The Hound of the Baskervilles [Ares]

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Ares, when asked why he was here, didn't have to think twice about it. He was here for one reason and one reason only. But why he was here in human form was the real question. However, she didn't ask that one.

"Have you not heard? Have you not seen? Are you that out of everything!? A war is about to unfold!" Ares may have raised his voice a little louder than was necessary. He had a fair reason too, if you asked him. As the God of war it wasn't just his job, but his duty and his way of life to be at a battleground when the war broke out. It was head start, coming down in human form and observing this side.

Did he start wars? No - that was not what the God did, contrary to popular belief. He just watched over wars once they were started, and depending on who the Gods needed to win, he would take a side. Normally, being the rebel he was, he took the side against the rest of the Gods - and especially the opposite side of whichever Athena took. Sure, he had lost a couple wars because of that stubborn streak, but no one could say it was an easy win for the other, either.

He really couldn't expect the girl to know anything about the upcoming war though. It seemed like she had been in this library for hours before he had arrived...whose to say she ever left? She probably spent the night here. He found that incredibly annoying - she seemed like the introverted type, and as an extremely outgoing, loud, crazy extrovert, Ares didn't do well with quiet, introverted people.

Mostly because they found him a little...intimidating. If not intimidating, then at least loud and possibly obnoxious, with quite a bit of an ego problem. But, hey, can't please everyone.

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"Have you not heard? Have you not seen? Are you that out of everything!? A war is about to unfold!"

Belle simply waited for him to finish. She had heard a few things involving a war, but not enough to tell her that it involved Tintagel Academy, and that it would be transpiring soon.

"Forgive me. I only arrived a short time ago, and the people I've talked to never mentioned anything about a war." Which was true, and it made her wonder why when she registered for classes that she wasn't told of the oncoming battle. Surely that was something someone should be informed of...right?

She could understand now why he seemed so...passionate? He was the God of War.. and one was unfolding here very soon by the sounds of things. She could forgive him his brashness in lieu of that.

Belle remembered how there had seemed to be a small decrease in students in some of her classes, and now she was sure the answer was the war. They had probably left the Academy for safety reasons. Though many had stayed as well.
Belle was not a warrior by any means, but she had no intention of running scared. Fleeing to safety out of fear? Belle scoffed at the thought. She bared no ill will towards those who did, but fear wasn't her nature. Curiosity? surely. A crave for adventure? Most definitely. But fear..? No one ever had some beautiful and dangerous adventure, or done something daring and reckless by being cowardly and afraid..

No. Belle would be staying to the wartorn end.

"So, thats why you're here? The war? It would only make sense. Some great war unfolding here, only natural the God of War would be here I suppose. And you'd probably know more about than anyone. So, if I may ask, why is there a war? I'm sure I sound a fool, but I really haven't heard more than a snippet about it until now..." She commented.

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The people she had seen had not mentioned the war? What kind of imbeciles was she talking to!? Obviously no one who thought it was as big a deal as he did.

Ares then took a moment to rethink. He couldn't expect the girl to know much about the war; no one probably told her anything in fear that she would worry or get fearful. A war was no place for women.

"Most of the women are being sent off to the island of Lanisport, for safety. Women don't belong on the battlefield. I'm guessing everyone is busy preparing, but you'll soon be able to catch your ship out." Ever since the beginning of time - or at least the birth of Athena - Ares was determined that a war zone was no place for women to get involved and wield their wild ways. Just look at the Trojan War...women did nothing but get in the way, even if they didn't mean to.

Surely this girl wouldn't want to stay. She seemed much too...quiet and naive for such a nasty thing as War. He had a connection and emotional feeling for war and battles like no one else did - and certainly no girl would understand or feel the same.

Ares knew that quite a few of the women and girls had already left for the island - mostly the princesses. They couldn't go home because of the portals being closed, so the island was as good as they had. There was an ache in his intuition that said the island would end up being the deciding point - either the savior or the downfall of Trenale.

Ares had not had the best of luck on picking winning sides in the past; so his decision on which side to take still floated around in his head. Obviously the army of Wayron seemed stronger and the most favorable. Ares knew a strong army when he saw one. He also knew that Trenale really didn't have much of an army - so far it was just a bunch of punk princes who thought they needed to be heroic. Would that be enough? Couldn't be. Not against the whole army of King Willhelm. Time was upon them, as the enemy was camped right outside Trenale borders...and this girl had hard nothing?! It still astounded him.

Made him almost angry. Ares held it back though as he tried to explain the purpose of the war to her.

