#pinetreesfate

ARTEMIS  LOATHES  HIM.

of  this,  verso  is  sure.  granted  it’s  hard  to  say  that  any  particular  member  of  his  extended  divine  family  holds  any  level  of  fondness  for  him  (maybe  barring  apollo,  possibly  barring  hades  if  only  by  virtue  of  warped  familiarity),  but  he  knows  that  artemis  loathes  him.  he  knows  the  moon  holds  grudges  and  does  not  change  as  easily  as  she  would  claim;  she  is  an  immovable  force,  moving  about  the  world  in  a  constantly  changing  path  with  such  grace  that  it  makes  everyone  else  look  clumsy.

thus  he  tries  to  avoid  the  hunters  whenever  he  can.  well,  no,  there’s  a  more  obvious  reason:  he’s  tried  to  kill  them  here  and  there.  when  his  grandfather  still  served  as  a  pillar  of  some  kind  of  guidance,  when  kronos  still  made  himself  known  and  all  but  damnable  in  his  strength,  the  thunder-bringing  son  of  zeus  was  kept  busy  by  being  a  thorn  in  the  hunter’s  side  up  until  manhattan.  before  that,  even,  he  recalls  some  of  his  first  encounters  with  the  hunters  well  before  the  rebellion  and  certainly  before  thalia  grace  came  along.  

none  of  his  prior  experiences  with  them  have  worked  out  well.  none  of  them.  

still,  curiosity  gets  the  better  of  him.  a  wayward  breeze  carries  him  close  to  where  a  particular  huntress  has  made  her  resting  place,  be  it  in  the  city  or  in  the  forest,  an  inn  room  or  a  cot  strung  up  between  trees.  the  immediate  swell  of  ozone  in  the  air  is  as  much  of  a  metaphorical  knock-at-the-door  as  he  can  make.  as  much  of  a  warning  as  he  can  give.  

wonder  if  she’s  gonna  shoot  me,  thinks  the  eldest  of  zeus.  despite  himself,  the  thought  makes  him  grin,  though  he  can’t  quite  place  why.  

@pinetreesfate // starter call

@pinetreesfate

“I think we all do from time to time.”

Katie offers, gently, as she begins to turn the herbs to dust with her mortar and pestle. Coaxing another plant forward with her subtle gestures and hand motions during a momentary pause, Katie mixes in more herbs until she finally has a poultice like substance.

“I just… I think that feeling is more common when you’re half deity and half mortal, because you have very different paths you could follow. That’s what my Dad has told me before, anyway.”

There are times where Katie can’t explain why she feels smothered in the city but still is familiar with the ins and outs (even if she sometimes uses physical landmarks to navigate rather than confusing street names), feeling trapped between skyscrapers and smothered by manmade pollutants in an almost overstimulated way. Katie can’t completely explain why her connection to nature extends beyond being a daughter of Demeter, and there’s times when that — not her dyscalculia making her mistake left for right and vice versa — makes her inwardly feel as lost as Thalia has just described.

How do you come to terms with the fact that the person who claimed to care actually betrayed you? Katie knows that the relationship between Luke and Thalia was one she does not quite understand. A still healing scar gives a sudden twinge that nearly steals Katie’s breath, so when Katie gives a soft wince, even she isn’t quite sure if it’s because of that or Thalia’s own plight. Katie sits down, before finally speaking again.