether you really said those words earlier or not..." the male muttered, narrowing his eyes at the ray of light.

Ah well, it made sense that the sunray was bright and powerful that morning. They were walking towards Apollo's direction after all...

"That, uh, guy... practically knows almost everything. Sort of." Shrugging, Stephen found himself looking down at the path they walked on, the grasses still freshly wet from the morning dew, and took a deep breath as the silhouette of the man standing in the arena came clearer into view.

Would that half-brother of his actually spill something about this girl?

@[R] Stephen Krause Aurora glanced up at Stephen, just in time to see the first rays of the sun peaking over the horizon. She fell behind for a second, mesmerised by the beautiful sunrise, before she noticed how far ahead he had gotten. She ran after him, quickly finding herself back following him.

"I d-don't see how that's necessarily a bad thing... Why do ye think him knowing if someone lies is bad?" she asked, tilting her head with a quizzical expression.

@[R] Aurora Blair "Bad guy? No, not really..." Stephen replied without looking back. Just in time the sun rose, he thought - weird how Apollo could hang out here so leisurely, but then again, he probably could be in two places at the same time.

Well, gods couldn't be perceived as good or bad, could they? It all depends on the one who sees, after all...

"Only that..." The male demigod pursed his lips for a moment, thinking of a right term to describe the god without making it super obvious. A wry smile crossed his features when he finally continued. "...he always knows when someone lies."

@[R] Stephen Krause "B-bollocks...." Aurora mumbled to herself, pouting her lips as she looked back down. Why did she have to say stuff so bluntly out of nowhere. It was stupid. Stupid! She tugged at the shirt she had borrowed from Stephen, sad that it didn't cover more of her legs. She felt exposed after her dumb remark.

"Y-yeah, that ye'r saying no now isn't g-going to exactly convince me...." she huffed and glanced up at him with a stubborn jut of her lips. She furrowed her brows as she heard his warning, frowning a little. "W-why? Is he some kind of bad guy?"

She noticed the way Stephen picked up his pace and tried her best to follow suit, walking as fast as her legs allowed her.

@[R] Aurora Blair "Uh... yes?" The male demigod spared another glance at her as he led their way to the said place. With the silence that passed between them, it almost seemed as if the topic was dropped—almost. Funny, Stephen thought: he was happily ready to end the discussion at that, so why was she so adamant of convincing him of the fact that she said it out loud?

Well, she /does/ seem a /tad/ bit cute when she's being like this... okay, no.

Smiling wryly at his own thought, the male shook his head. "Okay, okay. You didn't." He chuckled, though knowing otherwise.

"You know what... worry more about the hot guy rather than the fact that I heard you saying that."

And with a quick grin and a last look at her, he turned his eyes back to the path and hastened his own pace.

Lord Apollo is one hot guy, yes. Hot enough to burn.

@[R] Stephen Krause Aurora slowly lowered her head, a deep shade of red spreading across her face. With a low grumble and a sigh, she stuffed her knitted fists into the pockets of her shorts, following behind Stephen as he lead the way to the arena.

"Ye sure I said that out loud?" she shyly asked after a longer moment of silence, glancing up at Stephen through her short, dark hair. "A-and I mean it. I didn't say it, please, say I didn't say it..." She pouted her lips innocently, trying for the charm her mother had used to compliment her on.

@[R] Aurora Blair The male demigod had put both his hands by his waist as he waited - turned out she didn't really take that long. Stephen blinked as the female came back; in his opinion, it didn't seem so horrendous, but he couldn't help chuckling because he managed to catch her statement.

"Don't worry, almost everyone else is wearing that t-shirt on a daily basis, so you wouldn't stand out too much." He began with a grin. But upon hearing her next words, the male had to hold himself back from laughing.

"Pff-yes, you just did." He said, chuckling a little more louder now. "He's waiting for us in the arena. Come on."

@[R] Stephen Krause "Y-yeah..."
Aurora nodded her head lightly before hiding behind the brass door again, quickly changing into the horrible looking camp shirt. When she came back into sight she looked rather unimpressed, staring down at herself.
"This t-shirt makes me look... fat..." she mumbled before frowning. She glanced up, noticing that the man that had been there earlier had disappeared.

"Hey, Stephen....? Where did the hot guy go?" she asked bluntly before blushing, widening her eyes. "I... Uh... I did not just say that, did I?" she asked, pouting her lips as she looked towards where Stephen was standing.

@[R] Aurora Blair "To the arena," the young male said with a mysterious grin before turning his back on them and walked towards the said place. Stephen questioned himself just why does it /have/ to be there, but in the end, he just shrugged it off and followed.

