How Can I Swim if I am Ice?

((so sorry I have neglected this!! ))

"I see more than you seem to think," Cade spoke measuredly, suddenly interested in her algebra book as a slight blush filled her cheeks. "I can't read your thoughts, and I mostly sense someone's nature and their general personality, but I can also sense shifts in emotion, especially when they reveal something about the person," she spoke, shrugging. "It's pretty cool, but it's kind of freaky at the same time. A blessing and a curse, as my father would say," she said with a small grin as she looked up at him. He asked about her sadness, and she withdrew from him immediately. His gaze was expectant; though, and she knew he'd gotten her. She wasn't able to tell him the whole truth, but she decided to try to explain it to him somehow. She did owe him one for leaving her alone earlier, though it wasn't like her desire for privacy wasn't warranted. She glanced down at her glowing skin before she spoke, looking to him again and shrugging.

"I shouldn't be sad after having been claimed, but... I don't know. I've been waiting for so long for this to happen, and it was a bit disconcerting when I heard that my mother was Psyche rather than someone I would have expected like Aphrodite. It makes me kind of angry that it took her so long to claim me, I mean-"

Catheryn cuts herself off. "I mean, I've been parentless for years and she never seemed to give a crap about it," Cade wanted to say, but she didn't, because the matter of her father's death was none of Nathaniel's business. Instead, she took the easier route. "-I just... I don't get it," she spoke, hoping he would understand and he wouldn't press for more.

Nathan listened to Catheryn as she spoke and he knew that their was more to the story than what she was telling but the son of Khione knew not to question further. Instead he nodded and allowed his mind to flash back to the day that he'd heard of his own father's death, a simple gangwar that had somehow involved his father. He felt his throat close up but knew that some things not even a demigod could keep from happening, especially when they were only like two years when the person was killed. Nathan looked at Catheryn and decided he would tell her.

I understand, especially since my father was killed in a drive by shooting when I was two years old. Khione didn't claim me until years later and it bothered me for some time. All I can say is that you will just have to accept that the gods do what they want when they want.

Cade nodded, her cheeks flushing. It was as if he'd read her mind. Part of her wanted to stop herself from telling her own story, but after his revelation she felt like she wanted to, just to get it off of her chest. She hadn't really talked to anyone about it besides her mortal friends and her stepfamily, but the latter didn't count and the former didn't understand.

"My dad was killed a couple of years ago, and I still haven't really gotten over it. There was a monster attack, and he was trying to keep me safe, but he wound up getting injured and dying," Catheryn admitted, examining the grains in the table. It'd been her fault. She'd put her dad through so much grief in her lifetime, and she'd been the cause of his death. Because of that stupid hellhound. She almost wanted to start crying, and the sincerity and emotion emanating from this Nathaniel kid wasn't helping, so she had to stop herself, blinking forcibly to clear the water from her eyes.

Nathan listened carefully and nodded to show he understood. Just as he was about to speak, Nathaniel saw a brief glimmer of tears in Catheryn's eyes and he swallowed nervously. Nathaniel moved his hands over and placed them over the girl's softly before smiling at her. It's alright, I understand. Nathaniel blinked a couple times and forced his mind to stay on the topic at hand instead of wandering like it normally did.

Cade managed a smile, looking to him and feeling comforted. Who knew that a guy with a "F*** YOU" tattoo could be compassionate? She pulled her hands out from under his and shut her algebra book as an awkward silence settled over the two demigods. Naturally, Catheryn had to break the silence.

"Maybe we can go for a swim again this time? Without the whole nearly-drowning-me part, maybe?" she suggested with a wry chuckle.

Nathaniel smiled and stood up with a bow and fluid gesture of his arms. After you then. Oh and I'm sure I can avoid drowning you and possibly show you how you fell so easily. He had been sitting there in the silence and when Cade suggested they could go swimming he had been relieved. Nathaniel looked up at the sky and saw that it was still a clear sky full of blue and sunlight unlike the sky beyond the borders which were stormy and being ripped apart by rain and wind alike. He could even see evidence of violent weather a little ways past but all that was in the boundaries was a light breathe of wind.

(i am horrible for not posting. and I had had cade go shower and change and everything but I'm going to ignore that for the sake of posting xD)

Cade couldn't help but laugh as he bowed, allowing her to get up and move in front of him, and she stuffed her algebra book in her bag, kind of glad to be rid of it. "So you're proposing to teach me how to fight, huh?" the girl asked him, amusement in her tone as they walked back toward the lake. Training was probably her least favorite past-time at camp. She knew she had to learn how to train, but it brought so many bad thoughts and memories to the surface. If Dad had known how to fight like this, would he still be here? What if I had come here earlier? Would this even be helpful?

