Camp Half-Blood: Into the Storm - Closed!

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ！！ x─────ix ♔
x──────i ii zeus iii eighteen. iiii tags: auggie, reese.
ivi dining pavilion.

as bodies piled to pry the limp girl from auggie's arms, as speech rumbled over a fugue and cloud, orin found himself returning to the present. there was no alleyway. there was only the time that ticked swiftly onwards, making its march, and these seconds were ones that counted. a make-or-break sort of deal, where everything was awful and there was doubt as to whether it was going to get better and he had to pull the levers to keep the ship from sinking. you look like the wreck of the hesperus. shut up. not helping.

his legs moved him forward, for once adhering to the orders his brain sent them. kneeled at her side. "augs," repeated. he didn't know what had happened. he didn't think he cared. she could have a let a bomb off, for all he cared. she could have thrown a molotov cocktail into a nursing home and he wouldn't have worried himself for a second, because she was crying, and the tears were worse than the blood.

couldn't quite tell her it was alright, because that was a lie. there were people panicking around them, frantic and shouty and too quick. instead, he threw any caution about volatility and ticking time bombs to the wind and wrapped his arms around her, pulled her head against his chest. "i don't know what happened," he said, his voice only quiet enough to vibrate the immediate air bubble around them. "i'm not gonna tell you it doesn't matter, i'm not gonna tell you it's fine." there wasn't much he could say in lieu of that, to be frank. but he could make an attempt. what use was a marathon mouth, otherwise? "i am so sorry." sorry that it had happened, that something had caused it to happen, that the fallout from what had happened was happening, that everything was cruel and time refused to stop for anyone. "tell me what you need me to do." his throat closed, his voice crackled. difficult. "d'you wanna go somewhere quieter?"

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐳 ！！ x─────ix ♘
x──────i ii ares. iii eighteen. iiii tags: vittorio, lucy, cain.
ivi mess hall.

tori had made his mark on the people at camp. with any luck, that would stick. he didn't particularly want the kid to have to deal with the mess that came with being new. not that leo had gone through it, particularly, but he'd seen it. there were too many bouts of mischief toward the newbies to count. something about new faces seemed to light a fire underneath the hermes cabin, and with any luck, that smoke would be avoided.

lucy made to leave, vittorio asking questions about an injured arm that leo hadn't even noticed, and his eyes started to wander. hair stood up on the back of his neck, the feeling of being watched from afar solidified when he caught sight of orin, glaring daggers in the direction of the table. "i don't think anyone likes dead -" his breath caught, as though he had been hit in the back, had the wind knocked out of him. a wheeze and a cough and it was back, oxygen returned as though it had never left in the first place. "sorry. must've - breathed through the wrong pipe." he grumbled. odd.

"cold in the cave, then?" he asked, idle conversation coming a little more difficult than it normally was. it was difficult normally, but now it was worse. "must get pretty drafty in there. you got a space heater?" there was a scream outside. movement in the mess hall. leo did not move, just stared expectantly at cain. when was someone not screaming for help in this place?

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 ！！ x─────ix ♅
x──────i ii janus. iii sixteen. iiii tags: emmie. ivi cabin eleven.

she was bold, he would give her that one for free. "what were you thinking? i know that greeks were big into their wrestling, but i'm not really sure if that's my thing," his eyebrows shot up at the mere thought. "you wanna have a fist fight with the pride of jupiter? how could i knock that face out? i'd feel bad,"

things could have gone a lot worse for the two of them, but they hadn't. that was what conan chose to focus on. they had made it to camp jupiter, landed in high regard, and now they were in the middle of an unprecedented turn of winter with a load of strangers under attack by dead people and creatures made of icy wind. that last bit was probably something to move on from. "dunno what i would've done without him. lupa would've eaten me alive, for a start. she would've smelt blood in the water and down i would'a gone,"

she seemed a little hesitant. that was understandable. "i'm not saying it'll go great," he backtracked a little. "it's hard, y'know? when people feel like they've been seen, they can act like a cornered animal. they get angry because, well, how dare you point out that things aren't perfect, especially when they're the type to act like everything's fine." he took a breath. "but those're the people you have to worry about. the ones that're hard to see through most of the time. has anything ever seemed wrong with him before?" he didn't wait for a response. "and if not, y'have to ask how bad it's gotten for that mask to crack." a moment of wisdom. those were normally reserved for aldous, but conan had his moments. "it's not your responsibility. you have to look after yourself. but it's just... it's one of those things."

