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mycatshuman · 5 years

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The Demonologists

A Sanders Sides Conjuring Au

This is based on The Conjuring movie, so if you can not handle creepy things, talk of death, possessions, demons, and ghosts, please turn away now.

Edit: I'm an idiot and forgot but thank you to @civilsounds17 for beta reading this chapter! 💚💚

More chapters

Word count: 1,562

Pairings: Pre-established Logicality and Prinxiety

Warnings: mention of death, demons, possession, mentions of the original Annabelle doll (it was actually a rag doll for those who don't know so don't yell at me.), please let me know if I missed any.

“It scares us just thinking about it.”

“You'll probably think we're insane.”

“Try us.”

“Please, from the very beginning.”

“Things started out small. Like a hand or leg would move or the head would turn, we even once found it in a different room!”

“Maybe someone had a key to your apartment and was playing a trick on you.”

“That's what we originally thought. But we never found any hint or evidence that anyone was intruding.” A women on the couch glanced at her wife as she spoke.

“So this led you to believe the doll was possessed?”

“Yeah. Rose even got in touch with a medium who told us that a small girl around 7 named Annabelle Higgins had died in our apartment a few years ago.”

Rose nodded before explaining further. “She was lonely and took a liking to my doll. She said all she wanted was to be friends.”

“When we heard this, we felt really sorry for her. We're nurses, we help people. It really got to us.”

Rose nodded along to her wife's words before taking over. “So…..” She looked at her wife. “We gave her permission to move into my doll.”

“Wait...what?!?!?! You...gave it permission?!?!?”

Ruby quickly jumped to defend themselves. “She said she wanted to live with us! She said that by inhabiting the doll she could live with us! So... we said yes.”

Rose sighed. “But then, it got worse.”

*Flashback*

Rose laughs as she unlocks the door to their home. She opens the door and her laughter stops. Ruby also comes to a pause beside her. The two look down to see a small shred of paper with the words, “Miss me?” In red crayon. They look up and see the rag doll sitting in the hallway against the wall. The two females walk together as they approach the doll.

“When we came home one night, she was sitting in the hallway. But we had left her in our spare room!”

The couple look down to see red crayons by the dolls’ hand. Rose hears a flickering and turns around to see their bedroom in a state of disaster. A lamp flickers on and off from its position knocked over on the floor, casting shadows over the room. Rose even spots a picture of her and her wife with the glass cracked and she lets out a horrified gasp as she takes in wobbly red crayon markings drawn all over the walls and ceiling. Another “Miss me?” Message is written on the ceiling in an erie childish hand.

As the two survey the room, the small sound of a crayon dropping gets their attention and they look down to see a lone red crayon roll across the floor towards their feet. Ruby has had enough as she quickly grabs the doll and storms out of the apartment and all the way outside to where she throws the doll in the dumpster along side the house.

Later that night, as the two slumber in their shared bed, a thundering knocking sounds at the door, effectively waking from them from their dreams. The two share a look before climbing out of bed and journeying to the door. Ruby opens the door and glances around only to find the halls empty.

However, when she looks down she finds a crumpled up piece of paper with red crayon and the same message as before. “Miss me?” She picks it up before looking around again to see if anyone was playing a cruel joke on them. She finds no one. She turns around to look at her wife to explain her findings when suddenly, the door next to Rose rattles with the thunderous knocking again. The two jump as they look at each other.

Rose gathers her courage before she grabs the doorknob and opens the door. She opens the door and lets out a small scream as she finds the doll sitting there.

*Flashback ends*

“We are beyond terrified at this point. We have no idea what is going on or what to do to stop it?” Rose explains.

“So….can you help us?” Ruby asks as she takes her wife's hand in hers and giving a comforting squeeze.

“Yes we can,” a man in royal reds, glittering golds, and pristine whites leans toward the couple on the couch. “But first, you have no know there is no such thing as Annabelle. There never was.” The man's amber eyes flash with seriousness as he talks to the couple.

“Ghost don't possess such power, I believe what we have here is extremely manipulative and inhuman,” another man, dressed in deep purples and blacks with small hints of silver throughout his outfit shifts slightly. “I think you acknowledging this doll was a big mistake. Through that toy, this inhuman spirit was able to trick you.”

“You basically gave it permission to invade your life.”

“What's an inhuman spirit?” Ruby asks as she looks between the two men.

“It's something that was never alive. It's something demonic.”

The wives glance at each other before they ask their next question. “So….the doll was never possessed?”

The darkly dressed man nods. “Right, it was used as a conduit. It was moved around to give the impression of possession. Demons don't possess things. They possess people.”

“It wanted to get inside of you,” the other explained.

The couple looked at each other.

“You can shut it down now, Toby.”

The lights flicker back on as the screen goes dark, the last image having been of the female couple.

The lecture room full of students all shift as two men, one in bright colors like red, white and gold, and the other contrasting with dark purples, blacks and accents of silver turn to address their class again.

“So, we get to the church and send the priest over to perform a blessing on the house and its occupants to ensure that whatever was oppressing them was no longer with them.” The man with amber eyes explained.

“Any questions?” the other asks their audience. He points to one of the people in the back row.

“Where's the doll now?”

The two men share a glance. “It's safe,” the man in mostly red and white answers. He then points to someone in the front row off to the left.

“So, what exactly are you guys? I mean, what do people call you?”

The darker skinned man moves to rest his chin on the man in blacks and purples as the other answers. “Uh..well, we've been called demonologists, that's one name for us. Ghost hunters, paranormal investigators, paranormal researchers…”

“Cucks,” the man in red pipes up. The class lets out a laugh.

“Whackos.”

Another round of giggles before the man in darker colors moves away from the other. “But we prefered to be known as simply Roman and Virgil Warren.”

-----

A car drives up a long dirt road until it stops in front of an old two story farmhouse surrounded by trees with a big tree standing by the lake. Behind the car, a moving truck stops as the family gets out. “Here we are,” a man with slicked back jet black hair says as he looks up at the house they have just bought.

“Wow!” A bubbly man says as he steps out of the passenger seat. He wears a light blue polo with light brown khaki pants and a light grey cardigan wrapped around his shoulders. “You hear that?” He asks his husband.

The other man turns to him. “I do not hear anything,” he responds as he raises an eyebrow at him.

The other man grins, his blue eyes sparkling behind his round glasses. “Exactly!” He exclaims. “No city noises to keep us up at night!”

His husband chuckles as he closes the driver's door. The two get up and walk to the front of the door, and crossing the threshold of their new home. As they stand on the porch, their children came up out of the car, most of them excited to start their new life.

The twins, Jericho and Apollo ran past yelling, “We call dibs on the big room!”

The youngest, Dante raced through the doorway as he shouted back at the remaining children, “I'll race ya!” His dad's chuckled as they watched their children all excited to pick out their rooms in the big house. Then Kai and Emile walked through the door, one with awe and the other scrolling through their phone.

