#jak spends the first half questioning if he's blacking out and doing this as dark jak

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Snippet Wednesday

This is technically part of the overarching Sons of Spargus universe, set between Jak 3 and Jak X. It's just an outline right now of a short horror fic with the working title Lightless Deep, featuring Jak being placed in command of a fairly doomed expedition into a sunken Precursor city similar to the one in TPL.

The inscription on the wall was deep, but crude. Not engraved, like most Precursor artifacts, but scratched or hammered into the metal of the torn bulkhead. Done quickly, and by the look of it, desperately. One of the monks traced his fingers over it and nodded solemnly.

"It is a warning against those who dwell in darkness," he said.

Jak curled his lip. "It's grafitti," he scoffed, "And that's not what it says."

The monk started to retort before remembering who he was speaking to. "With...respect, young prince," Resh said through gritted teeth, with anything but respect, "The Precursor language has been my area of expertise for decades."

Jak was nonplussed. "Yeah, and you people write your subjects before your predicates." He shrugged. "Old school Precurian text is the other way around."

He decided not to mention that this was why he could barely do more than write his name in the modern parlance. Instead he lifted his light a little higher and decided to show off. Just a little.

"It says "Come not near me, o you Pale One, from your depths where you lie dreaming."

Something nudged at the back of his mind like a half forgotten warning. Jak shook the creeping sensation off.

"Go down and be buried in the lightless deep, and be confounded by shadows for eternity.""

Daxter shuddered and drew his vest a little closer around him. "You know you two probably activated some ancient curse, right?"

[mamabearcatfanfics]

Battle Couple

I've had this little idea for a while, and then decided I could bend it slightly to fit this year's @inukag-week's first battle couple prompt. Because not all battles we face have to be huge ones against a deadly foe. Sometimes the battles can simply be standing up for what's right.

Inuyasha dragged the beanie down tighter over his head, stomping towards the exit of the store. He hated this. This is why he bought things online and had them delivered. Because then he could avoid interactions like he’d just had with that racist arsehole. He glanced down at the text from Sesshoumaru again, wondering if there was some other way he could get this gift for Rin. It was the first time his half-brother had thrown a birthday party for his adopted daughter, and no doubt it would be a big deal.

Rin has expressed an interest in this item. Her birthday party is on Saturday at 10am. Do not be late.

And of course the toy Rin had asked for was sold out everywhere online. The tiny dolls with light up dresses and a matching crystal necklace were apparently ‘the’ toy at the moment. She specifically wanted the purple one, the ‘hope’ doll, because it was her favourite colour, and she already had the other dolls in the set. This was the last one she needed. And he hadn’t been able to find it anywhere. He was failing as an Uncle. The last store he’d been to, he’d practically seen a pair of mothers come to blows arguing over the last CrystalShines doll on the shelf.

He was close to the exit of the store when an intriguing scent wafted past his nose. It was another store employee, dressed in the dark polo shirt and black jeans, with one of those ear walkie talkies they all seemed to wear. She was giggling, talking to someone using the button on her mike, her other arm full of a variety of women’s clothing that she was putting back on the racks. Her arms were a blur as she began sorting them into different sizes, working quickly to make each rack neat and tidy.

He watched as she flitted about the store, talking to a customer, smiling and waving at a baby in a pram, folding jumpers and t-shirts. His eyes were drawn to her dark ponytail; the way it swung as she moved was almost hypnotic. Her glossy hair was black, but had a blue sheen to it under the harsh fluorescent lighting, and he had a sudden urge to reach out and touch it, stroke down the length of the swinging tail to see if it was as soft and silken as it looked.

Without even realising it, he followed her, almost bumping into her as she suddenly spun around to go in a different direction.

“Oh! Good evening sir, can I help you with anything?”

There was a pleasant smile on her face, and she was looking at him expectantly. His voice didn’t seem to want to work now he was actually standing close to her, so he turned around his phone, showing her the picture of the doll.

“This is what you’re looking for?”

“Yeah”, he said softly, his eyes focused on hers as she glanced up at him again. He’d never seen anyone with grey eyes before. It seemed they were lit from within like starlight, and now that he was closer to her, she smelt even better. He cleared his throat, trying to get a hold of himself. “My niece wants one of these for her birthday, and I’m having trouble finding one.”

“Okay”, she said, reaching for the button on her headset to talk to the other employees on the shop floor. “Let me just talk to my colleague in the toy department, and I’ll see if we’ve got that item in stock.”

❤

Kagome watched as the man in front of her visibly deflated.

“Don’worry about it then. Already talked to ‘im.”

And then she got it. Ryan was working the toy department tonight. Ryan the racist bigot who didn’t like interacting with any customers who weren’t white, male, good ol’ boys, exactly like him. Usually he worked out the back in the store room, unpacking shipments, but due to the flu going around and the shortage of staff, the evening shift manager had put him on the floor tonight. And he’d no doubt said something innaproppriate to this gorgeous man in front of her, who obviously had some sort of youkai heritage.

She’d had her own run-ins with Ryan. He’d said many cruel things to her over the past six months, since he’d found out what happened a few years ago, cruel enough to make her run to the safety of the women’s toilets to shed a few silent tears in private. He never bullied her in a place where others could overhear, he always cornered her in dark places where there was no one else around. He frightened her. Jak knew she was uncomfortable around him, and did his best to make sure they were never rostered on at the same time, so it had been a while since she’d had to deal with him.

