[ Cool because she's going to be crawling out of the nearest patch of dirt like the zombie she is and then using her vines to boost herself up and knock on his window. She's also in sweatpants and tank, but of the absurdly-expensive-looking variety, ditto her sun glasses. However, true to her word she not only has coffee but what seems to be McBreakfast. ]
[ Her actual intent- she'd wanted him to understand the pain of that betrayal and rejection. Being named The Destroyer before she'd taken her first breath. The heartbreak and death that had come from simply existing. The knowledge that things would truly be better off if Ananke had only been quicker to the draw.
What had she wanted him to do with that feeling, then? Just be in pain? She hadn't even thought this trough. Why had she sunk low enough to simply want to hurt someone for the sake of it. Is it at all unreasonable to think she's this malicious?
He certainly thinks its reasonable to want to die, when faced by the truth of her origins.
[ Aha. He knew it. As dangerous as that song had been for him, he had thought it wasn't an outright murder attempt. It had seemed wrong. There had been fragments that seemed odd in the context of just aiming for Miles' heart. It had just all been caught up in the greater cacophony of Miles' visceral reaction.
There's a long pause on his end too as he mulls what to say next. ]
[ Glad for that? Glad that he can compartmentalize it away? Someone who can understand the truth of her- enough to want to die from it but just shrug it off?
She's not sure if she hates his glib carelessness or her own greedy stupidity more. She was so careless with her song when she first got here, stupid. It's supposed to be an inspiration, not a weapon, or a horror. Now there's some asshole with her private number and way too much information.
If killing him would actually fix this, it would be a compelling option. ]
Just a song. You should go see a shrink if you're that unstable.
[ Wrong. Cruel. Uncalled for. Jesus she's an asshole but fuck this guy but also fuck her too. ]
[ If only Miles were a hair less self-absorbed. As it is, he rolls forward with his usual momentum. And a glare at his screen. Did she really just - god. Every time someone tells him to go see a psychiatrist, it makes him that much more determined never to have anything to do with them. Even if he knows he has issues to work out. ]
Or perhaps you should exercise more care with your singing. If I had listened to that recording anywhere with sharp implements available, we would be having a different conversation.
[ What's he even saying now? Would he? This whole conversation makes less and less sense. Like it's a conversation between two different people. Or at least, not involving her at all.
She's . . . mad, right? She was mad a moment ago, and she's sure that mad is what she's feeling now, but it feels like she went past that. Went too far and now everything is seeming rapidly less real. Her insides are congealing and cooling like a corpse's might.
She tries to hold onto the anger. Anger's easy, isn't it? Anger is hers, right? Anger can just say "fuck you," and it won't leave her alone to the darkness and fog. Anger won't forget how to breathe, like she's about to. ]
[ If they were talking face to face, Miles might see some of that and sympathize. If they were even actually talking to each other and not mutually lashing out, he might have sympathized then too.
[ She should point out again that it wasn't her intent. She should tell him he didn't hear anything that's not inside her head 24/7. She should just tell him to fuck off again. Or to leave her alone. Insult his height, his weird obvious fetish-bait body guard. Something. Anything. Just reply.
Instead, she places her phone face down. Then she finds the furthest, safest corner of the mausoleum she can find and lays down in it with her hood pulled up over her head. ]
[ Miles watches his phone like a hawk for the first few minutes. Then he paces. Then the guilt starts to sink in, slowly. He hadn't meant for that to go quite as poorly as that. But what did he expect? And what was he trying to do really? Hurt himself on her? Her self description as a sharp implement isn't far off the mark ... Gregor and Aral's stricken faces are what make him put his own phone down, eventually.
He's going to take a goddamn walk. Heropa's park is nice this time of year ... maybe he can wrangle up some trouble (and rescue a Vulcan) while he's at it. ]
[ He'd gotten several wrong IDs before this but by god is he willing to try until he gets it right. She was gone before he could really do anything, but he feels like he has to do something.
It's what everyone else would do. And...
'-and then I saw Garnet cry.'
He hadn't been in that mass of bodies, but the music was powerful enough to reach him. She'd been hurt. You only cried and screamed that way when it hurt. ]
Um...I hope this is the right one...
Are you - um, are you injured? I saw you throw up. On stage. And there was a lot of blood. I think?
