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Who: Everyone at camp.
What: Apollo's sacred day.
Where: The ampitheater.
When: August 7, 8:30 PM.
Why: Apollo's at camp today, and as the god of music, he's holding a dance.

It was decided at the meeting of the summer gods, the Summer Solstice, but it took Apollo physically coming to the Big House and scolding Mr. D for being lazy and not putting up any fliers to actually get the god of wine to do it, a week in advance.

Apollo prides himself on being the god of just about everything - though Mr. D would say, out of the cocky god's earshot, that he's the god of everything nobody else wanted to be the god of. Because of this, he's always had a self-assured attitude which is sometimes hard to deal with.

Because of this, when he decided he was going to throw a dance for the demigods towards the end of the summer as a reward for accepting children of other pantheons into their Greek camp so well, most of the other gods decided to just let him have it rather than argue. (Considering that Hera and Zeus had gotten into three separate spats since the Solstice began, they'd all had enough godly screaming for one meeting.)

So at about 8:30 on the nose - since he's used to following a tight schedule on the sun chariot and he's excited about this, he'll be on time - a flaming, bright red Maserati drives up to the ampitheater. Apollo doesn't even have to lift a finger for the trunk to open, and speakers as well as state of the art DJ equipment rise up onto a platform. He waves his hand, and club music with a thumping bassline starts playing.

(Never say that Apollo doesn't like to make an entrance.)

Requests will be taken all night by Apollo, who will be manning the dj booth as well as making up freestyle haikus. He's one of the more amicable gods, especially to his kids, which he's hosted more of at Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter combined than any other god. He's charming and younger looking than most gods, with a cocky smile and sandy hair.
If you're a pretty girl, he might hit on you.

(Apologies in advance. He'd say old habits die hard because he's right. Sorry, Hunters of Artemis.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nnno.

[ But without a hitch, Natalie reappears against the column, wrinkling her nose and looking incredibly sheepish. At least she knows she's still got it in her to scare people... without intending to do so.

She has a hand cupped around her heel, examining her foot. ]

I was stabbed by a stiletto.

Liar.

[ He shakes his head at her, chuckling. ]

Maybe you should get that checked out while we've got the god of healing back there.

[ She snorts. ]

I'll be okay.

[ She murmurs an incantation and a bandage materializes and wraps itself around her injury. Natalie, meanwhile, stoops to pick up her heels, ready to keep going. ]

[ Man, that magic thing is cool. Leo might have been able to dig out some bandages from his tool belt, if he had it with him, but somehow it's just not the same.

...He should say something before she takes off again. ]

You know, if you're going to run away again, you should probably go somewhere no one can step on your toes.

[ Probably not the right thing, but. ]

[ She shoots him a blank look, arms falling limp at her sides. ]

That was the plan. Duh.

[ She rises to an upright position finally and brushes off the back of her dress. ] Night.

[ His eyes widen slightly, startled. ]

Wh- I didn't mean go!

[ Gods, he is so bad at this. Thanks a lot, Hephaestus, for so graciously giving him your social ineptitude. He really appreciates it. ]

[ Natalie holds both hands up, swiping across an invisible slate. ]

You don't need to say anything, Leo.

[ Still, she remains in that very spot, because it may be worth it to hear him out, even if it's to tell her he would rather keep things the way they were. ]

[ Leo hesitates, because he keeps making mistakes tonight, and he doesn't want to upset her even more. And if he was honest with himself, he had no idea if this was going with this would be the right way to go, because what if it really was just the spell? What if it had left some residual effects and they just assumed it was real because that day was over? What if...

No. He can't think in what-ifs or they'll never get past that weird avoidance thing, and then he'll lose one of the very few non-mechanical friends he has, and that would royally suck. ]

Natalie, I'm sorry...

[ And as soon as the words leave his mouth, he stops. Yep, wrong again. This is fun, like Girl Problems Bingo. How many ways can Leo mess up tonight before some old god wins the jackpot?

He rolls his head back to stare up at the night sky, sighing. ]

I'm an idiot.

[ For a second, Natalie's heart sinks as she stares at him, wide-eyed. He's sorry? He's - no, he isn't finished. She holds her breath and hates that she's suddenly feeling everything so intensely after ignoring them for quite some time now. Each movement pushes her closer to the edge, but she won't explode. Or at least, she hopes she doesn't. ]

You're kind of an idiot. [ She snorts quietly. ]

You don't have to respond. I just didn't want to hide - hide it from you.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[ Leo rolls his eyes, but the problem still stands: he has no idea what to say. How he feels is getting more and more obvious with every awkward second that passes by, but. Words. How does he put that into words and just explain it? Natalie did it so easily earlier, but right now, he feels like action would be easier. Why can't he just -

...Wait.

Why can't he? It's not like he can ruin this any more than he already has.

Please don't make me regret this, he prays to whatever god or goddess will listen (probably Aphrodite; she seemed to have it out for him). He can feel himself getting hotter, and he takes a deep breath to try and steady himself before stepping in close to Natalie and... yeah, and kissing her softly on the lips, as if he's still afraid of doing something wrong. ]

[ Maybe that's it. They're meant to spend the rest of their days rolling their eyes and joking with each other. Maybe not. There's always time. She might ease out of a crush, he might ease into one. They might end up hating each other after an eventual quest together. It's not optimism or being negative, not to her.

Natalie stands there, unsure what to do with her limbs, like they're completely unnecessary. Arms fold, then hand, shoulders slump, then stretch. She flattens her arms over her stomach and pretends not to notice his closeness. He is warm and they aren't even touching, not yet. Slowly, she lifts her head to let out another string of excuses but he shuts her up. Just like that.