She took in the golden eyes, fangs and the beanie yanked down hard over his long silver hair, but it was the resigned bitter look on his face that caught at her heart. She knew that feeling. Internally Kagome fumed, but outwardly she hoisted her brightest smile onto her face, wanting to make it up to him. She could fix this!

“Wait. I don’t know the toy department that well, but I’m sure I could help. Just give me a moment to put these things down.”

He followed her to a wheeled rack in the aisle where she hung all the clothing in her arms back up, and then turned to him, smiling brightly again.

“Let’s go to the toy department and see if we can’t find this doll for your niece. When’s her birthday?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Oh dear, that doesn’t give you much time to find one!”

“I’ve been lookin’ all week. Online stores have sold out.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll have one in stock. Let’s see, the doll aisle is around here somewhere.”

They walked together down the aisle, both scanning the shelves for the tiny dolls.

“They should be around here”, said Kagome, her finger running along the price labelling on the edge of the shelf, her eyes lighting up as she found the right tag, but sighing in disappointment as she found the shelf empty.

“Yeah”, sighed Inuyasha. “I asked the guy around here if he could find out if there were any more out the back or somethin’ and he, ah…”

“Don’t worry”, said Kagome, a determined look on her face, “I will personally go take a look in the store room for you. Just wait here for me sir.”

“Inuyasha.”

“Huh?”

He coughed a little, his head turning to the side to avoid her direct gaze. “My name, it’s Inuyasha.”

“Oh. Right. Just wait here for me Inuyasha, and I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks Kagome.”

She blinked in confusion as he said her name, wondering how he’d known it, then realised he had read her name tag.

For some reason him saying her name out loud made her stomach swoop, like she was on a roller coaster, even though her feet were firmly planted on the ground. As he gave her a shy smile, she felt her cheeks begin to heat, and she whirled around, making a beeline for the storage room, talking into the mike on her headset as she left.

“Hey Jak, it’s Kagome – just going out to the store room for a moment for a customer. I’ll get right back on those returns as soon as I’m done, okay?”

“Oooh, tell me it’s the hottie with the white hair that I pointed out to you!”

“Jak!”

“Oh it is! Take your time honey!”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“And you love me for it. Make sure you get his name and number before he goes!”

“Jak!”

“For the customer form darlin’, what else did you think I meant?”

She could hear him still sniggering as she released the talk button on her mike, and she shook her head, grinning despite herself. He was her in-line manager and they got on really well, but rarely got to spend time together, as he was usually rostered on during the day, and her in the evenings so her day was free for lectures and study.

Kagome squeezed her way into the storeroom, scanning the aisles of stock yet to be placed out on the shelves. And then she saw it, the edge of a box with a picture of a tiny doll up on the highest shelf.

Dragging over the step ladder, she placed it under the shelf and climbed up, her petite size meaning she had to stand on the very top to have any chance of reaching the box. She just managed to reach the doll with the tips of her fingers, and nudged it. It tipped forward and fell, and with a gasp she managed to catch it with her outstretched hand, teetering on the top of the ladder, her other arm windmilling frantically to keep her balance.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her frantically beating heart after her almost fall, the box containing the doll clutched tightly against her. But she’d found one for him, a purple one, just like he’d wanted. She had no idea why that made her feel so incredibly happy, but it did.

Grinning widely as she emerged from the storeroom, she began walking directly to the toy department. She could see Inuyasha there, waiting for her. But she could also see Ryan, his arms crossed as he spoke to him, a sneer on his face. She quickened her pace. Previous experience had taught her that expression couldn’t mean anything good.

❤

Inuyasha stood his ground, hands clenched in tight fists by his sides. He had every right to be here – he was a customer, he hadn’t caused any commotion or damage. Kagome had asked him to wait here. But apparently that wasn’t good enough for this guy.

“I told you already, we’ve got none of what your looking for. Nothing for you. Are you deaf, or just stupid?” The volume of his voice wasn’t loud enough to draw anyone’s attention to them, but definitely loud enough to get on Inuyasha’s nerves.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands shaking slightly as he held back. He would not punch out this idiot – this was a department store, not a battle ground. Even though he deserved it because he was a racist bigoted shit.

“I already told you to leave youkai! Do I have to call security?”

Inuyasha breathed out slowly, trying to keep any trace of anger out of his voice, even though he wanted to let rip. He’d found out the hard way that security tended to not ask questions, just see his youkai traits and assume the worst.

“And I already told you, another employee was taking a look out the back for me. She told me to wait here for her.”

“Yeah, like I’d believe anything one of you would have to say. You’re all the same. What are hidin’ under that hat huh? Some kinda weird freakish thing I’d bet. ”

“Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha turned, his eyes lighting up as Kagome appeared. But she wasn’t wearing the wide smile she had when she left. She was stomping towards them, a box tucked tightly under her arm, the scowl on her face impressive. Thankfully that scowl was not directed at him.

He could smell the nervousness pouring off of her, but you never would have thought it looking at the way she faced off with her work colleague, stepping in front of him like she wanted to shield him from this man's ire with her much smaller body.