Maybe he just shouldn't tell Aurora that she was talking to a god just earlier... she might freak out. Or worse. Plus, Apollo doesn't even mention who he was.

"If you want to change, go and change first," Stephen turned to the female. "We'll be waiting there. Or I can wait for you here. I know the way."

And honestly, it got him wondering what was waiting for them.

@[G] Leonidas Bonaventura The last few days had been beyond hectic. As if it wasn't hard enough trying to wrap her mind around this place being for those gifted with powers, so to speak, she also had to work in a new schedule for her whole day. There was always something new she had to do. This time, it was swordfighting...

Sword fighting...
Aurora glanced over at the many blades propped up neatly near the training grounds, blinking in the sunlight. Sure, they were beautiful to look at, and she wouldn't argue against the fact that they could probably cut a man in half in a single swing. But there was just something about fighting with swords that she couldn't quite manage to get used to. Her eyes snapped to as one of the blades seemed to shudder in it's place, but a quick shake of her head revealed it was still position the same as earlier. The wind perhaps?

She stepped over and picked it up, trying to find the balance as she swung it around slowly. The thing was a lot heavier than a knife and much harder to wield. She tried another swing, almost losing grip of the handle and stepped back, hearing the metal clattering against the ground. "O-okay... Not the swords then..." she mumbled to herself, carefully placing it back where it belonged.

Instead, she pulled out her trusty knife from her pocket. It had come in handy many a times, despite being relatively small. Then again, it was made for a more protective use. She swung her hand, letting the two handle segments dance around her fingers, the blade swishing dangerously close to her hand several times. Without any hesitation, she let the knife leave her hand, spinning in the air for a moment before she caught the two segments of the handle, hearing the snap as they locked together. A small smile rolled over her lips.

Until of course, someone called out nearby, breaking her concentration for a moment. She spun around, spotting a kid probably a few years younger than her walking towards her. French to boot. Her eyes widened as she heard his next words, wanting to throw a dagger towards his head to scare the whelp. But she hesitated for a moment, hearing him out. "What makes ye think I have any experience with those ancient things?" she called back at him, impatiently flicking the segmented blade's handle, letting it dance over her hand.

@[R] Aurora Blair Shooting arrows was something Leonidas grew up with. Shooting a double barrel was also something Leonidas grew up with. Shooting a sling shot was, again, something Leonidas grew up with, He could honestly hunt any sort of game that'd cross his path and that's not his cockiness speaking. He considered himself on Orion's level (minus the giant-ness and the whole evil minion of Gaia bit). Yet, despite his great prowess as a hunter, he couldn't swordfight if it'd save his life.

Which, in the demigod world, it will at some point. Leonidas cursed as his sword's tip pushed into the ground after another failed attempt at a proper parry. He can't fight worth anything. The longer he tried to get better, the more frustrated he became. He honestly just wanted to give up, hole up in his cabin and eat Doritos until his tongue and teeth were orange. Leonidas pondered on getting a teacher. But, as luck would have it, his personality wasn't exactly sought after at the camp.

Didn't stop him from trying, however. "Oi, you there! Ma chére!" he called out to a fellow camper he had yet to know the name of. Calling her "my dear" in French probably wouldn't help him, but it was on the edge of his tongue. He had to let it out. "Think you can help me play with my sword better? ... Oh wow, okay that sounded really wrong. I didn't mean it like that. I wanted to know how well you fight with a sword."

@Noir Drocellie Keinz

"Worry more about your looks," Stephen replied matter-of-factly—actually, the rip was just on the knee of his jeans, which was already ripped from his previous training. It /did/ make a ripping sound, but in all honesty, he didn't get what was it Noir laughed about so much. To him, she looked... well, ten times more messed up than him. Probably.

Smiling wryly at her next remark, the male demigod stayed his place, not even blinking as she threw the sword in front of him. The daughter of Ares was watching, he knew, and he also knew that Noir had gotten something wrong with her statement.

He's the mentor after all. And if she couldn't be serious enough, he would have to make her.

"Wrong. You're the only one not being serious here." With that sharp remark, his electric blue eyes met hers—and the sword flew towards his hand, propelled by the strong wind suddenly blowing around them, caging them in a circle. The other demigods training around them immediately moved away, and as he held the sword, it crackled with tiny sparks of lightning momentarily.

"Playtime's over."