[ Not really a problem for him, though. He's seen enough blood that while he'll never like it, it doesn't traumatise him he comes pre-traumatised ]
I mean...I can't really do any healing magic, but..I can use bandages! So, um...I just wanted to know. How you are, and everything...
[ He switches to video too, to be polite. He looks...pretty much the same. Though, really, how could anyone tell.
A vigorous nod, when she mentions his name. That's definitely him, all right. ]
Oh! Um, it was...
[ His desire to be polite battles with his desire to be honest. Honest wins. ] It hurt a lot. But I've been hurt a lot and this one wasn't as bad, because it wasn't on purpose. So you don't need to worry about it!
[ That's possibly the most worrying string of words to come out of a nine year old's mouth. But he really has had worse, and it helps he wasn't in the thick of it. The memory of pain isn't as bad as the pain itself. ]
But you looked really, really bad. When you left, and everything. So I wanted to ask if you were okay!
If anything, this is what he's learned: being angry, afterwards, won't bring anything back. It won't reverse what's already been done. Better to be sad, so it comes out as tears, and not as angry words. So it doesn't come out as something cruel.
Why dwell on something like that? Especially if it wasn't meant? Vivi is very forgiving, in that regard, though it's not very healthy. ]
If it hurts too much, it's okay to cry, but...it doesn't matter a lot, because it wasn't that bad. So, I'm okay!
[ He sure developed a lot of emotional resilience. Or maybe that's just repression......... ]
[ He sure has been through a lot...but he doesn't really think about it as a lot, so maybe it balances out.
He just wants to be normal and do normal things here, if he can, and sometimes the weight of all his memories is something he just doesn't want to think about. ]
Uh-huh. [ He nods. ] I'm okay. I'm strong, so I can take it. [ He won't ever say 'this doesn't hurt me', but 'it doesn't hurt as much'...that's something he can do. ]
do you remember that weird night when I had a slumber party even tho I never would under any circumstances if I was in control and you and Inanna came and there was truth or dare
ok so I may have UNDER WHATEVER WEIRD MIND MAGIC WAS GOING ON been under the impression that I had a boyfriend and I made out with this guy I barely even know but it felt like wed known each other forever
omg are you kidding no we arent dating! you know what its like suddenly waking up from some kinda dream and the guy beside you who is supposed to be your bf is a stranger??
it was so weird he ran the hell out and its been kinda awk ever since I mean I dont blame him or anything but siiiigghhh
[ You are a very hard person to shop for, Seph. But Kyle did his best. There's a cute bag with brightly colored tissue paper, and inside are a few colors of nail polish that remind him of her.
He hopes Persephone likes one or more?? 1, 2, and 3. ]
[ You would think that her own fucking manager would be able to find her when needed on off-hours.
But alas, he's still kind of a dumb-arsed mortal and has opinions about encroaching on the personal space of youngsters besides.
In the car-park at one of her concert venues in Maurtia Falls, she might sense a small shrine to her. It's mostly just a rotted tree stump decorated with candles and Alexander McQueen ads torn from magazines for effect, but it is what it is.
In a husked-out part of the stump she will find tribute in the form of a badly-wrapped gift box, unaccompanied by any note or card. Within the box is an appropriately-themed pendant on the end of a sparkling chain. If she were to look closely at the back, she might find a modestly-sized ward of protection engraved by hand.
He exists in a hell with no hope for escape. His existence is one of suffering with no end: a sentence which can never be pardoned or paroled or served in full, a soul that will find mercy nowhere in heaven or earth.
[Pretty cut and dry. She was stand-offish, and he expected as much.
Beyond the ruse was this fact: she was still taking his calls. He wasn't sure how he felt about her little underworld escapade, but for all intents and purposes... Well, she hadn't seemed malicious. She was experimental, and he liked that about her.]
[Spoken quickly, all in one breath, like he's trying to say it before she does something:] Because people can and will enjoy your company without anything bad necessarily happening to them as consequence.
I think you like to appear disinterested in intimate connections for fear of your company suffering some terrible fate simply due to the so-called sin of associating with you.
Which is, of course, a harmful burden for you to carry.
[ There is a new offering at her weird little makeshift shrine - this time, a package of artisan chocolates with pomegranate seeds infused, sitting in a hand-weaved basket, along with a note. A hideously-scrawled one, but still.
Wasn't actually sure when your birthday was so I'm going with Equinox for the hell of it.
