Author's Note: Damn! Over 50+ reviews and not all of them on my question about Percy/Andromeda. That was already tallied and decided.
REMEMBER: If I ask for reader opinion, it means I surrender the decision so it has been reader driven and I won't fight the choice. If anyone has a problem with the result; it isn't the focus on the story so don't worry too much, I warn before scenes of intimacy, and lastly, please just try to enjoy the story for what it is. Thank you to all for your input!
Anyways, onwards with the story!
She moved with purpose and intent, her nose constantly sifting through any and every scent in her search. Her pack followed close behind, their senses as strained as hers while a slight nervousness took them. Normally any display of weakness was brutally uprooted. They were the hunters, the strong. Unease and heavens forbid, fear, was to be suppressed at all times. However, even she could not keep the chill from her bones as they traversed the night with the new moon still hidden from all. She glanced up, her vibrant yellow eyes searching for the familiar celestial body if only to be assured her longtime friend was watching them.
But it didn't seem that the moon goddess was out with her chariot to guide the moon tonight but then again, she wasn't too sure if her friend would have come help them. The years have been unkind to the goddess and now with the loss of faith in the huntress and subsequent trust in her own pack, their friendly relationship had become strained at best. Nowadays Artemis was rarely kind to any and seemed to almost blame the very world for what has happened to her. She shook her canine head in disappointment, wondering when it was that her friend became so much like her father. A being so dependent on his pride and ego that he'd attack any who would look down on him in any way.
"Lady Lupa" one of her wolves called, breaking her out of her thoughts. "The scent has become stronger."
She sniffed again and noticed that the beta was right. The scent resembling that of wolf mixed with black orchid led them far north just passed the US-Canada border. From the last she'd been able to get the smell at the site of the murder of Phoebe, and later a small divine signature left only a week ago with the kidnapping of Lady Hestia, Lupa had managed to pick up a trail near the Rockies and followed it north. The scent had only reappeared once she entered North Dakota and the divine signature had gotten stronger putting her on edge.
She'd heard from the hunters and gods about this 'Umbra' or whatever it seemed to call itself. She would never admit it even under torture but in her core … she was frightened. This wolf had not only gotten under the nose of Artemis and disappeared without a trace but then reemerged only to take an Olympian before any could stop it. From what the hunters had told her, this wolf was actually smaller than her, being more or less the size of a large horse whereas Lupa herself at full size was closer to that of a dump truck. She was a millennia old goddess with combat abilities honed in the flames of war in both her forms … so then why was there a knot of cold fear in her gut?
Something had changed in the air over a week ago and she could feel it all around her. Her own wolves seemed distracted themselves, as if being called to something else even though they had been born into her pack and sworn to her and yet she could feel their loyalty beginning to sway and worst of all she couldn't tell to what. It had happened before with Lycaon but that wretch of a wolf hadn't been sighted for over a year now. And here they were now getting to the borders of the 'West'. Any farther and she would begin to lose her power until she was little better than a demigod in power.
"Lady Lupa," another, younger wolf called to her. "Something approaches …"
Lupa trained her ears around as her body tensed, soon hearing the sound of something indeed approaching along with the scent and divine power getting closer. She could hear not only brush but even leaves being disturbed as well as feel a small tremble of the ground that just nearly escaped her noticed. Her heart quickened as the sound of trees actually groaning as they were pushed aside drew closer marking the approach of something at least as large as her. But what worried her was that she couldn't hear any footfalls which with something near her size should definitely be apparent.
Her pack was poised at her sides, muscles locked and fangs barred even as their own hearts thundered in their chests. The very air seemed to become chilly as their breath became visible and thin sheets of frost formed on the trees in front of them. Her own ears flattened when she finally saw a figure walking towards them, its shoulders brushing against the top of the trees reaching up to four and five stories each. Then, as if disconnecting from the very shadows of the night, a wolf appeared before her and took her breath away.
The wolf before her had to have the deepest black coat she'd ever seen with some streaks of light blue and underneath she could see the signs of lean and dense muscle. The massive wolf looked at them calmly with eyes looking like two blue orbs of pure ice also containing intelligence and a sense of power making several of her wolves step back in acknowledgement. Darkness and frost seemed to swirl around the wolf as well with the forest behind it looking as if it had gone through winter even as the ground underneath the wolf's paws began to ice over. By the proportions and the subtle undertones of a musky scent around the wolf she could also tell this one was very much male at that causing a whole host of problems.
