Night's Children: Actues Reus
AN: The names Taavo and Tsiro are taken from the Aztecan language. They mean Rabbit and Sparrow.
Chapter One: Girl Scout Meeting
"Now, breathe in," Came the instructive voice from a distance.
Slowly, one could hear four different breaths inhaling.
"Very good, now breathe out." The voice continued.
This time, three breaths were let loose evenly, and one came out as a stifled giggle.
A disgruntled sigh was heard as the voice said, "Imy," In a reproachful tone.
The group of five, sitting in a circle, all opened their eyes, and four pairs sent irritated stares to the one in question. Imy gave a lopsided smirk as she scratched the back of her neck, "Sorry," She muttered, "I just can't take this stuff seriously."
"The powers of Selene must be harnessed both physically and mentally," Came the instructional voice from before, who was now identified as Jimena since everyone had opened their eyes, "Meditation provides an excellent outlet to restore inner control." The tinniest of smirks appeared on her face, "Something that you need the most Imy."
Imy pouted, causing the silver stud in her lip to jut out at an odd angle, "I can breathe just fine!"
Tessa, who was seated at her left, began to laugh at her comment. Aria, directly across from her, rolled her eyes in instant irritation. Riley, on her right, said or did nothing, but Imy, long accustomed to the secret language of 'Rileyism' automatically knew that she was also annoyed with, but expectant of, her actions.
Jimena pressed her hand against her head and groaned, trailing her palm down her face in frustration, "This is the fourth time this morning, Imy, that you've interrupted my attempts at restoring some sort of control and order to this group."
Imy just grinned and rocked back a bit, "Did you ever think that maybe we all just need some time to relax? All of this training is really starting to bring me down."
"Definitely!" Tessa immediately agreed, "Jimena, we've been meeting at your place everyday after school for two hours this week, and we're always doing the same things. Either we're reading and studying mythology, exercising our gifts, or meditating. We need a break!"
"Preferably with some type of fruit beverage and cookies!" Imy cheekily supplied.
"You two are so immature," Aria complained, crossing her arms over her chest, "Jimena wouldn't have us practicing all of the time if there wasn't a reason."
To prove her maturity, Imy stuck out her tongue at the girl. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was still a little unnerved by Aria's newfound dedication to the whole goddess thing. Although she had heard the story of Aria's train ride from hell, they all had after they had been decommissioned from the hospital, it was still difficult to get used to the after effects and Aria's more optimistic outlook. Not that Imy was complaining by any means, it was just…different.
"Fine, we'll take a short break," Jimena relented, which had both Tessa and Imy breaking out into cheers, and the tinniest of smiles cracked upon Riley's face. "Go grab some damn kool-aid and shut up," She muttered, not at all bitterly, as she pointed to her kitchen area.
When the four girls situated themselves back in their spots, kool-aid in hand, Jimena awkwardly decided to start the conversation, not used to the normalcy of the meeting, "I feel like a girl scout leader," She muttered to herself before asking with false cordiality, "So how was everyone's week?"
Aria, to her right, went first, "I practiced my solo for the orchestra concert, and uh," She seemed incredibly nervous as Jimena appeared to scrutinize her, "Went to the beach with Chuck for a little bit."
Snickers burst from around the circle, everyone knowing of the odd, semi-relationship that had occurred between the reluctant goddess and the Magna Mater's own son. Although the pair fought and bickered constantly, anyone could see the obvious connection between the two. Jimena, while initially shocked, had gotten over it and was used to seeing the curly-haired healer around her apartment a lot more than usual.
It was Riley's turn, and she simply shrugged, "Read some books, vacuumed."
Imy's face fell, "Vacuumed?"
Riley nodded.
Imy shook her head, "You know, and since you are my best friend in the whole world I mean this from the bottom of my sincere heart, that you are incredibly lame right?"
A tiny lift in the corners of her mouth appeared, "You go out of your way to remind me." She responded quietly, but amused.