It was silly, but Catheryn frowned slightly. She looked out to the horizon, which was stormy despite the balmy, bright weather beneath camp's borders. She wondered if it would get so bad that it would rain.

((Sorry for not posting sooner. Things have been...strange recently.))
Nathan strode along next to Cade while she spoke to him and he had to resist the urge to laugh at her for thinking he could teach her to fight. I wouldn't be able to teach you how to fight. You already know how to fight but I can teach you how you lost your balance and fell in the water earlier. The sands of the beach were underneath his feet when Nathaniel smiled at Cade and pulled his pants and shirt off with his armor. The water would be warm and he was expecting it to be calming as well.

(It's alright. I have been bad with posting too )

Cade looked at him, confused, before shrugging. "Alright," she spoke, lifting her cover-up over her head. She hadn't yet gotten around to changing out of her swimsuit, which was a plus. She slid off her flip-flops as well before running off the pier and jumping straight into the water on a whim, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of kicking off into the air. She came up for air quickly, looking back at the shore toward Nathan. She still didn't quite know what to make of him. He was definitely strange.

"You coming?" she called, amusement in her tone. She didn't think that he'd expected her to jump into the water.

Nathaniel watched in awe as Cade ran forward and dove into the water with no care from what he could tell. With a shake of his head he smirked and followed her in with a powerful leap forward and outward leading into a dive that let him cut through the water with ease. It was strange being a child of Khione and in the water at the same time without freezing it. With most of his siblings they couldn't even touch water without having ice right after. As soon as he had entered the water Nathan shot back up and came up behind Catheryn. He smirked and gave her a light kiss, more of a peck, on the cheek before replying. What were we talking about again?

To say that Catheryn was surprised as the son of Khione kissed her cheek would certainly be an understatement. He swam up beside her, and the last thing she'd been expecting him to do was kiss her. She almost wouldn't have believed it if she couldn't feel the warmth radiating from his being, the playful desire in his mind. He must have been crushing on her, but she'd been too dense to realize. She didn't know how she felt about that. Her cheeks flushed, and she chose to ignore it for the moment, disregarding the kiss. He was possibly trying to get a rise out of her, and the rueful grin he shot at her affirmed that theory. She just rolled her eyes, looking to him for a moment before responding.

"The discussion had kind of finished, but you told me that you would teach me how to 'keep my balance,' whatever that's supposed to mean," she spoke, a twinge of confusion in her tone that wasn't so much related to what he had said as to what he had just done.

Right... Nathaniel thought about all of the many ways he could teach Cade to keep her balance. Suddenly his mind clicked into place and he knew exactly what to do. Without waiting or showing any expression, the teenager shot forward in the water and wrapped his arms around Catheryn. In the same movement he leaned his head forward and kissed her on the lips, allowing himself to forget about what they were doing.

Immediately Catheryn flailed, managing to kick him a couple times in the shins in her attempt to get herself out of the simple entanglement of his arms. "What the hell?!" she cried, exasperated as she stumbled backwards, away from him. The scene resembled the one that had been created before, when she'd managed to swim straight into him. "Where did that come from?" she asked, incredibly confused and just a little bit freaked out.

Nathaniel felt his body grow colder and his skin seemed to freeze as he moved away from Cade. He smiled slowly and his breath created small ice crystals as he brushed his wet hair away from his face. First thing, enemies NEVER play fair or do as expected. All I was doing was showing you that things are unexpected...while...nevermind. You did good though and didn't fall. Nathaniel looked away from Cade embarrassed as he almost admitted that he had a crush on her.

Catheryn fumed. Now the boy was standing here and grinning at her like some sort of crazy idiot. Desire radiated off of him, and she could clearly see that he liked her. She had no idea how she felt about that, and so she reacted with her most natural emotion: anger. 

"Are you serious? How is grabbing me suddenly and forcibly kissing me teaching me how to cope with the unexpected in battle? What were you expecting me to do, fall over out of shock? That doesn't even make sense! If I can't keep my balance while someone is kissing me, then something is clearly wrong," she said, watching him indignantly. There was something endearing about the way she became so angry, she crossed her arms over her chest in a huff and her eyebrows arched accordingly. If you looked closely, you could see that in this particular instance there was more confusion in her gaze than anger, and as she gaped at Nathaniel she was actually conflicted.