Truly at times she hated and loved her instincts just like her current form. Thanks to fewer than three goddesses knowing she could actually take a human form along with her oath of chastity made it easy to avoid the cesspool of Olympian debauchery. Her wolf side also made it easy to ignore the few admittedly attractive males, godly and demigod alike, simply because they weren't like her. She was both a wolf and a goddess and as such would not take anything less. Even the male shifters in her pack were seen more as adopted sons or nephews that always fell short of being strong enough to make her even considering them as more than just members of her pack.
But right at this moment her wolf side was practically clawing at her mind to submit but she stomped it down mercilessly with her goddess side. This wolf may be a specimen above any she'd ever seen but if it was only a wolf and quite possibly the Umbra that she was hunting then there was no point in considering him anything other than an enemy. So with that thought she let loose a snarl capable of making gods wet themselves but the wolf didn't even look phased.
If anything he looked amused as he scanned them each with a scrutinizing gaze before locking with hers. As their eyes remained on each other the wolf took one step forward, this time doing nothing to repress the sound and pressure of the footfall causing some of the wolves around her to jump back. Another step was taken and now she had to tilt her head back to look up at the wolf. Their stare off lasted for several minutes before the larger wolf snorted and then surprised her by speaking in a deep voice with a growl undertone making her fur stand on end.
"So … Lady Lupa has graced me with her presence," he said as he stepped back slightly but was still no less imposing as he looked down at her.
It took Lupa a moment to find her voice as she watched the wolf slowly turn to expose its side before he began to circle them making her pack draw in closer to her.
"Who are you?" she asked in a stern tone.
"You know who I am …" he replied in a coy tone making her growl in warning. "Feisty …"
"I'm warning you," she said with narrowed eyes as she turned her body to make sure she was always facing the massive wolf as the forest around them shook with his every step. "Don't play games with me."
"And yet I've been playing this game with you for years," the wolf replied with a chuckle. "And the little huntress has never even come close with the little trails I left her for the fun of it."
"Umbra," Lupa growled as she bared her fangs yet again. "The demon that murdered one of her hunters and took Lady Hestia …"
She was going to say more but that was all silence as the wolf released a growl that froze her in place. Her very bones and the forest alike shook at the strength and ferocity of it, her eyes glued to the gleaming white fangs just barely exposed to her as several of the wolves in her pack whimpered while lowering their heads. Her every instinct was screaming to her, wolf and goddess side alike, saying the same thing. Fight and die or run and live … if she had any hope of escaping that was. She tore her gaze away from the wolf that let go of the partial snarl and took in the sight around her as her body seemed to suddenly shiver from an unknown cold.
As the wolf had walked around them, his every step had left behind some sort of black ice she'd never seen before and that ice was now formed into hundreds of spikes too tall for her pack to jump. Her pack was corralled in now and she doubted she could get a window to try and jump the icy barrier while Umbra was a mere 10 or so meters away and capable of crossing that distance in just a few casual steps.
"What do you want?" she asked after having given up on the thought of escape without a fight.
"Hmm …" Umbra paused in his pacing around them while looking up at the night sky as if looking for an answer. "… That depends," he finally answered as he looked at her again with those icy eyes. "… I want many things, some simple, others not so much. A peaceful future where I could raise a family safely is one but that path crosses past rivers of blood and war. These rivers, if I have my way, will flow with ichor as I rip the Olympians apart."
"Is that why you've taken Hestia!?" she snapped while in her heart she began to worry for Hestia even more.
"Yes," he replied simply before she suddenly snapped and attacked.
Like a runaway train she barreled at the larger wolf, her fangs gleaming as her claws came forward as well … only for her barely register some movement to then suddenly meet the ground in a resounding crash. She felt the pain only a second later on her side as she starred at the broken ground and ice in disbelief. She glanced at the wolf that was now facing her with one paw casually extended, gleaming black claws proudly displayed. It all happened in a split second and only now was it truly sinking in just how outmatched she was. Umbra had turned and swatted her back like a fly and to add insult to injury, he had made sure to hit her with the pads of his paw rather than claws to not kill her outright.
