robinnest | Children of Hades

[Nico shrugs, struggling to answer. It isn't that he's uncomfortable talking about Hades so much as everything comes back to Kronos and Gaea, the wars and everything that happened in them.]

Strange like...he's an immortal god and we barely live in the same world. He cares in his way. But it'll never be how a mortal parent is.

Yeah, no. I know that. That’s fair.

[ she 100% knows what a mortal parent’s love is like. she had, like. tons of that growing up. it’s great. ]

[Again, Nico wonders about the apparently living mother that Mal left behind. He's a little envious, honestly, but it's not like he begrudges her the love of a parent.]

If you want, we can go see him sometime. I know how to get to the underworld. It's safe for us.

[ yeah, about the "left behind" thing.

also the "love of a parent" part.

speaking of, it's funny how wanting to find hades was all she wanted — the only reason she had undertaken this difficult, impulsive and incredibly reckless trip to the mortal realm. but when she's given the chance, doubts close like a fist around her heart. her fingers touch the dragon pendant at her chest, a nervous gesture. her thumb smooths over the warm gold. ]

If he wanted to see me, he'd make it known. [ how to state a fact and feed your insecurities at the same time: the thrilling sequel. ] I mean, it's not like he can't know by now where I am.

[He doesn't see the way she glides her fingers over her necklace pendant for what it is, even with its striking similarity to the way he twists his ring around his finger. He will eventually, but not yet.]

Yeah. [Maybe he shouldn't agree, but Mal isn't wrong. It had taken years for Hades to acknowledge Nico. It's like he said, godly parents sucked.] He didn't care about me at first either. [Just in case she took his agreement as a measure of her worth.]

Guess you'll have to make do with me.

Yaaaaay. [ her smile softens the sarcasm to an exasperated fondness. she shoots him a faux warning look. ] Just remember where you stand in the pecking order.

Oh, is there a pecking order now? [That's all sass back.]

If you don't want to look your age. [ she playfully waves her finger to the left, to the right, and up. ]

On the plus side, you'll definitely know then how much Will likes you for you.

[He snorts, unfazed.]

Sounds like a good excuse to shake my fist at people and sleep all day.

[ please. ] I've known you for two days, and I already know you don't need an excuse.

I like sleeping. People don't try to talk to you while you're sleeping.

Oh, ho! Is this you telling me to shut up?

[ she throws one of the, well, throw pillows at him. ]

[The pillow whaps him in the head and he grumbles softly, too lazy to do much about it.]

Not you specifically. There are so many people here who disturb my sleep.

Whatever you say, old geezer. I'll try to keep the noise down.

[ and without giving a single damn about what paint fumes will do in a windowless building, mal picks up a slender brush and begins to draw.

if nico can't breathe…well.

]

[Grinning.] Thanks.

[Nico settles back to make himself more comfortable, tossing the pillow back to Mal's side of the room and snuggling into his own. He's glad Mal doesn't want the room divider like Hazel because he likes drowsily watching her paint. The chemical smell of the paints isn't great, but it's not too strong at the moment. Maybe in the future they can rig up better ventilation or Mal can figure out a spell or something.]

Hey, do you want to go to the city with me tomorrow? I have to pick some things up from the store.

Sure. What are you getting?

[ mal takes her eyes only briefly off the page. her strokes are quick and sure. her mind likes to go a mile a minute, but when it comes to art the opposite proves true: she hyperfocuses often to the point of neglecting to eat or sleep when she should. those were the times evie would hold her hand over mal's page so she could no longer see or grab her hand with its pencil or brush or can of spray paint.

she isn't at that point yet, but it's easy to see her sinking into the task, eyes on the page, expression relaxed. she winds the chain of her necklace around and around and around her finger as she does until there's no more chain. she lets it go before starting again. ]

Some basics. And some drugstore medical supplies for the infirmary. [It's not a lie, he is planning to pick some things up that Will had mentioned they were running low on. He doesn't want to mention the frame though, Mal might think he was weird.]

We can head to any store you need too. Get some more McDonald's for lunch.

I already said I’m going. [ you’ll have company, shhh, it’s ok, bud. ]

Think we’ll have time to sightsee a little?

Sure, why not. [Technically, campers weren't allowed to leave without permission but Nico had always come and go as he pleased. He isn't sure if it's because of his convenient shadow travel powers that Chiron didn't bother to try to stop him, or something else. Either way, he continued to come and go as he pleased and as long as he was never gone for too long, it didn't ever become an issue.

So yeah, he's more than willing to spend a day getting to know his sister better and doing whatever she wants to do.]

Anything in mind?

Mm. [ she lifts her shoulders in a shrug, head tipped to the side. ] Day I met you was my first day in New York. I’ve never been in a city that big. I want to see everything.

[Everything. Nico thinks he can come up with a few good places for someone who wants to see everything.]

Okay. Everything it is. [And if they don't get to everything, maybe they'll have to go back another day. He smiles, knowing it's an option. His sister isn't going anywhere and they have all the time in the world.]

Children of Hades

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