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

[Dogmatic99]

Meat, toast, eggs and more it all blended together in one beautiful mixture of breakfasty goodness. Abe couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so full. He gave a few good morning waves to some of the others at the bar and did his best not to eaves drop... he failed. Everyone was still trying to fight what was going on by the sounds of it, he couldn't blame them, part of him wanted to do the same. but why bother? Even with a supersonic horse it was no good. Beings that could bend time and space had gotten together and put their minds to something, there was no getting away from it. If they could beam them up to Australia once they could do it again. Nothing left to do now but grin, grind your teeth and try to get through it. Either some of the others had reached the same conclusion or they genuinly were this upbeat.

That's a superpower in its own right.

Remus was making even more friends and some girl called Vera was busy being the one person in the room who just HAD to be a bird right now. There's always one. He joked to himself. See you're already making the best of things.

Dan and Aria were talking about Abe's favourite pantheon, it sounded like Aria had had some kind of spirit vision or something last night. Able turned to say something but his phone battery was already in the orange, he turned it off instead, best to conserve it for later. Besides the moment he looked at Aria he flashed back to the sight of her undressing last night and he lost his train of thought. Get it together Abe! Mum didn't raise some peeking perve! He got up and went to one of the store rooms and started scavenging, trying to chase the images out of topless Texans from his immediate thoughts. Such a virgin. He scolded himself.

Eventually he found what he was looking for, a small pad of lined yellow paper and pen. Perfect. He went outside, he may as well enjoy the sunshine while he was abroad. Abe wandered around a little taking in the view. So am I in the outback? It seemed to go on forever. He made to make a lap of the bar and get a good view of the land, then he saw a glimpse of Nicole in the shower shack. OH COME ON! he spun round, covering up his peripheral vision and walking back to where he started as fast as he could before she saw him. The first two girls to actually try and talk to him in ages and this happens. People think you're weird enough as it is. He growled internally.

He resolved to get to work. He sat on the dry, hard ground and started scribbleing on the pad. Bit by bit he covered it in all the possible words and phrases he thought he might need, making sure to leave space for fresh ones. This should at least make things easier. He thought, lifting his head to the sky and enjoying the warmth.

 

[Deu Sex]

"Well, I'm not really too friendly with my father, so I'd prefer if you called me Andrew, okay?" Remus nodded at this. "Yes, alright. I know that same feeling." he said, his expression and tone becoming oddly somber. He noticed Andrew flexing his hand a bit. He probably did some pain to it while shaking. "Damned idiot. Learn to control yourself." he thought.

"And I'm currently training to become a surgeon. Takes a lot of school, practice and dedication. How about you? You sound like you're from Italy or so, is that correct?" Remus shifted into a friendly smile once again. "So a doctor, aye? That's a useful profession to say the least. And no end to work I imagine, as long as people are still getting injured." From his bouncing experiences Remus knew there was no shortage of that. "And yes, I am from Italy. Sicily specifically. I lived on a farm there for most of my life, although now I also work at a Palermo club during the winter." Remembering the farm and club, he became visibly stressed and began rubbing his head. "Dammit. This just had to happen at the worst possible time. You think Nicole had it bad almost missing her finals? I've got the livelihood of other people to worry about if we don't finish this before summer rolls around."

 

[Terratina.]

She was roused from slumber by beams of light shining through the windows. It beat a darkness made up of crows anyway. She stuffed hot buttered toast into her mouth and chewed quickly. Then, she swallowed that along with a strong cup of coffee. Nothing like caffeine to drive migraines away. That would be enough for the morning preparations. If they were bound for the wild Australian bush, then they would probably end up muddied and dirty by the end of it anyway. Etna ran a hand through her hair as she walked outside. Morning air. Another said to be good for a headache. Quietly cursing herself, she wandered back in and grabbed the black messenger bag, then quickly returned to a spot by the door. Her hand dived into the black and came back with a mobile phone - a touchscreen one to be exact, even though she wasn't fully used to it yet. There were three attempts at ringing up the university. One got her apologizing to a complete stranger. She only got electronic beeps from the second and an answer phone from the third. Sighing, she typed out an email to her professors:

Family emergency, will be gone for a few days - E. Dunn.