"Quite the temper," Umbra said in a chiding tone a he rested his paw. "But you did not let me finish," he said as he stepped closer as she struggled to her feet while keeping the pressure off her right foreleg. "I took Hestia … but not against her will."
"What?" she asked shakily as she tensed with the wolf's approach, her fear finally starting to show through.
"As I said, Hestia didn't want to be on Olympus any more than you would."
She couldn't help but snort at that comment. She hated the mere thought of being there on a visit, the damn gods always commenting on her form as unseemly for being a goddess. Mostly some of the drunken gods wishing she was human just so there was another ass to chase for them. If she could she would have mauled several of them within days.
"You barely have any love for the other gods yourself," Umbra continued as he looked at her intensely making her shuffle on her feet nervously. "Tell me … why do you even serve them?"
"I …" she paused as she thought up a reason, her eyes furrowing in concentration.
Why did she, truly? She had no love for the Olympians spare for goddesses like Hestia and Artemis. But Hestia was gone and Artemis had distanced herself along with being in a frenzy along with most of the other gods ever since the Hearth of Olympus was extinguished. It had been rekindled but now required constant attention and didn't carry the warmth it once had. As for most of the gods on Olympus, she could do fine without them. Hades, the world could better without their meddling but the only other options were the Titans and Giants, and she knew that would screw over everyone. Still, she was grasping at straws for why to serve them, even though the word serve brought a bitter taste to her mouth. They'd done nothing to earn it other than threaten her when she first helped form the Romans.
She was an attack dog to them and an overseer for the orphanage they dumped their spawn at and gave it a fancy name. At least her Romans proved resilient enough to grow and expand it themselves to form New Rome and barely needed interaction with the Gods. Still, even if she had a soft spot for those demigods, it didn't mean she was happy with the role assigned to her. She was broken out of her thoughts however when Umbra leaned closer before speaking.
"Well …?"
She shook her head before looking back at the large wolf.
"I … I serve to protect New Rome," she said but Umbra merely snorted.
"So you care for the demigods … but not the gods themselves?" Umbra said with a wolf smirk.
"…" She wasn't sure how to reply to that, her ears lowering as Umbra gave a fanged grin.
"They left you with their messes time and time again," Umbra continued as he got closer and started pacing around her, her pack stepping back in fear of the more powerful wolf. "You don't place the blame on the children but at the same time you question why you even try to help the gods." Her heart was racing as only her head turned to keep looking at the black wolf. "In both recent wars you only ever participated to give New Rome a chance but there was no love spared for the Olympians. And you even hide your beauty in fear of what the gods would do to you should they discover it."
"How!?" she gasped as she stepped back as Umbra chuckled.
"Hestia told me," Umbra replied as he stopped before her, his face looming closer to hers. "I know you want more than what your life is now Lupa. You want to run free with your pack, to live in both forms and explore this world. Yet you cannot leave far from the Wolf House if only on occasions of war and then it is only to watch as your pack loses its members while the Olympians remain fattening in their thrones."
"But the demigods …"
"Would be far safer if the Olympians actually tried to care for and protect them. You and Terminus have done more for than your fair share and aren't even thanked for it," Umbra countered. "So why stay if there is another option?"
"… And that would be?" she asked softly, feeling like his eyes had pinned her down to the spot.
"Join us," Umbra said and continued before she could try to reject his offer. "War is coming just over the horizon … but it is against the Olympians themselves. We have no quarrel with the demigods and do not plan on attacking them … however, should they attack us then we will respond in kind."
He then backed up as Lupa looked at him, searching for deceit in his eyes … but found none. However she wouldn't let honeyed words tempt her so easily as she asked, "Then why kill that huntress years ago?"
"I take it you know what those hunters are actually like," Umbra said with a voice drowning in contempt at the word hunters as Lupa nodded, having found the corpses more than once, several of them Roman boys she had personally helped before sending off to the camp. "Then do you really think that hunter didn't have it coming?"
"But what did she do that deserved … that?" she asked recalling the carcass she'd seen only days after the murder since none of the hunters had the stomach to approach their mutilated sister and Artemis having been too distraught to do anything either.