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬 ！！ x─────ix ♖
x──────i ii thanatos. iii seventeen. iiii tags: moxie, clive, aiden, ash.
ivi outside the hampton inn, the van.

"you can get them darned," teilo said in regard to the holes in the socks. when it came to the blood, another solution. "and white vinegar can get blood out of fabric. they're not beyond saving." it seemed the only thing he knew in this situation. the repeat of what had happened by aiden seemed unnecessary. "very good. well-remembered. we'll make a journalist of you yet." moxie was, admittedly, looking rather more transparent than she had when she had arrived, and when she voiced her concerns, teilo shrugged a shoulder. "you've worn yourself out. i dunno how ghosts rest, but you probably need a recharge. need to stick your hand in an outlet, or something."

the explanation made sense. it was entirely possible that that was what was going on. "he's been going for years, though," teilo said. "i don't..." questions, but no answers. "feels like a hell of a lot more baloney than just... sending godly goonies out to do your bidding for you." he pursed his lips, shook his head. "lying is a habit of people who fear the mortal repercussions of the truth, aiden. dead people don't tend to have any reason to lie. she's a demigod, anyway. and a bit more useful than..." he waved at clive, who took it upon himself to look immortally offended.

someone emerged from the hotel. ash - and that meant that others were likely behind. enough nattering, then. teilo stepped out of the van, waved in the son of hypnos' direction. "get in. what's taking you all so bleeding long? got no sense about any of you." and back into the drivers' seat he went, whacking the heating up to full for the benefit of the oncoming arrivals from the cold.

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬

[✩]17|she/her|Hades|Head Counsellor|outside dining pavilion|tags: Orin

Everything was too loud and too quiet all at once. There were people crowded around, voices were talking—giving orders, asking questions—but all Auggie could hear was the ringing in her ears. All she could see was the fear in Stella’s eyes, the way she’d stood there, frozen in the brief second before reality had caved in, the world ending again. Reese and the others were taking care of her now, though she wasn’t sure there was actually that much they could do. Evidently the conclusion had been made that the blood on her hands and clothes wasn't her own, and Auggie was alone. Until she wasn’t.

She nearly flinched at the sound of Orin’s voice, and then he was pulling her tightly to him. Her first instinct should’ve been to pull away, but of course it wasn’t. He must not have seen what had happened. He couldn’t have seen because if he had, he wouldn’t be doing what he was now. He didn’t lie to her and tell her everything was okay when it so clearly wasn’t, he was just there. He didn’t even have to know what was going on, he just knew something was wrong and was immediately there. She couldn't have asked for any more than that, and the comfort was almost infuriating. It would've been easier if it was, if she could be angry about it and lash out the way she did to almost anyone else who came near her. It would've been easier to feel anything other than what she did, but that wasn't possible. There was safety in anger, a wall that had long since crumbled in Orin's presence. If he so stubbornly refused to see her for what she was, she should've made him. He’d be afraid of her eventually, why not get it over with? She didn’t want to. She was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that she didn't want Orin to see her as a monster. It didn't matter what anyone else thought, she didn't want him to fear her.

She let herself be enveloped by his warmth, head leaning against his chest, giving in to the desire to give herself a chance to breathe, to wait it out until everything went quiet, just long enough for the incessant ringing in her ears to stop. He confirmed that he didn’t know what had happened and for a moment, there was relief. She didn’t have to explain, she didn’t have to say anything. She still had a chance. But he’d been through enough already, she didn’t want to be the cause of more pain for him. She almost nodded to his question, then her thoughts caught up to her, stuttering to a halt, the cold seeping back in.

