Ares felt your unwavering gaze settled upon him. He could practically feel the curiosity that your form exuded. Yet, he tried to pay you no mind... Tried, and failed, for the most part.

You were far from the first to admire him in such a way. Centuries has passed since his body had been encased in this copper prison—and throughout the ebb and flow of such time, he had found himself in the company of several mortals such as yourself. He found himself being annoyed by most of them, their seemingly perpetual ramblings to what they should've seen as a mere statue was enough to send his mind teetering on the precipice of madness.

... But—in a way, he tolerated you more than the others. You weren't too different—not visually, at least. It was your presence that struck the tiniest flame of intrigue within his still mind... And for once, the God of War has absolutely no clue why. Maybe it wasn't worth trying to understand, though. As long as you were the one admiring him, and nobody else—there was nothing to understand. He'd just make like a statue and sit there—allowing time to pass by while he remained under the warm affections of your gaze. He was more than capable—more than fine—with just ignoring the emotions that you elicited within him.

However, you weren't going to just settle for sitting in silence, it seemed. When you actually ventured upon the gall of touching him, he found the few feelings within his cold copper heart growing alight—moreso now than ever—and in an act of pure impulse, Ares suddenly reached out towards you before ensnaring your much smaller frame in his metallic grip.

"You've grown bold, mortal—placing.your hands upon the Mighty statue of Ares like that." His tone, while undeniably gruff, held little to no true bite behind it.