"That hunter helped in the murder of my mother and step-father while also kidnapping my sister," Umbra replied with a bloodthirsty growl nearly making her whimper.
She could see the hate and rage within his eyes as he said that and understood that he would love nothing more than to rip Artemis apart for it. That and the fact that she could see he was being brutally honest filled her with doubt about her distanced friend. However, one question was nagging at her head now more than anything.
"Just … who are you?"
There was silence for some time as she watched the wolf glance away for a moment to control his emotions. Once done he turned back to her and answered, "You already know me Lupa." She was about to answer that she didn't but then was shocked to see shadows consume the wolf for all of five seconds before dispersing to leave a sight she didn't expect in her wildest dreams.
Standing at 6 ft' 4, lean and muscular with a hooded coat made of darkness, black pants and tight shirt, two swords strapped at his hips, and eyes with literal, swirling black flames for irises and glowing icy blue pupils was Perseus Jackson, the 'lost' hero of Olympus. If she had been in her human form she would have pinched herself to wake up but she settled for biting her own tongue. She felt the pain, tasted the ichor, even shook her head again to try and disperse any Mist that may be in effect but no … this was very much real.
"Hey Lupa," he said in a far more familiar but still deepened with maturity voice.
"P-Percy?" she asked as she stepped closer to get a better look and even smell him.
His wild hair was there, the familiar tanned skin, and his scent, though changed from sea breeze to the new black orchid, still held undertones that were undoubtedly … him. It was all there and even his presence felt familiar but just barely. His presence had changed much, like an untold amount of power being held within one condensed point ready to burst. He may be human sized now but she still felt like the smaller of the two.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
"A lot Lupa," he said as he tilted his head up to look at her before smiling softly. "But I rather us speak in a more level form."
She understood what he meant and would have refused him but for some reason, she felt the need to change, to do as he wanted of her. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the warmth in his eyes as he looked at her, maybe it was her newfound respect for him after having been bested so easily, or maybe it was the sheer presence and dominance that seemed to radiate off him. Regardless she glowed in a golden light for a few seconds but she noticed that he didn't look away or burn in any way. Once the glow died down she slowly stood as to not lose her balance.
She stood around 5 ft' 7, her hair the same reddish-brown it had been as her fur cascading down her body to her shapely rear. Her olive toned skin shivering slightly in the sudden chill of a breeze that swept over her. Her modesty being kept only by her own hair falling over her modest sized breasts and crotch. She felt some color come to her cheeks when she noticed Percy's eyes giving her entire body a quick scan before returning to her face and had to suppress the urge to try to cover her chest with her arms. Never before had she been self-conscious in the rare occasions she took her human form and was seen by mortals lost in the woods but in front of Percy, she suddenly felt shy.
A little part of her mind cursed for not being as well-endowed as other goddess but she wasn't vain enough to use her divine power or even the Mist to alter her appearance either. Still, she tried to stand tall as Percy got a little closer and looked down at her, his flaming black eyes boring into her pale yellow ones.
"I do believe a reintroduction is in order," Percy said as he waved his hand and the shadows around her formed a thick black cloak warming her up quickly much to her surprise. "Hello, I'm Percy Jackson, Primordial of Night, Shadows, Darkness, and Cold." Her mouth felt unhinged as he said that and judging by his fanged grin he found her face amusing. "Also I'm the king of the new Protogenoi Council and … Lord of Wolves."
Suddenly her instincts fell into place and it made sense. Her pack's behavior, the change she felt coming, and her own reactions to his presence. He was her superior, her alpha, and now a being of power above any god or titan. He was everything she'd wanted, both as a wolf and a goddess. Powerful and fierce yet she could still see that gentleness and care he held for those dear to him within his eyes. It also didn't hurt that both his forms were exemplary specimens that could probably make her—
"Lupa," Percy said snapping a finger in her face to break her out of her thoughts. She gave a blush of embarrassment, both for having to be called to attention and knowing exactly where her thoughts had been headed. "So what do you say?" he asked.
"Umm … can you repeat the question?" she said sheepishly making him sigh even as a small smile tugged at his lips.
"I asked, would you like to join me?" he repeated.
"In your war?" she asked feeling a little uneasy at the thought.