“Do I get to pick my own room or do I not have a choice about that either?” Elliot asked as they stopped just before entering their new home.

The two parents chuckled as their children walked past before the bubbly one turned to the other who straightened his tie quickly. “Oh they’ll forget about Florida with the first crush they meet,” he said cheerily.

“Oh, I can't wait,” the other said as he pulled his husband into his embrace, wrapping his arms around his waist.

The man in a blue polo smiled wide before wrapping his arms around his husband's neck and pushing himself up on his tiptoes and kissing his love's lips. “I love you Logan.”

The other smiled. “I love you too Patton.”

This was a new start for them. And they were excited to see what came next.

------

(So that's that. Let me know what you think. I hope you have a good day and relaxing night.)

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jflashandclash · 5 years

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Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Fifty: Kalypso

Satyr Butts and Catching Up

Kally was happy they waited until she was awake to fill in the group about what happened. Frank wanted to wait until everyone was up, but Axel and Calex did a convincing job dissuading him from waking Euna.

Clovis had gently beckoned Kally out of her surprisingly peaceful dreams and Chris Rodriguez and Matthias Severe Hanson very ungently pulled Pax from inside his nest. Hazel was even generous enough to give Alabaster a white board and some dry erase markers.

Kally feared the first thing he’d write was, My helm or your first born child.[1] Considering the ingredients he kept for his spells, she wasn’t sure what he’d want if she’d lost something of his that was so important.

All of their possessions were gone when Kally woke up: her notebook, messenger bag, and his Cloven Terror helm. Even her clothing was gone. Instead, she woke up with an IV drip in her hand, a surgical smock, and pain with each breath. She had barely been able to pick up her glasses from the pillow beside her.

It was creepy to think someone had changed them. The only people Kally knew well at camp had also been unconscious. For the time being, Kally would just pretend that was one of Will’s powers: magically poofing people into surgical-friendly clothing.

The only person in the room who was allowed to keep their weapon—and Kally guessed “allowed’ was a strong word—was Euna.

Instead of asking about his missing things, Alabaster scribbled down, Why? and pointed to the balloon beside his sleeping bag. It depicted a satyr on one side and the satyr’s ass on the other with a note that said, “Poke me; I sing!” There were also streamers strewn off his IV stand.

“Apparently this is how a certain child of Hermes decided to thank you for saving his brother,” Dr. Claymore said. He never looked up from the book he was reading, though the smile that he cracked said he’d watch the Stoll set up everything while Alabaster slept.

Alabaster’s fingers flashed over the board to write, Ajax. No.

Pax, meanwhile, pouted.

Axel sighed. “His arms are too messed up to throw anything at it. Trust me. He tried.”

Frank and Reyna sat in foldout chairs they’d managed to stuff into the room, moving Lapis’ closer to the weird bird cage in the corner. Hazel stood ready by the door like the most unassuming of guards. None of them wore armor, just SPQR sweatshirts and workout pants. Hazel’s fingers tensed around her spatha’s hilt. Reyna twirled her knife into the edge of her seat. A sword hung at both her and Frank’s sides. Every time Euna mumbled in her mossy cocoon, they would startle and go for their weapons.

While nibbling on some microwave breakfast sandwiches, Reyna got them up to speed.

“Apparently, after Prometheus brought Axel and Pax back here, he contacted Helios—”

Kally felt her jaw drop along with a piece of egg. “Wait—that creepy, former sun god that used to work with Hemera?”

Kally remembered Helios and Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, dream-messaging her to say that Hemera had been taken.

“Creepy is a forgiving choice of word,” Reyna said, looking utterly unamused.

Frank coughed off to the side. “Reyna may have brought Helios up to speed on the last few decades of equality on gender treatment.”

“With her fist,” Hazel said with a giggle. Whatever transpired must have been intense. Hazel was fanning herself.

Axel smiled, looking impressed. Although Merry and Calex had informed Kally about his flirt-session with a cat goddess, Kally had a feeling no one could distract Axel from this praetor.

Reyna cleared her throat and continued, “Prometheus contacted Helios—”

“And said there might be an open job listing for Sun Chariot Driver,” Pax filled in, bouncing on his haunches.

Apparently, before Kally woke up, Pax had been refusing treatment. She forced him to take some ambrosia with a Reese’s Stick. Now, she was wondering if the extra sugar before real food was a bad idea. Though, with the barely convincing smile on his face, she wondered if Pax was acting as peppy as possible to distract everyone from how he actually felt.

Reyna nodded, looking a lot less like she wanted to strangle Pax than Kally would expect. “If Nyx wanted Hemera to come back alive, Eris told Nyx that she had to wrap Apollo in the Golden Net and keep him there, but didn’t mention anything about the chariot. When Nyx’s old business associate showed up to borrow the Sun Chariot, she didn’t try to stop him.”

“How did Helios know where to find them?” Calex asked. He leaned up against the wall, sitting on top his sleeping bag. Kally winced anytime she glanced at him. Half his handsome face was covered in some vicious scabs that cracked when he talked. The bandages peaking out of his clothing indicated that wasn’t the only part of him that was cracking.

Merry, sitting between them, would occasionally frown and apply pressure with a clean cloth when something bled too much. Her face was marred with bruises, and when Kally had tried to put a thumb at neutral position to see how Merry was feeling, Merry had shaken her head and mouthed the words, later, sweetie.

Frank snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Augh, you should have heard Helios. ‘I helped find Persephone when Hades kidnapped her. You think I can’t find someone as high on his own sun fumes and flamboyant as Apollo?’’

Hazel frowned. “They really don’t like each other. After Sadie, Leo, and Jason got Hemera and Lapis back and Lady Nyx let Lord Apollo go, he stormed back here. Helios had come back to get rid of Python’s corpse—”

“Corpse?!” Calex and Kally echoed.

Her head spun. She had put her everything into the last light javelin she threw, but… corpse?

Calex slipped a hand past Merry to offer Kally a high five. “Nice play, Kassand,” he said.

Kally struggled to raise her arm that didn’t have the skin graft. Every move made her ribs burn. On the list of reasons she found her powers stupid, having the ability to conjure the heat and brilliance of the sun without being fireproof topped everything else.

Seeing her slow movement, Calex leaned the extra way to tap her hand.

“Thanks for the assist, McKenzie,” Kally said, sincerely hoping they’d be well enough and the chaos would settle enough that she and Calex could scrimmage each other on the soccer field. Every time they high-fived, it made her long for a fun, normal-seeming soccer match.

“Python will reform one day,” Reyna said. “Until then, Helios pried out her fangs for the two of you. Thalia already called dibs on one of the eyes to add to her Aegis shield.”

“Thalia’s okay?” Axel asked, his ears perking up at the name.

Reyna nodded. “Once Lady Diana saw the sun fall, she returned to check on everyone. Thalia is with Lady Diana now, assuring that Lord Apollo doesn’t skip out on details when they explain everything to the other Olympians.”