One of the pieces of chocolate has a ghost pepper in it instead of pomegranate. Good luck. ]
to celebrate and experience the exciting creative collaboration between House of De Marq and Daenerys Stormborn, featuring a sample collection for Spring 2017.
April 14, at the Venice Theater House, Heropa Doors open: 7: 00 PM Show begins: 7: 30 PM
Afterparty and a silent auction featuring exclusive De Marq luxury jewelry will immediately follow.
The House of De Marq and Daenerys are proud to affiliate with Through The Glass, a nonprofit organisation that provides low-income women with professional attire and other career advancement services. All proceeds will be given to this fabulous endeavour, and donations are welcome.
[ Who she REALLY is? Oh, there's plenty of dirt he could be talking about. Sure, she wasn't shy about being The Destroyer, but maybe the mysterious messenger was referring to something else.
[ Now that is something she doesn't broadcast in public. The depths of her of narcissistic obsession (which she was definitely sure was actually a thing) was not really part of the persona she projected. But she was usually sure it was obvious, and did her very best to tell herself that she did not care.
But hey no reason to give Stalker McGuyFawkes the point. ]
Isn't that the line you feed people? You're all here to inspire people, and then die to save the world? Cute that you're trying to break the mold by going in the opposite direction.
[ Not that he doesn't admire her for it. He's trying to do the same thing. ]
[ Keeping track of days is hard when you're in a(nother) addled stupor in an attempt to dull things like trauma, and all the vulnerable, easily-exploitable emotions that sprout thereof.
But it's probably been about a week at least since the nightmare realm unraveled. Since he was on the run from the Soviets, and her. Since the bloody Darkness enveloped them in a pocket of the dream world where she could kill him again and again to her heart's content. Since John woke up - how, he's already figured out. It's the thing he's running from and trying to numb. The exact moment he was offed for good and freed of the slumber was the exact moment he vocalized that he Gave A Shit. Which was also why he took an absurd number of psychedelics and dove back in to get her out.
She'd awoken and in their usual idiom, neither of them had furthur discussed what had happened, and he gave her the space appropriate for a young woman nursing brand new mental scarring.
He's well into a bottle of something that would be more appropriate for medical sterilization when he picks up his phone, fumbling with the keyboard. What he means to write is reassurance, perhaps a reflection of what they've been through. He's overconfident, thinking he can articulate that which they've spent half a year burying. What comes out is... not what he aims for. ]
[ Oh, there's plenty in the dream for her to fixate on. She didn't want to think about John's confession. She couldn't, without thinking about his corpse. There was a lot she didn't want to think about. Luckily, there was molly and alcohol and Inanna to keep her mind off jjjjust about anything.
[ For sure, she was doing it all for the #aesthetic and not to try and wrench back control of hideous circumstances, or because hurting herself felt like the only outlet she had left, and absolutely not in the faint hopes that someone would understand it as the cry of pain that it had been, and show her a scrap of mercy. ]
[ It's not like the pain isn't part of her brand, in all fairness.
But it's also not like he hadn't spent most of his life stuck in the same self-destructive pattern, waiting for someone with the power and the patience to stop him.
Probably why he can't shut up even when he can hear himself. ]
Usually dreams are metaphorical. But making cries for help into stylish performance art? Sounds like your Thursday afternoon. Other than the dystopian regime, anyway.
[ Not like it's hard to divine her location - there's enough of her odds and ends that find their way into his pockets when she's too busy, too moody, or too famous to hold her own things. One of her makeup sponges and a few incantations later and he finds the graveyard she's moping in.
He picks a tombstone a row over from her and leans against it, cigarette between his teeth as ever. ]
[ Maybe he wants a fight. Or to bury his stupid, exploitable capacity for caring. Or to forget what happened in the dream. Maybe he could accomplish them all at once. ]
Most of us face horror and misery. Some of us even from terrible cosmic forces. Only, we don't cope with it by leaving a trail of bloody obliteration. S'that what you want?
[ He wonders what it would take to break her in the real world. To snap and bend that spirit of hers into a tool.
But she saw him afraid in that realm. And anger is easier to summon.
His voice shakes more than he means it to. ]
Whats the point of it all, then? At the end of this you go back to the beyond, and leave a dead girl behind you. Who does it bloody appease, love? The darkness? Or you?
[ She still doesn't look at him. Her back is against the base of a marble statue, and her gaze stares into the darkness of the cemetery without focusing on anything in particular.