Imy laughed, "Well, I went to the zoo with Art and fed a penguin!" Her face fell, "Then I had to go to this boring art exhibition with my mom all weekend."
Jimena nodded, "Her paintings are being featured, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less boring." Imy replied, rolling her eyes.
Jimena sighed, "Tessa?" She prompted.
An odd look of guilt passed quickly over her face, and Imy wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't for Riley tensing up beside her. But as soon as it had arrived it was gone, replaced by a genuine smile, "I went to Planet Bang with some friends, then went shopping with Ezra's pay check," She proclaimed smirking.
Imy clenched her heart, "You have other friends?!"
Tessa laughed, "We can't all be absorbed in this destiny thing."
Jimena cleared her throat, "Alright, well that was fun, now let's return to meditation-"
"Hold on, Jimena, what did you do last week?" Imy wondered, "I barely heard from you at all." The other Daughters nodded their agreement.
Jimena looked at them all, and said as emotionlessly as possible, "I battled with my boss at work, who turned out to be an ancient demon who once lusted after my past life. He was insane, and threatened to kill me and my son, so I sent him back to the hell from which he came after a rather strenuous fight, where he will remain for all of eternity, withering in a slow agonizing torment," She then paused, looking like what she was about to say next was incredibly disturbing and difficult for her to admit, "Then I met up with Gordon for lunch."
Silence reigned as four pairs of eyes blinked slowly.
"So," Imy drawled out carefully, "You met the cop for lunch?" She grinned, "Was it a date?"
Jimena's face held the barest trace of a blush as she quickly changed the subject, "Let's get back to meditation." She proclaimed in a tone that left no room for argument.
As if the Fates were against the poor mentor, which they more than likely were, Carlos chose that exact moment to come trudging into the apartment. His hair was wet and hung together in clumps, his sepia colored eyes appeared sun-strained and cloudy, and when he walked into the living room, it was apparent that he was oblivious to the world.
Mechanically, he plopped onto the couch, wetsuit still on and tracking sand everywhere, and turned on the television as loud as it could possibly go.
Jimena, the mother of the surfer, grit her teeth, "CARLOS!" She cried in irritation.
At the shrill mentioning of his name, Carlos seemed to snap out of whatever daze he had been in. His eyes trailed over the group of five, smiling at Aria and winking, "Why wasn't I invited to the pow-wow?" He questioned innocently.
"Carlos, mommy's working," Tessa chided, rolling her neck and resuming her meditation pose.
Carlos looked towards his mother for confirmation, who nodded tightly, obviously annoyed. He turned towards his favorite Daughter of the Moon, "I take it she wants me to leave?" He asked Aria.
A lopsided grin crept on her face, "I'd assume so."
He sighed dramatically and ran a hand through his hair, "No one loves me," He pouted, standing up, "I'm going to go down and hang out with the local beach bums," He stated, "I'll leave you guys to your cult worship." He turned to Aria, "Call me later?" He asked somewhat desperately.
Aria failed hiding the blush as she nodded.
Carlos walked towards the doorway, making as much noise as possible, and as soon as he shut the door, two heads-one blonde, one brunette- swiveled to stare down Aria.
"Ooo," Imy teased, "Aria and Carlos sitting in a tree-"
Tessa just smirked at the blushing healer, "Seems like you've got that boy completely whipped, what's your secret?"
Aria's eyes widened incredulously and she made a strange choking sound. "N-n-nothing!" She protested, raising her hands.
"Uh huh, spill all the juicy details," Imy pressed, mischief apparent in her eyes.
Riley groaned when she felt her cheeks heat up, knowing that Aria's embarrassment was now strong enough to get passed along to her.
"Girls," Jimena said sweetly, her eyes portraying a certain danger, "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't gossip about my son when we're supposed to be practicing."
Neither girl seemed very ashamed, both just smirking, but they remained silent after that. Aria sent a look of pure gratitude towards her mentor.
Jimena cleared her throat, "I think it's best if we stop with our meditation for today-"
"Yes!" Imy cheered enthusiastically, pumping a fist in the air.
