Week Two

[letsplayamod]

Okay, maybe it hasn't been so easy. You've been enjoying a relatively pleasant time here with your fellow gods and Athena, only for a disgruntled Titan to seemingly pull the rug out from under that.

Despite the immediate threat from a hidden foe, you've managed to stave off their first attack. However, even if the grass may seem greener this week, or the sky a bit clearer, Athena can barely hide her troubled feelings. If this experiment is to be a success, what has to happen to make it that way?

You're all alive, though. That's worth celebrating, isn't it?

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Quark's Bar

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kitchen

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex means to just go to the eatery. He wants to drop off this...admittedly very delicious looking pastry, for someone who can actually enjoy it.

But the smell, identical to the apple strudel he carries yet fresher, draws him into the kitchen.

Oh. She'd said...she lived in a bakery, right? He should've figured... ]

Lebkuchen.

[ Ah, look at that. He has been practicing. ]

You made that?

[brokenhabit]

[ She barely reacts when she hears her name, too lost in thought to think to compliment his improvement.

But the question gets something out of her at least.

She nods. ]

I did, yes. Mr. Quark wanted some made for his establishment. The Wednesday special.

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex looks from what she's completed to his own plate. ]

Then... I guess this one's yours, too.

[brokenhabit]

[ She looks at his plate now and freezes. ]

That’s…

[ To anyone else it might look the exact same as Leb’s but to her eye… she knows better. She recognizes that intricate plaiting, the carefully cut and placed decoration. The one she had always been trying to replicate after all, always coming close but never quite there. Even in her old age with her hands becoming shakier she was still a master at this in a way Leb unfortunately never reached— ]

…Granny made that one.

[rockymountaindie]

[ ...Oh. ]

Hey...

[ Alex sets the plate on the counter gently, next to Leb's apple strudel. They really look the same to him. But, it's not his eye that matters here. Not his that discerns the most. ]

...I'm sorry.

[brokenhabit]

It… It’s all right. I…

[ But no amount of masking can hide it this time.

It is most definitely not all right. ]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex isn't always comfortable with physical affection, particularly with those he doesn't know. He's a teenage boy raised in the 1990's, of course there would be some disconnect. More than that, he doesn't even know if it would be well-received.

But still. Seeing her like that, it's almost instinct how he raises a hand and hovers it at her arm.

He murmurs: ] C'mere, okay?

[ And if she's receptive, he pulls her into a gentle hug. ]

[brokenhabit]

[ Oh... When was the last time she was hugged? The last time she was held? She doesn't resist or doesn't pull away as he hugs her, but there's an uncertainty, like she doesn't remember how this works anymore.

Did she embrace Elise that fateful sunset before...?

That single thought and a glimpse of her neatly rolled up scroll not too far from the two apple strudel are enough to make her finally break. ]

I didn't even know... [ There's a soft sob in her voice as her arms cautiously reach up and wrap around Alex in turn. ] I didn't even know that she was still alive...

[rockymountaindie]

[ She's shorter than Clear. That's the first thing Alex can think, as she's the person he's held most recently, desperately, frantically.

This, in contrast, is soft, but he holds her no less firmly. His scarred hands rub gentle circles into her back. His voice almost gets caught in his throat, but he forces it out. ] M'neither.

[ Every day. Every hour. Every moment he's away from her, she could be—

In the now. In the here. Focus on Lebkuchen. ]

You- it's been...awhile since you seen her?

[brokenhabit]

Y... Yes...

[ She keeps her face buried against him, her cheeks becoming wet. In the back of her mind she can hear a haughty, sibilant voice praise how sweet the cries of lasses in despair are and it makes her feel sick to her stomach. ]

I haven't seen her since... since the night that I...

[ But the word gets caught in her throat before she can say it. ]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Sorry for how messy his hoodie undoubtedly is, Leb.

Alex murmurs, just as soft and gentle: ] ...the night that you...?

1/2

[brokenhabit]

[ ...

Should she say it? Actually say it out loud? Is it safe to even do so? She's not an open person but it's been on her mind nonstop since yesterday. It's why she hid. It's why she wants to hide again so badly right now.

But she's so tired. She's always hiding in some way. And she'd been so ready to finally stop the hiding until...

...

Breathe. In and out. Just like you used to. ]

2/2

[brokenhabit]

The night I was killed.

1/2

[rockymountaindie]

Lebku...

[ He trails off. What was it he's been wondering, all this time?

Just...how many of them...? ]

2/2

[rockymountaindie]

[ And his hug, gentle yet nervous, loses all restraint. Alex isn't a very...physically fit boy. Just from hugging him, he seems lankier than he should. Probably from all the loopholes he takes in keeping himself fed, just in case.