“No.” She pulled away from him, ignoring the internal scream of protest. “No, you need to go. Leave.” She swiped the sleeve of her hoodie across her face, wincing at the sight of the blood covering her hands before finally meeting his gaze. She knew there was no way she could mask the fear in her eyes, no way that she could hide any of it from him, but she could try. She had to. “I’m fine. It’s fine. Don’t—” Her voice was unsteady, the more she tried to control it the worse it got. Her words weren’t believable at all, but they didn’t have to be. She just needed him to listen, for once in his life, to have an ounce of self-preservation instincts. It was difficult to sound like she meant it when there was nothing she wanted less than what she was saying, but she had to protect him. She broke everything she touched, the thought that she could have one good thing had been nothing more than a delusion, and she’d just proven that. “Leave me alone.” Her voice cracked, betraying the contradiction in her head. She would hurt him, maybe he couldn’t see that yet, but she could, and she wasn’t going to sit back and let it happen.

━━━ 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

[✿]16|he/him|Iris|Hampton Inn, dining room|tags: Karter, Aggy, Mira, Ash, etc.

It would’ve been too good to be true if they’d all made it out safely, of course the new arrivals were still stuck inside. Though he appreciated the heroics, respected the others for having that ability to throw themselves into a fight and not act as cowardly as he did, it was starting to seem incredibly inconvenient. Clearly, none of them had ever learnt the delicate art of running away. If they could all get themselves into the van they could make a break for it, get away from the harpies and the problem was solved. But it was never that simple.

Jamie cast a worried glance at Mira when she spoke, his frown only deepening. He briefly considered offering to wait with her, just in case, but what was he going to do if more monsters came? She could handle herself, he’d only get in the way. It was probably better to follow Ash’s lead and get to the van. “Alright, let’s go,” he said, voice coming out in an incredibly macho squeak. He cleared his throat before starting towards the vehicle, glancing back to make sure Karter and Aggy were with him.

━━━ 𝐕𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳

[♠]16|he/him|Ares|dining pavilion|tags: Leo, Lucy, Cain

Vittorio would’ve been embarrassed that Cain had overheard them if he wasn’t still so in awe of the man before him—or in shock that he was real, one of the two. “He just—” He couldn’t exactly explain why the cave dwelling painter had been mentioned, or that Tori hadn’t really believed he’d existed without raising some awkward questions. So, he let the words die on his tongue, pursing his lips and choosing to remain silent. It was difficult to figure out the relationship between Lucy and the painter, she seemed adamant that he didn’t deserve to sit on the floor—reasonable enough—but her words sounded more like demands than kindness. He wasn’t sure what to make of her, but he didn’t have much time to think on it before she was vacating the table, making a comment that sent a chill down his spine.

Once she was gone, Vittorio turned his attention back to Cain. The man was incredibly strange, but he assumed living in a cave would do that to a person. “Those things bite?” He grimaced. Leo started to cough and he was briefly distracted, face twisting in concern. “Are you—” The answer came rather quickly, and though it sounded a bit strained, Leo seemed eager to move the conversation on. The question made Tori’s eyes widen, looking back at Cain. He couldn’t really just live in an uninsulated cave, could he? Surely not in weather like this. It seemed unethical, making a person stay in a cave. Unless it was his own choice. Either this place was more devoid of morals than he’d thought, or the man sitting in front of him was completely deranged. “It’s not...it’s not really a cave cave is it?” He asked, then cringed at how callous the question sounded. As strange as everything else had been, he was still hinging on the hope that this “cave” was simply a moniker for some kind of dark basement suite or something similar. Next they'd be telling him the man could also shape-shift into a bear.

[*Lovel*]

〖 ☾ 〗Ash Davis〖 ☾ 〗

Son of Hypnos ☼☽ Cabin 15 ☼☽ 17 ☼☽ Bisexual

☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆═━┈┈━═☆

Tags: Van peeps
Location: Van

"How many of those blasted bats are there?" the annoyance was evident in his tone. He was getting sick of the monsters already, he wanted to leave. Ash turned as Mira spoke in between teeth clattering. He pulled a jacket out of his bag and slung over her shoulders. "You get them fast and make it back here before I finish spelling supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." he said squeezing her shoulders before turning to the sound of Teilo's voice. Thank the gods although he was happy to hear the other boys voice it sent a pounding to his ears.