Jimena grit her teeth and ignored her, "-so we can discuss the latest Follower activity." Her posture tensed slightly from where she sat, "We know that both factions, the Incinti and Infidi, are growing in strength and power, and we need to narrow down our battle strategy to crucial places where the most damage can be dealt, thus lowering the Follower morale. Any suggestions?" She finished, looking almost pointedly at Riley and Imy, the two who had the most connections, if that's what they could be called, to the darker side of the night.
"So far, I've run into Tymmie twice this week," Riley said flatly.
All attention was focused on the maroon haired empath, "What?" Imy demanded of her best friend.
Riley shrugged, "He seems to have an uncanny ability to turn up where I do."
"And you didn't let us know this why?" Tessa demanded crossly, "You said all you did was read and vacuum this week!"
Her eyebrows furrowed and she raised her hands in a surrendering manner, "Nothing happened either time I saw him. Both times, I'll have you know, occurred when I was at the library reading." She emphasized.
"So what did he want?" Jimena demanded, thinking that Tymmie's actions were highly out of character for the second in command of the Infidi.
She shook her head, "He's been acting strangely, so far he's just been talking to me, but when he does, his words are cryptic." A look of pain crossed Riley's face when she faced the Magna Mater, "And he…lets me know what Trysten's been up to."
Awkward silence filled the room, and Jimena stared at Riley with a mix of sympathy and concern, "Is there a threat?"
A bitter grimace appeared on Riley's normally blank face, "The news hasn't been pleasant."
Jimena fell silent, contemplative, "Anyway to know his next move?"
"No." Came the curt reply.
"I see…" Jimena trailed off, turning then towards Imy, "And on your end?"
Imy cleared her throat, instantly trying to quell the feelings of pity she had for Riley, knowing her best friend hated to feel that emotion the most, "Art's been telling me that one of the local bands on the circuit, Absinthe, is made entirely of Followers, ones that are crossing people over at an alarming rate. Also, Lance suspects the new club that opened downtown, Erebus, is supposed to be serving as an updated version of The Dungeon."
Their mentor nodded thoughtfully, and turned towards Tessa, signaling that it was her turn.
Tessa shrugged slightly, "So far, the only Follower interaction I've had this week at all has come from Planet Bang, and that was just with a pair of Isaac's lower-ranked thugs."
Isaac, the Regulator who had played a rather significant role in Riley's kidnapping, had finally broken away from Yvonne's circle, and started a group of his own, three Initiates assigned under him. So far, Isaac's group seemed hardly a threat, as they acted like just a couple of average gutter punks.
"What happened?" Jimena continued.
The blonde smirked, "Well, I kicked their asses-" At Jimena's reproachful glare, she sighed, "-in a non violent manner, of course. I just projected an illusion over their targets, making them already seemed converted."
"Good, which two were you against?" Jimena asked.
"The brothers, Taavo and Tsiro," Tessa continued, "They aren't anything serious, my low-powered illusion had them confused for hours."
"I see, Aria, anything to contribute?"
The curly haired goddess shook her head, "Sorry, I've been holed up at home studying for my physics finals," She said apologetically, "It's been a rather tame week. No Follower disturbances, and no sign of the Guardians yet."
The group collectively shuddered when their thoughts trailed to the group of seven, now four, Guardians of Hades that had caused such chaos to their lives not so long ago. While it was not certain that they would aim to attack the Daughters of the Moon again after losing three of their members, it was an unanimous decision that they should be prepared for their return.
Jimena slouched in her seat, stretching her arms over her head and looking feline, "Right," She muttered, sounding much older than she was, "So, with the new facts in mind, these will be our group's objectives for this weekend."
All four of the girls' faces fell, "This weekend?" Tessa complained.
"Jimena, we hardly ever get a break anymore-" Came Aria.
"The Discards are booked at both The RockOut and Planet Bang on Friday and Saturday!" Imy proclaimed, Riley nodding somberly next to her.
