Books, nice views and zero spiders (open)

[Ashley Bates]

Tanya seemed to debate about his godly identity for a moment or two. Perhaps she hadn't considered it yet or perhaps he had surprised her by guessing her own divine heritage from the get go. In any case the time apparently didn't help as she guessed wrong on her first attempt. The thought of being considered an Ares kid did bring a slight smile to his face however which was a pretty rare occurrence in itself.

Ash supposed it was possible considering they had been talking about wars and battles but no, he wasn't particularly war-like, at least not by Ares standards. He didn't mind getting his hands dirty if the situation called for it but he had found that he didn't really have the taste for fighting like the Ares kids did. To him it was more of a necessary evil than anything else but Tanya wouldn’t really have known any of that would she?

"Apollo." He said as the smirk left his face. "The Ares kids are brave enough but they can be a too unpredictable for their own good sometimes." He spoke with simple certainty. Being an Ares kid didn't necessarily mean you were a blood thirsty and violent person but they did have a tendency to end up right in the middle of conflicts. Ash on the other hand realized there were other ways to handle things, sometimes. “Though there are probably exceptions to that. I'm not much for music so I suppose our parent's shoes don't always fit. How about you?"

[Deleted]

His smiled caused Tanya to think that her educated guess was correct. It turned out to be misleading. The red head looked rather surprised when he informed her of the truth. Apollo? He would of been her second guess, but she believed with considerable certainty that he would of been part of the children of war.
"Unpredictable can be a useful trait though. She pointed out, narrowly avoiding telling him stories of the military success of generals who were difficult to predict. He did have a strong point there, not all of the campers were carbon copies of their godly parent.

Tanya for example was craven, the majority of her cabin were brave like their mother. She supposed it took some level of braver to admit to being a coward. "Bravery." She told him in a quiet voice, her tone sad, filled with regret as if it were something she was ashamed of. "I'm a coward, complete and utterly my mother is brave like my half siblings all are." Tanya wanted to be brave, but... Some things were currently beyond her abilities.
She sighed, deciding to rapidly move away from her negative choice of subject. "What about poetry? She asked. "Do you like that?" She had in the past heard the poetry of a handful of Apollo's children and it wasn't an experience she would willingly repeat again. A few mistakes, one only needed to make once in order to know never to repeat them again. Perhaps a mere couple of the poems had not been all that bad. Yet the majority however had her longing for the unwelcome visit of a spider just to provide her with an excuse to get out of the poetry reading.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash shook his head apparently Tanya had missed his meaning. "Unpredictability backed by reason is battle tactic. Unpredictability of character is foolishness and will likely get someone killed. The history books tell us of all the glorious heroes who went against their commanders and ended up accomplishing great things. Few record the times that such tactics have failed with disastrous consequences. Originality and ingenuity have their place but if a person can't be trusted to act soundly in the heat of battle things rarely turn out well."

Ash gave a single huffing chuckle. It was no wonder Tanya had guessed him an Ares kid from the beginning. He sounded like an Ares kid to himself. All this talk of strategy and conflict wasn't really his thing however. Tactics were all well and good but in the end they meant nothing if you couldn't count on your own instincts and your ability to improvise as the needed arose. Perhaps that was why Ash was more singular in nature. He trusted himself and his skill far more than he would ever trust anyone else.

"Cowardice is a tough vice to overcome." He said distantly. "But like all of our flaws we can rise above them if we're willing. Someone once told me that a coward judges everything he sees by what he is. It seems to me then that the trick is seeing things through more courageous eyes." Ash didn't have much use for cowards. Much worse than being sometimes unpredictable cowards could not be counted on at all. That didn't put them in very company in Ash's mind. “I would hesitate to judge myself by the standards of others however. Bravery can be a very deceptive thing.”

Ash thought about the poetry question for a moment or two and then finally gave the redhead a shrug. "I know some poetry. What is poetry save for stories put to lyric? I'm not much of a reciter or story teller however so don't expect anything if you want me to tell you some." He considered what else she might be looking for. Obviously she was probing for his interests. Maybe he could save her a little trouble there and just give her what she was looking for right now. "I hunt mostly but I also take care of the animals. I was a ranch hand back home and I've picked up on most of it."

