Children of the Gods: Arc 2 [Game/Closed]

[IFS]

Nicole slept lightly for the most part, though once she had woken and eaten some of the deer she found it somewhat easier to drift off. Her dreams were troubling, but she didn't remember them on waking, only a sense of mixed excitement and fear and the image of a fading golden glow. She shuddered and started to stand up, that power boost, blessing or whatever, its fading, or maybe faded already hard to tell. It wasn't entirely unexpected but she still felt a pang of loss, that power had helped them when they needed it sure, but it would certainly make things easier to still have it, besides she couldn't think of the last time her mother had given her a gift.

She walked over to the rest of the group but didn't say anything, Abe had drawn an N in the ground, suggesting they go North. The wolf, Fenrir, was their only lead, and if her hunch was right the spear came from the Norse gods, so North seemed the best choice to her.

 

[Deu Sex]

Remus was seated by the remains of the fire, in the same position he was at the end of the night. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. His mind was too tense to allow for that. Having spent the entire night awake and alert, Remus was clearly exhausted.

"Everyone up. Lets go, lets go; don't want to spend too much time out here."

He groggily turned his head around as he heard Prometheus and saw the others stir from their sleeps. Remus grumbled and pulled himself slowly from the ground. His muscles ached. Remus' body felt brittle - hard and tense still but able to snap if too much pressure was put on it.

He saw Prometheus approach Aria and Andrew. "You two alright? Good to walk?"

"No concerns about me then?" Remus thought bitterly. He would have spoken that thought it he wasn't so tired. As the others continued to awake and approach Prometheus, Remus' attention was caught by Able as he spotted him. The mute had also helped watch over the camp last night. "Not that I needed any help."

He watched as Able drew an arrow and the letter N in the sand. Remus stared in confusion at the drawing and blinked a few times. "What?" he said, clearly too tired to recognize the obvious symbol.

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus mused over the N Able drew. North; to the Norse gods, the one place he had never been, and the last place he wanted to go. Everyone was up and apparently okay; Andrew was talking shit, Etna was her usual charming self. He could have almost laughed.

Addressing the group, from the other side of the N symbol, he tried to work out what they had learned.

"So I take it we're going North then. Which means a plane."

His face grew slightly pale; he didn't like flying as is, and their last experience was less than enjoyable.

"Which means we need to get back to the city. Have some good food. Stock up, etc. So I suppose we just...follow the river?"

He shrugged; his guess was as good as anyone's. Picking up a sturdy looking branch, he swinged his backpack over his shoulder. Reaching in with a free hand, he whisked out his flask. Taking a swig, he looked at it, before offering it to the group, swallowing.

"It's going to be a long walk. Anyone can have some except Aria; don't want to compromise her health right now. Are you alright to walk?"

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

AFter Aria's yelp in pain, he did not believe her "I'll be fine." Steven grabbed then broke off a thick and reasonable straight branch, then rapped one end in Duct tape. He gave the walking stick to Aria.

"So I take it we're going North then. Which means a plane. Which means we need to get back to the city. Have some good food. Stock up, etc. So I suppose we just...follow the river?It's going to be a long walk. Anyone can have some except Aria; don't want to compromise her health right now. Are you alright to walk?"

"Actually, we may not have to," Steven said, "Trains cover Europe, it will be easier and cheaper to cross countries in the EU by rail than it will be by air. Airport security will be more likely to notice we have the same passports of a group of people who should of died in a plane crash."

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria thanked Andrew for the extra healing then rolled her eyes at the Titan, after popping a couple pain killers in her mouth and chasing them with some of the water Vera gave her "pff ... I bet I can STILL hold my liquor better then you." she snarked as she took the walking stick from Steven, though she really wasn't in the mood for what ever he was drinking anyway.

While they sorted out travel arrangements, Aria walked over to Remus "Hey, how you holden up?" she asked, a little concered about his well being, not from being up all night but from the loss he recently suffered.

 

[Deu Sex]

As Prometheus held out the flask, Remus stared at it with half-open eyes. After thinking for a moment, the demigod reached forward and took the flask. He held it up to his lips and took a long heavy swig. Remus hadn't drunken alcohol in years - he had forgotten how strong the burning taste of it was.

"Hey, how you holden up?"

Remus coughed a bit as he pulled his mouth from the flask and faced Aria. He felt a bit of alcohol dribbled down his chin and wiped it off. "I'm fine." he lied.