"You don't need to fight if you don't want to," Percy replied reassuringly. "But you can come with me and leave the Olympians for good to choose for yourself what you want to do. You're a wolf and I won't allow one of our own to be enslaved by the gods anymore."
"Really … I can just join?" she asked with a bit of hope coming through in her voice.
"Yes," he replied giving her a warm smile and offering her a hand.
She stared at it for some time, her thoughts racing. Could she do it? To be free from the burden placed on her and turn her back on the gods? New Rome had barely recovered from the loss of Jason but then again, Percy said they wouldn't attack them. Could she be selfish for the first time in millennia and be with … him? She took a shaky breath, her heart racing before she made her decision…
With Nico
The son of Hades slowly made his way through the extensive tunnels within the mountain, his pace calm as he thought on what had been discussed with the council but a day or so ago. Rhea had been literally humming with her power of Earth and Nature, saturating the air and ground with vitality that already made the local wildlife and forest of the mountain to grow and spread. She'd also been sculpting the sides of the massive mountain, making most of the sides and back facing away from the path into sheer cliffs. Nico felt pity for whatever poor sod would try to sneak into their new home any time in the future. While Rhea was handling that, Phoebe had taken to slowly bringing in some of their new residents and even setting up some temples for them.
Hercules had looked like he'd had the mother of all hangovers while being beaten by an old lady with a stick all night after he was the first to renounce his ties to the 'West', essentially making him a wild god while retaining his strength but not the domain. It mattered little considering what would come soon but he'd looked better that morning with his new temple. Along with Hercules, other gods and titans had been brought in, setting up their temples and taking up residence in the second district. He briefly wondered where Damasen would live considering his size but hey, there was more than enough free space in each district to add new buildings.
As for Thalia, Jason, and Andromeda each were off on their own tasks though Andromeda's may be the more important of those. 'I hope she doesn't have to deal with too much of a mess,' he thought with a slight shake of his head before returning his attention to the tunnels around him. Even now he could see the slight twitches of the darkness around him and feel the hint of cold permeating the air. The ground itself also seemed to hum under his step while the crystals lining the ceiling of the tunnels softly glowed with crystals containing Greek fire. He walked on for another half hour or so, instinctually knowing which path to take as he descended further before arriving to a large cavern.
It was around the size of an airplane hangar with the same crystals intermixed with stalagmites along the ceiling. However, unlike the tunnels, the majority of the cavern's floor was a lake with a dirt path leading up to a plot of land in the center. The waters surround it weren't regular though, oh no, instead the churning green waters gave a nearly angry hiss around him with the emotion of hatred dissipating thickly through the air.
"Like my little lake?" asked a feminine voice drawing Nico's attention.
Nico took in the familiar sight of Styx as she stood near one of the edges of the plot of land, lazily playing with the lethal waters with her foot while looking at him in amusement.
"The hissing sound is interesting," he commented as he walked along the narrow path towards her and being mindful of the waters.
He already knew how painful a bath in those waters was thanks to Percy and felt no need to experience it himself. He soon arrived at her side and waited for her to pay full attention to him, her normally mischievous eyes looking at him with a steely glint to them. It didn't take long for her to remove her foot from the waters and glance back to the edge of the plot of land they stood on.
"So … feeling nervous?" she asked softly as she looked back at him.
"Yes," he said with a faint nod before walking past her. "But there is no helping it, I need a link to the mortal plain before I fully rise to the council."
"But isn't it a little too soon for using your manifestation of power to such an extent?" she asked "I mean, you can create passages leading directly to the fields of Tartarus but you are a lot farther right now."
"That's true considering I've only opened a few doors between two locations in the Pit or from my father's palace in the time I've had it but I really don't have the time to spar at the moment. Just trust me … I can do this," he said while looking at her firmly.
"If you're sure," Styx said with a sigh before moving to stand beside him. "Ready when you are."
He gave her an appreciative node before reaching into his shirt and pulling out his new pendant. The black and purple chains felt warm to the touch as he looked at the ruby held at the end, the jewel glowing with power. He then looked back at the plot of land and focused on his jewel within his hand, the rock humming in response. Sweat started to trickle off his brow as the entire cavern began to shake as the heat rose significantly.