"It's King Willhelm of Wayron. He send an army to invade because he wants control of Trenale. He gave anyone who wants to the option to surrender - the rest must prepare for war. It's nothing more that a greedy land war. But, most wars either start or end that way. It will be interesting, seeing an actual army go up against these princes who wanna be heroic soldiers." He said with slight annoyance ringing in his voice.

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"Most of the women are being sent off to the island of Lanisport, for safety. Women don't belong on the battlefield. I'm guessing everyone is busy preparing, but you'll soon be able to catch your ship out."

Catch her ship out? Nonsense. Belle was going nowhere. She wasn't afraid of any war.

"Who said I was going anywhere? I have no intention of leaving. War or not, I'm not going to run to some island like a helpless child." She commented plainly. War was noble, to a degree, if somewhat barbaric. It showed the true colors of a people. What they were willing to fight and die for. She had read many a book involving wars. Beyond the blood and steel, there was passion, and heart. They were full of bravery and courage. It could bring out the best and most heroic people, but it could also bring out the worst. No. Belle would not be leaving.

"It's King Willhelm of Wayron. He send an army to invade because he wants control of Trenale. He gave anyone who wants to the option to surrender - the rest must prepare for war. It's nothing more that a greedy land war. But, most wars either start or end that way. It will be interesting, seeing an actual army go up against these princes who wanna be heroic soldiers." He said with slight annoyance ringing in his voice.

Belle smiled. "And they either will become the heroic soldiers they think they are, or they won't. It's very likely some will die, but if you die fighting for something you care about, or something you believe in, is it really all that bad? To die with honor and in battle is nobler than dying a coward with your dignity tucked between your legs like a dogs tail."

Though Belle seemed quiet and bookish, which at time she was, she was headstrong and brave. Introvertedly extroverted. By appearance she certainly seemed delicate, but she was anything but. She was no princess, or swoony maiden. She was the daughter of a daft old inventor, who grew up an outcast. If there was anything in Belle worth mentioning, it was the fight in her.

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This one had no intention of leaving the battle scene. That was either noble, or foolish. If it wasn't for his sisters, no woman would ever stay in a place of war and battle. Back in his time, it was unheard of, but as Athena, Artemis, and the others focused on the rights of the women, it had come to pass that they could do what they please.

And that was really no good. They were absolutely useless in the battlefield. In other ways of life, sure, they could do whatever they wanted. But war and battle was his turf, and although he usually shared it with his obnoxious sister, he was still the big fish when it came to fighting. Women were the cause of wars in time past, not the heroes of them.

"War or not - there is no question. There is a war approaching. And as much as I would like to say that the end will be favorable for Trenale...I have my doubts. Even I can't judge the winner as of now, but even if Trenale does prevail...it won't be without some consequences." He said bluntly. As violent and disturbingly grotesque as he may be, he didn't like the idea of a woman getting injured because of his wars. It wasn't the innocent that deserved to suffer. It was the villains, thieves, scoundrels...and of course all those that had done the War God injustice. He mostly focused on the last one. No one could insult a god of Olympus and get away with it. There were harsh consequences for such an outrage. Most of them had something to do with torture or death. It was best to leave that out of his talks with the lady, though. Even though Ares wasn't the only one that enjoyed pain, suffering and torture (the rest of the gods and goddesses used them just as often), he was one of the worst.

The woman seemed to stand up for the soldiers of Trenale. Heroic soldiers, indeed. He had seen the princes and so-called "soldiers" of this place. Sure, some of them held promise. Some of them wouldn't be bad. A select few would even be great. But as for the majority...they were young. They were inexperienced. They were used to fairy-tales, happily ever afters and the life of luxury. The fact that she even tried to compensate for them being soldiers, nonetheless heroic ones...well, it was an annoying sense of hope she had.

Ares shrugged. "But what is cowardice in comparison to stupidity? To go into something knowing death is more than a risk - a high probability. Only those that are confident in victory should be going out to fight. And I know many of these men are not. They are questioning sides, as are most of us. The gods are starting to pick sides, as well. When we get involved in the battle...many different things could happen. Unless Zeus calls us off, like he has in the past. But that's no fun, leaving it to the mortals." he smirked.

It seemed to Ares that they both didn't come off with the best first impressions. Obviously the girl had a hidden courage and spark that he had missed before. Instead he only saw a nerdy girl with books who, by that context, should have been quiet and compliant. He instead found her difficult, and even challenging. He knew about how/where she grew up, of course, being all-seeing and whatnot, but he didn't pay much attention. Of the many people of the world, a nerdy girl with books wasn't much on Ares scale.

