𝔨𝔦𝔰𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔞 𝔣𝔦𝔰𝔱 ,

✂︎

“You couldn’t kick my ass if you tried,” Laurel scoffed, leaning back on the bar stool she occupied and crossing her arms. Leo probably could hold her own in a fight against Laurel, but it was so much more fun to bait her sister. Hell, maybe if they threw down inside Polaris, Leo would get fired and then she could hang out with Laurel whenever she wanted. “Okay, so? You’re telling me not a single person would cover for you if you said you had an emergency? You’re really that unpopular with your coworkers, huh?”

🔪 

❖

is  talia  staying  to  prove  a  point  or  because  there’s  a  part  of  her  that  actually dares  to  miss  leo  ?  the  inquiry  doesn’t  live  very  long  in  her  head,  the  thought  pushed  aside  as  leo  approaches  her  with  a  less  than  thrilled  look.  “  aw,  babe,  you  use  to  love  it  when  i  sucked.  ”  they  should  have  known  leo  was  here  ―  she  was  as  predictable  as  she  was  violent  ―  but  talia  hasn’t  been  been  utilizing  their  foresight  as  much  as  they  should  lately.  “  are  you  here  to  practice  being  anti  ―  social  &  a  bitch,  just  like  daddy  ?  or  are  you  just  stalking  me  ?  ”  they  balance  their  arrow  on  the  ground,  both  hands  coming  to  rest  at  the  tip  of  it  with  their  eyebrows  raised.

their comment only manages to add fuel to the fire burning through leo’s body in a way only talia knew how to spark. the way they managed to still get a reaction from leo was something she absolutely hated. lips formed into a thin line as she stares blankly at them, remaining quiet for a second. “fortunately i grew some taste,” she snaps back. a lie — as angry as talia made her, there was also something about them that leo was too stubborn to admit she missed. a feeling that lasts for a split second with the comparison to ares threatening to send her into a blind rage. a dry chuckle leaves her lips she runs her tongue through the back of her teeth, head shaking at them. she steps toward them, kicking the arrow that they’re balancing onto the floor before taking another step closer pushing her body against theirs. “neither,” she spats, “try again.” as much as leo wants to throw a punch, the complicated feelings she holds towards them makes it that much more harder for her to actually hit them.

✂︎

Laurel felt it was her duty as Leo’s younger sister to annoy the shit out of her constantly. The chance to start a brawl was exciting, plus there was all the lost time of annoying her sibling that she had to catch up on. At Leo’s clipped tone, Laurel perked up, sensing that she was getting somewhere. “Relax, you don’t have to pound shots to prove to me that you’re a loser. I already knew that,” she said with a wicked grin. “I don’t know? We could go get lunch, I’m starving. You could just call one of the other bartenders and say you have a family emergency. Call Izak, or that Dite girl. They have no lives. I bet they would love to work.”

she rolls her eyes , the smirk on her lips obvious as she sets down the shot glass onto the counter. “a loser?” she repeats, brows raised as she lets out a dry laugh, “shut up before i kick your ass.” it’s an empty threat, of course, laurel’s antics being something that leo surprising finds endearing. “a family emergency?” forehead wrinkles as the curiosity rings in her voice. “and say what, exactly? hey, can you cover me, my siblings might be killing each other?” she smirks, a little surprised their violent tendencies under the same house hasn’t actually led to this before. “no, can’t do that. izak’s probably still pissed that i didn’t switch shifts with him and carly may talk my ear off before i can even ask. you may be right about the not them having lives but trust me, no one loves to work here.”

⍢

he lets out one big laugh , a guffaw , a word he himself would never use, or at least never had the opportunity to do so, when she reiterates the obvious. as much as he considers himself a mechanic, a fixer, someone who has the gift to fix any machine known to man just like that, he just couldn’t fix himself. of course, he wasn’t a machine, but wouldn’t it be much easier to find out what was wrong with him himself and correct it, handle it, deal with it, than tinkering with bolts and nuts, risking electrocution? he’s tried, though, so many things and as best as he can, gods know how hard he’s tried, but all were to no avail. whatever was wrong with him, he just couldn’t fix it. 

