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

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus made a face at Steven's comments.

"What do you need to fix it? When we stop in town to refuel one of us will go grab some tools."

He wanted to minimize time spent in towns as much as he could. The possibility they were being followed was large enough to warrant attention. Especially if Artemis was not on their side.

Are there sides to this? I guess there are...

He wondered about the old God that had gored the two Morrigan. Why join Dionysus? What was he offering them? Alas, the Titan kept these questions to himself, forever without answers.

At least we have some form of clue...

He spoke to Etna.

"Have you translated any more of that token yet?"

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

"What do you need to fix it? When we stop in town to refuel one of us will go grab some tools."

"We mostly need a plunger to unclog it, I can fix the rest with duct tape," Steven noted, "But I do need a new box of tools anyway. Till then, we are going to need to stop for any emergencies."

 

[DarkRawen]

Andrew wanted to enjoy the music, he really did. And he had, for a short while, managing to ignore everyone else, and even relax. Then this song had started, repetitive chords, an annoyingly inconsistent rhythm, and especially that one badly tuned guitar. That damn guitar. Andrew winced when whoever played it managed to make this... sound that clearly wasn't supposed to be there. "That's it," he muttered, annoyed. He wasn't really in a bad mood, but if this continued... "Next song." Andrew was about to sit up and reach for the car stereo to change the track himself, but stopped when he heard Steven speak.

"We mostly need a plunger to unclog it, I can fix the rest with duct tape. But I do need a new box of tools anyway. Till then, we are going to need to stop for any emergencies."

He hadn't been following the conversation, but it was clearly about the toilet. Although he had mentioned the box of tools, it sounded like Steven was intending to repair it with... duct tape.

I somehow doubt any of us would be happy to clean toilet content off the floor because Steven wants to make an easy job of it.

"I could fix you with a duct tape, you know," Andrew commented. "If you got injured. However, it'd be a bad idea, at best a very temporary solution, at worst it would create a disgusting mess no one wants to clean up." Was that a little too rude?

At least he'll get the point.

Besides, Andrew honestly didn't care. With that said, Andrew leaned forward and kept skipping tracks, until he found something acceptable again.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

"I could fix you with a duct tape, you know. If you got injured. However, it'd be a bad idea, at best a very temporary solution, at worst it would create a disgusting mess no one wants to clean up."

Steven turned to Andrew, "It's not meant to be a long term solution, because I don't plan on to be on this RV for a long term, nor do I think who ever owns this is going to be getting it back. The problem is a leak and one part got broken off from another part. It will keep things working for a few weeks. There are better solutions, but the only tool at the moment we have is this."

Steven held up the duct tape.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria finished putting the food away and locking everything down, as per 'RV packing protocol', then sat down next to Vera, where she was handed a piece of paper, apparently they really where voting on what rout to take, which earned an eye roll and a frown from her followed by her writing 'Which ever one is fastest and safest' then handed it to Vera.

Aria let a few moments pass, "So ... what happened? You seem pretty pissed off about something." she finally asked, though casually.

 

[hiei82]

"So ... what happened? You seem pretty pissed off about something."

As Aria said it, Vera - who had been staring out the window - frowned. Or rather, she frowned more. To be frank, she wasn't in a very good mood. Not that this was in someway untrue BEFORE the argument - she'd been in a bad mood since the trip had begun; this was just a particularly worse mood.

Initially, she felt the desire to just... explode again. To continue to vent. Vera clenched her hand hard enough that her knuckles turned white and her joints screamed out in pain. A moment later; she let it go. It wasn't Aria's fault and it wasn't like this was Andrew and his false empathy. What more, she could hardly complain to her; from what she'd heard the first day Aria had an arguably worse relationship with her mother than Vera did with her father.

With a slight sigh, she began to speak. "Just my dad... as usual. He acts like he's.. well a god, but doesn't really care about anyone or anything but himself." she said, trying to remain calm about the whole thing, still burning up inside.

 

[IFS]

"Just my dad... as usual. He acts like he's.. well a god, but doesn't really care about anyone or anything but himself."

Nicole heard Aria ask what was troubling Vera, and her friend's reply, she already knew of course having been there when Vera yelled at her father and had been meaning to ask her about it later. She remembered quite well Vera's opinion on her father from all their talks at college, but even so she wondered if Vera was misjudging Verathragna or not. She knew Vera had very legitimate reasons to be upset but at the same time it seemed like her father had really been trying to reach out to her.

