Children of Hades

[lordofdarkness]

Insert pretty thing here

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[inkings]

[ unkowingly, mal does him one better: once she's on the ground, she doesn't let go. instead, she uses their joined hands to tug nico along with her to the battery, a park facing the ferry piers. the signs, as well as the crowds, help guide her as to where to go.

as she runs, she asks over her shoulder, ] How high can we climb?

[lordofdarkness]

[He shrugs, still smiling with Mal's hand warm in his.]

As high as you want. [He'll shadow travel them to one of the crown spires if she asks him to. Who's gonna stop them?]

[inkings]

[ this is the story of how mal finally meets hades: after traveling to the underworld to explain how nico passed out on top of the statue of liberty, fell off said statue, and plummeted to the island because he's just That Stupidly Well-Meaning.

staving off any awkward father-daughter conversations, mal does not even think of shadow travel. they find the ( still respectably sized ) line, but a combination of the still early hour and not during peak season means they're soon at the front.

and they come across their first obstacle.

we don't sell same day crown tickets, the ticket agent explains in a tone that says he has explained this exact point five hundred times before. you must reserve them either online or by phone.

mal smiles. ]

I'm sorry. I meant we have reservations. [ as she speaks, her irises glow green.

the agent straightens in his seat, expression grown slack. a pale green light enter his eyes, obscuring his pupil. mechanically, he enters information into his computer and prints out two tickets. it takes mal a moment to parse the names on the tickets, but finally she reads christian knowles and jessica knowles.

she carefully counts out the cost of the tickets because she may be a thief, but she's a thief with principles, and takes the tickets. she hands nico his with a cheeky, ] Here you go, Christian, [ and steps away from the window.

as they leave, the ticket agent slowly comes out of the trance. he blinks, looks around, but whatever just happened was too weird for his brain. he gets back to work. mal triumphantly waves her ticket at nico. ]

Let's go catch a ferry.

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico's brow furrows at the name and he stares at the ticket in his hand, mouth opening in a wide "O" of understanding. A second later, he's shaking his head, once again impressed with Mal's resourcefulness. Without thinking about it, he takes her hand again (it's a big crowd, they wouldn't want to get separated) and soon enough they're in line for the next ferry.]

Did you do that with the mist? [It almost seemed like Charm Speak, but mist could accomplish it, he's sure.]

[inkings]

Not exactly. What’s the mist?

[ it’s not an actual mist, she assumes. as if to be sure, mal looks to the water. it’s a clear day, the sun long since risen. the bay is calm but for the wake thrown by the boats crossing it. ]

[lordofdarkness]

That's what the old stories called it, because it's like a mist over human eyes blocking their perception of things. It keeps mortals from seeing things their minds can't handle. All demigods can use it to manipulate people into perceiving things a certain way too. [Some were just much better at it than others.]

I haven't practiced much with it so I'm not very good, but Hazel is.

[inkings]

Maybe I should go stay with her instead. [ this is a lie. she would graffiti one (1) wall at the roman camp and be immediately thrown out.

spotting something out the corner of her eye, mal grins. ]

Give me a minute.

[ dropping nico’s hand, she vanishes into the excited crowd of people amassed by the piers. a couple of minutes later she returns holding green spikes. ]

I got you a souvenir!

[ the green spikes resolve into a green foam crown when she holds it up. without waiting for an answer, she wraps the crown around nico’s head. he’s tall enough that she has to stand right in front of him, almost rising on her toes to make it easier. mal fixes the crown so that it sits at a jaunty angle, and brushes his hair behind his ears. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[He snorts, more than aware that she doesn't mean it. For the most part, he's finally getting the hang of her humor. Instead of watching her go, his eyes fall to his hand (like the big dumb sap he is) and it's only when she's returning that he finally looks back up. His smile drops the moment he sees the monstrosity in her hand. Oh no. But before he can protests she's smiling again and brushing his hair behind his his ears (like Bianca, like Mama) and what the fuck is he supposed to do then? He can't take it off now.

Nico groans loudly, hands notably remaining uselessly at his sides even as his eyes look up as much as they can and he frowns.]

Why?

[inkings]

You look dashing. [ she is not laughing except she 100% is. and she leaves the teasing at that because she doesn’t want to test how close he is to “accidentally” dropping the crown into the bay.

not until she has a picture, at least. once she is armed with photographic evidence, she will show him no mercy.

photos have to wait, though, as they’re herded through a security checkpoint ( “what is this statue made of?” mal whispers to nico after they have collected their belongings. nico didn’t have to take off his crown and mal had to bite her bottom lip when she caught sight of his face. ) the ferry is already waiting so mal links arms with nico to climb aboard. they’re lucky enough to snag one of the last seats beside a window with mal claiming the seat closest to it.

no sooner are they seated than she is fishing her phone out of her bag and opening the camera. she nudges nico with her elbow and leans against him, her head on his shoulder, phone held away from them so that they ( and the crown ) are clearly captured on the screen. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[At first, Nico's confused as to the presence of the phone, then he remembers the camera and it makes sense. He snorts but doesn't pull away, leaning into her as well and after a second, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He might look ridiculous in their first ever picture together, but it was still their first ever picture together. When she's finished, he leans over the screen to see how it came out and sighs dramatically at the outcome.]