The squeak of a marker brought everyone’s attention to Alabaster. He held up his white board. If his jaw wasn’t wired shut, he looked like he might have been smirking.

Helios and Apollo didn’t get along?

Kally suddenly wondered whose side Helios was on during the Second Titan War and why Prometheus, who apparently had been hiding since Mount Othrys’ fall, had been comfortable going to him for help.

Hazel continued her story from where Kally had interrupted. Kally felt her cheeks get red, realizing how much she’d derailed them.

“Helios’ actions helped save the camp, but Lord Apollo was furious the older deity had borrowed the sun chariot. And Helios began shouting at him for neglecting his employees. He demanded Lord Apollo give Hemera, Eos, and Astraeus more benefits and more days off during the winter solstice. I thought they were about to start brawling, but that’s around when Artemis showed up and calmed her brother down. It was…” Hazel smiled softly. “Kinda sweet. You could tell Helios really cared. He only left to check on Hemera and make sure she and Nyx were okay.”

“At least he had some redeemable features,” Reyna grumbled. She flexed her hand and Kally noticed the bandages around Reyna’s knuckles. “And Lord Apollo helped a little with the healing before he left. His song saved Lou Ellen and Michael Kahale.”

Alabaster made a noise.

Kally glanced over to see him covering his stitched jaw, where she knew a bone had been sticking out a day before. Judging by his pallor, he must have tried to talk.

Kally didn’t have the heart to ask which people Apollo hadn’t been able to heal. A moment of silence passed; everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Pax stopped rocking on his haunches. “So, two of the Special Seven are here.” He pointed to Hazel and Frank. “I’m going to guess Piper and Annabeth are still doing some massive sleep marathons to get rid of the kissing disease and the buboes. Commander Valdez just left, and his good mood means he’s got his blond Superman around. Where’s your Aquaman?”

The tone of his voice was a little too careful. Kally didn’t understand the seriousness of the question—she assumed Percy had other important things to do now that he wasn’t glued to a chair—then she saw the way Merry jutted her jaw to the side.

“After Jason assured him that he’d focus on reconstruction, Percy went to spend the day with his parents and little sister,” Hazel said, “I think the whole family is coming to help out tonight. He’s a little rough though. Um… I think the early stages of mono are setting in.”

Kally held her breath as Pax, Axel, and Lapis all turned their gaze to Merry. Even Calex frowned in concern, showing she hadn’t told him about anything yet.

Reyna cleared her throat, sitting up.

Merry waved the diversion off before Reyna could begin. “I guess I can’t really avoid the Debby Downer anymore,” she said. The buoyancy vanished from her voice. “I…”

Her gaze had sunk to the floor. Reflexively, she tapped her collarbone, like she expected the music dial on her jacket to appear. After sucking in a shaky breath, she looked back up, glancing from Pax, to Axel, to Lapis. “Baby Jackson is safe… but, by the time the EMTs got there...” A silent tear rolled down Merry’s busted cheek. She withdrew her hand from Calex’s reach when he tried to touch it. “Hiro is paralyzed from the waist down.”

Kally froze. She could hear the sound of three different cheeks popping.

“He fell onto one of the parapets… I shattered his mind. It was all I could think to do when—he’s at Mount Sinai hospital.” Merry’s breath was so short, she sounded close to hyperventilating. “I-I’m sorry.”

Kally felt her mouth hang open in surprise. Iciness in her stomach made her set the half-eaten breakfast sandwich down. Her appetite was gone.

Merry hated violence. She wouldn’t even hurt bugs. Shattering someone’s mind? Was that even something Merry could do?

Tears streamed down Pax’s face.

Axel closed his eyes.

Lapis choked into his gag. His chair thudded on the ground as he thrashed.

Pax shot up from his bedding.

Frank rose to intercept him, but Reyna shook her head.

Pax scurried to Lapis. With a whimper at moving his arm with the injured shoulder, he tore off Lapis’ gag before anyone could stop him.

That mustn’t have been what the praetor thought Pax would do. Maybe a hug. Not giving a psychopath their most dangerous weapon back.

Hazel, Frank, and Reyna all tensed. Kally expected Lapis to cast some kind of Egyptian magic and send everyone’s faces smashing into the ground.

Instead, Lapis sobbed, tearing making black lines as they mixed with his charcoal liner. “He’s alive. Our stupid grime-licking Dartface is still alive. You hear that, Tufted Ears?” Lapis looked up, his expression one of crazed glee. “There are still four Pax boys! Eat garbage, world! You can ‘t eradicate us that easily!”

Pax and Axel released broken laughs. Pax snuggled, as best as he could, against Lapis.

Axel muttered something back to Lapis in a staccato language that Kally could only guess was Mayan. The Egyptian barked something back that made them burst into more sob-laughs.

Merry looked understandably speechless. She hugged herself and huddled further from Calex’s worried glance.

Axel exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. “Merry, we expected you to do what you needed to do. Hiro babysat Percy’s little sister for days and was willing to cut off her fingers without a moment of hesitation.”

“His mind was more like a mirror hanging out at a skeet shooting lounge,” Pax croaked.

“But he’s alive,” Lapis repeated, rubbing the coal-tear streaks against his sleeve. “Our crazy bastard is alive.”

Lapis sat up to glare at Reyna. “I’m going to hug my brothers,” he announced. He muttered something in Egyptian and his bindings disintegrated.

The Romans clutched their weapons tightly as Lapis rose. He half-dragged Pax, half-limped over to Axel’s sleeping roll and collapsed beside him, dragging Pax down on his other side.

“We’re going to be a Facebook-friendly, snot-happy family, and we’re not losing any more of us. But, I’m still kicking both your sorry asses for all this shit later,” Lapis said, rubbing his face on some of Axel’s bandages. His scowl darkened when he pointed to where Merry was now sobbing into her cupped hand. “Don’t think you’re off the hook though, Wine Babe. You’re coming over all the flippin’ time to try to fix up Dart Face’s messed up head.”

Merry didn’t complain. She nodded her head feverously. With that tiny hint at forgiveness, she leaned toward Calex.

Despite all the terrible things Lapis had helped put them through, Kally felt her own eyes warm. Axel and Pax looked so much more relaxed with their family member beside them, like neither cared what was going to happen next. For a moment, she could picture some of the stories Pax had told her, about them playing in the school yards of Belize or pranking the carnival with Frasco. Her gut twisted to realize there really were only four members left when there used to be seven in their Tumbling group.

Like Reyna had read a book on how to ruin family moments, she twisted her knife deeper into her chair and said, “We need to talk about that.” Frank and Hazel’s expressions fell. Alabaster made a low growling sound, closer to something Axel might make. Dr. Claymore shut his book and examined them carefully.

“Merry being a Wine Babe?” Pax choked through hiccups.