 

[DarkRawen]

"So I take it we're going North then. Which means a plane."

Because that is going to be enjoyable.

He wasn't really scared of flying, even with the last experience, but when someone was after them, a plane was unsafe. There was always the trains, but he wasn't sure if those would be fast enough. The best thing would probably be to get a mini-bus, and drive themselves, especially if other people's safety was to be taken into consideration. It wouldn't be as fast as a plane, but if they took shifts, it would be faster than a train. He was about to suggest it, but decided against that.

Why am I even bothering? No one is going to listen to me. I'll let the less intelligent decide, I guess, and just tag along.

He had a feeling that whatever he said, someone would get offended by it.

"Which means we need to get back to the city. Have some good food. Stock up, etc. So I suppose we just...follow the river? It's going to be a long walk. Anyone can have some except Aria; don't want to compromise her health right now."

Andrew wouldn't mind drinking, but he decided that having his mind stay sharp was probably the best. As Aria had demonstrated yesterday, someone could get hurt at any moment, and he didn't want to experience just what the consequences of drinking and healing were. Besides, other people needed it more. With him passing out, he was probably the more well-rested person there. Remus took the bottle, and started drinking. The Italian looked rather horrible, and remembering how he had reacted to Andrew speaking the day before, Andrew decided not to comment on it.

He glanced over at Nicole, she might be able to help Remus. Unlike him, she could actually do something about exhaustion, although she might be too tired herself. And even if she wasn't, he had no intention of talking to her, considering how she had spoken to him the day before. What a mess, all of them were. Everyone apart from him.

Who was the moron who let Remus stay up, though?

Andrew wasn't sure why Remus was as angry as he was, but some sleep could probably have helped. Oh well, none of this would have happened if they had listened to him before, and actually walked into the city before it got dark. He wasn't going to rub it in their faces, though, he had no reason to hear them tell him what he already knew, that he was right. However, they should at least have acknowledged that he was useful for something else than being a healing machine. Andrew sighed. This was starting to get annoying again.

Because every other day has been so fun.

Now he wished he could bother Etna. Her reactions usually were amusing, especially the one this morning.

I guess I'm a twisted person for thinking that. Kirsten would have had a lecture prepared, if she had heard me say something like that.

Wait. What? Why had he thought about her?

...that didn't happen.

 

[IFS]

Nicole didn't have much to say as the others discussed the plan, she didn't know much about travelling in Europe, though a plane certainly seemed faster than a train to her. Of course both options had plenty of innocent bystanders on board who could get hurt if something happened. Too bad we don't have Dan's horse or something like that anymore, then again Prommy did say that taking that would give us away or something.

She considered asking about where they wanted to go in terms of North, there were plenty of different places to the North after all. Then again Prommy likely knew where they needed to go in terms of North, especially if they were seeking the Norse gods, not like any of them would know where to look for those. If I had to guess though I'd say Norway, or one of the other Scandinavian countries.

As she thought about this she couldn't help but notice Andrew glancing at her, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking about from his expression, is he worried I still think he's an ass or something? Not likely, and I dunno if I do, he is but he's also rather pathetic, at least he's on our side though.

She sighed and walked over to him "What's on your mind?" she asked.

 

[Terratina.]

Etna listened on the travel discussion, walked over to them and a gave her opinion on the matter. It was short and sharp, "It doesn't matter; shit's going to happen either way." Sure, she didn't want something like the Loki incident to happen again, but there was really nothing they could do about it. Speaking of Loki, what if the Norse Gods were all like that? But they had to get away from here, and North was as good a direction as any. Those thoughts scattered as she noticed Nicole walk over to Andrew, and wondered why someone would bother with a person like him. Then again, it looked like the group as a whole was in a pretty pathetic state. It reminded her of her school days, of when she had been lumped with people she didn't like and who hated her back. 'This is much more important than that, shame some people aren't acting accordingly.' She mused.

 

[DarkRawen]

"What's on your mind?"

He hadn't noticed Nicole walking over to him, so he was a bit surprised. However, he didn't show that, just replied.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Why was she even asking? The day before she had called him out on being a bad human being, was she going to lecture him again. However, Andrew decided that he might as well take this chance to ask her to fix Remus. Besides, this was the first time in a while someone had actually asked what was on his mind.