She stood up and walked over to Vera and Aria, struggling over what to say to her, Vera likely did not want to hear any statements in favor of her father after all.

"How many times have you met him?" Nicole asked "I remember you mentioned how he told you that he was your dad, but did you ever talk to him after that?"

 

[Lunar Templar]

"Just my dad... as usual. He acts like he's.. well a god, but doesn't really care about anyone or anything but himself." Vera replied

Aria pondered this while Nicole joined them, and it didn't seem to match up in her head. "He didn't seem like such a bad guy to me, but then, he and Nike are then only ones so far that haven't been a massive dick so some degree, so my view of them is a little better then the others we've met so far" Aria said after Nicole asked her question.

 

[Green Shoes]

As the group passed along the paper and chatted, it began to rain heavily. The clouds covered the mid-day sun, and the pelting rain rattled on the roof of the van. Prometheus smiled, enjoying the calming rain. He wound down his window and let it blow into him, water catching in his hair and beard.

Glancing over at Andrew fiddling with the radio, he looked down at the CD's given to him, before asking.

"Have an acquired taste, Andrew? Do you play anything?"

His mind drifted to the youths father; he had many memories with him, both inclined to follow somewhat intellectual paths. Yet he was always somewhat...removed. Aloof. Arrogant. Amoral.

Prometheus' thought back to the Trojan war, a thought striking him. There had been distinct sides drawn then; the children of Leto pitched against Zeus. And if Zeus was with the group...

A deep sigh. Vera and the others were talking about her father, and judging from her expression, he thought it best not to get involved.

 

[DarkRawen]

Steven had decided to keep arguing for using the duct-tape, and Andrew shrugged in a: "Do whatever you want," way. If Steven messed up, he wasn't going to clean up anything. Besides, it seemed like everything Andrew could say would be argued against, unless he agreed, which he was not going to do. They would be stopping at a town soon, to pick up supplies, and the toilet couldn't be used before that either way.

Not my problem, though.

Andrew leaned back, wanting to actually just listen to the music, when Prometheus spoke.

"Have an acquired taste, Andrew? Do you play anything?"

"I prefer classical music. Chopin, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and such. It's..." He thought about an appropriate description. "Richer. More established, in a way. You know you can find talented performers performing the pieces, and the compositions on their own have survived for a reason. I don't hate modern music, I just have no reason to look through piles of garbage to find something I can actually listen to, when I can easily find something better within the classical genre. I have a keen sense of pitch, so I pick up on a lot that others don't seem to." He glanced over at the titan, who had decided that this was the time to open a window and get soaked.

"As for your other question, no, I don't play any instruments. I've considered picking one up, but I don't want to do that until I know I have time left to spare so that I can master it."

After all, Andrew didn't see the point of doing something without doing it well. For fun? Perhaps, but something like an instrument wouldn't be fun if he kept making mistakes.

"Why are you asking?" Andrew asked the titan. "Don't tell me you actually liked that other song?" He was curious, really, and his tone conveyed that, rather than the haughtiness the words seemed to convey.

 

[Green Shoes]

Raising his eyebrows, he nodded along as Andrew spoke. The boy was being honest and genuine; rather than being simply elitist.

"Fair points all, though I find it's always good to branch out now and then. Gems under rocks and so forth."

The saying was lost in translation, though he was sure he got the message. Verathragna was far from a connoisseur of classical, though he did have some works of Rachmaninov. The titan passed it to Andrew, gesturing for him to play it.

"I didn't mind the other stuff. It was easy-going, relaxing. Nice to catch a break, you know? Also nice to play an instrument. But, each to their own."

As the rain increased, he wound the window up, though his face and shirt were flecked with water already. The road ahead was covered in fog, though the headlights of oncoming cars cut through it with ease.

"Weird weather..."

 

[hiei82]

"How many times have you met him?" Nicole asked, adding "I remember you mentioned how he told you that he was your dad, but did you ever talk to him after that?" A moment later, Aria chimed in, saying "He didn't seem like such a bad guy to me, but then, he and Nike are then only ones so far that haven't been a massive dick so some degree, so my view of them is a little better then the others we've met so far"

Vera turned briefly to Nicole. "We've met 3 times including today." she said offhandedly. "All on his accord and schedule of course." Turning to Aria, she continued. "With my father, it's always about him. He spent my entire life off wherever the Persian gods hang out, ignoring anything to do with me until I happened to wake up one morning with some of his powers. He shows up out of the blue whenever it suits him and now acts all "proud father" when I've spent more time with everyone in this RV than with him; like he has ANYTHING to do with how I am." she finished, venting more than she'd intended.