Ash flew the door open for himself and the others then climbed into the seat behind Teilo. "A bunch of bloody harpies is what was taking so long." he laid his head back catching his breath. The cold was making his lungs sting has it gotten colder in the last couple hours? he shivered at the thought. "Mira went to go collect tweedle dee and tweedle dum. They stayed behind a little longer to whack the stragglers."

Ash peered at Teilo in the rearview mirror. He wanted to sit in the passenger seat, to ask him what he figured out. But, that was Mira's spot. She needed it and the group needed it. He couldn't be selfish and take it although he itched to.

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ！！ x─────ix ♔
x──────i ii zeus iii eighteen. iiii tags: auggie.
ivi dining pavilion.

for a glimmering second, it seemed as though auggie was allowing the comfort. miraculous. and then she was pulling away, telling him to get lost. predicted. he let her go, watched the cogs turn behind wild and panicked eyes as outside of the bubble, the world that he had returned to was collapsing. she insisted that it was fine while the lacquered blood still settled warm and wet on her hands. a contradiction, or a plea, or self-sabotage.

"yeah?" a glance up at the impenetrable white sky. "where d'you think? moscow? kilimanjaro? sumatra? stornoway?" the world was his oyster. could go anywhere. had a passport, had the drive to make an exit fit for a truly exiled man. "i'll just go, leave you to it, will i? will i piss." it was an idea outside the realms of possibility. it wasn't an option. crow was gone, he wasn't going to lose auggie as well. he wouldn't let that happen. he caught her eye, watched the fear blossom, clung to it as a lifeboat in troubled waters. "d'you really believe i would?" not by choice, anyway. "that i could?"

it was a mess, and not the best place for a real heart-to-heart, a proper conversation. not with the panicked bustle, the blood. "leaving sounds a dream. leaving sounds the best idea anyone's ever had, but not without you. imagine me, out there on my own. i can't assassinate a politician on my lonesome, can i? i'd mess it all up." his face crumpled, calm expressions failing him. he wasn't frightened so much of the mess that had been made as he was of the prospect of leaving her alone in it. "whatever it is, or was, or might be, i don't care, i'm not letting you slip through my fingers."

[No one]

Bit of a writer’s block so sorry that there super short.

Rexxington Repimus

18 years old/August 13th/Male (he, him)/Pansexual, Demisexual with a slight male lean/Cabin 1: Zeus/Pet: Kordia (Munchkin Cat)/Location: Camp Half Blood/Tags: Press, Hunter/4 beads

Rex looked to him and then looked to Hunter. Rex said, “Yes were all happy your here whether your godly parent has claimed you or not. Your a valued camper here and in time you’ll learn to earn your rank here.” He looked around and then said scratching the back of his neck, “So... where did you come from Hunter?” He turned to Press and said, “It took a bit for Zeus to claim me so don’t worry about it, you’ll get there.”

Ava Fisher

17 years old/July 13th/Female (she, her, they, them)/Pansexual/Cabin 6: Athena/No Pets Currently/Location: Camp Half Blood/Tags: Kaden/6 beads

Ava Nods and says, “Definitely. Things like that help teach you morals as well to live by. Here’s one I learned from it. Always enjoy every moment of life even in the bad times. That’s my moral of that situation. I mean, I’m not here to talk about all my stuff, but you might wanna remember that because you never know when you might be in those situations.”

Presley “Press” Weston

14 years old/October 12th/Male (they, them, he, him)/Pansexual/Cabin 11: Hermes (Apollo is Godly Parent)/Chase: German Shepherd, MoonWatcher: Pegasus/Location: Camp Half Blood/Tags: Rex, Hunter/0 beads

Press shrugged and said, “That’s how life is. I’ve grown to hate life itself. I only see the evil in life and can’t find any good. Besides I’m better off not trying to find it. Heck my godly parent doesn’t even want me. IF they did they would have claimed me by now.” He growled and then said gruffly, “But I guess I’m glad to have a home that I can stay in for good now instead of moving around.”