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She noticed the small fliicker of shock across his face when she said she would not be leaving to the island with the other women. What reason did she have to go though? Yes there was a war coming, and yes if she stayed she could most certainly die. But to Belle, that was not reason enough to pack up and leave.

"War or not - there is no question. There is a war approaching. And as much as I would like to say that the end will be favorable for Trenale...I have my doubts. Even I can't judge the winner as of now, but even if Trenale does prevail...it won't be without some consequences."

"No war is without consequences of some form. Lives are going to be lost on both sides." She added.

"But what is cowardice in comparison to stupidity? To go into something knowing death is more than a risk - a high probability. Only those that are confident in victory should be going out to fight. And I know many of these men are not. They are questioning sides, as are most of us. The gods are starting to pick sides, as well. When we get involved in the battle...many different things could happen. Unless Zeus calls us off, like he has in the past. But that's no fun, leaving it to the mortals."

" But that's the point. They know almost certainly that they might die, but yet they go to war regardless. It may be stupid indeed but it is also brave. And who is to say that confidence is worth anything on the battlefield? Most of those that seem confident are more often cocky than anything. They have to much belief that they can do anything, that they are untouchable. Cockiness gets people killed. There is a fine line between stupidity and bravery, and more often than not it gets blurred in situations like this. If you go to war, knowing you may be some of the first to die, does that not count for something? "

It seemed this was an argument he hadn't had before. Surely it did seem that she was sticking up for the princes that were going to war, and in a manner she was. Everyone had a right to go to war, if they saw fit to do so. Whether they were silly princes trying to prove something, or not.

Belle was glad her fist impression of him hadn't been the real thing. He had come off snobbish and crude. And up until now, she didn't want anything to do with him, but now she was seeing a different side of him. One not so brash, but intelligent and passionate. Though his passion was geared towards war, but passionate none the less. He wasn't so irritating and insufferable now. The possibility of some kind of friendship was becoming a nice prospect.

Eventually, Belle abandoned the bookcase she was leaning on and sat on the table across from Ares.

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He still felt like arguing on the matter of her staying; she should leave the island. What good did she honestly thing she was going to do by staying here? None - in fact, she was likely to get in the way more than do anything helpful or productive. Most people would find it courageous that she wanted to stay, but not Ares.

Of course deaths would happen on both sides, but one side would obviously lose more than the other. When it came down to it, there was no doubt it would be Trenale that would be the underdogs in the fight.

"The loss of lives could be avoided if they would just surrender to the King. It's the smart thing to do." He grumbled.

Knowing that one was going to die was just more idiotic than going into war with a hope. Being confident in winning was the key to winning. Without confidence, none of the warriors would be brave or strong enough to even have a chance. Of course one couldn't be cocky. That was the god's job. (Obviously, as Ares did it very well.) There was a fine line. When a warrior is confident, the gods aid them. When they get too cocky, the gods smite them. Humans need to be put in their place when their egos get too large. The gods, however - they can have as big of egos as they want. They can back it up. Ares especially believed this.

"The confidence get help. The cocky get beaten. I agree that it's a fine line and a difference, but being sure of death is neither, and just as equally ridiculous and idiotic as being cocky is. The gods put no faith into those that have no faith in themselves. Wilhelm's army will be backed by a number of gods because of that, myself included. Of course some of my brothers and sisters will take the side of Trenale. Athena, especially, even if just to spite me. But my children and I will take the side of Wilhelm, I have decided. Thats why I urge you to get out - he will not stop until the end."

How the girl would handle the sudden decision he had made to go to the other side would be a toss up. But from what he had gathered she had what seemed to be a loyal personality, even if she didn't really know what was going on, he had a feeling she would be angry. It wasn't like he would help Wilhelm - unless he needed it. Which would be rare, he thought, considering how much of an advantage he was already at.

Ares was a brute no matter how anyone looked at it. He was the God of War; that was hid duty, job, and life. It was who he was, and he was meant to take a side. A side that may or may not decide the fate of everything. It also didn't matter to him what anyone thought, even the girl in front of him, although he supposed it would be interesting. He knew that his choice was his own and that his children, at the least, would follow his decision. Adrestia, especially, followed him into battle almost every time, and although he held strong on his beliefs about women and warfare, he couldn't convince his daughter to step down. A proud father he was of her, and it was the only exception he would make to his rule.

Even though Belle came closer, seeming more at ease, Ares remained stiff. It seemed like he was never in a state of relaxation, no matter how he played it off in his voice. He never got stressed, but he was always on guard.