With a deep breath, she doesn't hesitate in actually returning that kiss. No spell. All real. ]

[ It's hard to believe that this is actually happening - just them, no meddling from gods in need of entertainment. It's actually Leo kissing Natalie, and it's actually her kissing him back, and maybe that means this isn't a mistake, after all. He can feel his skin starting to tingle, the signs that he's close to losing control, but he doesn't pull away, instead putting one hand on her cheek to pull her a little closer. ]

[ It isn't often that she's tender. When he touches her cheek, she lifts her hand to rest over his heart, as if to say that she is so certain he won't burn her. She doesn't know the full range of his powers (yet) but she is sure of that. She's strong, too.

There's her answer.

When it feels right to end the kiss, Natalie doesn't pull away, just resting her head against his and smiling, really smiling. What a relief. ]

[ He sighs in relief. That was way easier than trying to come up with some sort of explanation. Still, he finds himself mumbling another apology for earlier... because she'd completely misinterpreted it, and he'd only made it worse. At least now it's all clear, all the cards on the table in clear view. He kind of prefers it that way. ]

[ Natalie pulls her lips in, licking them thoughtfully. She's supposed to be smart and she is but people are different from facts on a page. At his apology, she just shakes her head, laughing at herself. ]

I'm a jerk. I think I wanted you to say 'no' so I could run away and ... be a jerk. S - I'm sorry.

[ She lifts her free hand to rub her warmed cheek. ]

You are a jerk. Seriously, you can't drop that on me and run like that.

[ He agrees easily, but his voice is teasing and he has to laugh. It's not like he has room to talk, anyway. Six time runaway, right here. ]

So you're an idiot and I'm a jerk. I guess that still makes us an okay pair of people.

[ She obviously laughs with him, covering her forehead and shaking her head at the both of them. ]

Will you always heat up like that, like if you're going to, uh, kiss me?

[ He shifts, turning away in embarrassment. ]

It's your fault for making me nervous. At least I didn't -

[ "- burst into flames," he starts to say, but of course that's the moment he does just that, because even with the worst of it out of the way, he is still really nervous. He curses and stumbles back a few steps, trying to put out the flames before someone else - someone who doesn't know he has the blessing of Hephaestus - sees it and freaks out. ]

[ Natalie immediately takes a few steps backwards, though the heat is still strong enough to make her eyes tear up. She bites her lip exaggeratedly, brow furrowed as she swipes her fingertips under her bottom lashes. ]

So, I'm still making you nervous, huh.

[ A part of her, a small part, thinks highly of her own abilities inspire a boy to burst into flames. ]

No, what gave you that idea?

[ Does his voice sound strained? No, it definitely does not. Because he is definitely fine.

Where's Water Boy when you need him? Leo wonders, forcing himself to slow down and take deep breaths. Calm down; it's not like she's going to pull a sword on you. Just concentrate on getting rid of the flames, dialing back the heat... don't need to burn your best friend... that you just kissed...

...Okay, that's not helping. Try not thinking this time, Valdez, just deep breaths, try to turn it off. It's... sort of working? ]

[ It takes a swift tug to pull Natalie's head out of the clouds and, as if just realizing something, she jerks her head back, covering her mouth. She had seen Leo create fire out of thin air but it had never sustained. So clearly: ]

Oh, gods. Leo, did I do that do you? Shit.

[ Her voice is a tense whisper and she rubs her temples, thinking. So she's not Percy but she can summon a bit of condensation herself (elemental control isn't ever easy), forming it between her hands. Unless he does something, she's going to dump that gathered mist over him. ]

[ Wait, she thought - ]

No! No, you didn't -

[ He thought she knew about this already! Seeing the magic coalesce in her hands, he takes a step back before he realizes he's moved. He has no idea what that's supposed to do and it is not helping him focus. ]

So, uh - remember the other day when I said surprising me wasn't a good idea? This is why.

[You know it's impossible for a fire to go unnoticed, right? Especially a fire on a person? There's gasps and some shrieks from around the two, and that draws Percy's attention (as well as just about everyone else's). He curses violently and throws the cookie he was eating away, calling all of the liquid on the snack table to him with a wave of his arm and then pushing and charging through the crowd to the source of the fire. When he gets close enough, another wave causes the liquid barrage to crash over Leo, soaking him in water, ice, and soda less than four seconds after Percy saw the fire.]

Are you okay? Hey, someone get some ambrosia!

[ Leo's focus is split between trying to get control of the flames and Natalie, so he doesn't even notice what Percy's up to until it's too late. It crashes into him, knocking him to the ground and leaving him choking. Up his nose?! Really?! Is that really necessary?!

At least it's extinguished the flames. But Leo could have done that on his own; it was just taking a little time!

...Man, someone from Aphrodite's cabin is going to kill him for getting soda on the suit.

And gods, now he wishes the flames weren't gone. Water and ice and soda are cold. After another round of coughs, Leo looks up at Percy from where he's sitting on the ground with a scowl. ]

I'm fine, and you can save the ambrosia for the next person you try to drown.

[ For possibly the first time in a long time, Natalie releases a high pitched scream, ducking for cover under a lifted arm. She gets the residual splashes from Percy and the wave of beverages, the mist of hers all forgotten; the stains on the dress are manageable. It's Leo she's worried about now, immediately crouching beside him, gathering her skirts about her knees. ]

We had it covered. Or, uh, he did,

[ But the annoyed expression doesn't last long when she casts another glance at Leo, looking like a wet cat., and Natalie snorts, covering her nose with the outside of her wrist. ]