He's right, isn't he? There is no point to her. Even less than anyone else in the Pantheon. Here's where he's wrong though, she was more than they made her. Far more violent, and cruel, and dangerous. The Soviets had just wanted an obedient soldier, so why had she become a rabid monster? Why had she rubbed her viciousness into Batman's face. Why had she forced him to bear the punishment for her atrocities? Why did she hate John so much as to break his body over and over and over and over and-
There had been a fuzziness in her thinking, a dissociated helplessness that made it all seem like she was watching herself move and hurt and kill. Thinking about it makes her throat tighten. She wants to say that she wanted to stop, that she didn't know how to stop, that she's sorry, so sorry for hurting him.
But that would be a lie, wouldn't it? If she was really sorry she wouldn't have done it. She's the one who made those choices, no one else. So he's right. If there was really any purpose or goodness to her, she would have fucking shown it by now.
She shoves down the self pity until she's sure her voice will be steady. ]
S'fine. You probably did me what I deserve anyway.
[ What did you think was going to come of helping her, John? At worst she was baggage and at best she was a human talisman to ward off his own guilt. Do right by one person, and maybe you can forget all the death you've caused.
He knows her choices are limited, that having power and having options aren't the same thing, that even deities can be broken and manipulated. She'd gotten her big bloody life goal when she became Persephone, and by the time she realized the cost, it was already too late. By the time she realized that which she'd spent her life obsessed with was orchestrated by a lying, scheming old bat, there was no return.
John wants to tell her it's not her fault. Not her powers, nor what she became in the dreamland. Children are lied to constantly, anyone can be broken, and there are a million ugly ways to tear away someone's freedom. But those are all fancy ways of saying "it's okay", which he can never, ever insult her by saying.
Which is maybe why he finds it all too easy to talk shit and pick a fight now. He can tell himself it'll create a safe distance between them.
He can feel the silence bearing down on them and he's not sure if this is his second or third cigarette that he lights with trembling hands. ]
But you also fill places with people who don't deserve what I do. That the thanks your worshippers get? Bein' toyed with.
[ Please, child. Get mad. Shut him up. Stop him. Run. Get yourself far as you can from the curse that falls upon those he cares about. ]
[ "Did me what I deserve," the words make her sick. They make her sick the way his snapping bones make her sick, the way his last breaths wheeze through a broken throat make her sick. But they didn't make her feel sick at the time, did they?
But her fans, at least . . . ]
Don't talk about my fans like you have any fucking idea.
[ He knows she couldn't have enjoyed that infinite loop of punishment. Executioners, after all, don't always relish in the sins they commit however necessary their services are deemed.
But then if he could stop fucking up, there'd be no reason for her to put him through a meat grinder and then there'd be fewer reasons for her to hate herself. ]
Yeah. Well. Maybe I don't want to.
[ The words are flat and joyless. Everything he hears himself saying stabs him like a skewer between the ribs, but he presses on. It's for her own safety, he tells himself ad nauseam. ]
Not the biggest fan of divine meddling me'self, so maybe you oughta... find someone else to deal with the calendar and dry cleaning. You've only got til Fate blasts you back into limbo to chase fame, right? Why waste time on a fuckin' hobo?
[ The words are out of her mouth before she even quite processes what he's said to her. His words filter into her and it feels like mercury poured down her throat- cold and heavy and nauseating.
The scout had first approached her weeks ago, actually. She'd been wily, and sharp, and didn't understand Persephone's song in the slightest, but knew talent when she saw it. Persephone had been wary even as she took her card. Even with limited time, would it be worth it to abandon one of the few people she could really trust?
But this made the choice easy. She had already broken that trust. Her Heirophant had lost his faith. He had woken up from their shared nightmare, and he didn't seem keen on slipping back into it. Could she blame him?
Her voice doesn't sound mad, just flat. But it still doesn't waver as she speaks. ]
So suit yourself. I was just trying to figure out how to tell you.
[ He isn't actually laughing. His emotional state is something of a maelstorm of many things and he can't fathom which is dominant. Relief that he's off the hook for responsibility. Rage at her spiteful retorts. Terror at the knowledge of how bigshot music producers bleed young women dry. Intense self-loathing that he didn't do a better job with her.
John takes a moment to empty his pockets before retreating - her makeup sponge, a bottle of dubiously legal painkillers, a coffee rewards card, dried up pomegranate seeds and dead flower petals, and some expensive-looking nail polish tumble from his hands, embraced by the dewy grass.
