robinnest | Children of Hades

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

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

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. ]

Edited 2019-10-01 22:48 (UTC)

[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?

[ 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?

Edited 2019-10-06 01:30 (UTC)

[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.)]

[ 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.

Edited 2019-10-06 02:13 (UTC)

[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?

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. ]

[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.

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.

Not intentionally. [He frowns, realizing this is more than just a fluke. It isn't that Mal didn't understand they were training without magic, it's that she doesn't see the point. He lets his sword stay loose at his side as he approaches her, clearly not intending to continue the spar.]

You could lose your voice or a monster could steal it. Or be in a position where using it isn't an option.

You shouldn't ever have to fight without it, but you should know how to, in case you are, that's all.

[ he didn't deliberately invoke the isle, she knows. nico would never aim that low. ( mal would. but she has no illusions about who she is. ) even so, when he says she may find herself in a position where it isn't an option, all she can think of is the isle: her mother's shrill cries of frustration below while mal sat on her bed, feeling the power roiling inside her, struggling to emerge, knowing if she could only channel it…—and the impenetrable wall against which she slammed again and again.

she goes rigid as if nico had managed to land a hit. she looks away, her jaw set. mal visibly swallows. ] Fine, [ she declares tightly. a familiar wave of her finger and the spell lifts off of her skin like an exhalation. the sword feels heavier in her hand. ]

[The change is palpable and Nico shakes his head, dropping his sword carefully to the ground. This is important. It's vital to survival. But Mal's feelings are important too and he isn't just going to ignore that reaction and push her to keep fighting when something is wrong. ]

Hey. [Softer this time, his eyes on her.]

It's just...I've been there. I'm not saying—I mean, you're amazing Mal. I know you'll be amazing at this too with just a little practice. I just want you to be safe. [To be able to protect herself in all circumstances.]

[ mal raises her eyes to his, green to dark brown. ] You know you’re the first person to ever call me that? Or say anything positive about my magic, actually.

[ she was well-liked when she was handing out magical hair favors. not so much when she showed even an inkling of what she was actually capable of. her friends were the only ones who accepted her as she was, but even they didn’t understand why she couldn’t simply stop. for evie and jay and carlos, magic wasn’t intrinsic to them. they couldn’t miss it. and ben— there are reasons she has not even mentioned ben, tried her hardest not to think of him. ]

I get what you mean, though, [ she says with a little sigh. ] I can’t promise I’ll stop completely because I know me and I won’t. But I will leave the magic aside when we practice.

[ translation: she will enchant her sword to beat an ares kid into the dirt and there is nothing anyone can do to convince her that she shouldn’t. ]

I wouldn't ever ask you to give up part of who you are. [His eyes flash up and he grins, kneeling to retrieve his sword again.] we're children of Hades, Mal. Our powers scare people, but that's because they don't understand them.

[After a short pause, he stabs the sword point down an inch into the dust at their feet.] They're afraid of death, darkness, and sometimes magic too. [Where his sword is embedded in the earth, a faint purple glow shines out of it, and a moment later something thin and white wriggles out from the small crack before being joined by others like it: bones.]

But death isn't evil, it's part of life. [The bones join together to form the remains of what is perhaps a small cat, held together impossibly just as in life. The zombie creature pulls itself the rest of the way out of the dirt and then shudders as if shaking the grime from its non-existent coat.]

Darkness can protect. And Magic is a tool. [Nico bends to scrub at the cat's head and the cat leans into his hand before trotting over to Mal to rub against her leg.]

And if anyone says otherwise, they're a bunch of dumbasses.

[ mal has an image as clear as it is brief of nico on a megaphone on the second floor of auradon prep calling everyone below a dumbass. it makes her snicker.

bending, she passes a hand over the skeleton creature’s spine. when she straightens, the cat comes with, having caught mal’s arm. it paws at mal’s necklace until she lifts the pendant away. ]

Not that, [ she scolds lightly, tucking the necklace inside her shirt. unaffected, the cat curls up against mal’s chest. were it living, mal could picture it closing its eyes and purring like she had seen the kittens in lucifer’s litter do. maybe she should find this weirder — nico pulling a dead cat out of the ground and the creature then cuddling against her — except it actually feels perfectly natural.

it helps that mal finally discovered the only way animals don’t hate her on sight. ]

You should have started with this, [ she observes wryly, looking up at nico. ] Show me how to pull my very own familiar out of the ground first and I’d have followed any other lesson to the letter.

[ professor nico is getting a bad evaluation come the end of the semester. ]

[Nico can only dream that one day he'll make Mal's image a reality.

Nico's smile is proud as he reaches out to scratch the cat's chin, chuckling under his breath when it lifts its chin for more.]

He—[The cat lifts its head]—she's not a familiar, just...a friend. I'm not sure how to teach this part though. Maybe that can be our next lesson.

She will be a familiar when people ask me about her. [ mal, you're trying to be good, maybe give the vvitch vibe a rest.

hoisting the cat higher, mal goes to the edge of the practice area. ]

Come on, you. Sit here. [ she deposits the cat on the ground. ] You can watch me kick my brother's ass a second time.

[ when she turns around, however, the cat follows after her. for a couple of minutes, mal tries without success to keep it out of the danger zone. she looks to nico for help, but nico is the single most unhelpful person in existence ( she has not forgotten how he sprang hestia on her. )

to get the skeleton to stay put, mal finally removes her studded cuff and spells it to wriggle on the ground. that gets the animal's ( zombie's? is that rude? ) attention. it stalks through the grass like a, living, lion on the hunt. the cat pounces on it, but the cuff rolls just out of its reach. ]

Keep trying, [ mal encourages the cat unnecessarily. it has already taken off after the cuff. as she comes back, mal points at nico with her sword. ] That's your cat, di Angelo.

Edited (don't judge me) 2019-10-07 23:31 (UTC)

[Nico watches in amusement, a smile etching its way across his face as Mal attempts to distract the cat and then laughter bubbling of from his throat when she spells her bracelet. There isn't a single thing about the scene in front of him that isn't cute.]

Maybe, [He finally replies] But I can't keep her. I'm not strong enough to keep her here for more than an hour or so. [He admits a little wistfully. He'd gladly keep the little fluffless cat if he could. Nico moves into position then, nodding at her sword.]

Ready to go again?

Edited 2019-10-14 05:01 (UTC)

[ mal glances behind her. hearing her brother’s tone, an idea takes root. if he wants to keep the cat, there are ways.

she could suggest these to him like a functional human being(-esque) would.

or— ]

Let’s make it interesting. I get one hit in, [ she holds up one finger to illustrate, ] no magic, you do something for me.

[Nico snorts, shaking his head.]

One hit? Is that supposed to be a fair bet? You're a child of the elder gods, Mal. You're going to get in one hit.

So are you, [ she returned breezily. ] And with more experience. But we can make it a fight stopping hit if you’re not too scared.

[Nico shakes his head though he doesn't protest. It's weird maybe but he chalks it up to Mal's competitive streak alongside her upbringing on the Isle. He isn't entirely sure she won't be able to do what she's saying but whatever she wants from him can't be that bad, even if she's got a weird way of asking for it.]

That doesn't work on me, I'm not an Ares kid. But alright, I don't see the harm.

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