Quote for Sun!

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬

[✩]17|she/her|Hades|Head Counsellor|outside dining pavilion|tags: Orin

Of course he didn’t listen. She hadn’t really expected him to, but she needed him to. There were sirens in her head, a memory and a warning, reminding her of what she was and what she did, of the patterns that repeated over and over. At first, when his answer came, she just stared at him, trying to process the response through a haze of blood and commotion, inside and outside of her head. The sarcasm was expected, but if he’d just do what she was asking it would be fine. If she could just ignore the vice around her throat, the knife lodged between her ribs, the voice screaming at her to take it back.

“Please. You have to. You have to, I don’t wanna hurt you.” He didn’t get it. She couldn’t explain it. She had to. “That was— I’m the one who—” She cast a glance back towards Stella and then quickly away. There were too many people around the collapsed girl, she couldn’t see anything now, but it was still in her mind. The stunned look in her eyes, the endless flow of blood pouring out onto the snow, the blood that was still covering her shaking hands. “No,” she answered, voice crackling as she stared down at them. “But you have to.”

She wasn’t really being left behind if she was asking for it, that had always been her logic. Nobody could hurt her if she hurt them first. The only issue was that she’d found someone she didn’t actually want to hurt. And she didn’t really want him to leave either, that much was obvious, but it didn’t matter what she wanted. Part of her felt a surge of relief, of comfort, at his insistence on not leaving her. But the wave of anger that came was stronger, it always had been. Because that was the part that protected her and everyone else. “Just listen to me.” The fear was replaced by something else, a flame that usually burned just below the surface, her voice full of venom that she’d never wanted to aim at him. “I’m trying to protect you, why can’t you just listen, you stupid—” She looked up, caught his gaze and lost whatever halfhearted insult she’d been about to spit. Because he looked afraid, but he didn’t look afraid of her. She was trying to stop him from having to deal with more than what he’d already been through, and she was only making it worse. Typical. “You’d be fine without me. You’ve been fine without me." She was pleading now, the anger melted away instantly, because it hadn't really been meant for him in the first place. “I don’t want that—” Another glance towards the chaos was followed by immediate regret, a slight wince. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Her voice was quiet now, a sign of resignation or fear of being found out, of one of the others overhearing and putting the pieces together about what had happened to Stella.

[sunhorsestar]

Karter Zael | Hades | Tagging: Quest Group | Location: Hampton Inn


Karter's face flushed. "I know how to get out!" He grumbled, a reflex reaction, act like he’s not clueless. Nah. The group would be able to piece it together when he was completely lost, and they needed to stick together and work as a team in times of chaos. Then he ducked his head. "Okay. No I didn’t. Thanks." He started towards the exit. When the question about Ash was posed, he shook his head. "I wish I could tell ya." He glanced at Aggy and smirked dryly in response to the commentary. "Thanks." He wasn’t above a bit of banter, in fact, he enjoyed it, but it’d have to wait, just for a while.

Karter stopped in his tracks, glancing at the shivering Mirabelle with what could’ve ALMOST been discerned as a flicker of concern. They didn’t need to lose their teammates, one way or another. "Do you want me to come with? I'm still decent." Having had a few minutes to recover from the shadow-travel, plus his adrenaline rush, he would be okay for a few more minutes, though no doubt when it wore off he’d go down for a bit.

Personally, Karter quite liked the idea of running away, but surely the harpies would only follow them either way if they weren’t eliminated here, and Karter had no desire to become lunch. On second thought, was he really needed, or would that just be splitting the group up needlessly?Mira had gone before Karter had the chance to follow her though either way. If she was just collecting people, it wouldn’t be hard to sneak in, sneak out, right? A flicker of guilt made his skin prickle, but he retreated for now.

