zerotohiro | I'll be the watcher of the eternal flame [Eachdraidh IC Contact]

[Joshua has, by this point, become a hard person to track, even by normal Joshua standards. Yet, he does take the time to send Hiro a gift. He'll get the following:

(1) Glass cat
(1) Tailored set of clothes, both fashionable and able to keep him warm during the winter
(1) Pristine sketchpad with (5) charcoal pencils; on the inside of the cover, in neat handwriting, is the following phrase: "To the one with big ideas, catalog the images that will make San Fransokyo proud to have you as its citizen."

There's also a note:]

Out of the darkness of the previous year, make the next one shine brighter.

[Nico's got gifts for Hiro, too! He does it by way of carrier hell hound, aka Clifford. Sorry about the mess and drool and stuff, dude.

Here's what Hiro gets:

(1) Pocket sized screech owl figurine
(1) Box of homemade shortbread, gingerbread, and sugar cookies
(1) Perfectly balanced dagger with an ivy pattern carved intricately onto the hilt

There's also a carefully written note. The handwriting's a little messy, but it's readable.]

The screech owl is my father's animal. I thought it might give you protection. As for the dagger, it's easier to hide on your person, so you'll have an advantage if you're clever enough. Use how people underestimate you to gain an upper hand.

PS: sorry if the food doesn't taste very good. I made them myself.

[He's been practicing really hard to get them right.]

[Nico may not have been expecting a response but he's getting one a few hours later.]

1.) Your dog drooled on me. A lot. Equal parts gross and awesome. I've never seen a hellhound (??) 2.) Did I tell you I was learning to fight with a dagger or did you just guess? This is awesome! (Also come on. Totally clever enough.) 3.) Oh! I know this legend! The owls are supposed to be protectors in war, right? An owl flying over the Greek army meant sure victory. I've got the perfect place for it. It's…kinda cute. Fun, normal-person fact: did you know they're some of the rare birds that mate for life? But they're also some of the birds that don't build nests for their babies so it's kinda weird what they prioritize and they're also kind of really vicious when food's involved…wow. Sorry. Nerd rambling. ANYWAY… 4.) They taste fine, dude. Promise. You have good taste. I didn't even know you baked. Thanks for everything.

[There's a lull in messages. He's thinking. He's debating. There's a lot going on in his head but he's not going to bother bringing it to light just yet.]

Let's hang out soon when you're not busy. I can probably sneak out after the next time Clarke drops in to check on me.

[And he's, in turn, not expecting an answer back. It's just out there, just in case.]

[He doesn't expect it, but...it's one of those things where it's a really, really nice surprise. Like, the kind that makes the heart feel lighter.

In he back of his mind, some distant warning bells are ringing, but he doesn't pay them any mind. For now, at least.]

1. Sorry about the drool. He's easily excited. His name's Clifford and yeah he's a hellhound.
2. Total guess, actually. You reminded me of someone I know, a daughter of Athena who also used a dagger.
3. It's fine. I rambled a lot about myths and stuff when I was a kid, so...I know how it goes.
4. I don't always, but when I've got the means to do so...it's kind of relaxing.

I'd like that. It's been a while since we've hung out. You have a place in mind?

[It takes another half an hour or so before Hiro responds, if only because he got distracted reading something and trying to work with some raw materials that he's melting down. It's an experiment okay, don't judge him.

But, of course, he responds as soon as he realizes the message is there.]

1.) You named your hellhound CLIFFORD? Like. Like the big red dog Clifford? Wow. That's. Wow. I can't decide if that's really funny or really sad. (Please don't let your dog eat me for making fun of his name.) 2.) Athena's the goddess of wisdom and war right? Makes sense. I mean I hope that's what you mean and not that I remind you of a girl… 3.) You don't even know the extent of my rambling powers, Shadows. Trust me. Don't give me that kind of ammunition if you value your sanity and/or don't want me to talk about everything I've been reading lately. 4.) Baking's just like chemistry and in theory I should be good at it but Aunt Cass banned me from the kitchen years ago because some stuff exploded. But hey, anytime you feel like baking things, I am 100% up for eating it. Kinda way too long. And no, not really? Just…you know. Anywhere that's not here and somewhere people can't bug us. Station might be too crowded since it's the holidays but unless you have a better idea.

1. My friend gave me the idea. He told me about Clifford the Big Red Dog since I hadn't heard of it. Thought it'd be fitting for a huge dog like a hellhound. (He won't eat you, I promise.)
2. Gods no. I mean that you'd fit right in with the children of Athena, but Annabeth is the best knife fighter, other than the Hermes kids.
3. Know what? I'll try you. (Also: Shadows?)
4. I guess I'll make it an occasional habit if they're that good.