Reyna ignored him. “Frank and I discussed matters with Chiron and Annabeth. Considering Merry’s father’s position at camp and her importance in saving Percy’s little sister, we believe the Olympians will overlook her involvement with the Triple A Chimera,” Reyna said.

Kally felt her stomach make a valid attempt to punch its way out.

“We believe Calex will also be absolved of any crimes, as well as Kally, especially considering their prominence in taking out Python. However, Euna is a different matter. Her declaration and continued vehemence towards the gods will make her a target for Olympian ire and they’re going to be looking for a target after this humiliation.”

Kally glanced over at Euna. The daughter of Demeter snored softly in her moss and grass cocoon. Despite the scythe in her hand, Euna looked peaceful, in a weird feral dryad sort of way.

Any relaxation Axel might have felt about having another sibling close must have tensed away. He sat up, away from Lapis and Pax, pulled his shoulders back, and raised his chin. “You’re not taking Euna without a fight,” he said.

Reyna sighed. She stood and walked over to Axel’s sleeping bag. When she knelt down, his gaze remained firm. Then, Reyna pressed the butt of her knife into Axel’s bandages.

Pax and Lapis exchanged a look and a short conversation in Mayan. One of Lapis’ hands shot up and Pax shoved it down.

Axel’s face paled at the pressure on his wounds. He collapsed backwards with little more than a grunt.

“Will says that you’d be dead if that goddess hadn’t helped you heal,” Reyna said, sheathing her knife. “And Euna’s not the only one we’re worried about. The Triple A Chimera isn’t safe. New Rome has wanted to hunt you down for years, and I assume the gods want the same. Look at what Ares did as an unofficial punishment. Image what it would be like with a full consensus.”[2]

Kally could feel the saliva building in her mouth and she swallowed back the urge to vomit. The thought of Pax’s fresh injuries and both brothers’ internal turmoil flashed through her head. She still couldn’t believe the Greeks and Romans worshipped gods that would force people to kill their own family members. She knew Axel and Pax had screwed up in the past—they’d even betrayed her—but nothing warranted what happened to them.

“None of you could defend yourself right now. The spellcaster doesn’t have a mouth to cast a spell. The thief can't use his hands to throw a smoke bomb or plan an escape. The tank isn’t strong enough to hold up against the gentlest press from the butt of a knife,” Reyna said, her tone tight.

“You said butt,” Pax whispered, though his face was still pale.

No one laughed at Pax’s joke. None of them were in a condition to help the Triple A Chimera or Euna escape, except maybe Euna herself. Even then, maybe not. Tearing one god apart left Euna comatose for a day. What would Euna do if they summoned her to Olympus with the twelve gods?

Squeaks interrupted the ominous hush. They glanced over to Alabaster as he flipped his white board over, What are you saying?

His scowl was intense.

“I’m saying that we’re grateful that you helped save camp, but that doesn’t make up for your crimes in the past.” Reyna’s sternness didn’t break under his glare.

Merry, Kally, and Calex exchanged a terrified glance. This wasn’t right, and they all knew it.

Frank cleared his throat. “But, we are also saying there is a lot of chaos happening at camp right now and it’s hard to keep track of who is here and who leaves and who was supposed to be guarding the Pax Mobile. Hazel, wasn’t it supposed to be Dakota?”

Hazel coughed and became very interested in something outside their room. “I’m not sure. I thought Dakota had a sugar crash and Bobby was supposed to take over for him? It’s kind of hard to say.”

After dealing with Axel and Pax for so long, Kally was relieved to see that Hazel was a terrible liar.

Tension eased from Kally’s chest. Merry squeezed Kally’s shoulder. Calex chuckled.

Axel still looked concerned as he struggled to sit up. Although they made it as subtle as possible, Kally could tell Lapis and Pax were helping him, especially when Lapis rolled his eyes. “Reyna?” he asked, like he was looking for affirmation.

Although Kally usually looked at Axel as a leader of sorts, she wanted to hit him with a, shut up and accept it speech.

Reyna folded her arms across her chest. Her face was unreadable. “If I didn’t want to face the Olympian’s wrath, I wouldn’t be here when the sunsets. That’s as long as Thalia suggested she could stall the Olympians, if there was a need. But, also, I would get out of here as soon as possible, in case any guards decided they wanted to change how vigilant they were being. Speaking of which, Zhang?”

Frank sat up, and Kally got the feeling he often forgot he was a praetor. It made him a lot less intimidating and made Kally feel even worse that she’d given him a massive concussion during one of their… misunderstandings. With the Triple A Chimera on the run again, Kally wondered if any of those misunderstanding would be cleared up, or if the Triple A Chimera would go down in the history books as exclusively monsters.

“We should decide who we wanted to post here, since Leo and Sadie might consider leaving early for their trip without telling anyone and there might be a gap in the guard,” she said. There was a hint of humor in her tone as she turned to step out the door.

As Frank went to stand, Axel said, “Wait, I’ve been meaning to say something to Praetor Zhang.”

Reyna continued out the door with little more than a wave. Apparently she was done with Pax nonsense for the day.[3]

Frank paused. His expression twisted to one of trepidation and Kally couldn’t blame him. Out of all the heroes of Olympus, this shockingly nice son of Mars had taken the brunt of the injuries from their group, both mental and… emotional.

“I’m sorry about your ear,” Axel said. The comment felt almost like a casual formality and Kally contemplated whether maiming apology letters were a thing.

Frank reached up to touch the bandages still plastered to the side of his head. He frowned. “Yea, I’m still pretty mad about that. But… um… Sorry my dad made me interrupt your date. I would have at least waited until you were alone to arrest you. Do you guys… know what happened to it? My ear, I mean? Will said we could have reattached my ear if we had it…”

Frank looked a little queasy. Kally had to wonder: if someone ripped off her ear, would she rather they had eaten it or the ear just been lost?

Alabaster and Pax exchanged a glance. Axel’s face remained blank, but he puffed up his cheeks and popped them.

The son of Hecate tapped his white board to draw attention to him. After an uncomfortable period of marker squeaks, Alabaster held up his board, No. It would be weird if we took it, right?

Frank’s shoulders slumped. “I just wish we hadn’t lost it,” he said.

Calex cleared his throat. Kally made herself look anywhere but at Frank. Merry glanced at all of them with a disapproving, confused hum.

Before anyone could stop him, Pax let out a nervous giggle. “Oh, we didn’t. It’s in a tube of formaldehyde in Alabaster’s basement.”

Frank paled. His mouth moved a few times in horror. Hazel’s eyes went wide.

“I just wish we’d lost it,” Frank corrected forlornly. If possible, his shoulders sank lower.

“Oh!” Pax said, “Speaking of not losing things that could emotionally destroy cute Canadian boys.”

From within his blanket nest, Pax withdrew a charred stick and balanced it on his busted hand like he was presenting a baby lion.

Hazel reacted first. She snatched the stick from Pax’s palm and held it close to her chest. “When did you get this back?!”

