It's time for a tan [Open]

[Leon Orcot]

Leon decided that he loved the way Mona blushed. Her cheek was warm and red, giving her face a nice contrast to the normal pale white. He noted that she gave him a vague answer to his wanting to see her power. He knew it would be interesting to see in action, and could only hope it was never used on him. "As long as it's not used on me, I can't wait to see it." He gave her another pat on the shoulder and waited for her attempt to seduce him, watching as her face lit up red from the conversation.

Then he sat back a bit in shock. Didn't know how to flirt with him? By the gods what did they teach at this camp. He learned the finer art of flirting when he was young, it was a necessary life skill. It got him past all sorts of trouble in the old days. He shook his head and decided to give her a quick lesson, just for the fun of it. "I'll show you a bit, as everyone should at least know the basics. You could start with something simple like I did, a touch to the arm or face is always a good way to go. Or you could try something like this." After he said this, he slowly leaned close to Mona, moving until his mouth was right next to her ear, his warm breath softly tickling it as he spoke next. "Something like this always gets a person worked up a bit. I bet you can feel something right now, con't you Mona?" He then pulled away from her to look her in the eyes again. "It's also a good idea to have something sexy to say to the person you are trying to seduce, but that's something I leave for you to figure out on your own." He smiled at her and leaned back, turning his face back up to the sun for a bit.

[Deleted]

Black eyes followed him and his movements, watched his lips move as he decided to instruct her in the art of flirting. She didn't know why he felt like he had to be the person to teach her these things, or why he seemed a little shocked at the fact she didn't know how to flirt in the first place. Maybe men liked women to flirt with them. Her eyes watched him move to her ear and confidently whisper in it, the tickling motion causing only irritation in her mind instead of the expected fluttering. Her face remained neutral, the blush having faded from her cheeks by now. No, nothing he had said or done had made her feel anything different but she felt it might be rude to say that to him. She might bruise his male ego, which was something that the girls had gossiped about when she had once drifted into the Aphrodite cabin. 

Turning to face him as he lay back on the towel, she shook her skirts slightly to remove any sand that had managed to get into her lap. "Something sexy?" she questioned. "Such as what? I have heard that men are controlled by their...ah...lower brain, as the Aphrodite Cabin calls it. Should I talk about that to a person? And if I should find a woman attractive and wish to flirt, what should I say then?"

Her black eyes studied him solemnly. "I am sorry. Any experience I have had with intimacy or sex or that sort of thing happened a very long time ago and was not ideal introduction. Flirting was never in that education."

[Leon Orcot]

Leon was a little surprised that her blush had disappeared. He had a confused look on his face, while he listened to her speak. He sat back up and thought hard on what she had said. Those girls in the Aphrodite Cabin had it kind of right, but not completely. "While it's true that most men may think with their lower brains, it's not best to talk about it much. The male phallus isn't the best topic of conversation most of the time. I'd start with a complement on their appearance and then see how they take it best. Most women when they flirt usually act coy, batting their eyelashes and speaking softly. They also giggle a lot at what the man says and act all, well, girly. They are usually the most often party to initiate physical contact. I'm not exactly sure how women flirt with each other, as flirting like a man would wouldn't normally work. I'd suppose doing the same things wouldn't work, so at that point it would be more about getting the intent of the fact that you are attracted to them across." He paused here to do more thinking. He listened to her next words and made a note of that, not an ideal introduction. Perhaps he could give her a better experience and get her to enjoy it more this second time around.

This is going to be risky, he thought to himself, but if it works, it should help to get her to open up to more intimacy. Deciding on his current course of action, he sent a silent prayer to Aphrodite and did the most illogical thing that he thought could still work. I hope this doesn't backfire on me too hard, I would really enjoy spending more time with her, even if it's just talking. He slowly leaned in again and brought his hand up to softly stroke her cheek before leaning in more and kissing her softly on the lips.

[Deleted]

Desdemona listened to him talk, eyes continuing to watch his lips and the movements they took as he spoke each word. Her brain filed away each piece of information that he dropped, reminding herself to think about them later. Her hands rested in her lap, every so often stroking her skirt fabric. So other girls used physical movements and voice modulations to get their attraction across? That seemed a little counter-intuitive to her mind, but he knew more about it than she did. 

