ηʹ → ( 𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 ) un; ghostking

[deathkid]

[ sitting in his room in marco's mansion with a record player belting out blitzkrieg bop. not so loud that he can't be heard, but it's clearly cranked up a little. nico, meanwhile, is sharpening his sword and looking a little put out. after having his memories shared with multiple people, he's not feeling too sociable. but he can hear jason grace in his head telling him he needs to get out of the house and talk to people. ]

Eight months. I've been here eight months and there's still no way to get back to camp. Back... home.

[ the fact he calls camp home now truly reveals just how much he misses his friends and family. ]

This place isn't too bad, but being the only demigod around here kind of sucks. I don't know how many people around here get homesick, but I would certainly accept even some of the gods, Greek gods showing up. No offense to you Norse types.

[ he picks up his sword and sets his thumb against the edge, cheering up a little as it nicks the skin, causing blood to well to the surface. sucking on his thumb, he sets the sword aside. ]

Whatever. Anyone want to go outside quarantine and kill some stuff?

Comments

[deathkid]

There are gods here but their powers have been nerfed somehow. Loki and Thor are a couple of them. As for my family, the Greeks, they don't tend to answer prayers that way. We usually have to figure things out on our own.

[ there's a slight bitter hint to his own tone, too. he feels you. even being a child of a god is not enough to get their attention at the best of times ]

[jelmazmo]

I've met Thor, and he seems noble. ( But a god? No. ) The Great Stallion of the Dothraki isn't here as well, is he? Or the Seven new gods of Westeros.

They never answer any prayers, either. And those of my ancestors certainly would not. I don't believe in so-called higher beings; only myself.

You'd do best to regard yourself in a similar light.

( She'll take that bitterness and raise it by 150%. )

[deathkid]

I've never heard of that god. Or of Westeros. So I can get what you're saying. I don't have the luxury of not believing, however. My father is a god.

[jelmazmo]

Has he demonstrated some otherworldly power or other, ser? I ask because I've seen seemingly ordinary people do extraordinary things; even I have done once or twice.

( And she's by nature and experience both a skeptic. )

My father was mad. I never saw it for myself, only heard of it secondhand from others. Were two of them not honest men, I would have good cause to doubt.

[deathkid]

[ he can understand skepticism. it's why most demigods prefer to stay in hiding because if they went around saying their parents were gods, they'd probably get put in loony bins. so he doesn't get angry or anything when she asks, clearly doubting. instead, he shrugs. ]

Not only has he, but I've been to his realm, the Underworld. My father is the god of the Dead, so he rules the afterlife. It's... not a pleasant place for most people who are still alive to visit, but I have a couple times.

Because of my parentage, I have powers. I guess you could say I'm one of those ordinary people who can do extraordinary things.

[jelmazmo]

( Something in her expression changes now; because she can see it a little, in his gaze. Her own reflects a haunted light for a moment, and she glances away. )

I've also seen the Dead, ser. There's no need for me to imagine that it would be no pleasant place for one to visit, extraordinary or not.

So, am I to understand that your mother was made to care for you alone?

( There's a little envy in her, who'd only had a knight and a young brother to look after her. ) It must have been difficult.

( But it in no way overrides her sense of compassion. )

[deathkid]

[ glancing away, nico's expression darkens with mourning. it's been a while since he's last seen the vision he'd watched of his mother dying and he still has trouble remembering her face. ]

She did, for a little while. Then, she died. Killed by another god when he was trying to kill me [ and his now dead sister ]. My father saw to my protection for seventy years until he saw fit to have me released to fulfill a prophecy.

[jelmazmo]

( My mother died for me, and Viserys never forgave me for it. The thought comes unbidden to her mind while she watches him look away, empathy rising in her. if he should glance back, he will find her features schooled into a gentler expression. )

I'm so sorry, ser. The words won't bring her back any more surely than they would mine, but all the same. It is a terrible loss to bear.

( Even when one had never met their mother. )

You are... long-lived, then? I put little stock in prophecy, as they can be interpreted in so many ways.

[deathkid]

It's fine. It was a long time ago.

[ he shrugs again, trying to play for being blase, but colorless eyes take on the appearance of broken glass. ]

Most demigods don't actually live very long. We have dangerous lives. I got lucky by being put away somewhere that magic prevented me from aging. I'm actually almost eighty-eight, despite looking like this.

[ with one hand, he gestures at himself. ]

And prophecies are... pretty much as you say. I wasn't the one chosen for it because someone else chose to take the place I would've been in. Our choices are really what matter in the end.

Anyway, you don't have to call me that. My name's Nico. Nico di Angelo.

[jelmazmo]

True enough.

( He doesn't care to show much weakness; and she can understand that, too. It's why she fails to mention Rhaella. )

In my experience, people don't tend to live very long; at least not now, not in my country. Something I intend to change. I would say you are fortunate, but I would never wish to be imprisoned by magic. Not even for my own protection.

( Yes; he looks as young as she is, if not even moreso. It makes her wonder. )

We are in agreement, then: I was told that I have a "role to play." But I chose it years ago, and my own choices dictate the course of my life now. Nothing is set. Do you feel relieved or regretful that you didn't take that place?

A pleasure, then, Nico. I am Daenerys of House Targaryen.

[deathkid]

I think it's probably a good thing I didn't take that place. My choice would have been different and the world might've suffered as a result. But there's no point in imagining how things might be different. Not when the future is all that matters now.

[ he gives a nod at the greeting. the house bit isn't too strange to him, given most people he knows back home are usually of a "house" or a "cabin", designating their godly parent. he assumes it's something similar. ]

It's nice to meet you, Daenerys. How long have you been here?

[jelmazmo]

What future do you envision for yourself, here or there—where you come from?

( A beat, in which one corner of her mouth twitches upward faintly. )

Not long. I arrived during the feast, I believe. And you?

[deathkid]

Hopefully a semi-normal one. I mean, it's not usually possible for people like me, but at least I'll know where I'm going when I die.

[ a shrug. ]

I've been here about eight months.

[jelmazmo]

I would wish for the same; and it seems to me that many things are possible here if we are here to begin with.

Don't speak of your death. You're living now, and that counts for a great deal.

( She can't much appreciate that gallows humour after having lost so much. So kind a boy shouldn't speak so fatalistically in her point of view. )

And how have you found your life here by comparison?