 

[Deu Sex]

After stuffing the back of the vehicle with foodstuffs, Remus had climbed onboard with the others. As they drove, slumped against his seat and groaned lowly, rubbing his head still as he fought his most brutal enemy yet - a hangover. The others were talking about all sorts of things he could pay little attention to, music and repairs and Russia...he did happen to overhear one conversation though. That of Nicole and Vera, who were talking across from him.

"With my father, it's always about him. He spent my entire life off wherever the Persian gods hang out, ignoring anything to do with me until I happened to wake up one morning with some of his powers. He shows up out of the blue whenever it suits him and now acts all "proud father" when I've spent more time with everyone in this RV than with him; like he has ANYTHING to do with how I am."

"Good on you for telling him off." Remus said, pulling his hand away from his head for a moment. "You don't have to tolerate that sort of bullshit." Though initially not too fond of Vera, Remus was finding himself respected her more with recent events, first her slaying of Ahriman and now how she stood up her neglectful father.

Remus then turned to face Nicole. He picked up the new sword he had been gifted, holding it out by the sheath. "Care for this Nicole? I don't think I'll have any use for it myself, and I'd rather not have it weighing me down in battle."

 

[DarkRawen]

"Fair points all, though I find it's always good to branch out now and then. Gems under rocks and so forth."

"I suppose so. But a lot of it is wasted effort. And I don't trust someone else to recommend me decent stuff, they're practically deaf when it comes to stuff like this. They certainly act like it, at least."

Andrew didn't disagree with what Prometheus had said. However, he enjoyed being able to just lie down and relax, not having to think about a thing. Too bad he didn't always have time for that. He put the CD the titan had handed him into the car stereo, having removed the other one. The change in music made him feel more relaxed.

"I didn't mind the other stuff. It was easy-going, relaxing. Nice to catch a break, you know? Also nice to play an instrument. But, each to their own."

"The other song had a guitar that sounded like it had been smashed into a wall a couple of times," Andrew remarked. "You have to have heard that at least. And I didn't say I didn't want to play an instrument, I said I don't have the time to start learning. This trip has been the most idle I've been for more than just a couple of years. Of course," Andrew sat further back. "Feel free to buy me an instrument in the next town, I certainly wouldn't mind using the next couple of days for something more than sitting around and wasting time doing nothing." An instrument would actually be kind of nice. It'd have to be something like a guitar, though, anything more difficult than that would just be annoying. Of course, he doubted he'd actually get one, the suggestion had been more for the sake of proving a point.

He looked out the window, it had very suddenly started to rain even more, mist accompanying it.

"Weird weather..."

"Yeah..." Normally, he wouldn't have cared. However, considering all that had happened before, he wasn't about to dismiss the chance of this being an enemy just yet.

"Is there any gods that would be likely to do something like this?"

 

[Lunar Templar]

"With my father, it's always about him. He spent my entire life off wherever the Persian gods hang out, ignoring anything to do with me until I happened to wake up one morning with some of his powers. He shows up out of the blue whenever it suits him and now acts all "proud father" when I've spent more time with everyone in this RV than with him; like he has ANYTHING to do with how I am."

Aria listened, she could hardly fault Vera for feeling that way, so it took her a minute to come up with a reply "I'm not saying your not justified feeling the way you do, but maybe this sudden 'proud father' thing is a response to Nike getting hurt bad as she did, and the death of two thirds of The Morrigan, and was trying to patch things up a bit cause he might not get another chance due to he or you not surviving this little quest we're on." she finally said after a few moments. "Course, depending on what my biological mother says, I might just end up joining up on the 'I hate my divine family' train."

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus chuckled at the thought of Andrew plucking a guitar for the whole trip. Though it would keep him somewhat distracted.

"I'll keep an eye out for you."

Looking at the weather, he began to slow the van down. Prometheus doubted it was the work of a God, though he wasn't about to play the fool.

Speaking again to Andrew, he kept his voice low.

"I don't know. It's not a storm from Zeus; of that I'm sure. Could just be freak weather. Not taking the chance."

He could no longer see, or hear for that matter, any other cars on the road. The clouds were dark, and the fog had grown thicker. Even if this was not some magic, he didn't feel it was safe enough to keep driving. They had traveled North, and they would soon have to choose either east or west; east into Russia, west across the black Sea.