@[G] Greyson Godfrey Leonidas snorted at Greyson's reaction. He usually always had something to say. Who doesn't love being obnoxious to the point of dislike? Nonetheless, Leonidas had the most cases of speechlessness with Greyson, simply for the fact that they were quite alike with their egos and jokes. Even though his friend held the record, it was still within the single digits. "Excuse you. You need to mark this day as the day Lucky Bonaventura helped you become a badass demigod," he exclaimed right away.

"First things first, I'm the noblest," Leonidas sang out, laughing as he did a small awkward dance, attempting to be Iggy Azalea. "So, now that you've had a bite to eat, try to split the earth again. We'll see if it works then we'll practice some more, like moving a rock or obliterating it to dust." Leonidas then grinned, imagining all the awesome things Greyson could do if he had control of his power. And it'd be because of Leonidas. For some reason, the thought made him puff up like a proud mama bird. It's not everyday you'd hear that a minor demigod helped out a child of the Big Three. However, he tried not to get it into his head like that. That wasn't why he was friends with Greyson. He was friends with Greyson because... he was the only one who could really handle Leonidas and still be okay with him. Aha.

@[G] Greyson Godfrey Leonidas paused to come up with a comeback. He opened his mouth once, but he couldn't deny that he cursed many. He closed it. Then, he tried again but he loved playing around with people and annoying them. Again, he closed his mouth. When he couldn't find something appropriate to say, Leonidas just huffed and continued on with the task at hand.

"Excuse you," Leonidas tried to say in a high-pitched voice, swerving his finger, "But I don't need an appraisal from you. Still, love me."

As he began to pick at the fruit, eating happily and shoving his pickings happily into his mouth, he listened to Greyson's questioning. Leondias grinned, muttered something in Italian which could roughly be translated to "questioning like a detective, this isn't a mystery", then exclaimed in English, "Eat. Try to split the Earth. Then, we'll talk about whether or not you can use your powers in battle. What's the point of fighting if you're going to accidentally choke me with shadows or break my leg because you cracked the ground open? So, go on eat. I'm eating out of moral support."

@[G] Bijou Roux (im so sorry for the late reply ;; spm is near ;; im scared as hell ;w;)

He pouted a little before he nodded, although reluctantly, "Okay," he pouted as he played with his fingers and looked at his sister before he waved back at Sheng Li as well with a smile.

He grinned and nodded, laughing as the female poked his cheek, "I'm sure he is!" He chirped happily and pinch his sister's cheek. "So where should we head right now?" He smiled, anticipating the next agenda of the day. "should we eat again?" He asked innocently, his mind already thinking about the waffle the camp served.

"Or should we go to the beach and play with the animals?"

@[G] Kristina Rose If Stephen had not been charmspoken, he'd probably have scoffed at her and turned away. But as is, Kristina had charmed him in a more serious way before - and that kind of charm doesn't just disappear no matter how much he wanted it to.

"Not your fault entirely. I'm just... disturbed," he admitted, looking guilty himself. Though something about her just made him want to stay there, and look at her...
"Um, I'm listening... anything else you want to say?"

@[R] Stephen Krause So she was able to make the male turn to her—and now what? When she had decided to go after him, all she had in mind was she needed to get his attention. Not only did she run after him; she also used her own special abilities to make him stop. But what for? What was she supposed to say now that his attention was on her?

“I—I didn’t mean to offend. I didn’t know you’d take my words seriously,” she said; when all she wanted was to just say the word ‘sorry’. Let’s face it, even saying sorry is difficult with pride on your way. It’s frustrating, in a way, to know that one fact.

Perhaps pride, as well, can be her fatal flaw. Then again, there could be more to it than just her pride.

She was about to say, ‘I should’ve known I’d hit a nerve’, but decided against it. It was like hinting that she still knew so much (which is true) and cared so much (which is partly still true), especially when she had just directly told him that she had moved on entirely, even introducing her ‘new’ boyfriend.

@[G] Kristina Rose Stephen had also let loose his plate, but instead of throwing it like Kristina did, he only let it slide to the ground and stepped past it. The t-shirt he wore hung low, revealing the lightning-shaped scar he had by the back of his neck - something he sometimes wished he never had. If his dad weren't Jupiter, his life would have been infinitely easier.

He'd heard Kristina's call, and he guessed that she was either angry that he walked out on her or felt bad because of it; he didn't feel like finding out. But his feet just stopped by themselves at the sound of his name, and her plea urged him to stay where he was and listen, though he'd been irrationally angry with himself. Something about her voice consoled him, making him turn to her with a slightly dazed look.

Apparently, not only did she knew what ticked him off, she also knew his weakness.

"...Yeah?"