“Ryan, I’m handling this customer. And I’ve already found what he needed, so there’s no reason for you to be here. I think you’ve probably said enough.”

There was the barest trace of a tremble in her voice, and Inuyasha moved in closer behind her, wanting her to feel like he was there to support her. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but he didn’t like it.

Ryan rolled his eyes and then sneered at her, his voice low and vicious.

“Ha. Shoulda known it would be you Kagome. Such a helpful little kiss ass. Why don’t you turn that cute little tush of yours around and head back to the ladies department where you belong, unless you’re still that desperate for some demon tail.”

“What?”

Ryan grinned at the shocked expression on Kagome’s face, posturing like he’d somehow scored a point. “Bit ironic really, you working in the ladies department when you’re anything but. A human ain't good enough for Kagome, huh? Wasn’t it bad enough that the last guy you had got fired, now you’re after customers too? You really are a-“

“Don’t. Say. Another. Word.”

Both Kagome and Ryan flinched at the snarled words behind them.

“Kagome, call your manager”, said Inuyasha gruffly. “I wanna report this guy.”

“It’s my word against yours demon, and little Kagome’s not gonna say anything, are you Kagome, because you’re fuckin’ pathetic. There’s nothin’ you can report me for”, snorted Ryan.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’d probably pick being a racist arsehole, for starters”, said another voice cheerfully. "Then maybe we could add workplace harassment."

A tall man in a tailored suit stepped into view, his dark hair slicked back into a short ponytail. He was holding his phone up, obviously still recording the whole thing.

“Here I was, minding my own business in the Lego aisle while I looked for the perfect birthday gift for my little girls, and what should I hear? An employee bad mouthing a customer, when the customer had been nothing but polite and civil. Don’t worry about proof, I’m happy to be a witness. I was recording the whole thing. From the very first racist slur that left your lips.”

Kagome’s eyes were wide as she glanced from the ponytailed man back to Ryan, and Inuyasha could hear her heart beating frantically. He nodded at her approvingly as she took a deep breath, her hand steady on the button on her headset.

“Jak, it’s Kagome”, she said, her voice a little breathless, but firm. “Can you-“

Ryan lunged towards her.

“Don’t you dare, you fuckin’ bitch!”

Inuyasha ducked out from behind Kagome, his fist grabbing the back of Ryan’s shirt and lifting him into the air, Ryan’s legs kicking frantically as he tried to escape. Before Kagome could move out of the way, his steel capped boot caught her on the chin. She dropped like a stone, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

“Fuck, Kagome!”

Inuyasha swung Ryan out of the way and dropped him none too gently, all his focus on the small woman laying prone on the slightly grubby linoleum floor, still out for the count. He could hear a scuffle behind him as the man in the suit and a few other observers struggled to keep Ryan contained, but he no longer cared about him. He knelt down close to her, gently stroking the glossy dark hair back from her face.

“Kagome, can you hear me?”

Inuyasha shook Kagome’s shoulder gently, trying to rouse her, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Inuyasha?” she said groggily, her arm tightening around the box, a wobbly smile on her face. “I got your doll.”

❤

It took a while to sort everything out. An ambulance was called, and the police. The police took statements from Inuyasha, Kagome and the man in the suit, Miroku. Ryan was fired on the spot, and Jak was positively gleeful, despite the mountain of paperwork he’d have to fill out before he went home that evening. When the paramedic suggested that Kagome should go to the hospital to be checked for possible concussion, Inuyasha had immediately said he’d like to go with her, if that was alright with Kagome, and after a few polite remarks about it not being necessary, she’d gratefully accepted. Jak had positively pushed them into the ambulance together, waving them off with a bright smile. It was the most exciting evening shift he’d had in years.

❤

“You don’t have to stay you know. I’ll be fine, I’ll just get an Uber home.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, leaning back against the wall, his arm resting on the edge of Kagome's hospital bed.

“For the tenth time woman, I don’t mind. I want to be here when the doctor examines you to make sure you’re okay. And then I wanna make sure you get home safe.” He sighed as he looked at the dark purpling bruise on Kagome’s chin. “I’m just sorry I didn’t throw that fucker down to the end of the aisle when I had the chance.”

“But it’s so late! It’s almost 2am, and you have the party to go to tomorrow. Today I mean.”

“Eh, that’s hours away. She won’t mind if I’m a little late, Rin’s a nice kid. And now I have the perfect present, thanks to you.”

Kagome was quiet for a while. The silence grew to feel uncomfortable, because Inuyasha could sense how tense Kagome suddenly was.

“Inuyasha… I want to explain. About what Ryan said to me.”

“Hmm?” He could smell nervousness again, billowing around her like a cloud, and he didn’t like it. “Doesn’t matter, none of my business.”

“But I want to”, she said, her voice taking on a stubborn edge.

“Fine, I’ll listen. But nothin’ you can say will change my good opinion of you. You stepped up for me back there Kagome, and that don’t happen for me much. I will always remember that.”

Kagome reached out her hand to lightly grasp the clawed one sitting next to her on the bed, and squeezed it.

“Thank you.”

He squeezed back.

“You’re welcome.”

