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calliope-hesiod · 7 years

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Ad Congregandum || Kleos feat Howl

Hades attempts to summon Cassandra and Persephone. Callie learns things that were hidden. Howl assists.

TW: blood, murder/suicide flashbacks and mentions, violence, death threats

For further reading on this subject, check out previous Callie/Hades threads, Callie’s Nightmare, and the Journey to Hell Saga w Helle

@trip-downtheriverstyx & @oh-heartlessman

HADES:

It was twilight when Hades arrived, alone, at the front step of Howl’s house. Tonight was gonna be cooler than it had been. He felt the air beginning to thin and cool on his quiet walk here, while his eyes watched the sun dip low ahead. It was a perfect night for a walk like this-- for camping, for a bonfire, for watching the sunset. Or for summoning ghosts. He had a trail of ‘em anyway on his heel. They knew his plan. Ever since he’d decided on it, they’d sidled up to him to try and schmooze their way into his good graces. There was this one loser, something-something Thompson, who kept promising Hades all kinds of things if Hades summoned him back from the dead and fit him with a nice new body. I own stock. I got a wife you can borrow. I know people-- they can help make that case disappear, he’d whisper. And then another ghost would blow in like a wind and try to make a better bargain. But only one ghost was gonna come back from the dead tonight and she was no ghost at all. Sephy was alive-- her body walked and breathed, wherever it was. He was just gonna make two halves a whole again. Him, Howl Pendragon, and Calliope Hesiod. Belle was still at home. She refused to come. But Hades didn’t care. Or so he said to himself and to the ghosts who jeered that he was gonna lose his girlfriend over this. And if she broke up with him-- so be it. Hades could swallow the lump in his throat at the thought, if it meant that Seph would be back and safe again. So here he was, a parade of the dead behind him, knocking on a sorcerer’s door. It swung open, revealing Howl with his piercing eyes, backlit by the amber lights of his home. Hades raised his eyebrows at the sorcerer, his new partner in crime now that Belle had given up the role. And he smiled. Just a little, just enough. Because Howl understood. Howl wanted Seph back too. “Callie here yet?” He asked as he stepped inside.

HOWL:

Callie Harper was indeed here, sitting at Howl’s dining table, legs crossed, hands folded in her lap, as if she were trying to take up as little space as possible. Or, perhaps, more accurately, given the way she pursed her lips as her eyes darted over the dirty plates and the piles of paper, trying to touch as little as possible. Either way, Howl did not mind. He had his way of living and he was fond of it. He had offered Callie a cuppa and as he was making it, she chatted with Calcifer.

“You know what I am, don’t you?” Callie had said, leaning towards the fireplace.

“You know, I was gonna say the same to you.”

To this, Callie had giggled.

Howl made tea and Howl thought of another giggling girl who spoke to Calcifer by the fireplace. Though Seph had been pale and small and slipped into the shadows, eyes bright like gems, voice soft. Calliope, bless her heart, was tall and shining and had eyes dark and intense, voice loud and when she spoke, sometimes, Howl heard the voices of generations before him.

(Howl did his reading, he knew what she was).

“Here you go, darling,” said Howl, as the teacup glided over to Callie. She took it in her hands and nodded once, before turning back to Calcifer, who was showing her his favorite spread in this month’s National Geographic.

There was a knock at the door.

“She is,” said Howl, with a dip of his head, holding the door open to usher Hades in. “Please, have a seat. We’ll need to get started right as the sun goes down.”

Callie looked up at Hades, lifting her hand in a small wave.

“You have what I asked you to bring, I presume?” said Howl, holding his hand out so that his spell book nestled right into it. He flipped through the pages. “A personal item of hers that means a lot.

The memory, I can take from you. One with feeling.”

He had taken Persephone’s feelings for Hades on two separate occasions. The thought made his mouth draw into a thin line, but he said nothing.

“From Miss Harper--Hesiod--sorry, what is the preferred?”

“Uh. Just Callie. Please.”

“Right, from Miss Callie--”

“Callie.”

“Well, from Callie--well, that’s tricky. I do not know if it has a reagent name. For you see, you’re a rare little thing, Callie. You too, Hades, might I add.” He flicked his eyes over the both of them. They were young, the two of them, and yet in each, the stories of hundreds before them weighed on their shoulders. “We will take the--shades, I suppose, of this creature you’re trying to find. We will need both the elements of that spirit, as well as--” His voice faltered here, and he glanced at Calcifer. “As more physical elements for the body.”

He stroked his chin, facing the fire for a moment.

“I must offer you two the standard legality warning, though I am aware that both of you are familiar with deep, intricate magic, and are no strangers to the horrors that go along with it,.” He turned around, eyes glittering in the flames. “There is a chance this could go horribly wrong. I am quite confident that that chance is slim to none--but, it exists.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up some. Callie nodded solemnly.

“Excellent,” said Howl. “Now Hades, if you will---” He pulled out his wand. “Once more with feeling, yes?” He chuckled. “It won’t hurt a bit, just close your eyes and remember.”