[Deleted]

Tahlia nodded as he spoke, she realised that she may have missed his initial point. Thus his explanation was useful and thus provided useful information. "You make an excellent point there." She commented as she scanned her mind, sifting through massive stacks of knowledge for when in the case of military history unpredictable characters cost battles. "If I ever manage to gather then lead an army I'll avoid putting unpredictable people in charge of the cavalry." Tahlia doubted that she would ever find herself in a position of command or indeed any authority what so ever. The very concept of her being the centre of attention, with everyone relying on her... No thanks.

Ash made being brave sound so simple. It was not like she wanted or enjoyed being more custard than demigod. She did at the very least try to stand her ground, instead of instantly fleeing. Unfortunately the effort normally placed into an attempt at being brave soon drowned beneath a tide of time to get out of here.
"So all I've got to do is cut out the eyes and heart of a lion then." She joked poorly. Lions were meant to be brave, therefore being in the possession of the eyes would enable her to see through courageous eyes. Fortunately she was not crazy enough to actually try it. Maybe she should hang out with demigods who were known for their bravery? Perhaps such a thing might rub off on her or otherwise transfer itself?

She nodded slowly when he spoke about poetry. "That is fine, you don't need to tell me any poems or stories." Not all of the Apollo children were good at poetry. Better to decline than to later regret not doing so. "I see." It sounded to her like he held a pretty good life back in Texas.

[Ashley Bates]

Ash nodded simply at her suggestion to not put unpredictable men in charge of cavalry charges. He thought that to be pretty sound reasoning and perhaps even a sign that Tanya was starting to see his point in being a little more courageous. No such luck though. It took him a moment to realize that she wasn’t being serious. Unfortunately Ash had never been one for much humor either and even sarcasm was lost on him sometimes. Case in point her next statement that went completely over his head.

Ash raised an eyebrow in response. He had said bravery was a deceptive thing and he was right. All too often people mistook stupidity for bravery and used that to excuse all kinds of dangerous behavior. Taking her aggression out on a lion would have been such a mistake but there was something to that. He thought she was close to the right idea but had perhaps again he had not been clear in his meaning. "It seems to me that were you willing to face down a lion your problem would be solved.”

Courage, at least in his experience, did not replace your fears. It was not reacting without fear or even in such a way that throws caution to the wind when others won't. No, Ash thought that courage was much simpler. Courage was when a person was willing to face their fears instead of letting them control their actions. That's why true courage, not stupidity or unpredictability, was an attribute that even the most craven of individuals could develop if they tried.

There were better topics to talk about however and on this at least he thought he had said enough. After all he couldn't very well force Tanya to be less craven. That was a decision that only she could make. Instead, Ash turned his attention back to learning more about this Athena girl. "What about you? Surely there is more to you than books and histories."

[Deleted]

"It is just an example." She explained quietly. "I meant that well... You know how lions are brave and all that?" Tanya did not have a whole lot of courage, she would love to be in the possession of some more. Yet, without a clear plan of action, she held no clue as to how she might manage to improve herself by reducing her extreme levels of cowardice.
Ash appeared to want to talk about a better topic. Tanya was unwilling to object considering that the topic before largely due to her own influence happened to be firmly on her lack of bravery.

She shrugged her shoulders at first. "I like to watch a few particular tv shows." Tanya said quietly, her favourite things in life involved books and histories. She was not strong, swift or brave like many of her friends. In a book, Tanya felt free not restricted by her mortal failings. "I enjoy reading like you know." She explained quietly. "I... It may sound stupid but I find in a book to be free." She looked away from him embarrassed by admitting it. "I can escape my failings, pretend to be someone I'm not, brave, strong.."

[Ashley Bates]

The explanation seemed to help. Once Ash understood the comparison he saw why she might make it. Granted he still didn't get the joke but he was a pretty big sick in the mud so that was no fault of Tanya's. In Ash's mind you saw something that needed to be done and you did it. Eyes on the prize as it were. Tonya could act with courage if she really wanted to, Ash had no doubt, the only question to him was, what would it take to push her towards that choice?