“yeah… of course there is,” he groans as he accidentally moves his arm and pain shoots back up, reminding him that he wasn’t his old man’s television set that for one reason or another would work better when he slapped it around. the image made him chuckle, and he shakes his head, finding the memory both appropriate to the situation and strange to come to him right then and there. “i chose a beatdown instead of euros for payment, after all,” he clicks his teeth, wincing in momentary pain until it finally subsides. “…and from an ares kid at that.” his dark brown eyes wander towards her, a playful smirk on his face. maybe he does have a death wish. 

🔪

she inhales , sighing deeply through her nose at his reaction. the part she was having trouble wrapping her head around was how he was still laughing despite everything. there was absolutely nothing funny about the situation. most of those that leo has left in the state ved is currently in would agonize in pain on the floor, flopping like a fish out of water barely even able to mumble a word in between cries. but ved? ved seemed to be thriving in it and leo would have been impressed if she hadn’t been so confused or annoyed.

“you need therapy.” her tone is flat though it’s one hundred percent sincere. while she’d never admit it, with all the losses and anger leo’s dealt with in her life, therapy has been the only way she’s stayed afloat. she keeps her gaze on him unimpressed, carefully studying his reaction. “yes, you did, which was absolutely stupid if you have no actual will to learn anything? why not just take the damn euros or give me the weapons free of charge?” she’s not a fan of not earning what she has but this training session with ved feels like a nightmare from the underworld itself and she can’t help but wonder if he’s actually not trying to torture her? lips purse into a fine line as she gives a small nod. “we tend to like violence.”

⋆

“Well I’m not a violent person.” Amelia lets out in a small fit. and then she hears the words escape her mouth and recoils at the utter lie in them. As convincing as the previous statement or maybe even less so. with a shake of her head, begging for Leonor not to remark on it, she says, “it would defeat the purpose of skipping training.” With a hand she waves the thing off ( if only her troubles could be wiped off the earth as easy as that ) and begins the walk outside of the training ground and towards Polaris. She looks back at the last statement with a question mark clearly planted on her forehead, “Patoja?” Amelia pronounces with ease, “Mejor te pago uno y tú el siguiente”.

              izak  blinks,  once,  twice,  three  times,  then  shakes  his  head.    in  another  circumstance,  or  in  another  person’s  perspective,  he  might  have  phrased  his  words  differently,  but  this  is  izak  and  having  to  ask  for  anything  seems  like  a  waste  of  time,  in  his  opinion.    so  instead  of  negotiating,  he  decides  to  pretend  as  if  leonor  hadn’t  said  a  word.    “    it’s  this  friday.    i  have  an  essay  due  that  i  need  to  work  on.    i’ll  do  any  other  shift  you  want  off  this  week.    ”

🔪

♡

“Sorta, yeah,” she said with a nod of agreement. Leo was always so hard to read; Carly was almost positive that if they weren’t forced to work together, Leo wouldn’t even humor her for a moment. That being said, she both feared and respected her, and hoped being close would let her absorb even a little of the energy she exuded. “Don’t you do anything when your siblings suck? You don’t strike me as someone who would just let it roll off.”

🔪

where: polaris who: closed for @barrioseu​

Laurel doesn’t like to drink, really. She’s never enjoyed the feeling of being out of control of her actions, and with even fewer inhibitions than normal, it’s almost guaranteed that she’ll get into some kind of altercation when alcohol is involved. No, she came to Polaris just to bother Leo, her favorite sister, the only sibling she likes, really. “Hey,” she said as she flicked a tiny ball of paper in Leo’s direction. She was sitting and tearing a napkin into pieces, sipping a water. “I’m so bored. Why do you have to be here? Can’t we go do something? There’s no one even in here. Only losers get drunk when it’s still light outside.”