HADES:

Yes, he’d brought the item in question-- a book of poetry by Anne Sexton. Seph had scribbled all in it, little lines herself off to the margins along with doodles of flowers and swirls and eyes. Seph liked to draw eyes, big disembodied eyes, eyes with slits for pupils or eyes with long eyelashes. In this book, she’d drawn an eye in the bottom of every page and if you flipped through the pages quick enough, the eye blinked at you. You got the feeling the book was looking back.

Hades had not opened this book or flipped through it though since Seph died. In fact, it had been on her bed, exactly where she’d left it-- one corner of a page turned over to mark where she’d stopped her reread last time. When he wandered into her room, it had been the easiest thing to grab. And he’d wanted to slip in and slip out as fast as possible and disturb as little as possible. He did not belong in there.

Hades offered the book to Howl now and then glanced down at the wand that he had pointed at him. He swallowed and gave a curt nod.

Just like with the book, Hades planned to slip into the memory only for as long as it took for Howl to take it. And then he’d slip out again before he began crying. He wasn’t going to cry here or today.

Today he was going to bring Seph back.

So Hades closed his eyes and fished back into the part of him he’d locked up, just like Seph’s room. He found Seph’s face there. His lip twitched as he remembered her smile and the particular blue of her eyes. He pictured her in her garden-- Belle’s garden-- on the day that Hades had come back from Yubaba’s Inn. He’d walked up the path and her head had turned at the sound of his shoes scuffing on the stone. She’d whispered his name before flying toward him, flinging her arms around his neck. She rubbed dirt against his neck and his hair and Hades had just squeezed her tight and twirled her around, their laughter and their tears sounded like silver bells in the air-- you couldn’t tell which was which.

He existed in that memory, felt it curl its fingers around his heart. His eyes began to sting. And that was when he snapped his eyes open and wrenched himself away from that moment. He buried it back into its graveyard.

“Did you get it?” he said brusquely. He didn’t want to do it again. “Can we move on now?”

HOWL:

The memory was soft and it was silver and Howl did not even need to raise his wand, for after it wrapped itself around Hades (as if in a hug, an embrace), it slipped over to Howl, circling around his hand. All he had to do was curl it into his palm and coax it into the little vial.

“It has been done,” said Howl, simply.

Little Calliope was watching them all, dark eyes wide. He used the term little loosely, for she was a tall girl, tall and stately and there was nothing little about her stance or her magic. It was her age he referred to mostly. Just freshly nineteen, she had an idealistic view of the world to rival that of Miss LaBouff, which Melaenis had procured at the Masquerade.

Howl turned to her after he had corked his vial.

“Should I close my eyes and think or--”

“Essentially, yes,” said Howl, “but you are going to have to concentrate very hard. Just of the spirit--the girl, Cassandra, whatever her name was. Only what you remember of your visions and dreams. You have to make sure not to make up traits or eliminate anything.”

Callie’s face was serious and she nodded.

“Alright. Begin.”

Callie closed her eyes and instantly, Howl started to see the bits and pieces come together in front of him.

It was a pale figure, spectral-like, the memory of a memory. A tall woman with long pale hair and eerie blue eyes--who looked a bit like Hades, if Hades was a woman. The image in front of him was delicate, as if it were made of dust, as if it could be blown away with a particularly strong exhale.

Howl felt a chill down his spine as he looked at those pale blue eyes, but then pushed it away, grabbing his wand to coral the reagent towards the hearth. It offered no resistance, was simply coaxed forward, like dead leaves in the wind.

Calcifer shifted over and with his wand, Howl drew a summoning rune around the hearth, so that the figure was in the centre. He sprinkled the contents of Hades’s memory around the spectre, and then lifted his hand so that a bowl of his pre-mixed Summoning Special (™)--complete with searching glances, desperate feelings, a nice collection of lost things waiting to be found, among other reagents--glided over. He added it generously.

“Now the book, Mr. Acheron,” he said, holding his hand out. “It won’t come to harm; I must simply procure her essence.”

HADES:

With the memory taking from him (though Hades still had the original tucked in the back of his heart, which no one could steal from him), he felt stripped bare, part of him exposed, fragile, raw. It reminded him of Yubaba. All this, dealing with sorcery, brought up those days and nights that Hades tried to keep buried for the sake of his own-- focus. But now they woke up and Hades felt his gut curdle with distrust at the sorcerer for no other reason than he was a sorcerer. And he didn’t want to give Howl the book. He wanted to hold on tighter. Find a corner, draw his legs up-- flip through the pages and watch Sephy’s eyes blink at him. These things were cushy emotions that had no place here, and Hades knew that, so he did his best to just shove them aside. He knew that Howl wanted to see Seph too. This was about her, not him. He looked at Callie though before he gave her the book. He didn’t know why. Instinct pulled his eyes to her, that same magnetic feeling in his gut. And when he looked at her, that feeling grew. Not deja vu, but nostalgia. She met his eyes and somehow that helped relax his shoulders and get rid of all those round, soft emotions. He looked back at Howl and extended the book to him. When it left his fingers, he folded his arms to his chest, feeling all at once emptier. But he kept his eyes on it: the book. He watched the essence get pulled into the air. His own heart raced. How could Seph be encapsulated in something so flimsy, like mist or smoke? How could she fit into a bottle? How could she get carried around in a pocket, like a perfume? How would it be enough to find Persephone’s body and draw her here? There had to be more of her, he thought to himself. There has to be more to all of us. Hades kept these questions to himself. His lips were pressed in a thin light and when the procurement was done, he swallowed and looked at the flickering hearth. When he talked to Howl about this, they’d gone over the steps. First, the ingredients, then they’d draw a cage for Cassandra’s body, a portal rune or-- or something. And because she was still a dead thing, though she’d stolen a live body, they’d do it in salt and candlelight. Hades would light the candles. Howl’s apprentice had scurried forth while Howl procured Seph’s essence. She was on her knees now, fixing her lines of salt so they were neat and smooth. She pushed a few grains into place with the tip of her silver wand, then looked up at Howl. “Is this okay?” she said. When Howl said yes, Hades knew it was his turn. Again. Once again he looked at Callie. He could already feel the blister-burns on his fingertips, which would erupt as soon as he sparked that long-sleeping flame he no longer trusted. And what if he couldn’t push through the pain long enough, what if he couldn’t light these candles-- he looked at her and blinked and saw that same, dark-skinned woman from their dreams and his instinct was to reach out for her, to hold her hand. That wasn’t Hades. Hades wanted Belle here. Instead he swallowed again. “Can you-- can you help me?” he managed to bite the words out, though he looked down at the salt-rune and ticked his jaw after. His chest burned, though out of fear or shame or something else, Hades couldn’t place.

CALLIE:

It was like watching a story book, except right before she turned the page, Callie knew what was going to happen. She saw the rune before Howl drew it, saw Kiki scurrying down the stairs before she did.

So when Hades turned to her, she knew what he was going to say before he did.

“Of course,” she said.

Howl paid them no attention and was instructing Kiki, pointing out the intricacies in the rune and how just a stray line would mean something completely different. Callie was curious, almost wanted to listen in, but she turned back to Hades.

And she knew what to do.

She knew what to do not just in that usual way of her, but because she felt like she had done it before, had stood with a pale figure whose fire was not burning as bright as usual, whose fire left burns, left scars. She saw a forest, her outstretched hand which was darker than her own skin, but still had the same long fingers.

She saw a pale hand and her fingers linked through it.

“Give me your hand,” she said, and she knew it would hurt her instead of him, because it had hurt her once before, but then it had been the kind of hurt that she wanted, that she craved that burn. “It won’t hurt you.”

When his fingers would have blistered, hers did instead, the hand that was tucked behind her back, hiding. Her face was stoic, though she could feel her heart beating a little faster with each flicker of the candles.

Howl, done with instructing his apprentice, turned back to them.

“Ah, excellent, I see you’re already holding hands--that’s the next step, come, link around the fireplace.” He held his hand out to Callie and she took it and faced forward.

The flames of the candles grew strong, higher, flickering in a wind that wasn’t there, but never going out. Calcifer himself, the fire demon (Callie knew that), started to burn brighter, taller, bending as if a storm were going to knock him over, but never quite did.

Only the ghostly apparition remained still

There was a light in the middle of the rune--it had been small at first, so that Callie thought it just might be a trick of light, but it grew and grew, like a tear in the world in front of her, grew so that it encompassed the pale figure of the woman, the entire rune. The light was white and it was blinding and Callie started to hear that wind that was blowing the candles, blowing Calcifer, and Calcifer grew to the height of the ceiling, his flames hot, but just hot enough not to be burning and the wind was loud and howling, her hair blowing now and--

Then it was quiet.

It was still.

And in the middle of the hearth was a pale girl with dark hair and Howl dropped Callie’s hand at once.

HADES:

Callie’s hand slipped into his and he was in the forest again too. His body was slighter, though still tall and slim. He remembered all this and he remembered his own fire too-- how warm it could be, not a thing of destruction, but a bringer of light. Once, he’d never doubted it. Calliope had shown him from the beginning that this fire was a beautiful thing.

He raised his other hand and the flames flickered to life on his finger tips, like bluebird feathers. And it was soft in his hands. There was no searing pain. He lit the candles one by one and then let the fire fade back into his veins as quickly as they appeared.

He squeezed Callie’s hand and looked at her. “You okay?” he asked her without even thinking about it, because he had asked her that question time and time again and she always-- smiled at him and nodded, just like she did now.