“Anyway”, she sighed. “About what Ryan said. I started working at that department store when I was still in high school, as a weekend job. And there was this training manager, a kitsune. He’d come around every so often, and all the girls thought he was really good looking. He had a little green sports car; a lot of the other girls thought was really important. They all were flirting with him, and then he asked me out. I was so surprised. I mean, me! I’m nothing special! He was so stylish, and so charming. I really thought…” Kagome laughed but it had no humour in it, and Inuyasha squeezed her hand again. She shrugged, her shoulders coming up around her ears as her face turned away from him.

“I was so stupid! It turned out I was right about being nothing special, because he was going out with a couple of girls at every store that he visited.” She flinched a little at Inuyasha’s low growl of disapproval. “There were around ten of us. And because a couple of us were under aged, he was charged. Lost his job. Ryan found out about it a few months ago and thought-“

“Don’t say it”, said Inuyasha gruffly, squeezing her hand again. “Don’t matter what he thought. It’s in the past. And the Kagome I saw tonight was amazing.”

“No I wasn’t!” Kagome shook her head, then winced as her head throbbed, realising that was a bad idea. “I was so scared Inuyasha! I’ve never been able to stand up to him before. But I couldn’t stand the thought of him being mean to you!”

“Then you’re even braver than I thought.” Inuyasha entwined his fingers with hers, and cleared his throat. “Kagome, I know you don’t know me. But I think I’d like to get to know you. Could I call you? Maybe we could go out for coffee or somethin’? I mean you don’t gotta answer, and if you don’t wanna, I totally understand, I mean-“

“Yes.” Kagome giggled at the wide toothy grin on Inuyasha’s face. “Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”

“Wait. Maybe you should see what all’a me looks like before you say yes.”

Inuyasha tugged off his beanie, revealing the pointed white dog ears on top of his head. “If you wanna change your mind, I-“

“They’re so cute!” squeaked Kagome. “Please give me your phone!”

❤

Kagome woke up the next morning very late, so late that it was no longer morning at all.

It had been 3am by the time Inuyasha had dropped her home with a bag of painkillers and the Doctor’s instructions for treating her mild concussion. He’d helped her into bed, placed her medicine and a glass of water next to the bed for her, kissed her softly on the cheek and whispered goodnight, closing the door behind him.

She rubbed her cheek gently at the memory of that small kiss, a smile on her face. She still had a headache, so she took two of the tablets, then reached for her phone on the bedside table where it had been charging.

There were two messages.

The birthday girl loves her present! Attached was a picture of a smiling Inuyasha kneeling with his arm around a little girl in a checked orange party dress and sparkly sandals, her dark hair up in pig tails. A wide excited grin split her face, revealing the gap of a missing front tooth. The doll was clutched tightly in her hand, and she was wearing the necklace that came with it.

I told Rin how brave you were, and she wanted you to have some birthday cake. Can I bring some over when you wake up? 🍰

Kagome smiled almost as wide as Rin, despite her headache.

I’d love you to ❤

[jflashandclash]

Attrition of Peace

Nine: Axel

We’re Only Sworn Enemies. What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

                 The worst thing that could happen during Axel and Reyna’s date happened: they had a great time.

               There was some part of Axel that wanted to sabotage everything, so neither he nor Reyna needed to worry about the other as anything more than a comrade in arms. But everything fit together like setting a sword in a custom showcase, like fate decided today was a romantic subplot day.[1]

She destroyed him in their morning fight, much to the delight of her soldiers and much to Axel’s expectation in his exhausted state. Everyone was baffled when each weapon he touched broke within a few swings. He’d managed to skirt around questions about that curse.

Euna fell into the weird, focused calm she got when she fought—the distraction he was hoping she’d get. The only oddity was Frank. According to Reyna’s criticism, he was a flustered mess during their training, and freaked out even more when he saw Hazel.

But Axel couldn’t care about that. Not when he and Reyna went for hot chocolate after morning muster. She gave him a tour of New Rome, with all its shops and its university—all colorful and chaotic in contrast to Camp Jupiter.

As they walked, Axel teased and tested her, asking what her soldiers would do if they were attacked from various weak spots around the camp, like from the air or underground or within, strategies he’d come up with years ago but Kronos and Krios had shot down.

He didn’t know many girls that would enjoy that kind of verbal strategy game, but Reyna parceled through each challenge tactfully and posed harsh rebuttals to explore the logistics of his attacks. “How many soldiers do you think you could get in? How are they armed? Do they have the blessing of any god?” He could see the mental checklist forming in her head of adjustments she might need to make to their defenses.

When they left the training fields that morning, she’d been tense and distant. Especially after they overheard Calex and a centurion chatting on the sidelines. Apparently he, Merry, and Kally had come to watch.

“Do you think something is happening between them?” the centurion mumbled.

“They both wish there was,” Calex snorted.

“Ha! How would you know that about Reyna? She’s as cold as ice.”

“I’m a son of Eros, mate. That’s kinda my territory.”

But, after leaving Camp Jupiter, changing into street clothes, dropping off Argentum and Aurum, and walking amongst the Roman retirees and their families, she began to relax. After hot chocolate, came lunch.

