Touché. She had scored a point on him. Castor found himself genuinely laughing at her remark. The quickness was a refreshing change of pace for the son of Mercury. He shook his head in mock disbelief, "I actually got horrible grass stains on mine the other day. The dry cleaners are taking a load of time getting it back to me. I suspect they're just jealous of how well I fill it out." He found it easy to slip into this give and take conversation with her. She was easy to talk to, and was possibly one of the only handful of girls who was able to keep up with his humor. Normally girls either got annoyed and told him to leave or they constantly asked him to tell a joke, as if that was how humor worked.

As she answered his question, the nature of their little back and forth subtly shifted. He tilted his head to the side, trying to read her expressions. To see if she had been serious or not. Had the comment come from the mouth of a child of Venus or Mars, he might not have cared too much. They thrived on competition and the game of cat and mouse. Flirting was like breathing to them. Coming from the lips of this stranger, however, he found himself unwilling to back down from the challenge she presented him with. "Well I am third co-hort centurion remember? I know you're new around here but that's kind of a big deal." That fact was very much not a big deal of course. He very smugly wiped pretend dirt off his shoulder. "There's basically nothing I can't do." He again found himself laughing towards the end of the sentence. His eyes lingering on hers. Game on indeed, possibly whether he went willingly or not. 

She spoke about their training, bringing up the trauma of everything that had happened and Castor immediately found himself feeling like a jerk. He hadn't meant to bring up their camp and what had happened but he could see in hindsight how careless it had been. "No, hey, you can't go there. What happened more than likely couldn't have been prevented or stopped. Sometimes bad things just happen and it's not anyone's fault." He held her gaze, the words sincere. He had seen that look in her eyes countless times before. Kids who couldn’t save siblings, families who lost children, children who lost parents. There was always more they swore they could have done but at the end of the day, all that that kind of thinking did was put more guilt and pain into the ones who were still living. It wouldn't bring anyone or anything back.

She bit her lip, apologizing, and he shook his head, "There's nothing to apologize for. You have a right to feel and say whatever you need to. I'm the jerk that brought it up." He gave her a half-grin, listening quietly as she spoke again about training. As she asked about private lessons he nodded, "Look, don't do anything you're not comfortable with yet. But, yes, when you're ready, I can fit in some private training lessons." He and Dareios liked to train together whenever it was possible, when they could fit it into the Praetor's schedule. He mused that on the days when they couldn't, it wouldn't be bad to have a sparring partner that was so easy on the eyes. She mentioned it'd be a shame to scar his pretty face and he winked, "Thanks for noticing. I take it I'm doing well in the dating possibility department?"

He laughed but the tension hung in the air between the two. He let it linger for a heartbeat more before he began showing her around and he found himself thankful for the distraction. She might not be a daughter of the goddess of love but there was something different about her that intrigued him more than he'd like to admit. She thanked him and he shrugged, "No problem, I'm sure you've noticed by now how hospitable we Romans are." He grinned, nodding once to a scowling Roman who was passing by that all but made his point entirely.

Castor nodded along as he listened to her talk about the things she enjoyed. "I don't blame you on the swimming. We aren't exactly known for our aquatic skills here." The knife throwing had surprised him. He was a little bemused that perhaps she hadn't been joking about scarring his face. Leave it to him to flirt with a Greek girl that had an affinity for blades. "I can't say I'm much good with knives but I can help with sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat. Maybe you can teach me a trick with the knife throwing. Might be fun to surprise the Praetor one day."

He walked along and pointed to his left where a marbled building stood, "There are the barracks, which I'm sure you're familiar with already." He then pointed to the right, "That building a little farther up, to the right is the baths. Inside you'll find separate areas for the actual baths, sauna, pool, and workout room. Might be a little safer than actually trying to swim in a body of natural water." He continued on, giving her plenty of space in the conversation for questions before moving on.

When she asked what he liked to do, he shrugged, "Training mostly." He gave a little chuckle before continuing on, "I also like to dance, believe it or not. I like being around people, reading sometimes. I'm kind of a boring guy compared to most of the kids here." Which was true. There were kids who spent their free time chilling in the underworld and other kids who rode clouds in the air for fun. Compared to them he was as boring as they came.

Castor grinned at her joke. He wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting when he had first heard the news that Greek campers would be arriving. He had tried not to cast judgement of course, but mainly he had been more concerned about his friend. The arrival of the group had put Dareios in an understandably more stressed out mood. He hadn't actually sat down and thought about what those campers might be like personally yet. Whatever his mind might have come up with though, she was wholly unexpected and far from what he could have pictured.