 

[hiei82]

Vera listened to Prometheus's responses and wasn't very happy; he'd dodged her most critical question. That meant he either didn't know what they could do to stop the rogue god or knew the answer wouldn't be a good one. So either we're all cannon fodder or everyone but Prometheus is cannon fodder. Yup: still hate gods she thought, silently fuming.

Prometheus stood and walked outside; but not before patting her on the head. She (lightly) pecked his hand in annoyance; she didn't want him anywhere near her, much less treating her like a bird. When he was gone, she returned to her breakfast. That was the disadvantage of being a bird; limited mouthfuls. Eventually she would transform and need for then a few scraps of bacon to recharge.

Fortunately, she felt her power return a few minutes thereafter, resulting in a bird squawk of "Finally!". Wasting no time, she flapped her way to a proper chair and returned to her normal form; happy to be herself again. She finished the rest of her meal without delay, then ran outside hoping to catch Nicole before she got into the shower.

Of course, it was already far too late; she'd have to wait until she got out before she could try to borrow her phone. Defeated, she started to walk back inside; forced to wait. As she did however, she spotted one of the demigods sitting on the ground, writing something down. Intrigued - and with noting better to do - she made her way over.

"How's it going?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

"How's it going?"

Wasn't this the bird/Vera girl? He remembered her briefly from the night before, she hadn't reacted well to being dragged across the world and didn't like the excuses their fiery bartender had given them either, not that he could blame her. This was good though, it gave Able the perfect chance to test out his new method. He flipped out the pad's pages to the words he wanted, pointing at the ones he meant for her.

[Hello - nice to meet you.] He pointed to himself. [Able] before scribbling down a fresh note on one of the back pages. [Vera, right?] Complete with the welcoming smile and other hand gestures it was just like they were really talking... y'know if one of them existed in silent movie.

Here's hoping this makes things easier anyway.

 

[hiei82]

"Vera, right?" Able 'said' - pointing at the words on paper. Vera nodded in answer to his question. "Yup; that's me." After saying that, she paused for a moment, not really sure what else to say. "You know; you could finger spell if you'd prefer. I get the feeling we're going to need to learn some sign language for emergencies anyway." she added, slowly finger spelling the signs at Able to get the point across.

She hadn't used what little ASL she knew in the better part of a year, but she could at least remember the alphabet... minus the letter p for some reason.

Spoiler: OOC

Why does Vera know some ASL you ask; because I know some basic ASL (ah the advantages of going to a school with a large deaf population). Why can't she remember the sign for p you ask, because I couldn't remember the sign for p this morning, much to my disgrace

 

[Dogmatic99]

'Thank you' Able mouthed giving the sign for it at the same time, tapping his chin and flicking out his hand like a cartoon Italian who's only just a little bit pissed off. the thought was welcome if only it wasn't for his crappy luck. They could have grabbed people from all over the world and the majority were American. Just perfect.

'Sorry.' He mouthed out shaking his head as he joted down on his pad. [I don't speak American] Complete with a little sad face. 'Thank you though.' It had been one of the nicest things someone in the group had done for him so far.

Sometimes he hated his situation. This was one of them.

[Guess I'll have to start learning ASL] He signed in his native British sign language. He even tried mimicing the signs for AS and L she had shown him. Doubt I'm anywhere close. MAybe I can steer things onto something brighter. And on the bright side he still had his face, throughout his time trying to talk to people in noisy bars (or when he just didn't have a pen or phone to hand) he had learned to say entire sentences through facial expressions alone. It didn't always work but it was usually amusing.

[So you were a bird just then.] he held up the note, his entire face was saying: "Yeah! Huh... that was a thing right? How 'bout that?" That one was mostly in the eyebrows backed up by a cheeky grin.

 

[DarkRawen]

So Remus wasn't done talking to him. At least it was reassuring to know that he hadn't noticed Andrew being annoyed.

"And yes, I am from Italy. Sicily specifically. I lived on a farm there for most of my life, although now I also work at a Palermo club during the winter."

A farmer and a bouncer, I can't say I'm surprised.

Andrew didn't know how to respond vocally, he had a feeling anything he'd answer would sound sarcastic either way. He wasn't that angry now, though, being internally rude to someone had that helpful effect of making him remain calm. Remus then seemed to realize the consequences of them being there. The fact that it was April, and this could take a while He looked visibly bothered, at least.

"Dammit. This just had to happen at the worst possible time. You think Nicole had it bad almost missing her finals? I've got the livelihood of other people to worry about if we don't finish this before summer rolls around."