As he leaned in, she studied him and followed his hand as it rested on her cheek. The soft stroking made her eyes close slightly, but they opened wide seconds later when he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. The feel of someone kissing her hadn't touched her lips since before she had arrived at Camp Half-Blood and she could feel the area around her immediately start to boil. Instinctively, she shoved him off her and stared at him with an expression of shock, horror and bewilderment on her face.  In the back of her mind, images of all the times her captor had forced kisses from her played over and over again. The shadows around them started to react violently, wisps of darkness curling around his ankles and running over his bare skin to produce goosebumps. 

"Please never do that again," she told him. "Don't kiss me without permission. Or you will be sorry."

[Leon Orcot]

Leon felt himself get shoved by the woman in front of him, he fell back just over the edge of the towel. He looked up, not so much in shock, but in fear of her. Looking into her face, he let is own fall in shame, seeing the shock and horror present there. After hearing of her powers he was more then a little wary, especially when the shadows started to wrap around his ankles, giving him goosebumps. Having none of that he quickly ignited them with fire to ward off the shadows and get warmth back to his legs. He quickly stood upon hearing her words, and brushed himself off, before bowing low to her. "You have my deepest apologies. I was unaware this would have such a bad reaction. I promise you that I will never kiss you again, without your permission." 

Being himself though, Leon couldn't help but ask a question. He knew this could land him deeper in trouble, but he knew he could survive worse then this girl could ever produce on him. He had made it back from Iraq after all. "So, how was it?" He couldn't stop the small grin on his face after he said that, but he was still fully ready to run for his life. Survive or not, an angry woman was terrifying.

[Deleted]

The shadows reared back as the fire came to life, bristling behind their controller in the face of the hot element. They snarled and hissed and whimpered in the back of the controllers mind writhing in the real world like a cat might do when confronted with a large dog. Black eyes sparked and simmered in her face, before she turned her head away and waved a hand in impatience. Slowly, the shadows calmed down in degrees before they wrapped around her hand and slipped back into the out-stretched palm. Tilting it upwards so the palm was facing the sky, she turned back to Leon. The emotions that had earlier played on her face had disappeared, to be replaced with an eerie blankness. 

As he asked how his kiss had been, Desdemona's eyes started to spark again. The insulted feelings of being kissed against her will coupled with the question after it, no matter how apologetic he seemed to be, made her patience end. Shadows reared up behind her, sparking with dark energy and threatening to attack the man in front of her. 

"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice deep and terrible. 

[Leon Orcot]

Leon's smile left his face as he watched the shadows rise behind his new friend. Seeing something flash in her eyes, and hearing the tone of her voice, he unconsciously took a step back and dropped into a fighting stance. His fists and arms lit up with bright flames. Seeing what he was doing he shook his head and doused the flames on his arms and stood back up. "I dug my grave, now it's best if I just lay in it. Let me rephrase that. If you had been expecting it, or willing it, how would you have enjoyed that? If not then feel free to strike me, but if you did, I ask that you at least allow me to sit down." 

He held his arms out and down, spread his legs a bit, and looked up into the sky with his eyes closed. He would accept whatever she did to him, whether it was to send him flying, or to get up and kiss him herself.

[Deleted]

The shadows flared up at the increase in fire, Desdemona carelessly reaching up a hand to caress them lovingly. Her fury-filled eyes scanned him, watching for the instant when she could unleash something worse on him. The fire reflected in her black pupils, adding a dimension of hellfire to them. As he doused them, the shadows hissed their triumph before settling down at her lap to curl and flow over her clothing like a lazy cat. Watching him, she stroked the shadows with a finger softly as the fury slowly dripped out of her pupils. She had him at her mercy right now, she could punish him for his words if she wanted to.

Slowly, she canted a hand down onto the orange towel. "Sit," she replied blandly. 

[Leon Orcot]

Leon smiled as she allowed him to sit back down on his own towel. He knew that eventually he could get through to this girl, he just needed to take a few risks that he hoped would pay off. Thankfully they had this time. He slowly walked back over to his towel, making no sudden movements as she still had her shadows at the ready. He sat back down beside her, just as close as he had been before. He may have been afraid of her hurting him before, but now he just wanted to see what she had truly thought of the kiss. 

"So, talk. You let me sit, so on some level, you enjoyed that." That grin made it's way back onto his face, the one for when he knew he was right for once. He was eager to hear what she had to say, and maybe, gods be willing, give her another kiss if she so desired. He wasn't sure that would happen, but if it did, he wasn't going to complain.

