Another Son Of Hermes

Chapter 9

It was a strange and unfamiliar sensation, Rory thought, to be drawn to a person. Rory had spent so much of his life finding the company of others, though desirable, intimidating and exhausting. He'd so often found himself retreating to the comfortable safety of solitude so that he might regain his energy, always assuming he wouldn't be missed in the mean time. It was perhaps a self indulgent way of being, never really giving anything of himself to others- but taking very little too to keep the balance

But Arabella didn't give. She exuded. Every movement, every word, every thought she possessed was overflowing with energy. It poured out of her like water and from a seemingly infinite source. In the company of Arabella, it wasn't a case of taking, but being fortunate enough to exist within her vicinity. 

"What are you thinking about?" Arabella asked, looking up at Rory intently. They'd been sitting in the wheat field for about forty minutes having said very little to one another. Arabella lay casually on her stomach, her bare feet gently kicking the air while her shoes lay disregarded on the ground. She held her face in her palms, elbows pressing into the soft, dry soil and her painted fingers tapping absently at her cheeks.

"What's it to you?" he said after a moment's pause, having failed to fathom a convincing answer. He was hardly about to admit that he'd been thinking about her.

"Ah my dear Rory" she swung her legs round to sit up and shuffled closer toward him. "you," she paused "are deflecting." Rory tried not to flinch at her casual endearment and sudden proximity. My dear, she'd called him. Her blasé tone echoed in Rory's mind. 

"Well deflecting is much easier than lying." he replied "as you well know." 

That had caught her off guard.

"Touché" she whispered, and lowered her head, allowing Rory only a glimpse of her half smile. So it seemed they weren't to speak about it: whatever had been said in the iris message, that had made her so clearly upset, that had sent Rory running towards someone and not away, for the first time since perhaps, forever. He wondered if Arabella had that effect on everyone. For a moment a spark in the back of his mind felt it a shame he did not have such an effect on anyone himself.

"This light is lovely." Rory said, trying awkwardly to find conversation. The air around them was soft and golden, bathing them and their surroundings in a wash of saturation and adding a slight shimmer to the light that seemed to dance permanently around Arabella's hair. 

"Thank you." Arabella replied, amused. Rory looked at her bemusedly. It seemed unlikely he had accidentally voiced that last thought aloud. Seeing Rory's expression Arabella giggled, "it's me," she said. This only furthered Rory's confusion. "I'm controlling the light." Rory looked at her and then around him in disbelief. "It's only two in the afternoon Rory, it's hardly golden hour yet. My gods how long did you think we'd been sitting here?" she said teasingly.

"You can do that? Control the sun?"

"Not the whole sun, just the light as far as we can see." she explained "Some of us can do that, Apollo's kids I mean. When I was younger, before I came here, I didn't know how to control it and I would change the light without knowing, whenever I felt a strong emotion." She laughed. " Perfect summer days snapping into miserable grey because some kid told me I'd finished my turn on the swings. Can you believe I was that dramatic?"

"Yes." Rory said with certainty "I can absolutely believe that."

Arabella made an attempt at pretending to be offended before breaking into a smile. A real smile this time. She looked at Rory and straight into his eyes with an ease that astounded him. He challenged himself to hold her gaze, to let her notice him. Rory didn't believe there was anything about him worth noticing and yet Arabella seemed so keen to find it. 

"You're an enigma Rory De'Ath." she told him calmly. Rory started. That was a first. Rory ducked his head, pretending to be distracted by something between his knees. Challenge failed, he thought, defeatedly. 

"I suspect you overestimate me Ari" 

"No." her tone was unchanged. "I really don't think I do." She stood slowly then held out her hand to his. He regarded her hand momentarily before taking it, shocked by Arabella's warmth, and stood with her. 

"We've quite a while until the game ends I imagine." she said "I've known capture the flag games that could have lasted days had Chiron not put a stop to them. Do you feel like exploring or-" Arabella faltered in a way that seemed most out of character "or would you prefer to go back and join them?" Rory squeezed her hand.

"You lead the way."