Rinse and Repeat ((Jay))

[Melanie Hunt]

It was that time of the year again. Winter had come to reclaim the world, bitter frost eating away at the girl's core. The daughter of spring and new life wasn't meant for this time of death just like her mother wasn't meant for the Underworld. Any life in her blue eyes had been drained, dull pools reflecting instead of sparkling with their usual joy. The plants she loved so much were freezing around her and it showed, skin as pale as the snow. She looked much like the souls that wandered the kingdom of the dead, nothing more than a sad ghost. 

Melanie was always an optimist, though. She wanted nothing more than to lay in her cabin and let the emptiness swallow her whole, but she new that wouldn't fix anything. So, with a heavy heart and forced smile, she wound up among the forest of paints rather than the forest she usually frolicked in. She was like a nymph in her ways, constantly among the trees and animals. It saddened her too much to go there now. The forest was dead and the animals seemed to fear her. Her powers had withered much like the flowers she loved so dearly, replaced by the dark control that the Hades prodigals possessed.

She was no artist, catching some odd looks considering she practically never visited the art building. She had no reason to, really, as her fingers were never skilled with brushes nor pencils and eyes could never seem to find the right colors. That didn't deter her, as little ever did, and she wasn't there to please anyone else. She was there only for herself and was pleased that she seemed to have the paints to herself as well. She had been working for hours that day on the same painting, one which she had been working on for most of the week.

It had begun with the intention of being a flower, but like most art it had begun to take a shape of its own. Now, finally completed, it looked like what can only be described as a demon. The colors were dark, lines sharp, creating feelings of hopelessness and terror. She took a step back and sighed, surveying her work. It wasn't at all what one would expect out of such a sweet and bright girl. She took the canvas off of the easel and set it aside to finish drying. She didn't want to actually look at it for long, as it was far from being a beautiful sight. It was more like a car crash, terrifying and yet captivating.

Mel gathered up the dirty paintbrushes and took them to the sink to rinse, carefully taking her time. She wasn't going to be that one person who ruins perfectly good brushes by letting the paint dry on them. The girl could use a cleaning as well, having gotten as much paint on her as the canvas itself. Perhaps a white dress hadn't been the best choice for such a messy activity, but she hadn't exactly planned to go to the art building. The calmness was comforting, though. 

Tag: Jay Sun Keon

[Jay Sun Keon]

Jay had decided to explore himself as a son of Apollo, an apparent master of ‘arts’. He hadn’t ever really drew anything other than occasional dinosaur or triangle as a young kid and even then it just looked like a standard child had drawn it. So he wasn’t entirely sure if the drawing aspect had counted for him or whether or not he was more of a musician. Both would have been cool to have if he ever wanted to draw a pretty girl a picture and then sing her a song.

The arts building was the perfect place to decide whether or not he could in fact draw. He climbed up and found a nice seat by the window, the equipment was already provided for him. Looking around the room he noticed there were a couple people in the room, there was a blonde girl and also some boy who he’d also never seen before. Oh well, it wasn’t about who was in the room with him it was about him and the blank canvas. So he picked up a pencil, attempting to draw a tree which decided to go wrong as soon as he got to the branches. It didn’t look too bad, it just wasn’t the image he was picturing his head.

After about fifteen minutes of drawing and erasing different lines Jay had finished his drawing. He was pretty proud of it for a first time drawing, it wasn’t anywhere near ‘masterful’ but he was proud. Taking a quick glance around, Jay got up and began walking to the sink, noticing the blonde girl was there washing her hands. ”This is messier than I thought it would be…I only drew a tree.” Jay said with a smile as he stepped past the girl, using the sink to her left and beginning to wash off all the lead stains on the palm of his hand from the shading. ”And to think I thought trees were easy. It decided it woodn’t cooperate at all. I think it wanted to be leaft alone.” He continued on with a smirk, his tongue slightly sticking out in between his teeth as he tried not to laugh at his own puns. What a good first impression.