"That doesn't sound stupid to me." He said to her after she had finished telling him about her hobbies. Ash couldn't really talk about popular tv shows that much but stories were something that he could agree with her on. "Stories are important. They inspire us, entertain us and give us hope. A person is never to old for stories whether they are told orally or read in a book. Your love for books and stories is not something to be ashamed of, it just means you have an imagination, that you crave knowledge." Ash of course was no great intellectual but he didn't think a thirst for knowledge was a bad thing. Perhaps she wasn't the strongest or the most courageous fighter but knowledge did have it's uses. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

[Deleted]

She was greatly relieved to hear him say that it did not sound stupid. Tanya however still thought it happened to be a pretty foolish thing. She nodded slowly as he spoke. Stories certain were important, they inspired people, they inspired her. Yet, in a way they provided their own entertainment value as well as a sense of hope. "Yes." The red head admitted, she possessed a strong imagination as well as a constant hunger for new knowledge. She supposed the last trait belonged to her mother.
"Maybe." Tanya shrugged her shoulders uncertain as to how she might be able to give herself more credit. "I suppose you are right." She whispered quietly. "I wish it was possible to find a book on how to be brave." She sounded quiet sad on that matter. "It seems to be something either you are or you aren't."

[Ashley Bates]

Ash huffed at the idea of a book about bravery. Even if there were such a thing he wasn't sure how much good it would do anyone. He had never seen anything written down that was half as scary as some of the things that they confronted on a daily basis. In his opinion people made up horrors so that they didn't have to think about the ones that were real and if that was the case a book just wouldn't help at all.

"Bravery is a moment by moment choice, a personal decision." He said wondering how she could possibly face her fears when she wouldn't try. "Courage is not a skill to be learned or forgotten. When your fears threaten to overtake you there is a moment of truth. Will you run or will you stand and be true? It's nothing that you can plan for. Instead, it is something that you have to make yourself do one way or the other." He thought for a moment wondering how she might begin to do so but it wasn't that easy. This wasn't something that someone could actually train themselves in like he had said. "Perhaps you should start small. Maybe with something you aren't as scared of our maybe just not running when it comes to spiders. Remember, you can choose to stand."

[Deleted]

She nodded, grimly agreeing with him. Reluctantly she accepted that he happened to be right. To put it simply bravery was something you were or weren't. Tanya occupied the not very brave slot considerably. She unfortunately saw no way for her to become brave or discover a way for her to cope with the numerous fears which she possessed.
Tanya listened to him remaining silent as he spoke to her. "Those who fight and run away live to fight another day." She pointed out, leaving the unsaid loss of honour, the increase of shame and loss of friends out of it.

Tanya shot him an incredulous look. "Seriously?" She asked sounding completely horrified by the idea. "Do you know how terrifying a spider is? She shuddered as her mind imagined the form of a spider. The very idea of standing her ground to face a spider could not of possibly been more alien to her. Tanya simply did not stand her ground when it came to spiders, she saw one, she ran, bolted like a greyhound after a rabbit. There was no deciding to stand her ground, the fight or flight instinct kicked in and she instinctively chose to run.
"Is there something else I could face?" She inquired, not wanting to completely give up.

[Ashley Bates]

When Tanya quoted the popular little quip that probably everyone had heard since their youngest days Ash gave a withering look. To retreat could be tactical but he didn't think she was using it that way. More likely she was using it as an excuse to condone her cowardly ways. In which case Ash wasn't sure how much it was worth if living in fear and shame when others put their life on the line was the alternative that she sought. Then again perhaps she had gotten used to it. Instead of saying as much though he decided to call her attention to the primary fallacy of her statement. "Perhaps, but the key is that you have to fight before running away is an option."

Like most of Ash's insights it was cold and practical and straight to the point. Tanya's problem was not that she was afraid but that she wouldn't try, a fact that was evidenced a few moments later by her outright rejection of the idea of facing down a spider. He looked at the girl seriously for a moment gauging her reaction and then added. "There are many ways to face your fears and judging by your reaction it seems you have many to face but I would advise you to find a reason to face them." He said as he began packing up his things. This conversation could likely continue but he thought he had given Tanya enough to think about for one day. "I find my strength in protecting myself and others. If I don't do something than I can't depend on someone else to do it for me. Perhaps you need to find a similar cause. Find what is worth fighting for and maybe there you will find your courage."