As they’d passed a traditional Roman restaurant, the owner—who apparently was a recently retired soldier—whispered to one of his workers, “Is that the praetor on a date?! She took a day off?! Holy Venus! Get them inside for a free meal!” They hadn’t planned for it, but… well, it was the same treatment they’d been getting all morning from the locals.

“That’s unnecessary Adams,” Reyna told the giddy owner, a man only five or so years older than Axel.

The man laughed and waved his hand. “It’s completely necessary. But if you won’t have that, at least you’re in time for our Menday’s surprise discount. Half off for lunch!”

Axel was 90% sure that was a letter away from mendax or a liar’s surprise, but he decided his Latin was weak enough to accept a discounted meal. Especially when the owner shoved them into a semi-private triclinium, with long couches for them to lounge on instead of chairs.

“Your old troops really love you,” he said after the owner left.

From how irritated Reyna looked, she wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, and he guessed that she wouldn’t normally let it happen. “It’s not appropriate for a praetor to take advantage of her position,” she said

“You do a lot for New Rome. Maybe New Rome just wants to acknowledge it and show its appreciation,” he said. Axel wasn’t sure how close he should get to her when they went to the couch. As traditional Roman meals were supposed to go, they lay down on their stomachs and propped up on their elbows.

Axel felt childish; he couldn’t believe he felt nervous being by her on a couch.

He allowed a solid half-foot between them and tried not to make a sound when she adjusted to be closer.

“Would you let your troops?” she asked.

“No,” he admitted, then puffed up his cheeks and popped them. He fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette, only to remember he didn’t have any here. There was a box in his pocket though, presumably bubble gum from Pax. Ever since Pax found out that Axel wanted to quit smoking, he’d steal Axel’s cigarettes and replace them with gum. Axel wondered what kind of messages would be on this weirdly shaped packet.

Axel figured he’d leave the gum until after lunch. “We had this kid at camp named Charlie... Whenever people wanted to force gifts on me, they’d give them to her to give to me, since they knew I hated being mean to her. Jack—”

Axel froze. Reyna would recognize that name, Jak-Jak the Plague Bringer: Scourge of New Rome. He’d interrogated, tortured, and killed enough Romans to make it as one of their legendary villains.

Jack also happened to take Axel and Pax under his wing when they first joined Kronos’ army. He could remember Jack’s infectious, happy laugh as he wiped the blood off Axel’s face with the ends of his shirt, like a father would dab stray pudding for a child. That lanky, redheaded maniac had cheered, “Kid, I’m going to make you into a star!”

Axel was relieved when Reyna didn’t ask him what he was going to say. He took a handful of grapes off the table and popped one into his mouth. The couch cushion was comfortable. He’d have to come back here when he had enough money to properly tip the owner.

Reyna swirled a water glass in her hand—an impressive feat to look so graceful when she was braced on her elbows—and examined him. The way he stumbled over Jack’s name hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Time to change the subject to something he should have brought up at the beginning.

“The Iris Messaging isn’t working and Merry said Annabeth isn’t answering her cell phone,” Axel said slowly. He frowned. This wasn’t something he wanted to bring up, but he knew he had to. “We need to get back to Camp Half-Blood. Not that they need any more ambiguous warnings about some vague threat, but…”

Pax said Kally would tell Chiron everything if they didn’t. And that meant she’d be cursed by the River Styx forever. He didn’t want to tell Chiron everything, but he’d rather that then have a friend punished for doing what she thought was the right thing.

Besides, knowing Chiron’s track record, the centaur would just tell them not to tell anyone and leave it mysterious for the campers. Since that’s how you save lives. Axel refrained from rolling his eyes.

Reyna set her glass down. Her hand fluttered to where her dagger was normally sheathed, until she remembered there was a no weapons policy in New Rome. Instead, she reached for a butter knife on the table and twirled that between her fingers.

Axel had a hard time not staring. He’d never really seen her out of her armor before this date. She wore a black workout tank top and jeans. The absurdity of the butter knife made him grin.

“The healers will probably say you’re safe to travel tomorrow. Because we delayed you and the circumstances involved a quest, New Rome can supply the funds for airplane tickets home...  But, you understand why I’m uncomfortable sending you and your brother to our allies?” Her dark eyes narrowed.

Axel knew how suspicious they looked and, honestly, were. “You could keep me as a hostage,” he joked. “Ajax won’t do anything if he’s scared I’m on the line. Then you can let me go when Merry calls you and lets you talk to Chiron. And if this is how you treat prisoners, I think I could suffer it for another day.”

Reyna cracked a smile. Before she could respond, a messenger poked their head into the room. “Praetor Reyna?”

Reyna sat up. She glanced at the clock in the corner of the room. Axel assumed she’d have to leave for afternoon drills and training, but he thought that didn’t start for another hour.

Axel shot up beside her, realizing something horrifying that could easily be connected to this messenger: he hadn’t seen Pax since they first woke up that morning.

   Nine ½: Reyna

We’re Only Sworn Enemies. What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

 Reyna became more concerned when the messenger reported that Hazel and Frank wanted her to take the full day off. Though, her reaction proved their point: she needed a full day off. This was a prime time to find out if Frank could run the camp on his own, since she needed to know if he could run the camp if something happened to her. So she sent the messenger back with careful instructs for Hazel to keep an eye on Frank, especially considering how oddly he’d been acting that morning.