["Somewhere people can't bug us." ...That sounds an awful lot like a date, but that's impossible in Nico's mind. He's pretty sure Hiro wouldn't be interested in him, for one thing. And for another, he doubts the other boy's even into guys in general.]

There's a festival I heard about going on in Parrais during February. Festival of the arts or something? It's called the Ostara Festival.

[He's...he's pretty sure this isn't a date.

Oh, gods, maybe he should take this to Hermione and ask her about it because now he's starting to get paranoid. Like. Just. It can't be a date. There's no possible way. Why did he have to get that thought in his head? What the actual Hades is wrong with him?]

1.) Clarke has a dog but nowhere near that big. I'm more of a cat person…Mochi's the only animal we have at home since we can't keep dogs in the cafe. But that's good to know. 2.) ALSO good to know. (I was gonna say I'm not that much shorter than you.) Maybe I'll get to meet her someday. Who knows? 3.) Challenge accepted! (You'd rather go back to being Lord Nico of the House of Hades? That's a mouthful.) 4.) They'll get better. I'm good with being a taste-tester.

[It's not. Not really. It's not in Hiro's mind, anyway, even though by most standards it would be. He's mostly asking so that court tensions don't flare up and he can solely focus on hanging out with the other boy and none of the other problems that surround the whole war. What's wrong with that? If he stopped and thought about it he might realize the implications, but he doesn't. And truthfully? He's just sort of selfish. He doesn't feel like sharing right now.]

You're really gonna make me wait till February? Come ooooon. That's not fair. …it also kinda depends on when in February. I sort of have plans to head somewhere but you can't tell anybody okay? Secrets, di Angelo. They're important!

1. Well, I'm getting a kitten, too. Hermione's cats had kittens and she thought I'd like one. I swear, I'm going to have a menagerie at some point, and I didn't think that would be possible.
2. You two would get along scarily well.
3. (That makes me sound super pretentious, and I didn't have a fun time at the House of Hades when I visited. So. Shadows it is.)

[Despite his starting to freak out, he can't help smiling a little.]

Your secrets are safe with me. At any rate, I don't have a whole lot going on in January, if you can bear to wait even that long. Where else is there you'd like to travel to? We can still go to Parrais, even if it's not the festival.

1.) Is it going to sound weird if I say I want to come and see the kitten? I mean you too, obviously, but the only cat I have around here is Shijima and she's kind of also a person. Sort of. It's really complicated. Anyway you say menagerie like that's a bad thing. 2.) If she ever comes here? Tell me. 3.) (Wait there's an actual House of Hades? Oops. Fine. Shadows until I think of a better name for you. Could be worse. You could be Wasabi.) I knew you'd understand. Annnd maybe. Fine. If I have to. You just want me to die of boredom, Nico. That's going to be my death in this place. It won't be in the war, it'll be out of boredom counting stones in the spire again. Dramatics aside we're gonna go to Redgate. I've got somebody I wanna see out there. [Too bad he hasn't told Billy OR Loki yet.] How far is Parrais? I still wanna go check it out. I want to cover the whole world someday and anyway I don't mind taking a few days off to visit.

1. I don't think it's weird. It's not that it's bad to have one, it's just not what I'm used to. Animals usually run away from me or growl at me.
2. Will do.
3. (Why would I be Wasabi of all things? But yeah, there's an actual House of Hades. It's in Epirus, Greece. Pilgrims went there to try getting visions from the spirits of their ancestors.)

Well, I'd hate for you to die of boredom. I don't know how far specifically it is, and it definitely depends on where our starting point is.

[It'd be faster if they had magical flying horses, but Nico doesn't like them and they don't like him. So.]

1.) Surprise, there's probably weirder and scarier stuff in the Drabwurld besides you. 3.) (Dude I don't know, Fred makes up the nicknames back home, not me. We just roll with it. Also we're not pilgrims so Shadows it definitely it is until I think of something better.) Aw, you DO care. Anyway…we kinda have to see each other before February. How long did you really think you could do what Shuck asked without me?

[Hiro doesn't even like normal horses, much less clegs. Also Hiro apparently makes illegal left-hand turns in conversations without signaling. He's been good for almost two whole months though, that's gotta be a record.]

[She hasn't forgotten their conversation at Treun, so come Yule morning, Hiro will find a package sitting next to him wherever he is, delivered by raven. It's neatly wrapped, not giving away much in the way of shape. Upon unwrapping it, he'll find a leather bound journal, words elegantly written into the leather, and a delicate-looking black quill slipped into the cord wrapping around the journal along with a note, a smaller bottle of ink is wrapped up in a separate parcel.