“We thought Atë still had it!” Frank said. He rushed to Hazel’s side, slipping a hand to hers to touch his stick.[4] “Thank—wait, were you the one that set it on fire during the fight? I felt that.”

Frank scowled at Pax.

Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “If I said that I gambled your life force for a good cause—Aye!”

“What Ajaxapax is trying to say is that he’s sorry for stealing your piece of ugly kindling in the first place,” Lapis said. His fingers were pinched tightly around Pax’s ear. His charcoal-lined eyes narrowed as he gave Pax a devilish grin. “Just ‘cause Tufted Ears traumatized you doesn’t mean you get an easy pass.”

“But—but my year of consequence-free pranking!” Pax squeaked, squirming to break Lapis’ hold.

Hazel tucked the stick neatly into Frank’s pocket. “When did you get it from him in the first place?” she asked. “Frank is really careful with his stick.”

Lapis released Pax so he could give a proper explanation.

Heat rose in Kally’s cheeks. With everything going on, she couldn’t remember why she was so enraged by the mention of that stick, but she knew it was something that made her furious.

As they watched, Pax’s features shifted. His skin darkened several shades as his hair lightened to a cinnamon. His black eye lightened to match the hazel one. His frame shrank. Within a few seconds, there were two Hazels in the room. Fortunately, his hand stayed busted and bruised as a dead giveaway in the event that they decided to play a quick round of Ring around the Rosie. Pax-Hazel altered the way he was sitting, mimicking Hazel’s shy demeanor.

Frank’s jaw dropped.

Real Hazel gasped.

Hazel-Pax batted his-her eyes at Frank and fanned her face. When he spoke, his accent mimicked her slight Louisiana one. “Oh, the day after we arrived in New Rome? It was just a little detour that Frank and I took on our walk to the training fields. I needed you two to be too flustered to communicate, so no one would realize there were two Hazels walking around. And I needed a centurion that the praetors would trust to go into the principia on their own.”

“Wait, what?” Axel demanded, scowling at Pax.

“You dodgy perv,” Calex said, putting the good half of his face into his hand. “Do you want these blokes to go back on letting you go?”

Frank looked like he couldn’t decide if he was going to be sick or if he was going to turn into a rhino and gore Pax. Hazel looked horrified. “You were mean to Frank? As me?!” she asked, sounding genuinely hurt.

Kally remembered why she was in the let’s hurt Pax party.

“Yea, ‘mean.’” Hazel-Pax lost the act. At real Hazel’s appall, he gave Frank an endearing smile. “She’s so cute and innocent.”

Frank seemed to decide on goring Pax. He stood back to full height and Kally could see him tensing for an attack.

Lapis twisted Pax’s ear again. Pax shrieked while morphing back into his raven-haired, hazel-and-black eyed, Hispanic self.

“Aye! Okay! Okay! I’m sorry I impersonated your girlfriend and rocked your morning!”

“We’re giving you this head start because you saved the camp,” Frank told him, shaking with rage, “But, once we help rebuild the camp, I’m fulfilling my father’s quest and dragging you before the Olympic council in place of your brother.”

With the threat, Frank stalked off down the hallway.

Hazel paused. She walked up to Pax and punched him in the face.

Pax squealed again, pressing his ruined palm to his face. “Well deserved punches are the most painful!”

Hazel’s mouth moved a few times. She blushed. When she couldn’t think of the right words, she stormed off after Frank.

Although Kally knew Pax’s words were light, the tone was choked, like all his obnoxious bravado had met its match. For an uncomfortable moment, she wondered if Pax had been intentionally a jerk to let Frank and Hazel focus on that, instead of going easy on him after… everything.

Kally shook off the feeling. She was still mad at him for doing whatever he did with Frank while they were almost-not-really-dating. She was also mad that she couldn’t decide if she did or didn’t want to know what it was or if that even mattered. There had been so much going on, and so much almost dying, that Kally hadn’t had a chance to think about her feelings for Pax, or that Alabaster had kissed her in the infirmary, or that Alabaster and Pax had dated, or that Pax had locked himself into a hopefully platonic date with his half-sister. There was still too much going on to acknowledge that train wreck.

New rule: no flirting until at least one month after the most recent traumatic event. Preferably with everyone in safe locations with fewer gods trying to kill them.

Kally glanced at Pax, wondering how long he’d make it before—

“What did you do?” Axel demanded again, his voice tight.

Tapping emitted across the room and Alabaster pointed to his board. And why did you need access to the principia? Unlike Axel, Alabaster looked amused.

“Yep, still illiterate,” Pax reminded him, though Kally suspected he’d dodge that question regardless. “Let’s just say that Frank might know these hands better than Alabaster or Kally. And really, that—in itself—is a crime.” Pax held his hands up and winked at Kally. He blew a kiss to Alabaster as best he could. Although he was trying to look playful and cute, the way his shoulder slumped and the discoloration of his hand almost distracted Kally from the obscenity. Almost.

Axel sighed. “Lapis, can you hurt Pax for me?”

Pax didn’t squeak fast enough when Lapis snagged his ear. There was a split second where Kally could see Pax examining his hand. His forearm twitched with movement, but only his thumb folded to the bruised skin. A sickness returned to Kally’s stomach when she realized he was trying to move his other four fingers. All their hard work reattaching Pax’s tendons had been undone. She wondered if he’d ever be able to move his fingers again.

In one way, that felt like karma, with how much of a sneak thief and pickpocket Pax was. But then Kally remembered how much Pax liked to paint and sew and bake for others. She remembered how he used his pickpocketing to help his brother combat his nicotine addiction.

That moment of Pax’s silent recognition past, then he was whining under Lapis’ grip. “Aye! Okay! I lied! Kally still knows this hand better!”

Merry shoved Kally’s shoulder while humming Let’s get it on.

Kally felt like her face had caught fire, her head scrambling to figure out what he was—

“Because I cut it open for surgery?” she half-asked, half-explained. That’s the only thing he could—

Something made a loud thump. Kally jumped. Pain exploded in her ribs and she inhaled sharply. That’s when she remembered there was an adult in the room, listening to this whole conversation.

Claymore had slammed his book shut, which Kally didn’t even remember him reopening. “As charming as this teenage idiocy is, it might be prudent to follow the praetors’ suggestion of haste. The Triple A Chimera and Euna are on a timeline. I don’t want to see what will happen if they change their minds.”

***

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed :D Stay tuned next week for Kally’s chapter, A Stalling Resolution. And, afterwards, stay tuned for the Part One/Part Two epilogues the following weeks! We’re so close to being done!

***

Footnotes:

[1] Pax would like to say that Alabaster probably wants to say this regardless, but not with the same intention that Kally fears.

[2] I just had to note the amount of swearing and anger Mel wrote in her betanotes about this. XD

[3] Mel beta note: “BUT YOU LOVE ONE PAX’S NONSENSE, RIGHT?! THERE’S STILLL A CHANCE, RIGHT?!”