"I'm always up for a challenge. I'm a child of Mercury. We're not as bad as the kids from Mars or Jupiter, but we're definitely a close second. Or rather….third I guess." His eyes, very quickly, passed over the hip that she drew attention to, the boy unable to wipe the grin off of his face. She sounded like she was flirting with the idea of letting him ask for a date and he figured half the battle was already won in that regard.

Scarlett asked what would qualify as a date around here and he angled his head, looking over at her. Her eyes met his and the joke that he had on the tip of his tongue vanished. He nodded, "Of course, of course. Well…" He pointed straight ahead of them. "We normally have them there, straight ahead and down that path. That's where New Rome is. It has restaurants and a movie theater. You know, proper dating venues." He thought about someone trying to have a date inside of Camp Jupiter and he found himself chuckling, "I think the praetors would flay us alive if someone tried romancing someone else on the field of Mars or gods forbid near the Praetoria."

The conversation rapidly took a dip and he found himself holding his breath as she spoke about her camp and getting through it. He didn't remark that he tended to be the oddball of camp. That his legion-mates tended to be less social and more stabby. Though, maybe that could change. Strangers things had happened in the past. Her eyes remained on him and for a moment he let the space around them fade away. She shook away the notion of him being a jerk and he ignored the ridiculous urge to give her a hug. "Hey, if you ever need to talk, I'm here." He hoped she heard the sincerity in his voice, his eyes remaining focused on hers a moment more before the edge of his lips pulled softly, "Just ask for Castor The Incredible and I'm sure someone will point you my way."

He was slightly relieved when the conversation turned to lighter things. He knew he had no business, well, getting into her business. He was perfectly content with their light-hearted banter. At least for now. As she mention one-on-one situations, however, he rolled with the suggestion, "Well, I think I can accommodate that." A certain kind of tension creeping into him as he glanced over at her, not trusting himself to elaborate further.

She playfully made a jab at him and he found himself grinning at her joke before putting a hand to his heart in mock pain, "Ouch. Ego? I'm the most humble person in this place, ask anyone." He pretended to dust his shoulder off before moving on. The other legionnaire putting a damper on their little stroll. He was thankful that she rolled with the punches, laughing at the scowl. He was very thankful for that. He wasn't sure what he might had done if she had taken it to heart. "He wouldn't dare. Believe it or not, the Praetors do hold us accountable for you Greeks feeling welcomed."

There of course was a limit on what was to be allowed and what wasn't but he doubted anyone would be permitted in outwardly hostile behavior that was completely unprovoked. At least never in front of him, whether it was to a Greek or a Roman for that matter.

He couldn't help but give a soft laugh at her mention of him being a special centurion. He was thankful his cohort wasn't around to hear it. "Nah, not at all. I honestly don't think anyone would care. I'm not exactly important enough for that." He hadn't said it to get sympathy, it had been the honest to gods truth and it never bothered him. He wasn't anyone in a seat of power. There would be no risk of clouded judgement for anything, nor would anyone care much about what he did. Though his friend might have a few choice words, he doubted it would ever go past the normal crap talking that they were usually oh-so fond of in their exchanges.

Castor nodded along as she spoke about her old camp. Nudging her shoulder playfully with his own as she mentioned he wouldn't be as good as she was. "Careful, you'll beat me in the running for most modest around here." He was enjoying talking with her. She had a way that made him feel at ease, in his element. It was almost effortless. He had been so at ease that as she asked him to sneak away for a swim it totally caught him off guard. A pleasantly shocked face came over him as he smirked, "And here I was thinking I was supposed to be the one who asked you out." He ran through a mental list of who was going to be on guard tonight.

If he was correct, it was someone who he could easily get to turn a blind eye to the infraction. A little bribe and they would be fine. He gave her a mischievous shrug, "I guess you'll just have to find out." Castor had a little trouble after that pulling his attention away from the very un-chivalrous thoughts that were currently in his brain to the question that she had asked him.

Taking a little longer to respond that he should have. He shook his head, "Not really. The camp sometimes has banquets after war games but usually if you want to dance you've got to sneak into New Rome." He had never attended anything larger than something a child of Bacchus threw in their barracks once but he enjoyed music and dancing. He had tried sneaking away to New Rome to a club, but the only time he had tried one of the ghosts turned him in immediately. "What about you guys? Don't tell me you have big camp dances and balls like in middle school?"