'Shit, this is harder than I thought it would be,' he mentally griped as he grit his teeth and forced more of his power through his pendant. The ground began to steam and crack along the end of the little island. He felt a sharp spark of pain in his head as the drain on his energy grew nearly making him drop to a knee but then he felt Styx place her hand on his shoulder and her power flood into him. He gasped at the rush, both in relief and pain even as the cracks burst as a metal gate began to rise. He momentarily glanced down to the pendant in his hand and noted the slight green tint surrounding the ruby but paid it little mind as he refocused on the rising gate.
For nearly an hour he stood still, Styx feeding him strength as the metal gate rose at an agonizingly slow rate until it finally finished and he did drop to a knee panting. He took a moment to catch his breath before looking at the sight, after glancing at Styx since she gasped at it as well. The gate he'd summoned stood at nearly five meters in height and three across, made of a black brimstone with cracks glowing in purple. He could make out a door nearly the same size of the actual frame with glows of red and purple hidden behind it but what really caught his attention was the very top-center of the door.
There was an ornately carved skull with a crown, the eye sockets glowing an ominous crimson while the crown was alight with Hellfire and judging from the line down the center, it also opened with the gate. He then took in the carvings on the door, depicting all manner of horrors and tortures that Tartarus had personally delivered upon the worst of existence banished to the deepest recesses of his realm. He stood in morbid curiosity at some of the creatures shown on the carvings, recalling some conversations had with Tartarus but never really believing him on some accounts until now. He also noted that with the atmosphere of hate coming from the lake, the gate radiated an ungodly level of bloodlust and malevolence, as if he were standing back in the darkest corners of the Pit for his hellish training again.
He was brought out of his thoughts though when Styx gently nudged him in the shoulder to get him to look at her. Seeing her concerned gaze he asked, "What?"
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked in a worried tone. "You got really drained and you've been staring at the gate for a while."
He paused for a moment to check himself, feeling ready to drop at any moment but he could hold for a little longer. They weren't entirely finished after all.
"Yeah …" he said as he rolled his shoulders, feeling remarkably stiff at the moment. "Let's just wrap this up."
"Okay," she said before the pair looked back at the gate and raised their hands together, aimed at the doors.
They focused their power at the gate together, causing it to be surrounded in auras of purple and green. The waters around them started to boil and churn violently as the heat rose again with the glow in the eyes of the skull brightening. Then the waters seemed to gain a will of its own as tendrils of it raised off the surface of the lake and floated towards the gate. Nico watched in fascination as the tendrils of water roped onto the gate causing it to steam and hiss violently. The entire chamber started to shake then as the lake and gate glowed an intense green making Nico and Styx to squint. Suddenly he felt a tug at his power and control of the gate making him start in alarm. He felt an impending surge of power and with a quick glance at Styx, he noticed her worried look directed to her own lake.
"Run!" he shouted as he lowered his power output, and being taken with the moment, swept up Styx in a princess carry before bolting back down the path.
Even in his tired state it took him only a few seconds to cover over 30 meters and not a moment too soon as he felt the power surrounding them peak. He jumped to the mouth of the tunnel that had led in as an explosion erupted behind them. He landed with a grunt and kept Styx within his arms, his back to the volatile lake and the sound of crashing waves. He felt something strike his back in droplets making him wince at the hot sting but he still made sure to keep Styx out of the spill range. He got struck with more, of what he assumed was water from her lake, before the sound of water churning stopped completely though there was a distinct bubbling sound.
He waited a minute before releasing Styx from his grip, the primordial goddess looking at him in surprise and … something else. He didn't really have the time to ponder what since she looked over his shoulder and gasped, making him turn abruptly only for his jaw to hang open. They remained speechless at what they saw, neither knowing what to say for several minutes.
"N-Nico …" Styx finally managed in an awed voice. "… This isn't a Mist illusion right?"
"No …" he said in equal awe.
"I thought this happening is ridiculously rare though," she replied.
"It happened to Percy …"
"Yeah but your cousin has equal parts shitty luck and luck of the Devil following him around," she refuted.
"No argument there," Nico answered as he observed what used to be a lake of Styx water.