He was about to slip his hand away (felt a strange flash of guilt-- thinking of Belle again, feeling guilty that for a second he’d forgotten) but Howl turned to them both and told him not to. Hades swallowed the guilt back. He kept hold of Belle though and once again wished that she was here. More than ever, right now. He wanted to go apologize. Maybe he still had time if he called her, if he asked her, if he said please…

No, there was no time.

He linked hands with Kiki, who linked hands with Howl, who linked the circle back to Callie. The fire grew and Hades felt it start burning in his own chest-- so bright and sudden and fierce that he opened his lips like he was going to shout, feeling like the fire might escape from inside him. He grasped Callie’s hand tighter, the fire reflected in his blue eyes--

Ladybird, Ladybird, he thought to himself. He heard it in his mother’s voice. He heard it in Persephone’s.

Then the light cleared and she was there.

Hades also dropped their hands, feeling like he’d just run straight into a wall. He choked back a sound at the sight of her. He took a step toward the rune, forgetting about everything but his sister--

Persephone’s body stepped forward faster and spat right in his face.

“You got a sorcerer to summon me?” she hissed. Those light eyes of her were harder than they’d ever been. She didn’t look like Seph at all anymore, her face twisted, her dark hair still ragged and choppy. She wore short black shorts, hugging her waistline. Black boots. Seph would not wear those shorts, those boots.

Hades turned his face away, wiping his thumb over the glob of spit on his cheek. When he looked back at her, he’d turned his expression to stone too.

“That’s right, bitch,” he hissed at her. “You’re going to tell us everything we want to hear. And then I’m going to tear you out of Persephone’s body you stole.”

“And let it rot?” Cassandra sneered. She looked at Howl. “Or are you gonna let him have it to play with? I know how fond you were of it, Howl Pendragon. A shame you never did more than k--” Her words stopped.

She was looking at Callie.

Hades’ brow creased. Cassie’s face-- Sephy’s face--crumpled, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. For a moment it was like Seph was back, all her softness and her love. “You found her. How did you find her?” she whispered. She tried to step closer but the air thickened like glass to keep her in the circle. “L-let me out. Calliope, it’s me.”

CALLIE:

Everything happened very quickly.

The girl in the circle looked like Hades’ dead sister. Callie knew how she looked like, because Callie had seen her in dreams. Hades dropped her hand, as did Howl, and Hades and the girl in the hearth--Cassandra--started to argue and before Callie could even process the words, Cassandra flicked her eyes (or were they Persephone’s eyes?) to her and Callie felt her knees buckle--

There was a forest and it was dark and there were hands reaching out to her, actual hands and arms, not the branches of trees, but rotting human flesh, bones that were decaying--

And she was running, running, running faster than she’d ever had in her life, her heart pounding in her throat, choking her, she couldn’t breathe because she just had to get there, before--

Before who? Before who?

There was a knife, already stained in blood. She took it in her hand, fingers curling around it, and she plunged it into her own heart.

Callie almost fell to the ground, but Howl swooped in and caught her, trying to steady her to her feet.

She thought about kissing a pale girl with even paler hair--thought about kissing Hades, but not Hades, not Hades but Cassandra.

She thought about running away. Being so sure that they wouldn’t be found, so sure--even though, that was stupid because of course they would be found, because the person looking for them was--

There was a block, a block, the page wouldn’t turn, she could not go further back.

“I’m not your Calliope,” she said and her voice was shaking, her hands trembling. “She--she killed herself. Because--someone killed you.”

HADES:

Callie collapsed out of nowhere. She sucked in a breath like someone was choking her, the noise grating the room, and then her knees buckled. Howl darted for her, barely catching her in time. Cassandra cried softly on the inside of the trap, her hand pressed to the invisible wall keeping her in. She cried, tears dribbling, and smiled. There was one beat between Callie’s gasped words where everything was still except for Cal’s own flickering flame.Then: “What did you do?” Hades said sharply. He glared at Cassie. Whatever just happened to Callie, it was Cassandra’s fault. She’d done something to her, even from within that bubble, where Persephone’s powers of empathy could not penetrate. “Nothing,” she said anyway. She giggled, wiping the back of her index finger with her cheek. “It wasn’t me. It was Calliope, my Calliope.” “She’s not yours--” “She is,” said Cassie, her voice trembling. “She’s the reason I came back. I came back for you, Calliope,” pled the ghost to Callie’s shaking body. Her eyes grew wide as milk saucers. “Look what I did for us. I told you I’d never leave you, I’d never l-let them separate us--” “Them?” Hades sneered again. This was all-- nonsense. Though there were parts of his brain that felt itchy, like he was experiencing deja vu the more that Cassandra talked. He thought of the other woman he kept seeing in flashes: dark skin, dark eyes. Somehow he knew the shape of her body and the lilt of her laugh. He remembered running through a forest with her. He remembered kissing her. He remembered crying in her arms. “Yes-- them,” Cassie spat out the word. “You want to know the answers to your questions, Hades? Just ask Urania Hesiod, not me.” Seph’s face once again twisted, her mouth pulled in a snarl. “She was the one who murdered me and ripped me from the earth, who put me down in that wretched hole where I didn’t belong-- find her, ask her, and then when you do--” the smile was back “-- burn her alive.”