[4] I will leave this how it sounds and judge all of you for saying anything between this cute Canadian and sweet New Orleans girl could be dirty.

#TOO #HOO #Heroes of Olympus #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #PJO #Traitors of Olympus #Calex #Kally #Reyna #Frank #Hazel #Pax #Axel #Alabaster #Merry #Lapis #Pax almost rightfully gets his ass kicked by Frank <3 #WE'RE SO CLOSE TO THE END! SOOOO cloooossseee!

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mylittledragonhoard · 7 years

Text

Fic: Viva Las Vegas

[AO3]

Chapter Two: Sunday Night

Brown eyes stared at the man in front of him, completely entranced as the blond regaled him with the fantastic tale of his encounter with a whale shark while scuba diving in Cancún about a month ago.

Kili had been figuratively on the edge of his seat for the past hour as he listened to some amazing adventures. He'd asked Philip what he was doing in Vegas to start a conversation and he hadn't been disappointed.

First of all it was Fili, not Philip, because "Philip was a chubby kid too shy to make friends". Despite how much his head hated him, Kili laughed upon hearing the name the man went by because it was just too perfect.

Fili was confused by the sudden outburst until Kili grinned and explained. "I go by Kili."

"Well fuck me." The blond grinned, utterly bemused.

"Already did." Kili said without thinking and that just threw Fili into a giggling fit.

Fili explained that he was in Vegas to cross a few things off his bucket list. Ah the bucket list again. That made Kili curious so he asked for details about what kinds of things were on it and that had been that. He had continued asking questions because he was utterly fascinated by just how much Fili had done.

In a little over a year the man had learned to fly an airplane for the fun of it, had swam with both sharks and dolphins on two separate occasions, visited countries Kili had never even heard of, and had done a lot of things that involved jumping out of an airplane or jumping from tall things like cliffs and bridges.

Aside from crazy stunts that would have led to Kili wetting himself, the blond had also done things like volunteer for about ten weeks researching and monitoring nests of sea turtles in Kenya. He'd wanted to build homes for families in Haiti too, but it hadn't worked out.

Suffice it to say, Fili led a very active life.

At one point in the conversation an adorable blush coloured Fili's cheeks and the tips of his ears. "Oh my god, I probably sound so conceited the way I go on."

But Kili assured him it wasn't like that. "No way, man. I keep asking questions because I'm interested! Your passion for everything is contagious."

Fili wanted to know all about Kili and didn't care when Kili promised it would be incredibly boring as it paled vastly in comparison to Fili’s. Fili insisted though, so Kili began with why he was in Vegas and how it was a present for graduating university. That led into what he'd majored in and what he planned to do once he got back, and that was to take a year off to just get life experience, which just seemed kind of childish as Kili said it.

Fili didn't seem to think so though, and encouraged Kili to do what he wanted and not to worry about what others thought.

Aside from that, Kili didn’t really have much to say about himself aside from a few details. He didn’t want to lose Fili’s interest with details of his very ordinary life even though the blond had assured him he wasn't boring. Fili seemed to understand that Kili just wasn’t as open with strangers as he was about information and had accepted what little the brunet had chosen to share.

"So, Mr. Adventurer Extraordinaire. I should be looking forward to a very busy week." Kili sipped at his drink, pop this time because he wasn't ready for more alcohol yet.

They’d left the hotel – (The fucking Erebor! Kili was going to brag to his friends about that later since it was one of the largest and most prestigious hotel chains in the world, and they never would have thought to even look into it for their own vacation. Fili certainly knew how to travel in style.) – and had gone for supper at what looked like a fancy restaurant on the outside but really ended up being comfortable and welcoming. The place served a buffet, which was perfect for two starving young men suffering from hangovers.

They had sat down at a large table and had covered it with plates of food. They’d pretty much grabbed a plate for everything on the buffet line and they'd both nibbled and ate from every dish until everything was practically gone. Kili's hangover appreciated all the greasy foods and by the look of it, Fili was the same.

In response to Kili's comment, Fili looked confused, as though he'd forgotten the fact that they'd accidentally gotten hitched, and Kili wouldn't have been surprised if he had. The marriage hadn't been mentioned since they woke up. The look quickly disappeared as those sea blue eyes lit up in surprise happiness and a sexy smirk curled his lips upward, dimples deepening to a point that should have been illegal.

Hungover and disheveled Fili had been utterly hot that morning before Kili's little freak out about the certificate, but showered, dressed, and ready for life Fili was a whole other level. That smile alone sent Kili's heart into palpations and reminded him how little room he had in his skinny jeans. He didn't know whether to be jealous because he still felt and looked like shit, or be smug because yeah, he'd tapped that delectable ass the night before, even if he couldn't remember it.

"Nah, I can take it easy for a few days." The blond promised as he sipped at a milkshake he'd ordered: chocolate, raspberry, cherry, and cheesecake because he couldn't decide on a flavour and apparently because life was too short to waste time choosing. "I know I stole you away from your friends, but there are other things I'd like to do and would very much enjoy doing them with you." He admitted freely, unashamed with no trace of awkwardness at his forwardness.

Kili had already concluded that Fili took things as they came, had no issues with admitting his emotions, and was trying to live each day as if it was his last. There were no regrets and no shame with what he wanted. There had to be something behind that, because nobody Kili knew even had a bucket list or such a busy life, but he didn't feel right asking after only knowing and remembering each other for a total of three hours.

Fili's attitude was infectious though, and Kili decided that he could live that way too, at least when it came to this man. A week of marriage wasn't so scary once he'd looked up the laws about annulment, and how it could be done anytime. (The scariest thing was what was going to happen when Kili's mother found out, but he refused to think about that for the time being.)

"I truly hope a re-enactment of last night is on your to do list." The brunet said without a thought as he plucked the remaining deep fried pickle from its plate and took a bite. "Because you can steal me for as long as you want."

Those blue eyes widened just a bit, but that smirk grew a little wider as the milkshake was put down. "As many times as we can physically handle it." And the hungry way Fili let his eyes trail down Kili's form until the table interrupted him was enough to make the brunet want to drag him back to the hotel room and make good on his word.

Luckily, unlike drunk Kili, sober Kili could control his urges, so he stayed right where he was, even if that was the last thing he wanted to do. His pleased grin said it all though. "And what other things did you plan on squeezing in between rounds?”

Fili tilted his head as he turned thoughtful and that mass of long hair tumbled off a shoulder. It was as soft as it looked; Kili had eagerly checked when they'd lounged around in bed for a bit before getting up to eat. "You're here on vacation, right? You must have had plans."

While that was true, and while it was also true that these plans had been laid out for a while, Kili was certainly not disappointed in how it had played out so far. No offence to his friends, but he knew who they’d choose to spend their holiday with if either of them was sitting in his seat.

