#duresce

❝   I DON’T NEED YOU, BEN   !   ❞   he knows why he’s saying this     /     knows why the anger drips from his tongue like venom,  but that does not mean that he’s able to stop the bitterness from slipping out.  he’s gone  too  long   without a hit, without a way to shut out the world inside his mind which once again is starting to feel too real for his liking.    ❝   so why don’t you just do me a favour and   leave me alone.   ❞

❝   i’ve mentioned that i hate running before,  right?   ❞

for there’s been so much to do with the clave ,    and still so much   more   to do .          yet here ,    at the edge of the water he lets such thoughts of   responsibility   fade ,    if for but a moment whilst he walks alongside aline .          ❛    do you ever miss it  —    ❜           a pause ,    attention   drifting towards the other .          ❛    alicante    ?    ❜

‘  𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐓 ?  ‘  she quirks a brow, flexing her fingerss as she glares at the brace tied around her wrist. regina turns her glare on him as he enters her home, uninvited might she add, though she doubts it’s of little importance in the end.  ‘  you must be awfully pleased.  ‘

in some past life he would conjure the strength for a warmer greeting ------ but it’s a life a thousand years away, beyond his reach. paris’ expression is a poorly-stitched amalgamation of trepidation and aversion, the twelve marks and the symbol of his father (their father) burning upon his arm. try as he may to escape, rome always finds him. establish himself a goddamn world away on the east coast, and still it picks its way to his doorstep; and though her face is unfamiliar, the mark of mars -- the face of war that paints itself into your eyes and your soul -- is unmistakable, even to one half-blinded. 

rather involuntarily, he rolls up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing his legion tattoo, a silent confirmation, if she’s looking for one. a glance of the street offers no view of monsters, but paris doesn’t doubt there’s one somewhere nearby; he’s been spared their disturbances for nearly a month now, but she’s sure to agitate them, fresh blood drawing them from the shadows.

his oath to the legion burns in his throat ------ to offer help and sanctuary to any demigods who need it even after his years of service have been completed. he offers a curse to his (their) father as opposed to a prayer. a silver-and-gold bracelet along his wrist vibrates, as if excited by the prospect of morphing to its true state as his weapon.

        ❛    DO YOU WANT TO COME?    ❜     he half-turns, pausing in midstep.     the heavy weight of his bow sits upon his back, slung over his shoulder carelessly in his rush.     and charles waits, attention unwavering and full of innocent inquiry.    ❛    i’ll show you how to hunt one.    ❜

  ‘       well,      ' scowling    escort '    is    a    better    description.        or    ' reluctant    acquaintance '.       ‘