CALLIE:

“No,” said Callie, her voice rising, on the edge of defensive. She sank onto the workbench right behind her, grasping the edge of it, trying to ground herself in the current scene, the current moment in time, lest she get swept away in this story that Cassie was giving her.

There was a forest and it was dark and there was blood…

There was a girl and she was pale and her kiss was like fire--hot and warm and light--

“Urania is a good person,” said Callie, gripping the bench as tight as she could, the wood scraping against her palms. Howl stood next to her, a hand on her shoulder, but his eyes were on the figure in the fireplace.

There was the forest, her knees on the ground, scraped by the leaves and twigs and dirt, her chest tight from running, from running to, from running from. It was dark and there were hands outstretched and there--

There was the girl’s body, tainted with dark red blood. Callie’s arms wrapped around it, her arms darker than they were in the present, but her arms, nonetheless. She cried out, she knew who did this, she knew it was--

“It can’t be, it can’t be,” repeated Callie.

All she had to do was turn her head.

There was Urania, younger, but it was Urania, standing a distance aways, looking at Callie, at Cassandra, a bloody knife in her hand.

You did this to me, she remembered saying--remembered Calliope saying.

She knew how the rest of it went. She lunged forward. She grabbed the knife. She plunged it in her own chest--to be with Cassandra, forever.

“She killed herself,” said Callie and now her voice was steadier. The room was clearly in front of her. There was a fireplace and a bench, a demon crackling, an apprentice cowering, reagents in jars on shelves, papers everywhere. She was here and not in a forest and she was herself and not a memory. She looked at Cassandra, then flicked her eyes to Hades. “The old Calliope. I’m not her--you’d have to find her back where you came from,” she said.

Urania, Urania, Urania…

“There must be some misunderstanding,” she said, standing up. “Urania would not kill someone unless there was a reason.”

HADES:

Urania Hesiod.

When Hades heard the name, at first he felt nothing. Then Callie rose her voice and the shadows rose around Hades too-- the room dropping out. The vision engulfed him. Hades saw her then, the missing piece of the puzzle all this time, how she had emerged from the trees and gripped a knife meant for him. No, her. Who Hades had once been.

Callie argued, Callie denied, Callie sounded like she wanted to cry but it was Hades who felt a new burning in his chest and his stomach. His fire seared, but this, this cut. His eyes got a faraway look in them-- unfocused, pupils fully dilated-- and then he looked down at his own hand and saw the blood from years and years ago.

Urania Hesiod had stabbed him once. Urania had wanted him to die. Because--

“A reason?” Cassandra hissed now, practically shrieked it the way that Seph’s voice rose. It shattered Hades’ own trance, bringing his eyes to her. He couldn’t remember the last time his sister had sounded like that.

“You want a reason? How about I loved you? I love you with all-- all my heart. All we wanted to do was be together,” said Cassandra. And now she was crying, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She stepped to the edge of the circle again, pressing her hand against the invisible wall. She did not look away from Callie.

“The Order wouldn’t let us. Th-those silly rules,” she continued. “But I--I loved you anyway, I-- I was go-going to take you a-away-- oh, Calliope, I know you love me too. We’re destined. P-please.”

All the tears, the stuttering-- part of Hades wanted to break the circle and hold her. It wasn’t Seph though, he knew that. And so he got angry. He shoved down those weak parts of him and curled his lip. “You’re delusional. Aren’t you listening, she died. She’s not Callie.”

“But I came back for her--”

“You wasted your time!” snarled Hades. The fire on the candles jumped in the air. “You killed my sister for nothing!”

Cassie didn’t say anything to that. Instead, she looked at him with those big blue eyes, her lip trembling, her head shaking. And then she slowly sank to her knees and wept.

CALLIE:

Cassandra was weeping in front of them. Callie felt like it was her fault, that she was the one who had messed up and caused all of this bad stuff to happen. She should’ve followed the rules. She should’ve listened to Urania and then she would still be alive and Cassandra would still be alive and--

If Cassandra and the old Calliope were still alive, Hades and Callie wouldn’t be here right now. Maybe they would--well, Callie would, she didn’t know how the passing of Hades’s powers went. They’d all be alive, all four of them--and Hades’s sister. Maybe they wouldn’t know each other. Maybe Callie would be in Greece, training under the old Calliope. Maybe Hades would still be in Manchester and Persephone still alive, and Cassandra off, somewhere, wherever she was from--Ireland, a voice whispered.

They just had to follow the rules and--

She thought of Kiara and her heart started pounding so hard that she thought she might throw up.

“Hades.” And it was Howl’s voice and Callie watched as he walked in front of the hearth to face Hades. “The next step is yours,” he said. “Though I do have reagents to help, if you would like.” He flicked his eyes towards Callie, who straightened her back and sat up a little more. “And, of course, your presence will help.”