🔪

he’s not not hard to miss , though she wishes he was . perhaps the time spent mesmerized by his features, falling little by little, cursed her into being able to spot him even through the corner of her eye. though, it’s the company he walks in with that brings a small frown to her lips. a reminder of how he moved on with ease, leaving her in a permanent state of bitterness. as watches them take a seat, she focuses her attention back onto the customers at her bar. focusing on their orders, one drink after another, as he become a distant afterthought ― or so she tried. as he’s standing in front of her, she’s left with no other option but address him. brow arched as she scowls, tone short and annoyed. “que?”

              he’s  been  rushed  off  his  feet  a  lot  lately,  but  izak  has  never  struggled  with  juggling  things  so  rearranging  his  schedule  hasn’t  been  a  necessity.    but  on  the  odd  occurrence,  he  needs  to  cash  in  a  favour  from  one  of  his  colleagues  and  he  really  needs  tomorrow  night  off.    so  he  has  no  qualms  approaching  leonor,  as  if  to  greet  her  in  a  usual  way  when  in  reality,  he  has  no  intention  of  doing  that.    “    i  need  you  to  swap  shifts  with  me.    ”    in  typical  izak  style,  it’s  not  a  question  nor  is  it  a  request.    he  says  the  words  as  if  they’ve  already  been  said  and  the  discussion  has  already  been  had,  only  looking  for  the  confirmation.        @barrioseu​​

🔪

his tone catches her off as she looks up from her current task , arms crossing together in front of her chest as she leans against the counter. this ought to be fun. “is that so?” a brow arches as she looks at him, unfazed stare falling on him. his statement threatening to put her already bad mood into a worse mood. “funny, didn’t hear a please in that statement,” she answers, “actually, come to think of it, i don’t remember every agreeing to do that, so, no. not happening.”

-

people tended to underestimate rion: his willingness to injure, his impulsivity, his perceptiveness. despite most thinking that he didn’t care about his siblings, he did, in his own bizarre way. he noticed the changes in their attitude and the slightest hints in their general facial expressions. though he notices that leo’s frown is deeper than usual, he doesn’t comment. if she wants to wallow and be angry at the world, what the fuck did it matter to him. with a roll of his eyes, he picks at the plate of fries in front of him and scoffs. “maybe i am. but at least i can fucking admit it.”

-

🔪

“ and who said i’m not ? ” she counters , “this is hell. literal hell. hades in all his damn glory hell.” there’s a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips and while leonor would be the last person to engage in any type of melodramatics, she can’t help but find a small glint of amusement by her statement. surely hades has something more damning to offer than a silly carnival? but the way leo’s not enjoying herself leaves her with that single option. a beat passes as she keeps picking at what’s left before striking a conversation - or attempt of one. “are you planning on riding anything or just sitting here?”

⍢

if ved only paid more attention to himself , then perhaps he’d realize that his pain tolerance was a little more impressive than he usually gives himself credit for. that or it was just natural for demigods to have a much higher patience for suffering. it helps that he has had many dalliances with tasers and being tased within just the semester alone. the first taste was the most painful. what followed next was a little more tolerable, more an annoyance and less as gut-wrenching than what had come before. “hey, it works. don’t knock the safe word until you try it!”

he starts laughing as he slowly picks himself back up on the ground, sitting upright while trying to check if his broken arm could still be salvaged. if not, he could almost build himself a robot arm. maybe even add some hilarious features to it like a built-in laser or a giant red stare, comrade. hephaestus himself was no stranger to prosthetic limbs. “thanks, though. i needed that.” leaning against the wall, he heaved a sigh, almost of relief, as he held his arm and stared up at her. “nothing like a beatdown as payment for your wares to remind you of your own mortality.”

after all, why was he still here if not to simply suffer? what is suffering but life persevering? or some weird thing his mother used to always tell them back when he was still a kid. good times.