"That's too bad. Hopefully you'll get someone to help you out, right?"

No one could do my training for me, and hunting down gods won't really cut it as an explanation.

"But we're all counting on wrapping this up in a week's time, or so, I think. I doubt anyone wants to stay here for much longer."

He did wonder if he should put a hand on the other's shoulder, reassuringly, but figured he'd rather not find out if Remus lacked enough control to just tackle him, or something ridiculous like that. He was a bouncer, after all, and he seemed to be a bit... dense. Heck, it would look ridiculous either way, as Remus was a lot taller than him.

"So, what are your talents? That seem to be a good question to ask around here, don't you think? I'm guessing strength,"

Being a brute,

"What more?"

 

[Deu Sex]

"That's too bad. Hopefully you'll get someone to help you out, right?" He nodded his head in response. "Aye, I've got some friends back home who could lend me a hand. Although not many. And my employer is still going to be pissed that I suddenly went up and left without a word." The more he thought about it, the more visibly stressed he appeared. Without any choice, he was being forced to sour his honorable reputation back home for the greater good. Even if it only took a week, he would still be unable to proper explain his disappearance. He tried to shake the thoughts away. "Still, that sort of stuff is irrelevant. Saving innocent lives must take priority."

"So, what are your talents? That seem to be a good question to ask around here, don't you think? I'm guessing strength, what more?" Remus paused and rubbed his chin as he thought. "Hmm...well I have an affinity for firearms. Grew up with them when I was young - my uncle let me fire a shotgun for the first time when I was seven. I'm also good at physical actives and athletics, although I don't get to do them much. As you'd imagine I'm an excellent farmer for my age, but I don't imagine that'll be much use for anyone here." He tried to think of anything. "Aside from that, not much."

 

[IFS]

Nicole showered quickly, both the cold water and the rather ramshackle appearance of the shower stall, with its occasional small cracks in the walls, gave her little reason to linger. She had grabbed a small towel out of the kitchen before heading out and between it and the hot dry air she quickly dried off and dressed herself before exiting the stall, feeling somewhat refreshed. She left her hair out of its usual ponytail for the moment, it would dry faster that way. Damn I wish I'd known to get a haircut before this started, might get pretty long depending on how long this thing takes.

She strolled back around the bar and spotted Vera, no longer a bird, and Able having a chat. "Hey guys, showers open now," she said as she approached them, then specifically towards Vera "I see you've ended beast mode, why did you change to begin with?"

 

[hiei82]

"So you were a bird just then." Able replied, while giving a questioning and amused face. Vera could only sigh. "Yeah... That's a problem with my powers. Sometimes I use them in my sleep without realizing it. That said, this was hardly the worst case; do you have any idea how hard it is to find a bed that can support the weight of longhorn cattle?" she said, hoping to keep the mood humorous if nothing else.

She didn't bring up the ASL again; probably wouldn't make his life any easier and even she could see he was trying to change the conversation. "So what about you; what's your unique and special power?" she asked, curious what Able could do.

Before he could answer however, Nicole arrived; her shower complete. Vera nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. I guess I'll snag it in a bit." Vera had to admit a shower - even a cold one - would be nice. "I see you've ended beast mode, why did you change to begin with?" Nicole continued, commenting on the bird. "Yeah... As I was saying to Able, I sometimes shift in my sleep. Problem is, I have to stay in the form I'm in for an hour or so before I can change again... lets just say I don't take a lot of early morning classes for a reason... I tend to be absent." she said, explaining her situation. "I'm just glad it wasn't one of the bigger forms" "or the embarrassing one" she finished with a mental aside.

Remembering why she was out there in the first place, she added. "Can I borrow your phone by the way? I need to call in sick to my job; I'd rather not lose my rising DJ career if I don't have to."

 

[IFS]

"Can I borrow your phone by the way? I need to call in sick to my job; I'd rather not lose my rising DJ career if I don't have to."

"I just used the phone in the bar, if that one doesn't work for you then sure, just try to keep it quick I don't have an international calling plan," she responded, digging her phone out of her pocket and holding it out to her. Huh, yeah I think I remember her mentioning that about her powers, kinda sucks, guess I can be glad mine have never activated on accident before.

 

[hiei82]

"I just used the phone in the bar, if that one doesn't work for you then sure, just try to keep it quick I don't have an international calling plan" Nicole said.

