Children of Hades

[lordofdarkness]

Insert pretty thing here

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[inkings]

[ mal makes a face. stop calling her out like this, man, that's just disrespectful. ]

One minute, [ she begs. ] I have to finish this while I still have the details.

[lordofdarkness]

[Never.

He snorts and moves to his side of the room, nose wrinkling at the fumes but otherwise unbothered. He takes in the details, letting more of his awe show and eventually makes his way to her side—his favorite side because Mal is way cooler looking than him.]

You did all of this today? [He knows she did because he left the cabin that morning, but it's still hard to wrap his mind around.]

This really is amazing.

[inkings]

[ she shrugs. ] I've been planning it for a while. Getting the paints I needed took longer. It was tricky, but a couple of the Athena kids helped me figure out the base.

[ returning to her box, mal gets back to work coaxing a balcony out of the black. the painting is nearing completion: the portico is the only major piece missing. for the gardens, she will either have to use cutouts to get the tiny spots of color she needs or else use a brush. as she has neither at the moment, she leaves the space blank and focuses on the palace itself. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico is silent, too absorbed watching her work to remember to respond. Several minutes pass in that fashion with Mal working and Nico watching. It's easy to see how she gets lost in this and Nico isn't even the one doing the painting.]

...you definitely made this the coolest cabin here.

[inkings]

[ the last bit of paint goes on the wall. mal steps off the box and examines her finished work proudly. she tosses the can of spray paint.

she holds up her fist to nico with a smirk. ]

We are going to kill next cabin inspection. [ *not literally.

**maybe literally if dad will love her. she’s kidding. probably. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Having learned the fist bump from Piper, Nico knows what to do and he happily bumps her fist with his own.]

We are. They won't even recognize the place. [Finally he turns from the wall painting to glance at Mal.]

Are you still up for a little training?

[inkings]

You’re going to nag me if I say no, aren’t you? [ she points out, widening her eyes in pointed gesture at him.

mal goes to her bedside table where she pulls on her fingerless gloves, then sits on the bed to pull on her boots.

tell her about the face paint because she has no idea. ]

[lordofdarkness]

Nag is such a strong word. [Yes, yes he is. Going to nag her that is, whether or not he's telling her about the paint is still up for debate.]

Did you know that children of the elder gods are naturally talented at fighting? Especially with swords. We still have to practice, but you'll already be better than most of the camp.

[inkings]

[ mal regards him with amusement as she finished tying her boots. she reaches into her drawer for her spell book. ]

Is there a trivia game for demigods that you memorized?

[ she marked the page earlier with a ribbon so she opens the book to the correct spot. ]

Sing us, spirits, a prayer and a breath of fresh air. [ mal draws her finger left, right and up. a breeze sweeps into the room, setting the curtains across the door fluttering, and chasing the paint fumes out. in their place is left a different scent for each who smells it. when mal breathes in, the familiar notes of evie’s perfume tickle her nose. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico very carefully does not look at his Mythomagic cards tucked away on his shelf.]

No. Chiron told me. [He takes a deep breath of the fresh air and is surprised to smell lilies and something else he doesn't recognize, a subtle sweet scent that makes him feel warm inside. Nico smiles.]

Cool spell. [All of her spells are and he isn't sure he'll ever get used to her almost endless depths of magic. (Almost, because he remembers the werewolf incident.]

Now are you ready?

[inkings]

Yep! [ she slides her sword out from under her bed, carrying it in hand. a long straight blade with a distinct cruciform hilt, longer than a typical greek sword, but not so much as to demand the use of two hands. mal points it at the curtains across the door. ]

Let’s go.

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico moves to follow her and then stops, moving in front of her instead and pointing at her cheek.]

Wait, you've got some paint. [There's amusement in his eyes and he glances around the room to find something to wipe it off, eventually grabbing a clean shirt from his drawer for her.]

[inkings]

[ she holds still, making a face while he wipes at her cheek. her cheeks dimple when she smiles. ]

You really can't take me anywhere.

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico nods very seriously though his eyes betray his laughter.]

Can you imagine what the other campers would say? Yesterday Kayla accidentally shot Sherman Yang in the armpit—well, "accidentally—"but this would be hotter gossip for sure.

[inkings]

There goes all respect for the house of Hades. Will you still visit when I'm disinherited?

[lordofdarkness]

Yes, but only wearing a hood. [Nico grins and ducks out the door, dodging any retribution for that comment.]

[inkings]

Oh! Is that how it is, you traitor! [ she calls after him, laughing.

he's definitely getting smacked with the flat of a blade in practice. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[By the time they actually get out to the arena to train, they're both already fairly warmed up from their antics and Nico begins teaching Mal the basics. As expected, Mal is a natural and steps come easily to her, just as they had Nico. Instincts can only take them so far though and even the kids of the Big Three still needed to learn technique. After a little while of drilling with Nico offering the occasional correction to her footwork or form, he grabs for his own blade and nods at Mal.]

What do you say? Wanna try a little one on one?

[inkings]

[ mal spins her sword forward. a greek demigod favoring a french blade in 20whatever. a smirk plays at her lips. ]

Promise not to cry when I knock you to the dirt?

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico's only answer is a smirk. While he's confident that Mal could absolutely kick his ass in a fight using magic, his swordsmanship is one of the few skills of his own that he's actually proud of. (He'd better be after all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into his training with Minos.)

He lifts his sword in response, diving into swipe at her, careful to give himself the space to pull back if she can't block. They should probably be using training swords to be safe, but this was how he trained with Jason, Reyna, and Hazel, and he wasn't about to treat Mal any differently. (She's a daughter of Hades, any less would be insulting.)]

[inkings]

[ mal too is supremely confident that she can soundly kick her brother's ass by using magic.

so she does.

her sword comes up in time to block his. on the isle, she crossed blades with jay in chaotic, frequently painful play; in auradon, fencing with him became one of the few acceptable ways left to her to relieve stress. and she had a lot of it. it means she can survive magic-less for a few seconds: enough time to deliberately lock their blades together, the cross shape of her hilt working to mal's favor.

behind their crossed swords, her smile widens. ]

Make me quick, make me strong, all the power of the heroes that have come and gone.

[ her blade flashes. nico's black sword goes flying. mal drops and sweeps his legs out from under him. she lands on top of him, one knee on his sternum, careful not to hurt him. the blade in her hands cuts into the ground to the left of his neck.

her smile turns very sweet. ]

Told you.

[lordofdarkness]

[And Mal's gloating look is met with a deadpan one from Nico.]

You realize the point of practicing sword fighting is practicing sword fighting, right?

[Nico rolls away from the blade and out from under her knee and rises to his feet, dusting off his pants with one hand. If Mal could put him on the ground in a sword fight, he'd be the first one cheering her on but this is not what they're here for. This is literally the opposite of what they're here for.]

No magic during training. [With one eyebrow raised] Deal?

[inkings]

You're in a mood. [ she will add this to her mounting pile of evidence: "nico di angelo has no perceivable sense of humor."

mal wordlessly summons his sword to her hand. she flips it in order to offer it to him hilt-first. the skin of her hand looks almost translucent under the sword's faint purple glow. something turns darker by contrast, peeking just out of the leather of her glove: a curved line tattooed onto the palm of her hand. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico frowns and shakes his head as he takes the sword from her, his eyes focused on that faint glow.]

I'm not. But I'm serious, I already know you're amazing at magic.I want you to be able to put someone on the ground like that without it.

[inkings]

What does it matter if I give myself a boost or not? It's not like I'm going to go into a fight without magic.