🔪

“ i’d rather not , ” she counters . the idea of a safe word sounded incredibly stupid, mainly because she was used to fighting until someone collapsed to the floor bloody and bruised in defeat. most times, her opponent being the one to fall though there were the rare instances where leo herself would be beat. a rare sight and one the violent girl would be lying if she didn’t enjoy. getting beat usually meant it was a good fight, a disastrous mess in all it’s gore and glory. rare instances where others would impress her to the point of respect but standing listening to ved spew on about a safe word? not one of those times.

she watches with annoyance as he picks himself up, loud huff leaving her lips as she makes her irritation toward him clear. their entire agreement proving to be a waste of time, making a mental note to rather pay him next time than deal with whatever circle of hell this seemed to be. while the quantity and quality of the weapons he provided her with were worth it, this seemed like too much of a price to pay for them. her brows furrow as a scowl appears on her lips. was he really thanking her for hurting him? “there is something seriously wrong with you.” she rolls her eyes 

♡

“Well, I live there,” she said, as if that should be obvious, but maybe it wasn’t to Leo. However, with the way Carly had seen Leo throw people out of the bar for getting rowdy, it wasn’t hard to imagine that she could get violent if the mood struck. “Also, I think arson is still a crime, even in Greece. Have you burned a building down?”

🔪

“ yeah , and ? ” she’s indifferent toward the obvious , little care over the hypothetical displacement of the ‘dites. “you don’t say,” she muses, “here i thought eonia was the exception, oops.” she gives a small shrug, letting carly’s question linger before providing an answer. no, she hadn’t. arson wasn’t necessarily up her ally. she dealt with her fits and when the occasion called for it, a weapon or two. though it didn’t mean she was also about to admit to it so fast either. “what if i have? you want pointers or something?”

closed starter for : @barrioseu​ 

located at : training grounds, sometime between 20:00 - 22:00.

she’s  been  slacking  at  training  as  of  late,  the  preparation  for  mid ― terms  causing  a  stack  of  assignments  to  take  over  her  desk.  there’s  a  hint  of  dark  circles  under  her  eyes  as  she  walks  into  the  archery  range,  headphones  blaring  music  at  an  insufferable  volume  to  block  out  any  stray  sparring  that  could  be  happening  at  this  hour.  talia  hardly  pays  attention  to  who  could  be  in  the  range  as  she  takes  a  spot,  fingers  pressing  into  her  shoulder  muscle  as  she  rolls  her  arm  back.  they  already  feel  like  they’re  not  as  up  to  par  as  they  were  two  weeks  ago,  but  there’s  hardly  anything  that  they  could  do  to  fix  their  terrible  time  management  this  semester.  they  take  a  hold  of  their  bow  &  an  arrow  from  the  small  container  of  them  standing  next  to  her;  a  deep  breath  in  as  they  draw  it  back,  their  back  already  trying  to  fight  against  them  as  they  hold  the  position  for  a  second.  &  they  feel  the  string  leave  their  lips  when  they  release,  an  exasperated  sigh  leaving  her  when  the  arrow  lands  in  an  outer  circle.  their  current  song  fades  out  to  give  way  to  the  clearly  not  muffled  laughter  leaving  someone,  talia  taking  out  her  headphones  in  a  second  of  confusion.  the  confusion  is  quickly  replaced  by  a  small  scowl  when  she  locks  eyes  with  leo.  “  you  didn’t  see  that.  ”

the quiet solitude seems to be leo’s preferred type of company. fate assuring her that she’s meant to be alone, time and time again, to the point where she’s found herself actually believing it. life being a little easier that way and a hell of a lot less painful. which translated into leo roaming around campus during hours she knew others weren’t. usually, getting her training done during early twilight with the occasional visit to the training grounds closer to midnight, like tonight. needing to blow off some extra steam, she was heading into her second hour at being at the training grounds. taking a quick break to grab a sip of water as she notices a figure walk into the training grounds at the corner of her eye. it takes her a moment to realize who it is, as her mood sours once she recognizes talia. staying put, she watches talia begin her training. arms crosses against her chest as she analyses their every move only for a loud laugh to leave her lips once talia’s arrow lands. walking toward the other, she stares them down, identical scowl matching talia’s. “oh, no. i definitely did and you absolutely suck.”