[Melanie Hunt]

Melanie was a bit startled by the boy, not expecting him to start a conversation with him. She was well aware of his presence, never one to be snuck up on as she was constantly in tune with her surroundings much like the deer she spent so much time with. His words took her by surprise, though, as she was often the one to initiate conversation. She was usually a bright and generally friendly girl, but winter was taking that away from her.

She smiled softly at him, mentally preparing for a dry and meaningless exchange. The girl hadn't wanted to interact with anyone. The whole reason she had come to the art building in the first place was to escape. His puns caught her a bit off guard, the stranger's humor far from what she had been expecting. A small giggle passed her lips, melodic and contagious. Her laughter, as well as her smile, were often described as the best things about her. They would light up one's day and instantly make one feel better if not laugh along.

"Perhaps you need to branch out to other interests." She replied with a genuine smile, setting the brushes beside the sink to dry. "Or, if you want, I could help you find the root of the problem," It's always good to offer help using puns. Mel might have been no artistic master herself, but she always loved helping out others, even if she had been feeling antisocial.

[Jay Sun Keon]

The girl’s little giggle was sweet and definitely what Jay was expecting to come from the girl, the laugh suited the girl for sure. Jay was happy that he had made her laugh as without his jokes, Jay wasn’t too sure on what he could actually rely on when talking to people. If he wanted a decent conversation he would usually begin throwing in some puns here and there so that he could get a bit of a laugh and also suss out the other person’s sense of humour. This girl’s humour seemed like it was quite easy to suss, not too picky on jokes and enjoying the simple things. Good because Jay was far from a stand-up comedian. Although sometimes he did spend his pass time thinking of funny jokes and then writing them down for future use. Also since the girl had laughed, it meant that he didn’t have to worry about getting hit or being told to go away, that would have been awkward.

A pun, returned by a pun. Jay couldn’t help but widen his eyes and slightly drop his jaw. ”Damn, that was a good one.” He replied to the girl with a smile, running a hand through his hair and brushing his hair up a bit. Jay looked over his shoulder at his drawing for a couple seconds before looking back at the blonde girl, ”Hmm… Nah I think we should leaf my career as an artist there. I’d end up making myself look like a plank, then we’d really be stumped.” He continued on with a grin, an eyebrow raised as he leant back on a nearby table slightly. No one would beat Jay when it came to puns, he was just that guy who always had something funny but stupid to say and if this girl wanted to continue the puns. It’d be war. Pun war.

[Melanie Hunt]

"Why thank you," she giggled, doing a small curtsy. She had forgotten how nice it was to joke around with someone, to tease and be teased. She had practically become a shut-in the past few months. This boy was sweet, though. Light seemed to radiate from him, basking her in warmth. No doubt he was an Apollo kid.

She grinned as he continued with the puns. If he wanted a war he'd get one. "That was a bit of a-corny joke... But I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you're a son of Apollo?" She was on a roll at this point. Mel was such a friendly person and all of her bad jokes had been building up. Her humor fit well with his, so she could only hope that they'd become friends.

[Jay Sun Keon]

That was probably the first time Jay had seen a girl curtsy in front of him in his life, back at school it would have never happened and Jay would have probably been hit instead. That tends to happen when you have a humour like Jay’s. The smile stayed on Jay’s face as he stayed talking to the girl in front of him; he did slightly feel paranoid when he was smiling too wide though. He knew he could control light since he was a son of Apollo but he always felt that whenever he smiled a sun could randomly appear in his mouth and blind the person he was smiling at. ”My pleasure.” He finally got out to the girl as he returned the curtsy with a bow of his head.

Still leaning back on the table, Jay was even more surprised when the girl continued on with the puns. Usually people only had a couple ready to reply with but this girl had more than a few. He glanced down at his hand to see if she had a phone or something that she was checking Google with but then remembered phones weren’t really allowed in camp. ”You’re nuts, . In fact you’re barking mad.” Jay replied playfully with a small laugh, he still had a few up his sleeve as well. ”But yes, I am a son of Apollo. Jay’s the name and making puns is the game. Yourself?” He asked politely as he scooted back a little on the table.