Nathaniel smirked slightly and then splashed water at Cade playfully. It wasn't expected was it? If it is unexpected then there is no reason why it can't be used in training. What did you want me to do, gut you with my sword? The son of Khione wanted to reach out and kiss Cade again but he held back, now afraid that he had seriously upset her this time. I'm sorry Catheryn, I should've used a different method to teach you but it was something I wasn't thinking about. Is there any way you will forgive me? Nathaniel made sure to pronounce the girl's name right while he spoke to her. He looked at her from under his eyelashes and blinked slowly while realizing she was more confused than angry. He also noticed that Cade looked even more beautiful while like that than she had before.

"When is a monster going to lean forward and kiss me? Sure, I didn't expect that, but that doesn't make it okay to use in training. We're not dating, and I don't know what you're talking about, BS-ing me with this 'I wasn't thinking about it!' talk. Do you just go around kissing girls randomly all the time?" Cade asked, still standing there incredulously. Now would be a good time to stalk off, but that was kind of difficult to do while standing waist-deep in lakewater, and Catheryn wanted answers. She could sense the regret coming off of him in waves, but for now she couldn't penetrate the raw emotion at his surface.

"What did that even mean? Do you like me?"

Nathaniel felt his throat close up as Cade asked what he had been avoiding admitting to himself. He had never fallen for a girl before and so that meant he had never kissed a girl but in his mind he didn't see it going as wrong as this did. Finally Nathaniel sighed and looked back at Cade with a blush coloring his cheeks. I...I don't know exactly. It was new to me and I just went on with what I felt so I guess yeah...I might like you. I'm sorry Catheryn for kissing you and you're right in saying it was not right to do. Nathaniel sighed again and looked away before diving underwater and swimming back to shore. He walked out of the lake and sat down on the sand with his head down.

Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth Catheryn had broken through the fog of his mind. He was confused, but there were definitely feeling for Catheryn there, and this made her stomach flip. Now she was confused. She didn't think she liked him- at least not in that way- at the moment. She didn't know how to feel about this unstable teenager liking her. She took a breath, the blush in her cheeks fading. Nathaniel had swum back to shore at this point and she swam after him, making her way quickly through the water and sitting down beside him. 

"I get it. It's okay," Catheryn said. She couldn't let his friendship go, even if this was becoming more complicated than she'd imagined. At least now she understood why he'd kissed her, at least, and she knew that he wasn't just an asshole. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she needed a friend's companionship after all that she'd gone through, and Nathaniel- while flawed- understood what she had gone through. "I'm sorry that I asked, but I needed to know. Thanks for being honest," she spoke softly, tracing through the sand with her bare toe.

Nathaniel looked up with his eyes damp with tears and smiled slightly. Cade may have been someone who had upset him just a second ago but she had apologized and he was happy with that. Nathaniel raised his head and brushed the tears from his eyes. It's fine, I mean I shouldn't have kissed you and I understand that. Still why did you get so upset with me for it? Was it that bad of a kiss? The son of Khione brushed his hand against the sand and started writing in Ancient Greek.

Cade felt guilt pang in her stomach as Nathaniel wiped his tears away, and she couldn't meet his eyes. Instead, she gazed out at the water, burying her feet in the sand. She reached over and wrapped her towel around herself. 

"You scared me, I guess," she responded, looking to him finally. 

"It was unexpected. I- I don't like things that are unexpected and confusing like that. The kiss wasn't bad," she said, blushing slightly. "I was just taken aback. My natural response was so freak out. I wasn't really that angry at you. I just thought that everything was happening too quickly. I don't really like you, not at the moment, but I value your friendship. I don't want it to fall apart over a kiss."

Too many good things in her life has dissolved with one single event. For instance, her father's passing.

Nathaniel nodded and looked down at what he had written in the sand. It was a line from a poem his father wrote. A heart can be shattered and smashed Frozen and bashed. Still it can be healed Like a vault resealed That particular part had never meant anything to him before and now he wondered why it had popped into his mind. Well at least I might still have a chance. I'm glad you're my friend.

"I'm glad to be your friend," Cade spoke, looking away. She still felt guilty, and she ignored the first part of his statement: Well, at least I might still have a chance. She wasn't sure how to feel with him. Still, she was grateful he'd accepted her friendship, and so she turned back to him and forced the confusion out of her mind. 

"So, what now?" she asked.

Nathaniel looked at Cade with a smirk on his lips. What do you want to do now? He wasn't for sure what exactly to do and all Nathaniel could think was what to do to not get into trouble anymore, especially when it came to angering Cade.

"What am I, the events coordinator?" Cade asked, returning his wry smile and quirking an eyebrow. She spread out her towel, throwing on her cover-up and lying down on top of it. 

"Unless you can come up with a better idea, I'm all for hanging out right here," she spoke.