As he ventures back out of the cemetery with a heavy step, he wonders if he should say something else. He wonders if she'll pursue him just to let out one last "fuck you". He keeps walking so as not to satisfy his bloody stupid curiosity on either account. ]
Sorry. Sorry, shit. Just- I- I need to be Persephone. I'm not going to let this place make me anyone else. And John- I- . . . I can't blame him, for not wanting to be part of this. Can you?
No, I know, I... It's hard. It's hard to have people that close, but I just—I thought... [They trail off with a frown, one hand pressed to their forehead in thought.]
But you said it was because of the dream. It was because of...who you are?
Just- stop. Stop trying to tell me who I am! It's fucked up, being me. It's fucked up being all of us. Nothing will ever make this OK, and I'm not going to pretend it is! Who cares what Ananke thinks I am. I still get to say who I am.
Still. I . . . like being the one that they're afraid of. Woden, Ananke, other assholes.
Maybe being the Destroyer does mean something horrible, maybe it doesn't. Ananke thought it meant enough to kill my family over it. To kill you over it, just because you were nice to me. So now? Now they should be afraid of me. That's not something I'm ashamed of, or sorry for.
[Inanna tilts their head and leans against the wall with arms crossed while they digest that explanation. Their tone is even when they finally respond, even and curious.]
So it's like you're reclaiming the name? It makes sense. A different way of refusing to give them any power.
[ It had gone off without much of a hitch. Attendance a little lower than she would have liked, but it wasn't really her fans' normal scene. Persephone herself was nonplussed. ]
We would never have attracted so many natives without you and Inanna promoting what we had to offer. I anticipate that this gathering will not be soon forgotten.
Which reminds me. I would like to know how Inanna has... seemed to you since their return. We both share a common interest in their well-being, but you know them far better than I do.
[In that case, Dooku will just forge onwards and act as though she's agreeing with all of it.]
I believe the key to Inanna's recovery lies in embracing their identity as a War Goddess. Repression of this side of themselves will only lead to more trouble. No one can be expected to deny their true self forever.
The more they accept themselves, the less they will wish to punish themselves. It's my understanding that their actions were quite out of their control to begin with.
Um. My business with the gods is that I'm a dead demigod. So. I guess "family relation" and also "recruited into an undead army to fight at the end of the world"?
[and the stupid thing his dumb meatbrain thinks is, I'm underage. then he remembers, he'll always be underage, and is pretty sure the rules don't apply to his situation??????]
[plus, he doesn't want to seem uncool or ungrateful in front of a literal death goddess/fellow teen???????, so like]
Okay. Um, where at?
[he's had the mead of the gods. this Is Not a Big Deal]
[the attempt at seeming cool has been shortlived. RIP, that attempt, do not pass go, do not enter the Hall of the Slain]
Nnno. I don't even have like, an I'm-a-people ID anymore. And do you mean like, the subways in Maurtia Falls or literally underground? Because I could like... dig... a hole, I guess, but.
Just to be clear.
[SUPER RIP THAT ATTEMPT AT SEEMING COOL. WE HARDLY KNEW YE]
[the -- condolence? -- catches him a little off-guard, but also makes him smile, a bit]
[and in no time at all, Magnus will emerge into the dirt-and-grime streaked subway of Maurtia Falls, trailing his hand idly across ripped posters and anti-imPort graffiti. it occurs to him, stupidly, that... he never asked what train he should take, or what stop he was supposed to get off on. he watches the trains, wondering what he's supposed to do. supposes, like with most Godly things, it'll sort of sort itself out in the most jarring way possible]
[so Magnus waits, in ripped flannels and army jacket, in dingy black sneakers, hands on the straps of his ratty backpack, for another Goddess of the Underworld to come tell him what's up]
[ A train comes, only a couple passengers disembark at this stop, and they head up to the street. The train leaves, and he is alone. Then, from the direction the train took off in, a pinpoint of orange light appears. A lit cigarette.