“Yeah. Yes. Okay. Hang on.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, then stood up, walking over towards Hades, looking him straight in the eye. “Okay. Ready?”

HADES:

Cassandra looked up again, her crying cutting off with a strangled choking noise coming from her throat. Her red eyes stared into Hades. “Y-you aren’t going to-- it won’t work.” The words burst from her small frame, rough and wet. To Hades-- they sounded, almost, like a plea. Cassandra could try to look tough but she forgot that it was Persephone’s face she wore. Sephy could never hide what she felt; she never tried. And Hades could read even her most thoughtful, quiet expressions and know exactly what was beating in her tender heart. And so Cassie’s desperation, it made him feel stronger, for once. He would be triumphant. He could bring her back. “You can’t,” tried Cassie anyway. She was still on her knees. “She gave up this body, Hades, there are rules.” “I make the bloody rules,” sneered Hades at her. A weak laugh tumbled from Cassie’s mouth. “No, you don’t. None of us do.” “I don’t care--” he snatched Seph’s book back and tossed it in the circle. Cassie jumped back from it like it was already on fire. The book opened, flipping to one of Seph’s favourite poems. “Stop.” Cassie’s voice trembled. The flames stretched higher in the candles. The lights behind in the kitchen flickered. “Stop,” she tried again. Hades was not listening to her. He had death at his fingertips and he was inviting it into the room. Ghosts crawled forth. Each and every shadow grew long, then longer, as a chill swept through the room, turning everything to ice. Only Hades could hear the murmurs, the whispers, the soft, ghoulish laughter. Well, him and Cassie, and he got a sick pleasure watching the colour drain from her face as they circled her like sharks. “I’m in her body, she can’t come back!” Cassie tried again. She stepped to the edge of her cage, as close as she could get. “You don’t know what you’re doing! If you give me your powers though, if you-- if I can be the ambassador, I’ll show you how to save her--” “I’m never listening to you again,” said Hades and he reached out his hand to Callie. “Callie.” “No! Don’t-- don’t, she’s mine!” Hades opened up his other palm and a flame burst to life there. The lights flickered faster, on and off, on and off until they shut off completely and then it was just the blue fire in the dark, and Hades’ voice: “I summon Persephone Acheron from the Underworld.” The flames jumped. “I summon Persephone Acheron from the Underworld.” The pages were flipping, a wind blasting through the room, coming from nowhere. “I summon Persephone Acheron from the Underworld!” Then the fire snuffed out and all was quiet and dark. Only Cassandra’s breath, ragged and short, filled the space. Another second spilled into two-- and then Cassie began to chuckle. “Goodness,” she spoke. “For a moment there, I was scared it was going to work.” The lights flicked back on and it was like nothing had happened at all. The circle remained unbroken, but the book was shut and there Cassie stood, with her bullshit smirk and the tears dried on her pale cheeks. The candles were burned out, just a tail of smoke rising from their charred wicks. Hades reacted without thinking. He lunged at her, kicking the salt loose and destroying the circle. His hand curled around Cassie’s throat and he pushed her back against a wall. “What did you do?” he sneered. “Why didn’t it work, she should be able to possess you--” Cassie gasped, clawing at Hades’ hand, wheezing-- it was the sound of a choked laugh. “Told--you--so!”

CALLIE:

She knew it was not going to work the second he tried it.

It flashed in front of her eyes, a few moments ahead, just as she touched his hand. She saw everything before it happened. Cassandra’s choked laughter, Hades’ hand wrapped around her neck (Callie could feel the place where his fingers had tightened around her own neck and for a moment too, she felt like she could not breathe), the salt flying everywhere--and then moments later it happened, Cassandra against a wall, the flames in the hearth arching high, Howl sweeping up the salt back into a circle just by glancing at it and walking towards Hades.

Howl had a hand outstretched. Howl was yelling. Callie could not hear him, but she knew what he was saying.

You cannot let her loose, we have to keep her restrained…

All Callie could hear was a low chuckle in a dark forest from a voice that used to read out loud to her from The Illiad and The Odyssey, who instructed her in dance and harp. It was warped and it was low and it sent chills down her spine, but there was no doubt about to whom it belonged.

Urania Hesiod.

“Callie,” said Howl, and she blinked and he was standing right next to her, head ducked down a bit to meet her eyes. “Are you alright?”

She blinked, once, twice. Howl stared back at her, his eyes like blue glass.

“I need to find Urania,” she said. “I need to talk to her--I…”

What did she need to do? She didn’t know. What did they need to do? She closed her eyes and tried to focus, but all she saw was blood and dangling limbs and the silver of a dagger and all she heard was a low, low chuckle through the rustling of forest leaves.

HOWL:

Around Calliope, reagents of fear and betrayal and panic started to swarm. Howl stood up, then reached to put a hand on her shoulder.