Despite her litteral hawk eyes, she'd missed that there was a phone in the bar. Why did they even run a line out this far? she wondered, before shaking her head free of the thought. "Thanks Nic; I'll give it a try."

 

[DarkRawen]

"Aye, I've got some friends back home who could lend me a hand. Although not many. And my employer is still going to be pissed that I suddenly went up and left without a word."

Seeing Remus getting more worried gave Andrew a bit of a mixed feeling. A bit of Schadenfreude, but also a slight hint of empathy. A slight hint, the guy had still almost crushed his hand.

"Still, that sort of stuff is irrelevant. Saving innocent lives must take priority."

Very true.

"No one blames you for feeling worried, though. I'd help you if I could, but I'm not in any position to do so, being here as well."

Not that I've ever touched a farm-animal before, though. And not like I'd actually do it.

Remus then answered his question about talents, and Andrew didn't mind changing the topic.

"Hmm...well I have an affinity for firearms. Grew up with them when I was young - my uncle let me fire a shotgun for the first time when I was seven. I'm also good at physical actives and athletics, although I don't get to do them much. As you'd imagine I'm an excellent farmer for my age, but I don't imagine that'll be much use for anyone here. Aside from that, not much."

"You never know, anything could happen. I'm more of the support type of person myself, not very fit for fighting. Of course, you can count on me if you need to get patched up, I'll do my best."

I don't dislike you enough to leave you to die, after all.

After all, saving lives was something you did unbiased. Andrew had never doubted that, if he let someone die it was not in spite. His mind went back on those thoughts, the ones he was trying to escape.

Then... why?

"Let's just hope there's no need for that," he continued aloud. He suddenly was visibly bothered for a short moment. However, he decided to keep smiling, didn't want Remus to start asking questions or something like that. "Just like I hope there's no need for you to fire a gun."

 

[IFS]

"Thanks Nic; I'll give it a try."

"No problem V," she replied, she wasn't exactly sure what to talk about next, "So what were you and Able chatting about? You said it was something about your shifting right?"

She kind of wanted to involve Able in the conversation, it seemed a bit unfair to her that her arrival might cut him out of it. Besides it would be good to get to know her fellow demigods, she was stuck working with them after all. Most of them seemed nice so far, all the guys were good looking except for Steven, and everyone seemed friendly enough, again except for Steven who so far had done little other than call people idiots and wander off to look at machines, but then it wasn't like she hadn't been annoyed at the situation either. So far Able and Remus had seemed the nicest of the new people, though she had only really talked with them so she didn't have much to judge the others by. Plenty of time to chat with everyone when we head out for the rock I suppose.

 

[Deu Sex]

"No one blames you for feeling worried, though. I'd help you if I could, but I'm not in any position to do so, being here as well." Remus smiled once again at the demigod, assuming his kindly words to be more sincere than they truly were. "I'd thank you for the offer, but even if you were in a situation where you could help me I'd rather you'd not. I prefer to do the things expected of me myself rather than burdening others by leaning on them."

His smile fell away as Andrew spoke again. "Let's just hope there's no need for that, just like I hope there's no need for you to fire a gun." He shook his head at that comment. "Considering the dire gravity of our task, I somehow doubt either of those will be avoided." Everyone seemed to be rather unintimidated by the idea of taking down Dionysus. But whether his domain was wine or steel, a God was still a God. And this one had been killing like a spook story monster. There was a rotting feeling in Remus' gut that told him this quest would not be so easy as the others were hoping, and may take much longer than they assumed. He avoided telling this to Andrew however. There was no need to demoralize or bother the son of Apollo with his gut feelings.

All these worrisome thoughts were making Remus feel very uneasy. He rubbed his forehead, which felt warmer than normal. "Um...I'm sorry, it's nice to meet you Andrew. I need to get some fresh air though." He got up off his chair and started to turn away from the table, leaving a good amount of food still left on his plate. "And, uh...sorry if I hurt your hand." he said to Andrew, assuming that he did.

As he got off the table and headed towards the door with the intent of getting some cool air, he remembered that he was in Australia and it was probably going to be even warmer outside than inside. That would do no good for him. Looking about though, he spotted some friendly faces. Nicole, her friend who was no longer a falcon, and the mute demigod Able. Walking over to the three, Remus waved to get their attention and gave a smile despite the fact his head felt like it was boiling still. "Good morning! Everyone sleep and eat well?" he said, turning his attention to Nicole. "How are you doing?" he asked plainly, then noted. "You look rather refreshed."