It's hard to see much of the woman holding it, but her face is lit easily by the smouldering tip. Her steps are loud but do not echo. She walks like a queen moving through her court. Even if Magnus hadn't been through Chthonic Bullshit 101, everything about her screams "freaky power." ]
[and in the glow of her cigarette, Magnus sees first that she's gorgeous. no, there needs to be a preface to that; she's breathtakingly gorgeous, in the most literal way possible (suffocation was a nastier kind of death, he thought). and Magnus may be semi-divine himself, blessed with the golden hair of Frey and etc etc, but that doesn't mean he's immune to the glamour of the gods (his own aunt -- let's not talk about that). his grey eyes, tired looking, widen, his pulse (notably, improbably present) picks up; she's the kind of person someone would follow into the dark]
[and he does, stepping down to where she is]
Consider it minded. Um, hi.
[there are probably smoother ways to talk to the goddess of the underworld, but Magnus sadly isn't that kind of demigod]
[Magnus doesn't remember there ever being doors inside of subways. he kind of is sure that the point of subways is not to be small pockets of space for Chthonic Bullshit (but then again, maybe it always was? if Boston could be the nexus of the Nine Worlds, anything was possible). he follows her inside the door]
Yep. Half human, half god, all dead, that's me.
[he's got about a million questions, but -- this seems like a good time to just be observant and pick up on his host's cues. if she wants him to answer questions, he'll do that]
[ She sounds like she means it. She sounds like she says it a lot. Aaaaand that's all she says. The truth is she's not sure what she wants from him, exactly. Why is she even doing this?
It's probably has nothing to do with her own extremely complicated relationship with mortality, nor the way her heart aches terribly in the place where Nico had burrowed his way in and then disappeared without a word. No, it's probably just because he's annoying, and for some reason she just can't stop herself from hanging out with annoying boys.
Their path is completely incomprehensible. They make so many turns as they pass through basements, utility tunnels, and supply closets. There's no way he'll be able to backtrack. ]
[the short response -- is a better response than he usually gets, really. he doesn't want pity or sympathy. he just wants to be himself]
It's usually a bunch of trouble, but it's not so bad.
[and he falls into quiet when she does, grey eyes scanning wide at the path around them, sometimes lit, sometimes pitch dark. Magnus is Dead, but he is not a death demigod (he's a life demigod, if we're getting technical), and the more turns they make, the less he understands his surroundings, the more his pulse starts to spike]
[he starts to ramble, because that's how Magnus Chase rolls, when he's feeling nervous]
Um. I did know, already. About other pantheons. It sort of even runs in my extended surviving family. My cousin's a daughter of Athena, from uh, your side of the spiritual universe. She'd probably have told me not to follow goddesses into the dark or drink underage, because she's smarter than me. But you seem okay. Better than the goddess running the show where I come from.
[Magnus isn't walking like he owns the place, stumbles over something in the dark, hisses as he cuts his knee on an edge of -- a door hinge, with no door? great -- and suddenly, he's lighting up a bit, gold and subtle at the edges. he's healing, if she can sense that, in a small way. his blond hair stays lit longer than the rest of him]
I'm glad I can't get tetanus. Um, are we nearly there?
[ She stopped and turned to face him the moment he said "Athena." But then, well. He's healing. He's golden and sparkling and healing.
He seems used to the power. She wonders how often he gets hurt. She wonders who killed him. She wonders what he's being used for, now that he's already given his life. ]
Minerva's always like twelve. Her advice is shit.
[ She turns around and keeps walking. Through the next door they are now in natural cave tunnels. Except there are gently glowing vines, that look like blown glass run along the tunnels. They and their brighter pink blossoms begin to light their way. ]
[Magnus hurries to keep up, embarrassed at his fumble in the dark, and is relieved to see light ahead. he thinks they're wires, electric, until they get close and that thought couldn't be further from the truth. they're vines, illuminated and living and gorgeous]
[and it comes without thought, clearly his genuine reaction, rather than something careful or even nervous;]
Wow -- it's so beautiful, down here. They're amazing.
[he reaches to touch, stops, because even if he's not as smart as Annabeth, he's not stupid. he doesn't know mythology that well (hilariously ironic), but he does remember something about Persephone and plants, and the bad mix that happened there]
[ They come then to an open cathedral- half natural cave, half her obvious handiwork. There's a stage, and an alter, and a totally baller-looking sound system. It's also clearly only half done. The vine-woven catwalks for example. Is this a church or a concert hall? Hard to tell. ]
[Magnus almost feels like saying, who?, because he's already forgotten they were talking about some goddess of wisdom, faced with another even more completely astonishing sight. even half-complete, it's one of the coolest things he's ever seen -- though he has no idea what it's for. definitely something to be seen, but not yet (which makes him wonder why he's gotten a backstage pass so far before the show)]
This is so cool... is this your -- [he doesn't know what word goes here. tries, thinking of some long-gone World Civ class] -- temple?