However, right then, he practically wraps himself around her, tight, firm, as if trying to shield her from anyone—anything—that could hurt her. ]

I'm sorry. Shit, I- I'm so sorry.

[brokenhabit]

[ As he hugs her tighter there's something in here that finally breaks. Like a dam the tears just burst from her, unable to stop.

Not once has she had the chance to actually mourn her own death. Her afterlife had been its own special kind of Hell and navigating that had taken priority. But now that she's out of there, that the threat of going back is looming, that she's thinking about her dear granny again... ]

Sh-She doesn't even know...! [ She manages to choke out through the sobs ] She has no idea what h-happened to me...! She k-knows I went to take a walk but that's... th-that's it...!

[rockymountaindie]

[ It's not fair. It's not fair. It's never fair, when it comes to Death. But this, in particular, it feels too horrible. At least- he has no doubt his parents know. But to be missing? Unknown? Just have that uncertainty?

He grits his teeth. ]

Fuck. Fuck, we- [ He tries to pull back, only so he can look at her face. ] We're gonna get out of this, okay? We're gonna get out of this and- and you're gonna see her again. I- I'm gonna do everything I can, so you can see her again.

[ Is this realistic? No. But he is the most miserable idealist. ]

[brokenhabit]

No!

[ Her panic is immediate to the point of being startling. Because now fear is coming back in. ]

I can't go back! E-Even just to see her, I can't...!

He'll find me if I do! And then He'll take me back to that place! There's nowhere safe for me anymore but here...!!

[rockymountaindie]

[ He pales. Understanding passes over his face. ]

Okay. [ No what?, no who?, because that kind of fear, it's real. It's real and he's seen it in the goddamn mirror. ] Okay, then you won't go back there, alright? You're not—

[ He feels tense. And then, it all leaves his body. ]

Whatever motherfucker's got it out for you, he can fuck right off, 'cause I'm not lettin' him get you again.

[brokenhabit]

[ She forces herself to breathe and calm back down as Alex reassures her, realizing what she had said. It feels nice to hear someone say these things but... ]

I... I wish it was that easy. I-I wish you could...

But even in death... I'm His. I'll always be His now...

[ And she knows she's an easy target. Just waiting to get preyed on by anyone who decides to go for Typhon's promises ]

[rockymountaindie]

Bullshit! [ His raspy voice cracks just a little. ]

You- Lebkuchen, you can't give up. Alright? He- He's not here. Remember? Athena said— [ Athena's words don't provide much comfort right now. But. ] Damn it, if I'm gettin' another chance, then so are you.

[brokenhabit]

[ ...

She pauses. ]

...You... as well?

[rockymountaindie]

[ It's...barely been a secret. After he freaked out so badly. But it still feels strange to say. That should've been the end, and yet...it wasn't.

Solemnly, he nods. ]

That first day... I was askin' about Death, yeah. But it's 'cause I was there. I was... It already got me.

[ A split-second decision. You, or her, and— ]

But I'm here now. And so are you. Those fuckers- we may be theirs, but they don't have us, not right now. And as long as there's a chance- I'm not gonna stop fighting to keep it that way.

[brokenhabit]

[ Her eyes are wide as she listens, then settle into a grim understanding. She can feel her metaphorical heart swayed by his words, something hopeful brewing in her chest after who knows how long she's spent trying to hide, both in life and in death.

...And yet, something in the back of her mind won't let her fully believe in what he's saying. The part that knows fate is cruel, sneers that of course her one shot at freedom is now at risk of being taken from her. The part that wishes it was just Death that put its fangs in her. The part that says it's different, to be painted gold and kept as a souvenir.

It's different she thinks... when you aren't just "got" - you are cherished.

But she can't bring herself to say that. Can't speak of Him. If anything she's already spoken of Him too much. ]

You... you are very brave, Alex. It's... really quite admirable.

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex finds himself dancing on the edge of a knife a lot of the time regarding this. When it's just himself, he despairs. He feels it drag him down into the muck and the misery, the weight of fate pressing him until he feels like he's just paste and meat.

But the other part. The part that whispers with Clear's voice, telling him to grasp hold of second chances and find them in each other, the part that knows hiding himself away for months barely felt like living, the part that screams fuck death into the starry sky—that part can't help but want to fight. Especially when he finds someone else struggling under similar circumstances. Someone else who was all alone, who didn't have a Clear or even a Carter for however long he had him.

The corners of his mouth flick upwards just a little. It's a twitch of a smile, not quite reassuring but appreciative. ]

Nah. I just... I had other people to fight with me. And...that's what you need too. You're not alone, Lebkuchen. Not anymore.