Their leader sighed sadly, "I'm sorry girls, but it's something we have to do. Without us, the fragile balance we've been maintaining could shatter." She cleared her throat and looked at them all, "Does anyone else have any plans for this weekend, aside from shows?"
"Nothing that can't be postponed," Tessa said sourly.
"Just with Carlos," Aria admitted, looking crestfallen.
"Then this is what we'll do. Imy and Riley, you two are in charge of monitoring the situation at Planet Bang when you play there Saturday night. Just a routine check up, if Isaac and his goons are there, ensure that you take care of them. Is that Absinthe band playing at any of your venues?"
"No…but…" Imy trailed off, biting her lip, "I can get Killian to place a call to the stage manager at ErebusHe should have no problem scheduling us for a gig, seeing that clubs like The Dungeon have approached us before. That way we can knock out two birds with one stone."
Killian was the highly energetic stage manager of The RockOut, as well as a close friend to Imy and the other members of The Discards. He had been serving as an impromptu manager for the band ever since they formed two years ago.
Jimena paused, digesting this, "It'd be far too dangerous for just the two of you alone-"
"No problem," Tessa cut in, "I've always wanted to party with a club infested with Followers." She said, grinning.
Aria scoffed, "And I doubt I'll be able to enjoy a nice quiet evening at home, with all the trouble they're likely to get into."
"What about Art and Zahi?" Imy chimed in, "Art's bound to go into overprotective mode when he finds out about the show anyways, and Zahi is quite frankly acting like he needs to get out of the house."
"Chuck will see it as something fun to do," Aria suggested, then muttered, "Crazy bastard."
If Jimena heard this, she ignored it, "I suppose this is a possible option, try and get a gig booked next weekend." She narrowed her eyes, intensely serious, "But know that going into a Follower club is not a walk in the park, goddess or no. You must be prepared, by doing extra training this week." She stared down each individual girl, "We're going to focus more strongly on our weaknesses. Tessa, you should look at prolonging your stamina in concern to your illusions, and making them last longer."
She gave a mock salute.
"Aria, I want you to make your energy more effective, have it heal more with less effort."
Aria nodded, "I can do that."
"Riley, your prime objective is to look at other aspects of your powers. Find outside methods to influence those around you, and hopefully develop different attacks."
The maroon haired girl said nothing, just gave a slight inclination of her head.
"And Imy…" Jimena finished, "You need to exercise primarily in self restraint. Your powers are a gift from Selene to fight evil, not a toy."
Imy tried to suppress the frown that was making its way onto her face, tired of hearing the same old routine from Jimena yet again. She just gave a rather apathetic grunt.
Jimena looked up at the clock that hung on the wall opposite her living room, "I think that's been enough Daughter business for today. You girls are good to go," She stood up and stretched again, "I understand that you're all heading over to Imy's for dinner?"
Imy groaned and pressed a hand against her face, "I'm really sorry about all this," She mumbled, "It's just…Aunt Emily and Uncle Sledge always make me incredibly uncomfortable when they're over…" She trailed off and made a face, "And their spawn is just horrible."
"Nothing to be sorry about!" Beamed Tessa as she heaved her rather massive purse over her shoulder, "It's either an awkward dinner at your place, or a TV dinner at mine, since I can't cook and Ezra's working late tonight."
Riley gave her best friend a rather reproachful look, "And their daughter is not a 'spawn'." She said calmly, having been over to the Ormonds' multiple times for dinner and having already met their old friends from high school.
The group of four made their way towards the door, Riley lagging slightly to tell Jimena when she'd be home.
"Bye girls," They heard from Jimena as they reached the hallway of the apartment building, "Have fu-uhn," The way their mentor said the word 'fun' put them all instantly on edge.
Aria stared at Tessa and Imy, "Is there something I should have known before I accepted the invite?" She said, somewhat paranoid as they walked towards the stairway.
Imy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Emily and Sledge-"
"What kind of name is 'Sledge' anyway?" Tessa mused out loud to no one in particular.