[Deoledath]

| Drew Byrne | 16 | He/Him/His | Athena | Location: Dining Pavilion | Tags: Chuck |

Drew watched as Luna jumped on him and the satyr gave into her demands. So he wasn’t the only enabler! He knew people like Ambrose didn’t necessarily care for her antics but the goatman seemed to. He was still getting used to that, even after a couple of years… half man, half goat. “I know some people here get fussy about her jumping like that.” He informed the satyr before starting his ramble.

Chuck seemed to process the question and the look on his face was enough to put alarm on Drew’s features as well. He did know if they had a satyr with them, right? The dread formed in the pit of his stomach as well. Sure, some of the campers had more experience… but there were also new kids, fresh meat for lack of better words… the gods could chew them up and spit them out if they wanted to because while they were demigods, their parents were gods and goddesses. He chuckled nervously and Luna let out a soft whine, sensing the change in mood as she padded back over to sit next to Drew’s leg. “Should we check with Mr. D? I mean, surely it’s not too late to send one out if they don’t have a satyr with them?” It would make him feel a little better. “There are some capable kids on that quest… but I’m just worried about my fellow campers, especially the members of my cabin.” His half-siblings. “I mean I don’t know all of the satyrs like you do but I’m sure you could be right.” He offered helpfully though he didn’t feel much like he was being helpful at all.

[sammy,]

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ！！ x─────ix ♔
x──────i ii zeus iii eighteen. iiii tags: auggie.
ivi outside dining pavilion.

the plea was a little too much. there came a fragment of an explanation, like the bloodied hands and the tears and the broken heart that sat shining in amidst all of the snow weren't enough context clues to piece the puzzle back together. maybe not a puzzle. maybe a teacup, shattered against hard and unforgiving ground. it didn't matter what had happened. things were always happening, when living. he just wanted to know what was coming next. he wanted to know that he wasn't going to walk out of the border on his own. "who says?" he asked. "who's telling you that i have to? who's telling you that i'm gonna listen?"

the aggravation at rooted feet that refused their exile was expected. something in her chest had been fed on bile and acid for a very long time and now it was spitting it from its ventricles. that wouldn't do. "i am listening," though orin might as well have had his fingers in his ears and a song in his throat, because the substance was going in one ear and straight out of the other. stupid. that fit the bill. "but i don't want to. so i think we're at a crossroads, here. i'm not - i'm not -"

that bitter laugh nearly made its appearance again, suddenly a principal role in the play of his vocals. "have i?" even without the eternity in the equation, he didn't think that 'fine' was the right word. coping. pretending just well enough to believe the charade himself. the rage was gone, replaced by something a little more painful. "look at me, right. hold your whisht and just look at me." he took a step forward. it wasn't paired with hesitation or calculation, just a break in the distance. "this is me deciding. this is me making a decision, and i'm not going without you. i might go, and i might drag you along with me, but i'm not... i'll stand here for as long as it takes for you to just see -" that she wasn't unforgivable or unreachable or wrong. "so in some future that the rare idiot in you has concocted, where you find some way to hurt me, and the skies are filled with albatrosses made out of marzipan, that's my fault. in that future, that's my fault. i chose that. i chose that days ago." they'd introduced themselves on the edge of a blade, of course he had chosen that. "i chose that a lifetime ago, and i came back for it. i would rather that a future living with that possibility than no future at all, augs. just -" he glanced at the growing crowd, winced at the clamour. "just... i mean, if we're taking requests, just not here. anywhere. somewhere with a bit of sun."

( *:･ﾟ✦ ) xx❝xx𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬 ！！ x─────ix ♖
x──────i ii thanatos. iii seventeen. iiii tags: clive, ash.
ivi outside the hampton inn, the van.

