[ fire & iron ; ]

Drew gave a small sigh. She thought after finding out she’d feel better about everything, her whole life. She thought she’d feel better about growing up in foster homes, having to move around so much, or not knowing her parents for her entire life, because now, at least she’d know one of them. But now she had actually found out, she wasn’t liking the news. She had hoped it was a God who needed her to show them something, like Ares. At least then, he’d have a reason as to not claiming her yet. Hephaestus? He didn’t have an obvious reason to not claiming her. “Do I want him to be my father?” She asked gently. 

“Um?” Gabe pondered over the question. “I’d argue it’s all a matter of opinion. You can ask the other Hephaestus kids though-- they’ll probably have better answers.”

“What do you mean I can’t do this? It’s my birthday!” 

“Because it’s dangerous, Lil. Happy birthday by the way,” he smiled, wondering if he should give her the gift he got her or not.

“You think you’re decent company, Larkin?”

“Oh of course not. I know I’m decent company.”

“What do you mean?”

“I completely forgot about that- I think I should have asked for that instead of water this morning.” She answered, the smile growing more as she talked to him. Lily was so glad they were talking like they did before, as if nothing was wrong. She didn’t want anything to ruin this- but this time, she might be the one to ruin that. “Hey- if I ask you something, would you tell me the truth?” 

“Water’s still a good idea,” he assured her with a soft smile. He was glad that things didn’t have to be so awkward between them, despite the circumstances. Her question worried Gabe, “Um yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Do I?” She asked, slightly cautious with her words. She had a small inkling of an idea, but she wasn’t sure if they shared the same idea. “If he’s my Dad, why hasn’t he claimed me yet?” 

“I don’t know...” Gabe replied honestly, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously.

[ @ctrl-gabriel ]

“It’s that bad,” She repeated, making a face at her own answer. “One of the Hecate kids helped me last time- I should probably wait it out, deal with the karma of drinking. Thanks for offering, though.” Lily replied, the smile still present on her face. It was nice to talk to him like this, it was almost like it was before, and Lily missed that, and him. Lily missed him the most, and it hurt her more that she didn’t know why he had let her go. 

"I get that,” he chuckled softly. “I remember grapefruit juice always helped you-- so you can always use that as a second resort,” Gabe shrugged with a gentle smile on his lips. This casual talk they were sharing almost made him completely forget about everything that had gone down between them and had torn them apart. 

Drew nodded, “I’m sure,” She said, her voice filled with uncertainty of telling him the information. It was something that she had never voiced out loud, since it was the main cause for her being moved around as a child, and she was a bit scared to admit it. “I can do the same thing she can,” 

Gabriel stayed silent for a moment, watching Drew as she spoke. All this time they had spent together, all this time Gabe had devoted to try and help her figure out who her godly parent was-- only to figure out she was his sister. "You realize what this means, right?”

“I might consider it but what would I get out of doing that?”

“Some decent company?”

"I know, I know-- I’m sorry.”

Drew didn’t want to be a downer on something like this. When she first arrived to the camp, she thought after eighteen years of being in the foster system, she would finally find her family. But now, a few months after arriving, nothing had happened, and Drew was starting to lose all of her faith. She nodded as he talked and Drew listened. So far, none of the things he was saying seemed true to the power she had decided to keep secret, until he talked about pyrokenisis. Pyro was fire, and that was something she wielded. But, how could something  that had caused so much destruction, be a gift? Her power was something that she had hidden for a long while, it had given her a spot on her record, and practically stopped her from being adopted. “I- I think I have what Kennedy has.” She said hesitantly. She did trust Gabe, but at the same time, she was worried that he would reject her as a friend. 

Drew’s pause of silence freaked him out a little. Hoping he didn’t say anything to upset her, Gabe waited it out, looking at her calmly to avoid intimidating her with all this information further. “Wait--” he slipped, suddenly in total shock at her announcement. Was she pulling his leg? Was Drew his sister all this time, and he hadn’t even thought about considering that factor? “Are you sure, Drew? Are you able to manipulate fire as well? By using just your own hands?” Although he realized he was asking a lot of questions, Gabe needed to know in order to be sure this was all really the case or if this was all just some sort of misunderstanding.

“No, I only really remember getting there.” She responded, a small smile at just how drunk she had gotten. “Pretty drunk, at least that’s what it feels like. I don’t think I’ve ever had a headache quite this bad before.” 

"Ooh, that bad?” he sympathized with a slight grimace. “I know a few remedies-- the Hecate kids always tend to help too. If it’s really that bad, I can always help,” Gabe offered with a small shrug.

Lily tried to stay as polite and nice as possible, trying to hide how upset and hurt she was about everything that had happened between them. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to hate him, that would have been easier than pretending that she was okay. But, she wasn’t okay, and she didn’t want to have to pretend that she was. On the same page, he was the one who hurt her, and she didn’t want him to know the pain she felt because of it. “It sounds like you had a fun night, you usually do.” She replied, giving small nods as she spoke. “I feel like I had a good night, I just wish I remembered it.” Lily joked, although no laughing sound came from her mouth. 

"Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly, “It was pretty great I guess.” Gabe scratched the back of his neck nervously. Damn, she really didn’t remember. “You really don’t remember that much of your night? How drunk did you get?” he wondered, making small talk while also being genuinely curious.