"I was just wondering if you could give Remus a boost of energy. There is no use doing so if you're too tired, but if not it might help. Only till we get somewhere we can relax." He wondered if he should mention the other thing, with the mini-bus.

This might be my only chance to do that, they might actually listen to Nicole.

"And... I think a mini-bus would be smarter than a train or a plane. If we're attacked, it means less innocent people that could get involved, it's faster than taking the trains, and with a mini-bus we could easily get all the way to Denmark without having to move from train to train. If I remember correctly from my stay in Denmark, it is possible to get to both Norway and Iceland by ships that also takes cars and buses, or to Sweden by driving." He hadn't really expected his stay in the country to ever be relevant on this trip, but then again, they had started out in Australia.

"Trains these days are unreliable either way. And if we miss one, it might mess up a whole schedule." He examined her. Had she even understood? Andrew wasn't sure, the only times he had spoken to her, she had been mad at him.

"Of course, feel free to ignore me. I'm just a jerk, right?" he added, smirking. It was half-way a joke, although he wasn't really able to convey that, with this tone of voice.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria frowned, she didn't believe Remus when he said he was fine at all. "Well, when your ready to talk about it, lemme know." She replied, and walked over to Vera and hugged her. "Thanks again, for saving me and tending to my wounds all night. It means a lot to me."

 

[Green Shoes]

Thumping his staff against the ground, he mused over the suggestions. Train or Mini-bus seemed like the best options; though Etna did make a good point. It seemed to him best to minimize risk to innocents, as Andrew had stated. Holding his hand up against his eyes to block the sun, he spoke.

"Andrew does raise a good point; I'd rather not endanger any more people. So I guess we'll get a minibus. Having never been to the Northern countries, I don't actually know where we are going. We'll get a boat to Italy then drive up, I guess. We can walk and talk though; best not to waste any time."

Retrieving his flask from the group, he began walking with youths in tow, talking to nobody in particular.

"So what did the stranger say in Hades? Why are we going North? Something about Fenrir..."

Turning suddenly, a thought struck him. Surveying the group, he made a face indicating his uneasiness; Aria in particular was in bad shape. Remus seemed to be alright, though he hadn't slept.

"Errm. Aria, do you want me to carry you?"

 

[Lunar Templar]

"So what did the stranger say in Hades? Why are we going North? Something about Fenrir... Errm. Aria, do you want me to carry you?"

Aria pondered this a moment, then stuck out her index finger, a very tiny ball of energy started to form before pffting out "Awesome .... I'm thirteen all over again" she said in annoyed sarcasm. "Yeah I'll take that ride I guess." Aria said as she walked over to the titan " As for Fenrir, it sound like Dio is after what ever is binding him and not the wolf it self, I could be wrong but that's what it sounded like. Ether way, I just hope the Norse gods that are on our side are more personable then the others we've run into. Seriously, Dis trying to drown us was just a dick move."

 

[Dogmatic99]

-"I just hope the Norse gods that are on our side are more personable then the others we've run into. Seriously, Dis trying to drown us was just a dick move."

Able gave a nod and a raise of his eyebrows to try and bring across a I hear that! look. He grabbed a quick swig from the flask as it was being passed around and trudged along with the group. A few people were suggesting the same things he would, the train may not be as fast but it was at least a little bit safer than a plane. At least if it got hijacked by supernatural terrorists then at least they wouldn't have to worry about a hundred foot drop.

Most things are better without a fatal drop.

Able's gaze eventually found Remus. He'd been in a bad mood all of yesterday but it was understandable given what had happened, but he was still down and too mny people's nerves were fraying these days. The group would start tearing at each other in no time if it kept up.

Why does it always leave me to be the social one these days? Able sighed internally.

He wandered through the group and sidled up to Remus, shooting him as cheery a grin as Abe could muster in their current situation. He even offered Remus a turn with the spear, maybe it would give him something else to think about.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

"So what did the stranger say in Hades? Why are we going North? Something about Fenrir..."

"Dis said a lot of things," Steven said, "However, I don't even believe half of what that god said. He seemed really intent on getting us to dine with him, up till he saw the spear from the sky. He also seemed to be trying to a drive a wedge between you and the rest of us, asking what 'what did the Titan offer you?' We only guessed it was Fenrir, since we have ran into Loki already, and Fenrir was the only Wolf god we could think of. As far as we know, it MIGHT be somebody else."