[Deleted]

Desdemona continued to stroke the shadows, her fingers slipping into and out of the rippling elements as she petted them. As she petted them, they rolled over and over before slipping underneath her nails and disappearing one after the other until there was nothing left but her fingers and her skirt fabric. Settling her fingers together, she intertwined them together and rested them. Her eyes watched him, watched his fingers and arms for any trace of a pyrotechnic effect before she moved her head slightly and her long black hair rippled across her back and onto her shoulders.

"Perhaps I just wished not to spend the energy on smiting you," she demurred blandly. 

Black eyes turned on him, bleak and unmoving as he smirked. "The kiss was...gentle, not rough," she dissected it. "It was not something spectacular, as far as I know. But I have only been kissed by one individual so I am not really qualified to comment."

[Leon Orcot]

Leon watched her as she seemed to look at his arms intently for a bit. Did she expect them to burst back into flame? He wouldn't do that so close to her, as it my wind up hurting her. He was far enough back earlier not to hurt her. He liked helping his friends, not hurting them. He smiled at her caution, before calling her on what she had said. "Bollocks, if you wanted to smite me you would have. You don't strike me as the kind of person to leave something open like that Mona." 

He listened to her break down the kiss, like it was a kind of science. Kissing wasn't much of a science, there was a little research behind it but it was mostly skill. "Well, don't just break it down like that. You should just enjoy it. It was just a chaste kiss, it wasn't supposed to be spectacular. If you want one of those, all you have to do is ask. I can give you more of a demonstration if you require it." He gave her a small smile here, not his usual cocky grin, just a small smile.

[Deleted]

Her visage didn't respond to his jab about smiting him or not smiting him, remaining eerily blank and still.  "Mayhap," she simply replied, the tone holding no rancor or emotion in it. 

Tilting her head as he replied to her attempt to synthesize the kiss with her mind, Desdemona let her lips curl upwards slightly into the ghost of a smile as he smiled at her. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure how to go on from this moment now that they had seemed to backtrack past any friendliness back to the awkwardness of the earlier afternoon. They had entered territory she wasn't comfortable with and she had no idea how to move through it, or what to say in response. Her eyes wandered out to watch the waves trying to get near the towel, scanning the surface. 

"Are you daring me to return the kiss?" she asked, eyes still on the water.

[Leon Orcot]

Leon smiled at Mona after hearing her response. "You know, I've always enjoyed that word. Mayhap. Has a nice ring to it." He was trying to get the conversation onto a safer topic. He could feel a bit how this was making her a bit uncomfortable, especially with how she reacted to the kiss. He wanted to push the topic away before he heard her response. The way she said it made him feel a little irritated, like he was forcing her to kiss him.

As he saw her look out over the water he slowly brought his hand up to her chin and cupped it, gently pulling her gaze back to his eyes. He softened them to a point of kindness and spoke, "Mona, I'm not daring you to do anything. I'm just saying that if ever in the future, you want to give this another shot, I'll be here to help you. Whether it be advice or if you want to use me to get better. I'm not going to force you to do anything again. I said I was sorry earlier and that I wouldn't do that anymore and I meant it." He gave her his warmest and most sincere smile here. He really didn't want her to be awkward or uncomfortable around him. He liked her so far and wanted to keep her as a friend.

[Deleted]

Desdemona's eyes stared into his as he brought her chin around, pupils bright and focused on him. She listened to him speak, wondering why he was continuing to...what was the term, 'flog a dead horse?' was that it? Not that it really mattered but slang was apparently a good thing to use.  The feeling of his hand on her chin still, it forced her mind to stay in the present. His gentle touch wasn't unpleasant but it wasn't entirely sitting well with her.  She could almost feel the charged electrons floating around in the air, keeping the conversation teetering on the edge. 

The more she looked into his eyes, the more Desdemona wondered what it might have been like to be 'normal' and experience normal emotions. Deciding to find out, she slowly leaned in and placed her lips against his in an attempt to see if it might feel nicer or might have some answers for her, if she initiated the emotional contact. Her soft lips rested on his own, her eyes continuing to stare into his. 

[Leon Orcot]

Leon wasn't sure what Mona was doing as she leaned towards him. Then he felt her lips settle on his and he blinked. Her eyes were still open as she kissed him, and not wanting to dissapoint her, he leaned into the kiss and closed his eyes. It was a nice feeling, just as he remembered it being. She had very soft lips. He simply held the kiss for a few seconds before he pulled away from her.

He gave her a gentle smile and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He looked her in the eyes again, and spoke, "So, how was is that time? Better I'd hope." He was hoping he didn't dissapoint her, as he had come to like this woman for her company.