#megaera.

she feels her heart twist as the obvious toll of their meetings is made apparent to her. the pink and reddened skin around dusa's fingers tingles in her nose , but not enough for her to even consider revealing the truth to her . even if she wanted to stop , she couldn't — she is far too selfish to have something this precious to her taken away .

which is exactly what will happen if she backs down ; if not from dusa's parents throwing her further into church life and limiting her already rare free time , then from curious vampires and other supernatural beings who stay away only because megaera is allowing them to live . but the more influential and loud dusa's family grows , the bigger targets they paint on their backs ; and meg electing to remain close to dusa is protecting her for the time being but , in all honesty , only highlights that target in both societies .

the mortals think meg a heretical , queer , predatory abomination , and while those things may be true separately , it's certainly not true in the way they are explaining it . the supernaturals think her a powerful adversary who is perhaps slipping , letting her affection and adoration be seen so obviously .

it's too late to undo what she's begun , tactically or emotionally , and she sighs as she looks over at dusa . they're in the flat bed of meg's truck , parked on the river bank and listening to the water rush by . meg traces her gaze over dusa , taking in her form : her nightgown rucked and rumpled , exposing upper thigh , her spare dress laid out neatly on the back bench of the truck for this reason exactly ; hair mussed from large yet gentle hands ; the faintest trace of lipstick all down her neck and throat and at the collar of her nightgown , invisible to mortals but still so clear to meg , knowing it continues down beneath her clothes ; sweet doe eyes dim with worry .

megaera had been reclining on the couch , her head against the arm , legs tucked up against her as she read a news article outlining how a massive jeweler dynasty was coping with mysterious losses from their southern european ports ; namely , the one in athens . so poseidon had made good on the ask ; now the question is where they go from there , squeezing out this competition , unless and until mel deems it worthy of her time .

the door opens and she smiles to herself but doesn't look up ; very few people knew about this place , and even fewer of them knew where it was and would be so bold as to try to get in instead of texting her .

of course , there was one person who NEVER had to worry about that , one person who had access to this apartment and everything in it by design .

the next thing she knows , there's a gentle weight on the couch . she locks her phone and sets it on the coffee table and — gently , though she's done this many times before she's conscious of her strength — tugs her girlfriend onto her reclined form , happily kissing her in a welcome home .

she sighs into the kiss , feeling the weight of her agitation setling as she feels dusa's comforting presence . she doesn't like when they are apart but since moving off the compound , she doesn't want to linger just when dusa is scheduled . then , she thinks , she'd actually face disciplinary action .

one hand stays on dusa's waist , the other arm slung protectively over her back and rubbing gently at her shoulder blade , where she holds the tension . they kiss for a few moments , meg luxuriating in the calm . she cups her cheek when she pulls back , and smiles up at her .

the  young  prince  says  he  did  not  know  ,  and  megaera  has  to  refrain  from  dragging  her  hands  down  her  face  .  she  is  here  on  business  ,  not  pleasure  ,  and  it  is  the  sight  of  the  youngest  of  lord  hades'  children  that  has  her  remembering  why  she  often  stayed  away  and  communicated  via  letter  .  she  is  so  easily  frustrated  here  ,  wrenched  off  her  focus  points  like  an  unruly  kitten  by  scarred  hands  she  has  bitten  many  times  .  

hades  does  not  control  her  and  her  sisters  but  she  still  has  to  be  respectful  .  so  there  is  a  reason  alecto  came  with  her  ,  leaving  tisiphone  to  her  own  devices  elsewhere  in  the  capital  .  at  least  tisiphone  won't  get  into  too  much  trouble  .  

but  it  was  alecto's  CONFIDENCE  that  sparked  a  question  in  the  child  ,  asking  why  she  seemed  so  ...  at  home  ,  in  lord  hades'  estate  .  why  the  second  of  the  erinyes  did  not  bat  an  eye  ,  seemed  to  know  what  corridors  to  pay  attention  to  regardless  of  direction  from  the  servants  .  megaera  had  not  anticipated  him  to  be  so  observant  ,  and  alecto  had  taken  exception  to  the  question  ,  and  promptly  disappeared  in  a  supernatural  burst  of  speed  ,  nearly  teleporting  ahead  to  the  meeting  room  .  

megaera  had  remarked  that  young  nico  had  offended  the  second  fury  ,  and  thus  comes  the  apology  .  

if  only  it  were  that  simple  .  

❛  you  would  not  be  expected  to  know  ,  young  one  ,  ❜  she  murmurs  in  her  naturally  husky  voice  ,  golden  eyes  focused  down  upon  the  prince  of  the  estate  .  ❛  but  it  would  be  a  good  lesson  to  learn  .  if  you  have  such  suspicions  ,  bring  them  to  your  FATHER  —  not  the  suspicious  party  .  especially  not  one  much  ,  much  older  than  you  .  ❜

tisiphone  hadn't  wanted  him  to  go  to  such  lengths  ,  but  he  had  promised  it  would  deliver  ,  both  information  and  entertainment  ,  and  so  she  had  been  convinced  to  let  him  go  .  she'd  waited  with  her  sisters  in  their  estate  ,  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  ,  cutting  an  imposing  visual  .  

hermes  approaching  drew  her  attention  —  she  leaned  down  ,  gossamer  silk  mask  covering  her  mouth  and  throat  ,  though  not  her  pale  green  eyes  .  they  darted  between  the  middle  distance  and  mr  grady  ,  even  while  megaera  spoke  ,  greeting  the  mortals  with  her  usual  smoky  tones  .  she  hummed  quietly  ,  too  quiet  for  the  mortals  to  hear  ,  but  it  was  loud  and  clear  to  her  sisters  .  