Castor nodded as she asked if he was a son of Mercury, giving a short laugh as she mentioned hiding her shiny things. "I said son of Mercury, not son of an ADD puppy dog, common mistake." He had never actually stolen anything in his entire life. In fact a lot of his siblings tended to be more apt into breaking into things versus thieving, he chalked it up to the whole Roman and Greek thing. He understood quickly why she had mentioned it though when she brought up her powers. "I assure you, I would never take anything that wasn't expressly given to me. That's not exactly my kind of thing." He gave her a soft smile as she made a little joke about being a downer and he shook his head, "I don't think you could be a downer if you tried."

Castor watched her face light up with surprise and he couldn't help but give her another grin. "Yeah, there's a few Venus and Apollo kids who have connections in the movie business. We get films that aren't even released to mortals yet." There were certainly perks to being a Roman and legacies were one of them. Whole families living inside of the New Rome, sometimes venturing out into the mortal world for careers and commuting back to be safe with their loved ones at night. From what he gathered, the Greeks didn't have anything even remotely similar. He couldn't imagine the loneliness that a life like that would bring. Scarlett mentioned she hadn't eaten in a restaurant in a long time, following it up with a question that had him shaking his head again, "Nah. Not in the least." He wanted to ask how long she had been at her old camp, but feared bringing it up again. Instead she spoke up, as if reading his mind.

A small line appeared between his furrowed brows. Why contain her like a dangerous animal? The question bouncing around in his head, irritation following it. He tried to phrase exactly what he wanted to say before asking, not wanting to make her upset at his implication. "They treated you different because of your parentage?" That was an area where his camp had most certainly gotten it right. You were treated accordingly to your skill and merits, lineage had almost nothing to do with it. She asked about Camp Jupiter doing the same and he again shook his head at the idea, "Nah. I mean, don't get me wrong, extra-curricular cardio isn't allowed per se but we have an entire city in New Rome to live in and raise our families inside."

He found himself chuckling at her mention of a third date. "I haven't even made it to the first and I'm being promoted to a third? It's the roguish good looks isn't it?" He was kidding of course. Even he didn't have an ego that massive. He didn't press further and she seemed content to move on from the heavier topic as well. There was always a time for that later, especially if she was giving him a third date.

Her words flirted with the thought of being with someone else and he raised his eyebrow. A pleased feeling swelling in his chest. She didn't seem like the kind of girl who would play coy and play games, but it was nice to actually here the words out loud. "Well, I'll try not to disappoint." She made a joke about being a daughter of the love goddess and he grinned. He wouldn't have pegged her for one in a million years, that was certain. She was much too fiery, much too bold and witty to be. He cocked his head to the side playfully, "You're awfully bold, are you sure you're not a Roman?"

Scarlett teasingly brought up Dareios and Castor would have rather taken a spatha to the knee than send her to talk to him about his friendliness. "We actually have two of them but if you do enjoy my dashingly handsome face I highly suggest not saying a word to either of them." He didn't think Morrigan would care too much, but he could only imagine the ways Dareios would get back at him.

He had focused back on the tour, casually answering her question and he was surprised when she stopped him, placing a hand softly on his arm. His face softened at the words and it struck him there in that moment how different their two lives were. "I'm glad I could help, but in this place we don't exactly value differences and uniqueness. We're all one part of a large team and knowing that some parts are less important than others is just how it is." He said it gently, not wanting to offend her. He could see why the notion might have offended her, but in their world it was a simple truth not a sad bleakness.

She bit her lip and he thought it was a little unfair how cute she was. That thought only amplified as she pretended to fling an invisible knife, rotating her wrist. "Hmm. No promises. Delicate motions aren't exactly a practiced skill here." Their ideas about training centered more on stabby-stab motions and not delicate and intricate weapons work. She asked if he would have asked her out and he tilted his chin towards her, a playful grin on his face, "What do you think?"

Her blue eyes were piercing and he had to force himself to look away, to actually do the thing he had been asked to do. Though, if he was being honest, he was enjoying simply walking with her. Task or no task, he wanted to be near her presence. He listened to her talk about her camp. There were certain similarities, though the differences far outweighed them. She mentioned sneaking into New Rome and he shook his head, "I wouldn't do it if I were you. They're going to have centurions posted around the clock, at least for the first few weeks."


He would know, his name being on the list multiple times. "I think your best option would be to talk a Bacchus kid into throwing something, not that I condone it of course." He winked at her. He wouldn't want her to get into trouble of course, but he also wouldn't mind the chance of seeing her pretty face while on duty. That was a nice thought that could get him through a few boring hours of rotation.