#thread 003

' just how big is this damn city? '

she's been walking around for what she felt was hours and still all she could see were giant buildings blocking the sky. people walked around her like they were going about their day, meanwhile she was still trying to figure out just what was going on.

of all the places i could be sent why couldn't it have been a beach at least?

Zagreus Rhea is not a hard man to find. Five minutes on his Tala feed and Icarus has a detailed picture of exactly where he’s been since arriving in Olympe, which... is better not to think about for too long. It’s exactly that sort of thing he’s trying to forget right now anyway, he thinks, and pushes the thought as far down as it will go while he makes his way to where the young prince is holding court at a VIP table.

He has to raise his voice to be heard over the club’s music, but when Zagreus meets his eyes and breaks into a grin, Icarus can’t help mirroring the expression - this time, unlike so many others in recent days, with genuine warmth.

The energy that trails from Nana’s fingertips through to her toes-- it is not foreign. The crackle of excitement, the chatter-- snide remarks accompanied by lingering gazes. Nana knows this world. She’s held it in her palm, split in into her bloodstream; a means for survival. The ask came with little room to decline, and why would she? There are more important things these days, but she’s never been the type to turn down a challenge. 

However, it is not Leon who meets her in the ring. Instead, it’s Marcus in patterns and stripes. Her gaze flickers from him to their surroundings-- missable if you’re not intent on watching her movements. Lips curving upwards, she checks the referee as he steps inside too, the sound of his shoes quiet against the murmurs and buzz of excitement that winds up the audience’s throats the moment they realize it’s Marcus that this woman will be fighting. 

“Marcus,” Nana says, her voice barely audible over the hollering of men with liquor flattening their tongues and creating blurs in their vision. 

Nana’s confusion is a blemish and she takes a breath. Reset, she reminds herself. She nods at Marcus as she reaches out with a gloved hand to bump against his own. A moment later, and there’s the sharp end of a whistle burrowing into her ears. Nana moves quickly, and if this were anyone else, she’d strike for his face, but there’s the reminder that he’s more than this fight by the look in his eyes. 

he recognised the cover, a book he’d read on a whim some time ago but still somewhat memorable it seemed. “ it isn’t often i see someone reading that title these days, i’m glad it’s getting some attention. “ a friendly smile with a friendly tone. he even allowed his eyes to close in a soft expression of faux sweetness. it was a challenging book, a complex narrative and the literature itself was a manifestation of cryptic analogies and metaphors. and yet she had held it so casually, so naturally. there was much to discern from that alone, but as his eyes reopened he chose not to question it, not yet. 

Nikolai exclaims, as lively as ever as he hops closer, his cloak adding a dramatic effect to his movements as always.

“Say, say, do you like quizzes? I’m looking for a lucky contestant, you see, and you seemed like a perfect candidate!” Okay, that was a lie, but he certainly was in quite a playful mood now, so he can’t quite be blamed for getting somewhat carried away, no?  Of course not!

“If you answer correctly, I’ll give you a reward, how does that sound? Exciting, right? Of course it is! Hahaha!!” The said reward was absolutely a shoplifted item, but let’s not get too technical here, it would ruin the fun.

with what little money dwells within his pockets, it became rather quickly to be a matter of saving until a purchase was absolutely necessary. though, he did possess something like a weapon thus perhaps holding someone at gun-point for their money wasn’t entirely crossed off of the option list just yet, there was a more practical way to go about ensuring he did not merely throw away cash at the first moment he could. not that he was the sort. rather, his entire life he had been something of a prude when it came to money ; spending as little possible, for the sake of reaping a much more worthy reward.

for what he lacked in wealth, he had always made up for in experience and knowledge. 

but there was one purchase he felt to be entirely needed, something which would provide not only the answer to many questions rattling about his brain, but also serve as perhaps filler for the time he would most likely spend aboard the shuttle he was destined to board in the near future. a newspaper ; black & white and incredibly old fashioned as these things do go. no holographic images, no scanned data. it was incredibly simple, for a man far too used to only the latest technology. he pays for the paper and brandishes it before him, the cold wind whipping his neck as he reads across the printed words for the answers he seeks. the why’s, why how’s, the where’s... two-thousand and seventeen. the date scripted so plainly for him to see. well, there was one answer.

but before he has time to divulge into the edition, the breeze rips the paper from his gloved grip and flies forward as if pulled away from him by a supernatural force. the gale sends it hurtling down, leaving hux only to play audience, as it whisks down and smacks a stranger plain in the face. instead of offering an apology, or even chasing after the runaway paper, the general stares down the victim of the newspaper attack, walking across eventually with the pace of a man only half-interested. 

LIGHTNING FLASHED OUTSIDE, closely followed by the booming sound of thunder. Heavy raindrops clattered against the glass windows of the building. In one dorm a student shifted under her blanket. Droplets of sweat formed on her forehead. Her eyes were tightly shut, the girl was lost in the past. Amano shifted again, her dreams—no, nightmares—were worse tonight. Her breathing became heavy, her chest felt constricted. Tragic childhood memories flashed in her head. Amano woke up with a scream.

She sat crossed-legged on her bed quietly sobbing into her blanket.

“Uu...uuuhuu.” Fran’s attention was quickly taken over by the site of flowers that were growing. Known as Savior’s Respite, Fran manage to make her way to the field of flowers that were around, unable to help herself but sit among them and admire their beauty. She let out a sigh as she picked one out, looking at the details of the white petals, noticing how beautiful they smell. One by itself would be lonely if she didn’t pick out others.

Fran reaches out to pick a few more in her site. Though it seem that she was picking out too much that the area around her were just patches of grass instead of flowers.