Everyone's legend has to start somewhere. Sometimes we need to take it into our own hands.

- Merida]

1. For once, I'll actually agree with you because I've seen them.
3. (Gods I can only imagine what you come up with.)

[Nico sighs wearily, but...he's tired of arguing with Hiro at this point. He doesn't like it, not a bit. Regardless, there's nothing the son of Hades can do. So...he'll just have to make sure he trains Hiro hard so that he doesn't get killed. So that Hiro doesn't become another tragedy.]

I was hoping for longer than this. Hiro, are you sure? I mean this seriously and with no challenge. Are you seriously, 100% committed to helping me? Because you don't know the full extent of what I can do, and you'll be required to know everything so that you understand how my powers work. I can teach you how to ward off evil, and it'll work on even a mortal person, but, again, you need to be committed. Also, you'll be training hard with that dagger I gave you, too. I'm personally making sure of it.

[He has to make sure that Hiro's serious about this, especially since there's such an enormous possibility that this will mean the other boy may start to lead his life more like a demigod than a mortal. It's not something Nico wishes on anyone.]

[One, two, and there's a switch to audio.]

You need to listen to the sound of my voice because I'm only saying this once. Yes. Yes I'm sure about this and yes I'm committing myself to you. I told you at Samhain that I don't care and that I'm not giving up. I'm not scared.

[Yes he is.]

I'll learn. I pick up on everything fast and Saber's been training me for months how to fight with a dagger.

[A lingering pause.] Teach me. I need to understand everything.

[Hiro doesn't get an immediate response, but eventually Nico switches to audio as well.]

If you're not scared, then you should be. The ghosts in the Drabwurld aren't like the kind I deal with at home. I can make educated guesses on how to keep them from becoming too powerful for us to handle, but I can't guarantee anything.

[So. He's going to try Hiro. If the boy doesn't run from him or anything, then...then Nico will let him help.]

Alright, then. I can travel through shadows, and how much energy it drains from me is all dependent on distance and the amount of people I'm traveling with, if any. If I abuse any of my powers beyond my limits, then I start turning into a ghost myself. I can summon not only skeletons and zombies of humans, animals, and any other species I'd care for, but ghosts from good to bad to everything in between. I can put sleeping people into a deeper sleep if they're in range and if I care to do so. When I'm asleep, I can travel into the dreams of other people or they can drag me into theirs if they have a powerful enough dream. I can cause fissures if I get angry enough. If I need to preserve my life for any reason, I can go into a deathlike state, a "death trance," which can slow down any poison and I won't need to breathe as much air. I can even safely eat pomegranate seeds taken from Persephone's Garden that can sustain me for a full 24 hours.

[And now...the one power that he's not sure even Hiro can handle. The one power Nico doesn't want to use again if he can at all avoid it.]

If I'm seriously pushed over the brink, I even have the power to turn someone into a ghost and banish them to the Underworld.

[Nico pauses to let that and the implications of that statement sink in.]

So. Do you still think I'm worth it? Do you still want to go with me?

[Nothing. Nothing but silence as he processes that and repeats the words over and over in his head. That's...a lot that he wasn't expecting. He knew that Nico's powers were, well, powerful, but that's so much more than he ever expected. He's quiet for so long that it might appear that he completely disappeared just like Nico was thinking he would.

But...soon enough, he responds.]

...so maybe I'm a little scared of what we're gonna do, but I'm not scared of you. [That is to say, buddy, he kind of assumes that you're scared of you and that you're scared of losing control.] Every hero needs a sidekick so...why can't we just be each other's? You protect me from getting killed, I protect you from going that far over the edge. That's it, isn't it? Shuck knows what you can really do and that's why he wanted someone to go with you.

[It's not exactly the conclusion, probably, but it works well.]

It kind of pisses me off that you're asking me that, you know? Yes, I think you're worth it and yes I'm still going. We're friends, Nico. I know you think people make friends with you and you don't understand it yet, but I'm risking a lot to do this and--[And he pauses because he remembers a talk with a certain chaos god. Guilt hits him like a freight train, knowing he's going directly against what Loki told him a month ago...but it has to be done. This is the right choice.]

And I don't regret it. Your powers are dangerous, but every good thing comes with a little risk. We're both here. We were both brought here and we're both fighting in a war that neither of us get a say in. I want to make my own choice in how I'm going to help and this is going to be one of them. We've just gotta be careful.

So. I think the question should actually be do you think I'm good enough to bring along? Because if you can't answer me that then I guess I really can't change your mind and we'll find a way to tell Shuck I can't do this.