You're never going to let me live this down, are you? [He reaches up with his free hand to tug a little at the crooked crown and keep it from falling.]

[inkings]

Depends on how much you cry about it, [ she mentions airily.

mal fixes his crown, wrapping it correctly around his head, then turning it enough so it can retain a crooked look.

she promptly snaps another picture of him. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico stares long suffering into the lens, suppressing the amused smirk that threatens to surface. He reaches for the crown then, gesturing at her.]

It's your first time here too, I wouldn't want to hog all of the attention. Your turn.

[inkings]

No. That is my gift to you. I'll get myself a keychain or something.

[ mal lifts his hand from the crown and sets it on his lap. she gives the top of his hand a pat for good measure. ]

[lordofdarkness]

Wow, thanks. [Sarcasm and amusement war in his voice and he shakes his (crowned) head at her.]

I'll treasure it forever. [He means it as a joke and is hopeful she'll never know how much truth is present in the statement. Then she'll really never let him live it down. After a pause, he starts again, curious.]

...is there a way to print copies of the photos you take on a phone?

[inkings]

[ she nods sagely. ]

That is what printers are for.

[lordofdarkness]

[He blinks, genuinely surprised.]

You can connect a phone to a printer?

[inkings]

And the how is going to blow your mind.

[ 🤩THE WIFI 🙌🏻 ✨ ]

[lordofdarkness]

A...cord?

[inkings]

No. You said it earlier. Who still uses cords?

[ when the silent generation meets gen z. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Cords are out??? When did cords go out? He likes cords, cords make sense.]

...Google? [No, wait, Wifi makes more sense. Nico lights up, speaking again before Mal can tell him that he's wrong.]

Wifi! [Nailed it.]

[inkings]

[ HE NAILED IT AND SHE IS SO PROUD. ]

Look at you! You deserve the keychain.

[lordofdarkness]

Damn right, I do. [He says triumphantly without remembering he never wanted a keychain. He grins proudly nonetheless.]

Okay so, what's the difference between the internet and wifi? [And it's in this manner that they pass the next few minutes of the ferry ride. By the time they arrive, Nico feels much more confident in the fact that he knows nothing about technology and there are a lot of terms he'd never even heard before. Thankfully, he doesn't care that much.

Once they've disembarked, they're separated into groups based on their ticket types and Nico sticks close to Mal so that they don't get separated in the throngs of people.]

[inkings]

[ when nico is not looking, mal steals glances at him. he has been freer with displays of affection from the beginning. a hand on her shoulder; taking her by the hand. but whatever hesitation he may have had previously seems to be evaporating. for her part, mal is surprised by comfortable his presence, how accustomed she has already become to it.

mal hugs closer to him as they follow the flow of people off the ferry. no sooner have they set foot on liberty island than they have to pass through yet another security checkpoint. mal raises her eyebrows at nico like are these mortals serious? above them, the statue stands proudly, holding her torch aloft. many tourists are already aiming phones and digital cameras at the statue. most have their tickets and identification in hand to get through security. mal pulls out her spell book.

like she did with the cover, mal has left her mark on the pages. doodles in the margins, passages marked, notations scribbled to make her life easier. mal stops at a section helpfully labelled sneaking around ( to accomplish your vile mischief! )

mal's lips move as she reads along silently until she is certain she has read it correctly. quietly so only nico could hear, mal recites, ] Though they look, they shall not see. Let us by without difficulty.

[ the security agent they stop in front of does not look at their faces. his eyes continuously slide over them like there is nothing interesting about them. their tickets get a cursory glance, and he does not ask for identification, instead waving them on. he seems to forget them as soon as they are past. no one else looks their way. as soon as they are through, mal trades her spell book for her phone and smiles at nico. ]

What do you think? Head up first or see what's down here?

[lordofdarkness]

[He shakes his head and grins, delighted. Is Mal sure she isn't part Hermes child? Because more than the skills, she has the expressions to prove it.]

Let's go up. I bet it's a cool view. [He might have been worried about being so high up and being in Zeus's domain, but the truth is it really isn't that high in comparison to other buildings, and anyway, if Zeus is gonna be that much of a dick, his life is just screwed no matter what. Once they push into the crowd, Nico takes Mal's hand again, taking the lead until they reach the stairs. His eyes widen as he glances up and shakes his head. It's a good thing he's in shape.]

Wow. People do this for fun.

[inkings]

[ wait until you meet jay, hermes' long-lost child. ]

Come on, old man. [ mal smirks at him in challenge. ]

Last one up is a rotten apple!

[ no, mal—

and she's gone. ]