 

[hiei82]

"Thanks again, for saving me and tending to my wounds all night. It means a lot to me." Aria said, hugging her. Vera wasn't exactly sure what to say. Given how abrasive both of them had been, she'd certainly not expected it; at most she'd expected a simple thank you.

Recovering as quickly as she could, she replied "Any time." and returned to the discussion of how to get north and how to combat Fenrir.

 

[IFS]

"Of course, feel free to ignore me. I'm just a jerk, right?"

"Andrew does raise a good point; I'd rather not endanger any more people. So I guess we'll get a minibus. Having never been to the Northern countries, I don't actually know where we are going. We'll get a boat to Italy then drive up, I guess. We can walk and talk though; best not to waste any time."

Nicole nodded, ignoring Andrew's last comment, "Yeah sounds like a good plan to me," she said "As for Remus I'm not sure, I could but it would be temporary, I'll ask him if he wants the boost I guess. Thanks for sharing."

With that she walked over to Able and Remus, "Hey," she said simply, Remus still looked like he was hurting in addition to being tired, I would be too if my dad died, not sure anything I can say will help him there. After a brief pause she spoke again "You stayed up all night huh? You must be tired, I can give you a bit of energy if you want, won't last forever but it might help a little."

She wondered if she should mention that it was Andrew's idea, deciding that she would after Remus responded to the offer. He was pretty upset by how Andrew had acted on the beach, even more so than me, and if he knew it was Andrew's idea he might reject it out of hand.

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus bent his knee and placed Aria on his shoulders like a child. His broad frame carried her with ease; having fought less than the others, he had the strength to carry her comfortably.

His stubble had progressed to a short, unkempt beard over the trip, and he scratched it as Steven spoke.

"Hmm. Dividing us sounds like Dis; no idea why he might be uneasy about the spear. In any case, I would go with the Fenrir lead for now; any mention of what Dionysus wanted with him, or the binding? Walk and talk."

He set off, hoping the others would follow. They were a short hike from Syracuse, where hopefully they could catch a ferry across to Italy. Aria seemed content to bounce along on his shoulders. Lucky she was small. Looking up, he spoke to Aria.

"Do you know anything about the Norse gods? Also, see if you can wave Able over; you two are our links to any friends we may have."

A small flash in the distance, from the Pillar of Nike, caught his eye. He called out to Nicole.

"Hey Nicole! Are you on good terms with mother dearest?"

 

[Deu Sex]

"Well, when your ready to talk about it, lemme know." Remus sighed and mumbled in response. "I said I'm fine..." He didn't like being pitied. It made him feel weaker than he was.

He listened inattentively as the others discussed important matters. He was too tired to understand fully what they were saying. Something about Fenrir and the Norse Gods and minibuses. Although Remus didn't understand most of it, he felt he didn't really need to. All he needed to do was follow the others and rip apart anything that got in the way. ""That's all I'm good at."

His mind was then turned to Able again. The mute had walked up next to him with a grin on his face. Remus was compelled to return his own smile, weak as it would look. Then Able held out the spear in an gesture of offering. Remus stared at the weapon for a bit, taking time to think before he shook his head. "Keep it. I've got enough weapons weighing me down."

Remus' attention was caught by Nicole this time as she approached him. "Hey, You stayed up all night huh? You must be tired, I can give you a bit of energy if you want, won't last forever but it might help a little."

Although his first instinct was to shoot down her offer of help too, Remus' half-woken mind urged him otherwise. "You spent the whole night awake. You need some energy or your body will snap." it told him. Remus smiled, more broadly this time, at Nicole and nodded his head. "That would be sweet of you."

 

[Lunar Templar]

The right wasn't bad, a little bumpy but other wise fairly enjoyable.

"In any case, I would go with the Fenrir lead for now; any mention of what Dionysus wanted with him, or the binding? Walk and talk."

Aria shook her head "The spirit passed out before I could get much more out of him. The only other thing is apparently the people who sacrificed them selves to Dionysus are 'waiting to be called back up' for something. Donno if there's any truth to it or if it was a lie so Dio could gain more power from the offering of ones life though."

"Do you know anything about the Norse gods? Also, see if you can wave Able over; you two are our links to any friends we may have."

"Only what I read in a few Wiki pages, and Freya wasn't around long enough in that dream she dropped in on at the start of this for me to get a good bead on her but she seemed nice enough. I hope she's nice, I have a favor I wanna ask her." Aria said, answering the Titan's other question, as she turned around and called Able over.