It seemed that with his summoning of his gate and then adding Styx's power to add a binding to the gate, their power had merged into a perfect balance. He, as the heir of Tartarus, had influence in fire, darkness, and earth along with minor control of monsters and such. However, it seemed that the gate being a focal point of his fire and earth had fused to the lake around it and … created something new entirely. What was once a lake of water was now a lake of lava and not only lava but green lava bubbling around the gate. His Pit Gate as he tended to call them had retained the black coloration but now the flames atop the crown were green as well and out of the eye sockets streamed more of the green lava, as if crying. The plot of land had also been submerged all the way to just where they stood, leaving the gate alone within the new molten lake.
"So … what do we call it?" Styx asked as she leaned closer to the edge of the lava.
"Careful," Nico said as he stepped near her while eyeing the lake warily.
He could still feel his connection to the gate but now he also had a faint one with the lake yet it felt a little … incomplete. He tried to focus on the lake and got some feedback but he could tell his control was not absolute. He then watched as Styx raised her hand over the surface and gave a look of concentration. The surface bubbled more before it slowly started to rise beneath her hand but after only getting a few inches out of the lake it dropped back down as Styx released the grip with a tired sigh.
"I'm guessing you don't have full control either?" he asked only to get an annoyed glance. "Just an observation," he added in his defense.
"You weren't doing much better," she whined slightly before looking at him intently.
Without a word she stood and took his hand much to his surprise before she aimed their interlaced hands at the lake and closed her eyes. He felt her will and power flow into the lake, trying to bring it to her control but like him, her influence was incomplete. However, this time he closed his eyes and willed his power to flow with hers, meshing them together. He felt her shiver slightly, from what he wasn't sure, but he ignored it as he felt the entire lake actually beginning to respond. He pulled at the feeling and could hear the lava respond to their collective will.
He then opened his eyes to see several tendrils of the lava flowing around them, steaming in the air. He glanced to Styx to see her watching it all with awe before she abruptly cut her connection, making his waver and causing the streams of lava to fall back into the lake.
"Well … that was interesting," she said offhandedly while glancing down at their still interlaced hands before muttering softly, "It seems we go well together …"
He was about to ask what she meant by that before she suddenly released his hand and said, "See you in the throne room later," and dissipating into green mist leaving him alone in the cavern.
He looked at the spot she had been in for a few minutes before shrugging. 'Odd … then again, Styx tends to be one of the more interesting of individuals,' he mused before looking at the molten lake of green lava again.
"Now what the hell to name this new creation," he muttered with crossed arms, "and it better be something as cool as Voidfire…"
With Andromeda
Andromeda stood tall and proud as she observed the building around her. White walls and tiled floors, a large reception desk with a pretty secretary, warm smile and all. The buzz of a few office workers and other associates walking in and out around her. She herself stood in the center, catching numerous eyes scanning over her figure. 'They really are as polite as they're made out to be. Barely any obvious lust,' she mused as she playfully winked at a young pair, one man and woman seeming to be going to their lunch break, both having been eyeing her. At her wink both blushed slightly before moving on a little quicker.
'Ah, interns,' she thought with a giggle while looking down at herself. She was currently looking around the age of 35 or so, her hair pulled into a professional pony tail with one bang partially obscuring her left eye. She was wearing a black business coat and matching skirt reaching mid-thigh, dark stockings and red high-heels matching her red button shirt beneath the jacket. With a button or two undone to tease her bountiful cleavage and her attire hugging her every curve in just the right way she was at the center of attention. She internally preened at it but gave only a pleasant smile on the outside, waiting for her appointment.
Her goal was something that had never been done before, in the eons of Greek mythology all the way back to the time of the Titans. The new protogenoi were different and planned to direct the world into a new era and to do that, changes were unavoidable. 'I just hope everything goes according to plan,' she thought as she glanced at a flag held on the far wall. The red and white colors with the maple leaf in the center looking rather simple yet to the point in her opinion. She was brought out of her musings though when she heard the secretary call her name.
"Ms. Jackson, the Prime Minister will see you now …"
Author's Rant: You know, I feel like I just keep setting things up but fear not! Next chapter is the start of the action you want. Violence, revenge, plotting ... and lemons ahead!
Thank you and let me hear your thoughts! A pleasure, Jbubu