Kili shrugged in response to the blond's kind of question. "We were planning to mostly party, gamble a little, and see the sights." He finished off the pickle. In truth Tauriel had planned every moment of their time down to the last detail. She was organized like that and Kili did appreciate it. But at that moment, Kili decided that his plans had changed. "I think I'm getting the better deal with you." He smiled coyly as he laced his fingers together and propped his chin on them. "Tauriel can be a little overwhelming when she takes charge of things."

"Tauriel." Fili repeated the name as if he was tasting it, "Red hair?"

"Yeah. You remember?" Now that he was awake and his head no longer wanted a divorce from his body, a few of Kili's memories had filtered back. They were hazy and only fragments, and sadly there was nothing after meeting Apollo here and being led out onto a dance floor, but he would take what he could get and hoped more would return eventually.

Fili leaned back in the booth he’d commandeered and looked highly amused. “If she’s who I think she is, then she tried to pick me up.”

Kili couldn’t deny that it sounded like her after the texts he’d read that morning. “Yeah, that’s probably her. Hope she wasn’t too forward.” He grinned.

Fili chewed his bottom lip, and his dimples appeared again even though he tried his best not to smile, “Is my vagina crying or are you just sexy?”

Kili choked and stared at the man, “What?!”

Fili burst into laughter at Kili’s response. He’d been laughing a lot since they’d woken up the second time, despite wincing every once in a while because of the ache in his head. It was a rather adorable laugh that was more giggle than anything and just seemed to fit this blond stranger perfectly. “That’s the first thing she said to me.”

The brunet laughed until there were tears in his eyes. He didn’t know if he felt bad for Tauriel or not. She could get a little wild when she was drunk and that certainly sounded like something she’d say. “Yeah, pretty sure that’s her. Drunk Tauriel has no filter or sense of subtlety, and apparently she called dibs on you last night and was really pissed I left with you.”

“Oh really?” Fili's smile was bordering on smug as he leaned forward on his elbows and looked at Kili curiously.

Instead of replying, Kili took out his phone and moved to the messages, sliding it across and letting the man read for himself. The laughter erupting from the table once more gained the attention of a few other diners and made Kili grin by the sheer ease of it. “Should have sent a couple of pictures. I hate being the reason for causing someone so much obvious pain.” He was speaking of her last text. “I hope she doesn’t take it personally. Girls aren’t my thing.” He shrugged as he slid the phone back.

“Luckily for me.” Kili picked the phone up just as it buzzed. He frowned and looked at it. “Speaking of the red haired devil; her ears must be burning.” He opened the new text message.

[From: Tauriel] Where the hell are you?? Did the Aussie plow you so hard you can’t text??

Kili rolled his eyes and showed Fili his phone again.

The blond grunted as he picked up his milkshake again, “Kiwi, not Aussie.” He mumbled around the straw in an adorably petulant tone.

Kili snickered as he typed a reply. “He’s a Kiwi, and now you’ve offended him.” He said aloud as he keyed in the message and hit send.

The reply was almost instantaneous.

[From: Tauriel] OMG!!! YOU ARE ALIVE!!! [From: Tauriel] Ori was worried Mr. Hottie McNaughty turned out to be a psycho and killed you! Where are you? You still owe me details!

Fili choked on his giggling over his new nickname as he read over the texts again, “She’s insistent.” He observed once he could breathe again, reaching toward a plate that had a piece of apple pie on it. It looked like dessert was the only thing left on the table.

“Oh you don’t know the half of it. She’s going to wheedle me for every little detail when she gets the chance.” He loved his friend, but it was hard keeping up with Tauriel sometimes. He tapped his phone thoughtfully before sliding out of his side of the booth and sliding into Fili’s, saddling up close. “Want to have a little fun?” He asked even as he found the camera app.

Whether Fili understood what Kili wanted or he was just going with the flow as usual, Kili didn’t know, but he grinned and nodded, pushing the pie away and turning more toward the brunet so they could easily both fit in the frame.

Kili held the phone up and leaned back against the other man’s solid form, enjoying the fact that he could press himself back against the other. Just as he was about to snap the selfie, he saw Fili move on the screen and fingers gently gripped his chin and turned his head until a pair of sweet tasting lips covered his own. Fili tasted like cinnamon and apples after the pie he’d eaten, and Kili almost forgot to snap the picture before he was lost in a kiss that started sweet but then grew more intense as he tilted his head to better their angles.

It was a while before they came up for air, and by then the food had been forgotten.

They were both panting a little as they ended the kiss for the unfortunate need for air, though neither seemed willing to really move apart. The blue in Fili’s eyes had all but disappeared and Kili had the feeling that his weren’t any better. If only a kiss was that hot, holy fuck, Kili wanted to experience everything with this man.

Fili seemed to have the same idea as his nose brushed against Kili’s. “I think we should go back to my hotel room and continue our fun.” He murmured, voice low and husky and just the right tone to spur Kili into action.

He nodded in shaky agreement, and as Fili flagged down a waiter for their bill, Kili remembered his phone. He attached the picture to a text and sent a quick message along with it.

[From: Kili] This is the only detail you’re going to get. I’m going to go have mind blowing sex now!

And this time he wouldn’t be forgetting it.

#my writing #viva las vegas au #I mean wow it's almost been a year #SORRY!!!

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bestfriendforhire · 7 years

Text

Entry 300

“You’re that girl!” exclaimed Deyanira just after she entered the room. She had slept in one of the guest rooms shortly after getting clean clothes.

“Good evening! Welcome to our home.” replied Portentia without looking away from the game. She had been playing ever since this morning’s training, which Brandon had slept through.

“Were you able to sleep well?” I asked, standing to face her.

“Huh..? Yes. Thank you.” replied Deyanira. “Is Brandon around? Your A.I., Mila… she said to come in here.”

“Brandon should be back soon. He had a quick job at eleven.” I explained.

“Wow. He must not have slept much.” she stated.

“James! I’m all finished!” exclaimed Kayla, running into the room before I could respond.

“Mila, how did she do?” I asked.

“Perfectly satisfactory.” she replied.

“Good job, Kayla.” I told her, holding my hand out.

She gave me a high five and said, “My old school didn’t have nearly as many tests. I feel like I’ve taken a bijillion and I just got here!”

“Seems that you’re handling the new routine wonderfully.” I told her. “Besides, we needed to know how much you knew before we could teach you, right?”

“I guess so. Can I play now?” she asked.

“Were you supposed to do anything for Jemal today?” I inquired.

“Yep. All done.” she lied.

“You still haven’t picked up your room.” stated Mila.

“Tattletale!” exclaimed Kayla before sticking her tongue out at a wall.

“You probably should do that first.” I told her.

“But Jemal’s studying, and I don’t want to bother him.” she replied.

At very least, she felt she was being honest, so I said, “Okay, but don’t blame me if he yells at you later.”

“I won’t!” she replied before running to take a seat and start playing.

“I am so confused right now. Are you her teacher or something?” asked Deyanira.