She wasn’t displeased spending more time with Axel, but not in the city. Reyna thought she spent leisure time here, but the way everyone reacted made her wonder when was the last time she’d took a break to visit the shops and restaurants. As soon as any of her former legionnaires saw her in street clothes with a guy, they treated her like a celebrity,

Keeping New Rome safe was her duty. Such untethered gratitude felt uncomfortable when something should have been expected, not rewarded.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Axel asked again.

They’d left the city, walking along the aqueducts into the fields that led to Berkeley Hills. This way, she was out of the city, far enough from camp that no one could accuse her of overshadowing Frank, but close enough to help if anything went wrong. Plus, the view was beautiful. Despite it being December, the unusually warm weather combined with consistent rain had left the fields looking lush.

“Frank should be okay,” she said, more to herself than in answer. “I just wish I knew what agitated him this morning.” She’d never seen him so flustered.

Reyna heard a pop. She glanced over and found Axel half-way through deflating his cheeks, what she’d come to realize was his nervous tick. He had his hands in his jean pockets as they walked. Someone from the Fifth Cohort had loaned him a purple SPQR shirt. When Reyna squinted at it, she could see someone had taken permanent marker to write out Super Porcupine Quintessential Recon horizontally down each letter. She doubted Axel was the writer, though she remembered him having similar shirts in previous interactions.

“Any ideas on what might make Frank so uncomfortable?” she asked.

“Nope,” Axel said with a shrug. “I can’t imagine having the six of us there making a difference. He seemed like he’d normally be a confident fighter.”

Something told her that he did have an idea. She’d been leading their little hike through the field, but slowed her pace to even with his. He had an obvious tell she could use against him. After a moment of hesitation, Reyna gave Axel a crooked smile and reached up to run a hand though his hair, to see what his ears were doing.

He startled, stopped, and stared at her. Then, slowly he leaned into her touch. As she’d expected, the Mist wavered and she could see his ears were down. He did have a suspicion about Frank.

“We’re alone. Drop your Mist mask,” she said, more a command than she’d intended. He’d been struggling with it all morning. Because she knew how he really looked, she’d occasionally see his eyes glisten gold or his nails expand into claws.

Without the mask, she figured his ears would act as a natural tell when he lied.

But, there were lots of reasons why his ears could be down. He might be worried about the others. “Are you okay with us being out here?” she turned the question on him. Having lunch together hadn’t taken him from his friends for too long, but, with their walk, it was late afternoon by now.

As she removed her hand, the illusion shattered and she could see his tufted ears, golden eyes, and fangs. Axel glanced off to the side and frowned. “I’m fine. I just know how anxious I was when someone else had command of my soldiers. I thought you might be feeling something similar.”

Reyna wondered who managed to wrestle Axel’s troops away from him in the past. From his commentary and strategizing, she was starting to realize he wasn’t as low ranking as she had originally thought. Had there been a major power struggle in Saturn’s army?

Axel’s gaze drifted from the fields, up to the aqueducts above them. His ears rose along with his eyebrows. He walked up to touch the stone base of the aqueducts. “I’ll bet you have a phenomenal view up there,” he said.

  “I can’t believe you have four bars on your tattoo, and you haven’t climbed up here once,” Axel teased.

She had to convince him to use the maintenance ladders instead of climbing the exterior of the aqueducts, like he wanted. He sat on the edge of the stone channel covering, a flat slab that covered the water passageway under them, and stared at rooftops of New Rome.

Before they’d climbed up, she might have thought it a waste of time. But, now they had a highly accurate map for their strategizing banter about invading and defending New Rome and Camp Jupiter.

The view was phenomenal. Sunlight glinted off the shimmering marble of Temple Hill, making the buildings look appropriately godly. Camp Jupiter bustled with activity, as the Cohorts set up for campus, or marching practice. From the looks of it, Frank hadn’t blown up the camp yet and—if he did—she’d have optimum seating for the show.

Axel sat beside her, legs dangling over the edge, like they weren’t at a falling height that would make them splat on impact. With the soft smile on his face and the way his ears perked up with curiosity, he looked closer to her age.

For an uncomfortable moment, Reyna wondered if Axel was the kind of boy she might have dated in Puerto Rico, if her mother hadn’t been Bellona and her father hadn’t lost his mind. He had the deep tan of a Native and was just old enough that Hylla would have scrutinized him mercilessly. The jaguar features might have hinted that there was more to the world than her local parish described and his scarfication might have marked him as bad news.

Reyna wished she had a knife, so she could twirl it. She felt naked without her praetorian armor. Just because she wasn’t wearing it didn’t mean she could ignore her duties.

“Axel,” she said. “When you were talking about, the gods that sent you here, why did you refer to multiple gods when your brother only said Phobetor?”

Axel sighed, like he knew their little moment up here couldn’t last. “I wasn’t sure at first…” he admitted. “I believe Phobetor is working with Eris—or Discordia—and some other minor gods. I think he’s been giving us nightmare prophecies every night to disrupt any dream prophecies or communication that we could receive, and I think Eris has been causing minor bickers amongst the gods and cabins to keep everyone distracted from… something.”

He shrugged, glanced down at their hands, then back up to New Rome. She was well aware he’d edged his fingers along the rocks so his were beside hers.