"-are both friends of my dad's from high school," Imy rolled her eyes, "And mom's constantly jumpy when they visit, since Emily and dad used to date or something. It's just painful to watch. She goes so far out of her way to prove to them that we're normal, but she overdoes it. You'll see."
"What's up with the spawn thing then?" Aria asked, curious.
"Their daughter, Tatum." Riley said simply, catching up to them as she shrugged on her worn, flannel coat.
"What about her?" Tessa questioned, suspicious.
"Emily and Sledge have two children. Tatum is our age-" Riley tried to explain.
"And a real bitch," Imy grumbled.
Riley just gave the tinniest of sighs to express her annoyance, but Imy was well attuned to Riley's expressions, or lack thereof. "What? You don't think she's the devil incarnate?"
The empath shrugged, "She seems…polite."
"To you! She's phony as hell, and she gets me into trouble all of the time!"
Aria smirked as the group exited the building, "No offense, Imy, but you seem to manage that just fine on your own."
"She has a point," Tessa agreed.
Imy's mouth twitched downwards, "Just wait, you'll hate her too."
The four walked towards the bus stop, each plopping down almost simultaneously on the bench. Quiet overcame them as they waited patiently for the city bus to arrive.
"So, is anyone else getting seriously ticked off about this weekend?" Imy blurted out of the blue, her scuffed combat boot-encased feet crossing over each other as she leaned back into a more languid position.
"We don't really have a choice," Aria sighed, "But it sucks. Chuck was going to start teaching me how to surf on Saturday."
Tessa flipped a curtain of golden hair behind her shoulder, "At least you'll still get to see Carlos, I have to cancel my plans with Twiggy all together."
Imy's eyebrows shot up to her forehead, "Wait…what?" She turned to her right to see Riley making a strangled noise torn between a choke and a gasp. Even Aria, who didn't really know the dread-locked grease bucket of a human being, made a face.
Tessa immediately shot up her hands in a defensive position, "Nothing like that, he's teaching me to play piano."
"Twiggy teaches?" Imy stammered, still not fully absorbing what her friend and fellow goddess was saying.
"Twiggy can play piano?" Aria continued, bewildered.
"Not very well," Riley muttered under her breath, recalling the few writing sessions where Twiggy had tried to contribute to the music arrangements.
The blonde illusionist hunched her shoulders, "He's just teaching me the basics. He offered to do it for free, so I thought why not?"
Imy and Riley shared a knowing look, the two of them the only ones who knew of Twiggy's secret crush on Tessa.
"Sounds like fun," The brunette said, smirking slightly, "But be prepared, Twiggy isn't the kindest of people."
"Or the most patient," Riley contributed.
"Or the cleanest," Added Aria.
Tessa laughed, "You guys, calm down, it's just a piano lesson." Her blue eyes snapped down towards the street when she heard something, "The bus is coming," She said calmly, standing up.
Imy stayed behind for a moment, watching as Tessa, followed by Aria and Riley made their way up the stairs of the bus. A feeling of dread overran her stomach, and she couldn't help but think that something terrible was going to happen tonight. Something horrendous, wicked, gruesome-
"Imy, the driver isn't going to wait for you," said Riley over her shoulder, a miniscule grin on her face, "And stop worrying about this dinner party your mom's throwing."
Imy pouted and sauntered up after her, "Sometimes you don't even realize how annoying your powers can be," She whined jokingly.
A flicker of something grim crawled across Riley's face before she whispered, "Oh, I think I do."
She stared at her for a moment in confusion, but before she had a chance to ask anything, the bus rocketed forward. "Crappy bus, crappy evening, crappy food, crappy Tatum and her crap crappyness," She grumbled as she sat down on the seat across from Aria and waited for doom to meet her.
OoO
Boring, I know, but it provides exposition. Ooo, exposition.
Up Next: Kyle's a welcoming committee, The Spawn arrives, Catty cooks?, Imy hides, Slurm drinks beer, Aria's polite, Tessa's butt goes up in the air, and Riley's just about had it.