in  that  instant  ,  the  decision  had  already  been  made  .  

alecto  and  tisiphone  descended  the  staircases  ,  leading  the  mortals  into  their  smoke  lounge  —  affectionately  dubbed  ,  by  alecto  ,  as  the  killing  floor  .

it  was  constructed  as  a  room  for  those  who  wished  to  recall  the  comforts  of  europe  while  here  in  the  bayou  ;  it  became  the  place  to  go  when  suspicions  were  HIGH  .  megaera  closed  the  doors  behind  them  ,  as  alecto  took  up  her  place  by  the  fireplace  ,  the  golden  light  shining  off  her  deep  red  dress  and  jewelery  .  tisiphone  sat  in  one  of  the  high  backed  chairs  ,  megaera  taking  her  position  in  the  other  .  

tisiphone  guides  hermes  into  sitting  into  her  lap  ,  his  legs  across  the  arm  of  the  chair  ,  to  perhaps  further  confuse  the  mortal  .  maybe  hermes  is  but  another  type  of  servant  ;  maybe  he  is  the  only  servant  they  can  afford  .  these  questions  won't  be  answered  for  mr  grady  ,  but  tisiphone  delights  in  the  confusion  .  soft  fingers  trail  along  hermes'  jaw  ,  coaxing  him  to  look  at  her  ,  gently  tucking  hair  behind  his  ear  ,  while  megaera  speaks  .

tisiphone  gazes  upon  him  with  love  and  adoration  ,  and  for  all  the  world  ,  it  looks  as  though  she  is  not  paying  attention  .  but  rather  ,  as  she  trails  her  fingers  down  over  his  throat  ,  she  asks  a  simple  question  :  are  you  hungry  ,  beloved  ?

meg  smiles  and  nods  ,  tossing  her  hair  over  her  shoulder  .  it's  sort  of  overdue  ,  the  dark  roots  poking  through  her  preferred  blue  ,  though  she  could  get  away  with  it  for  a  few  more  weeks  if  she  absolutely  had  to  .  lucky  for  her  ,  she  doesn't  have  to  .

collective.  the  powers  that  all  three  of  them  have  are  as  follows: 

pyrokinesis

flight

temporary  invulnerability

enhanced  speed  &  agility

pathokinesis.  they  also  each  have  a  form  of  pathokinesis,  but  it  is  specific  to  their  scope  of  work.  meg  can  sense, manipulate, and  create  paranoia,  shame,  and  guilt  akin  to  what  one  feels  when  lying  or  hiding  something.  alecto  can  do  the  same  with  rage,  anger,  and  feral  predatory  urges  from  wanting  to  harm  others. and tisiphone  can  do the same with  guilt,  fear,  and  shame  akin  to  what  one  feels  when  having  murdered  somebody.

megaera. 

shade  manipulation.  meg  can  summon  and  demand  the  shades  of  tartarus  come  to  her  aid,  from  anywhere  in  tartarus.  being  the  first  of  the  erinyes,  her  call  holds  weight  to  it  akin  to  hades.

alecto. 

electro-magnetickinesis.  in  addition  to  fire,  alecto  can  manipulate  lightning,  both  in  tartarus  and  out.  this  also  allows  her  to  manipulate  metal  in  any  form,  creating  additional  blades  and  weaponry  for  any  fights  she  is  in  or  a  part  of.

tisiphone. 

megaera.

her  work  is  nothing  personal.  she  knew  it  would  change  along  with  the  times,  and  there  was  that  rough  patch  with  orestes  and  athena  and  fundamentally  changing  how  they  operated…but  megaera  held  enough  wisdom  to  not  push  the  matter  too  much.  thus  she  alone  is  able  to  journey  to  athens  and  serve  judgment  as  she  and  her  sisters  were  once  able  to  do.  she  does  feel  a  sense  of  loss,  with  how  things  ended,  but  has  made  her  peace  with  it.  it's  better  that  way.  after  all,  work  is  nothing  personal.

alecto.

her  work  is  an  exercise  in  temper  release.  she's  someone  who  holds  onto  grudges,  and  so  having  this  tangible  outlet  makes  her  feel  still  somewhat  in  control.  she  loathes  that  her  judgment  was  ripped  from  her  and  her  punishments  -  forms  of  art,  in  her  opinion  -  lost  widespread  viewership,  now  confined  to  tartarus  after  the  judgment  has  already  been  given.  so  she  works  out  her  frustration  against  souls  that  have  been  deemed  to  deserve  it  by  beings  who  aren't  her.  she's  of  the  opinion  that  if  this  is  all  she  can  do,  she  may  as  well  perfect  her  torture  methods,  because  in  her  mind,  she's  only  stuck  down  here  because  of  others'  pride.  her  own,  she  claims  not  to  see.

tisiphone.

megaera bites back a sharp comment , wanting to be respectful , and yet this comedy of errors — the king unable to avoid going personally to olympus for something or other , the queen in her surface duties , thus unable to aid in underworld goings on , and the princes and princesses all doing their own work in different and sometimes conflicting ways — was decidedly not helped by nico's summoning of an undead guardian to drag the guardian of the realm of the dead back where he belongs .

now cerberus has the zoomies and the top half of the bony guardian clutched in two out of three jaws , the third head responsible for the steering of such wild energy , while skeletal legs wait to be rejoined to a torso . at least cerberus is somewhat contained to this part of the land ... for now .