Edited 2015-04-05 03:23 (UTC)

[It's not exactly the reason, and Nico knows that it's not. At the same time, he doesn't really want to get into it. That's a can of worms that he doesn't like opening for good reason.

Regardless...he's totally silent through the whole thing. The fact that Hiro thinks he's worth any of this is...a foreign concept for him, even after all this time. So, Nico gives in. There's nothing else for it. He'll just have to make sure he gives Hiro the tools and experience necessary to keep him alive.]

If you're as good at learning as you say and you don't find what I can do...disturbing enough, then...alright. I'll start training you after the holiday. Just promise me that you won't take any unnecessary risks, okay?

[After a moment's hesitation:]

I want you to make that a binding oath, too, by swearing on the River Styx. So, if you feel like you can't keep that promise, then I'm warning you to back out. Breaking that oath will mean a fate worse than death will happen to you.

You're half-god, Nico. I'd be surprised if you didn't have some freaky powers...[But he lets out a breath he wasn't realizing he was holding and there's a grin audible in his tone. Later on he'll probably flip out privately about how dangerous Nico's powers are, but for now? They're okay. Nico's okay. He's okay. This is fine.]

Think you're gonna have to define unnecessary risks. Like I said, you're kind of a liability for me. [He's back to teasing him. That's a good sign, isn't it?

Or it was until that happened.] ...fate worse than death, huh? [Idly spoken. He's trying to imagine what that might be.] ...fine. I'll do the oath if we're clear on what "unnecessary" is. And you're not allowed to trick me into backing out because this is an "unnecessary risk", okay?

Except that you've never before met someone who was a child of Hades or Zeus or Poseidon, or even their Roman counterparts. [Seriously, they're a different league altogether in comparison to the other children of the gods.]

No tricks, I promise. [He wouldn't do that to Hiro, as tempting as it is. Unless it's something that absolutely needs to happen, he just won't.] If it's for reasons like trying to prove you're brave or prove that you can do it, that's unnecessary. Being reckless will also fall under that category.

Stop. [It's not a harsh request, but rather just a firm reminder that he still doesn't really care about the excuses.] You're worrying way too much dude. I'm friends with the actual god of Chaos, remember? [Family, really, but who's counting?] I know you're a child of the Big Three or whatever but I already made the choice. Little late to back out even if I wanted to.

Good. [He might need it in the future though just by nature of who Hiro is.] I'm not going to be reckless, why does everybody keep saying that?

[Hiro.]

[ For Yule, Hiro will receive a red-and-blue wool scarf and an extra obsidian necklace/communicator, with a note that says "just in case" and a smiley face. ]

[ there's some neatly wrapped cheese pastries from one of Redgate's bakeries. there are also two small jars with runes written in Loki's neat writing across the cap. there's a note enclosed:

You can activate them by opening the cap. They'll hold all forms of spirits and terrible nasties, but not for anymore than 14 days. You'll have to figure out what to do with them after the time limit. :) Great for holding candy when you're done. Hugs! —L

on another piece of parchment are instructions for Stage 2 of Illusion magic, which includes illusion-ing up his clothing. if Hiro digs to the very bottom of the box, there's a tiny little triangle of fabric. it's a piece of Loki's jacket. no note, no nothing. but Loki figures he knows what to do with it. ]

Edited 2015-04-07 23:26 (UTC)

...I suppose so. [He'll grudgingly give Hiro that much.]

Maybe because it bears repeating. [There's no venom or gentleness about it. It's just matter-of-fact truth.] Also, I very distinctly remember you angering a bunch of natives in Treun. So.

That wasn't my fault. They're the ones who weren't paying attention to the pool. [He's also the one who cheated but whatever.

A long, long pause.]

…I'll do it. The oath, I mean. But only if it means swearing that I only back out if I really, really can't handle it. I know my limits better than you guys do. But I'll do it. [A beat.] I trust you, okay? [That's...a very big deal, and he knows Nico knows that.]

And you neglected to give any sort of warning. [Nico's tone is innocent, and actually half amused.

There's silence for a moment.]

Alright. This trust goes both ways, Hiro. Also...you're going to hate me with the training I'll put you through, but you'll be able to hold your own at the end of it. I'm not going to be very fair.

[But, no matter what, Nico will make absolutely sure that if one of them has to make a sacrifice, it won't be Hiro. He'll give his life to make sure at least the other teenager will get out of it alive. He cares about Hiro too much to let that happen, if he can at all help it.]

I'll be the watcher of the eternal flame [Eachdraidh IC Contact]

Near Yule, 2701

Near Yule, 2701

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Yule 2,701

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yule 2701.

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