ash entered the van with speed, thankfully. "and here i was thinking that the bird-woman i smashed into the grill was just in a costume," he said sardonically, scratching the back of his head. of course they were culling the harpies. they were doing the thing that heroes were meant to be. "if i never see a bird again it'll be too soon. had to be harpies."
"attack of the stringed instruments," clive muttered. teilo watched from the mirror as the ghost settled across from ash. "'ello. we haven't met. not proper, at least. i don't think you saw us last time. clive. dead. very sad, hold yer tears. i've 'eard a lot about you." the man ignored the death glare the son of thanatos was sending him, but backtracked. "no, i'm joking. he gave us a name. that's about it. can't get a word in edgeways with this one, can you? i like your 'air. it's all... what is that, linoleum purple?"
"lilac," teilo grumbled. he had to be doing it on purpose. there was no way that he wasn't. "sorry. goes tangible for ten minutes and thinks he can start talking to anyone."
"i've been lonely. is that such a crime?" the ghost leaned forward, looked at ash closely. "g'won then. what're your intentions? you gonna do the decent thing? can you even do the decent thing yet? 'ave they made that legal yet?"
"clive,"
"i'm just making conversation! all well and good sitting 'ere with our eyes pointing in the same directions and our teeth in all our mouths while we wait for these lagging wazzocks, but i wanna know about human rights. i'm educating meself." a pause. "and that rocky 'orror, is she one of yours? 'cause she didn't make a very good impression, and i don't think that's anything to do with me. i'm a very difficult man to displease, and she managed it within seconds. don't tell me you're gunning for 'er, or i'm gonna be greatly displeased with you."

[indigo']

━━━ 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬

[✩]17|she/her|Hades|Head Counsellor|outside dining pavilion|tags: Orin

“Everyone. Everything. Why can’t you see that?” Her voice was heavy with the sound of defeat, edged with frustration at his refusal to accept what she was saying. “I break things. I break people. Everything I touch I destroy, I'm like a—a catalyst for disaster.” Like Midas with hurt and hatred instead of gold. It had happened enough for her to figure out the common denominator. Blood on the ground. The fear on her mother's face. Gloves on her nightstand. A shouting man, covering his eyes. Ice on a chain link fence. Sobbing through the speaker of a phone. The church steps. The empty graveyard. All of it had been her fault. She’d accepted what she was a long time ago, he was the only one refusing to see it, the only one clinging to some image of her in his head that she couldn’t understand. She’d never get the chance to express how grateful she was for that if he’d actually do what she was asking.

“You’re not.” Of course he wasn’t listening, that had been expected. But she couldn’t just give in, ignore her better judgement in favour of chasing something less painful, letting in that tiny fragment of hope that maybe things would turn out okay. She’d had years to rehearse the pantomime she was putting on now. If people dared to get too close, she’d push them away—run from it, or twist her emotions into something else, into an act of violence that she could better control. That wasn’t going to work now. Standing in front of him, pleading with him to do something she really didn’t want, it felt like it was already too late. The hope was already there, the walls had already been torn down. “It's not like I want you to, it's not about that.” The words came in a frustrated outburst, a little louder than she'd meant them to. “You're not what?”

Despite the panic and the insistence that he had to get away, she listened when he spoke, quelled the stream of attempted reasoning and just looked at him, something of a challenge in her gaze, as if daring him to say anything that could convince her she wasn’t an irredeemable wreck. “You’d get cold,” she commented on the threat to stand there until she saw what he did, though there was nothing behind the words, spoken as if they were simply discussing the weather. There had been a scream welling up in her throat since she’d lashed out at Stella, an animalistic urge to do something, to give them all a real reason to fear her. But what would be the point? Orin had already seen what she was. She’d held a knife to his throat in a panicked, childish attempt to gain control she’d never had—an overreaction that had had nothing to do with him. She’d picked a fight with someone twice her size, kicked a beam in a crumbling building and nearly gotten them both killed. He could’ve left in any of those moments, and he hadn’t. Despite the innate fear, the cynicism that had come with years of feeling like the world and everyone in it was against her, she trusted that he wouldn’t. So what good was making herself a villain if she had to drive him away to do it? What use was trying to protect him if the only way to prove it was hurting him?

Auggie was silent for a moment, then, “You’re serious?” she asked quietly, resisting the urge to close the gap between them completely. “About leaving? You actually want to go?” She didn't sound surprised, it was simply a question. She’d known it had been more than a joke when the idea had been proposed before, but it was obvious something had changed. There was no doubting his certainty now.