[Melanie Hunt]

She shook her head in amusement, wispy blonde hair falling into her face. Her small fairy-like hands brushed the strands from her face, as the locks almost shimmered under the fluorescent lighting. Her hair had become more of a silver blonde, much lighter than the golden blonde it was in the summer. It wasn't necessary a bad thing though, giving her an oddly ethereal look. The girl could pass easily for a nymph of sorts, or perhaps an angel in the mortal world. Not that she was ridiculously gorgeous or anything. Mel was far from meeting the standards of beauty, but she had her own otherworldly allure with her small features and wide eyes.

"Knew it! You practically glow with sunlight," she exclaimed excitedly, melodic laughter filling the air once again. How could a daughter of flowers not enjoy the sun? "I'm Melanie, prodigal of the lovely Persephone. You can call me Mel, though." It wasn't particularly hard to tell who her godly parent was. She was practically the poster child for the Spring goddess. Perhaps she dulled a bit come winter, but so did her mother. It wasn't her fault Hades had practically kidnapped the goddess.

[Jay Sun Keon]

Jay gave out a little laugh as the girl shook her head. He was actually used to people shaking their heads at his little comments or stupid actions but they always seem to be at least smiling as they do so. Naturally this made him increasingly tempted to continue being an idiot whenever he could as he just liked to make people laugh, even if it was hard to determine whether they were laughing with him or at him. Whichever one it turned out to be, Jay decided them laughing with him was better for his confidence so ignored the possibility of them laughing at him.

Glow with sunlight? Now that sounded cool. If he had an account that would definitely be his bio. ’That kid that glows with sunlight.’ Perfect. He did kinda agree however, he’d been told a few times in the past that his smile seemed to be so bright and that his eyes tend to ‘light up’. ”Why thank you.” He replied to the comment as he did a playful bow, putting his right arm across his chest and dipping his head for a second. ”Nice to meet you, Mel.” He didn’t know too much about Greek mythology and which gods had what characteristics but truthfully, his guess at Mel’s parents was either Persephone or…Demeter maybe? Luckily one of those two were right so he could say he had some knowledge.

[Melanie Hunt]

Her smile widened as he did a little bow. Call her old fashioned, but she quite loved such mannerisms. "The pleasure is all mine," she said, trying to sound serious. She couldn't hold back her giggles, though. This must've been the happiest she'd been in months. Maybe she should spend more time around the Apollo kids as they definitely seemed to bring bright to her dark.

"So, a tree was giving you trouble? I'd heard the Apollo cabin was artistically talented," she jokingly teased. She meant no harm, just trying to converse to the best of her ability. Socializing can be hard when you fall out of it. "To be fair though I have the artistic talent of a potato," It wasn't entirely true. If she worked hard enough her art was half decent, but she was far from being an artist. Besides, hobbies are supposed to be fun whether you're good at them or not.

[Jay Sun Keon]

This girl definitely was sweet and it made him wonder how sweet girls like she could end up somewhere like this. He was curious of his backstory but didn’t want to ask so ignored his thoughts. ”I’m glad to hear.” The giggle that escaped the blonde girl’s lips was adorable and Jay couldn’t help let out a small laugh to accompany hers. Jay liked giggles because they always caught him off guard because they were always from unexpected people, except he actually expected this girl to be a giggler. He could see himself laughing with her on many occasions. ”Nice giggle, Blondie.”

Another laugh escaped his lips and he replied with a shrug as he waved his hand, dismissing his drawing. ”Trees are hard okay, they’ve got all those branches and stuff.” Jay replied with a grin, shaking his head playfully at her tease. It was true that the Apollo cabin was artistically talented but Jay liked to think he was talented in other ways. ”Whoa, potatoes are pretty talented. You think you’re on that level.” Jay teased back to her; she teased him earlier so it was only fair to return the teasing. Right? From what he saw the drawing wasn’t even bad, it was a tonne better than Jay’s tree which looked like it was deformed so either way, she was better than him.