Wow, you really do think I'm a nerd. We drink mead, you know, in Valhalla.
[this is true, but -- he drinks the apple juice and water mostly. he preferred to have a clear head if he was going to lose his head, and the mead of the gods was maybe not the best for that]
[he's pretty sure Ike's Hard Lemon Tea is also a dig, so he goes with a slightly risky]
I'll have whatever you're having. When in -- Hades, and all that.
[he approaches the vine catwalks, slowly, just in case that's not cool. he wants to see them closer up]
[ He'll have to climb up the vine-made access ladders to get there. The blossoms turn to face him as he approaches, almost curiously, but the ladder looks sturdy enough. ]
Nerd was your word, not mine.
[ But gin-and-pomegranate-juice it is! She brings him a double. ]
[the blossoms turn, and Magnus looks positively charmed. it's a nice thought; flowers in Hades]
What's with this place? What happens here?
[Magnus accepts the drink, not seeming to mind that it's kind of cute. he takes a big, mead-quaffing sip -- and his grey eyes blast wide at the taste. he swallows with effort, trying not to cough, and mostly failing]
-- The, pomegranate, is so fresh. That's why I'm coughing. Wow.
[takes a smaller sip... this time...]
WELCOME TO WICDIV, KIDDO. WE'RE THE GODS THEY WARNED YOU ABOUT IN HEALTH CLASS.
[he cocks his head in surprise, but then thinks: yeah, sounds about right. Thor watches Breaking Bad. Heimdall loves taking selfies. Persephone can be a pop star]
[still, he defends his nerdiness]
I'm not being a nerd. I mean, it's not my pantheon, but I know if anybody's gonna grow a great rutabaga for the Greeks, it's you. [...] I will, though. Look you up. What's your music like?
[ Normally, this is where she'd get bitchy. But she thinks of everything Nico and his sister went through just because the Olympians couldn't be arsed. Atheism might be the more reasonable choice than the kids continued devotion. ]
Fine. Valhalla's pretty tolerant of people with differing religious beliefs. My Valkyrie's actually a practicing Muslim, I have Christian and Wiccan and Norse pagan hallmates. Some of the thanes aren't even pagan.
[he can't resist the ladder any longer. he wants to put the drink down, figures that would be maybe contrary to hospitality rules; he steels himself, throws back the rest of it. oh my god its so much bllehghgkk keep it together Chase aaaand it's down]
[huffing out a haaa and shivering at the slam of the alcohol in his system, Magnus inches a few steps up the ladder, curious and slowly]
In any case, the ladder is firm under him, even glowing a little brighter as he climbs. Up above are the catwalks one might find in any such performance hall. But- there's no infrastructure, no electricity, no lights. Some weird animal bone structures here and there, sure but it's still all very enigmatic. ]
[the Greeks are dicks. the Norse have bigger fish to fry; you couldn't very well be squabbling about the nature of the universe or feuding like a bunch of animals when Ragnarok was about to land on your doorstep like a flaming bag of dog -- well]
[Magnus follows the ladder up, and up, to the catwalk. when he's at the top, he sits down it, legs dangling. he thinks of sitting on Bifrost and looking into the abyss of the 9 worlds, and it makes him feel good. or that's the alcohol, hitting his absolute lightweight of a system]
[ It's a pretty view. From that high up he can see the dance floor, and the bars, and the balconies. But does look like a lonely place. It's built for so many but they're the only ones there. ]
It's a work in progress.
[ She clicks her fingers and one of the vines that makes up the catwalk unwinds and slinks down to wrap around her arm. It bulls her up, and she does some kind of BS gymnastics P!nk business and badda bing she's up and sitting on a crosswalk some twenty feet away, watching him carefully from across the open air. ]
[the view's incredible, but -- empty. Magnus has spent too much time being empty, staying in empty places, and looks back to the beautiful plants, back to Persephone. she moves like a goddess, thinks Magnus stupidly, because duh, of course she does]
[she might not be expecting;]
-- Do you need help?
[his hands are careful, around a luminescent bloom. it's funny to move slightly back and forth, have it move with him]
I can help make things grow, too. Not as fast as that [the vine trick] unless I wanna pass out for half a day after, but I'm still learning.
Page 1 of 3