From Reyna’s time at Camp Jupiter and from what she’d heard of other campers, Discordia didn’t come up in mythology often, but when she did, it was never good. Normally, she associated with major wars and disagreements, often mixed up with Reyna’s own mother, Bellona, in her relationship with Mars. Phobetor almost never came up, except when discussing his father, Hypnos.

“You think they’re going to do more than attack Camp Half-Blood?” she asked.

“I’m not sure even they know what they’re doing. I know Eris kidnapped Hemera, the primordial Goddess of Day… I think…” He cracked a humorless smile. “I think she’s just bored. Two major wars ended, and she missed out on another civil war between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. If she’s anything like my little brother, she’s dying to stir something up. I wouldn’t even be surprised if something petty happened and she’s proving a point.”

“Like your little brother would,” she repeated. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Axel’s little brother during their training that morning. A petty child of Discordia with a grudge against Camp Jupiter? “He sounds exactly like someone I’d want wandering free in my camp,” she sighed.

Axel went silent and frowned. She could tell he didn’t want her knowing about Pax’s heritage. “Are you done with my interrogation for today?” he asked.

“Three more questions,” she said, counting them out carefully. From the way his posture went rigid, she needed to come back to Discordia later, when he was less guarded. Besides, she’d been hammering him with questions, every time they weren’t discussing how to invade New Rome. “Then we can switch the interrogation, and completely reverse the roles, as if I showed up at your camp in a Trojan Mario, looking suspicious.”

Axel relaxed again. He slid his pinky on top of hers. Reyna felt like someone injected her with a shot of adrenaline and was furious that she felt so giddy.

When she didn’t withdraw her hand, Axel half-smiled. “I’m a scary interrogator,” he warned her.

Reyna snorted. “Now… assuming you didn’t just give me all of your battle strategies to test out which gambit would be the best for an some invading force, and assuming the end of your quest ends up being unrealistically easy… what are you and your brother doing after you’re done warning Camp Half-Blood? For the long term.”

Axel paused in surprise. She’d been asking him so many specific questions about his intentions and history, this might take more thought.

“I want Ajax to stay in Camp Half-Blood,” he said and stopped kicking his legs. “He loves it there and has a lot of new and old friends. He’ll slowly drive Chiron insane and keep that old horse from hiding things he shouldn’t hide from the campers…”

Axel sighed. “Honestly, I just want him to have a healthy, stable, safe environment to finish growing up and forget all the horrible stuff that’s happened to us.”

“Safe?” Reyna scoffed. “You know how many times Camp Half-Blood has almost been destroyed in the last few years, right?”

“Is that one of my three questions?” he asked, eyes darting to her playfully.

“Only in the sarcastic way.” She shook her head. Hylla had always been so independent. When they had parted ways at The Queen Anne’s Revenge, neither had looked back. She couldn’t imagine feeling as responsible for a sibling as Axel did. His little brother couldn’t be that helpless.[2]

“You didn’t finish answering,” she said.

He puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “I’m not sure. I never really thought past getting rid of Santiago… I’m not…” He struggled with words for a moment. “Meant for Camp Half-Blood. It’s too chaotic and aimless. And I’m a little old for summer camp.”

His brow furrowed and his golden gaze looked lost on the horizon.

Reyna took a deep breath. She took her pinky from Axel, so she could clasp his whole hand. His knuckles were calloused, like hers.  “Second question: have you thought about joining Camp Jupiter?”

Axel’s eyes went wide. He tensed, and she knew he couldn’t tell if she was joking. “Reyna…” he said her name warily. Slowly, he enlaced their fingers.

She kept her voice as businesslike as possible. She kept picturing how happy Jason looked with Piper and Percy’s discomfort when he told Reyna he had a girlfriend. “Next time Nico comes through, I’ll ask why the Lares are so unnerved by you, since they won’t talk to us. And I’ll have to ask Percy if the Little Tiber will try to kill you every time you step near it and see if Rachel can do a fill-in augury reading for you but…”

There was no reason for her to feel so anxious inviting someone into the legion, but she was inviting him to more than that. They both knew it. She thought she knew his intentions, but, once, she thought she knew Jason’s too.

She took a shaky breath. The thoughts about Jason and Percy stopped when Axel leaned closer to her. Up close, she could see the intricacies of the swirling scars along his cheeks and temple. The scent of hot chocolate flushed Reyna’s senses and she had to wonder how Axel could possibly still smell like that.

“We might have an opening for an acrobatics instructor that dabbles in strategizing. The legionnaires who saw your act expressed interest in its battle application after seeing you and your brother perform. And you’ve demonstrated how well you know the camp and its weaknesses…”

His forehead tilted against hers. The warmth felt wonderful with the chill of the setting sun. “You’re dangerous outside of Rome if you decide to turn on us. You know… keep your friends close…”

Reyna stopped talking. Axel had reached his empty hand across them. He stroked a finger along her jaw line. Her heartbeat thundered louder than the water in the aqueduct under them.

“Keep your enemies closer?” he whispered, his mouth brushing her ear. “How close do you want me?”

Reyna traced Axel’s shoulder with her open hand. She grabbed the collar of his SPQR shirt. “I want you here,” she said. In Camp Jupiter. With her.