Bringing the van to a complete halt just off the side of the road, he checked the clock, as the sky gave no indication of time. Calling out to the group, he spoke.

"So, the weather is far too bad to drive, and could even be thrown against us. Have you lot made a decision yet? I'm not driving anymore until this clears up."

A strong torrent of wind buffeted the van, howling outside. He got up and made sure the doors were shut tight, before turning off the van to conserve fuel.

 

[hiei82]

"Good on you for telling him off." Remus said, pulling his hand away from his head for a moment. "You don't have to tolerate that sort of bullshit." Vera turned to Remus, rather surprised by comment. She'd never expected Remus to comment on much of anything. "Glad you approve" she said before returning to Nicole and Aria.

"I'm not saying your not justified feeling the way you do, but maybe this sudden 'proud father' thing is a response to Nike getting hurt bad as she did, and the death of two thirds of The Morrigan, and was trying to patch things up a bit cause he might not get another chance due to he or you not surviving this little quest we're on." Aria said after a long minute

Vera replied quickly. "I doubt it. He didn't seem to care all the other times it's been hard and, if it is because he's afraid for his own life, well... that just proves my point. He only acts how it best serves him." she said indignantly. She didn't like where the conversation was going. Her father certainly didn't deserve being protected.

Vera had to bite her lip to stop herself from saying more. She knew Aria didn't get along with her mother much so she couldn't fault her for ignorance. Fortuitously, she didn't need to wait long as Prometheus brought the RV to the side of the road. "So, the weather is far too bad to drive, and could even be thrown against us. Have you lot made a decision yet? I'm not driving anymore until this clears up." he said, bringing the matter up for questioning. "I don't care which way we go, but I'd rather we avoid cities. Nothing personal, but I'd rather we keep the body count small. Being on that plane was bad enough; I don't want the weight of Moscow on my mind if some god decides to go Old Testament on us."

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria, seeing Vera wasn't having any of it, decided it was best to change the subject as Vera seemed dead set on looking for reason after reason to hate her father, she thought that was kinda sad, but didn't say so. Fortunately Prometheus provided the segue they needed. "Quickest and safest is my vote" she said to the Titan.

 

[IFS]

"Care for this Nicole? I don't think I'll have any use for it myself, and I'd rather not have it weighing me down in battle."

Nicole took the sword, weighing it in her hands, she didn't have much practice with swords aside from a bit of fencing in high school. This blade of course was not at all suited for fencing, but was weighty and of fine make, it wasn't a ranged weapon but it was certainly better than nothing.

"Thanks," she said with a quick smile, setting the blade aside "I'll have to do a bit of practice to figure out how to fight with it, but it should help a lot."

"I doubt it. He didn't seem to care all the other times it's been hard and, if it is because he's afraid for his own life, well... that just proves my point. He only acts how it best serves him."

"Maybe he's more worried about you than about him?" Nicole replied, turning back to Vera "Then again it seems like he only shows up when its something involving him, your powers starting up and now this whole war thing."

She paused for a moment then spoke again, she did sympathize with Vera a great deal but at the same time she didn't like seeing her friend being so angry about something. "Maybe you should try to talk to him about some of this next time, it might help, then again it might just be more frustrating."

"So, the weather is far too bad to drive, and could even be thrown against us. Have you lot made a decision yet? I'm not driving anymore until this clears up."

"I wrote my vote in the book, I think some other people did too, we could count those up to figure out which way is best," she replied

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus got up and found the piece of paper; it was clear people wanted to stay clear of cities and potential casualties. A noble choice, though the Titan was somewhat sad he wouldn't be meeting up with old friends.

There's always next time...

A flash of lightning followed by the roar of thunder overhead made the contents of the van shake and tremble. Raising his voice over the din of rain and wind, he spoke.

"Looks like we'll be going through Russia! Though not for a while if -"

A huge volley of wind slammed into the side of the van, sending the tail end skidding, spinning it near 90 degrees. The fog was thick; though the flashes of lightning illuminated shadowy figures, waiting in the shroud. He cursed loudly.

"There are...things, outside. They don't seem to be advancing..."

Another flash, more thunder. They were still out there; they surrounded the van, about 20, maybe 30 of them. No way of telling how far, or how large they were.

Picking up the shield Vera threw so aggressively at him, he failed to put forth any confidence. This was foreign land, with foreign gods; old gods, of whom some were bound to be aligned somewhere in the war. He was truly out of his depth.

"I'm going to go investigate. Any other volunteers?"

Thunder roared, and the Titan flinched.