 

[Green Shoes]

"Alright you lot. I suggest you get showered or do whatever it is you need to do. We need to wrap up here and get going soon. I'll just be waiting in the van!"

With that, he walked out the door, carrying his bag limply in his hands. The sun was truly up by now, and it's fierce heat made him glad they had salvaged the Kombi. Prying open the steel door, the torn upholstery was sure to prove a mild annoyance to those in the back. He ran his hands gingerly over the steering wheel, recalling as best he could the road rules of Australia.

Eh, we'll only be driving for an hour or two anyway. In a straight line. I'm sure we'll be fine.

Pushing his dark hair from his face, he inspected his face in the rear-view mirror. His stubble had progressed, and now itched like hell.

I hope there's a tourist shop up there.

 

[DarkRawen]

"Considering the dire gravity of our task, I somehow doubt either of those will be avoided."

"Yeah, I know. Still, might as well hope for the best."

Obviously, it's supposedly the end of the world. I was trying to make you less worried, you moron.

Andrew didn't know why he was trying. He was getting tired of this, everything that seemed to be the right answer turned out to be wrong. These people made no sense to him, they seemed to be controlled by emotions. He had hoped there was a difference between humans and half-gods, but apparently not.

I guess it was too much to hope for.

He had almost forgotten Remus was there before the man spoke again.

"Um...I'm sorry, it's nice to meet you Andrew. I need to get some fresh air though.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. And yeah, you probably should, this isn't the place with the best air."

Did he notice something?

Remus got up and turned to leave. He said And, uh...sorry if I hurt your hand." before leaving. Andrew didn't give him a reply, instead he looked around, making sure no one was looking towards him. He then sighed, rubbing his forehead for a short moment.

I messed up, didn't I? Not like I want to be his friend, but still. Geez.

He thought he might walk outside himself, and on his way spotted the girl who hadn't been talking a lot by the door, right outside. She had been the one who had a headache the night before, right? She had kept to herself.

"Hi," he said. "You had a headache yesterday, right? How are you feeling today? Get better?" He spoke with gentle voice, in case she did have a headache. "I'm Andrew, what's your name?"

 

[Terratina.]

Etna tapped her foot while she waited for the reply. She cursed until her breath again. Of course, they won't reply straight away. Professors were busy people, not to mention the fact that she was on the other side of the world. She looked to the phone again and with a few taps, she found out that it was already the afternoon over there. She wondered what the Morrigan was going right now. Probably the same as always. She hadn't received any texts from them. Well, from the two she knew at least. Apparently it was a good thing that she hadn't meet Nemain. Well, that was what Badb and Macha told her. But enough about that. Shooing thoughts of her distant home, Etna stuffed the mobile back into the bag.

"Hi," A male voice said. "You had a headache yesterday, right? How are you feeling today? Get better?" The voice continued on, "I'm Andrew, what's your name?"

She looked up and saw what could be described as a handsome face, if she cared. Her reply was short and snappy, "Firstly, I'll live. Secondly, it's Etna. Thirdly, are we going to get going or not?"

Her face displayed impatience. This wasn't some sort of social club. Unless Prometheus was lying and all of this was just an excuse to get all of the demigods together for darts and beer. And now Mr. Nice Guy was here blocking the view of the Australian morning sky. Brilliant. At least the sight of their leader walking out the door towards a vehicle gave her hope that they were actually going to do something today. Speaking of which, she would have to do something about the Australian sun. That could wait. At least, with the glacial pace they were currently going at. From the look of the bar, Etna doubted that were was any suncream there, anyway. Hopefully they would pull in at a shop somewhere. The bar was far from well-stocked.

 

[Lunar Templar]

"Alright you lot. I suggest you get showered or do whatever it is you need to do. We need to wrap up here and get going soon. I'll just be waiting in the van!"

Aria just go up, grabbed her things and headed out to the van, the seat in the far back so no one would have to step around her. She didn't need a shower, hadn't done anything for her to consider one. More over the conversation still going on was distracting her was was annoying her for some reason and she really didn't wanna deal with the noise, not with the situation, but mostly the life redefining gravity of her situation setting in.