She pressed her lips against his.

Axel mumbled softly. His fingers on her chin slipped, delicately dancing along her neck, past her shoulder, until they rested on the small of her back. Reyna pulled him closer by his collar, twisting her torso to press against his.

For that instant, she didn’t care that he was a former enemy of Rome or that she hadn’t known him that long. She was beginning to think they knew each other better than she had previously realized. The logistics of getting him into camp faded to nonissues.

When they withdrew for air, they were both trembling.

This was fragile. And she had the distinct feeling neither of them were good at handling fragile things.

Axel had the dumbest, happiest grin on his face.

They both laughed.

He raised their enlaced hands up to his mouth, so he could kiss her knuckles. “I assume I’d have to start at the bottom of the ranks and move up? Do all the menial tasks of a new recruit?”

“The worst ones,” she agreed. “I’d have to be particularly harsh on you, so no one thinks there’s any favoritism. I’ll block as many promotions as I can and make sure you get disproportionate punishments. You’ll have to scrub the Via Praetoria with a toothbrush and polish everyone’s armor, including Hannibal’s.”

“Oh, I’ll make your armor and roads shine brighter than Apollo’s chariot,” he assured, pausing his kisses at her wrist. He set their hands back down, so he could keep his eyes level with hers. “One condition: would I keep getting private tours from the praetor?”

“Only if you keep impressing me,” she said.  With Axel’s personality and skill, she could see him become a centurion within a year or two. Logistics and luck were against him though. No one would trust him after his entrance, and the Senate would attribute any of his success to Reyna if they had a public relationship.

Thought seemed to cloud Axel’s smile. “I want to be here with you,” he said, the humor in his voice gone.

For a moment, neither spoke. Axel rolled his thumb over the top of her hand. “What was your third question?” he asked.

“I was going to ask if you had any gum on you, but—now that we’ve already kissed—I might ask if you have a tail to match those ears,” she said with a wry grin. “I’m surprised you remembered the other question.”

“I’m never going to forget when you have something to say,” he said, his own smile going crooked. “But you might need to find out about the tail in more creative means. I should have some gum on me. Ajax is a sneak-thief and reverse-pickpockets the weirdest flavors. Let’s see what today—”

He let go of her waist to pull something from his pocket and put it in her hand.

Then Axel choked and seized up beside her, like he’d withdrawn a snake.

When she registered what he’d handed to her, she understood why. There was a small purple box, with cartoon logo of a man wearing a Roman style helmet. Beside it was text that read TROJAN: her pleasure. Sensations.

A sticky note was stuck on the box that read, Be safe, bro ;)

Axel’s jaw dropped in shock, slammed shut in mortification, then he stammered, “I didn’t—th—that’s not—” His ears dropped flat with his head, and his face went bright red.

Axel looked positively horrified and she couldn’t handle it. Reyna burst into laughter.

“Holy Epimetheus[3]—I—I’m so sorry—look, I’ll climb down this aqueduct—or jump off it—and you never need to see me again—”

Reyna hugged herself—she was laughing so hard. Tears threatened her eyes and her stomach started to hurt.

A hardened warrior and that scared him. Maybe she hadn’t spent that much time with him, but she didn’t think she’d ever see Axel that terrified, especially after the confidence he’d shown a few moments before.

Through her laughter, she almost didn’t hear Axel stammer something else about leaving. He moved to stand up.

Reyna grabbed his knee to keep him seated. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and tried to gain her composure. With the straightest face she could manage, Reyna said, “What was it you said to me when we talked at your van? ‘For a good strategist, preparedness is wisdom—’”

“I’m going to leave so I can kill my little brother,” he said. He moved to get up again, but Reyna tightened her grip.

“I can pretend to be angry if that would make you feel better,” she offered. “I was with pirates for a long time. They were way more forward than that.”

“That doesn’t make it better!” Axel cried. “They shouldn’t have—I—I swear I didn’t mean—or expect—”

Reyna leaned across him to put the purple box back into his pocket. Axel silenced and looked away. She was thankful for it. Now that he was calming down, she could feel the temperature in her cheeks flare like the snap of an onagers; she fully registered what she was putting back into his pocket.

“If you’re going to be one of my legionnaires, I need to know you can follow orders and problem solve under stressful situations,” she said, forcing her voice to sound more like a praetor’s should.

“I can,” he choked out.

“Good. Ignore what just happened. What are you going to do next?” she asked.

Axel puffed up his cheeks, popped them. He shook his head and closed his eyes. “I’m going to remind you that it’s my turn to be an interrogator.” He opened his eyes and shakily placed his hand back over hers. Reyna almost laughed again when she felt how much she’d just made him sweat. “And I’m going to ask you if you’ve ever curled up with someone to watch the sunset.”

  Welp! Welcome to my first attempt at a full fluff chapter. Let me know if you enjoyed it, and—as always—thanks for reading! :D

 Foonotes:

[1] Yea, Mel said she liked this fourth wall breaking, despite it being a placeholder…. Soooo, it’s here for good now XD

[2] Pax would like to dispel this slander in saying that he is entirely that helpless and is mortally offended and hurt that someone would imply otherwise.

[3] Titan of Hindsight and afterthought. So, basically the god of, “You don F*ked up.”