“Come,” he said, softly. “Kiki and you and I will go to Hatter’s and get some hot chocolate, while Mr. Acheron here finishes what he needs to. He no longer requires you.”

Howl did not know whether this was true or not, but he stared Hades down, before glancing at the burns on Callie’s hands.

“It’s his own path now, darling,” he said, turning back to Callie. “Ours leads to hot cocoa and scones.”

#kleos #death owl #uh what is howl callie lmao #howlie #cowl #hallie #Ad Congregandum #tw: death #tw: blood #Tw: violence

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ber-bonfamille-lyons · 7 years

Text

BDRP Resolutions

in which this is long

Write your RPer Resolutions for 2018!

-Plot with more members, definitely! I try to expand of course and rp threads with everyone but I think I could do better and could def do bigger plots with more people.

-Complete more tasks tbh. This one is gonna be hard for me to do but idk if I could do at least one task every other month that would be an improvement over last year haha.

-Continue to work on scenery and detail etc. My weaknesses. I hope that rping more detail-oriented characters, like Charlie or even Mowgli, or exploring the lake with Andrina or the forest with Prince/Merida will help with this. Though also just being more aware of it in the day to day

-Dream Journal for Charlie/More music stuff for radio

Write at least one resolution, or “goal,” that you have as an RPer for your character(s)

Mel: This was on last year’s so that tells u something but I think it’s gonna happen-- explore her feelings for Howl! Also would love for her to do some more seedy things and i see want an apprentice!!

Ber: Explore Berlioz’s mental health more. Whether I do this through tasks/one-shots or something, Ber is kinda in this weird place where he’s blurring the line between reality/fantasy and I think that’s interesting. A lot of it has to do with things he isn’t dealing with (trauma from Taka and going down into hell). Also very specifically I want him to rp with Marie more bc Berrie is kinda underdeveloped both on my part as an rper and his part as like a mediocre brother lmao. I also like him as a supporting role in other people’s plots and I hope I can keep pushing him in those directions. And of course I’m very interested to see him and Simba repair and grow their relationship hopefully stronger than ever. <3 OH and g row a backbone tbh stand up for himself more do it ber

Kiara: Figure out her school life!! I still want to have her shadow someone sooo I think I could see her shadowing Minnie or even Jiminy since she’s sort of into health and social work. Also explore her envy of her friends with magic bc she had powers in Star wars and lowkey she still wants powers (opportunity for Feys Gold Antics here-- also feel liek there could be something interesting in Kiara v. Jake if Jake really does start getting more elitist)

Hades: BOARD STUFF. Im really excited to play Hades as a politician and like-- authority figure in town. Though he’s gotta save his own soul first lol. Also supporting Belle in hopefully going back to school. Alsoooo there are loose threads in hell that I have and would like 2 look into…

Milo: Talk with Jane about what comes next after pride u because his grant is almost up! Plot with BIANCA/BERNARD hopefully about the rescue aid society.

Nala: ONE NIGHT STAND SERIOUSLY. Let loose. Date someone bc if she fell in love work wouldnt be her focus and she’d grow a lot. Uh repair relationship with Simba?

Kiki: bring back jiji lmfao i suck. Finish her apprenticeship and unlock the trU nature of her powers and stuff mhm. Also kiss someone lol

Anita: Bring her fam in town and explore like, this clash between her old life and the new life now that she has grown so much.

Prince: ACCEPT UR FEELINGS FOR ELLA. Embrace them! Continue to train Bambi/find the fucker who shot u/be a Dad and do Dad things like idk a parent teacher conference??? Thats hilarious. Somehow I want him to become like a guest lecturer at Pride U but I’m not sure how yet. I also feel like idk Akela could draw him into becoming slightly darker after this shooting and that might be interesting so who knows, maybe he should join Akela’s morally gray magic club,

Paul: GO TO PRIDE U PLZ. Deal with the paulina plot lol. Contend with his inferiority issues that stem from the financial inequality between him and Perdy. Just rly go into their relationship and figure it out post-break up post-make up u know

Andrina: Explore the lake. Get into seedy stuff with Ursula maybe??? Continue to sleep with people thats very fun for me. FIND OUT WHO RAVEN IS. Get a cat.

Merida: I need her to make more friends bc I want her to fuck up and then ruin all those friendships ahaha. Want to have a showdown with some powerful magicks, gimme Akela and Max, all the shapeshifters!!!

Mowgli: Meet the Bonfamilles (lmao). Uhhh would lvoe to rp more with Akela i need to brainstorm how. I’d also like him to become more extreme tbh? Maybe start having night terrors or something bc of all his suppressed guilt wow just got a good idea ahha. Alsoooo maybe get a mentoooor…

Charlie: HAVE A PROPHECY ABOUT SOMEONE PPL HIT ME UP. I wanna start him on the research train when I get that in place and also maybe abuse hospital equipment (aka scan his own brain ehhe) but also maybe save someone’s life would be cool, ok, yeah. Also hopefully grow his relationships with all hospital personnel and patients, and maybe get a mentorship with Tibbs and/or Sweet. In fact it’d be really cooool if he could eventually help Sweet with his research like as an intern or assistant or something. And also i want to get him to an event but i need him to get a friend for that so!!! A texting buddy friend, that is a specific goal.