“No. In a sense, Mila is, but the courses are really about being self-taught.” I explained.

Shaking her head, Deyanira said, “You can’t be self-taught at her age. Doesn’t she go to a real school?”

“The Institute of Autodidacticism is quite well renowned, I assure you.” I informed her.

“The what?” she asked.

“Mila, how is the institute ranked worldwide?” I asked.

“The very best, of course. You know Adelmar wouldn’t tolerate his family utilizing something second-rate, though I doubt he’s fully aware of how greatly improved our versions are.” she replied.

“There you have it. Kayla’s receiving the very best possible education through college.” I stated.

“Through college? Shouldn’t she play with kids her own age?” asked Deyanira.

“Jemal’s going to let me visit my friends this weekend!” exclaimed Kayla.

“Ah… I see. So does Brandon attend the institute thing?” inquired Deyanira.

“Courses are available to everyone, and I expect my friends to learn a certain amount just to expand the types of work they can do.” I explained.

“This place is so weird.” she stated.

“I like to think it’s fun enough for everyone. At very least, I haven’t had complaints yet.” I told her.

“Because it’s awesome!” exclaimed Kayla.

Deyanira watched as Kayla played Ancient Tribes of Earth for a bit, and then she stepped over to where Portentia was playing and watched her. I got back to my game while casually observing what she was doing. Everyone knew to behave while we had company, but I couldn’t be certain Deyanira was as human as she appeared.

“So… what’s your relationship with Brandon?” asked Deyanira. “What? Why’s what I’m saying being posted on the game?”

“I’m deaf.” stated Portentia. “Mila transcribes what’s said around me, so I don’t miss if someone’s talking to me. It’s not really going into the game, I think.”

“Oh. Sorry. I was just surprised.” she replied.

“As for Brandon, he wanted a wingman, so I went along.” explained Portentia.

“You’re not supposed to abandon your friend as a wingman.” argued Deyanira.

Portentia then said, “I had… work.”

“You people take jobs that late?” asked Deyanira.

“Some of us do. You could say I’m a Nite Owl.” replied Portentia with a smirk.

I doubted that Deyanira would catch the Watchmen reference, but I had to roll my eyes at the joke.

“So.. about Brandon…” started Deyanira.

“Nope. Not interested. I think I intimidate him a bit.” stated Portentia.

“Huh?” she asked.

“I can beat him up.” explained Portentia with a shrug.

“No way. He’s pretty big… and strong.” argued Deyanira.

I chimed in, saying, “Everyone here learns martial arts. Portentia’s very advanced.”

“Is that self-taught too?” asked Deyanira, sounding dubious.

“No. I teach them.” I replied.

“I… see.” she muttered.

Smiling, I turned and told her “I’m sure Brandon demonstrated that he knew how to handle himself when the brawl broke out. I was surprised he got injured.”

“That... was sorta my fault.” she admitted.

“Oh?” I asked.

“I sorta hit him with my drink after he got pushed into me.” she explained sheepishly.

“And then you went home with him?” I asked incredulously.

“I felt guilty!” she exclaimed. “All he did was smile and apologize after I hit him. Then he helped get some people out of there while acting as a wall. It was kinda cool.”

“I think you liiiiike him.” teased Kayla, now looking over her seat.

“Maybe. Did you call dibs or something?” asked Deyanira.

“Eww… no. That’s gross.” replied Kayla before ducking back behind the seat.

“Gross? Isn’t that a bit harsh?” asked Deyanira.

“No. It’s Brandon.” stated Kayla.

I laughed and said, “I might have to tell the others to watch what they say around you.”

“Aww... but James…” pouted Kayla.

“Fine, I’ll just blame Emma.” I teased.

“Emma’s… the one with the multi-colored hair?” asked Deyanira.

“Yes. She’s out doing some carpentry today.” I replied.

“Carpentry? She doesn’t look like a carpenter.” she stated.

“No, but she’s the best, better than me in fact. I do believe I mentioned that we fulfill a variety of needs here.” I told her.

She nodded and said, “Yes, but… I don’t know. I feel like I’m missing something. Before I just thought I was tired, but…”

“Baby, I’m back!” exclaimed Brandon as he stepped into the house.

“Baby!?” exclaimed Deyanira. “Are you married!?”

“She’s still here!?” he exclaimed, sounding panicked.

I could see why. He had shifted his size a bit for today’s job. He shrank back down enough before she rounded the corner that I doubted she’d notice.

“Are you married or something?” asked Deyanira.

“What!? No.” he assured her.

“Then who are you calling ‘baby’?” she demanded.

“Umm… you?” he asked.

“He actually just does that sort of stuff frequently.” I called.

“You can’t just say things like that!” exclaimed Deyanira, hitting him in the arm.

“Why not? I’m glad to be home. I was working, you know.” he stated.

“So? You didn’t leave a note for me or anything. What would you have done if I just left?” she demanded.

“Called?” he asked.

“You don’t have my number.” she stated.

Mila quickly informed her “Actually, we do. I performed a full background check on you when you entered the premises.”

“What!? I didn’t agree to that.” she stated.

“No, but as a law student, you are probably well aware that you don’t need to agree to anything for someone to perform a background check. Given that you may seek to enter into some sort of relationship with Brandon, I felt looking into you was in the best interest of the company as well as Brandon. We wouldn’t want him bringing home a dubious person, would we?” explained Mila.

Deyanira didn’t seem to know how to take what was being said.

“Uh… sorry about that.” stated Brandon.

She hit him without looking at him, but now was looking thoughtful.

“Get anything good?” asked Deyanira.

“Yes. Apollo is quite adorable. Your mother uploads videos of him frequently.” replied Mila.

“She does love that dog.” agreed Deyanira, still looking thoughtful.

“How well do you know the law?” asked Deyanira.

Mila sounded amused as she said, “Enough to know that your current textbooks have a number of errors. I sent out erratas to your professors and the publishers to review as a courtesy.”

“Quiz me for my next test, and I’ll forgive you.” offered Deyanira.

“Agreed, though I really don’t believe you’re as offended as you’re acting.” replied Mila.

Deyanira laughed and said, “A good lawyer has to be able to act. Looks like I need some work.”

“So does this mean you want to come back here?” asked Brandon.

“No. I’m assuming a fancy A.I. can quiz me from anywhere. She has my number. I still might though if you buy me breakfast.” she told him.

“I’m hungry too, but… umm.. mind eating here?” he asked.

“You cook?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“A little, but Marco’s the man. You’ve gotta try his cooking before you go.” insisted Brandon, as he guided her towards the kitchen.

If things actually did evolve between those two, Deyanira would need to find out about magic. After a bit of consideration, I decided to talk with Alma about how she deals with such things. She might be able to provide some pointers before I had a group discussion. Things were always evolving, but I wanted to guide this evolution in my home if I could manage.

#Best #Friend #For #Hire #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story #Brandon #Deyanira #Kayla #Portentia #Mila

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