[Melanie Hunt]

She crinkled her nose at the nickname, blushing slightly. "Don't call me blondie!" she protested, sticking out her tongue at him. He was making her slightly self conscious of her giggle. Was there something wrong with it? She had never really thought about it before. Her hands moved to the hem of her dress, playing with it nervously.

His joke pulled her back out of her anxiety though as she let out another giggle. "So what are you a potato at, Apollo boy? Balling?" She wanted to get to know Jay. He seemed like he could be a good friend and she absolutely loved friends. Mel herself hadn't much interest in basketball or any other sport for that matter, but she was always up to please her friends.

[Jay Sun Keon]

Jay smirked as she protested against the nickname and stuck her tongue out; he was definitely going to continue the nickname on now it was her own fault. ”Sorry blondie.” He replied in a very slight mumble. His eyes found their way down to her dress which she was now fiddling with and then back up to her face. ’Relax’ Jay mouthed to the girl, accompanying his words with a warm smile and a nod. Hopefully him doing so would let her know that he genuinely thought she had a nice giggle and it wasn’t a sarcastic comment for once. Besides he definitely didn’t want to upset this girl – she was lovely.

Another giggle meant another melted heart but he decided not to comment on it this time, instead listening to her question. Ball was his life so definitely not a potato at that. ”I’m dope at basketball, I used to compete in it before…All of this.” Jay replied happily to the girl pointing with his finger in a circle as if he was hinting to the camp. ”I’d say my potato qualities show when I try to climb. I’m really not good with heights.” Which was true, he hated heights.

[Melanie Hunt]

She frowned a bit as he called her blondie again, bottom lip sticking out in a pouty fashion. Him looking her up and down didn't help the situation, furthering her self-conciousness. Melanie was certainly not looking her best, hair messy and body covered in paint. She groaned internally, hoping her sloppy appearance wouldn't cause Jay to think less of her. She was usually fairly well put together, even if most of her time was spent frolicking in the forest. She then saw his lips move, mouthing at her to relax. She smiled softly in response, trying to calm the nerves in her stomach.

Mel nodded understandingly at his comment. She could barely remember what her life had been like before camp. She knew what had happened but it felt more like a movie, not like she had experienced it. "You've never been out on a pegasus, then?" she asked, feigning shock. The girl loved animals as well as feeling free, so flying pegasi was a great enjoyment. Perhaps she could help the boy get over his fears.

[Jay Sun Keon]

As the girl continued to seem to be getting more and more anxious Jay took a glance around, not focusing his attention on her for a little while before glancing back, the smile on her lips reassuring him. The girl was sweet and he didn’t want to upset her in any way or make her feel anxious to talk to him because he really was an easy going guy, he didn’t care what someone looked like as long as they were fun to talk to he’d be fine with them and this girl was fun. He was glad that he made her relax slightly however and it reassured him to continue the conversation.

Flying a Pegasus? Hell no. He’d be fine to ride a horse but a horse that has big ass wings and could decide to randomly take lift off at any time was a ticking time bomb for Jay and he wouldn’t trust the Pegasus. ”Hell no, I think I’ll stick to regular horses. The ones that can’t just randomly decide to go ‘fuck this’ and take off into the sky with me hanging on for life.” He said as he shook his head with a very small laugh, there was no way he’d get on a Pegasus.

[Melanie Hunt]

The absolute horror in his voice as well as painted onto his face threw her into a giggle fit. She had never met someone so opposed to the idea of flying pegasi. "Oh, c'mon Jay! My pegasi is an absolute sweetheart. He would never do something like that." she said, voice practically dripping with honey as she tried to convince him.

"I'll take you out on your first flight! I promise I won't let you fall," she gave him puppy dog eyes, pouting her lip. She had the most irresistible begging face. It was akin to that of Boots' begging face in Shrek. Adorable, wide-eyed, and impossible to say no to. Besides, it had been awhile since she took Cherry Blossom out and no doubt the pegasus needed to stretch his wings. "You'd love it,"