Write at least one resolution IN CHARACTER for your characters. What do THEY want to accomplish or change in the New Year?

Mel: “Do something impossible.”

Ber: “Be a better brother and friend and boyfriend… be less crazy lol ahah”

Kiara: “figure out my LIFE lmao”

Hades: “Make real change in Swynlake.”

Milo: “Apply for a grant to study Atlantis...again.”

Nala: “Be my oWN love of my life. I’m a single independent woman and that’s amazing, I’m AMAZING.”

Kiki: “Restore Jiji D:”

Anita: “Direct a play again! That would be very fun. Oh, and paint more, I really do need to paint.”

Prince: “Be a good father to Bambi… make the forest a safe place again.”

Paul: “Be a good father, a good partner-- find better ways to support my kids.”

Andrina: “lol i dont DO goals bye.”

Merida: “Shoot Mor’du. Become a Prince.”

Mowgli: “... don’t make any trouble.”

Charlie: Bitch has a list.

Get phlebotomist license!!

Renew certs: CPR/AED/First Aid/Wilderness First Aid/BLS

Give up gluten! Again!

Exercise.

Go to a Swynlake Event! It will be fine no one will die!!! (!!!)

Plotting Exercise! Pick one of the resolutions/goals in #2 and plan a rough guideline to how you could accomplish it.

Mowgli explores his powers/grief

PARA 1: Has a nightmare and accidentally sets something on fire (Akela)

PARA 2: Frightened, Mowgli confides in someone about his powers (Peach/Will)

PARA 3: Seeks help from either Howl or Ursula--depending on which one, it could litERally change the direction of the entire plot.

List of Characters I want to RP with:

I went through character by character but I would love to do more than this I am sure ahah.

Mel: Mateo, Ursula, Sophie (bc duh Howl), Akela

Ber: Irma, Sophie because they should be better friends, more Peg, JENNy bc they play piano ok!!, ANNETTE bc they totally know each other!!, tbh daisy and ber could do something with anxiety, Rita for sure, more Simon somehow i swear it

Hades: Sally, more stuff with Miguel, Jack, Shock/Samara, Al, Cruella, Simba, Oogie, maybe Dipper

Kiara: more stuff with Jake, Jiminy, Minnie/Rama maybe, Isa, Wilbur, Penny, Ollie, Jenny. Also lowkey Ursula.

Milo: more stuff with Kida, Bianca, Elena, also Goliath and Thomas (teachers!!)

Nala: MAUI. sorry look i just want maui its been a year. Also maybe some board members and stuff since she’ll be politically active? So Al, Cruella, Soleil for that (and Simba, but I rp with simba allll the time). Also Arthur, Adam.

Kiki: Mateo as well!! More young-ish people: Dipper, Maui (she’s a #bigfan), Callie.

Anita: more stuff with Perdita. Also other artists: Pascal, Jane, Namine, Violet, maybe Art if he does art??, Peach, Peri, Duchess etc!! Hit me up please.

Prince: all the forest politics okay: Alasdair, Akela, Goliath, Shere, why are these men. Also just big Magicks in general: Ursula, Namine maybe. More fairies so Peri and Terence. Also very specifically: Theo and Thomas O’Malley. Maybe Jake tbh if he starts like patrolling the forest?

Paul: Goliath bc he’s a lit professor! Thomas bc they are bros now!!!! Maybe some other mersisters-- Aqua, Alana, Arista. Peach bc writing? Lmao. Also some lowkey shady people like Roscoe or Lock would be really great. Possibly Oogie bc he owns a casino and gambling~

Andrina: URSULA ok sorry i just want the sea witch. TBH Hiro or Tombo could be cool bc she’s into STEM stuff. Ken because I want to rp with Ken and I don’t think anyone else would get along? Ahah. Arista, Aqua and Alana. Herculessss.

Merida: Bambi bc scottish and also lowkey was involved in mother’s death!!! Maximus bc she should shoot him!! More Shere! Follow-up with Goliath tbh in class lmao would be funny. CORNY bc thye r destined to be friends. Callie!!! Oo, also more Eric.

Mowgli: Howl, Ursula, Mateo, more Peach, Jenny, Wilbur, Theo, Bambi Penny (yay orphans). Maybe a professor: Thomas, Goliath, Shere?

Charlie: so many ok. Ellie, Sweet, Shock, Jack, SALLY thats in caps bc I need it, Dipper, Boo, tbh could do some drug stuff with Roscoe, Lock and Theo. Rita bc she can be his mom, Oogie, anyone with trauma who wants charlie to relive it with them: eric, thomas, shere, lou the list can go on-- annnnd belle and callie also

#bdrptask #wooooo

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